A Fresh Start on Crumcarey (Crumcarey Island #5)

Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

LUKE

L uke only just managed to clamber down off the ladder in time.

Phew!

He crouched in the grass at the side of the cottage and peered at Maggie’s face through the windscreen of the truck. He didn’t have a completely clear view, but it was pretty obvious that she was confused… and shocked… and surprised.

Luke’s stomach flipped. Had they done the right thing? He desperately wanted this to be a good surprise!

‘Luke Harris!’ demanded Maggie, flinging open the door of the truck and peering around in search of him. ‘I know you’re here – come out this instant!’

Luke straightened up, grinning from ear to ear. He caught sight of his uncle’s laughing face and shook his head. That man couldn’t keep a secret for two seconds!

‘Okay, okay… I’ve got an apology to make,’ he said giving McGregor a pat before striding towards Maggie.

‘An apology?’ she said. ‘I… you… but why?’ She rubbed her face. ‘Am I hallucinating right now, or does my cottage have a new roof?’

‘Well… kind of,’ said Luke.

‘Kind of?’ she said, shaking her head. ‘That’s a roof, Luke. A roof!’

‘That’s what I wanted to apologise for,’ he muttered. ‘I was just going to put the tarps back… but I was talking to Connor about it, and he knew someone who had a whole stack of these black metal sheets. I knew they’d be easier than the tarps… and they’ll stay put better too and do a better job and—’

‘I can’t believe you did all this!’ she said, running her fingers through her hair.

Luke watched her for a long moment, waiting for her to say something else. He still couldn’t tell if she was pleased or not. It had been a big gamble to go ahead without checking she was cool with it first…

‘Connor helped me to collect it and unload it,’ said Luke quietly. ‘He helped me get it in place too.’

‘I can’t believe it,’ said Maggie, shaking her head slightly, as though the new roof might disappear if she kept doing it. ‘Can you tell me where you got it? I’ll do my best to pay them back as soon as I can.’

‘Oh!’ said Luke, suddenly understanding why she was looking worried rather than relieved. ‘You don’t need to worry about that - they were glad to get rid of it!’

‘Seriously?’ she said, and Luke could swear he could see the weight start to lift from her shoulders.

‘Yep,’ he said with a smile. ‘They said you were welcome to it. I’m not quite finished yet, but it’s nearly there.’

‘I can’t believe it!’ she said again, staring at her new roof, this time with far more enthusiasm.

‘I’m afraid I haven’t managed to get the windows fixed yet though,’ said Luke.

‘I didn’t realise they’d been broken!’ she said.

‘Not… not last night,’ said Luke carefully. ‘But you had a few panes missing?’

Maggie nodded.

‘Well, someone on Little Crum had some really nice ones they were going to use to build a greenhouse. They’re going to bring them over by boat tomorrow.’ He grinned at her.

Maggie looked like someone had just clonked her on the head with a baseball bat.

‘What about their greenhouse?’ she said faintly.

‘Well, it never really happened,’ said Luke with a shrug. ‘They’ve had the windows wrapped up in their barn for a decade, so they’re quite keen to get them out of the way. Anyway… I am sorry.’

‘I don’t get why you keep apologising?!’ said Maggie with a bubble of laughter.

‘It’s… it’s not exactly like your drawings,’ he said. ‘I know you had slate tiles… and the windows that are coming aren’t quite the same shape you drew in.’

‘But they’re windows instead of bits of board?’ she said.

‘Well… yes?’ said Luke.

‘Are you sure I didn’t die in the storm last night?’ she laughed. ‘Is this… am I in heaven?’

Luke chuckled as Maggie shook her head again.

‘Alright you two, I’m joining in the fun now!’ said Mr Harris, hopping down from the truck. ‘What do you think then, Mags?’

‘It’s amazing,’ said Maggie. ‘Thank you, Luke!’

‘Joint effort,’ said Luke quickly. ‘Uncle Harris has spent all day zooming around the island, collecting bits and pieces we needed to… erm… to do the job.’ He winced. He’d nearly given the next bit of the surprise away!

‘Thank you!’ said Maggie, turning to the old man and wrapping him in a hug.

‘You’re a good lass!’ he said delightedly. ‘Even if you did start the day wearing Luke’s underpants.’

‘Ohhh…’ said Luke pulling a face. ‘I think you ought to know he’s been telling that story all day!’

Maggie grinned at Mr Harris as she pulled back. ‘Me too!’ she laughed.

Luke rolled his eyes and tutted. ‘Two peas in a pod.’

Mr Harris’s entire face crumpled in delight.

‘I’ve had the best day,’ he said. ‘Had a chance to chat with people I haven’t seen for ages. Perfect excuse to nip in and natter over a coffee.’

‘Everyone’s been keen to get involved,’ said Luke. ‘I… I hope you don’t mind. They all just wanted to help you out.’

‘Of course I don’t mind,’ said Maggie, looking blown away. ‘I… can’t believe it. That all the locals would want to help someone like me.’

‘What do you mean, daft girl?’ said Mr Harris, patting her shoulder. ‘ Someone like you - honestly. Don’t you realise… you are one of the locals.’

Luke watched as Maggie had to blink away tears. It was as much as he could do to stop himself from going over there and scooping her up in a great big hug… but she was already overwhelmed, and there was still more to show her!

‘Why don’t you take the lass inside and show her what’s been going on in there too?’ said Mr Harris gently. ‘I’ll stay out here and give McGregor a chance to stretch his legs. He’s been in the truck with me most of the day!’

‘Wait… there’s more?’ gasped Maggie.

Luke nodded.

‘Go with him and see!’ twinkled Mr Harris.

‘After you?’ said Luke.

‘Oh… okay…’ said Maggie.

Luke followed her as she picked her way towards the front door. They made slow progress as she kept pausing to peer up at the roof.

‘Erm… where are we heading?’ she said, stepping through the front door at last. ‘Wait… the wiring!’

‘That was Connor,’ said Luke. ‘He’s been here most of the day too. Decided to take the day off when he heard what happened last night. He’s great with electrics, so he’s undone all the—’

Luke paused. He didn’t want to use the words “death trap” or “disaster waiting to happen” in front of Maggie, no matter how much they’d been bandied around during the day.

‘—he’s dealt with the issues,’ he amended.

There. That sounded less horrific!

‘I can’t believe it!’ she said.

‘Head through to the main room,’ he said.

Maggie did so, coming to an abrupt halt just inside the door. Luke wasn’t that surprised – it did look a lot better in there.

‘How… how?!’ gasped Maggie.

All the water had been mopped up, anything cloth that could be removed had been taken away, run through multiple tumble dryers around the island, and then returned.

Two large dehumidifiers had appeared from opposite ends of the island – their owners keen to help out in any way they could. They stood in the middle of the room, rumbling away and sucking moisture out of the air for all they were worth.

‘It’s mostly Ivy’s work in here,’ said Luke. ‘She scrubbed, wiped, dried, stripped… and basically just tried to sort out anything the water got to.’

‘I can’t believe she did all that for me,’ said Maggie.

‘Heads up – there was one major casualty from this whole thing,’ said Luke.

‘Uh oh,’ said Maggie. ‘Go on… I can take it…’

‘Your couch,’ said Luke. ‘We’re doing our best to dry it out, but a slate fell right onto it and the weight has damaged one of the arms. I think it’s a goner, I’m afraid.’

Maggie shrugged. ‘If that’s the only real damage in here, then I got off lightly.’

Luke nodded. He had to agree… it could have been so much worse. He wasn’t going to say it out loud, but the image of Maggie sitting on that sofa when the slate fell had been haunting him all day!

‘Just as well you don’t have fitted carpet,’ said Luke, ‘means it’ll air out a lot quicker in here. Your rug is still drip-drying in one of Uncle Harris’s barns.’

‘We have done a call out for some carpet for you, though,’ said Mr Harris, pottering in to join them.

‘You have?’ said Maggie in surprise, turning to look at him.

‘Of course! In fact, I’ve got it in the back of the truck.’

‘Already?’ said Luke, raising his eyebrows. ‘I thought that wasn’t coming until tomorrow!’

‘I got a call on my way over to collect our girl here, so I took a detour,’ said Mr Harris with a shrug. ‘Just as well I had the tarp still in the truck, otherwise the cat would have been out of the bag.’

‘I can’t believe it!’ gasped Maggie, her hands flying to her face.

‘Now, don’t go getting all excited,’ warned Mr Harris with a little frown. ‘I’m not exactly thrilled with the weird patterns – some people have seriously weird taste in my opinion. Even so, it’ll warm it up a bit in here for you, and you can always hide it with a few more rugs.’

‘Amazing!’ said Maggie.

‘Seriously, Mags,’ said Luke. ‘I’d withhold judgment until you’ve seen it. 1970s swirls were all the rage up here on Crumcarey.’

‘Aye, true that,’ nodded Mr Harris. ‘Come take a peep at it. I’ve got all sorts of other bits and bobs in there too… more stuff than I can remember.’

‘What do you mean?’ said Maggie.

‘Let’s go have a look!’ said Luke.

The three of them traipsed out of a very different little cottage than they’d left that morning. Mr Harris made a beeline for the back of the truck and flipped the edge of the tarp back.

‘Oh, wow!’ chuckled Maggie, staring at the carpet.

‘I did warn you,’ said Mr Harris.

‘I quite like it,’ said Luke, cocking his head.

‘Yeah… me too,’ said Maggie. ‘It’s got a bit of a cool retro vibe going on.’

‘Well, I think you both need your heads checking,’ said Mr Harris, ‘but I’m glad you’re happy. And there’s an armchair, a bureau desk thingy…’

‘All sorts!’ gasped Maggie.

‘You don’t have to take it all,’ said Luke quickly, ‘not if you don’t want it.’

‘Aye, that’s true too,’ said Mr Harris. ‘You can choose what you want, and I’ll stash the rest in one of the barns at the farm… it’ll find other homes in no time.’

‘Thank you… both… so much,’ said Maggie.

Luke noticed she was blinking hard as she turned and kissed Mr Harris on the cheek. Then she turned to him and flung her arms around his neck, kissing him firmly – warmly - on the cheek too.

‘It’s our pleasure,’ said Luke.

‘Aye,’ agreed his uncle. ‘It’s what we do on Crumcarey. We look after our own.’

Luke felt the moment Maggie burst into tears – mainly because she buried her damp face in his neck and sobbed right into his jumper.

Somehow, he didn’t mind in the slightest.