A New Beginning (3 page)

He said it as if he meant it, and for the first time in a long while she felt quite proud of herself, as well as feeling tired.

‘You need some proper boots, though,’ he added, glancing down at her sodden trainers as she squelched through the mud. ‘I wouldn’t try it again in them.’

Even that reprimand didn’t take the shine off the day. ‘I know,’ she said with a grin. ‘Don’t think I haven’t noticed.’

He grinned back and they forged on in a companionable silence, heading for a roof over their heads and a roaring fire.

Chapter Three

She had much to think about over supper, which was just as well as she was entirely alone. No sign at all of Bob, still the only other guest. First, she knew she needed some better clothing if she was to do any more walking in the mountains. Proper boots would have to be the priority but she also needed a jacket that did a better job of keeping out the rain. Some different trousers, too. The jeans she had worn on Goat Fell were so wet they would take the rest of the week to dry. Besides, they had made her legs sore. So she wouldn’t wear them again. She could do with a little backpack, as well. You couldn’t stuff everything you needed into your pockets.

That was quite a list she was compiling. She narrowed her eyes and squinted thoughtfully. Would it be worth it, spending money on all those things? Would she get enough use out of them?

She shook her head impatiently. It certainly would be worth it. She would make sure of that.

Despite feeling stiff and tired now, she had enjoyed her little adventure. It had been exciting, and had made her feel good about herself. Better, anyway. Even if she did feel tired now, it was a healthy fatigue. Muscles well-used – especially the ones she had forgotten about. Face glowing. Besides, she had a goal now, a target. She wanted to reach the summit of Goat Fell. Maybe not this week, but sometime – and soon.

You met such nice people in the mountains. That was another thing. Like? Well, like the handful she had exchanged greetings with on her walks. And like Bob. People here at the inn, as well. Carol, for instance. But Bob, especially.

The mysterious Mr. Bob. At first sight he seemed pretty remote, aloof even. You certainly wouldn’t call him sociable. He kept himself to himself. But he was a different person if you encountered him outdoors, as she had done. He seemed more at ease there. More comfortable somehow. Friendlier. Happier even - even in heavy rain!

She felt she could just about understand that. Her own brief experience on Goat Fell had given her a sense of being almost a different person, a better, stronger person somehow, out in the mountains. You were being challenged by the terrain and the weather, and how you responded said something about what sort of person you were. If you did well, you knew it. You could be proud of yourself. And you didn’t need anyone to tell you.

She smiled at the memory of Bob appearing so unexpectedly out of the cloud when she’d got herself off track. He’d been so tough and capable. And good humoured. All of that, and probably more. Not handsome, though, she added with a grin. Definitely not handsome.

Well... Slightly handsome, perhaps, in a rugged, outdoor sort of way. She couldn’t imagine him setting female hearts a-flutter in the city, in a cocktail bar, say, or in a shopping mall – never mind an office. But up there on Goat Fell he’d been in his element, and he’d been transformed.

Perhaps he really was happier in the mountains? Maybe he was someone who found what most people regarded as “normal life” dull or, to go to the other extreme, too stressful. One or the other. It was hard to tell at the moment which camp he fell into.

The crash of things falling in the kitchen interrupted her thoughts. She heard Henry complaining bitterly. She heard Carol – poor Carol! – trying unsuccessfully to placate him. It was a wonder she stayed. It really was.

‘I hope that wasn’t my meal ending up on the floor?’ she said with a giggle when Carol re-appeared.

Carol raised eyebrows towards the ceiling. ‘He says we’re going to bankrupt him, the way we’re all going on.’

Fat chance! Kirsty thought, as Carol hurried back to the kitchen. Henry must be nearly there already, all by himself. All by his own efforts. Or lack of them.

Why couldn’t he do things differently? Or even just put a bit more thought and effort into what he did do? Laziness or lack of interest? The latter, probably. From what she’d seen and heard, Henry just didn’t want to be here any longer.

There was a lot you could do with the old place, though. Even she could see that. But they needed more customers. The money they brought in would finance the maintenance and improvements the building required. Getting them would be a challenge, of course, but you could always start gradually, doing little things. You didn’t have to start by spending a lot of money up-front.

‘Does it hurt a lot?’

She looked up and gave an embarrassed little laugh. ‘Hello, Bob. I didn’t notice you come in.’

‘Silent as a shadow. That’s me.’

‘Not this afternoon, you weren’t. I heard you clattering down the mountain long before I could actually see you.’

‘I was in a hurry. Didn’t want to get wet. Anyway, how are the aches and bruises, and the blisters?’

‘Surprisingly, not too bad. I’m a bit tired but otherwise I’m fine. It was a good day, wasn’t it? And now I’m just sitting here, thinking.’

‘About what? It looked painful.’

She hesitated. ‘Sit down. Have you eaten?’

‘Not yet, no,’ he admitted. He looked around indecisively, and then back at her. ‘Would company trouble you?’

‘Not at all. Sit down, please.’

He did, placing the pint of beer he’d brought with him on the table. ‘So what were you thinking?’

‘What you could do to make this place more popular, and more profitable. Poor Carol. Henry’s blaming her for his impending bankruptcy.’

Bob smiled. ‘Oh, that’s a long-running story. Henry wants out, basically. He’s not interested in doing anything different. So the old place continues its long slide into ruination. What would you do to halt it?’

She frowned with thought. ‘Well, first, I would do something about the car park. Drain it, or something. Make it possible for people to use it without wearing thigh waders.’

‘Put some field drains in and a load of hard-core,’ Bob said. ‘Next?’

‘I’d get some young lad to design a website. It wouldn’t have to be anything fancy. Nothing expensive. Just a website that would mean people could find Fells Inn on the internet.’

Bob nodded. ‘They certainly need more customers.’

‘I would employ a couple more staff like Carol, people who would enjoy being here, work hard and make guests feel welcome when they arrive. And I would see my bank manager about a loan to allow me to put in central heating, and en-suite facilities in the bedrooms. I know those alterations would be costly, but I bet they would soon pay their way.’

She paused, smiled and added, ‘That would be for starters. Oh, and I would provide packed lunches for guests who wanted them.’

‘I can see you’ve thought about it a lot,’ Bob said, nodding with apparent approval.

She laughed. ‘It doesn’t take a genius.’

‘You’re right. Just someone with the interest, and a bit of get-up-and-go.’

‘Well, that’s my contribution. What would you do, Bob. You’re here a lot, Carol says. So you must know what’s wrong with the place.’

He smiled and shook his head. ‘It’s no good asking me. I don’t know about these things. I’m just a paying guest who likes the place, with all its faults.’

‘Come on, Bob. What can you think of?’

‘Well... a different beer, for a start? I’m not very fond of this one.’

‘Bob!’

***

She woke up during the night and thought of something else to tell Bob. Rattling windows. They had to be stopped. She lay for a while and listened to hers. A bit of a wind had got up. She could hear it lashing the old sycamore trees across the green. More rain, too. It was splattering against the window. Goat Fell would be out of bounds tomorrow. She could visualise it now under a thick, black cap of heavy, wet cloud. She gave a delicious shiver and slipped back into a kindly sleep.

As she dressed the next morning she added other items to her mental list of things to tell Bob.

But, disappointingly, he wasn’t there for breakfast.

‘Bob already had his?’ she asked Carol, hoping he hadn’t.

‘Yes. He’s away now.’

Kirsty glanced out of the window. ‘Surely he’s not out walking in this weather?’

‘Oh, no. He’s away home.’

‘Home?’

She felt doubly disappointed. Not only would she not be able to resume her conversation with him, but he’d left without warning her. Without saying good-bye either. What a strange man he was.

‘Is there anything else I can get you?’ Carol asked.

Kirsty shook her head. ‘No, thanks. I’ll get a move on.’

‘You’re not thinking of walking yourself, are you?’

‘Not today. Today I’m going shopping.’

‘Oh?’ Carol looked interested. ‘Shopping? That’s more like it.’

‘I’m going to look for some outdoor trousers and a better jacket. And some boots. One or two other things, as well. A backpack maybe. Where would you recommend I go?’

‘Keswick. There’s plenty of outdoor shops there. And some are bound to have sales on.’

‘Right. Keswick, then. That’s where I’ll go.’ She added, as an afterthought, ‘Did Bob say where he was going? Where he lives, I mean?’

Carol shook her head. ‘I never even saw him. He was too early for me. It was my turn to get the kids ready for school.’

Man of Mystery! Kirsty thought again with a wry smile. Gone into the night. The early morning, at least. Pity. A nice man, too.

‘That’s what he’s like,’ Carol added. ‘Comes and goes, comes and goes. He’s a law unto himself. All you really know about Bob is that he’ll appear again before very long.’

Chapter Four

Keswick was quiet. That was more to do with the weather than the time of year, Kirsty suspected. Incessant rain, falling in a steady downpour, had a way of emptying streets as well as hills.

She spent a pleasant couple of hours searching through some of the many outdoor shops, and then retreated to “Sophie’s Kitchen” for an early lunch of “Soup-’n’-Something”.

Sophie was large and friendly, and eager to dispense good advice.

‘Keep off the fells, I tell them. What’s wrong with down here? Mountains are all very well to look at, but being on them is uncomfortable and dangerous. You can get wet. You can get too hot. You can break your leg. And even on a perfect day mountains can make you very tired.’

‘Exhausted, even?’ Kirsty suggested cheerfully.

‘Exactly! What’s wrong with staying in the valley, and just looking at them?’

‘Nothing?’

‘Nothing. Right. So you’ve been shopping. What have you got there?’

‘Boots. Backpack. A new mountain jacket.’

Sophie shook her head and wagged a finger. ‘Don’t say you haven’t been warned. I do not want to lose another customer.’

In the midst of eating her panini Craig rang.

‘How’s it going?’

‘Fine, thanks, Craig. How are you?’

‘OK. I was just worried about you.’

‘About me? Oh, Craig! When did you ever worry about me?’

He chuckled. ‘So everything’s all right? Enjoying yourself?’

‘I am, actually. Yes. It’s a beautiful place.’

‘That’s good. Not a bit isolated?’

‘It is, yes. But that’s the whole point.’

She knew what he really meant. He meant was she missing him? Did she think they should re-consider?

But he would be worried about her, as well. She knew that. Craig was kind and considerate, in his own way. A good man. People had been telling her that for longer than she could remember.

‘Craig,’ she said gently. ‘We were going nowhere, you and I. We were right to call it a day. And you needn’t worry about me. It’s very nice of you, but I’m fine.’

‘Sure?’

‘Certain,’ she said, with tears not far away.

He sounded relieved now. She smiled reluctantly. She could see his face, how he would be. Worry suddenly lifted. All smiles again.

‘We did the right thing, Craig,’ she repeated softly. ‘Don’t worry about it. Just… get on!’

There was a bit more. Then the conversation ended, died really, and she switched off. She hadn’t been entirely sure when she left home, but she was now. They had done the right thing.

‘Man trouble?’ the redoubtable Sophie asked.

‘Not really,’ Kirsty smiled and decided to put it differently. ‘Well, yes. You could say that. He’s worried about me, he says.’

‘Guilty conscience,’ Sophie said with a sniff. ‘Men! You can’t tell me what they’re like.’

Kirsty smiled a query.

‘Been married three times. All of them a mistake. Never happier than now.’

‘Single and successful businesswoman?’

‘You bet! I’ve put the Atlantic between me and my mistakes, and made a success of my life.’

Impressive Sophie, Kirsty thought as she wandered back to her car. A self-made woman – eventually.

She had always wanted, and assumed she would have, a different sort of life. For several years, in fact, she had believed she and Craig would marry, set up house together and have a family. She had assumed her life would be like her parents’ life together had been. Herself and Craig. Together. Forever. Till Death did them part.

But somewhere along the way all that had changed. She couldn’t remember why or when, or even how. She really didn’t know how it had happened, but it had. Slowly, steadily, the questions had arisen. Nothing had happened. Time had drifted by, and with it the realisation had grown that perhaps it wasn’t going to happen. Marriage and children, and all that. It wasn’t just her that had come to feel that way either. She had seen, and understood instinctively, that Craig had felt the same way.

So they had agreed to step back and perhaps call it a day. Even that had not been clear-cut, though. Several weeks had drifted by. A couple of months of occasional contact. Then she had decided to come here and have a break. With some misgivings. Yet... And yet... she thought, as she settled back in the car. Until he rang, she hadn’t thought of Craig all week. Surely that meant something?

Well, what did it mean? Not much probably. It didn’t mean she and Craig were over altogether, for instance. All it probably meant was that they had both been busy and thinking of other things. It didn’t mean they were definitely not going to be together for the rest of their lives, did it? Well, no. Perhaps not.

But it probably did.

Oh, how complicated everything was!

She started the engine and put the car in gear. They would just have to wait and see. Perhaps time would tell. It often did – or so she’d always been told.