FOR THE LOVE OF THE SEA Read Free Page A

think she will…?” They both asked the question together before laughing wryly.
    “Oh Mai, I do hope not,” Cassie admitted. “I like Sebastian but I’m not sure he’s the right man for Polly,” she sighed. “I wish Tom was home. She listens to him more than me. He’d stop her doing anything foolish.”
    “A few more days and he will be. And if she does get engaged tonight…well engagements can always be broken can’t they?”
    Cassie smiled affectionately at her daughter in law, feeling comforted. Tom had certainly made a wise choice when he’d married Mai.
    “Have you thought anymore about staying on here when Tom gets home rather than moving back to River View?” Cassie asked.
    The small cottage Tom and Mai had been living in since their marriage was just a hundred yards along the riverbank from the boatyard.
    Mai shook her head. “When Tom is away I’m glad of the company down here but when he’s home well…” She smiled shyly at Cassie.
    “It’s nice to be on our own - especially as Tom is going to be away for months soon. I’ll certainly be back then if I may.”

Chapter Two
    Anna, when she arrived mid-afternoon on Wednesday insisted they ate out that evening.
    “Don’t want to dress up, so nowhere posh. Just somewhere we can sit and catch up on the gossip without interruptions. Oh, and please may we go by launch? It’s ages since I’ve been out on the river. I want to take deep gulps of sea air and blow all the cobwebs away.”
    Cassie had laughed at that, remembering how much Anna had hated fresh air when they were growing up.
    Now as they sat sipping a glass of wine, waiting for their lasagne in the Bistro behind the harbour, Anna asked, “What’s the news from Tom?”
    “Expects to be off Lands End sometime late tomorrow. So, fingers crossed, he should be home Friday afternoon,” Cassie said.
    “When does the race itself start?”
    “Six weeks on Sunday. Will you still be here? I warn you though, the next few weeks will be hectic. If you’re around, you’ll get roped in.”
    “I’m not going back,” Anna said quietly.
    “Never?” Cassie was astonished.
    Anna shook her head. “I’ll have to collect my things of course, and tie up some loose ends, but otherwise no. I’m going to find somewhere down here to live.”
    “Why the sudden decision?”
    “I’ve been thinking about it for ages and now David has officially taken over the farm, I’m free to do my own thing. And I want to come back.”
    “Are you sure? When Harry died I asked if you were going to come home and you were emphatic your place was with the farm. What’s really changed?”
    “Foot and mouth,” Anna said quietly. “For hundreds of farmers it killed more than the livestock. It certainly destroyed my spirit. Harry and I put so much of ourselves into the farm, I simply can’t face doing it all again without him. David is resilient and young enough to cope but I’m not. So I’m coming back to my roots.”
    Cassie was silent for a moment. “Well I wish it was for any other reason but I’m so pleased to have you back,” she said finally. “And until you find somewhere you like, the spare room is yours. No arguments.”
    “Thanks Cassie,” Anna said gratefully. “Now you haven’t mentioned my God-daughter yet? What’s Polly up to these days?”
    “Can you believe she’s considering a proposal of marriage?” Cassie said. “And also getting extremely frustrated at not being taken seriously by race organisers and sponsors.”
    “Who’s the boyfriend? The one I met last time? Sebastian something? Very good-looking naval officer?”
    Cassie nodded. “That’s the one. He asked her on Monday and apparently she’s agreed to think about it whilst he’s away on a tour of duty.”
    “Hmm. He’s quite a catch – though I can’t see Polly as a Navy wife, somehow.” Anna said. “She does like doing her own things doesn’t she? Besides, what about her sailing?”
    Cassie sighed. “Can’t