Page 57 of Starry Nights over Dragonfly Lake

Beth walked around the inside of the cabin, empty apart from various sockets and pipes which were waiting for the second fixing of bathroom and kitchen facilities.

‘Where’s the bed going to go?’ she asked.

‘There,’ Ben told her, pointing to the far wall.

She went across and looked around, screwing her eyes up, in deep thought.

‘What is it?’ asked Ben. ‘What have we missed?’

‘Hang on,’ she told him, before lying down on the wooden floorboards.

‘Feeling tired, are we?’ asked Noah, with a grin.

Beth looked up to the apex of the roof which, although currently covered in green tarpaulin, wouldsoon be tiled. Noah followed her gaze, thinking that the oak beams were a lovely feature.

Finally, Beth leapt up from the ground and brushed down her dusty flared jeans and coat.

‘This roof needs a skylight,’ she announced.

Noah and Ben exchanged a look. ‘Why?’ asked Ben.

‘For the stargazing, of course,’ she told them.

Ben shook his head. ‘I’m not sure,’ he said. ‘Glass is pretty expensive and we’ve already ordered the right amount of roof tiles.’

‘But it’ll be totally worth it for the romantic view,’ she countered. ‘It’ll light up the place for a while longer in the darker months and in the summer, just think of that glorious sunshine flooding in.’

Ben was at a loss for words and looked across at Walter. ‘What do you think, Grandad?’ he asked.

Walter stared up for a moment before nodding his head. ‘I think she’s onto something,’ he announced. ‘Not sure why we didn’t think of it before now.’

‘Because it means extra work and funds,’ replied Ben, grabbing his phone and scrolling through what appeared to be a shopping page of skylights before looking across at Noah. ‘What are your thoughts?’

Noah looked up at the roof and then through the window frame to the endless sky outside.

‘Why wouldn’t anyone want to see more of our beautiful surroundings?’ he finally said.

Ben nodded at his cousin. ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Let’s go for it.’

‘And I reckon Lily would totally agree with me about this,’ Beth told him.

‘Why do you think I’ve just agreed to it?’ said Ben, with a grin.

‘Yay!’ Beth clapped her hands and walked over to Ben, laughing.

Noah was just about to join in when he found his laughter catching in his throat as he watched Beth give Ben a kiss on the cheek.

He knew it meant nothing. That Ben would never cheat on Lily and that it was just between friends.

So why did he mind so much that Beth was kissing someone else and not him?

30

Later on that day after dinner, Beth wandered outside to look at the stars but found them unexpectedly shrouded by a thin cloud.

She wrapped her coat around her tightly and walked along the path around the lake, just visible thanks to the external lights all around the hotel.

The boathouse was in darkness that evening, except the apartment above the café where Hannah and Alex lived with Tiny.