Page 22 of Starry Nights over Dragonfly Lake

Ella shuddered. ‘You’re not going to make me love them so let it go,’ she said. ‘We need a way to show people how bright you are so you can reveal that scary amount of knowledge you’ve got going on all the time.’

‘Well, I tried that with my blog,’ began Beth but she didn’t get to finish.

‘That’s it!’ declared Ella, her eyes gleaming. ‘I forgot about your blog. What’s it called again?’

‘Starry Skies,’ replied Beth, bringing out her phone to bring up the blog.

‘Hmm, let’s remake that into Beth’s Starry Skies so that you’re the focus,’ said Ella, tapping her chin in thought. ‘How many followers have you got?’

Beth grimaced. ‘About twenty and I think four of those are my best friends,’ she told her.

‘Okay.’ Ella nodded. ‘Well, I can work on the algorithms so that you start to gain some traction out there.’

‘That sounds great.’ Beth nodded thoughtfully. ‘I mean, it would be my dream to make a living from using my knowledge.’

‘Show me what it looks like,’ said Ella.

Beth handed over her mobile and Ella’s excited face dropped a little.

‘Okay, well, this isn’t going to work,’ she said. ‘It needs to be dreamy and romantic, like you. It’s pretty dull to look at. Where are the visuals? Those sparkly stars in the sky and all that.’

‘I haven’t really got any,’ Beth told her. ‘I just look at the stars, not take photos of them.’

‘You know who could do that for you?’ said Hannah, with a grin. ‘Grandma.’

‘That’s a great idea,’ replied Ella. ‘Dotty takes amazing photos.’

Hannah’s grandmother had been a photographer in her youth and continued to take landscape photographs of Maple Tree Lodge and its grounds which decorated the walls of the hotel.

‘We’ll get Grandma on the case,’ said Hannah, clapping and causing Tiny’s tail to thump on the floorboards at the excited voices.

‘And once the blog looks good then your followers will come, I promise,’ added Ella.

‘But I still don’t understand how I’m going to make a living from that,’ confessed Beth.

Ella rolled her eyes. ‘The trouble with keeping your eyes on the skies is that you don’t see all the potential here on planet Earth,’ she replied, with a grin. ‘Well, let me break it down for you…’

As Ella began to explain about earning money from a blog, Beth found herself filled with grateful relief to have such wonderful best friends. They were her life, her comfort blanket, her family and she loved them.

Unfortunately, her good mood didn’t last very long when Lily came into the kitchen frowning.

‘There’s a visitor for you at reception,’ she said, looking at Beth.

Beth was stunned. ‘For me? Here?’ she asked. ‘Who is it?’

Lily grimaced. ‘It’s Jeremy.’

11

Having slept in late, Noah stared out of the window from his bedroom across Dragonfly Lake, barely visible through the heavy rain.

He would miss the view when he left later, he had to concede. And perhaps the luxury of proper walls rather than the plastic ones on the caravan that were so noisy every time it rained. As well as the leaks and the condensation on a chilly morning.

Instead, solid and sturdy Maple Tree Lodge was holding fast against the wind and rain that was lashing the window at the moment. The predicted storm had arrived with a vengeance.

Perhaps it was a sign that it was time for him to leave. He turned to look at the room once more before picking up his rucksack and his phone which was on charge.

He had spent the previous day studying and researching the boat that he had inherited. It was a beauty, a classic 1930s powerboat 10 metres long with a small inside cabin that could double up as a bed for the night. Although completely unseaworthy at the moment, once it was fully restored with new, sleek mahogany, the boat would be elegant once more.