Pete took another swig of tea. ‘I did wonder if it would affect you.’
Daisy nodded slowly. ‘Me too.’
‘I thought he’d ghosted me and it felt like proof that I was right to be cautious. Then he turned up again, full of apologies, telling me his mum got mugged by some phone gang and he’d dropped everything to be with her in hospital. Blah, blah, he still did it though, right?’
Pete gave a short nod. ‘I remember.’
‘I mean, I’d have done the same if it were Mum, but he disappeared and left me wondering if I’d said something or done something or been too much.’
‘That’s on him, not knowing how to handle it.’
‘Exactly, and now it’s fine, we’ve talked, and I understand, but part of me’s still stuck on that episode. I still think, what if it happens again? What if I let him in properly, something spooks him and he shuts the door and walks away? He isn’t part of the girls. Not really. I haven’t let him get involved with them. He isn’t here for bedtimes or pick-ups or hearing Evie’s latest debate about plaits. I keep him separate.’
Pete frowned. ‘Because you think if he sees it all, he’ll bolt?’
Daisy did an odd half-nod, half-shake. ‘No, not that. It’s not very fair on him to say that. As I said, I’m just wary. For them, more, really. You never know…’
Pete stood and stretched and the chair scraped back across the tiles. He reached for his sunglasses and hooked them onto the neck of his T-shirt. ‘You’ve been through a lot, Daise. You’re allowed to protect what you’ve got, but just don’t forget that some people don’t run when things get a bit real.’
Daisy grimaced. ‘You think I’m sabotaging it?’
‘I think you’re right to be cautious, but I also think Miles isn’t the sort to get scared off from what I’ve seen. He seems quite a decent bloke and as you well know, it takes a lot for anyone to impress me.’
‘Thanks for the shelf and the relationship counselling.’
Daisy opened the inner door and Pete hefted the toolbox in one hand and slung his backpack over his shoulder. Daisy flicked off the lamp on the dresser and followed him through the porch, past a utility cupboard and a row of coat hooks where the twins’ macs were ready for a rain dash. The back door creaked as she opened it and the air outside was sharp and hinted at a change in weather. Pete stepped out flip-flops slapping against the path.
‘You’re going to get chilblains one of these days.’ Daisy pulled her cardigan tighter around her.
‘It will soon be time for my winter ones with the thicker sole before I move onto my fur-lined boots.’ Pete winked.
Passing a row of empty plant pots Daisy hadn’t got around to filling and a little table under the lean-to roof where the twins had left a paper crown, Daisy sighed at the state of the garden. ‘This is my next job after the sitting room and my bedroom.’
Pete stopped at the back gate. ‘No doubt I’m down to work on that, too.’
Daisy laughed. ‘Yup.’
‘Are you still planning to paint the shed this side of Christmas?’ Pete nodded to the weathered boards on the old shed to the left.
‘I’m thinking about it. It depends on how much of a mess the kitchen becomes. I’ll start with a big tidy up out here before the cold weather sets in.’
‘I’d leave it until next year.’
Daisy folded her arms and leant against the gatepost. The lane behind the shop was quiet; a single light glowed in the upstairs window from the bakery, and a cat slunk along the edge of the path, tail twitching. Somewhere down towards the wharf, a gull made a low, bored sound and the waves were loud from the sea.
Pete shifted the toolbox to his other hand and looked at her. ‘You’ll work it out. The thing with Miles, I mean.’
‘Hope so.’
‘Just don’t let the past do all the talking. Learn a thing or two from an old timer like me.’
‘I’m trying to go with the flow.’
Pete reached for the latch on the gate. ‘Do you want me to come by tomorrow and help with those other hooks?’
‘I can do the hooks, thanks.’
Pete opened the gate. ‘Night then, Daise.’
