Free A New Beginning by Miranda Barnes Page A

moment. Then Joyce returned to her theme. ‘You still haven’t told me why you changed your mind.’
    ‘About what? Fells Inn?’
    Joyce nodded.
    Kirsty looked at her and grimaced. I have to tell someone sometime, I suppose, she thought with a sigh. Why not Joyce?
    ‘There’s this man,’ she began.
    ‘Yes?’ Joyce breathed. ‘I knew it!’
    ‘Have I told you about Bob?’
    ‘Tell me about him again,’ Joyce insisted. ‘I can’t have been listening properly.’
    ‘There’s not much to tell, actually,’ Kirsty said, already feeling slightly ridiculous. ‘I mean, nothing much happened between us. It’s just that...’
    ‘Something must have happened, Kirsty. It’s not like you to be in such a spin.’
    It was easier once she got started. And it didn’t sound so ridiculous either. Joyce was good. She wasn’t judgemental. If anything, she was very supportive.
    ‘Maybe you should separate the man from the inn?’ Joyce suggested afterwards. ‘Be practical. Forget about Bob. You were interested in the inn before you got to know him, weren’t you? So nothing has changed really.’
    Kirsty sighed. ‘You’re right in one way,’ she admitted, ‘but something has changed. How I feel about it has changed.’
    ‘All because of Bob?’
    ‘Silly, isn’t it?’ Kirsty said defiantly.
    ‘I wouldn’t say that. But maybe second thoughts are a good idea. Maybe you’re seeing problems now you didn’t see before.’
    Kirsty nodded.
    ‘Take your time,’ Joyce suggested. ‘Don’t give up right away. But don’t rush into something you’re not sure about either. Think it through a bit more.’
    ‘I’m a little afraid now it might be too big a challenge for me. I think that’s it.’
    ‘It will be a challenge. Of course it will. But you’ve got it in you to meet it, Kirsty. I know what you’re like. If you want to do something badly enough, you can do it. I know you can.’
    It was nice to hear such reassurance, Kirsty thought. But was it right? Did she really have it in her to deal with everything that would be involved? She wasn’t sure any more. She had thought she was. But now she just didn’t know. She felt so flat.
    ‘You really like him, don’t you?’ Joyce said softly.
    Kirsty looked at her and nodded.
    ‘I can tell,’ Joyce said with a smile. ‘Well, maybe he’ll get in touch.’
    ‘Maybe.’
    Kirsty supposed it would be good if it happened. But it seemed unlikely. In any case, he had deceived her. How could she ever accept that? He should have said something.
    ‘He should have told me,’ she said heatedly. ‘Really he should.’
    ‘I agree,’ Joyce said. ‘He should. But he’s just a man, isn’t he? And we all know what men are like, don’t we?’
    ‘Yes,’ Kirsty said, nodding. It was the old refrain. ‘We do.’
    They smiled ruefully at one another.
    ‘Well, if we’ve got that one settled,’ Joyce said, snapping into her all-action mode, ‘how about doing some Christmas shopping in the Metrocentre?’
    ‘It’s August, Joyce.’
    ‘You can never start too soon. Besides, we’ll miss the crowds if we start now.’
    ‘And they won’t have run out of anything yet. I know!’ Kirsty began to laugh. ‘Oh, Joyce. You’re so practical. Come on, then. Let’s go.’

 
    Chapter Thirteen
     
    Joyce was right. Being practical did help. It helped a lot. Instead of feeling at the mercy of ocean currents and winds she couldn’t influence at all, Kirsty began to feel more in control of her own life again. She stopped dithering. She took decisions. Even if she didn’t know where she was going in the long run, there were still things she could do right now.
    The first thing she did was exactly what Joyce had urged her to do. She put her mother’s house up for sale. The agent who valued it surprised her, suggesting a figure far higher than she’d expected.
    ‘Are you sure?’ she said dubiously.
    ‘Oh, yes. We’ve had a couple go around here in recent weeks. It’s a nice