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‘I’m not exactly an experienced driver,’ she said, ‘and to be honest, I don’t know when I’m going to next take myself out for a ride. But don’t worry, I’ll take you out with me as soon as I can.’

‘That’s a deal, and I’m holding you to it.’

The pair chuckled.

‘Okay, well, I’d better go. I need to see if I can track Maud down. I don’t know how long she’s back in town for, and the last thing I want to do is miss her.’

‘No worries. Ben’s got Hope tomorrow, right? So, I’ll see you at the shop. Did you want me to open up?’

Holly was about to say no, that it was fine, and she could do it, but early in the morning seemed like a great time to catch Maud if she was having breakfast at the hotel. It might be better than ringing so late at night, too. Knowing Maud, she was probably out, catching up with people. Yes, breakfast sounded a much better option.

‘If you could do that, it would be great.’

‘No worries, see you tomorrow. Love you.’

‘You too.’

Holly arranged with Ben that she would drop Hope off at his house. It wasn’t the normal way they did things, but she was planning on driving to see Maud, and it seemed silly not to drop Hope off at the same time.

‘Any exciting plans this morning?’ Holly asked Ben as she handed Hope over to him.

‘Oh, you know us,’ he replied nonchalantly. The fact was, she did know him. And she knew that their day would be full of planned activities, from water play in the garden, a visit to the soft play centre if the weather was bad, or a trip out on the back of his bicycle around the Slaughters if he felt like traveling a bit further. Ben was one of those parents who made Holly feel like she was never doing enough, though on the positive side, they were parenting the same child, which meant Holly didn’t feel that guilty about lazy days with Hope either.

‘Everything okay?’ Ben said. ‘Caroline said she’s opening up for you this morning.’

‘Since when did you and Caroline speak to each other constantly?’ Holly asked with a genuine curiosity. First Jamie’s situation and now this. It wasn’t that the pair hadn’t beenfriends, but she’d never realised they were the type of friends that rang each other. At least they weren’t when she and Ben had been together.

‘Since she and Michael have been trying to get a new mortgage,’ he replied. ‘She rings me nearly every evening. I’ve even got a special ringtone for her now, so I’m warned that it’s her before I see it.’

Holly laughed. ‘I’m going to tell her that this afternoon.’

‘You wouldn’t?’ Ben’s face quickly paled.

‘Depends on how good a mood I’m in.’ She winked.

36

As Holly parked up outside the Little Lodge, she couldn’t help but feel another flicker of guilt. After all, having absconded Maud, and not been there in anticipation of her call at the shop, Holly was now invading her privacy at the hotel. She could only hope her friend understood that life had been a little more hectic this week than expected.

Holly pushed open the door to the restaurant, the bell jingling above her.

‘You right there, love?’ The man behind the bar smiled. ‘Can I help you?’

Holly scanned the space. ‘Yes, I’m looking for my friend. She was staying here last night. Actually, she’s been staying here for a few nights, I think. I was just hoping I could come and see her. Have breakfast with her, you know.’

He frowned.

‘Breakfast is for residents only.’

‘Yes, yes, I know that.’ Holly worked quickly to reword herself. ‘I didn’t mean that I was going to eat breakfast with her. I meant that maybe I could sit with her while she was eating herbreakfast. I just want to catch up. She’s only visiting for a few days, you see.’

The man’s frowned deepened, as if Holly was secretly trying to do him out of a dozen miniature jars of Tiptree jam. Finally, he nodded over to the dining area.

‘Suppose you can. Staying by herself, is she?’

Holly nodded.

‘Then she’s not come down yet. Only people down this time are families. You want me to ring the room?’