The Runaway Woman

by Josephine Cox

  Lucy nodded. In a way, she was pleased about that.

  ‘You are right next door,’ the receptionist informed Kathleen. Kathleen was pleased.

  ‘I’m afraid the café bar won’t be open for another hour or so yet,’ the receptionist informed them, ‘but if you like, I’ll have tea or coffee sent up to your rooms.’

  Kathleen thanked her, but, ‘I thought we would unpack and take our time having a look round. What say you, Lucy? Do you fancy a walk along the front?’

  ‘Yes, that would be nice.’ In truth, she was about to suggest the very same herself.

  So, after collecting their room keys, they followed the porter to the lift. And when he insisted on taking them right to their doors, Kathleen gave Lucy a wink, and rolled her eyes in astonishment.

  At the door, she was about to tip him, when he smiled and shook his head. ‘That’s all right,’ he said softly. ‘Maybe later.’ And his meaning was very clear, both to Kathleen and to Lucy.

  ‘I told you, didn’t I?’ Kathleen did a little jig in the corridor. ‘I said he was after me … and who am I to refuse the man his tip!’

  Lucy went into her room, in fits of laughter.

  ‘We’ll meet up in ten minutes,’ Kathleen called out, and Lucy replied that she would be downstairs waiting, because, ‘I know you won’t be ready in ten minutes. More like half an hour.’ She knew Kathleen only too well.

  Exactly half an hour later, Lucy got up from the chair in the foyer. Kathleen was dressed up as though she was off to a party. She had on a pretty green dress with swirly skirt, short sleeves and a revealing neckline. Her legs were bare and she wore white sandals.

  ‘Oh, Kathleen, you look really nice.’

  ‘You look nice as well.’ Kathleen saw that Lucy had chosen to wear a blue, short-sleeved top, with a straight skirt and blue sandals. Her hair was brushed to a shine, and her eyes were especially sparkling.

  ‘Come on, Lucy girl!’ Kathleen led the way. ‘Let’s go frighten the locals!’

  They went along the beach, and with every step, Lucy recalled how she and Dave had run along here, with her on his shoulders, and the two of them making fools of themselves. But it was too wonderful to regret, and so she remembered it with joy.

  As they entered the café, Kathleen told her, ‘I’m hot … how about we get an ice cream or something? What d’you say, Lucy girl?’

  ‘Yeah! Let’s go for it!’

  And they did.

  They noticed one empty table in the far corner, and they made straight for it.

  Sitting down, Kathleen stretched out her legs. ‘Is this the place you told me about?’ she asked Lucy.

  ‘Yes.’ Lucy was torn in so many ways. ‘This is it. Don’t you think it’s pretty … set in the cliffs like this?’

  ‘I do, yes! I think it’s very pretty, right on the beach and nestling into the cliffs. What else could anyone ask for?’

  A moment later the waitress arrived. ‘Yes?’ She opened her notepad.

  ‘Right, Lucy girl!’ Kathleen quickly glanced at the menu. ‘What takes your fancy?’

  Lucy wasn’t quite sure. ‘You get yours, and by the time they bring it, I’ll have decided.’

  So, Kathleen ordered a banana split and a cup of tea.

  Lucy continued to look through the menu as the waitress went to fetch Kathleen’s order. ‘I think I’ll have a banana split as well,’ she told Kathleen.

  The girl arrived with Kathleen’s order, but before Lucy could say anything, a voice behind her asked, ‘Would the lady like an ice cream, topped with nuts and choc flakes?’

  Lucy’s heart almost stopped, and when his hand touched hers she knew. ‘Dave!’ She looked up and there he was – the man who had stolen her common sense, along with her heart.

  ‘Hello, you,’ he said, bending to kiss her. ‘I’ve missed you … so much.’

  Lost for words, Lucy felt like crying, she was so taken aback and so very happy to see him again. When he sat down beside her she thought she might be dreaming.

  Kathleen, however, was beaming. ‘After you came home and told me about this “wonderful” man you met, I thought you two should get to know each other better,’ she confessed. ‘So I rang the hotel and asked if they would forward a letter to this man called David, who had been in the room four doors away from my friend Lucy Lovejoy. I sent my letter and here we are. Am I a miracle worker or what?’

  Lucy dared not say a word, because if she did, she would surely break down and cry. And when Dave’s arm slid about her shoulders, she leaned into it, and it was like all her dreams had come true at once.

  And then he was whispering in her ear, ‘I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you and me run along the beach, like we did before, and give the natives something to talk about?’

  Lucy shook her head, laughing too much to answer.

  Kathleen diplomatically left for a walk along the cliffs, leaving Lucy to bond with Dave all over again.

  ‘If I behave myself, will you walk along the beach with me?’ he asked her. And how could she refuse?

  From the clifftop, Kathleen looked down and smiled. ‘You two belong together,’ she whispered.

  Then she walked along a little further. She was enchanted by this place and she wondered, if she offered the owner enough money, whether he or she would consider selling that picturesque café to her and Lucy.

  Once the idea had taken root in her mind, there was no turning back. So, without delay, she made her way back down.

  Much later that evening, the three of them turned out in their best party wear to spend the evening in the open-air where a gala of music and dancing was about to start.

  ‘They couldn’t have a more beautiful setting,’ Lucy told Dave as he led her onto the makeshift dance floor.

  ‘And I could not have had a more beautiful dance partner than you,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘You look wonderful.’

  Lucy smiled at that. ‘Do you know, you are the first man ever to call me beautiful?’

  His answer was a soft and loving kiss, and the whispered comment, ‘All I can say is, they must all be blind.’

  He gestured to where Kathleen and Billy the porter were dancing some way to the other side of them.

  ‘Kathleen said he fancied her,’ Lucy said, ‘and she was right.’

  Later, they sat in the hotel bar, and chatted with Kathleen and Billy, who had the evening off work.

  ‘I’ve got some news, Lucy girl!’ Kathleen announced.

  ‘What? Is it good or bad?’

  ‘Both.’

  ‘Go on then.’

  ‘Well, I kind of took a fancy to that picturesque little café, and I wanted to talk to you about it, but you were too tied up with this handsome man who wouldn’t let you go. So …’ she took a deep breath, ‘… I bought it for us!’

  After the initial shock, everyone congratulated her. Lucy was thrilled. ‘So now, we’ll need to start looking for a house. We can’t stay at the hotel for ever.’

  While Katheen thought about Lucy’s reminder, Dave slid his arm round Lucy’s shoulders. ‘You won’t need to find a house … not if you marry me,’ he told her.

  Lucy looked at him, astonished, and then she said, ‘But I can’t. I’m still waiting for my divorce to go through.’ She reminded him, shyly.

  ‘I don’t mind how long I wait,’ he answered, ‘as long as the answer is yes.’

  ‘Then, yes.’ She laughed out loud. ‘I’ll marry you!’

  Everyone burst out laughing, and Kathleen turned to Billy, ‘Seems like everybody wants to get married, so, what about you and me?’

  ‘Are you free?’ he asked cheekily.

  ‘I am … yes.’

  ‘Then I’ll certainly bear that in mind.’ He laughed.

  The evening ended in happiness and great excitement.

  A year later, the double marriage was arranged.

  It was well attended, by Dave’s daughter and relatives, alongside Lucy’s children, and Martin and Paula. Paula was now fu
lly recovered, and both she and Martin were wonderfully happy.

  Kathleen’s uncle and a nephew came from Ireland to see her get married, along with Billy’s entire family of sixteen people, young and old.

  Kathleen was shocked. ‘Blimey! I can tell you right now, we ain’t having an army o’ kids to look after. No way!’

  Four years later, the same people attended the double christening of Kathleen and Billy’s third child, alongside Lucy and Dave’s first son – named David.

  In quiet moments, when Lucy managed to hide away for a few minutes, she sat thinking of all the heartache and pain over the years.

  But that was all in the past, and she could not possibly be happier than she was at that moment.

  At last, she was content in herself.

  And life was good.

  Also by Josephine Cox

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  If you enjoyed these books, try Josephine’s Classic Bestsellers bundle

  The Broken Man

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  The Loner

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  The Journey

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  Lovers and Liars

  The Beachcomber

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  The Beachcomber

  In the summer of 1952, two lonely people arrive in the pretty seaside hamlet of West Bay. Strangers coming from very different backgrounds, they are there for the same reasons: to find peace of mind and the chance to start a new life.

  Tom Arnold has abandoned all his possessions and walked away from a highly paid job. A year ago, he had a wife and two beautiful children, when suddenly his world was turned upside-down. The car he was driving with his family was deliberately run off the road high above the cliffs. He was the only survivor. The drivery – who Tom is sure intended to kill them all – has never been found.

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  Already abandoned by her father, and unhappy at home, Emily is heartbroken when John leaves the village. Her life takes a devastating turn for the worse when she gives birth to a child. She dare not reveal the identity of the child’s father or there will be a terrible price to pay.

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  Emily has never been able to banish thoughts of John. But when it looks as though history is about to repeat itself, Emily must put the past – and John – behind her and safeguard her daughter. But can she forget him?

  Live the Dream

  Luke Hammond: handsome, rich, charismatic, cursed by private tragedy. Amy Atkinson: humble and kind with a good – but wounded – heart. When they meet by chance, a spark of love takes hold of their hearts.

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  Then disaster strikes and the future looks troubled indeed …

  The Journey

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  When Ben Morris comes to the aid of Lucy Baker and her daughter Mary, he is intrigued by the story behind their frequent visits to the local graveyard. Later, invited into their home, an old Edwardian place suffused with secrets of the past, Ben hears Lucy’s remarkable tale – one she must tell before it’s too late.

  The story of Barney Davidson, his family and the part Lucy played in his extraordinary life, is one of a deep, abiding love and an incredible sacrifice.

  Journey’s End

  Like a ghost from the past, she walked along the platform towards them …

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  But this long journey home is the hardest of all. She is here in search of the truth, afraid of what she may find. Why did Barney turn against his family so suddenly, so cruelly? Only her old friend Lucy Baker knows what happened. And Lucy promised Barney she would never tell his secret. Is it time she broke her silence and explained the events of so long ago?

  The Loner

  Home is where the heart is – but it’s also where the pain lurks …

  After a tragic accident involving his mother, and the disappearance of his father, young Davie flees his hometown of Blackburn, to escape the haunting memories of the worst night in his young life. With little more than the shirt on his back and a fierce determination to find his father, he sets off on a lonely, friendless road.

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  Songbird

  In the riverside town of Bedford, four students can hear the haunting voice of a woman singing. The beautiful melody is coming from their neighbour – a reclusive creature who never opens the door to anyone or leaves her home in daylight.

  They have no way of knowing that the woman next door, Madeleine Delaney is driven by a dangerous memory that for over twenty years has controlled her meagre existence …

  Madeleine’s angelic voice and striking looks capture the hearts of many. But she only has eyes fo
r club owner, Steve Drayton – a devastatingly handsome but terrifying man.

  Then one night she witnesses a horrific crime, and her life is irrevocably changed forever.The kindness and friendship of one girl – Ellen, rescues Madeleine from utter devastation. But in order to survive, they must flee London, leaving behind those they dearly love, and danger is following them wherever they go.

  Born Bad

  Harry always knew he would go back one day …

  Eighteen years ago, he made a hard decision that drove him from the place he loved. Since then, he carved out a life for himself and found a semblance of peace, yet he is still haunted by the warm, carefree girl with the laughing eyes.

  For Judy Saunders, the pain of her past has left her deeply scarred. Cut off from her family and trapped in a loveless marriage, the distant memories of her first love are her only source of comfort in a dark and dangerous world.

  Years later, Harry is heading back. Excited, afraid and racked with guilt, he has little choice. He must confront the past, and seek forgiveness.

  Divorced and Deadly

  Footloose, fancy free and ready to get back in the game, newly divorced Ben is back home with mum which is just where she wants him. But best mate Dickie has other ideas, and soon they are sharing a flat, up to all sorts and plotting Ben’s future romantic adventures.

  But being single isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

  Ben staggers from one disaster to another – all under the beady gaze of his ex, who may not want him but doesn’t want anyone else to have him either! And then there’s Ben’s co-worker Poppy, who seems very interested in his escapades too – could she have plans of her own?

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  Blood Brothers

  Alice Jacobs has finally found the family she always wanted …