Page 3 of September’s Tide (Island Tales #2)

He shook his head as he watched the passing scenery.

He hadn’t been sure what to expect, but so far the island seemed no different to the areas he’d passed through on the train.

There were lots of houses, traffic… And then after about fifteen minutes they passed through an area of little cottages with thatched roofs, images he’d long associated with an England of long ago. David’s jaw dropped.

“Are there many places like this?” he wanted to know, his gaze drinking in the quaint old houses with their country gardens. It reminded him of a British detective series he’d caught on cable a few years ago.

What was its name? Oh yeah. Midsomer Murders .

Vanessa chuckled. “If you like this, you’ll love Godshill.

It’s a little village that looks like it belongs on the lid of a box of chocolates, or an old-fashioned jigsaw puzzle.

We get tourists flocking there all through the season, usually in coaches that block the roads and get the locals complaining bitterly. ”

“Are you a local?”

She beamed. “Born and bred. My family date from way back. Proper caulkheads.”

David frowned. “Corkheads?” He struggled to get his tongue around the word.

“That’s what we call people who were born on the island. Those who move here from the mainland are called overners.”

David was fascinated, even though jet lag was seriously kicking his ass.

Once they had left the pretty houses behind, the road wound through an area of green fields and hills, where David could glimpse the sea beyond.

As they rounded a corner he gazed to his left, and the view almost took his breath away.

In the distance a bay curved round to end in white cliffs.

The sea was so calm that the cliffs were reflected in its still waters.

“This is a beautiful place,” he murmured. The sunlight sparkled on the water, and David could make out sailboats, their sails brilliant splashes of white in the afternoon sun. The road dipped and twisted, and it seemed to David that around every corner there was something to draw the eye.

“We think so,” Vanessa said quietly. David could hear the pride in her voice.

They passed through a little town that seemed more run down than the previous ones.

“This is your nearest town, Ventnor. It has everything you need—a couple of supermarkets, two chemists, a couple of pubs, even an Indian restaurant.”

David nodded as he picked out the supermarket on the corner. “Great. By the way, why would I wanna know about chemists living here?”

She let out another chuckle. “We say chemists, you say pharmacy.”

He shook his head. It really was like learning a whole new language.

“How far are we from the house?”

“About five minutes by car, but you could walk it, if you felt so inclined.”

And now the houses changed. Gone were the smaller semidetached houses that were so abundant nearer to Ryde.

Instead, these were larger, with huge, elaborate gardens and long driveways, giving a much more affluent feel to the neighbourhood.

Everywhere there was green. Compared to the built-up area of central New York where his apartment building was located, this was heaven.

Vanessa turned left into a little road. David chortled when he saw the name of it.

“Love Lane? Really?” To the right he could see an expanse of green, dotted with men in white pants and sweaters, playing cricket. People lazed on the slopes of the cricket ground, applauding lazily.

This is so surreal .

The road narrowed to a single lane. At the end of it, Vanessa drove the little car into a parking space and turned off the engine.

“Here we are.”

David looked around. All he could see was the back of some houses, and a hedgerow.

As he climbed out of the car, he picked up a sound, low and persistent, which reminded him of the wind through trees.

Then it hit him. It was the sound of the ocean.

Vanessa opened the trunk, and he lugged out his case, the backpack already over his shoulder. “Where now?”

“This is as close as you can get by car,” Vanessa explained as she locked the car and handed David the keys.

“The owner’s manual is in the glove box, along with the rental agreement, and it’s keyless entry.

All you do is depress the clutch and the brake as you turn that knob.

” She pointed to a small black knob to the right of the steering wheel.

“You’ve seen how to open and close the roof.

And to lock it, just press the tiny button below the door handles.

” David tried to follow what she was saying, but his huge yawn cut out her words.

Vanessa regarded him with amusement. “I think you need to put your head down and get some rest.” She led him towards three steps that merged onto a path.

“You might find it tricky getting down the steps with that suitcase.” She pointed to her left.

“These are quite steep and lead straight to the end of the cove where the Lighthouse is situated. But that way”—she indicated the path to her right—“is a more gradual slope with a steep bit at the end. That brings you out at the other end of the cove, near the Beach Shack café.” She eyed the suitcase speculatively.

“I’d say we take the sloping path.” David bobbed his head in acknowledgment and followed her lead, pulling the case behind him.

The path was steep to begin with but evened out after a little while. But the last part David had to go very carefully until at last he stood on level ground. To his right were the grey-painted walls of a café, but dead ahead was the sea, the waves rolling in to crash onto the rocks beyond.

That sound…

Vanessa went off to the left and David followed, his sneakers crunching on a path of sand and pebbles.

He could see the little bay to his right, a horseshoe of sand and shingle surrounded by huge rocks, the tide high and breaking over them dramatically.

All he could hear was the sea. Then he yawned.

The sightseeing could wait another day. His ass was really dragging.

Vanessa pointed to a white-painted house on the left, with Cove Cottage painted on its tall gate. “That’s my house. So if you need anything, I’m not far away.”

David nodded absently. His attention was claimed by the building at the end of the cove that he recognized from his folder.

He followed Vanessa along the path, hardly noticing the rest of the scenery as he focused on the house.

She opened the gate in the white picket fence and led him onto the decking and up to an arched glass door.

A glass-topped table surrounded by four chairs stood in the corner of the deck, and two Adirondack chairs sat by a large floor-to-ceiling window.

“The house actually sleeps six, so you’ll have plenty of room.

There’s a bedroom with bunkbeds, a double room, and a master bedroom up in the turret.

” She unlocked the door, and they stepped across the threshold into a kitchen.

David was struck immediately by the light in the place.

White walls, lots of windows… It gave the building a feeling of space.

The kitchen area came with a large round dining table directly in front of him, and a living room area to the left. The large window he’d seen from the outside took up most of the living room, which comprised a corner sofa that offered a view across the cove.

“This is great,” David murmured. He could already see himself being very comfortable here.

“Let me give you a quick rundown of the place, then I’ll leave you to get some rest. You must be really tired by now.”

Vanessa showed him through the door beyond the living room into the two bedrooms. The end one came with bunk beds and the middle room had a cute bed built into the space.

A door led from the living room into a tiny room containing a toilet and shower.

The kitchen looked like it had everything he’d need, including a dishwasher.

“Is there somewhere to do my laundry?”

Vanessa opened a door to reveal a washing machine and what looked like a small freezer, fitting snugly in the space under the stairs.

“The master bedroom is upstairs.” Vanessa led him up the narrow steep staircase that followed the curved wall of the building, a small bookshelf on the right.

When he reached the top, David gasped.

The room filled the turret, with windows virtually all the way around.

There was a shower room and a huge wardrobe, but the room was dominated by the large bed—and the view.

All he could see was the sky, so breathtakingly blue that it hurt the eye.

Vanessa opened one of the windows and the room was filled with the sound of the sea as the waves crashed onto the rocks that surrounded the spit of land on which the house was situated.

David imagined going to sleep with the gentle sound of the waves below his window.

He turned to Vanessa. “This is perfect.”

Her smile widened. “I’m glad you like it.” She handed him the keys. “Because for the next month, it’s all yours.”

David grinned as he took them. He glanced at the view.

The whole cove stretched out before him, with its dramatic backdrop of trees covering the cliffs that rose up above it.

He looked toward the beach where numerous families played on the sand.

Little kids clambered over the rocks, nets in hand, obviously searching for rock pools and their inhabitants.

His eye was drawn to a lone figure swimming out in the bay.

He could just about make out that it was a man in a wetsuit, wearing a snorkelling mask.

David watched as the man dived beneath the waves, only to resurface moments later.

He seemed to be at one with the water, his movements graceful and fluid.

“Christ, is that guy half seal, or what?” David muttered. Behind him, he heard Vanessa cross the wooden floor to stand beside him and peer out.

She chuckled. “You’re not far off, actually. That’s Taylor Monroe. He owns Cove Kayaks here in the bay. He hires out canoes, boards, wetsuits, stuff like that.” She shook her head. “I think that boy’s spent most of his life in the water.”

David watched for a few moments longer as the young man dived and swam.

David envied him. He loved swimming but never seemed to find either the time or the inclination to make it as far as his nearest pool.

He took the occasional dip at his gym, but the pool there was small and David was more concerned with the weights room.

Vanessa headed down the stairs and David dragged himself away from the view to follow her. She gave the place one last look and then held out her hand. David shook it firmly.

“Thank you. If I have any difficulties, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

Vanessa bobbed her head in acknowledgment. “You’ll find my number in a folder in the kitchen. Don’t hesitate to call if you need me.” She grinned. “Although you may find it easier to simply come over to the house. Phones don’t work too well down here, and as for the Internet…”

David let her words sink in. No phone. No Internet. No contact with the world he’d left behind.

He smiled.

“That’s the best news I’ve had all day.”

Juliet was a goddamn genius.