Winter at Pretty Beach by Polly Babbington (best affordable ebook reader TXT) 📗

wildlife,’ Ben commented as he helped her up on the deck.

‘I know. It really does feel different.’ Sallie replied looking down at the blue water.

‘I love it here Ben. You were right as usual.’

‘I obviously know you well,’ Ben said, laughing.

‘You obviously do...’

They took their place at the front of the cabin as the boat was untied from the wharf and pulled steadily away out into the cold waters. The boat slowly moved out along the coast and they looked up in amazement at the lush forests, towering rocks and abundant wildlife, gliding past sea otters and puffins while eagles soared high above their heads.

As the boat meandered in and out, and Sallie and Ben enjoyed the scenery they made their way to the tiny restaurant at the back of the boat. Six small tables dressed in royal blue checked table cloths and nautical decor greeted them. Tiny round portholes ran all the way along the sides and highly polished timber bench seats with thick padded cushions were available to sit and look out at the amazing scenery going past the window.

They sat down ready for the three-course dinner - it had been pre-booked so there was no choice, and Sallie and Ben had wondered what to expect, but had been told by people at the seaplane office that it was unforgettable.

Sallie leant forward and whispered to Ben, ‘Remember when we went to that cafe in Paris and got the recipe for the chicken?’

‘That’s funny you should remember that - it reminded me of that too!’

‘Hopefully, it’s as good here,’ she said and nodded, crossed her fingers and held them up to him.

The waiter brought a basket of freshly baked rolls up to the table in a basket wrapped up in a royal blue gingham napkin. He unwrapped it and placed the basket on the table. Next up, tiny crab cakes made with mashed potato and served with a grainy mustard did exactly the job they were meant to do and made them ready for the main lunch.

Sallie dipped into the platter of salmon covered in the creamy white sauce and added it to her plate with the mashed potato and the salad. The starter had been delicious but this looked a little bit disappointing - salmon in a sauce and not a lot else going on on the plate other than too many pastel colours. Popping the salmon into her mouth her taste buds exploded with the flavour, the salmon was soft, firm and the freshest she’d ever tasted, if felt as if it had just jumped out of the sea. The accompanying sauce was creamy and simple, but delicious.

‘Ben!’ She exclaimed, nodding in appreciation.

‘I know, oh my, it’s so good.’ He said as he leant across the tablecloth and whispered back to her - ‘don’t tell me, you want me to ask for the recipe,’ he winked and laughed.

‘I bet it’s really simple - it's not as if there can be a very large or fabulous kitchen out the back there, can it? So it must be really easy to make.’

‘True, true. I imagine it’s the quality of the fish though rather than the actual recipe.’

‘Guess so - let’s just ask though shall we?’ Sallie said.

‘You mean, can you ask Ben, do you?’

‘Errr, yeah,’ she replied, laughing and giggling as she dipped into another serving of the salmon.

‘Okay, I’ll ask later.’

They finished the meal with a warm, sponge pudding with treacle and liquor coffees which all definitely did the job of warming them up after the sightseeing out on deck.

Sallie looked around at the tiny little restaurant full of customers rugged up in thick jumpers as gorgeous scenery floated by while they sat there with their full stomachs and happy faces. She felt so full and so content it was almost unreal and knew that she would remember this forever - her and Ben on a lovely trip.

‘You know what Ben? We should do this more often.’ She said, a far away look in her eyes.

‘Do what more often?’

‘Just getting away from it all. I mean I can’t think of anything worse than sitting in an all-inclusive resort all day with a Pina Colada but going somewhere like this you get to see a real part of the world, not some resort made for tourists on the side of a beach in Greece.’

‘Well, hopefully the seaplane business will mean I’ll be flying all over the place to do consulting if this all goes well and the word gets around.’

‘Hmm, yeah, where to next then? Remember Paris, I loved that, and we’ve still yet to go on Honeymoon.’

‘Well you will insist on buying properties, and you know, starting businesses, helping other people in their businesses and, errrm there was the small thing of the burn.’

She sighed and chuckled, ‘Yes, it’s been a busy year.’

‘Certainly has, let’s look into it though - with that fast train getting us up to town it’s a no-brainer to get away for the weekend now.’

‘Right. When we get back we are planning our next trip - we’ll write it off as a business expense to research recipes.’ She joked.

They both laughed, clinked their drinks and toasted finding new recipes and new lands.

Chapter 34

It had been a wonderful few days - a break that Sallie would never forget. They’d hiked up the side of mountains, had gorgeous meals in lovely little restaurants and spent an evening in the hot tub with a bottle of champagne watching the stars.

Ben pulled into the parking space outside a roadside diner - cute little lace half curtains lined the windows of a squat beige building with a massive lit-up sign announcing Shelley-Anne’s Diner. A huge billboard nearly as big as the building itself, topped with cut-out flashing letters spelt out to anyone that passed ‘Great Food Sold Here’, gave details of the breakfast on offer.

‘So, according to everyone I’ve met so far this is the best place in town,’ Ben said peering dubiously out the window thinking it looked