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

I explain that to Lucas?’ Mim smiled. ‘I don’t do half measures. I either commit in full or not at all. If I go, it will work out. I’ll make sure it does.’

‘It sounds to me like you’ve made up your mind,’ Karen said.

Mim gazed out across the Littlemead car park, towards the clifftops and the view of the sea beyond. There hadn’t been a choice – not really, not since the moment Lucas had asked her to go. It was the first chance she’d had to prove herself as a sister, and she wasn’t going to let him down. Heather’s words had only confirmed it for her; Lucas needed her and her place was with him. She had vowed to be the best possible sister, hadn’t she? She had to follow that through, whatever the cost.

‘I have to go back to Lancashire,’ she said.

It was easy to dismantle her life in Devon. Mim was well-practised at moving on at short notice. But it had never been so painful before.

She broke the news to Howie first, apologising that she was about to leave him in the lurch as peak tourist season was getting underway. His unequivocal support for her decision and genuine sorrow to see her go almost made her cry. And that was before she’d told the Howards. How was she ever going to bear saying goodbye to them?

Mim wandered along the track to Vennhallow shortly after lunch, when she hoped she might find the family together. She was in luck. Bea, Bill, and Lia were sitting outside in the garden. Bill was snoozing in his chair, his moustache rippling with each snore. Bea was reading a book and Lia was scrolling on her phone. Mim lurked in the shadows of the house for a moment, locking in this memory of them to savour when she was gone.

‘Hello Mim.’ Bea looked up from her book and smiled. ‘Have you had lunch, my dear? There’s another bowl of salad in the kitchen and Mrs Dennis has made a heavenly Victoria sponge. You won’t say no to that, will you? Is Lucas with you? There’s plenty for him too.’

‘No.’ Mim came forward and joined the family on the terrace. ‘Lucas wanted to do some more sightseeing before he leaves.’

‘Is it tomorrow he goes?’ Bea asked. ‘It’s gone so quickly. It’s a shame you’ve had so little time together when you’ve only recently found each other.’

‘It is.’ Mim sat down on an empty chair. Bea had given her the perfect opening. ‘That’s why I’ve come to talk to you.’

Bea’s smile faded. She had guessed. Mim could see it in her face.

‘You’re here to say goodbye, aren’t you?’ Bea said. She reached across to Bill and shook his arm to wake him up. ‘I had an awful sense that this might happen and that we might lose you.’

‘Goodbye?’ Lia looked up from her phone. ‘What are you talking about? Where are you going?’

‘Back to Lancashire,’ Mim said.

‘But darling, why would you want to do that? Your life is here now.’

‘It was. But now I have a brother and he’ll be there.’

‘Brothers are totally overrated.’ Lia smiled. ‘What about As You Like It holidays? Our first guests are arriving tomorrow. We need you.’

‘I’ll be here.’ Mim had already worked out an answer – not a perfect one, but better than nothing. ‘Lucas had booked a train for tomorrow, but he’ll stay on an extra day and we’ll drive north together on Sunday. Heather has offered to take over the cleaning duties between guests. I hope you’ll still let me be involved in some way. I can deal with the emails and the admin from Lancashire. I can spread the word about the charity in a whole new area too.’

‘We’ll be sorry to see you go,’ Bill said. ‘I’ll come with you to the garage and fill up your car.’ He raised a hand when Mim tried to protest. ‘It’s the least we can do. You only came down here because of us.’

‘Don’t encourage her, Daddy,’ Lia protested. ‘We need to persuade her to stay here.’

‘If I know Mim, she won’t be persuaded once she’s made up her mind,’ Bill replied. ‘If she’s given Lucas her word, she’ll stick by it. Isn’t that right?’

Mim nodded.

‘Is there no one who could persuade you?’ Bea asked softly. ‘No one at all?’

‘No.’ Mim smiled, thought it was the hardest smile she’d ever given. ‘Think of the positives. You have an extra caravan to use for the holidays now.’

‘We won’t use it,’ Bea said. ‘That caravan is yours whenever you need it. Who knows when you might want a holiday yourself and come back to see us?’ She walked over to Mim and took hold of her hands. ‘Do come back and see us, won’t you? You’re one of us, Miranda Brown, wherever you are and whatever you do. Don’t forget that. There will always be a home for you here.’

Behind her gaudy glasses, there were tears in Bea’s eyes. She squeezed Mim’s hands and then muttered something about ‘another bottle of wine’ and hurried into the house. Bill stood up.

‘I should follow her,’ he said. He held out his hand to shake Mim’s. ‘It’s been a bigger and better adventure than we expected, eh? Don’t you worry about us. You deserve your chance at happiness. If you believe that’s waiting for you in the north, I’ll wish you the best of luck. You know where we are if you need us.’

He followed Bea into the house. Mim moved over to sit on the bench next to Lia.

‘You don’t really need me,’ Mim said to her. ‘Look what you’ve achieved with the charity. All the ideas and initiatives were yours. You obtained most of the donations and all the sponsors for the caravans. I’ve done some donkey work but anyone could have done that. You have vision and drive and creativity. Now you know you can succeed at anything you put your mind to. I’m going to