Page 10 of The Summer That Changed Us

The words on that handwritten note floated back into her head.

REMEMBER THIS?

‘Course I bloody do. How could I ever forget?’ The words slipped out unintentionally and Katie shot a quick glance over her shoulder. The man at the other end definitely wouldn’t have heard from there, but the woman might have. But she was a short distance away, crouched down, raking through the shingle and not paying Katie any attention. Thank goodness.

Katie studied her properly now, realising who she was. Robyn McGill. As far as Katie remembered, she’d never been into Auntie Small’s, but Merle Bay wasn’t large – they were all connected in some way or other. Robyn was related to Claudia McGill who did shop at Auntie Small’s, in fact she had flown into the shop last week looking for a feeding bra after giving birth early. The baby girl delivered by Alice the post lady.

Which brought her back to this morning’s post: the photograph, the note.

Oh God. Katie shuddered. She turned and headed towards the far end of the beach away from everyone. She had to keep moving; even though the sun was out, it was only April and it was too cold to stand still.

She dragged her mind back to that day in the studio. The photoshoot had been of a different girl, vivacious and extroverted. Katie, or Catherine as she’d called herself then, was the school head girl, leader of the debating society, a county-level rower. An all-rounder popular with the girls and lusted after by the boys. She’d had offers from university to study law and had ambitious plans to spend her career demanding justice for the vulnerable. Her parents were full of pride for their only daughter who’d sailed through her teenage years without causing a ripple of trouble. She’d led a charmed existence – no, not charmed, she’d worked hard for her achievements – a happy existence. And life could so easily have continued that way. If only …

If only she hadn’t been tempted to earn extra money to fund her studies.

If only she hadn’t taken the opportunity to lessen the financial burden for her parents.

If only she’d taken the time to research the ‘model agency’ to check its credentials before heading off to London without telling a soul. Not her mum and not her best friend Rose, who’d never forgiven her for keeping it a secret.

If only … There were a hundred and one reasons to regret the worst decision she’d ever made in her life.

Stop. Just stop. Her head felt like a pressure cooker and she could feel anxiety building just as it had back then. Auntie Jean had been the only person to listen and not judge. To care but not try and take control. God, how she missed her. What she’d give to talk through this new development with her now.

For a moment she allowed the sounds of the sea to soothe her: seagulls mewed overhead, and gentle waves tumbled and frothed at her feet. She needed to pull herself together and get back to the shop; Nula would be wondering what had happened to her.

She turned her back on the sea and looked at the coastline. Up to her left was the big modern house, a glass fortress, presiding over the bay. It was rarely occupied but today there was a black four-wheel drive parked outside; holidaymakers, she presumed. She was glad; the house was too beautiful to sit empty. A movement caught her eye: a wide glass door slid to one side and a person emerged to stand on the terrace. Hard to tell from this distance whether it was a man or a woman. Imagine waking up to this view every day.

Katie walked in the direction of the house until she reached the end of the beach and leaned back against the rocks, tilting her face up to the sky. She filled her lungs with the sharp sea air, pulled a bottle of water from her pocket and took a sip. The sky here was endless. Being under it made her feel free. Back in Nottingham the family home was in a perfectly pleasant suburb, but she’d shared the sky with three quarters of a million others and when her dreams disintegrated, she’d had a weird sensation of being on display, as if everyone could see through her clothes to her skin beneath. Gradually she’d felt herself fading away, as she tried to make herself invisible. Dropping out of school, stopping eating, ending up on antidepressants; a far cry from the life she’d envisaged.

Coming here had been a good decision. A temporary move that somewhere along the line had become permanent. Now she loved every inch of Merle Bay; she wouldn’t want to live anywhere else – why would she? She was a grown woman, a businesswoman, a homeowner. If her past was catching up with her – and it looked like it might be – she wouldn’t run again. Running away wasn’t an option. No, she’d have to deal with it another way.

The click of a camera jolted Katie from her thoughts. It was that woman, Robyn. She was crouching down on one knee and she had the lens pointing in her direction.

Katie hated having her picture taken at the best of times; today anger spiked through her like ice.

‘Excuse me!’ she shouted, pushing herself up from the rocks and striding towards her. ‘Did you just take a picture of me?’

At that moment a seagull swooped in front of her face so closely that she felt the air displaced by its wings and she jumped back, sloshing water down her front.

‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to cause offence, or make you throw water all over yourself. And no, I didn’t take your picture, at least not intentionally.’ The woman lowered her camera and tugged her scarf away from her face.

She had the most beautiful green eyes, Katie noticed, but beneath them were dark circles which made her look hollowed out and tired.

Katie’s anger faded as quickly as it had come; what had possessed her to yell like a banshee at the poor woman? She could kick herself.

‘It’s fine,’ Katie said, feeling a tinge of shame rise to her face. She screwed the lid back on her water bottle and shoved it in her pocket. ‘Please ignore me, I’m not myself today.’

‘Ditto,’ she replied flatly, slipping the lens cap back onto the camera. ‘Actually, I’ll rephrase that. I am completely myself. And therein lies the problem.’

What a sad thing to say, Katie thought.

‘You’re from the underwear shop, aren’t you? I haven’t been in, but your windows always look gorgeous.’

Katie smiled. ‘Thank you so much, I’ll tell Nula, my assistant – she’s the creative one. I’m Katie, by the way, and you’re Claudia’s sister-in-law, I think?’

‘Robyn, yes.’ She nodded, wrapping her arms around her waist protectively. ‘She was my best friend at school, and we married the McGill brothers, so now we’re related. Look, I’m sorry, I disturbed you. You looked like you wanted to be alone and actually so do I, so I’ll leave you in peace.’

Now Katie was intrigued. There were very few local women who didn’t ever come into the shop and Robyn was one of them. She wanted to know more about her; besides, in her experience, people who wanted to be alone were often the ones who needed someone to talk to.