Finding Home by Kate Field (books for 6 year olds to read themselves .TXT) 📕

happened today. He was the same old Corin, though the smile seemed more fragile than usual. His hair was sticking out as it always did, despite the particles of dust that weighed it down. He looked the same but she wasn’t seeing him in the same way. She wanted to weep with thankfulness that he was alive.

He stood up, put Dickens on the ground, and walked towards her.

‘Are you crying, Mim?’ he asked.

‘No.’ Treacherous eyes. How had that happened? She scrubbed her face. ‘It’s the sea,’ she said. But what chance was there that he’d believe her when her voice wobbled on every word?

He came closer and drew her into his arms.

‘All’s well,’ he murmured into her hair. ‘Don’t worry. You’re safe now. Everything’s going to be fine.’

Chapter Twenty

The rock fall was the only topic of conversation in the village for days. Mim couldn’t complete a shift in the Boat without having to give an eyewitness account to either locals or fascinated tourists, who seemed thrilled to have arrived in the area at such an interesting time. There had even been a brief paragraph about it on the BBC website. Mim was worried that it would put people off holidaying in the caravans, but Bea disagreed.

‘Bill couldn’t find a space in the village car park yesterday,’ she said. ‘Daytrippers are thronging to the beach. I can’t bear to go near it. When I think about Corin down there…’ Bea shuddered. The recent events had taken their toll on her; Mim noticed the tired lines around her eyes. She was a subdued version of her former self, evident even in the plain clothes and glasses she was wearing. ‘The sooner he gives all that up and takes over the business, the better. He’ll be safe in an office.’

Safe but not necessarily happy, Mim couldn’t help thinking. Which was better? Bea was out of luck if she thought Corin was going to let the rock fall put him off the beach. He’d been back within an hour of it happening, helping the police and fire service who had arrived to assess the scene. Mim had wanted to drag him away but what business was it of hers? None at all, even though memories of those moments when she had thought Corin was under the rocks still haunted her several days later.

Lucas was dwelling on his close shave too. He visited Mim one day when she was going round each caravan, adding a notice to the information packs warning of the dangers of rock falls and giving advice on how to visit the beach safely.

‘You don’t have to worry about this on Blackpool beach,’ he said, pointing at Mim’s leaflet. ‘The only dangerous part is crossing the tram tracks, and at least you can see when a tram is coming.’

Mim laughed.

‘It’s not a great alternative, is it, being flattened by a tram rather than a pile of rocks?’ Her smile faded; it was still too distressing to joke about. She was usually capable of putting awful events behind her and looking forward, so why was she struggling so much with this one? ‘I’ll have to come and visit you in Blackpool and compare the beaches for myself.’

‘You should definitely come,’ Lucas said. ‘There’s a proper beach in Blackpool, not just stones. It’s not dead like this place either. You’ll love it.’

Lucas’s imminent departure was another cause of distress to Mim. He had taken two weeks off work to look for her and their time was almost up already. His return train journey was booked for Saturday and the deadline loomed over their blossoming relationship. She liked him more each day, but they were still getting to know each other and learning the similarities and differences between them. Lucas had shown her lots of photographs of their dad and there was a clear resemblance between the three of them. Mim loved making the connection and discovering the roots that she’d missed out on for so long.

‘I wish you could stay longer,’ she said to Lucas, not for the first time, when he called in to the Boat one night. Their relationship felt too fragile and too precious to bear a separation so soon. ‘Is there no way you can manage another week? There should be the equivalent of paternity leave for finding a sister instead of having a baby.’

‘I can’t. My boss is off next week for the school holidays and I need to be in work.’

‘Then I’ll have to save up and come and visit you as soon as I can,’ Mim said. She sighed. ‘It might not be until autumn though. Howie tells me it can be packed in here over summer.’

Lucas picked at the label on his bottle of lager.

‘There is another option,’ he said. ‘Why don’t you move back to Lancashire?’

‘Move back?’ Mim was tidying behind the bar but that made her stop in her tracks. She hadn’t seen that coming. ‘Do you mean for good? To live there?’

‘Why not? It’s your home, isn’t it?’

Home. The word filled Mim’s head as she served another customer. Lucas had inadvertently found her most vulnerable spot. A home and a family – those were the two things she’d always wanted. She’d found one. Could the two go hand in hand? She instinctively felt that it couldn’t be that simple, not now. Returning to Lancashire hadn’t crossed her mind since the first week of arriving here. Was she willing to do that? To leave behind everything she had found in Devon? To leave behind everyone?

‘I wouldn’t have a job or anywhere to live,’ she said, when she wandered back over to Lucas. She tried to focus on the practical objections; the emotional ones were harder to deal with.

‘I’ve discussed it with Mum,’ Lucas said. ‘You can stay in our spare room, at least to start with. That’s better than an old caravan, isn’t it? And we’re in Blackpool.’ He laughed. ‘There are hotels and bars everywhere. You belong in Lancashire with us.