Winter Wishes by Ruth Saberton Page A

a shaky breath. Whatever secrets Danny Tremaine was keeping, it was abundantly clear that he wasn’t prepared to share them with her. They were between him and his wife.
    The message couldn’t have been clearer: she had to step away.
     

Chapter 6
    In the light that streamed through the big bay window, Tara gazed into the dressing-table mirror, checking her reflection. She tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear and narrowed her hazel eyes thoughtfully. All things considered, she didn’t think she looked too bad for someone who was nearly thirty. Her recent weight loss had sharpened her cheekbones, drawing attention to her heart-shaped face – and a good night’s sleep had gone a long way towards erasing the smudges under her eyes. Still, she was not as confident as she’d once been.
    Tara didn’t usually do nerves, but as she left the spare bedroom and made her way downstairs she felt a prickle of anxiety. Seaspray might not have changed – the clanking water cistern and the creaking timbers that had soothed her into sleep were as familiar as her own heartbeat – but everything else in her world was utterly different now. I’m different , she reminded herself sharply. She’d learned some tough lessons over the past two years and paid an extremely high price for a mistake. She was no longer the thoughtless, selfish girl that she’d been before.
    This was her new start, Tara thought as she paused on the half-landing and looked out at the view from the window. November the first had dawned bright and sunny, with that crisp cold that made the sea sparkle and the sky a deceptive summery blue. She couldn’t help taking this as a good omen. Tara had lived in Cornwall for long enough to know that the weather was as fickle as a teenaged girl’s love for the latest boy band: one moment sunshine was the flavour of the month, the next louring leaden skies and driving rain held sway. Nevertheless, she felt her spirits rise. It was a glorious day and she was home at last.
    There was everything to play for. Thank goodness she’d ignored the doubts that had gripped her when she’d fallen into bed. As the waves had crashed onto the rocks below her bedroom and the moon had poked a cold white finger of light through the crack in the curtains, Tara had been tempted to snatch Morgan from his bed and steal away, never to come back. What was the point of staying? Danny would never forgive her, the family hated her and nobody in the village really cared whether she was there or not. Why put herself through it?
    What a difference a good night’s sleep could make. Now, as the sun poured through the windows and the gulls called merrily as they performed their aerobatics, Tara was glad she’d held her nerve. She could hear Morgan chatting away in the kitchen with an ease he’d never had while they’d been staying in Plymouth. Even if Danny hated her until the day she died, and even if every time she saw Mo she was bombarded with scornful looks and comments, Tara knew that it would be worth it all to see her son this happy all the time.
    She took a deep breath. Everything was going to be just fine. She’d done the hardest bit by coming back and breaking the ice. She’d known it would be difficult. Of course Danny was angry with her; Tara understood that completely. She’d known, too, that his family would close ranks and protect him. She wouldn’t have expected anything else from a tight-knit clan like the Tremaines. Having Jules and Ashley present had certainly smoothed the way, though – and Jimmy had clearly just pulled another stunt, which had helped to lessen the impact of her arrival. Yes , Tara decided as she descended the final flight of stairs, it could have been a lot, lot worse .
    Since her unexpected return last night Tara had been doing a lot of hard thinking. The row with Anthony had just been the latest in an escalating succession of disagreements and, if she was honest, Tara hadn’t been sorry to leave him