It was Sunday morning and Nell had been up since the crack of dawn scrutinising her bank accounts, savings and generally looking over her outgoings, which were next to nothing these days.
The sale of the picture house had got her excited about life again. There was nothing stopping her from making an offer on the place; the funds were accessible, with the added bonus of her own savings – all she had to do was win that auction. Nell knew she’d been sitting on Ollie’s insurance for a while, waiting for something meaningful to come along, and in her heart she knew this was it. If she managed to pull this off, it was an opportunity to make something of her life as well as honouring Ollie’s memory.
Forty minutes later, with her bag swung over her shoulder, she’d decided to go for a walk and call in on her mum for a cup of tea. She was surprised to see Guy already pottering about in the boat shed, especially this early on a Sunday. The huge doors were pulled back and he was happily blacking the hull of one of the narrowboats, which had come in for painting. She could hear him whistling along to the radio and Sam was quite happily sniffing around the boatyard. Guy stood back to admire his work and wiped his brow. He must have sensed that someone was watching him because suddenly he swung round and locked eyes with Nell. He smiled, wiped his hands on a rag and strolled over towards her.
‘Good morning, you’re looking lovely,’
‘You sound genuinely surprised,’ she teased.
‘Ha, you always look lovely. Are you off anywhere nice this bright and early?’
It was the first time Nell had bothered to put on a full face of make-up for as long as she could remember. She’d decided it was time to make the effort with herself and she’d definitely felt a spring in her step since Guy had come on to the scene.
‘Why, thank you,’ she answered, stuffing her hands deep in her pocket, ‘Just off to Mum’s. I’ve been going through all my finances, looking at every scenario and generally squealing with excitement into my morning cuppa. Just look at that place,’ she swung her head towards the picture house. ‘I’m going to do everything in my power to win that auction and re-open that place. Eek!’ Aware that she was babbling, she smiled and snapped her mouth shut, ‘Look at me going on and on.’
Guy looked mildly amused.
‘Fire in your belly, that’s what that is!’ he grinned.
‘Forgive me, I’ve not even asked, how’s Ed?’
‘Home, driving me insane. This morning, would you believe, he wanted to come into the yard and sit in the office, for company, he said, but I know he just wanted to keep a close eye on me and his yard.’
‘And you told him …’
‘No! He needs to take it easy. That’s what I’m here for, to take away the stress until he fully recuperates. I have to say, though, I’m quite enjoying it. It’s very therapeutic painting boats and generally getting my hands dirty.’
‘Once Little Rock is under your skin, it’s definitely hard to shake it off.’
They both stared out across the marina.
‘I can’t imagine living anywhere else, I mean, look at that view, it’s like something out of a romance novel, tranquil, peaceful, great ambience, shops and, not forgetting, great people. I’ve always loved it here.’
‘It rather does, doesn’t it?’ Guy agreed with a smile.
‘It rather does what?’ Nell asked in wonderment, losing the thread of the conversation.
‘Have great people.’ Guy’s eyes locked with hers and Nell felt the beam creep over her face. ‘Don’t you forget that, Mr Cornish.’
‘I’ve no intention of forgetting that,’ he said with a twinkle in his eye.
At that particular moment, Nell leant forward, her eyes briefly lowered to his lips but she swiftly kissed him on his cheek, leaving Guy taken by surprise. His skin had felt soft and she smiled to herself. Her heart was fluttering as she turned and strolled up the wharf.
Nell could feel Guy watching her as she walked away and she smiled at him over her shoulder. Once she was out of sight her nerves sprang back into action as she carried on walking towards Bluebell Cottage. Her mind flitted back to her mother’s reaction regarding the picture house, which the more she thought about it, the odder it seemed. Her mum had always supported her in everything she did, so why was this time different? It was almost as if her mum had got something against the renovation of the Old Picture House? Maybe it was just concern about taking on such a big project so soon after Ollie’s death. But, after the unbearable sense of loss in her life, Nell felt that this was the way forward, a project she could really get her teeth into. The excitement made her body surge just thinking about. She just hoped her mum would get behind her once she realised how serious she was and then Nell would know that this was the right thing to do.