The Secret Seaside Escape - Heidi Swain Page 0,128

Tyler qualities.’

‘You know,’ she said confidentially, lowering her voice even though there was no one else around, ‘this was what Sam and I argued about.’

‘What?’

‘I wanted to start searching for my dad,’ she told me, ‘but am said I shouldn’t. I think he was worried that it might upset Mum, but then lo and behold Dad turns up anyway and it turns out the pair of them have been in touch for years!’

‘And how do you feel about that?’ I asked her.

‘I was a bit miffed to begin with,’ she admitted.

I could understand that.

‘But it wasn’t as if I’d ever really wanted to know who he was before. I had always been more than happy that it was just me and Mum.’

‘So, what changed your mind?’

‘Going to visit family,’ she said without any hesitation. ‘Having seen everyone together, even if they didn’t live together, was the thing that did it. Everyone’s lives seemed so complete – not necessarily perfect, but full – and I was pretty certain by the time I came back that I was going to try and track my dad down. I was a bit nervous, but as it turned out, I didn’t have to worry about how he might react if I turned up on his doorstep, because he turned up on mine!’

I tried and failed to imagine what I would have said, had I opened the door at Dad’s house and found Hope standing there. I was just about to say as much when two other midnight strollers appeared out of the darkness and Hope and I practically jumped out of our skins.

‘Dad!’ I gasped.

‘Mum,’ Hope gulped.

‘What are you doing here?’ we all said at once and then burst out laughing.

‘Tess and I have been on the beach,’ said Hope.

‘And we’ve spent the day talking,’ said Sophie, looking fondly up at Dad, ‘so we thought we’d come out and get a breath of air.’

From the colour I could just about make out that Dad had turned, I wasn’t sure they had been talking all day. Hope looked at me and raised her eyebrows, but neither of us commented.

‘I thought you’d gone home,’ I said to Dad, then teasingly added, ‘you are aware, that’s it’s the middle of the week and there’s no Tyler to keep on top of things in the office?’

Dad laughed again.

‘I have to hand it to you,’ I said to Sophie, ‘you really must be one very special lady if you can keep Dad away from work on a Wednesday.’

‘Why, thank you,’ she smiled, ‘but it’s not all down to me.’ ‘

No?’

‘No,’ said Dad, ‘you’ve all played a part in dragging me away from my desk. Starting with you, Tess.’

‘Me?’

‘Yes,’ he said, ‘you. Your sudden departure got me thinking about a lot of things.’

‘Like what?’

‘Well,’ he said, ‘for a start, how terrible I felt when I realized that I’d been completely oblivious to how difficult you were finding things at work.’

‘I see,’ I nodded, thankful that he had finally noticed, even if Joan had had to help him get there.

‘And then,’ he carried on, ‘once I’d grasped how little of a decent work-life balance you had, I began to realize that I wasn’t faring any better myself.’

‘But when I called you . . .’ I began.

‘That was the conversation that really got me thinking,’ Dad cut in. ‘You said that I should take some time off, and I know,’ he carried on before I had a chance to remind him how scathing he had been about the suggestion, ‘that I was dismissive, but you were right.’

That wasn’t the first time he’d owned up to being wrong about something since he’d arrived and I looked at him with fresh eyes. He appeared different, standing next to Sophie. There was no tension in his shoulders and his brows weren’t pulled tight in a frown. It was refreshing to see him looking so relaxed.

‘It was your resignation that was the clincher, Tess,’ Sophie then joined in.

Clearly, she had been aware of the transformative awakening Dad had been going through during the previous few weeks.

‘You had decided to leave for good,’ Dad said to me. ‘And that was so brave and I recognized that I needed to be brave too. Work had been my refuge when your mother was alive but now . . .’

‘She’s gone,’ I said for him.

‘Yes,’ Dad nodded, ‘now she’s gone and I don’t need it anymore. Now, I have the chance of a whole new life. I can finally get to