Once I had cooled down a bit and finished the divine scallop dinner, I had time to relax and listen to the songs, even joining in with a chorus of one or two. The shanties were a stimulating mix, telling tales of high seas, lost loves and bewitching mermaids. They were rousing, stirring and all in perfect keeping with the pub ambience. Sam had been right to take the traditional route on his first foray into offering entertainment and George’s atmospheric storytelling was the perfect wrap-up to the night.
I listened to the first couple of tall tales and then began quietly helping with the clear-up. Sticking to the shadows, I had the chance to watch the audience as well as listen to George. The rapt expressions and the way everyone jumped in unison when he thumped his glass down on the table, proved that he had them all in the palm of his hand. George was a truly great storyteller and I hoped I would get the chance to hear him again before I had to leave the village, which then annoyingly reminded me that I would have to tell Dad about my change of plans tomorrow. A task I was definitely not looking forward to.
It took a while for everyone to leave and it was well after midnight by the time the Sea Dogs had packed their van and driven off into the night and the rest of the volunteers had drifted away to their beds.
Sam locked the door after making sure Sophie had an escort to walk her home (not that Wynmouth was a dangerous place in any sense, but George’s ghostly tales had got us all a little spooked), and leant heavily against it.
‘Well now,’ I said, stifling a yawn as I gave the bar one last wipe down and hung the cloth over the pumps as I’d seen being done on the television, ‘I think that could be called a roaring success, wouldn’t you agree, landlord?’
‘It was amazing,’ said Sam. ‘Absolutely brilliant.’
‘So,’ I said, ‘just remind me again, why you haven’t been doing things like this before?’
‘I told you,’ he said, ‘I just haven’t had the time to organize something like this properly.’
Had he asked for help before, that wouldn’t have been an issue, but I didn’t say as much because I was pretty certain he’d worked it out for himself now.
‘And everyone’s mightily impressed with you, Tess.’
‘Are they?’
‘Oh yes,’ he smiled. ‘They all know how you stepped up when I asked and Sophie has been telling them all about the suggestions you’ve made to improve the café too.’
I hoped I hadn’t made a mistake in sticking my head above the parapet. I had been planning a quiet holiday originally, where no one took much notice of me. If Dad tried to track me down and thought Wynmouth might be a good place to look, he wouldn’t have to make many enquiries before he found me, would he?
‘They weren’t really my suggestions,’ I modestly reminded Sam, pushing thoughts of Dad to the sidelines again. ‘From what Sophie said, her daughter has been suggesting most of them for far longer than I have. It’s just for some reason that she decided to take them on board when I came along.’
‘Well,’ said Sam, coming to join me behind the bar and pulling me in for a hug I hadn’t seen coming or had time to for prepare for but still very much enjoyed, ‘you can’t deny that tonight has been down to you, can you?’
‘Of course, I can,’ I said, pulling away a little so I could look up at him. ‘This has been a joint effort right from the start.’
Sam looked doubtful.
‘You were just like Sophie,’ I insisted. ‘All you needed was a little nudge in the right direction to get the ball rolling.’
Sam laughed, the sound resonating through his chest and into mine.
‘And you,’ he said, ‘in spite of the fact that you’ve only been in the village for five minutes, turned out to be the girl capable of administering that little nudge.’
His sultry tone made my knees buckle a bit. It was just as well he still had his arms around me.
‘I suppose I did . . .’
The words died in my throat as I realized he was going to kiss me. I moistened my lips in anticipation and took a preparatory breath. He lowered his head and was so close I could almost feel his breath caressing my mouth.
‘Are you still there, Sam?’ someone suddenly shouted as they hammered on the pub door, and we sprang apart. ‘I think I’ve left my keys behind!’
*
I lay in bed in the early hours, imagining the kiss that hadn’t quite happened, and remembering how wonderful it had felt to be held. However, even though Sam was gorgeousness personified and had got me all stirred up, with my sensible hat on, the one that wasn’t fuelled by my sex drive, I knew it was probably just as well that nothing had happened. I hadn’t come to Wynmouth looking for a love affair. My life was already complicated enough.
I rolled on to my side, my ears trained to the sound of the waves as they gently broke upon the beach, and I felt sleep start to take me. Even though I was relieved Sam and I had been interrupted earlier, I couldn’t seem to stop my head playing out what might have happened had someone not forgotten their keys . . .
*
‘Morning!’ I cheerily shouted, announcing my arrival, as I slipped into the pub kitchen via the beer garden a few hours later. ‘How’s your head?’
Neither Sam or I had drunk a great deal; in fact, now I thought about it, I don’t think I’d seen him with a beer in his hand all evening. In fact, I didn’t think I’d ever seen him take a drink, other than the occasional fully loaded Coke, at all.
‘Clear as a bell!’ he called straight back. ‘Not even a hint of a headache. How about you?’
‘Oh, I’m all right,’ I said happily, ‘in fact . . .’
The words died on my lips as I walked through to the bar and found him framed in the doorway with his arms wrapped tightly around a young woman.
‘Oh,’ I choked, feeling a complete fool for just marching in. ‘Sorry, I didn’t realize. I didn’t mean to interrupt.’
I turned back to the kitchen, wondering if he made a habit of going around hugging women and then reminded myself that I wasn’t supposed to be bothered about things like that. The little fantasy I had indulged in as I nodded off had been just that, a fantasy. I stopped again, not sure what to do.
‘I’ll come back later,’ I squeaked, my cheeks burning.
‘No, don’t go,’ Sam insisted. ‘You aren’t interrupting. Come through. I want to introduce you to someone.’
My body temperature felt about a thousand degrees and I knew I was sweating. I must have looked a right mess.
‘Tess,’ Sam smiled, not noticing my discomfiture as he casually released the woman and steered her over to where I was standing, ‘this is Sophie’s daughter, Hope. Hope, this is Tess.’
‘Oh, my god!’ Hope squealed, as if I was the most exciting thing since sliced bread. ‘It’s so good to finally meet you!’
With her dark, heavily lashed eyes and thick curls, coupled with the way she reached out and pulled me in for a suffocating hug, she couldn’t possibly have been anyone other than Sophie’s daughter. I was rather taken aback to be greeted like a long-lost relative as opposed to a stranger, but I shouldn’t have been surprised really.
‘Mum has told me so much about you,’ she beamed. ‘I can’t believe you’ve got her surfing the net. I’ve been trying forever! And now Sam tells me that last night you pulled off the most amazing evening Wynmouth has seen in years. I can’t believe I missed that. Had I known I would have definitely made it back in time, but I was with my aunt Blossom in Norwich, and hadn’t spoken to Mum all week—’