A week later she waited at dawn in St Andrew’s Dock for the Scarborough Girl to tie up. It was bitterly cold, though not as cold as it had been the morning they had waited for the missing ships. She felt a pang of sadness whenever she thought of Harry, and wondered how he would have coped with another son in his life. It would have been difficult for him. But her memories of Harry were changing. She thought of how merry he had been when she’d first met him, as if he had not a care in the world to bother him, and it was this image she clung to when she looked at Jack, who looked so much like him.
‘Jeannie! What are you doing here?’ Ethan called as he jumped down on to the quayside. ‘Aren’t you cold?’
‘Cold? Me?’ She laughed. ‘I’m a fisher girl, aren’t I? I’m waiting for the sun to come up …’ – she hesitated – ‘and I’ve been waiting for my ship to come in.’
He looked at her, a puzzled expression on his face. ‘Your ship?’
She nodded. ‘My ship. The Scarborough Girl. Isn’t she mine? Named after me?’
He nodded. ‘Yes. They both were, the smack and the trawler.’ His voice softened. ‘There was never another Scarborough girl for me, even though she moved to Hull.’
Jeannie put her hand to his face. His beard was long and thick and bushy and she knew he would shave it off now that he was ashore again, just in time for Christmas.
‘I loved you when I was eight years old,’ she said huskily. ‘How did I come to stray so far?’
Ethan put down his bag and took her in his arms. ‘You were led up the wrong path, but you’ve found your way home again.’
‘To you?’ she asked, her eyes bright with tears and hope and seeing him clearly as the fresh new dawn broke over the horizon, painting the sky with streaks of gold and the blush of a rose. She heard the plaintive cry of herring gulls circling above them and on the breeze she could smell the sea. ‘Where is home?’ she whispered.
‘With me,’ he said lovingly, kissing her cheek, and then her mouth. ‘Together. Always. Wherever we choose to be.’
About the Author
Val Wood was born in Yorkshire and now lives in Beverley. She was the first winner of the Catherine Cookson Prize for Fiction.
Find out more about Val Wood’s novels by visiting her website at www.valeriewood.co.uk
Also by Val Wood
THE HUNGRY TIDE
ANNIE
CHILDREN OF THE TIDE
THE ROMANY GIRL
EMILY
GOING HOME
ROSA’S ISLAND
THE DOORSTEP GIRLS
FAR FROM HOME
THE KITCHEN MAID
THE SONGBIRD
NOBODY’S CHILD
FALLEN ANGELS
THE LONG WALK HOME
RICH GIRL, POOR GIRL
HOMECOMING GIRLS
For more information on Val Wood and her books,
see her website at www.valeriewood.co.uk
TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS
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First published in Great Britain
in 2011 by Bantam Press
an imprint of Transworld Publishers
Copyright © Valerie Wood 2011
Valerie Wood has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781446438824
ISBN 9780593067017
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Table of Contents
Cover
About the Book
Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
About the Author
Also by Val Wood
Copyright