Page 80 of Second Chance Summer
Sam grabbed his aunt’s arm to steady her when she stumbled on the steep path. Behind them, Lily could see the search party from the gig crew in matching hi-vis vests.
‘Oh, shit,’ Morven muttered. ‘I didn’t think it would cause this much trouble.’
‘People do care,’ Lily said, wanting to point out that ‘it’ involved a young girl vanishing on a deserted island in the middle of the night.
‘Morven! Oh, you silly,sillygirl! I can’t tell you what I’ve been imagining!’
Elspeth flung herself on Morven, hugging her niece so hard that she had to beg to be released so she could breathe. Sam stood by, stony-faced, though Lily had a strong feeling he was holding back tears.
‘Where have you been?’ Elspeth cried, still holding the girl. ‘Don’t tell me you rowed over here on your own in thedark? Oh, I’m so glad you’re safe but why did you do such a stupid thing? Didn’t you know we’d be out of our minds with worry? Sam’s been beside himself.’
The flow of words left little chance for Morven to respond other than in grunts.
Finally, Elspeth released her.
Morven looked at Sam and said: ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done it.’
‘Then why did you?’ he said, before slipping his arm around her shoulders. ‘Come on. Let’s go to the flat and you can get warm and have something to eat. We can talk about this later.’
‘Have you called Dad?’ she asked.
‘I had to,’ Sam said.
She groaned. ‘Oh, God. What did he say? Was he worried?’
‘He was terrified,’ Sam said. ‘I haven’t seen him cry since Grandpa died.’
Morven burst into tears herself and hugged Sam. ‘Please don’t say he’s coming home?’ she cried. ‘I don’t w–want him to come home because of this. That’s not why I did it. I don’t want to force him. I want him to come back because he chooses to.’
Sam patted her back. ‘I know, sweetheart. Look, I need to get a message to him to say you’re safe. You dry off and have a drink while I do that, then we’ll go home and you can speak to him yourself.’
He caught Lily’s eye over Morven’s shoulder and mouthed, ‘Thank you.’
Fighting back her own tears of relief, Lily said, ‘I’ll look after the search party. I bet everyone would love to be out of this rain.’
‘Good idea,’ Sam said.
Lily could see his shoulders relaxing and the tension ebbing from his taut features.
Elspeth took Morven’s hand. ‘Come on, trouble. I’ll make you hot chocolate.’
A couple of hours later, the four of them were back at Hell Bay. The search team had dispersed to their day jobs, while Sam and Morven were on FaceTime to Nate. Lily had managed to have a very brief word with Sam and had passed on what Morven had told her about wanting to do Fine Art at university.
‘It’s really none of my business but I thought you ought to know.’
‘Thank you for finding her and for persuading her to talk.’
‘It was hardly a heart-to-heart but at least she’s ready to say what she wants.’
Lily decided to give the family space, heading off to a belated meet-up with Penny to discuss the arrangements for the craft fair. Along the way, she battled pangs of guilt that she’d become so invested in someone else’s family yet had drifted so far from her own.
Her journey stirred up other troubling thoughts too: she saw posters on walls and outside the post office, declaring that she was the ‘VIP Guest’ at the Scilly Summer Craft Fair.Morven’s words came back to her, even though they’d been retracted:It’s all about you.
Lily didn’t want the event to be all about her; far from it. She’d only agreed because Penny had said it would help get people through the door. However, it had also meant she had the perfect excuse to stay a little longer, to see her family – and have a few more days in Sam’s company.
‘Hello! Over here!’
Penny was waiting outside the community centre.
