Suffering with grief and guilt after a devastating personal tragedy, Emma has retreated to the solitude of a cottage on the remote Scottish coast. Then a chance discovery sends her troubled mind into turmoil...
Short story
Emma looked out across the dark grey sea as she held the phone. Her sister had hardly let her get a word in since Emma had made the call to tell her where she was.
‘You just disappeared, Em. I called that little junk shop you work in and they said you’ve resigned. Are you sure that’s a good idea?’
Emma could only just hear her voice over the sound of the waves.
‘I needed to get away.’
‘You could have told me.’
‘There’s not much phone reception here.’
‘Why on earth have you gone to Scotland? Greece is gorgeous at this time of year. I could have recommended an island and a lovely little hotel with a spa.’
Emma shut her eyes for a few seconds, wondering why her sister always seemed to want to interfere. She had her own life – a perfect one with a husband and two children – a successful career and a beautiful home.
‘I’ll call you again in a few days,’ Emma said with a sigh.
‘But when are you coming back?’
‘I’m not sure. I need to be alone for a while.’
Despite her sister’s protestations Emma ended the call and pushed the phone deep into her pocket.
She watched a group of women who had congregated at the top of the beach, swaddled in large dryrobes. Emma eyed what they were wearing enviously, wishing she had brought something more substantial than the Burberry gabardine trench coat Andrew had given her for her birthday two years before. The coat had been a very special surprise present, and wearing it was the closest thing to still being with him.
With a great cheer the women suddenly discarded their robes on the sand, rushing down the beach wearing nothing more than swimsuits and woolly bobble hats. Emma thought they must have gone completely mad. It was the beginning of May, but the biting wind made it feel like February and the intermittent drizzle pricked at Emma’s cheeks like shards of ice. A sudden gust of wind blew her long curls into her eyes, and she pushed them back to see the women splashing into the sea, whooping as they launched themselves into the waves.
Emma shivered and did up the top button of her coat.
‘You don’t fancy it then?’
Emma turned at the sound of a deep voice. A dark-haired man wearing a thick
