Finding Home by Kate Field (read book .txt) 📗

work for Paula, and dealing with emails and admin for As You Like It, Mim spent as much time as she could with Lucas. He was staying in a B&B nearby, and each day he would cycle over to Littlemead and they would walk along the coastal path or sit in the caravan if it rained, trying to fill in the separation of the past and build a foundation for the future.

For the first time, she had to turn down a request from Bea to drive her on an errand.

‘Would tomorrow morning be too late?’ Mim asked. ‘Lucas is coming over this afternoon.’

‘Lucas?’ Bea repeated. ‘Do you have a boyfriend, Mim dear? Corin said he’d seen you with a young man in the Boat. It wasn’t anyone he knew.’

‘He’s not my boyfriend. He’s my brother.’ Mim grinned. It was still an amazing thing to say those words. She told Bea the whole story about Lucas seeing the article in the newspaper and tracking her down.

‘And so now you have your own family. I can’t tell you how pleased I am for you.’ Although Mim didn’t think she looked entirely pleased. Was there a trace of sadness in Bea’s expression? It soon passed. ‘Of course the errand can wait, or I’ll risk Lia’s driving. Family must always come first.’ She smiled. ‘Why don’t you bring him to dinner so we can all meet him? I’ll ask Mrs Dennis to make something special.’

Mim couldn’t imagine Lucas coping with a room full of noisy Howards.

‘Thanks, but he’s quite shy and I’ll be working at the Boat every night. I’m sure you might bump into him soon though. He cycles here most days.’

Corin hadn’t been in the Boat since the night Lucas had introduced himself. Mim thought he must have gone away on one of his educational trips until he wandered into one of the caravans as she was making the beds ready for their half-term visitors.

‘Have you heard the news?’ she said. She’d been dying to tell him and had been disappointed not to see him in the pub. ‘I have a brother. His name’s Lucas. He’s twenty-four and he’s training to be a plumber. Can you believe it?’

‘Mum mentioned it. Congratulations.’

Corin bent to tuck a sheet under the mattress. He did a proper hospital corner, which might have impressed Mim if she hadn’t felt so disappointed by his muted reaction to her news.

‘Aren’t you happy for me?’ she asked. ‘You know how much I’ve wished I had a family.’

‘I know. But have you checked it out properly? Are you sure it’s real?’

His words felt like a pinprick, puncturing her happiness.

‘Why, do you think he might be a scammer, trying to steal my worldly goods?’ she said. ‘He’s a daft one, if he is. The train fare down here probably cost more than everything I own. I can’t think of any reason why he would make this up. He hasn’t made it up, I know it.’

‘Has he shown you any proof?’

‘Yes. His dad – our dad – kept one of my nametags from the hospital where I was born. We have identical photos of me with my parents. It checks out. I thought you would understand what this means to me,’ Mim said, thumping a pillow so violently that it looked flattened rather than plumped. Corin grasped her hand.

‘I do understand. That’s why I’m worried. I don’t want you to be hurt.’

Mim looked down at their joined hands. His thumb stroked slowly across the back of her hand.

‘Come to the Boat and meet him,’ she said. ‘He’ll be in tonight. Then you’ll see. It’s not a con. He’s not like that. He’s quiet and sweet.’

Corin smiled.

‘Are you sure he’s related to you?’ He laughed and let go of her hand. ‘I’ll be there.’

Lucas was becoming cheeky.

‘Are you sure he’s not a boyfriend?’ he asked Mim for the third time since she’d mentioned that Corin wanted to buy him a drink that night. She couldn’t be annoyed if he asked her thirty times. He was teasing her, in the way that Corin and Lia teased each other, and she loved that she had someone to do that to her.

‘Absolutely sure,’ she replied. ‘You’ll see why when you meet him. He’s from a different world than us. He’s so posh that it feels like talking to a member of the Royal Family.’

‘What does he want to drink with us for then?’ Lucas asked. ‘Aren’t we too common for someone like that? Or does he like showing off by flashing his cash around?’

‘No, he’s not like that at all.’ Her response was instinctive and Mim had to smile; she was defending Corin from exactly the assumptions she’d made about him when she’d first met him. Her opinion could hardly be more different now, after months of getting to know him. How could she begin to explain? ‘He’s nice,’ she concluded, feeling the full inadequacy of her words. ‘You’ll like him.’

She hoped it was true, but she needn’t have worried. Although Lucas looked uneasy when Corin shook his hand and started to speak, within a few minutes he appeared more relaxed, and by the time that Mim took them a couple of fresh pints, they were chatting and laughing like old friends.

‘I’m taking Lucas out on a fossil hunt tomorrow,’ Corin said. ‘It’s not my day for a public tour, so we’ll just look on the village beach but we might find something. We’ll have to set off around eight. Why don’t you come?’

‘I can’t. I’ll be swimming then.’ Mim couldn’t hide her disappointment. ‘Will there be time for me to join you after that? I’m still determined to find a proper ammonite. You will wait for me, won’t you?’

‘Don’t let Lia catch you sounding so enthusiastic,’ Corin said. ‘She’ll think I’ve poisoned your mind.’ He smiled at her, a warm smile that reflected in his eyes. ‘I promise we’ll wait. We won’t leave the beach until you’ve finished your swim.’

The noise struck