All Aboard: A perfect feel good romance. Cressida McLaughlin

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      Summer exhaled loudly, put the brownies on the cooling rack, and turned back to her scone mixture, wiggling her fingers before diving in. It was her favourite part, rubbing the butter and flour together, and today she was going to treat the dough as a culinary stress-ball.

      ‘So you’ve not had much cheeriness from the pub these last few months, then?’

      ‘Dennis smiles at me, when she’s not around.’

      ‘Damned by association.’

      ‘I don’t think Jenny has a good day unless she can have an argument with someone.’

      ‘And then force them to eat a cake,’ Summer added. ‘That must get confusing for people.’

      Valerie tittered, the sound small and unconvincing. Summer had noticed that much of the older woman’s confidence was gone, deferring to Summer for everything, even whether she should put the blackboard outside. She turned away from her mixture, gestured for Valerie to move into the café and followed her out with the brownies. They weren’t nearly cool enough, but sticky, melting brownies were better than no brownies, and the February wind coming through the hatch would soon cool them down.

      She put them on the plate, leaving the glass dome off, and made two coffees. She gave one to Valerie and sat at one of the tables, Valerie sitting opposite her.

      ‘It must have been lonely here, since Mum died.’ It hurt Summer to say the words, but over the last few hours she’d realized that if she couldn’t even say it, then she couldn’t do anything about the boat’s predicament with any kind of conviction.

      ‘I have my readings,’ Valerie said into her coffee. ‘And I’ve been serving customers, however ineffectively. Mr Dawson from the village gets a latte on his way to work, strolling along the towpath in his suit, and passing boaters are always friendly, commenting on the colour of Moonshine.’

      ‘Dark lavender’s a beautiful colour,’ Summer admitted. ‘And unusual for a narrowboat. But even so, with the pub being so hostile – do you ever go in there?’

      ‘Sometimes, when I want a hot meal and I haven’t got the energy to cook. I have no grudge with them, and as I said, Dennis is always amicable, and the other staff are pleasant enough.’

      ‘But Norman’s a bit reclusive, so I guess down here …’ She looked out of the window as a couple of mallards swam past, the drake’s green feathers glinting in the sun. ‘Who’s in The Sandpiper? That wasn’t here before.’

      ‘Oh that’s Mason,’ Valerie said looking up, her face brightening. ‘He’s very nice.’

      ‘Who is he?’

      ‘He’s some nature buff, goes around hunting for birds and geese.’

      Summer wrinkled her nose. ‘Like a twitcher?’

      ‘It’s his job – he writes and takes photos for magazines. He’s got a strong aura, good and kind.’

      ‘Right,’ Summer said. ‘Sounds like he’s companionable then.’

      ‘Oh he is – a bright spark.’

      There was a knocking at the hatch and Summer jumped up, ready to serve a customer, and then realized the customer was a beautiful silver tabby. The cat jumped elegantly down into the café and Summer scooped him up so that his face was pressed against her cheek, his purring loud in her ear.

      ‘Harvey,’ she said, ‘oh I’ve missed you.’ She grinned and returned to the table, the cat content in her arms. ‘How are they?’

      ‘Good,’ Valerie said. ‘Harvey’s going through a phase of trying to catch moths, which is never a good idea on a boat. And after what happened to his brother, too.’

      ‘No!’ Summer said, and then directed her attention to the cat. “That’s a very silly thing to do, isn’t it, Harvey?” Harvey closed his eyes in contentment. ‘How’s Mike?’

      Mike was Harvey’s brother. A smaller cat, he had fallen into the river as a kitten, and been rescued by Valerie jumping alarmingly in after him, a frantic Ophelia with her red hair streaming out behind her.

      ‘He’s fine,’ Valerie said. ‘Though he’s never recovered his adventurous spark after that incident.’ She reached out and stroked Harvey’s silky fur. ‘He does sometimes surprise my clients, snoozing on the sofa until halfway through a reading, when he’ll pop his head up and meow, or jump on to their laps. It’s not entirely professional, but I can’t bear to move him. His world is my boat, and I’m not going to limit him further. And Harvey’s adventurous enough for both of them. Not averse to trying out other people’s boats if a window or door has been left open.’

      ‘God, I wonder if he’s got on to Norman’s boat. If only you could talk,’ Summer said, rubbing the fur between Harvey’s eyes.

      ‘His latest thing is antagonizing Mason’s dog,’ Valerie said, sighing.

      ‘What kind of dog has he got?’ Summer asked, feeling a pang of longing at the thought of Latte, alone in her flat.

      Valerie waved her hand. ‘Smallish, scruffy. A bit of a terror if you ask me, though I wouldn’t say it to Mason’s face. I’ve caught Harvey screeching at him, tail puffed out, more than once, but the dog always comes back for more – as if he enjoys it.’

      Summer couldn’t help but laugh. ‘Sounds like a pretty straightforward relationship to me.’

      Valerie gave her a curious look. ‘Do you know what, Summer Freeman? That’s the first time I’ve heard you laugh since you’ve been back here.’

      Summer opened her mouth, but her lack of response was forgotten as there was a gentle rat-a-tat at the serving hatch, this time from a human visitor rather than a feline one.

      ‘Hello? Any chance of a cuppa? My hands are freezing.’ A face appeared and Valerie rushed to greet the customer, an older gentleman with a shock of white hair and a brown jacket zipped up to the neck, and Summer slipped back to the kitchen to carry on with her scones. As she rubbed the mixture between her fingers, she realized how much she’d shut herself off, and how unfair that had been to Valerie. At least she didn’t seem too lonely, was able to go in the pub and had a new, friendly neighbour, even if he did sound a little on the geeky side.

      Summer put the scones in the oven and looked at her watch. It was two o’clock, and realistically the café would only be open until four. Summer glanced again at the doorway into the living room and shuddered. She didn’t want to admit to being spooked out – it was just a couple of empty rooms – but she had to be away from the boat before it got dark. She chided herself, wished again that she had Latte’s uncomplicated companionship, and started clearing up.

      She remembered that she had mentioned her bacon rolls to Norman, and decided that if he wasn’t prepared to come to them – and she hadn’t really expected him to – then she would take one to him. She’d surprised herself by how much she’d enjoyed seeing Valerie again, as well as getting back into baking, and part of her knew that this couldn’t be a one-off, not if she wanted the café to survive. Maybe she could come back every other СКАЧАТЬ