Page 111 of A Letter to the Last House Before the Sea

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Four months later

A winter storm was due any time, according to Claude, who seemed to be better at predicting the weather than the Met Office.

Fortunately, at the moment it was bright and blustery. But Cora Head was exposed and Lettie huddled against Corey, who put his arms around her and pulled her close. The wind was whipping at her legs, and gulls squawked as they were buffeted by the strong currents. Ahead of them, the grey sea was flecked with white crests.

Lettie snuggled further into Corey’s coat and thought about everything she still had to do that day. Her parents would be arriving for Christmas at the weekend, and Daisy and her family too. Lettie couldn’t wait to see them even though her parents staying with her in Claude’s holiday let would be a squeeze. It was a good job that Daisy had rented a cottage in the village for her, Jason and the kids.

But they’d all get together for a traditional meal at Lettie’s on Christmas Day, and Claude and Esther had been invited too. With them and Corey and Florence as well, Christmas Day was going to be manic and they’d probably end up eating in shifts at the small kitchen table, but it would be so good to see them all.

Lettie did miss them. Well, maybe not the shopping trips and endless babysitting. But her new life in Heaven’s Cove kept her too busy to dwell on the distance between them.

It was all go these days, partly thanks to the brand new Heaven’s Cove Cultural Centre she was setting up at the village hall, next to the tourist office. Claude had been so delighted to discover that Lettie was staying after all, he’d agreed to her request to put his archives on display. And he was getting quite excited about the centre’s grand opening that was planned for the spring, in time for a new influx of ‘outsiders’.

Added to that, Lettie was also studying Devon history part-time, and working three days per week in customer care for a local business selling stationery. Talking about box files and paperclips wasn’t thrilling, but changing your life took time – and she was doing pretty well already. Her family were also getting used to her being almost two hundred miles away and were managing just fine.

‘Are you OK, Letts?’ whispered Corey, as Florence stepped forward to inspect the wooden bench that had just been delivered. It had been placed to overlook the sea and a brass plaque had been attached to it: In loving memory of Iris Starcross, who never forgot Cornelius Allford or Heaven’s Cove.

‘I’m absolutely fine.’ Lettie stood on tiptoe and kissed the tip of Corey’s nose, before calling across to the elderly woman who had become so dear to her over the last few months. ‘How are you, Florence?’

Florence ran her fingers across the plaque and smiled at Lettie. ‘I’m fine, too, because all is as it should be.’

She was right, but there was one more thing to do. In his letter, Cornelius had asked Iris to ‘Take every chance to be happy, but throw a flower into the sea and think of me sometimes.’ Moving away from Corey, Lettie pulled a single yellow rose from the bag slung across her body and walked close to the edge of the cliff. When she threw the flower towards the ocean, the wind took it and carried it out far beyond the land. It danced in the breeze as it swirled down, down and into the churning water.

Lettie returned to the man she loved and gazed out across the sea which reflected the pale washed blue of the sky. It felt as if the past had come full circle as she stood here, in Corey’s arms, with Iris’s necklace safe beneath the thick wool of her coat.

Thank you, Iris and Cornelius, she said in her head, with the sound of seagulls above her and the faint bustle of Heaven’s Cove below. The key to your heart turned out to be the key to mine.