The Beachcomber (56 page)

When Rosie scowled at her, she told her the same. “You look lovely, too,” the woman said, her genuine compliment putting the smile back on Rosie’s face.

The registry office was packed to the hilt. There were people from West Bay, neighbors and acquaintances, the site manager. And Kathy’s old and dear friend, Maggie, in a bright blue coat and the highest heels Kathy had ever seen.

Alongside her was her newest boyfriend, the owner of a night-club and, as Maggie proudly put it, “Not short of a bob or two.”

As Kathy came in, Maggie waved and smiled and told everyone how she had known Kathy for a long time and what a lovely person she was. It was only when her boyfriend gave her a nudge that she sheepishly fell silent, though she and Kathy exchanged a few knowing glances and warm smiles. There was a bond between them that went way back. Whatever happened to one or the other, these two were friends forever.

The service was short and dignified. Tom and Kathy were joined together as man and wife, and when they came out into the bright wintry sunshine, everyone clapped and smiled. It was the happiest day.

As they walked toward the spot where the pictures would be taken, Kathy saw two figures standing a short distance away.
When now the woman smiled at her, Kathy’s heart turned over
.

Slowly, unsure, she went to her. In her mind she could see the photograph her father had left behind – she had only recently found it at the back of the drawer – of himself and the boy on the beach, collecting shells with Jasper. There were other photographs, too. “You’re Liz, aren’t you?”

Liz nodded. “I hope you didn’t mind me coming here. I did so much want to see Robert’s daughter get married.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Kathy! He would have been so proud!”

For a long, emotional moment, Kathy gazed at her, then at the boy, her brother, who reminded her so much of her dear lost father. “Hello, Robbie,” she whispered. “Jasper’s told me so much about you.”

Suddenly, without warning, he slid his hand into Kathy’s, for now he knew she was his sister, and he wanted her to love him.

Openly crying, Kathy threw her arms around them both. “I’m glad you came,” she murmured. “Oh, I’m so glad you came.”

Now, as Tom came to hold her, Kathy thought of all the bad things that had happened. They were over now. She had a real family at last. And it was the most wonderful gift of all.

From somewhere behind them Jasper called out, “That’s enough malarking, you lot! There’s pictures to be tekken. Hurry up! Afore we all freeze on the spot!”

Laughing, they made their way over.

While they waited for the photographer to line the others up, Tom slid his arm around Kathy’s waist. “Are you happy, darling?”

Kathy looked around: at Liz and young Robbie, her brother; then Maggie in her ridiculous outfit; and at Jasper, that wonderful, darling old man.

She looked up at Tom with smiling eyes and a heart filled with love. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life,” she said.

She glanced up at the skies, her mind alive with memories of her father. She imagined him smiling down on her. “Thank you,” she murmured.

He had given her a new start. A new life.

With Tom and her family.

No woman could want more.

Josephine Cox was born in Blackburn, one of ten children. At the age of sixteen, Josephine met and married her husband Ken, and had two sons. When the boys started school, she decided to go to college and eventually gained a place at Cambridge University. She was unable to take this up as it would have meant living away from home, but she went into teaching – and started to write her first full-length novel. She won the “Superwoman of Great Britain” Award, for which her family had secretly entered her, at the same time as her novel was accepted for publication.

Her strong, gritty stories are taken from the tapestry of life. Josephine says, “I could never imagine a single day without writing. It’s been that way since as far back as I can remember.”

Visit
www.AuthorTracker.com
for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.

Queenie’s Story

H
ER
F
ATHER’S
S
INS
• L
ET
L
OOSE
T
HE
T
IGERS

The Emma Grady Trilogy

O
UTCAST
• A
LLEY
U
RCHIN
• V
AGABONDS

A
NGELS
C
RY
S
OMETIMES

T
AKE
T
HIS
W
OMAN

W
HISTLEDOWN
W
OMAN

D
ON’T
C
RY
A
LONE

J
ESSICA’S
G
IRL

N
OBODY’S
D
ARLING

B
ORN
T
O
S
ERVE

M
ORE
T
HAN
R
ICHES

A L
ITTLE
B
ADNESS

L
IVING
A
L
IE

T
HE
D
EVIL
Y
OU
K
NOW

A T
IME
F
OR
U
S

C
RADLE
O
F
T
HORNS

M
ISS
Y
OU
F
OREVER

L
OVE
M
E
O
R LEAVE
M
E

T
OMORROW
T
HE
W
ORLD

T
HE
G
ILDED
C
AGE

S
OMEWHERE
, S
OMEDAY

R
AINBOW
D
AYS

L
OOKING
B
ACK

L
ET
I
T
S
HINE

T
HE
W
OMAN
W
HO
L
EFT

J
INNIE

B
AD
B
OY
J
ACK

T
HE
B
EACHCOMBER

L
OVERS
A
ND
L
IARS

T
HE
J
OURNEY

J
OURNEY’S
E
ND

T
HE
L
ONER

S
ONGBIRD

A rack-size edition of this book was published in October 2003 by Avon Books.

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

THE BEACHCOMBER
. Copyright © 2003 by Josephine Cox. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address HarperCollins Publishers, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022.

HarperCollins books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. For information please write: Special Markets Department, HarperCollins Publishers, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

F
IRST
A
VON
P
APERBACK
E
DITION
P
UBLISHED
2009.

Interior text designed by Rhea Braunstein

ISBN 978-0-06-176331-1

EPub Edition © JANUARY 2013 ISBN: 9780062276780

09 10 11 12 WBC/RRD 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Australia

HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au

Canada

HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East – 20th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4W 1A8, Canada
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca

New Zealand

HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.nz

United Kingdom

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77–85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.uk

United States

HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com