Water Lily in July (2 page)

“What do you do when you're not being Rapunzel?”

“I have a room in the keepers' cottage on shore.”

“No family?” There was a long pause, and Rob wondered if the radio had stopped working or if he'd said too much. “Wolf Point, are you receiving? Over.”

“Yes,
Seascape
, I'm still here. No, no family, which is why I have almost the loneliest job in the world. So for the next month it's just me and no cleaning and a lie in.”

A shaft of disappointment speared him. A whole month without speaking to her stretched into an eternity. “When do you leave?”

“Some point on Saturday morning, just as soon as the launch and my replacement get here. Right now I'm so tired I might not get out of bed for a week.”

He smiled. “I know how that goes. I'd better get on. I have a load of fish to catch, and I don't want to miss the turning of the tide. Speak tomorrow. Over and out.” He put down the mic and looked to where the top of the lighthouse was just visible in the distance. “What do you look like?” he asked rhetorically. “Are you really the tall, leggy blonde I imagine or someone totally different?”

~*~

“Kaylie and Rob, sitting in a tree...” Crispin's singsong voice came from the doorway, his fingers tapping out a rhythm on the wooden frame.

Kaylie spun around on the chair, shooting him the dirtiest look she could manage. “That's hardly fair when I don't even know the guy.” She shook her head. “You just wait until your wife calls next time.”

Crispin laughed. “You were sitting there with this soppy look on your face, and you reckon you don't know him. You know his name and what he does. And you like him.” He straightened. “Anyway, enough of the teasing. Dinner's ready.”

Kaylie stood and walked to the stairs with him. “And how much did you know about Sophie before you fell for her?”

“A little bit more than you know about our friendly fisherman. You've fallen in love with the sound of his voice. We all think it's sweet.”

Kaylie groaned and flicked his ear as she followed him. “Enough already.”

He grinned at her as they entered the kitchen. “You know I'm right though.”

Kaylie looked studiously out of the window, ignoring his reflection. “Yeah, but nothing's going to happen. I can't let it.”

“Why?” Crispin turned her to face him. “Kaylie, you're not the first person to have loved and lost. Loads of people remarry or find love a second time around. You think God wants you to be alone for the rest of your life? Phil's gone, Kaylie. There's nothing you can do or say that'll change that.”

“I know he's gone.” She plonked herself at the table and sighed. “We had three days of married life. I wish he hadn't taken his phone with him on our honeymoon because then…” She broke off. “Still it's pointless going on about it. God wanted Phil with Him rather than with me, and I just have to trust He had a reason for that.”

Crispin grinned. “Maybe He wants you with Rob.”

“Maybe you should drop it while you still have a head on your shoulders,” she teased.

“Maybe Angus should say grace and we eat before this gets cold,” he shot back. “I haven't spent all afternoon cooking to see it go to waste.”

“So what are you going to do on your leave?” Angus asked, once he'd said grace.

“Sell the house.” Kaylie slid her wedding ring off her finger and laid it next to her glass. “It's time I started living again.”

“Does a certain fisherman come into this somewhere?” Crispin grinned.

“No. I'm simply letting God's light direct my path and go where He leads me.”

~*~

Kaylie gratefully disembarked the launch after a choppier crossing than normal and carried her bags through the base to the car park. The four keepers shared the one car as it made things so much easier. She unlocked it and loaded her bags into the boot. She drove the short distance to the four-bedroomed keepers' cottage in the small coastal town.

She'd lived here since taking the job three years ago after Phil died. The job and town had become her refuge in the storm that had overwhelmed her. Normally, the four keepers shared the cottage, having it to themselves during their off-duty month, but Crispin lived with his family farther into the village.

Kaylie dumped her bags in her room and ran a hot bath. She always found the first couple of days lonely and longed for someone, anyone, to talk to. But this time she was looking forward to doing nothing for two or three days, before she contacted the estate agent, who was currently letting her house in Ashford, and put the property on the market.

One long hot soak in the tub later, a luxury she didn't get in the lighthouse, Kaylie put on a long floral dress and checked the store cupboards. As usual, Lucas had left them empty, aside from half a loaf of bread and a pint of milk. That left her a choice. Drive three miles to the supermarket, or eat out. No contest. She tied her cardigan around her waist, grabbed her bag, and headed to the local quayside bar which doubled as a café.

Despite the fact it was almost seven in the evening, the day was still hot. Boats bobbed on the water along the harbor wall. Seagulls swooped and cried overhead.

Kaylie took a deep breath. Salt water, fresh air, fish, all the scents of the beach and home. This was now home, not the small house she and Phil owned in Ashford.

Not that he'd ever lived there. She glanced down at her left hand. There was a very pronounced ring mark there. Perhaps it would fade in time.

Kaylie pushed open the door. The familiar scene greeted her, and she made her way over to the bar. She slid into a seat. To her left the jukebox played, and people chatted over drinks. Pool balls clicked to her right, while just behind her the darts championship was well underway.

The barman, Frank, smiled her way as he cleaned glasses. “What can I get you, Kaylie?”

She studied the menu for a second. “The shepherd's pie, no peas, and a pint of cola with ice and lemon, please.”

“Would you like cauliflower with that instead?” He winked. “The food, that is.”

“Please.”

Frank gave her the drink. “That's seven-eighty.”

Kaylie handed over the money and ran her finger around the rim of the glass. She took a sip, glancing around.

The door opened and a tall figure came in. Long dark hair brushed his shoulders and by his round-neck sweater and oilskin trousers she could tell he was obviously a fisherman. He had narrow-set dark eyes, thin lips, and oozed testosterone, yet wasn't unattractive. He slid onto the stool next to her. “Hey, Frank.”

“Good to see you, Rob. Are you going out tonight?”

“Nah, just got in. Going back out again Tuesday.”

Kaylie started. She knew that voice. Her heart pounded. Her breath caught. It was
him.
Her fingers tightened on the glass in her hand.

“What can I get you?”

“A pint of bitter and…I think I'll have the steak with chips, corn on the cob, and peas.”

“Sure. How do you want that?”

“On a plate.” The man laughed. “Seriously, medium-rare please.”

Kaylie glanced sideways at him as he spoke. He looked nothing like she'd imagined. He was taller and dark. In her mind's eye her fisherman had been well built, slightly older with brown eyes. But she wasn't disappointed.

He glanced at her and smiled. And what a smile he had. To say it knocked her for six would be the understatement of the year. It left her breathless and a complete mass of quivering jelly.

“Hi,” he said, his voice even more intoxicating in person than on the radio. “Are you visiting?”

Unable to speak, Kaylie shook her head.

Frank chuckled. “Having your usual effect on the women, I see, Rob. She lives here. Just like you do.”

“Really?” Rob turned in his seat. “Then how come I haven't seen you around here?”

“I spend a lot of time at work.” Kaylie finally got her voice to work. “The shift pattern is horrendous. I work six weeks on and four weeks off, locked up in a high tower with old men for company and only a radio for communicating with the outside world.”

Rob's eyes widened. “Kaylie?”

She beamed and held out a hand. “Yep. It's nice to finally put a face to your voice, Rob.”

2

Rob held Kaylie's hand, knowing he should be shaking it and knowing he was staring at the woman sitting beside him, but he couldn't help himself. He'd got the blonde hair right, but as for the rest of her? He'd never in a million years imagined her in a dress. Her long legs crossed over each other, exposing her slender ankles. The dress showed off her ample figure, while her sparkling blue eyes and tanned skin far surpassed his expectation.

Frank coughed and put a drink and wrapped cutlery in front of him. “Nine-fifty, please.”

“Sure.” Rob dragged his hand back and paid for his meal.

Frank dropped the money in the till and gave Kaylie her food.

Rob sipped his pint, trying to focus his mind and failing. His heart pounded, his ears rang and he knew his cheeks were flushed. Anyone would think he was a teenager in the throes of his first crush. “Shall we grab a table?”

“Sure.” Kaylie picked up the plate and glass Frank had just given her and stood.

“Frank, can you bring mine over when it's done?” Rob headed to a corner table and put his glass down. He pulled out a chair for Kaylie.

“Thank you.”

He smiled as he sat. He took a long sip of his pint after she said grace, then cleared his throat. “The first one after a long trip is always good.”

She glanced up as she shook out her serviette. “I wouldn't know. I don't drink.”

“Nor do I as a rule. Just the one after a long week at sea. It's kind of family tradition—Dad did it, Grandad did it, and so on.”

Kaylie took a bite of her meal. “Fishing or drinking?” she asked as she swallowed.

Rob winked. “Both. Fishing and the sea is in the blood, as the saying goes. Although my sister hates the sea. She lives as far inland as she can.” He unwrapped his knife and fork. “What about you?”

“I hate fish and live in a lighthouse.”

“All fish?”

Kaylie studied her plate. “Well, most of it. I'll eat fish fingers, but only if they're covered in cheese sauce.”

“You're kidding. Fish and cheese?”

“It's nice. You should try it some time.”

“Think I'll pass.” Rob tilted his head. “Why work on a lighthouse?”

“I needed a fresh challenge and this seemed like a good one. So why fish? It strikes me as a lonely life.”

“And living on a lighthouse isn't?” His laugh was deep and rich. “I love the sea and sailing. Never fancied the navy, too regimented, but this? Aside from the fact it's in my blood, I'm giving something back to the community. Plus, it gives me time alone with God that only living in a monastery would afford otherwise.”

“You don't want to be a monk?”

He laughed again. “They definitely wouldn't want me with the way my heart pounds every time I speak to you on the radio.”

Kaylie looked at him. “Angus tells me I blush whenever I talk to you.”

He studied her for a long moment as her cheeks flamed and shoulders squirmed. “Aye, that you do.”

Frank brought his food over. “Can I get you folks anything else?”

“A jug of iced water would be great, thanks,” Rob said. As Frank headed off, he bowed his head and said grace silently. Then he looked up. “Am I what you expected?” he asked, cutting into his steak. He chewed slowly, letting the flavor explosion cover his tongue. The one thing he missed at sea was real food.

Kaylie frowned over her glass. “I'm sorry?”

“You are nothing like I imagined you'd be. About all I got right was the blonde hair.”

“Oh, umm…” She took a sip and set the glass down. “I actually imagined you as a George Clooney look alike. You know, from
The Perfect Storm.
”

“With or without the grey hair?” He chuckled.

“With, of course.” She grinned. “I got the stubble right.”

“Have you tried shaving with only salt water?”

She winced. “I wouldn't even want to try. I cut myself far too often for that, as it is. The blokes always tell me I'm lethal with a razor and try not to annoy me at times.”

“Bet they call you Sweeny Todd.”

“Actually, that idea hasn't occurred to them yet.” She narrowed her eyes. “Don't suggest it to any of them.”

“I won't.” Rob took another long sip. “So, how does the on shore living work?”

“We share a four bedroom cottage and have a room each. It's always lived in as one of us is always off duty. Well, apart from Crispin—he lives on the other side of town with his wife and son. It can be a little lonely at times after living for weeks at a time with two others always around and falling over them all the time.”

“I bet.” He cut his steak, his mind trying to work something out. “So, how many bedrooms does the lighthouse have? I imagine space must be pretty limited.” He paused. “I'm just trying to get the layout of the tower straight in my mind. Because you're a long way offshore.”

“Twelve miles, give or take. There's just the one bedroom.” She pulled a pen from her pocket and sketched on the serviette for him. “We have three beds in there, so it's pretty cramped, but we're not usually all asleep at the same time. We divide the hours into three shifts. A bath, before you ask, is a luxury we don't have. There is a kettle for hot water to wash with, but that's it.”

Rob nodded. “You have my sympathy. At least I can jump over the side of the boat for a swim. You can't really do that on those rocks.”

Kaylie laughed as she finished her meal. “I wish. It'd be nice sometimes.”

Rob looked at the sketch. “Library?” he queried. “That's the last thing I'd expect.”