A Perfect Cornish Escape by Phillipa Ashley Page 0,44
note the three divers who had slipped off the RIB and vanished beneath the water. They must be exploring an old wreck that had foundered on the reef a century before. Two kite surfers had also arrived on the beach to the east of the cove, where a strip of silver sand had been uncovered by the falling tide. They unloaded their gear. Everyone was out today.
She tried to keep an eye on the job, and find out more about Lachlan’s role in Aaron’s business. Initially they were providing security services for events across the West Country and a few individual clients. Aaron had recently opened an office in Porthmellow and offered Lachlan the opportunity to be his business partner.
‘How did you two meet? I thought Aaron was in the army engineering corps and you were in the RAF military police?’
‘We were both in a forces mountaineering club. He came up to Fort William for a course and we met on that, did a few more expeditions and became good mates. When he left the army last year, he mentioned he was setting up the business. He didn’t know how it would go then, and it wasn’t the right time for me.’
‘But now is?’
‘Being honest, I still don’t know. At one time, after the accident, I was in such a dark place that I couldn’t even have decided what to have for dinner – that’s if I could be bothered to eat at all. I suppose Aaron caught me at the moment when I’d begun to turn a corner.’
Marina realised that she’d turned her corner a long time ago and had been moving forwards ever since. ‘I do get the dinner thing. There was a time when I couldn’t see the point in cooking a meal, or eating, or breathing – but I couldn’t imagine the alternative either. For months after Nate disappeared, I was trapped between living and not living. I’m not saying I wanted to … do anything drastic – I didn’t have the energy – but I couldn’t see a reason for almost anything.’
‘How did you get through it?’
‘God knows. In the beginning, I’d wake up thinking I couldn’t spend another minute feeling as bad as I felt, but somehow, the hours and days passed by. My parents and friends were worried about me, so I tried to pretend I was OK for them and eventually I guess I started to believe I was OK myself. Work helped – my students, my colleagues – and after a while, I found a reason to live rather than just exist: the Wave Watchers.’
‘That’s a very good reason,’ he said. ‘Aaron told me you’ve saved at least a dozen lives over the years.’
Marina glanced away in embarrassment. ‘Not us personally, but by alerting the coastguard and lifeboats, we like to think we played our part. You know how it is, if you were in the mountain rescue … everyone is part of a team. That’s what matters.’
‘Aye, we all depend on each other to do our jobs …’ His tone took a sombre turn. ‘You deserve to know what happened to me in Scotland.’
Marina hid her surprise. ‘You don’t owe me anything, but I’m here for you if you need to talk,’ she said gently.
‘Now’s as good a time, although I’ll not want to distract you.’
She smiled. ‘I can watch as well as listen. What happened?’
‘OK …’ He took a breath. ‘A couple of years ago, I was involved in a helicopter crash … it’s why I don’t do communities any more, or search and rescue work.’ He smiled bitterly. ‘Or people in general. Present company excepted of course.’
‘You moved here. You do security work. That’s in direct contact with the community.’
‘Ach, but I stick to the intel in the back room if I can help it. My domain is the admin, IT and planning. Aaron goes out to see the clients and we employ professional personnel to be on the ground. You could call me the office geek. That’s what I did in the military police – I was in management after the initial training. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the fundraiser actually, especially your stall.’
‘I’m glad you made it.’
He paused and smiled. ‘I didn’t make it to the end, to the auction. I heard I missed a treat.’
‘Tiff might not think of it as a treat,’ Marina said, relieved to see his sense of humour was intact. ‘But keeping away from everyone, or getting involved with