Christie Barlow - The Cosy Canal Boat Dream - A funny, feel-good romantic comedy you won’t be able to put down!

Guy’s eyes twinkled towards Nell. He gestured to his mouth then raised an eyebrow at her.

Nell smiled, ‘What?’ she asked, amused.

‘You’ve got brown …’ he pointed towards her mouth.

Nell couldn’t help but feel a teeny bit embarrassed as she quickly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

‘Brown sauce,’ she rolled her eyes, ‘As you can see the diet didn’t start today!’

‘Wrong time of year for that dieting malarkey. I need something warm and stodgy before I take on the mammoth task of stripping out the inside of a boat.’

‘Bacon, sausage and egg barm?’ Nell suggested.

‘Sounds perfect and a coffee to take out.’

‘Give me two minutes,’ she said, disappearing into the kitchen, leaving Bea chatting to Guy.

‘How’s Ed?’ Bea asked, pressing the button on the coffee machine, which immediately began to whirl, quickly followed by a blast of steam, then complete silence. Bea looked at it, mystified, before wiping her flushed cheeks on her pinny.

‘I think it’s being a little temperamental this morning.’

‘Best have a cup of tea, I think,’ he grinned, leaning on the counter and staring at the array of cakes. ‘The operation went well and he’s recovering nicely.’

Nell could hear their conversation while she bustled about in the kitchen preparing his sandwich.

‘That’s good to hear. Are you staying with him up at Little End Cottage?’

‘Sort of, I’m in the annexe attached to the cottage, which gives me and Sam our own space, but I can keep a close eye on Ed too when he arrives back from hospital. The nurse said he shouldn’t be in too much pain, but it’s the usual no stretching and lots of rest and I’m not sure Ed is one for sitting still. I’ll be on hand to make his meals and generally be at his beck and call.’

‘He’ll love being waited on hand and foot,’ Bea said, ‘Pass on our best wishes and I’ll take him up his favourite steak and ale pie when he’s home.’

Guy smiled, ‘I hope there’ll be enough for two!’

‘Of course.’

Nell walked back into the shop and placed the sandwich down on the counter. ‘How’s Sam today?’

‘He slept like a baby last night after his little adventure but so did I after that bottle of wine.’

Nell could feel Bea’s stare burning into the side of her face.

‘Wine?’

‘Yes, you know the drink that comes in a bottle, usually with a cork.’ Nell replied with a sarcastic grin.

‘Mmm,’ Bea eyed Nell doubtfully as she turned back towards Guy, ‘I’m glad you both slept well. Here, have the sandwich on the house. I’m sure Bea won’t mind.’

‘Not at all,’ Bea answered with a look that said to Nell that this conversation was far from over.

Guy’s face lit up, ‘Thank you, that’s very generous of you both. I’ll see you every morning with this kind of service. Nell, you are the best and now I know why Ed raves about this place so much.’

Bea coughed and folded her arms.

‘And you too, dear Bea, you both are simply the best.’ Guy grinned cheekily before disappearing through the deli door.

As soon as the door was shut, Nell turned to Bea, ‘I can’t believe you let me come out here with brown sauce dripping from the corner of my mouth!’

Bea leaned in closer towards Nell, ‘Hmm, and I can’t believe you missed out the part about drinking wine with a handsome stranger,’ she teased.

‘Don’t be daft, I rescued his dog and he was very grateful,’ she answered, chewing her lip while watching Guy stroll towards the boat yard with Sam trotting at his side. He looked back over his shoulder and snagged Nell’s eye.

‘He likes you, mark my words.’ Bea pulled her I-know-best look while Nell kept her poker face.

‘You heard it here first, Nell Andrews, you just remember that.’

Nell flapped her hand at Bea, ‘Get back to work, Bea, you are driving me insane!’

As soon as Bea’s back was turned, Nell felt the corners of her mouth lift and her face blush. There was something about that Irish charmer that made her stomach instantly flutter.

By mid-morning Nell and Bea had been run off their feet. The beef and horseradish rolls were a hit and had sold out in no time at all. There were a couple of loaves of bread left and Nell was already baking her third batch of scones.

‘I’d a feeling today was going to be busy,’ Nell said, wiping her hands on her pinny and exhaling sharply.

‘Where did all those people come from? You’d think there was going to be a food shortage with the amount everyone has bought,’ Bea exclaimed, leaning against the counter and taking a breather. ‘We’ve not even had a tea break yet.’

‘It’s the weather. It’s difficult for the boats to move so I think everyone is panic-buying, just in case the snow fall gets heavier.’

‘Let’s just hope our supplies get through okay, but I think we have enough ingredients in the pantry to keep us going for a few days at least.’

‘According to the weather,’ Nell flicked on to her phone, ‘It’s forecast rain from this afternoon, so hopefully the panic buying will settle down.’

‘Here’s hoping. Did you remember to take the last batch of scones out of the oven? I’m not sure I heard the timer buzz in the mad rush?’

‘Oh shoot,’ Nell replied, quickly grabbing the oven gloves before hurrying to the back of the kitchen and flinging open the oven door.

‘Double shoot,’ she pulled out the baking tray and stared. ‘Well and truly cremated,’ she looked aghast, ‘That’s my fault. I forgot to set the timer with it being so busy.’

‘Not to worry, it’s just one of those things,’ Bea answered, leaning against the door frame, ‘Pop them on the side and once they’ve cooled down I’ll throw them out to the birds. They are probably in need of a good feed in this weather.’

They both whipped their heads round as they heard the shop bell tinkle, ‘No rest for the wicked,’ Bea rolled her eyes.

They hurried back behind the counter to find the postman standing there for the second time today.

‘Sorry Nell, I missed this one before,’ he smiled, handing over an envelope to her. As soon as the postman left the shop Nell put the envelope down on the counter.

‘Anything important?’

‘Bank savings, annual statement. Ollie’s life insurance.’

Nell had had no idea that Ollie even had any life insurance until she’d had to sell the yard.

‘I’ll put the kettle on, come on. Oh and I’m putting the closed sign up for ten minutes, we deserve a break.’ Bea announced, walking towards the door and pulling the latch down.

‘Here comes the rain now too.’ Both of them looked up to see to see the sleety rain drumming against the glass and boat owners quickly pulling their windows shut.

Nell moved into the kitchen and clutched the bank statement while Bea switched on the kettle and ferreted around in the cupboard for a couple of mugs.

‘I never knew what to do with this money, it was just never important in the grand scheme of things.’

‘You did the right thing bunging it into a savings account, it’ll have gained a little interest,’ Bea said, perching on the table waiting for the kettle to boil. ‘Any ideas what to do with it now?’

‘Not got a clue,’ answered Nell, watching Bea make the drinks and settling in the chair opposite her. Nell hadn’t really given the money a second thought up until now. ‘I don’t particularly need anything, maybe in time I could invest it in property or a business.’

‘Are you going to open it?’

Nell nodded, then carefully opened the envelope. Her eyes flitted over the numbers on the page and exhaled, ‘Sixty-five thousand pounds.’