‘Where did all those people come from? You’d think there was going to be a food shortage with the amount everyone has bought,’ Bea exclaimed, leaning against the counter and taking a breather. ‘We’ve not even had a tea break yet.’
‘It’s the weather. It’s difficult for the boats to move so I think everyone is panic-buying, just in case the snow fall gets heavier.’
‘Let’s just hope our supplies get through okay, but I think we have enough ingredients in the pantry to keep us going for a few days at least.’
‘According to the weather,’ Nell flicked on to her phone, ‘It’s forecast rain from this afternoon, so hopefully the panic buying will settle down.’
‘Here’s hoping. Did you remember to take the last batch of scones out of the oven? I’m not sure I heard the timer buzz in the mad rush?’
‘Oh shoot,’ Nell replied, quickly grabbing the oven gloves before hurrying to the back of the kitchen and flinging open the oven door.
‘Double shoot,’ she pulled out the baking tray and stared. ‘Well and truly cremated,’ she looked aghast, ‘That’s my fault. I forgot to set the timer with it being so busy.’
‘Not to worry, it’s just one of those things,’ Bea answered, leaning against the door frame, ‘Pop them on the side and once they’ve cooled down I’ll throw them out to the birds. They are probably in need of a good feed in this weather.’
They both whipped their heads round as they heard the shop bell tinkle, ‘No rest for the wicked,’ Bea rolled her eyes.
They hurried back behind the counter to find the postman standing there for the second time today.
‘Sorry Nell, I missed this one before,’ he smiled, handing over an envelope to her. As soon as the postman left the shop Nell put the envelope down on the counter.
‘Anything important?’
‘Bank savings, annual statement. Ollie’s life insurance.’
Nell had had no idea that Ollie even had any life insurance until she’d had to sell the yard.
‘I’ll put the kettle on, come on. Oh and I’m putting the closed sign up for ten minutes, we deserve a break.’ Bea announced, walking towards the door and pulling the latch down.
‘Here comes the rain now too.’ Both of them looked up to see to see the sleety rain drumming against the glass and boat owners quickly pulling their windows shut.
Nell moved into the kitchen and clutched the bank statement while Bea switched on the kettle and ferreted around in the cupboard for a couple of mugs.
‘I never knew what to do with this money, it was just never important in the grand scheme of things.’
‘You did the right thing bunging it into a savings account, it’ll have gained a little interest,’ Bea said, perching on the table waiting for the kettle to boil. ‘Any ideas what to do with it now?’
‘Not got a clue,’ answered Nell, watching Bea make the drinks and settling in the chair opposite her. Nell hadn’t really given the money a second thought up until now. ‘I don’t particularly need anything, maybe in time I could invest it in property or a business.’
‘Are you going to open it?’
Nell nodded, then carefully opened the envelope. Her eyes flitted over the numbers on the page and exhaled, ‘Sixty-five thousand pounds.’
Bea gave a low whistle.
‘Why did I ever ask him to go out that night, Bea? If only …’
‘Oh Nell, I don’t know what to say, we all miss him and I know it’s not the same but we are always here for you.’
‘I know.’ Nell flashed Bea a grateful smile. ‘No amount of money will ever replace him.’
‘It won’t and look …’ Bea paused, ‘you don’t have to do anything with the money, leave it where it is for now.’
Both of them sipped on their tea before Nell pushed the letter to one side, then skimmed over the pages of the local newspaper.
‘What you need is a little company,’ Bea suggested, thinking that one of Gilly’s kittens might just be the thing for Nell.
‘Mmm, I believe you are going to have a new addition to the family very soon,’ Nell lifted an eyebrow and gave Bea a knowing look.
Bea sat up straight in her chair, ‘Wait, how do you know about that?’
‘Call it my psychic powers.’ Nell grinned, remembering Jacob’s little face when this morning he literally let the cat out of the bag.
‘You saw it, didn’t you?’
‘Saw what?’ Nell eyed Bea suspiciously.
They held each other’s gaze and no one spoke for a second.
‘Saw what?’ Nell repeated with a confused look on her face. She leaned forward and folded her arms on the newspaper and stared straight at Bea, who promptly blushed.
Bea opened her mouth and closed it again.
‘Spill Bea Green,’ Nell insisted, nodding encouragingly. ‘All eyes are on you!’
Bea looked suitably composed, ‘I think we may be talking about two different things.’
Nell lifted an eyebrow, ‘What are you talking about, then? Come on.’ Nell drummed her fingers on the desk in jest.
Bea swallowed and managed a nod, ‘At this moment in time I’m trying to ignore the queasiness in the pit of my stomach.’
It took a second for the penny to drop, ‘Sweet Jesus, you’re pregnant! You are, aren’t you?’
A huge beam spread across Bea’s face, ‘I am.’
Nell squealed, ‘Come here, let me give you a hug,’ she said as she squeezed her friend tight.
‘I thought you’d spotted the test I left in the toilet the other day.’
‘Ha no, but congratulations!’
‘Thank you, we are both delighted, but we’ve not told Jacob yet as it’s still early days.’
‘Mum’s the word!’ exclaimed Nell.
‘For the time being anyway,’ Bea grinned, ‘Now what was it you were on about?’ She sat back down on the chair.
‘Oreo!’
Bea gasped, ‘Has Gilly spilt the beans? I’ve not run it past Nathan yet.’ A worried look flashed over Bea’s face.
‘Don’t panic, Nathan took it all in his stride.’
‘Nathan? Oh God, how does he know?’
‘Well he’s about this big,’ Nell gestured with her hands, cute chubby cheeks, clomps around in the brightest pair of wellies and is not very good at keeping secrets!’
‘Jacob, the little monkey.’ Bea rolled her eyes and shook her head laughing.
‘Anyway, back to Baby Green, how far gone are you?’
‘Early days, only eight weeks or so. I’m feeling so-so, a little queasy at times, but I seem to be eating my body weight in anything and everything.’
‘Well don’t overdo it, you know I can help with the early morning baking if you don’t feel up to it.’
‘I promise I will ask if I need any help.’
‘Good,’ Nell replied, skimming the newspaper once more and turning the page.
‘Anything interesting?’
Nell sighed, twisting the paper towards Bea. ‘Now this is what makes me sad.’
‘Nathan and I were only talking about this last night.’ Bea glanced at the paper.
There on the property page of the local newspaper were the details of the old derelict picture house.
‘Such a shame,’ Nell said sadly, a wave of nostalgia washing over her.
‘They could easily throw up a few houses on that plot. How much is it up for?’
Nell stared at the page and then Bea.
‘It’s up for auction. Ollie and I always talked about doing something together, a project that would benefit the community and bring the kids and the older generation back together. Everyone these days spends their life tapping not speaking.’
Nell’s mind began to whirl and she wriggled in her chair excitedly as she read aloud the reserve figure. Nell had a sudden sparkle in her eyes. Bea knew that look on Nell’s face – she was mulling something over.
‘What if? …’ Nell hesitated for a second.
‘Go on,
what are you thinking?’
‘No, I can’t, I’m just being daft.’
‘Come on, say what you’re thinking,’ urged Bea.
Nell swallowed and took a deep breath, ‘What if I bought the place?’ Once the words left her mouth her thoughts became reality.
‘What would you do with it?’
Nell bit down on her lip, gazed out of the window then turned back towards Bea, ‘Use Ollie’s money to restore it, turn it back into a picture house in his memory.’
It took Bea a second for Nell’s words to sink in.
‘Are you serious?’ Bea shot her a sideways glance.
‘How much do you think a project like this would cost?’
‘You are serious!’
Nell nodded, ‘I think I am.’
The excitement rose inside Nell. She’d often talked with Ollie about undertaking a project that would bring the community back together and this could be it. Not only would it benefit the whole marina, but it would stop new houses being built.
‘You’ll need to ask someone in the know. Shall I ask Nathan? He might know someone.’
Nell’s eyes grew wide then her face broke into a smile. ‘Would you?’
‘Of course.’
‘I just need to know how much a project like this would cost. I could co-ordinate it myself.’ Nell’s routine had been the same day in, and day out in the last couple of years, this project would be the perfect opportunity to get her teeth into something new which would benefit the whole community.
‘That’ll keep you busy,’ Bea mused, finishing her drink.
‘It would, wouldn’t it. There’s no harm in looking into it.’
‘No harm at all.’
Chapter 7
It was Friday evening and Nell stood nervously on the steps of the annexe to Little End Cottage. She rapped on the door then dug her hands into her pockets to shield them from the frosty temperature of the night air. As she waited she shuffled her feet from side to side and snuggled deep inside her coat to keep warm.
She knocked again and still nothing.
‘Damn,’ she muttered to herself. She’d ventured out into the cold night on a whim. She’d never even considered there wouldn’t be any answer. She’d lain awake last night and had barely slept a wink, thoughts of restoring the Old Picture House had her pacing the length of the ‘Nollie’ in the early hours of the morning.
She’d had many honest conversations with herself, was she just running away with some romantic notion or could this be a possibility, was she even capable of renovating the Old Picture House back to its original state and make it into a viable business?
The previous evening, after seeing the property in the newspaper Nell had visited her mum at Bluebell Cottage. She’d sat in the kitchen tucking into homemade cottage pie and shared her aspirations for the abandoned building. While Nell enthused about the plans that were whizzing around in her head, she noticed a shift in mood in her mum.
‘The thing is, Nell, that place closed down for a reason. If a proper business person can’t keep it afloat, what chance do you have? Projects like that can be draining mentally and run way over budget. Who’s going to manage the place?’
‘Well, me of course.’
‘Abandon Bea after she gave you a job, a lifeline after everything that happened?’ Gilly tutted.
Feeling deflated, Nell had sunk back in her chair with three gorgeous kittens on her lap. She’d never considered Bea in any of this. Once the picture house was up and running would she need to leave her job? It was something she hadn’t even considered and now here was her mum putting a kibosh on the whole thing with zilch enthusiasm before it had even begun.
‘Ollie and I had always talked about a project, something that would benefit the community and bring a new zest for life into the area.’
‘And Ollie wouldn’t want you to run yourself into the ground. How will this project be funded?’
Nell hesitated, ‘With his life insurance and our savings.’
Gilly had dismissed the subject almost immediately, leaving Nell feeling confused and squashed. It wasn’t quite the reaction she’d expected or wanted.
That was the reason she was here now, knocking on Guy’s cottage door. She couldn’t get the notion of the renovation out of her head, despite her mum’s opinion. She wanted an outsider’s opinion, someone who didn’t have any emotional attachment to the situation.
Nell stared up at Little End Cottage, the place was still picturesque even in the midst of February with the ivy entwined around it’s oak-beam porch and the smoke swirling out of the chimney pot above the thatched roof. There was still no answer; she hesitated then followed the pebble path around the side of the property.
She stood on her tiptoes and peered through the window and caught sight of Guy walking into the living room, then she spotted Sam curled up on the chair by the side of the log burner.
Guy looked as if he’d just come out of the shower, wearing just a pair of grey lounge pants as he stood in front of the TV towel-drying his hair.
Nell found herself gazing at him, rooted to the spot, and couldn’t help but admire his toned, tanned torso. And there it was again, that tingle, goose bumps and flutters in her stomach that had been missing for so long.
Suddenly, Guy jumped up in the air, flung the towel and began to play an imaginary guitar. As Nell watched his exaggerated strumming and lip-synching she couldn’t help but giggle. Just as he was about to jump off the settee she lifted her hand to knock on the window, catching Sam’s eye, who promptly leapt out of the chair and launched himself barking straight at the window.
Startled, Guy stopped in his tracks, whipped his head round and locked eyes with Nell. He casually stepped down from the settee as if it was the most normal thing in the world and his face broke into a smile. Two seconds later, he opened the door to the annexe. Leaning against the doorframe he folded his arms and beamed, ‘Sorry, I didn’t hear you knock, I was just …’ His eyes twinkled. ‘I was just …’
‘You were just what?’ Nell cocked her head to one side and grinned.
‘You can’t beat a bit of Jimi Hendrix. That’s all I’m saying!’
‘If you say so,’ Nell bit down on her lip to quash her smile and secretly wishing Sam hadn’t spotted her at that precise moment. They stared at each other for a brief second before Guy remembered his manners and stepped to one side.
‘Forgive me, come on in. It’s freezing out there.’
‘Thank you,’ Nell brushed past Guy and stepped into the hallway while taking in his divine spicy masculine fragrance, which sent a tingle down her spine.
She heard Sam sniffing at the bottom of the door, which he soon managed to nudge open before he excitedly came bounding towards her.
‘Hello boy,’ Nell said, crouching down and ruffling his ears. He thumped his tail and scampered down the hallway, then promptly returned with a ball that he dropped at Nell’s feet.
‘You have a friend there.’
She smiled cheerfully, ‘That’s good to hear.’
A wooden staircase adorned the hallway, ‘Here, let me take your coat,’ Guy said, hanging it over the banister.
The hallway was lit by a lamp. Stripped wooden beams ran the length of the ceiling and it was extremely quaint and cosy.
‘Make yourself comfy in the living room. It’s probably best if I go and pop some clothes on.’ Guy gestured towards the solid oak door.
Nell blushed slightly but couldn’t stop her eyes flitting over his body one more time before he disappeared into the bedroom.
Sam followed Nell into the living room. It was just how she imagined it, the furniture was sparse and simple, a chesterfield, an antique dresser and a roaring log fire. She settled on the chair next to the wood burner and Sam lay on the rug at her feet, wagging his tail, his tongue hanging out whilst staring at his ball. She could hear Guy humming to himself, then he popped his head around the doorway.
‘Cup of tea before I sit down?’
/> ‘Only if you have time?’
‘I’m sure Jimi Hendrix won’t mind, I can jump off the sofa anytime,’ he winked before disappearing into the kitchen.
Nell gazed around the room. She noticed numerous photographs on the dresser and wandered over to them. She instantly recognised Guy as a young boy, sitting on a man’s lap in the front seat of a digger. ‘My granddad,’ Guy appeared, placing a tray of tea and biscuits down on the coffee table.
Nell swung round startled, ‘Sorry, I wasn’t being nosey.’
‘Don’t worry, that’s one of my favourite photographs. Sugar?’ asked Guy.
Nell nodded, ‘Just the one, please.’
He passed her a mug of tea and she sank back into the chair by the fire. ‘So what can I do for you?’
She looked up and met his gaze, ‘I’ve got a mad idea spinning round in my head and I’ve no idea what to do about it or whether it’s even doable. I’ve tried to talk it over with Mum but she seemed …’ Nell paused, ‘I think reluctant is the word I’m looking for.’
Guy leaned forward and cupped his hands around his drink, ‘Sounds very intriguing.’ He joked, and stared at her with a curious expression.
‘So, I wanted to run it past someone …’
‘Independent,’ he finished off her sentence.
‘Exactly,’ Nell took a deep breath, ‘Okay, here goes,’ she exhaled, placing her mug on the coffee table, sitting up straight and tucking her hands between her thighs.
‘You know the old building on the wharf, the one we stood outside.’
‘The picture house?’
She nodded, ‘That’s the one. If I said to you I was thinking of buying it and renovating it back to its original state, how bonkers would you think I was?’
‘On a scale of one to ten?’ he grinned.
‘I’m being serious.’
Guy’s eyes widened, ‘Well, I wasn’t expecting that, but if I’m truly honest I’d no idea what I was expecting you to say.’
‘You think it’s a daft idea, don’t you?’ Nell sighed, picking up her mug of tea.
He popped a biscuit into his mouth, then slid the plate over towards her. She eyed him nervously, waiting for him to answer.
‘I never said that! With what intention?’ he asked.
The Cosy Canal Boat Dream: A funny, feel-good romantic comedy you won’t be able to put down! Page 6