Free Good Enough to Trust (Good Enough, Book 2 - Going Back) by Zara Stoneley Page A

was
born and bred in Cheshire, remember? I did live near Bristol once upon a time.
I was going to come on the train, but then I thought it was easier in the car
so I could stop by and see you.”
    “Check up on me
you mean?”
    She just grinned
and tried not to look like a messenger sent by God, sorry, Dane.
    “Something tells
me you need checking up on.” Will straightened and shoved his hands into his
pockets, with some difficulty it had to be said, but he was a determined type
of guy. “I take it I’m a spare part?” I smiled and let him ruffle my hair.
    “Not to your
bullocks.”
    “I just saw your
car, and—”
    “And thought I
needed checking up on?”
    “Just thought it
was strange, I’ll get back to my bullocks then if I’m the gooseberry. See you
later maybe?” He’d taken a step back, unlocked the Landrover and was looking at
me like he was leaving a door open, even though I was like an alien being that
he couldn’t quite work out.
    “I’ll text you
when I know what’s happening.”
    We watched as he
swung the rover out of the car park and up the steep, narrow lane leading from
the cove, belching exhaust fumes as it went.
    “He’s cool.”
    “I know.”
    “Sweet.”
    “I know.”
    “Too sweet for
you?”
    “Probably.” I
sighed and wished I was the type of girl who could be happy with a cool, sweet
guy. “So, how’s your Mum?” She knew what I meant, how are you getting on with
your Mum, have you spoken much, has she told you how proud she is?
    “We’re never going
to be that close, but we’re fine now. Honest.”
    And she looked
like she meant it. “I was jealous of people like you when I was a kid you
know.”
    “What do you
mean?”
    “Well I know it’s
none of my business, and I don’t know anything about it, but you had a Mum
there, didn’t you? You know to pick you up from school? And parties and stuff
like that?” I nodded. I suppose I had. Mum had always been there for us. “We
had all these swish holidays and stuff like that, but she was always too busy
working. I honestly didn’t think I was good enough for her until…”
    “You got talking
at Christmas.”
    “Yeah. Sorry, it’s
different. I know.”
    But it wasn’t that
different. She was right, I had been lucky in lots of ways. Maybe I should have
talked to her earlier, or Dane, or Megs, just anybody. I guess I hadn’t really
trusted anyone for a long time.
    And maybe if Mum
had loved us that much, then she’d loved him too. But I wasn’t ready to think
about that yet.
    “And Dane?” I have
a knack for changing the conversation when it suits me, but of course not
letting other people do that. But she let me.
    “Oh, she likes
him, more than she liked James anyway.”
    “Not hard, but I
meant how’s Dane, how are you both getting along?” Which left her looking a bit
sheepish, which probably meant fine.
    “Follow me up to
the cottage and then I’ll take you exploring.”
    ***
    We went at a slow
pace along the narrow Cornish lanes, fast didn’t work here. Not unless you
wanted to be squashed by a tractor or left hanging off a cliff edge. And
anyway, for the first time in years there didn’t seem to be any hurry. I had my
own, private little time warp.
    Holly pulled up
behind me when we got to the cottage I was renting, and then we set off in
silence up the small path which meandered between the trees until it dropped
down over moss and fern-strewn boulders to the edge of the stream.
    We followed the
silent swathe of water, a silvery path that seemed to carry its own version of
tranquility through the glen. I loved it here. I had since the first day we had
stumbled across the pilgrims’ route to the waterfall. We hadn’t gone there to
find peace, or some Cornish religion, we had just decided to avoid the tourists
for a day and this was where we’d found ourselves. And Ollie and I had for once
been silent, even youth can be overawed sometimes. We’d held hands and walked
the path, tripped over