The Cottage of New Beginnings Read online

  ‘It’s essentially vodka, soda and mint. It’s gorgeous, and vegan too. I’ve ordered for us – the waiters will come around later for more drinks and desserts. This new place is definitely a step up from the old café in the cottage, do you remember it? Worst sandwiches I ever had, those horrible sliced plastic cheese things. Urgh.’

  Annie smiled, thinking back to the days when they’d sometimes call in at the café and order a picnic lunch to take away, making do with the least popular crisps and chocolate bars warmed in the sun. She glanced around the restaurant, still stalling for time as she thought about her reply to Kirstie’s first comment. There was certainly a different vibe here tonight from the quiet atmosphere when she had eaten breakfast alone the other morning.

  Most of the tables were full of people taking advantage of the pizza and Prosecco offer, from families with children to a few locals Annie thought she recognised, to the walkers passing through on the Dales Way and maybe staying the night somewhere nearby. The huge, light, airy space was modern and comfortable, the floor-length windows offering views of the cobbled yard and individual studios to one side and the fells stretching up to the sky on the other. Chefs were busy in the open kitchen behind them and a queue was slowly forming at the entrance as more people arrived in search of a simple supper, tempted by the smell of pizzas cooking in a wood oven.

  ‘So is it just a social visit, then? Or is there something more, something I’m thinking you don’t want to tell me?’

  Annie sighed, unable to bring any humour to the wry stretching of her lips. ‘You know me too well, Kirstie, even after all this time. Not social, not really. I’ve moved into the cottage. Molly very generously left it to me and so here I am.’

  ‘Seriously? How brilliant for you! But why are you surprised she left it to you? It’s exactly what I’d have expected. She knew how much you loved the village and how at home you were here.’ Kirstie paused, looking intense. ‘What about your job?’

  Annie thought about the little primary school eight miles away, trying not to compare it to the lively, diverse city centre school and deputy head position she had just left. ‘I’ve taken a supply role at Calstone for now, and I’ll see how it goes. I was in Edinburgh before that.’ She took a drink from her glass, waiting for the next question.

  ‘So what’s changed?’ Kirstie leant back in her chair, a casual gesture that didn’t match the determined expression in her eyes as she watched Annie curiously.

  ‘My engagement, that’s what. It ended, suddenly. Five days before our wedding, to be precise.’ There, she had said it. Out loud, and she hadn’t cried. That was an improvement, Annie thought despondently.

  ‘No! But how…? I mean, what happened? Hell, Annie, that’s bad. I’m guessing it wasn’t your idea?’

  ‘No, not my idea. Iain and I had been engaged for a year, then about a month before the wedding he went home as his dad hadn’t been well and there was some doubt whether he would make the wedding.’ Annie rolled her eyes, still unable to disguise the hurt clouding her face as she thought back to the spring. ‘Ironic, really, when none of us actually made the wedding.’

  Kirstie leant forward and squeezed Annie’s hand, her eyes gentler now. ‘You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.’

  ‘No, it’s fine, Kirst, honestly. I’ve got to be able to tell everyone some day without crying.’

  The noise around them was increasing as all the tables seemed to be filled now and Annie waited as their pizzas arrived. Italian vegetarian for her and the vegan version of the same for Kirstie. Annie lowered her voice, not wanting to share their conversation with anyone beyond their table. The waiter finished adding parmesan to Annie’s pizza and departed with a smile.

  ‘Anyway, on the Monday before the wedding Iain arrived home and announced he was desperately sorry, but it was over.’

  ‘But what had happened, so suddenly? Why would he have done that to you? He’s crazy!’

  Annie considered her next words, consciously removing all emotion from them before continuing. ‘We’d had our difficulties in the past and I thought it was all behind us. But he was spending every weekend at his dad’s to help look after him and he met up with his ex – his first love. I did know about her and that they’d been serious, but it had been over for ages and we’d been together for three years, so I really didn’t think anything of it. He went to a family gathering given by a mutual friend and there she was. Apparently, they got talking, saw each other every weekend he was there and decided that it wasn’t over at all and they couldn’t live without each other.’

  ‘What an absolute shit! I hope you chopped his appendages into smaller bits for him! I’m so sorry, Annie. What a vile thing for him to do.’

  Annie blinked as she remembered those days, caught up in the excitement of an imminent wedding and planning a new home together. Until it had all come crashing down around her ears and she had barely recognised her own life any more.

  ‘But at least you knew before you married him.’

  ‘I suppose. At first, I used to wish he’d just gone through with the wedding and then left me. At least I wouldn’t have had to cancel everything at the last minute, send back the gifts and try to explain without really saying anything at all. I never, ever want to have to do that again. People meant so well, but the endless sympathy and curiosity nearly drove me mad. What was it about me that made him leave? I could see them thinking it. I wasn’t enough.’

  ‘Don’t ever put yourself down like that,’ Kirstie hissed fiercely, startling a woman at the next table, who looked across to them in alarm, and Annie offered a wan smile in an attempt to show that all was well. ‘It couldn’t have been your fault that he did what he did, and you can’t let yourself think it was. The perfect relationship doesn’t exist, and he made a choice, Annie.’ Kirstie hesitated, her look becoming gentler. ‘He could easily do it to her, too, if he can walk away from three years of commitment with you in a moment.’

  Annie’s eyes filled with tears and her glance fell to her half-eaten plate of pizza. She toyed with a slice, her appetite fading and pushed the plate away, reaching for her glass. ‘Maybe. But then maybe she really is the one. He just didn’t love me enough and then he left. I get it. But it hurts like hell.’

  ‘Do you think you still love him?’

  ‘No, not really. I just still sort of love what we had before I lost him. But then I find myself going over our time together and wondering, was it ever real? Did he ever really love me, or was he about to settle? And if I didn’t know him at all, how will I ever know anyone?’

  ‘Oh Annie.’ Kirstie jumped up and hurried around the table to hug her quickly, tightening her grip as she bent down awkwardly. Annie laughed through the tears still threatening to betray her as they separated, and Kirstie returned to her seat. They were attracting more attention than Annie wanted. She caught the eye of the woman at the next table again, who had obviously heard some of her conversation with Kirstie, and the woman’s expression was laced with sympathy.

  ‘She probably thinks we’re having a lover’s tiff,’ Kirstie muttered. ‘Bet she thinks you’re trying to dump me.’

  ‘I’d have more sense than to do that to you, Kirst. It’s so good to see you, even though you make me tell you things I don’t want to tell anyone.’

  ‘Well then, call it cheap therapy,’ Kirstie said with a grin, finishing off the last of her pizza. She caught the eye of a passing waiter and he came bustling over. ‘My friend here would like another large glass of Prosecco. And another of those vodka minty things for me please. Don’t worry, Annie, I’m not driving, I’m staying at Dad’s tonight.’

  Their drinks soon arrived, along with the menus. They decided against dessert and Annie slowly sipped her Prosecco, still feeling the effects of the first glass. ‘That really is enough about me and my woes. I want to hear all about your brilliant career and what you’ve been up to.’

  Kirstie grinned. ‘I’m not sure it’s been that brilliant. Years o
f study, volunteering in the Galapagos Islands, which was truly amazing. I moved to Canada for a bit, got arrested twice and divorced once.’

  ‘What! Run that by me again! Arrested? Divorced? What have you been up to? You were always determined, Kirstie, but mostly law abiding, from what I remember.’

  Kirstie laughed, thanking the waiter for clearing the remains of their meal. ‘Just that, really. Did uni at East Anglia then managed to get funding for a master’s at Stanford. Met a guy there who was lovely, Canadian, and we got married, which was fine until we were set to travel to South America but he got himself a job with a conservation charity in Ontario, so that was the end of that. We were too young anyway. So I travelled a bit more, came back, did the PhD and now I’m here for another year or so.’

  ‘You’ve missed out the arrests!’

  ‘Oh that,’ Kirstie said airily, still smiling. ‘They were just a couple of Greenpeace marches in Toronto that got a bit lively. It was fine. Just makes travelling to the US and Canada a bit tricky now but I’ve no immediate plans to go back.’

  ‘So are you single, then? Or is there someone else? I always thought you and Mark Howard had a thing for each other, back in the day. I know he’s a year or two younger than us but still. All that time spent trying to annoy you had to mean something.’

  ‘Ah, well, funny you should say that.’ Kirstie’s eyes twinkled, looking mischievous. ‘Turns out we both did like each other then but obviously didn’t do anything about it. I’ve been around the village more since I got this job and with Mum and everything. We bumped into each other and got chatting. We’ve been dating for about a month or so. I really like him.’

  ‘Kirstie, that’s wonderful! He seems so nice. I really hope it all works out for you both. He came down to the cottage and helped me move my furniture in.’

  ‘Thanks, Annie. There’s no rush. He’s very firmly fixed here and I’m not so much, so we’ll see. I wasn’t going to tell you, given what you’ve shared tonight.’

  ‘I’m glad you did.’ Annie smiled at her friend, so pleased they had found one another again. ‘I’m really happy for you both.’

  ‘Coffee, before they close up?’

  ‘Perfect. So now that you’re obviously vegan, how are you managing, dating a farmer?’

  ‘Next question!’ Kirstie was merry as she replaced the menu on the table. ‘Mark has so many plans for the future and how they can farm more sustainably, adopt practices that will benefit the environment. I was a bit worried when I went for lunch, but you know Elizabeth, nothing fazes her. She cooked the most delicious leek and “cheesy” crumble and we all had the same. Robert didn’t even know it was vegan until we’d finished.’

  ‘Oh, I’d have loved to see his face! There’s a man who’s never going to give up his bacon butty or roast beef and Yorkshire pudding dinner!’

  They were still laughing as a waitress came to take their order for coffee and then they fell into a comfortable silence, happy to be in one another’s company again. One or two people came up to Kirstie to ask how her dad was, enquire about her plans and when he might be back. Annie only half listened, not paying too much attention until their coffee arrived and they were alone once again.

  ‘How’s Ross?’ she asked Kirstie idly, remembering her friend’s handsome older brother who had set out for university before they had left school. ‘I bumped into him once when I was visiting Molly, but I haven’t seen him in ages.’

  ‘Settled in London with a lovely wife called Stella and busy being an art director designing book covers for famous authors.’ Kirstie gave Annie a sideways look. ‘Did you and he…? I always wondered but he would never say, and you just used to look loopy whenever he was around.’

  Annie smiled knowingly. She had never forgotten her first serious crush, nor that surprisingly outstanding first kiss when she was fifteen and the few weeks of fooling around that had followed a couple of years later when Kirstie had been travelling around Thailand. Deep brown eyes, thoughtful, clever, funny. She had liked him very much at the time, but they had both been ready to move on when the summer was over.

  ‘I knew it!’ A phone in Kirstie’s bag was ringing and she ignored it, raising her eyes to Annie. ‘You never said!’ The phone stopped and then started again a moment later.

  ‘Maybe you should answer it. Someone wants to get hold of you.’

  ‘I suppose I had better check, in case it’s anything to do with Dad. Sorry. We can come back to you and Ross some other time.’ Kirstie pulled the phone from her bag with a grin, scanning it quickly, and Annie saw her frown as she listened to a voice message.

  ‘Is everything all right?’

  ‘It was Mark. His grandad is in the early stages of dementia and he’s wandered off. Mark was just asking if I’d seen anything. If you don’t mind, I think I should go and help. He and Robert are out looking.’

  ‘Of course you should.’ Annie was already standing and swinging her bag over her shoulder, their coffee abandoned. ‘Would you like me to come with you? I could help too if they’d like more people.’

  ‘Oh would you, Annie, that’d be great. You know the area as well as anyone, and more hands and all that. I’ll call him now and tell him we’ll go straight to the farm.’

  They weaved their way through the scattered tables and emerged in the courtyard, darkness already settling on the top of the fells. Lights were on in most of the studios, staying open late and hoping for extra customers from the restaurant. People were slowly wandering around or sitting in the courtyard with drinks and chatting quietly at tables. She and Kirstie crossed into the lane and Kirstie was on the phone until the signal packed up as they rushed through the village, the sound of the river scurrying beside them. Within a few minutes, they had reached the Howards’ farm and Annie paused.

  ‘I’ll be back in a sec.’ She pointed to the flat ballet pumps she was wearing below cropped jeans. ‘These are no good for walking.’

  Kirstie raised a hand as she turned into the yard and Annie hurried back to the cottage, changed her flats for walking boots, grabbed a waterproof coat and raced back to the farm. When she opened the kitchen door and stepped inside, she was surprised to see both Robert and Mark. One look at their expressions told her they hadn’t found Mark’s grandad yet. Everyone had fallen silent as they glanced at her with hope, and their faces fell again when they realised who it was.

  ‘I’m still not sure we need to call out t’whole bloomin’ fell rescue,’ Robert said stubbornly, looking at Elizabeth. ‘He’s done it before and always come back. And he knows these fells better than any of us ever will.’

  ‘Yes, but he’s never gone missing at night before! For heaven’s sake, Robert.’ Elizabeth practically shouted at her husband as she spun away in frustration. ‘I know you don’t like to hear it but he’s not quite as good as he was. I’m going to ring Jon and ask him what he thinks. And we both know what he’ll say.’

  ‘Me and Kirstie will head up to Ellerby.’ Mark glanced at Kirstie and she quickly agreed. ‘No point sitting around here, it’s getting on. He used to like it up there, he could have just gone for a wander and walked too far. We’ll take Fan with us – she’s quickest of the dogs, and sharp. Probably worth checking along the river again, too.’

  ‘Annie, would you mind waiting while I ring Jon, please? I don’t think there’s much point in all of us heading out again without a proper plan and I’d rather wait and see what Jon suggests.’

  Annie nodded, hovering at the table and Robert looked at her as he rolled his eyes and pulled out a chair. He offered one to Annie too, but she shook her head as the door banged behind Mark and Kirstie and they disappeared. Elizabeth spoke for only a minute or two and then she ended the call and looked at Robert.

  ‘Jon’s calling it in now and then he’ll come straight here. We need them, Robert. Your dad could be anywhere.’

  ‘Aye, and he could be sound asleep in t’barn for all we know.’

  Annie saw the look of concern that
flashed across his face, belying his words and he sighed as he stood up, running a hand through his wild, white hair. Elizabeth took the kettle from the Aga to make tea, but they both refused it and then a few minutes later the kitchen door burst open. Annie spun around, her heart bouncing as she saw Jon head into the room, already wearing his bright fell rescue kit, and Elizabeth hurried over to meet him, touching his arm with gratitude.

  ‘They’re on their way out,’ he said immediately, nodding at Robert and then giving Elizabeth a sympathetic look as she thanked him. ‘I’m not going as part of the team, but I’ll stay in touch and we can hopefully cover more ground and support them.’ He glanced around the room, his eyes falling on Annie standing by the table, and she saw them widen in surprise. A quick smile lifted the corners of his mouth as pleasure briefly lit his expression, and she felt warmed by the simple and intimate gesture. He became brisk once again as he listened to his radio and organised where the family should search, starting with the yard. Elizabeth was to remain at home, in case Robert’s father did return.

  ‘What about me?’ Annie looked at Jon, a question in her eyes as she slid her waterproof coat on. ‘I’m going out too. Where shall I go?’

  ‘What about t’river again,’ Robert suggested, looking at Jon for confirmation. ‘We didn’t go that far but it’d be worth going down to Beck Gill at least. With team out on t’fells I think they’ll manage if we stay down here.’

  ‘Fine,’ Jon said, nodding and already turning to the door. ‘But not alone, Annie. I’m coming with you.’

  Elizabeth handed her a torch and Annie started to protest as she followed Jon into the yard, suggesting that he would surely be better use on the fells, but Jon was having none of it. He turned and caught her shoulders, gently but firmly, stilling her breath for a second.

  ‘I’m in charge here,’ he told her in an exasperated tone. ‘There might be a different team leading out there and you might have once known the village like the back of your hand but if you’re going out, then you’re going out with me. First rule of rescue, no one goes alone. Got it?’