Contents (57)
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Acknowledgements
- About the Author
- Also by Sharon Gosling
Eight
Next morning, Rachel opened the bookshop as usual because she didn’t know what else to do. Ron and Bukowski were waiting outside. Beyond him she could see Edie already making her way up the hill. By the time the coffee was on, Ezra had arrived. Eustace circled Cullen’s empty chair, miaowing in a way that hollowed out her heart.
‘Anything you need help with, whatever it is, just let us know,’ Edie told her, as Rachel lined up the mugs. ‘We’re here to help.’
Rachel was grateful enough for their presence; though it could not fill the void, it at least filled the bookshop, which seemed far too large and empty without Cullen’s cheerful voice echoing within it.
‘There aren’t any biscuits,’ Rachel said. ‘I didn’t—’
Edie produced a packet of fruit shortcake from her bag and laid them on the counter. ‘Not a patch on Cullen’s,’ she said. ‘But still.’
Toby Hollingwood arrived as she was pouring their drinks. ‘Hello,’ he said quietly. ‘I hope I’m not interrupting. I wanted… well, actually I’m not quite sure what I wanted.’
Just to be here, Rachel thought. You just wanted to be here, the same as all of us, because we none of us have anywhere else to go.
‘Come in, lad,’ Ron said, his voice rough with grief. ‘Don’t stand hovering by the door. Have some coffee.’
Rachel produced another mug and poured him coffee, as if she did this every morning, as if he had always been there. She managed a smile as he walked towards her, still with that uneven gait.
‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘I’m so sorry. I only knew Cullen briefly but even so it isn’t hard to understand what you’ve all lost. I’m sorry that I didn’t get to know him better.’
They all sipped coffee in silent communion, those who had known Cullen MacDonald for decades and those only for days, and they all missed him in different but equal ways.
‘He would have liked this,’ Ron remarked, starting on his third biscuit. ‘Us all being together, here, with Rachel. He wouldn’t have wanted her to be on her own.’
There was murmuring assent, but no more words for a while, until the bookshop door opened again and Gilly appeared. She hesitated in the same way that Toby had, seeming younger than the day before, drowned as she was in Ezra’s battered coat, which came almost to her knees and hung heavy on her shoulders.
‘I heard about Cullen,’ she said, her voice clear and brave in the sudden silence. ‘They were talking about it in the Co-op this morning. And I wanted to say I’m sorry.’
‘That’s really sweet of you,’ Rachel said. ‘Come on, Gilly, come and join us.’
Gilly moved closer, the circle around the armchairs opening to accept her. As Gilly saw Ezra, she hesitated for a moment and then seemed to make a decision.
‘Thank you for the coat,’ the girl said awkwardly. ‘Do you want it back now? It’s not raining anymore.’