Page 22 of The Little Cottage by the Cornish Sea

As the weeks rolled on, so did my belly. It was finally the end of my first trimester and I was a bit anxious about showing up at the maternity shop out of the blue and surprising everyone.

I was officially starting my fourth month now and had been back to see Dr Chenoweth who confirmed I was in my nesting phase.

She said everything was in tip-top shape.

My blood pressure was good and I was gaining weight at the proper rate, which was a miracle in itself with all the food I regularly managed to tuck away.

I had changed my mind about finding out the sex of the baby.

I’d spent my whole pregnancy referring to it as a girl, but it wouldn’t change the way I felt if it turned out to be a boy.

I would leave it as a lovely surprise on my due date.

Things were going well. I was getting very comfortable with my job and Piers always praised my work.

We had our daily cuppa together and gradually got to know each other more and more.

I liked talking to him. And as I got to know him, I realised how charming he really was.

He had this boyish, mischievous attitude mixed with this sheen of a lack of confidence that I found endearing.

He may well have been lord of the manor, but Piers and I were very similar.

We’d been through the same growing pains and had been angry for years.

But we’d managed to move on. We often talked about our similarities.

And yet, there was so much more I was dying to know about him, but a part of him was inaccessible.

‘How long have you lived in the area?’ I asked Piers one day out of the blue while we were having a cup of coffee.

His eyes shot to mine. ‘Why?’

I shrugged. ‘I just wonder how much you know the villagers.’

‘Specifically, which villager?’ he asked.

I looked up to meet his inquisitive, dark eyes.

‘No one specific. Everyone seems to think the world of you.’

‘And I of them,’ he said, beginning to relax.

‘You know, Piers, you remind me of someone.’

He lowered his eyes and chuckled. ‘I get that a lot. You know what they say: seven doppelgangers in the world. Or I guess I just have a very common face.’

Actually, his face was anything but common.

He had a lovely smile and his eyes were the kindest I’d ever seen.

Dark, but twinkling at the same time, set in a lean, expressive face that could slide into a smile as easily as a frown.

I never knew what was coming, and whilst it annoyed me, it also fascinated me.

And under all that millionaire shield, I’d come to learn he was painfully shy.

I actually felt for him when he turned red and began to flounder for words.

Sometimes, I was surprised he didn’t stutter.

‘I get that too,’ I admitted. ‘Do you believe in fate?’

‘Okay, what’s with all the questions?’

‘Oh? I’m sorry, I’m just making conversation.’

‘No, I’m sorry. I’m just a bit on edge today, I guess.’

I opened my mouth to ask why, then rolled my eyes in self-chastisement.

He grinned. ‘Sorry, I don’t want to come across as a tosser.’

‘Oh, you’re so not,’ I assured him. ‘You’ve been so kind to me, a total stranger. All of you here in Starry Cove have. I should have known.’

His eyebrows lifted in a silent question.

‘It’s always in Cornwall that I got treated the best. When I was a girl, my parents used to vacation here. We became chummy with a family, and they had a son about my age. He was the nicest boy I ever met. To this day.’

‘To this day, eh?’ he said expectantly.

I grinned and rolled my eyes. ‘If you’re fishing for a compliment, you’re not getting one.’

He laughed. ‘So who was this bloke, then?’

I laughed at myself. ‘Long story.’

‘I’m listening.’

‘Okay. Well, I was being bullied on the beach. A group of boys knocked my ice cream into the sand, so chased them off and bought me another one. Then he brought me back to my parents and his parents came along and we all became friends. I had this huge crush on him and—’ I stopped short, wondering whether this was an inappropriate thing to discuss with my boss.

‘And?’ he prompted.

‘Nothing. He invited me to become part of his band and we played for a few summers. His name was Banjo. We took pictures of ourselves, thinking it would be cool to look back at when we were rockstars.’

‘That’s cute.’

‘It was a very long time ago and I haven’t heard from him since. He probably left the village years ago.’

‘Many people leave Cornwall. For the life of me, I can’t see why,’ he said. ‘And we are pretty insular here, but once someone becomes one of us, that’s it. Cornwall is like that. Have you still got the picture?’

‘I keep it safe back at home, because it’s the last family picture I ever smiled in.’

His face went soft. ‘How come?’

‘When we got back from holiday… that’s when my mother left.’

‘I’m so sorry.’ He studied me in silence, his face mirroring his voice.

I half-expected him to reach over and hug me.

But that would have been a bit awkward considering that, despite all our deep conversations, we were still firmly in employer-employee territory.

We’d never seen each other off the manor grounds.

Correction: temporary, part-time, lying employee who was going to get the boot the minute the gig was up.

And I was sure whatever he thought of me was very far from what was slowly beginning to stir inside me.

Willingness to trust a bloke again. The enthusiasm of being next to someone new.

Missing them when they’re not around, and almost having a coronary every time he entered the room.

There was no doubt about what was going on inside my heart and mind.

But Piers was way out of my league in every way, and beyond that, it was be hugely inappropriate to come on to my boss.

Perhaps it was time to come to grips with reality and look to settle down with someone more akin to my lifestyle.

Or, even easier, just continue to live my life this way.

I shrugged. ‘Thanks. It was a lifetime ago. I’m a big girl now.’

An awkward silence followed.

‘You’d better get a move on and go home to rest before your lessons start,’ he finally said. ‘And then you have Nina’s transcribing to do, don’t you? You are one busy woman.’

‘I certainly am, but I like it that way,’ I answered, fetching my bag. Work gave me less time to think.

He stood up and stuffed his hands in his pockets. ‘Great. See you tomorrow, Sophie.’

‘See you tomorrow,’ I said and left him sitting on the corner of my desk as he always did whenever he dropped by.

On my way home, I passed what seemed to be an animal fair on the common. There were pens everywhere. Once I veered closer, I could see that there were a large number of dogs, cats, budgies, rabbits and so on.

Without even thinking twice about it, I marched over to the woman who appeared to be in charge.

‘Hello,’ I said. ‘May I see your puppies, please?’

‘Of course,’ she said, delighted. ‘Have you got a particular breed or age in mind?’

‘I’d like the one that’s been waiting for a home the longest.’

She smiled warmly. ‘That’s sweet. Then I would have to say that’s Trixie. She’s a little mutt that no one wants because she cries a lot, I’m afraid.’

There, we already had something in common. ‘I’ll take her, if she’ll have me.’

‘Oh, you kind heart,’ she said. ‘Come this way, please.’

I followed her to a pen where several dogs were on playing around, nipping at each other’s tails and rolling on the grass. In the corner, with the saddest eyes I’d ever seen in my entire life, was Trixie.

She looked up at me, but then looked away, almost turning her back on me. Was I the umpteenth person who’d come to see her but ultimately rejected her? That was not happening again.

‘What happened to her?’ I asked the lady.

‘Her owner abandoned her on the A30 almost a year ago. She was nearly run over.’

‘Oh my God!’ I whispered, reaching down to gently pet furry head.

Her responded coyly, nudging her head further into my hand by the tiniest amount.

‘You’re coming home with me right now,’ I promised her.

‘You’ll get lots of love and good food and a comfy bed.

’ She was so tiny, she’d fit into a serving bowl.

I wondered if she was malnourished. How could anyone do something so horrible to such a sweet, sweet creature like this?

‘Well then, all you have to do is fill out these forms. She’s microchipped and vaccinated but will be needing her follow-ups very soon.’

‘Got it. Have you got a carrier or anything for me to carry her in?’

‘I’ve got a cage,’ the woman volunteered. ‘But you’ll have to bring it back.’

A cage? That was the last thing this little sweetheart needed!

‘No, thank you, I think I’ll just hold her.

’ God knew by the way she was suddenly clinging to me that she craved kindness and human contact.

It made my blood boil to think that some people believed they could get away with such behaviour.

An animal is a living thing that adores its owner.

She would never have abandoned her person. They’re just not built like that.

I lifted Trixie closer to my face and plonked a huge kiss on her head, whispering silly sounds into her ear until she looked up at me.

But her face had not changed expression.

She probably didn’t believe in people anymore.

I could understand that. But not all people were the same, thank God. Look at my new friends.

I filled in the forms one-handed, still cradling Trixie in the other. ‘Okay, I’m ready to take her home now.’

‘Bless you,’ she said. ‘Thank you for your kindness. Trixie’s luck has just changed.’