Page 71 of The Summer That Changed Us

‘Not when you find a piece on the stairs carpet when you come down barefoot in the morning, it isn’t.’ He winced and then held his hands up. ‘Not that I’m complaining, anything that puts a smile on my girl’s face is fine with me.’

The warmth in his voice, and on his face, touched her heart. He obviously loved his wife.

‘Has she shown you the mosaics she’s making for our godchildren’s christening? They’re amazing. She’s so artistic.’ His eyes shone with pride. ‘They’re really good. I’ve told her she could be on to something. This could be a new little earner for her.’

‘I haven’t see the mosaics yet,’ said Grace carefully. ‘But she has talked about your new niece quite a bit.’

‘Betty?’ Finn’s head whipped round to look at her. ‘What did she say, exactly?’

Grace puffed her cheeks out, trying to remember and trying to say the right thing without breaching Robyn’s confidence. ‘I can’t remember specifics,’ she said carefully,

‘she just said that you both adored her.’

Finn swallowed. ‘She wanted a baby … well, we both did, obviously. It made sense to have the gene testing done before we went any further. It broke my heart when the test came back positive. The thought that she’d suffer like her mum did—’ He stopped abruptly, his dark eyes almost black with anger. ‘Bloody cancer.’

She laid a hand on his arm. ‘And you’ve suffered, too.’

He cast his eyes down and shook his head. ‘It was always about her, not me. I don’t care for myself, but I feel terrible for her and guilty that … ’ His face flushed red. ‘Forget I said that. Don’t say anything to Robyn. Please. Things are difficult enough as it is.’

‘Of course not.’ She wondered what it was that Finn had to feel guilty about and wished they’d both find time to open up to each other. ‘She loves you very much, you know.’

He rubbed his face wearily. ‘Yeah, I know.’

‘So,’ she said, deciding that it was time for a change of subject. ‘Do you and your brother own the whole run of these boatsheds?’

‘We don’t own any of them,’ he said. ‘We rent this one and the others are either deserted or used for storage by other businesses. The McGill brothers make up the entire fishing fleet of Merle Bay.’

For the next few minutes, Finn showed Grace around the premises, even digging out old black and white photographs from sixty years ago showing his grandfather with his arms around other fishermen, a bustling boatyard in the background. Grace was enthralled. She loved the passion and pride in his voice and she really enjoyed getting to know the man she’d heard so much about from his wife.

‘I can make you another brew if you like?’ he offered.

‘I’d better be getting back,’ she smiled. ‘And I bet Robyn will be wondering where you are.’

He picked up their two mugs and stacked them in the sink. ‘She’s gone to some support thing this afternoon. Won’t be back for ages.’

‘Good for her.’ Grace eyed him thoughtfully. ‘You can’t beat talking about it when there’s something on your mind.’

‘Oh, look. I spy a tiny patch of blue.’ He pointed out of the window.

He’d changed the topic of conversation, but she let it go.

‘Enough to make a sailor a pair of trousers?’ she said, remembering an old saying of her granddad’s.

He laughed. ‘Not even enough to make him a pair of Speedos. Which is probably a good thing. But at least the rain has stopped.’

‘Then I’ll be on my way.’ She gave him a warm smile and slipped her arms into her coat. ‘It was lovely to meet you.’

‘Likewise.’ He opened the door for her and handed her her umbrella. ‘I can’t wait to tell Robyn I met you.’

‘Goodbye.’ She stepped outside and tucked her hair into her hood against the wind. She’d only gone a few paces when she heard footsteps behind her splashing through the rain.

‘Wait!’ he called. He held out a small parcel wrapped in kitchen paper. ‘A piece of flapjack for when you get home.’

She laughed. ‘You’re too kind.’

He grinned sheepishly. ‘Robyn says I’m a feeder. I can’t help it.’

Thoughts of Robyn and her lovely husband occupied Grace’s head all the way home. Something didn’t add up. Robyn had said that she felt guilty and explained why. Now Finn was saying the same thing. What would he have to feel guilty about? There was no doubt in her mind about one thing: Finn was deeply in love with his wife. But then again, hadn’t she thought exactly the same about Myles?