on him. But she wasn’t the reason he thought twice about returning – it was his older brother, Harvey, who he hadn’t spoken to in years and who would probably prefer him to stay away for good.
Daniel wasn’t sure when the pivotal moment was that had shifted him and Harvey from brothers and comrades to boys who no longer hung out together and who went their separate ways, but that was what had happened. It seemed the worse things got at home with their father, Donnie, who bullied and belittled all of them, the more Daniel rebelled and got into trouble, and the more he got into trouble, the more Harvey resented him, and their mum didn’t know which way to turn. It got to the point where Daniel could only see one solution: to leave. And so that was what he’d done. He’d thought Harvey and his mum would do better without him. And they had for a while. Donnie left and it looked as though it was for good, but when Daniel found out he’d shown up out of the blue one night and Harvey had had to fight him off, leaving him in a whole lot of trouble with the police until the truth surfaced, Daniel had almost fallen apart with guilt. He’d wondered how much Harvey had blamed him, how much he’d resented his brother for not being there to help him that night. When Daniel heard his dad had died suddenly and the family no longer had to worry about him ruining their lives, he had almost wept in relief for Harvey and his mum. But the damage to their family had been done. He’d left, and at the time Daniel couldn’t see a way back.
Now, he knew he couldn’t turn back the clock but he hoped that in time Harvey might be able to see things his way too and understand why he’d acted the way he did.
Daniel shut the door to the cabin behind him. Standing outside in the cold with the beautiful Lucy for company and the backdrop of the village Christmas tree with its twinkling lights was one thing, but those charms aside, it was just plain freezing.
The heating in here was working a treat as he’d been assured it would. He didn’t want it to be too stifling – he wanted it welcoming, just enough to encourage customers to order from his menu to warm themselves up on a winter’s day. He’d always envisaged his business being in this kind of outlet so he’d been glad it was the very old shop that came up for sale rather than a sturdier, heritage listed building like some of the houses and premises were. It meant he’d been able to knock it down and start from scratch in creating a venue with character, a high-street eatery except not on the high street, a woodland escape except near people. All of these phrases and descriptions hadn’t gone far to impress the bank’s business loans advisor until he’d presented a proper business plan, but he’d got there in the end.
The Little Waffle Shack. That was the dream business Daniel was launching two weeks from now. He’d been advised to publicise but he’d held off for personal reasons, his back-up plan being the festive season that would send people in droves to look at the village Christmas tree, hungry and wanting to spend time outside with friends and neighbours, food bringing everyone together. Apart from that, he knew from his mum that locals were speculating, excitement was building about what this place could be, and that kind of buzz was something that advertised by itself. And before he distributed any flyers announcing the business, inviting everyone to opening night, he knew he’d have to announce his presence in the Cove. All he could do until then was ensure everything would be ready to wow the community, even those against him.
It was almost time for the Little Waffle Shack to be born. The outside was established apart from its sign, the tables and chairs for inside had arrived yesterday after dark and he’d already arranged them into the configuration he wanted. With your back to the door of the cabin, directly in front of you were four small tables each with four chairs, behind that the counter with a glass front to show off toppings and sauces and additions to the waffles on the menu. To the left of the counter a narrow corridor led to