Page 54

A moment later, Claire was gone and theSeptember Rosefelt emptier than it had ever done before.

72

While Daisy had been grateful for Claire’s appearance and knew she needed to ring Bex later in the evening to fill her in, there was one person Daisy couldn’t cope with taking calls from, and that was her mother.

Pippa had left several messages apologising for the way she had acted on Sunday night, but so far Daisy had yet to respond to any of them. It was pride more than anything else. Daisy didn’t want to have to look her mother in the eye and tell her she was right. The relationship was over. She was too immature to make it last. It was silly, really. After all, her mother had been the one who said she should end things, but something about telling her made it all the more real, and Daisy didn’t want to deal with that.

Although the reality hit firmly at five thirty that evening when there was a sharp knock on her door.

When Daisy first moved into Wildflower Lock, any knock on the door would be a surprise. She didn’t know many people other than Yvonne and Theo. And even though Yvonne had moved into a home, meaning she no longer popped her head around the corner to say hello, there were plenty of people who did. A young family had moved into the mooring on theother side of the bridge at the beginning of the year and, as new boat owners, Daisy would regularly find herself embroiled in conversations with them about the transition to life on the canals. In fact, she was normally their first port of call when they wanted to know something. Francis on theGeorgiannaliked to rescue animals and Daisy had gone up in her estimations substantially since she’d adopted Johnny while Elliot, the elderly woodworker, had a permanent mooring though he used his boat as a workshop rather than to live in. Then there were Kate and Nick, who made the amazing quiches and dozens of other people Daisy now considered firm acquaintances if not friends. In terms of who would knock at the door, it could be anyone, and yet something about the knock was immediately recognisable. Daisy’s stomach twisted in knots. She checked her appearance in the mirror, only to decide it didn’t matter that much.

The second she opened the door, Johnny bounded up at her feet. She crouched down to rub behind his ears in the place she knew he loved.

‘Hey, you, are you ready to go for a walkie?’ she said. The dog moved as if to lick her face, but before he could, Daisy stood up and looked at Theo. ‘Thank you for bringing him over.’

‘Yes, well, I needed to drop this stuff off too,’ Theo gestured to the item he had placed on the stern behind him. A large suitcase. ‘There’re still a load more boxes at my place. I’ll move them all over while you’re walking him. I’ll lock up and put the key through the letterbox.’

His voice was so stoic, Daisy barely recognised it.

‘Oh, okay, yes, thank you.’ A dense weight had filled her from the chest down. ‘I hadn’t expected you to get it all sorted so soon.’

‘Like you said, there’s no point delaying things.’

Theo turned to leave, but it was like his body was directly connected to her heart. It was like he was pulling it out of her chest as he moved away from her.

‘Theo,’ Daisy called, unsure what she wanted to say, only knowing that she had to speak his name.

‘What, Daisy?’ He spun back around to face her. ‘What do you want? Do you even know? Because you know what? We were so good. I just want you to know that. Whatever it is you think you’ll find out there, there’s nothing better than what we had together. You’ll be disappointed, you know that, don’t you? You are going to end up regretting this.’

A moment later, he was marching away. The minute she closed the door, her knees buckled. As she remained there, crumpled on the ground next to Johnny, she whispered in the dog’s ear.

‘It’s best in the long run,’ she said. ‘We need to remember that, right, boy? It’s better for us all in the long run.’

73

After her walk with Johnny, Daisy headed straight to theNarrow Escapeto return him to Theo for the rest of the night. That was what their routine was going to be, and she wanted to get into it as quickly as possible, for Johnny’s sake as well as hers.

Theo was already waiting on the stern, so Daisy didn’t even have to go into the boat. There were no exchanges of words this time. No hard truths that he wanted her to hear. Instead, he simply took Johnny’s leash and led him back inside. That was it.

Whether it was easier not speaking or not, Daisy didn’t know, but when she returned to theSeptember Roseto find several more bags and boxes sitting just inside the door and Theo’s key to the boat in her letterbox, still attached to the little wooden keyring she’d bought him, she knew she couldn’t stay in Wildflower Lock, knowing that Theo was just across the water from her. Not this soon. So twenty minutes after returning, she was back out in her car, heading towards Bex’s. She had already set an alarm for the morning. She doubted she’d be in any fit state to work if she spent all night tossing and turning and didn’t get any sleep, which she was certain would happen if she stayedonthe September Rose. Hopefully this way, sharing Bex’s bed with her, she’d get a couple of hours. That was the plan at least, although when she arrived at the apartment building, it was a different face she saw waiting outside.

‘Daisy?’ Ezra’s face lit up with a broad smile. ‘I wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon.’

‘Hey. Hey, Bruno,’ Daisy said.

Daisy took a deep breath in and forced herself to smile. She wasn’t sure which was harder, looking at Bruno or looking at Ezra, but she decided to go for the former. The dog’s tail wagged excitedly, although he looked behind her, as if he were searching for his friend. Reading his pet’s expression, Ezra spoke.

‘Where’s Johnny?’

‘Johnny is with my… my ex,’ Daisy said. If she’d thought the word ‘fiancé’ was hard to say, getting the word ‘ex’ out felt like trying to speak with daggers in her throat.

‘Ex? What happened?’ Ezra asked. ‘No, sorry, you don’t need to answer that. It’s none of my business. You’re here to see your friend?’

Daisy nodded.

‘Well, don’t let me keep you.’

He moved as if he were going to walk away, and yet he barely reached the edge of the pavement when he stopped and turned to look at her.