Coming Home to Ottercombe Bay: The laugh out loud romantic comedy of the year. Bella Osborne

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СКАЧАТЬ sipped his pint. ‘Shame I missed her though. I expect she’s off on her travels again soon.’

      ‘Yeah, I guess but Reg has left her the old railway station if she stays.’ He sat back in his seat and watched Jason’s reaction. Jason sat up straight. ‘I thought that might interest you.’

      ‘Like I said I always liked her. It would be lovely if she moved back here permanently.’

      Max grinned. ‘I meant I thought the old railway station might interest you.’

      Jason went a bit pink round the edges. ‘Oh, well, yes. You know I’m an enthusiast, that goes without saying.’

      ‘She’s got a box of old train stuff, heavy old metal signs, that sort of thing. If you run you’ll catch her up. I doubt she’s got far lugging that lot and a full toolbox.’

      Jason looked concerned. ‘You left her to carry it all?’

      ‘Like I said she’s a stroppy mare.’

      Jason took a couple of large glugs of his half pint of shandy and stood up. ‘You amaze me sometimes, Max.’ He shook his head as he left.

      ‘Two stroppy mares in one night,’ he muttered to himself. He finished the last of Jason’s drink and pulled a face. ‘How does he drink this crap?’

      Daisy was grateful for having the lamppost to rest the boxes against but she knew she had to press on. She’d calmed down now; the boxes were unbelievably heavy and she was regretting getting cross with Max. She could have done with a hand lugging them back to Aunt Coral’s. She wished she’d arranged for Tamsyn’s dad to come back and collect his toolbox – hindsight was a wonderfully annoying thing.

      She took a deep breath and lifted up the load again and set off with a purposeful stride; the sooner she got back the sooner her arms would stop aching. She heard a car coming and expected it to zoom past, but she could tell it was slowing alongside her. All I need now is some pervy kerb crawler or the police, she thought. Daisy had to admit she probably looked an odd sight, and more than a little suspicious. She wasn’t sure whether to keep going or stand her ground. She heard the car stop, a door slam and then footsteps behind her.

      She turned around to see a tall man approaching her, with the streetlamp behind him it was difficult to see. She got ready to lob the toolbox at him if necessary.

      ‘Excuse me, can I help you with those?’ he asked, which wasn’t at all what she was expecting.

      ‘Er, no, thanks,’ she said, wondering what his game was.

      ‘It’s no problem. Come on, I’ll give you a lift.’ Daisy hesitated. ‘It’s okay. I might not be in uniform but I’m a police officer.’

      ‘My dad told me not to get in cars with strange men,’ she said and he laughed.

      His laughter evaporated. ‘But you know me, we went to school together. Played together in the holidays when you came home, Daisy.’

      Something about the way he said her name rang a bell. She tried to get a good look at his face but it was dark. An embarrassing silence followed.

      Daisy quickly scanned her memory for boys from primary school. It was all a haze of oversized uniforms, bad haircuts and playing tig. Something Tamsyn had said glued the puzzle pieces together in her mind.

      ‘Jason,’ she almost shouted it as recognition struck. ‘Of course. I’m sorry. You’ve got a lot taller since I last saw you.’ Jason had been one of those boys who was picked on by the others. If she remembered correctly, Max had looked out for him when they were younger.

      Jason looked happy with her response as he took the heavy boxes from her with annoyingly little effort but then he hadn’t been carrying them for half a mile. ‘It’s lovely to see you again, Daisy. I hear you’re staying for a while.’

      ‘Bloody hell, the grapevine here spreads faster than a Kim Kardashian selfie.’ This was one of the major downsides of a close-knit community. ‘And no, I’m afraid I’m not staying.’ She followed him to the car and waited whilst he put the boxes in the boot.

      ‘Oh,’ Jason looked downhearted. The short trip was conducted in relative silence, just the odd clink coming from the toolbox in the boot. Jason pulled up outside the cottage and got out. Daisy got the feeling she was upsetting a lot of people tonight.

      She met him at the boot of the car. ‘I’ll take the toolbox back to Tamsyn’s dad.’

      ‘I’ll take this one inside then,’ he said, picking up the railway box and having a sneaky peek inside.

      ‘Feel free to have a look through if you’re interested. And thanks for the lift, I do appreciate it, Jason.’ She hauled out the toolbox and headed next door.

      After saying her thank-yous and politely refusing their offer to come inside three times Daisy finally escaped Tamsyn’s parents. She could see Jason and Aunt Coral were standing just inside the porch chatting. Daisy tugged on the door, it swung open and Bugsy made a break for freedom. She tried to make a grab for his collar but what he lacked in aerodynamics he made up for in speed as he dodged her like a professional rugby player and disappeared into the darkness.

      ‘Bugsy!’ shouted Aunt Coral as she lurched past Jason. Daisy wasn’t sure which way Aunt Coral was going to go and in the split second she had to make a decision. She made the right one so they didn’t collide but Daisy managed to leave her foot jutting out slightly. Aunt Coral was moving at speed, she caught her toe on Daisy’s foot and fell spectacularly through the open doorway, landing with a thud.

      ‘Are you all right?’ asked Daisy, crouching down at her side. Jason joined her and together they helped her up.

      ‘Yes, I’m fine,’ she said brushing herself down. ‘Where did he go?’ she asked, looking about frantically. Aunt Coral stepped forward and seemed to stumble. ‘Ow, my ankle!’

      Jason put an arm around her and guided her back inside. ‘Let’s get you sat down and we can have a look at your ankle. I’m trained in first aid.’

      ‘But we need to catch Bugsy,’ said Aunt Coral hobbling inside.

      Jason looked at Daisy and there was a slight pause before she realised she needed to do something. ‘Yes, of course. I’ll go look for him.’

      ‘Thanks, love,’ called back Aunt Coral.

      It was late and it was dark. Not just average town or city dark, no this was middle of nowhere, no light pollution, Ottercombe Bay dark. Only the main streets had lighting, so in Trow Lane it was blacker than the inside of the old railway building.

      Daisy wasn’t exactly sure what she was meant to do. Standing there in the dark on her own she felt a complete idiot. ‘Bugsy,’ she called half-heartedly. It was unlikely he was going to come back because she’d called him, they hadn’t exactly warmed to each other. She stopped and listened. She could hear something. It could’ve been the sound of small paws on gravel or perhaps a bird in the hedge. Daisy wandered off into the night but it was pretty pointless looking for a small black dog in almost total darkness.

      She decided to walk to the end of the lane and back again to at least show willing. Every few steps she called his name feeling СКАЧАТЬ