Free Secrets of the Tides by Hannah Richell Page B

mopped his brow.
    Cassie grinned. She knew just what he meant. Dora did look like a puppy wrestling with a giant bone. She sat on a tree stump and watched her for a moment, swinging her dangling booted feet back and forth.
    ‘So how are things going up at the big house, Cassie? Are you girls enjoying life by the sea?’
    ‘Yeah, it’s great.’
    ‘School OK?’
    ‘Uh-huh.’ Cassie watched with fascination as Bill took a pipe from his pocket, filled it with tobacco and then placed it in the corner of his mouth.
    ‘Making friends?’ he asked, lighting the pipe with a match.
    ‘Yep.’ It was true. Cassie hadn’t had any trouble making friends with the pupils in her class. Everyone had been very welcoming, if not a little in awe of the fact that she had arrived all the way from London.
    ‘And how are your folks?’
    Cassie paused. She wondered how much to tell him. She decided to be honest. ‘Dad’s good. He loves being back here, but I think Mum wishes we’d stayed in London.’
    ‘Is that right?’ He took several long puffs from the pipe and then exhaled smoke in a long, slow stream.
    ‘Yes. Dad’s away with work a lot, but now whenever he is here they just seem to fight all the time.’ Cassie shot a glance towards her sister, checking she was out of earshot. ‘Dora hates it. It makes her really upset.’
    ‘Does it now?’
    ‘Yes, I think she’s scared they’re going to get a divorce and then we’ll have to move back to London and we’ll never be allowed to get a dog.’
    ‘And what about you, Cassie, are you worried?’
    Cassie shrugged. ‘Not really, I don’t want a dog.’
    Bill let out a small cough.
    ‘I think Mum needs a job.’
    Bill nodded sagely. ‘You’re probably right.’
    ‘You know, sometimes I wonder if they even really love each other.’ She’d blurted it out before she’d realised and blushed at her daring.
    ‘Love’s a funny thing, Cassie.’
    Cassie looked up.
    ‘It’s like this here orchard. Look around you. Not much to see right now, is there? It looks a little sleepy, forlorn even. But it’s all a cycle. Winter, spring, summer, autumn. Real love, I mean deep, true love is like that. It takes root, grows, and changes shape. Sometimes it seems to fade, other times it’s in full bloom. Nothing stays the same for ever. Things change, life moves forwards. But if it’s true love, like the love that entwines a family, then it’s always there simmering beneath the surface, just waiting to burst forth again.’
    Cassie looked up at the branches of the apple tree she sat beneath. They were brown and bare, but here and there she could see green shoots of life sprouting, buds that would soon bear beautiful blossom and before long heavy apples that would bend the boughs.
    ‘So do you . . . do you love Mrs Dryden like that then?’ Cassie held her breath, unsure if she was allowed to ask such a personal question.
    But Bill nodded his head solemnly. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘We’ve been married fifty years this summer and I wouldn’t have missed a single day, not even the ones when we fought like cat and dog. I’m sure your parents are like that too, Cassie. Deep down they love each other.’
    Cassie nodded, feeling a little better.
    ‘What are you two talking about?’ asked Dora. She was dragging her giant branch triumphantly behind her.
    ‘Just putting the world to rights,’ said Bill smoothly.
    ‘Oh.’ Dora looked disappointed. ‘Should I go and get some more trees then?’
    ‘I’d be happy for your help, I surely would,’ smiled Bill, ‘but tell me, isn’t that your father I can hear calling for you up at the house?’
    Cassie turned her head and sure enough she heard their dad’s bellows from the top of the garden.
    ‘Beach time!’ shouted Dora. She took off up the hill at a sprint, calling out her goodbyes over her shoulder.
    Cassie gave Bill an apologetic look. ‘Sorry about that, Dad’s promised us a trip to the beach.’
    Bill laughed. ‘I