Page 92 of The Summer Escape

“You always say that. Then you fall asleep in about two minutes flat.”

Beth appeared beside Ellie. “I should get her into bed.” From her tight smile he suspected she was as reluctant as he was to get off the phone. Or maybe he was just seeing what he wanted to see.

“I have no plans for the evening,” he said, nerves twisting his gut. “If you feel like calling me back later.”

“I’d like that,” she said.

“Great.” His relief felt almost palpable. “I’ll talk to you later then. And I’ll talk to you another day, Ellie.”

“Okay.”

He blew her a kiss and the screen turned to a blur of pink as she kissed it in reply.

“Talk to you later,” Beth said, her smile lingering in his mind even after she hung up.

All the stress of the last week vanished and he lay back on the couch with the feeling that the world made sense again.

CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE

As soon as Ellie was tucked up in bed on Friday evening, Beth called Trystan back and they spent the entire evening on a video call. There was no mention of the time since they’d left Scilly. No questions about why she hadn’t been in touch like she’d promised. Talking to him was as easy as it always had been.

She then spent the weekend thinking of him more than ever and wanting to message him about every part of her day. With effort she held out until Sunday, when they exchanged a flurry of messages which spilled over into the beginning of the week. When they spoke on Wednesday evening, Trystan’s question about her plans for the weekend felt loaded.

If it weren’t for the wedding job in Falmouth on Saturday, she was sure she’d have invited him to visit them. Seeing him through the phone screen wasn’t nearly enough.

Beth’s nerves about the wedding steadily increased over the week. She spoke with the couple again to confirm everything, which should have put her mind at ease since they both seemed very relaxed. Nevertheless, having such a long break had shaken her confidence.

On Friday afternoon, Beth fired off a message to Dee reminding her that she’d be on her doorstep at six o’clock in the morning to drop Ellie off. She half expected a reply telling her that Ellie should come for a sleepover to save them all the early morning, but there was no reply at all. It didn’t even seem as though Dee had received the message. Beth waited half an hour before calling Dee’s mobile, and then the house phone. There was no answer on either, and Beth slowly began to panic. It wasn’t like Dee not to pay attention to her phone.

Once Ellie was ready for bed, Beth tried Dee’s mobile again, but it seemed to be switched off. She was probably out somewhere and the battery had died. No doubt she’d call as soon as she got home. The niggling feeling that something was wrong stayed with Beth as she read Ellie’s bedtime story and settled her down for the night.

She was pacing the kitchen when her phone finally rang and she scrabbled to accept the call.

“I’m so sorry,” Dee said in a rush. “I had the afternoon from hell and I only just saw your calls.”

Beth sank onto a chair. “What happened? Where are you? You sound strange.”

“I’m in the children’s hospital with Ferne. We were at the swimming pool this afternoon and she slipped and cracked her head open.”

“Is she okay?”

“She needed a few stitches and they’re keeping her overnight for a suspected concussion.”

“Areyouokay?” Beth asked, trying to focus on Dee while in the back of her mind she was wondering how she’d be able to look after Ellie tomorrow.

“I’ve acquired a few more grey hairs but I’ll survive.”

“Are you staying in the hospital with Ferne tonight?” Beth’s heart was beating faster, knowing there was no way Dee would be able to have Ellie for the day.

“Yes. Hopefully, she’ll be able to go home tomorrow.”

“I hope so,” Beth said, trying to sound sympathetic. “The poor thing.”

“Is there someone else you could ask to look after Ellie tomorrow?”

“Um …” Beth wasn’t sure there was but couldn’t exactly say that. “I can ring around her school friends.

“I’m sorry. Maybe I can ask Hugh to have her if you’re stuck …”