The Gift of Cockleberry Bay Read online

  The Gift

  of

  Cockleberry Bay

  Nicola May

  By the same author

  The Cockleberry Bay Series

  The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay

  Meet Me in Cockleberry Bay

  The Gift of Cockleberry Bay

  Working It Out

  Star Fish

  The School Gates

  Christmas Spirit

  Better Together

  Let Love Win

  The Women of Wimbledon Common

  It Started with a Click

  Nicola May has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patent Acts 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

  No part of this publication may be replaced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  © Nicola May, 2020

  Kindle Edition

  Cover design by Ifan Bates

  Cover illustration by John Meech

  For my family

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Title Page

  By the same author

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Author’s Note

  Is not the beautiful moon, which inspires poets, the same moon

  which angers the silence of the sea with a terrible roar?

  Kahlil Gibran

  PROLOGUE

  ‘Rosa, Rosa, you have to come right now.’ Jacob’s voice was full of panic.

  ‘What’s wrong? Where are you?’

  ‘Upstairs at the pub. The Duchess is about to give birth, and although I’ve watched Call the Midwife once or twice, my own midwifery skills are somewhat limited. Please, I need you!’

  With a shake of her dark brown curls, the publican’s younger friend answered with a smile-filled voice, ‘Jacob, it’s OK. The Duchess will know what to do.’

  Then on hearing both him and the pregnant dachshund making irregular panting noises down the end of the phone, she said, ‘I’m on my way.’ Instructing her own dachshund, Hot Dog, to be good, she quickly headed for the door of the Corner Shop, slamming it shut behind her.

  Rosa was walking so fast up the hill, she nearly missed her mother waving from the window of Seaspray Cottage. Mary Cobb dashed out, dressed in her supermarket uniform, ready to do a shift at the local Co-op.

  ‘I’m just off to work but have you got a minute, duck?’

  ‘I haven’t actually. The Duchess is about to give birth and so too is Jacob by the sound of it.’

  Mary tutted. ‘Bloody drama queen, he is.’

  Rosa laughed. ‘Yes, and he’d be the first to admit it. I must go – but is everything OK?’

  ‘Yes, apart from the weather forecast. Did you not hear? There’s a massive storm on the way. The sea’s likely to come right up and over the beach wall. You and Sara might need sandbags to protect the café.’

  ‘A storm in July? And that bad – really?’

  ‘Well, I personally can’t wait. I’m sick of this bloody humidity. It plays havoc with my breathing.’ Mary reached for the inhaler in her apron pocket and shook it. ‘Merlin, that mad cat, has been tearing around the back yard in circles too, and he is all-knowing when the weather’s about to change.’

  ‘OK. I’ll go down to the front and check with Sara about keeping the café protected, but I can’t go until I’ve helped deliver these baby chipolatas.’ Rosa turned to go.

  ‘You’ll be getting a reputation as a midwife in the village at this rate, what with bringing Titch’s little Theo into the world too,’ Mary called after her, a sudden gust of wind taking her words away over the rooftops of Cockleberry Bay.

  As Rosa carried on up the hill, Ritchie Rogers was busy nailing single boards of wood across the big front window of the fish-and-chip shop.

  ‘Morning, Rosa,’ the young man hailed her from the top of his ladder. ‘It’s going to be a fiery one. The glass was blown clean out last time we had a storm of this predicted level. It was really dangerous – thank heavens no one got hurt.’

  ‘Really? It doesn’t seem possible with the sun still shining like it is now.’

  ‘Yes. I guess you soft townies haven’t encountered anything like a proper coastal storm.’ He laughed. ‘You wait and see.’

  ‘Right now, I’m off to put a cold flannel on Jacob’s forehead. The puppies are on their way.’

  ‘Aw, exciting. I’ll let Titch know. She’ll be beside herself.’

  ‘Are you two still having one of the puppies, then?’

  ‘That’s the plan.’

  As Rosa reached the Lobster Pot a huge gust of wind swept down the narrow street, causing her light summer dress to blow up and reveal her knickers.

  Watching for her from the top window, Jacob had hurried downstairs and was at the door ready to greet her. He put his hand to his forehead in mock horror. ‘If it’s not enough dealing with a bitch in labour, I now get to see the next week’s washing of another one.’

  Rosa laughed. ‘Come on, Grandad, let’s do this.’

  With an offended ‘How very dare you!’ from the handsome forty-something publican, they made their way inside.

  CHAPTER 1

  Rosa could barely hear her friend Sara and co-owner of ROSA’S – the café formerly known as Coffee, Tea or Sea. The waves crashing to shore and the heavy rain that had just started lashing against the side of the glass-fronted café made it all but impossible to make out her words, even though they were standing facing each other. The force of the wind had already washed the apostrophe off the ROSA’S sign outside.

  ‘I’m so glad you are here,’ Sara said gratefully. ‘I’ve never known a storm quite like this before.’

  ‘I know,’ Rosa nodded. �
�It came in so quickly too. Madness! Trust the boys to be on the golf course when we need them. I can’t get hold of Josh, his phone is off.’

  ‘It’s fine. I managed to reach Alec; they are seeing if they can get some sandbags on the way back. He said they literally ran like kids to the car when the first lightning bolt struck.’

  Despite it being just four o’clock on a summer’s afternoon, it was almost dark. Sara squealed as the whole café suddenly lit up with an impressive fork of lightning that appeared to dance right along the ominously black horizon. It was immediately followed by a resounding CRACK of thunder that made the whole timber building shake.

  ‘I tried to sound calm when I suggested everyone made their way home from here as I needed to batten down the hatches, but I’ve always been terrified of storms.’ Sara shuddered. ‘Even the voice of the weather presenter on South Cliffs Today went a bit high-pitched at the first flash of lightning. I don’t know why at the sight of bad weather they send all these poor reporters out into either pouring rain, a hurricane or the eye of the storm. They could quite easily present inside in front of a window. Anyway, I digress.’

  ‘There’s naught scarier nor more powerful than when Nature shows the dark side of her face.’ Rosa quoted her mother in Devonian twang then began looking around the café for potential hazards in case the sea did come up.

  She still had to pinch herself that her lovely husband, Josh, had invested in this partnership with Sara, so that as well as running her beloved Corner Shop – inherited just over eighteen months ago from a mystery benefactor, who had turned out to be her great-grandfather Ned – she could also work part-time here.

  ‘Where’s Hot?’ Sara enquired.

  ‘I phoned Titch to go and get him. Mind you, it’s not Hot I should be worried about; his furry girlfriend was just about to give birth when you called me. I’ve left Jacob and Raff watching a YouTube tutorial on delivering dachshund puppies, while trying to keep the pugs Ugly and Pongo away from the delivery suite. Vicki the vet was busy with another emergency.’

  ‘I can just imagine the panic,’ Sara said.

  ‘Thank goodness Raff is there; he’s the calm one in that relationship. He’ll sort it. I googled what should be happening and it looked like everything was going to puppy plan.’

  Rosa checked that the café’s red and white awning was safely stowed and that all the appliances were powered off and wires tucked away. She removed the tea-light holders from each table and packed the books from the Read me, Replace me, Replenish me shelf into a couple of boxes and put them on top of the ice-cream freezer.

  ‘OK, what shall we do now?’ Sara asked, starting to empty the dishwasher of china.

  ‘Finish that, then let’s stack chairs on the tables as a starter.’ Rosa’s common sense quite often belied her twenty-seven years. ‘Can you call your Alec again and see if the pair of them can grab anything like bricks or blocks so we can lift the appliances off the floor when they get here.’ Her phone rang and she added: ‘Forget that, it’s Josh calling now.’

  Her husband’s voice was full of concern. ‘I can’t believe this. Are you both OK, darling?’

  ‘Yes, we’re all right – how far away are you?’

  ‘That’s the thing: a tree has gone down at the top of the hill by the garage, so we are going to have to dump the car and walk. So, no sandbags, I’m afraid. Is the sea coming up?’

  Sara screamed again as another massive clap of thunder boomed overhead. Then, ‘Help! Water is coming in! Rosa, I’m scared.’

  ‘I heard that.’ Josh sounded urgent now: ‘Get out, Rosa – get out, both of you and up the hill now. We can sort any damage, but you two are irreplaceable. Is Hot somewhere safe?’

  ‘Yes, Josh, he’s over with Titch. Don’t worry, we’re leaving now – see you at home. You be careful too.’

  Dirty water was now swirling around their feet like a wildly angry serpent writhing around in search of its foe. Then, with another almighty flash of lightning, the lights in the café went off, and this time both women screamed.

  ‘Rosa, come on.’ With hands firmly clasped, they made their way to the door and wrenched it open. The roar of the sea was deafening, and the spray and driving rain felt as if pebbles were being flung in their faces. Even the seagulls had sensibly headed inland.

  Thankful to have reached the solidity of the road, the pair were then faced with not only a torrent of water running down the hill at speed but also a woman doing the same, nearly mowing them down in the process.

  ‘Stop!’ Rosa shouted. ‘What are you doing? It’s too dangerous down there.’

  ‘My four-year-old grandson!’ the woman shouted back, out of breath and looking terrified. ‘He’s down there and I can’t swim!’

  ‘What? You mean he’s on the beach?’

  ‘The water took him off down the hill.’

  Without any hesitation, Rosa threw her bag at Sara and ran back towards the sea, calling behind her: ‘You two stay here.’

  ‘Rosa, no!’ Sara cried out. ‘The sea is too angry. We should ring the coastguard.’

  Rosa ran the fastest she had ever run in her life. Reaching the beach wall, she peered over it in the strange darkness of the storm, looking desperately up and down and in amongst the waves. Spotting a little head bobbing up and down, she snatched the lifebuoy off the side of the beach wall and, careful not to hit him, she threw it, hollering, ‘Hold on, little man.’ Then, without a thought for her own safety, she took a deep breath and clambered over the wall and jumped into the angry black waters that were already waist-deep. Fighting the current, she reached the half-drowned child, put the buoy over his head and clung on to him, only to have a huge wave surge forward and engulf the two of them. Using the might of both mind and body, Rosa maintained her grip on the child and the lifebuoy. Miraculously, and somehow managing to miss the edge of the wall, she then surfed them into the relative safety of the car park of the Ship Inn. Here, the water was coming up, but only ankle-deep, thus far.

  Soaking wet and staggering, she managed to pull the life ring off the youngster and held him tight to her chest as he choked and screamed in fear, his teeth chattering from cold and shock. ‘It’s OK, little one,’ she comforted him. ‘Your granny’s coming.’

  At that moment, Josh and Alec came charging towards her. They had bumped into Sara on the hill and found out what was going on.

  ‘Bloody hell, Rosa.’ Josh was beside himself at his wife’s state. Her tight brown curls hung like rats’ tails, her summer dress clinging to her tiny frame tighter than the little boy was. She was shaking like a leaf.

  As another gust of wind nearly blew them off their feet, he took the sobbing child from her and rugby-passed him to Alec. The big man deftly placed the little lad over his broad shoulder, then firmly grasped the hand of the now hysterical grandmother, who had finally made it down to the beach and was at the point of collapse. Their terrifying ordeal had ended safely, thanks to Rosa’s quick thinking and courage.

  Lifting his wife like a baby into the safety of his big, muscular rugby-player’s arms, Josh squeezed her tightly to him for a second. Then with a loud, ‘Let’s get up this hill – and quickly,’ he led the shocked and drenched quartet through the driving rain to the safety of higher ground.

  CHAPTER 2

  Rosa awoke to the sound of cawing seagulls and her handsome six-foot-two husband leaning up on one shoulder staring down at her. A ray of light was sneaking its way through the chink in the bedroom curtains.

  Since their wedding day, they had decided to carry on living in the modest two-bedroom flat above the Corner Shop. Rosa was quite happy with its quirky Victorian features, but Josh had insisted that the avocado bathroom suite should be replaced with modern white fittings, new tiles and flooring, and that the upstairs kitchen also be brought into the twenty-first century with modern grey units and a granite worktop and splashback replacing the old Formica. Rosa still loved the balcony that came off the lounge, and was adamant that the orna
te railings around it should stay; a compromise that Josh was happy to accept.

  As much as she did love living here, Rosa was getting quite excited about the prospect of moving to picturesque Polhampton, the local small town, where they’d have a house with more space, a garden and, hopefully, a direct sea view. She also wouldn’t miss the staircase, which was the steepest she had ever encountered, and which went down directly into the shop. She was surprised that her great-grandfather Ned had managed to stay there as long as he did – well into his nineties.

  Sometimes, she still found it hard to believe that just two Christmases ago, she was renting a room in Josh’s terraced house in Whitechapel, in the East End of London. At that time she had little money and few job prospects, and the future looked bleak – something she was used to after a difficult childhood. Now, not only did she have a comfy home and her own business, but she was married to Josh, a gem of a man, and there was a bright future ahead of them. Not a day passed when she didn’t feel blessed with all the love and security that she now enjoyed.

  ‘Here she is,’ Josh said softly. ‘Cockleberry Bay’s little heroine.’

  ‘Ow.’ Rosa groaned, putting her hand to a bandage on her knee. ‘I know I’ve just got cuts and bruises, but I’m bloody hurting. Anyway, I’m being a baby. Good morning, husband.’

  Josh brushed her lips with his. ‘Just because you don’t drink like a fish any more doesn’t mean you should think you can swim like one, especially in that sort of weather.’

  ‘Oi.’ Rosa stuck out her bottom lip. ‘There wasn’t exactly time to get the health and safety manual out now, was there, mister? And you like the fact I don’t drink any more, don’t you?’

  He hugged her tight. ‘My baby. Don’t be sensitive. You know I do, but only because you are so much happier without the demon alcohol inside of you.’ He kissed the top of her head. ‘I bloody love you, Rosa Smith. Please don’t be scaring me like that again.’