Page 60 of The Summer That Changed Us

‘Sure.’ She shrugged, defeated. Right then, Robyn thought Grace would have agreed to anything, it was as if she’d given up caring.

He let out a breath and nodded. ‘Good, hang on in there, lovely girl. I’ll be thinking of you.’

Grace ended the call and Ned’s anxious face disappeared.

‘That’s it,’ she said, tears running silently down her cheeks. ‘Rock bottom has officially been reached. So much for thinking I had a perfect marriage. Myles was unfaithful. Maybe he didn’t even love me, maybe our whole relationship was a sham. How could he? How bloody could he? Who is she? And he’s not even here for me to get angry with. The bastard.’

Katie stared down at the letter from her blackmailer. ‘That is exactly how I feel too, like I’ve hit rock bottom. Angry with someone I don’t know and out of control.’

Robyn’s heart began to pound. She couldn’t let this happen. Only a couple of weeks ago, she marched away from Sea Glass House after meeting these two, full of inspiration and energy, determined to get her life back on track. Now she, like them, had hit an all-time low. She’d ignored all the little signs Finn had given, the lack of intimacy even when she encouraged him, the way he fussed around her treating her like an invalid instead of his lover and then, the killer blow, turning her down when she’d offered him her body.

‘Yep,’ she said bitterly. ‘Rock bottom just about covers it for me, too. But you know what? The future is in our hands. It’s up to us to make a change. I’ve been in denial, but now I accept I need help, specialist help. I need to speak to other women who’ve been through what I’ve been through and learn from them. Maybe Finn has fallen out of love with me, maybe he’s decided that a life without being a father isn’t enough for him anymore. But I can’t keep turning a blind eye to it. I need to face it and do something positive. Maybe we all needed to hit rock bottom before we could find a way back up.’

Grace looked unconvinced.

‘Katie, the letter that came today?’ Robyn stood up and paced the room again, filled with a surge of energy. ‘Yes, the situation is horrible, but getting this letter is a good thing. You’ve been paralysed by fear since the first letter arrived. But now you know what you’re dealing with and we can make a plan. You needn’t let fear hold you back anymore.’

‘I suppose so,’ Katie replied cautiously. ‘I don’t like where I am, but at least the next move is ours.’

‘And Grace. Same with you,’ said Robyn. ‘That phone call from Ned is a good thing too. Because now we know the truth.’

Grace’s jaw was rigid with anger and hurt and disappointment. ‘Ever since that phone call from Julia I’ve had an internal battle going on: on one hand, not wanting to believe that Myles could do that to me, and on the other, this tiny chink of doubt worming into my brain tormenting me with images of all the women we knew. Who might he have slept with? My heart is broken all over again. I don’t see how knowing the truth can be a good thing.’

Katie put her arm around Grace’s shoulders and the two of them leaned their heads together.

‘Because knowledge is power,’ said Robyn.

She pulled herself up tall and gazed out at the bay. Dusk had settled over calm waters. The sky and the sea blurred into one on the horizon and it was impossible to see where one ended and the other began. Grace, Katie and her, three women, three stories and three fights on their hands. They might be at rock bottom today, but as of tomorrow, the only way was up.

‘The three of us are going to fight back. We’re not going to cower away, afraid of what others think of us. We’re going to show the world what we’re made of.’ Words weren’t enough, Robyn realised, looking at Grace and Katie’s uncertain faces. They needed a gesture, something with impact to show them she meant what she said. Straightaway she knew what to do and before she had a chance to talk herself out of it, she pulled her jumper off over her head.

Katie and Grace gasped in surprise.

‘So, on that note,’ Robyn said, challenging them with a grin. ‘Who’s going to join me in the hot tub?’

Chapter Twenty-Three

Katie glanced at her shopping list as she powered her way uphill to the Merle Bay supermarket: juice, crisps, something healthy for dinner and maybe, as it was a Friday, a bottle of rosé.

Since the other night at Grace’s, she’d been propelled by an invisible force, teeth permanently gritted and full of a new determination not to beaten by this blackmail stuff. Unable to sleep last night, she’d fired up her laptop and googled ‘how to respond to blackmail’. The search had yielded pages and pages of results and the overriding evidence was that if you gave them what they wanted, blackmailers never went away. It was about 3 a.m. when she’d finally made her decision: she wasn’t going to pay up. She hadn’t quite worked out how she was going to play it, but one thing was for certain, she didn’t intend to sit by and let someone try and ruin her life. And in the meantime, she was turning her attention to more important things: her business, her home, her friends.

Katie wasn’t short of ideas. It was time to make the cottage hers, starting with giving it a name. Lots of the cottages had names, but hers was simply 27 High Street. She wanted a name plaque up on the front door so eye-catching that tourists would want to take pictures of it. The interior would take longer to sort out. She was contemplating knocking through all the downstairs rooms into one large light and bright space. She’d consult Grace the next time she saw her; her architect’s eye would probably be able to visualise a new layout instantly. Everything needed updating: décor, furniture, soft furnishings, and when funds allowed it, a new bathroom was definitely on the list.

She’d also had some thoughts about the shop, the price range in particular. The story Amber had told her about the girl who couldn’t afford underwear had really struck a chord with her and she’d been wondering if she could help in some small way. And Robyn, poor gorgeous Robyn, having to go through what she had and having to readjust to her new body. Nula was brilliant with ladies looking for post-mastectomy bras, but now Katie wondered if there was more she could do to help in this area too.

That evening, they’d all climbed into the hot tub wearing only their underwear, even Grace, who could easily have put on her swimsuit. Katie had been far too self-conscious about her own semi-nakedness to be aware of how the other two were feeling. She never wore a bikini these days, she was strictly a one-piece girl. Baring her all, albeit in bra and knickers, had sent her anxiety level through the roof. But she’d done it, and once they were all submerged in the warm bubbly water, she’d found it quite liberating.

She paused on her upward march to catch her breath beside the charity shop window. It was closed for the day and the lights were off inside, but she could make out rails of clothing and a rack of shoes. No bras though, she knew that because she’d sent customers there in the past to hand over their old ones which no longer fitted. Hygiene reasons, apparently. She understood that, but it was a shame; most of them were still perfectly serviceable and had lots more wear in them.

One of the mannequins in the window wore a T-shirt which caught Katie’s eye. It was by Paul Smith, a designer she’d always had a soft spot for because he’d come from Nottingham like her. It looked like it would fit her and at less than five pounds was an absolute steal. She sighed and turned away, continuing upwards. The T-shirt was no good for her, bargain or not, she’d never wear anything fitted like that. She’d found her style long ago: loose, comfortable, androgynous. It suited her figure, it was easy to work in and most importantly, nothing she wore would ever catch anyone’s eye for the wrong reason. So much for feeling liberated in the hot tub, she thought wryly. Old habits die hard.

She turned at the top of the hill, entered the supermarket and picked up a basket. A few minutes later, she’d picked up most of the things on her list: juice, crisps, a punnet of strawberries she’d been unable to resist, some salad, a pomegranate and bunches of fresh mint and coriander. She fancied something different for a change, something really tasty. She aimed for the spice section for inspiration and there, arguing in front of the packets of rice were Amber and Barney, a small shopping trolley in front of them.

‘It’ll be delicious,’ Barney laughed at the grimace on Amber’s face. ‘Trust me.’

‘That’s what you said last time,’ she said, hand on hip.

Before Katie knew it her feet had carried her towards them.