he nodded to himself dryly, towards the cliff path, not totally directed to one of the crofts that he wondered might belong to Catrina, but certainly it felt good to be outside, with a fresh breeze blowing the cobwebs and fingers of darkness from his lowered mood.
‘Dad, Dad, Dad,’ Piper burbled from behind his ear—so Piper liked being outside too, and it was her birthday. He was supposed to be doing what she wanted. Each of his steps up the hill lightened his mood and the hill path was well maintained and solid under his feet. He could feel the exertion and decided Catrina could probably run up this hill if she did it a couple of times a day. He wasn’t quite up to that yet.
The path forked towards the cottages one way and down onto a cliff edge path on the other and he realised the crofts had hedges around them for privacy from below.
That was good. He wouldn’t want anybody to be able to peek into Catrina’s house just by walking along the path, but it was a tiny bit disappointing that he couldn’t see any of the buildings up close. Then he rounded a bend and the path snaked up again and as he trekked up the hill he realised they’d come out past the cottages.
Quite ingenious really. At the top they came out onto a little open area with a bench and an ancient telescope that had been cemented into the footpath to look out to sea.
He paused and bent down to peer through it, which was hard with Piper suddenly excited and bouncing on his back, when a voice spoke behind him.
‘I bet Piper is heavier going uphill.’
He could feel the smile on his face as he turned—he hadn’t imagined her.
‘Hello there, Catrina.’
‘Hello, you two, and what are you doing up here in the clouds?’
‘We’ve never been here before. And it’s Piper’s birthday.’
Her face broke into a shining sunbeam of a smile and she stepped closer to drop a kiss on Piper’s cheek. ‘Happy birthday, sweetheart. I hope Daddy made you a cake.’
Piper bounced and crowed.
‘Of course. Though really we made cupcakes with pink princess stickers.’
This time the smile was for him. ‘I wish I could have seen them.’
It felt good to know he’d thought ahead. ‘By a stroke of luck, we do have a spare one in our bag which I’m sure Piper would love to share with you?’ He looked around and considered the logistics of Piper and a cliff edge. Maybe not.
It seemed that Catrina got it in one. ‘It’s too tricky here for a birthday girl. Come back and I’ll show you the croft. We can sit on the balcony; it’s well fenced and safe.’
Trina
TRINA TURNED ON the path and directed them along the other fork back towards her house, beckoning them to follow. Thankfully, facing the other way, Finn couldn’t see the expression on her face. She still couldn’t believe she’d invited them into her home. So blithely. Since when had her bravery suddenly known no bounds?
Well, she could hear Finn’s springing footsteps behind her as she led the way around the loop that led to the cottages again and within seconds they’d popped out onto the road outside the last croft, where Myra and Dr Southwell lived. As they passed the door opened and the older gentleman stepped out.
He smiled when he saw her, and then his face lit up further when he saw who followed her. ‘Trina. And Finn. And Piper. Hello. Delightful. So, you’ve met.’
Trina could feel herself blush. ‘Hello. Yes. At the beach.’ Glancing around for inspiration to change the subject, she added, ‘Lovely day.’ Not only had she invited a man back to her house but she’d been caught in the act. Everyone would know. Dr Southwell wasn’t a gossip but, seriously, Ellie’s father-in-law? Small blinkin’ towns.
Trina blushed again under Dr Southwell’s pleased smile.
‘The weather is super. Love to stay and chat but I’m off to the hospital.’ He waved and strode off.
Trina shrugged off the awkwardness with determination. ‘So that’s who lives next door on this side and my boss, Ellie, and her husband, who happens to be an obstetrician, Dr Southwell’s son, live on the other side.’
He looked around at the three crofts as they came to hers, and paused. ‘You’re well covered for medical help then.’ He smiled a little awkwardly.
‘Never too many in an emergency.’ She smiled back, too concerned with whether she’d left the house tidy before he arrived to worry about trying to read his reaction to her neighbours. She indicated her own front path. ‘Come in. It’s small but compact, much like yours is, I imagine.’
‘Yes. Tiny, but I like it. You’ll have to come and see my renovations.’
Not your etchings? She thought it and smiled to herself. Didn’t risk saying anything in case he heard the amusement in her voice. At least she could be amused by something that she would have run a mile from a month ago. In fact, she could have rubbed her knuckles on her chest. Darn proud of herself, really.
She pushed open the door and was glad she’d opened all the blinds this morning. With everything open the sea seemed to be a part of the room, with all eyes being drawn to the open French windows out onto the little terrace. She gestured him to walk that way.
‘Great view,’ Finn said after a low whistle. ‘That’s really magic.’ He walked slowly to the French windows and absently began to undo Piper’s straps.
Trina came up behind him and undid the other one. ‘Here, let me help.’ She lifted Piper out of the straps and set her down. ‘There’s nothing to climb on. I only keep the swing chair out there and it’s against the house wall. It has to come in when it’s windy.’
Piper crawled straight for the rails and her little hands grabbed on as she pulled herself up. She bounced on the balls of her feet. Finn followed her out and Trina stood back a little and admired them both.
A bouncy, healthy little girl and her gorgeous dad. She wasn’t sure when he’d graduated from attractive to other women to gorgeous for her, but she had to admit he made an admirable picture with his big shoulders and strong back silhouetted against the ocean. His long fingers rested lightly and then the curved muscles in his arms bunched as he gripped the rail for a minute. She wondered what he was thinking about as he stood guard over his daughter, his powerful thighs either side of her as one hand left the rail and brushed her small head.
Then the penny dropped. Piper’s birthday. And his wife had left soon after Piper’s birth. That made this time of year a distressing anniversary as well as a day for celebration for Piper. Tough call. She hadn’t even crawled out of bed on the anniversary of losing Ed.
Why hadn’t he said something yesterday? Then she chastised herself. Why would he share that with a stranger?
She swallowed past the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. ‘Would you two like a cold drink?’ She managed to even her voice. ‘I have a spill-proof cup I use for one of my friend’s daughters.’
‘Piper has her water here, thanks.’ He came back in and bent down to Piper’s pack. Pulled out a little pink pop-top bottle. ‘She’ll use hers.’ Then he pulled out a Ziploc bag. ‘Aha! Here’s your part of Piper’s birthday cake.’
He glanced back at his daughter. ‘Probably best she doesn’t see it as I had no idea she could gobble as many as she did and she’ll be sick if she eats any more.’
Trina nodded and swiped the bag, turning her back to the veranda and opening the seal. She lifted out the little blue-papered cake and admired the rough pink icing and slightly off-centre sticker. ‘It’s magnificent.’
‘Piper put the