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‘Daniel,’ he says.
‘Lucy. And this is Billie.’
‘Nice to meet you both,’ Daniel says. ‘Particularly as you have a tow bar.’
‘A lot more useful than shining armour.’
‘Ah.’ He nods sagely. ‘Another damsel-in-distress reference. I’m guessing you’re the knight.’
‘That’s right,’ Lucy says. ‘So you’d better tell me where the castle is, Goof, so we can see you safely home.’
‘Goof?’
She glances at his hand.
His mouth twitches. ‘You know the workshop behind Penleith Beach?’
‘Thatplace?’
‘What about it?’
‘It’s virtually falling down.’
‘Thanks. I just leased it.’
‘Then I hope you didn’t pay too much. It’s the biggest eyesore in Skentel.’
‘What about the tumble-down house on the Point?’ Billie asks. ‘That one’s pretty bad.’
Daniel turns in his seat. ‘I’m going tobuythat tumble-down house one day.’
‘Oh yeah? What for?’
‘To live in, of course.’
They reach Skentel as the sun lights a fire in the western sky. Carefully, Lucy bumps down the track to Penleith Beach. At the bottom, she pulls up outside the workshop and they disconnect the trailer.
‘I’ve got a barbecue inside,’ Daniel says. ‘Needs a clean,but it won’t take long. How about I cook you both a couple of steaks as a thank-you?’ He lifts his bandaged hand. ‘I mean, I get this isn’t exactly a badge of competence, but I make a killer peppercorn sauce.’
‘Can we, Mum?’
Lucy winces. It’s been fun – if she’s honest, it’s been more than that – but this is definitely the end point. ‘Sorry, missy. Mummy’s out with Jake tonight. We’ve got to hand you over to the babysitter.’
‘Gotcha,’ Daniel says.
He grins, but he can’t hide his disappointment. When Lucy’s stomach tightens, she can’t figure out if it’s pleasure or guilt.
A week later she splits with Jake. A silly argument graduates into something larger, and eventually becomes an exit opportunity. It’s horrible and it’s sad and it’s also inevitable – because for seven days straight she hasn’t stopped thinking about Daniel Locke.
She hates herself for doing it. But Jake deserves someone who loves him completely and her recent preoccupation rules her out. More selfishly, she’s twenty-eight years old with a nine-year-old daughter. Time and again, she’s proved she doesn’t need a man to survive this world. So it either has to be the full lightshow or nothing at all.
Two days after the split, she’s taking Billie for that barbecue on Penleith Beach. A month later, Lucy’s more in love with Daniel Locke than she’d ever thought possible. Not just the full lightshow but the accompanying orchestra and choir. It’s scary and dangerous and she’s never felt anything like it. For the first time since Billie’s birth, her heart is equally divided. Two years after that, it divides in three.
Blink, and more time rattles by. And now she’s standingoutside Fin’s room in their rented end terrace behind Skentel’s main street. Daniel sits in a rocking chair beside the cot. To his chest he cradles Fin, a tiny scarlet mass. Their son’s breaths grow weaker by the moment.
‘What’s his temperature now?’ asks a voice in Lucy’s ear.
‘Forty degrees,’ she says, gripping the phone tighter. ‘Please, send an ambulance. Quick as you can.’