Page 67 of Second Chance Summer
‘But I can’t stay in your home!’
‘Yes, you can,’ he said, determined that nothing else would go wrong. ‘Pack your bag now. We’re leaving.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Lily felt it was strange to be spending the night at Sam’s home, though she wasn’t going to object again because the appearance of the intruder had genuinely spooked her. Someone had it in for her, enough to make a difficult landing on the island and risk being seen.
Elspeth was waiting on the quayside when they arrived, and hugged Lily tightly.
‘Oh, you poor thing!’ she said, while Sam tied up. ‘Sam says you’ve had a terrible fright.’
‘It was just a scare. I’m OK.’ Still cringing with embarrassment, Lily was determined to downplay her encounter, especially with islanders hanging around the quayside, their interest piqued by Elspeth’s display of concern.
‘I can’t think who would be stupid enough to try such a thing. It’s sick!’
‘They probably think it’s funny.’
‘Well, I don’t. Come on, I brought Sam’s car down for you so you don’t have to walk.’
Lily was mortified. She could manage the fifteen-minute walk to Hell Bay House. People would think she was a real diva, expecting to be chauffeur-driven such a short distance.
‘That’s very kind but, honestly, I wasn’t hurt. Whoever it was rushed away pretty fast when they saw me.’
‘Well, you jump in the car anyway,’ Elspeth said, walking with her to the Land Rover. ‘We’ll drive down there together.’
Sam joined them. ‘I’ll be along in a bit. I need to have a word with Aaron about the electrician,’ he said.
Elspeth drove, insisting Lily sit in the back, like royalty. Minutes later, she was walking into Hell Bay House. She couldn’t help but wonder if Rhiannon had stayed or even lived here with Sam before she’d left. Lily still only knew the barest details: that Rhiannon had departed suddenly, with no explanation that Lily could fathom.
Elspeth walked into the house, calling, ‘Morven! Are you here?’
Oh, God, Morven. Lily had forgotten she’d be invading the girl’s home as well as Sam’s.
‘I’m in here,’ Morven called. ‘Working.’
Elspeth marched into the lounge, with Lily dragging her feet behind. ‘We have a guest tonight. Lily’s staying over …’
Morven sprang up from the sofa, her iPad slipping onto the rug.
‘Why’s she staying here?’ The girl stared at Lily as if she’d landed from Mars.
‘Sam invited Lily,’ Elspeth said angrily. ‘She’s had a bad experience on Stark.’
Morven retrieved her iPad and wrinkled her nose as if she’d found a large spider on the carpet. ‘What kind of bad experience?’
‘Someone’s been leaving messages and hanging around Tean Porth,’ Lily said.
Elspeth faced up to her great-niece. ‘You wouldn’t know anything about it, would you?’
Morven scoffed, ‘Why would I know anything about it? Why does everyone think I’m involved whenever shitty stuff happens?’
Grabbing her tablet, she dodged past Elspeth and skulked out of the French doors.
Elspeth closed her eyes in despair. ‘I am so sorry about that. She’s so awkward these days, neither of us know what to do with her.’
‘It must be tough with her dad away,’ Lily said, trying to summon up some empathy.
Elspeth sighed. ‘It’s awful for her. I wish I could get my hands on Nathan and show him the damage he’s doing to his daughter by keeping her in suspense all this time. Poor Sam is having to bear the brunt of it … Still, at least she’s said she doesn’t know anything about the mystery intruder, that’s something.’
