Return to Port Agnes by Jo Bartlett

Author:Jo Bartlett [Bartlett, Jo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fabrian Books
Published: 2019-07-31T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

‘Woah, it’s starting to get really windy out there.’ Ella shut the back door of her parents’ cottage as she came into the kitchen. It was almost October and the leaves had been dancing on the breeze when she was out walking with Daisy the dog. The bakery shut by three on Saturday afternoons and her mum was sitting at the kitchen table, soaking her feet in a bowl, with a cheese and pickle sandwich on the table in front of her: Ruth Mehenick was planning to relax.

‘I know. Morag Taylor came in for a white cob and said one of her fence panels had blown into her husband’s koi pond. It was a proper to-do apparently.’

‘Were the fish okay?’ Ella laughed. What passed for drama in Port Agnes usually sounded like something out of a nineteen-seventies’ situation comedy. No wonder the town had made the most of her fifteen minutes of fame.

‘Apparently they’re in the bath tub whilst John sorts out the damage. Morag’s got to go next door if she wants a shower.’

‘We should count ourselves lucky then.’ Ella grinned. ‘Where’s Dad?’

‘He’s next door talking to Brae.’ Her mother paused for a moment, searching Ella’s face. ‘And he’s got Weller with him.’

‘What?’ Ella pulled out a chair, suddenly feeling an overwhelming need to sit down before she fell down. The idea that Weller was in Port Agnes was shocking enough, but the fact he was with her father - and apparently still breathing - was far more of a surprise.

‘He turned up just as we were closing up for the day. I thought your dad was going to bust a blood vessel at first. When they came out here, whilst I was serving the last of the customers, I was worried I was going to come through and find Weller knocked out cold. Then your dad walked back into the shop, with Weller following him, and announced they were both going next door to see Brae.’

‘Why on earth would Dad take him to see Brae?’ If her mother’s cheese and pickle sandwich had suddenly morphed into a Victoria sponge, she’d hardly have been more surprised.

‘He probably wants Weller to see that you’ve moved on, by introducing him to your new boyfriend. It’ll save him getting any ideas about winning you back.’

‘I have moved on, Mum, but not with Brae. How many times do I have to tell you we’re just friends? Brae’s happy with that, so why can’t you be?’

‘Your dad and I were friends at first. That’s all I’m saying.’

‘I’ve got to get next door before Dad makes things even worse than he already has.’ Ella got back on her feet, her mind racing at a hundred miles an hour. What the hell did Weller want anyway? He’d hated visiting Port Agnes even when they were together. Unlike her mother, Ella was certain of one thing: Weller wasn’t here to say he’d made a mistake. She’d looked into his eyes on the steps of the registry office and he’d meant every word.

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