The Cottage on Lily Pond Lane_Part Two_Summer secrets Read online

  The

  Cottage on

  Lily Pond Lane

  Part Two

  Summer secrets

  Emily Harvale

  Copyright

  Copyright © Emily Harvale 2018

  All rights reserved

  Emily Harvale has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organisations, businesses, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Published by Crescent Gate Publishing

  E-edition published worldwide 2018

  ISBN 978-1-909917-31-6

  Cover design © JR and Emily Harvale

  Edited by Christina Harkness

  This book is dedicated to David Cleworth.

  Thank you for always being there.

  Table of contents

  Title

  Dedication

  Also by

  A note from Emily

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Acknowledgements

  Contact

  Coming Soon

  Also by Emily Harvale

  Highland Fling

  Lizzie Marshall's Wedding

  The Golf Widows' Club

  Sailing Solo

  Carole Singer's Christmas

  Christmas Wishes

  A Slippery Slope

  The Perfect Christmas Plan

  Be Mine

  It Takes Two

  The Goldebury Bay series:

  Ninety Days of Summer – book 1

  Ninety Steps to Summerhill – book 2

  Ninety Days to Christmas – book 3

  The Hideaway Down series:

  A Christmas Hideaway – book 1

  Catch A Falling Star – book 2

  Walking on Sunshine – book 3

  Dancing in the Rain – book 4

  Hall's Cross series

  Deck the Halls – book 1

  The Starlight Ball – book 2

  Michaelmas Bay series

  Christmas Secrets in Snowflake Cove – book 1

  Blame it on the Moonlight – book 2

  Lily Pond Lane series

  The Cottage on Lily Pond Lane – four-part serial

  Part One – New beginnings

  Part Two – Summer secrets

  Part Three – Autumn leaves

  Part Four – Trick or treat

  Chapter One

  'How is it even possible?' Mia scrolled through the photos on her laptop, once again, one elbow balanced on the edge of the kitchen table as she slumped forward and rested her head in her hand. Not one photograph contained an image of great-aunt Matilda. Hettie Burnstall had spent the last three hours going through them all with Mia, Ella and Garrick and had confirmed that fact.

  Ella's blonde curls danced around her shoulders as she shook her head. 'Mattie obviously didn't want her photo taken. Even Hettie said that every time someone pointed a camera in Mattie's direction, Mattie turned away. I'm convinced she was in hiding, no matter what you and Garrick say.'

  Garrick held up a faded photograph. 'At least we know she had light-brown hair when she came to live here. Freda assured me when she took this off the wall of photos in the pub, that this is definitely a photo of the back of Mattie's head, and Hettie thought so too.' He grinned and flipped the photo over. 'Not that it's much help. But it says on the reverse, 'Christmas 1993'. Unless my maths is wrong, according to Hettie, that was the year Mattie came to live here.'

  Ella took the photo and peered at it before smiling across at Mia. 'Yeah, and we now know you and Mattie had at least one thing in common. You've both got golden-brown hair.'

  Garrick tutted. 'Mattie must've been seventy-four when that was taken, so her hair was obviously dyed.

  Ella laughed. 'So's Mia's. Did you think Mother Nature gave her those gorgeous highlights?'

  Garrick furrowed his brows as if he wasn't sure how to answer that, but Mia came to his rescue.

  'Spooky that we should pick similar colours though. And similar hairstyles, if what Hettie said was true. That Mattie always had her hair cut into a shoulder-length bob.'

  Ella winked at her. 'I'm not sure I'd happily tell people I've got the same haircut as my ancient, now dead, great-aunt. It doesn't exactly scream, “young, hip, independent woman,” does it? I'm not saying there's anything wrong with your hairstyle. Just don't mention the resemblance to Mattie's, that's all.'

  'Good point.' Mia nodded, leant back in her chair and stretched her arms in the air, tipping her head from side to side. 'I need more coffee and I'm guessing you do too. I hadn't realised how mind-numbingly boring, looking at hundreds and hundreds of other people's photos can be, nor how spending three hours with Hettie clucking and cooing over them can make me lose the will to live.'

  Ella and Garrick both nodded and grinned as Mia got up to make the drinks.

  'We now know what Hettie's husband, Hector looked like,' Ella said. 'I know this is mean but after spending all morning with her I'm beginning to wonder if Hector didn't throw himself into the path of that car and his death had nothing at all to do with the curse of Frog's Hollow.'

  Mia gasped. 'That is mean, Ella.' She tried to stop the grin but failed. 'Possibly true though.'

  'But it was kind of Hettie to look at them,' Garrick pointed out, frowning. 'As we had no idea what Mattie looked like, it would've been like searching for an invisible needle in a haystack without her help. And it was good of so many of the villagers to let you have access to their photos. Freda making that announcement certainly did the trick.'

  'Also true.' Mia rinsed the mugs under the tap and gave them a quick once over with a tea towel. Since Freda had told everyone in The Frog and Lily on Monday night that Mia wanted to see any photos anyone had which might contain Mattie's image, several of the villagers had handed over photographs, USB sticks with photos on, and even CDs on which they'd downloaded copies. They had all been given to Freda who had passed them on to Garrick in the pub on Tuesday night. 'But I think Hettie being a nosey old biddy, had more to do with her offer than kindness. She wanted to get a peek at everyone else's photos. And I got the feeling that Justin merely wanted us to see photos of his dance slash stripper troupe. Not that I'm complaining. Seeing three half-naked men with rippling muscles covered in oil was the highlight of this morning.'

  Ella giggled. 'And the DVD was the icing on the cake. But the reason I spent so long watching it over and over again was because he told us at choir practice that he was certain Mattie had attended that particular meeting of the local Women's Institute
.'

  Mia turned and grinned at her. 'Yeah, right. Like anyone would believe that's the reason.'

  Garrick rolled his eyes. 'What amuses me is that they called that meeting, a study of the art of dance. Did you hear Hettie say that you can buy DVDs of the shows and that she has several?'

  Ella shuddered dramatically before nudging his arm. 'Yep, and I never thought I'd say this, but I'm going to join the local W.I. I really like their style. Mind you, I never thought I'd join a choir, either, but last night was fun, wasn't it, Mia?'

  Mia nodded, grinned and placed what was left of a packet of chocolate digestives on the table. 'Amazingly, it was. And I think I'm going to join the W.I. too. But before we do anything else, we really must make a trip to the shops. We're getting dangerously low on biscuits. This is what's left of our final packet. We've eaten the other three and this is only our fifth day here.'

  'Bloody Nora.' Ella grabbed the biscuits before Garrick got a chance. 'Four each and then they're gone. Is it just me, or does it feel as if we've been here since forever?'

  Garrick took his four and shoved the last four in the packet across to where Mia had been sitting. 'It definitely feels like a lot longer than five days, but that's because we've been so busy, I suppose.'

  Ella bit into a biscuit and winked at her brother. 'You certainly have. Where're you taking Alexia on your date tonight?'

  Mia tensed. In the excitement of getting the photos, she'd almost forgotten Garrick and Alexia were going on a date.

  She'd been worried about it when he'd first mentioned it on Monday but now it was somehow worse. Not only was Alexia drop-dead gorgeous with the body of a goddess, she was also a lovely person. Mia was rather hoping the woman would turn out to be a bitch but in just the few days Mia had known her, it was obvious Alexia could be a good friend.

  Last night in the pub, Alexia had persuaded Mia and Ella to join the choir. Neither Mia nor Ella could sing to save their lives but when Alexia reminded them that Tom Tyburn, the vicar, ran the choir and mentioned that Justin Lake, Rupert Day and Jet Cross were members, the choir suddenly had a definite appeal. So much so, they'd gone along. They had tried to get Garrick to join them but he said his singing voice sounded like a rhino being strangled in a mud hole and whilst Mia had no clue as to what sound that would make, it probably wasn't pleasant, so they'd left him in the pub. Mia and Ella had certainly enjoyed it. Apart from the fact that in addition to Alexia's many attributes, she also had the voice of an angel. Didn't the woman have any faults at all?

  Tom had welcomed his new members with open arms – literally, and Rupert, or Bear, as Ella now called him, seemed exceedingly pleased to see them. Jet merely smiled and nodded his head at them, then hung back without a word. Once or twice during the two-hour practice, Mia had cast a surreptitious glance in his direction from her position in the front row. She'd blushed crimson each time when she'd met those incredible eyes of his looking at her, and seen the curve of a smile on his perfect mouth. The man was far too sure of himself. But he had good reason to be, with his looks and undeniable sex appeal. Even in loose-fitting jeans and a polo shirt that had seen better days, the guy was to die for. Men like Jet should be tattooed with a health warning. Or at least a heart warning.

  Justin arrived during the fifteen-minute refreshment break and, after apologising to Tom and everyone for being late, spoke to Mia and Ella for the first time.

  'I heard you're looking for photos of Mattie.' His smile was like an advert for teeth whitening toothpaste and he could have easily stepped from the cover of a glossy magazine. His faded but clearly expensive jeans, together with a designer T-shirt, clung to his athletic body like a second skin and his raven-coloured hair gleamed in the mellow, church lighting as he swept a lengthy lock of it from his handsome, tanned face. 'I've given Freda a couple of CDs of photos and a DVD of one of the shows we did for the W.I. because I know Mattie was in the audience. If I'd known you were coming to choir practice, I'd have given them to you here. They're copies of the originals so feel free to keep them.'

  'Thanks, Justin,' Mia said, dragging her gaze from his body and once again shooting a look at Jet. She quickly averted her eyes as he raised his glass of orange juice to her and grinned. 'Um. That's very kind of you. Did you say Mattie came to see your show?'

  'She came to every show we've ever done in Little Pondale. Mattie was the reason I got into dancing in the first place. She said I had a talent for it.'

  That was quite a shock. 'My great-aunt suggested you become a stripper? Sorry. I didn't mean it to come out like that.'

  Justin grinned. 'No problem. She didn't exactly suggest the stripping bit, although she told me after the first show that I definitely had a talent for that too. No, she saw me in a school musical when I was about nine and she said I should become a dancer. But Dad was a baker and there was no way a boy of his was going to “faff around on a stage”, so I became a baker like him. When he died a few years ago, I took over the bakery, and started dancing on the side.' He winked. 'If you like what you see on the DVD, you may want to come along to one of our shows. We perform in most of the village halls within a sixty-mile radius. Our next show here is in a few weeks.'

  Ella was mesmerised. 'What's the name of your dance troupe?'

  'We're called The Frog Hill Hounds.'

  'Oh.' Ella was clearly disappointed but she smiled. 'We'll look forward to watching the DVD.'

  Justin's gaze travelled the length of her and he smiled wickedly as he turned to walk towards Jet. 'If you ask nicely, I may give you a private performance.'

  Mia slapped Ella on the back as she choked on her orange juice.

  'He's clearly got his eye on you,' Alexia said, smiling warmly.

  Mia frowned. 'He seems nice but a bit of a Jack the Lad. Was that true about Mattie and his dad?'

  Alexia nodded. 'Every word. He comes across as a player but it's all an act. He's a great guy and unlike someone else I could mention, he won't break your heart and walk away. If he's going to dump you, he'll do it nicely and he'll hang around until he's sure you're fine.'

  There was a distinct edge to Alexia's voice and Mia followed the direction of her gaze. It landed on Jet who was completely oblivious and chatting avidly to Rupert as Justin joined them.

  Ella must have noticed too. 'That sounds as if you've dated Justin. And not only Justin. Have you also dated Jet or Bear?'

  Alexia shrugged. 'It's a small village. I've dated every single guy in my age group. Except the vicar. And my brother, Toby, of course.'

  'Every guy?' Ella queried, throwing Mia a look of surprise. 'So what's wrong with the vicar?'

  'Nothing. He's simply never asked me out. I considered asking him once, but Mum told me not to mess with a man of the cloth. Which is a pity, because I wouldn't mind messing with him.' She shrugged again. 'Some things just aren't meant to be though, are they?'

  Perhaps Tom had felt his ears burning because he turned and smiled at the three of them before declaring that break was over and ushering everyone back into position for the second hour of practice.

  Mia wanted to ask Alexia more about her ex-boyfriends – and one in particular, but as Garrick was waiting outside when practice finished, she didn't get a chance.

  And now tonight, Garrick was adding to Alexia's list of men.

  How – and why – had all of her other relationships ended?

  Mia wasn't sure if she was more concerned about Alexia or Garrick.

  Chapter Two

  Much to Mia's annoyance, Garrick wouldn't discuss how his date with Alexia went. He spent the first hour of Thursday morning mowing the lawn, partly to avoid Hettie when she came to clean, no doubt, but also partly to avoid Mia and Ella's questions. The rest of the morning he simply sauntered around with a smile on his face and a far-away look in his eyes.

  At least he hadn't spent the night with her. Mia had heard him come home at precisely eleven-thirty-six. Not that she had lain in bed awake, staring at the clock, waiting for him. She'd
had her head buried in a book and merely happened to glance at the clock when she heard the front door close and the stairs creak. The fact that she couldn't recall one word she had read and would be hard-pressed to know what page she was on, had nothing to do with Garrick. She had other things on her mind besides him and his love life. Like making sure she added chocolate digestives to the shopping list, and other equally important stuff. Or so she tried to convince herself.

  'When you eventually come down from cloud nine,' Mia snapped at Garrick during lunch which consisted of left-over pizza and the remnants of a decidedly wilted lettuce, 'do you think you could drive us to the shops?'

  'Sorry. What?' Garrick clearly hadn't heard a word, and he hadn't touched his lunch.

  'Will you drive us to the shops?'

  He glanced from Mia to Ella and back again. 'Of course. But why d'you need me to drive you? You've got a car.'

  Ella grinned. 'The breathalyser would explode if she got stopped. We stayed in last night and had the last frozen pizza, washed down with two or three bottles of wine. And get this. We played chess. Well sort of. Neither of us knows how to play it so we made it up as we went along. It's surprising how entertaining an evening can be when you don't have a TV. How much did you have to drink?'

  'I didn't.' He frowned. 'You two really shouldn't drink so much. It was a beautiful evening. Why didn't you go for a walk?'

  'Where to?' Mia asked. 'The pub?'

  He shook his head. 'There're miles of footpaths through the countryside. There's Frog Hill. The beach. Oh sorry. Forget the beach. That wouldn't be good with your fear of water, would it? Although the tide goes out so far here that you could walk near the dunes and not even notice you're by the sea.'

  'Believe me, I'd notice.' Mia studied his face over the rim of her mug of tea. 'Is that where you went? For a walk on the beach?'

  Garrick smiled wistfully but didn't respond.

  Ella poked him on the arm. 'Why the secrecy?'