Chapter 5

It took forty minutes to drive from Hope Cove to Averton. The roads were winding, and when they reached the little village of Averton there really wasn’t much to see: a pub and a small shop beside a village green. Houses stood back from the road, and it was all very quaint and peaceful. They drove out the other side of the village until they came to a driveway.

Beside the gate at the road was a large wooden sign engraved with Oakbrook Farm: Boarding Home for Dogs. Rhododendron bushes grew either side of the gate, splashed with gorgeous purple flowers.

The car crawled along the driveway, passing a barn before reaching the old farmhouse in the far corner of the property.

Following Sam’s lead, Josie parked the car beside the house. Then she got out and took it all in. The property was dotted with beautiful big old trees and bordered by a wooden fence. Beyond, hills rolled away in every direction. It was stunning.

“Not a bad view, is it?” Annette said.

“It’s beautiful,” Josie agreed. She always considered herself a city girl at heart but it really was breathtaking.

“I’ve just got to fetch my dogs from the neighbour. Sam can show you around.”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to drive round and get the dogs?”

“No.” Annette was already walking away. “I feel like the exercise. Won’t be long.”

They watched her walk away and then Sam turned awkwardly to Josie. “So this is Oakbrook,” he said. “Annette has lived here for nearly sixty years. My place is over that hill.” He shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I can show you the barn. It’s converted into kennels.”

They set off together back down the drive and then ventured across a well-worn path through neatly mown grass. Josie marvelled at the wonderfully green scenery. “How long have you lived here?” she asked.

“Always,” he said. “I grew up here. Moved away for a while and then, when my parents decided to move, I bought the house from them and moved back.”

“That’s…” She hesitated, wondering what to say. “Nice.”

He laughed. “It’s a quiet life. But I like it.”

“What do you do for a living?”

“I work in construction.”

“Wow,” Josie said, nodding appreciatively. “That’s a great job.”

“Is it?” He gave her an odd look. “Most people aren’t that impressed by it.”

“I was expecting you to have a boring office job. Building work is so interesting. It’s amazing that you can make something from nothing.”

They stopped outside the barn and he looked thoroughly amused. “I think you might be confusing builders with magicians. If I could make something from nothing that would be impressive!”

She laughed and gave him a light shove. “You know what I mean. You actually make stuff. At the end of the day you can say ‘look I just built that house’…”

He smirked. “It generally takes longer than a day.”

“Stop teasing,” she said. “I just think it’s great that you don’t do some boring office job where no one even knows what you do. Like Max – he used to work in an office. What did he even do?”

“He was a lawyer,” Sam said, opening the door to the barn. “He worked for a cosmetics company and he—”

“It was a rhetorical question!” Josie said.

They grinned at each other as the lights flickered on in the barn, and he held the door for her.

“The thing about Max’s boring office job was they paid him loads of money,” Sam said.

Recently, Max had given up his boring office job and now worked as a property manager in Hope Cove and the surrounding area. Josie found it much easier to understand what he did on a day-to-day basis.

“Yeah, but who needs money?” Josie’s words were flippant as she walked slowly through the barn, looking around in awe.

Sam followed after her. “Is that another rhetorical question or am I allowed to answer? Because I have a lot to say about that…”

“Yeah, I know, everyone needs money.” She waved a hand. “But you only need so much.”

“That’s true.” He stopped and leaned casually against a red brick partition wall. “It was stables originally,” he said as Josie opened one of the old stable doors and went into what was now a dog kennel.

“This place is amazing.” She walked around the space and pushed open the dog door at the far end to peer out to an outdoor enclosure.

“It’s pretty fancy,” he agreed.

“No wonder Annette was upset about closing down.”

“It was only supposed to be a temporary thing. Just while Wendy recovered from her operation…” He trailed off and his eyes glazed over briefly. Then he straightened up abruptly and moved to open the stable door for Josie. “It’s too much for her to manage now, on her own.”

Josie counted over twenty individual stalls in the barn. It was very impressive.

“There are infra-red heaters for the winter,” Sam said, pointing overhead.

“It’s a doggy paradise.”

“It was very popular. People would book far in advance.”

“I’m not surprised.”

They ambled slowly back outside. “Are you seriously considering this?” Sam asked, when they made their way towards the house. “Moving here? Working for Annette?”

“I don’t know.” Gazing around again, she was struck by how still and tranquil the surroundings were. It almost didn’t seem real, as though she were wandering through a painting. “I didn’t think so. But now I’m here it’s surprisingly tempting. I have to figure some things out first. It’s complicated with my boyfriend.”

“I thought he was your ex-boyfriend?” Sam squinted, puzzled.

“I’m not really sure.”

Sam didn’t reply and Josie felt a fleeting sense of guilt. She’d assumed that their kiss hadn’t meant anything to him. Just an inevitable end to a day filled with champagne and romance. But the silence between them felt suddenly charged. 

The golden retriever that barrelled up to them was a welcome distraction. Sam bent to ruffle his coat and the tension in the air dispersed. “This is Charlie,” Sam said, dragging his attention away from the dog and grinning up at Josie. A small black terrier arrived next to vie for attention, throwing itself on the ground beside Sam and eagerly offering its belly to be rubbed. Sam happily obliged as the dog panted and wagged its tail. “This is Macy… And you know Tilly, I take it.”

The gorgeous springer spaniel belonged to Lizzie and Max. She stood beside Josie, wagging her tail.

“Yes,” she said, stroking Tilly affectionately. Tilly was staying with Annette while the newlyweds went on their honeymoon. “We know each other well.” 

Josie and Sam made a big fuss of the dogs while they waited for Annette to catch up.

“What do you think?” Annette said, puffing as she approached.

“The barn’s fantastic.”

“We fell in love with the stables when we moved in,” she said. “So we tried to keep a lot of the original features when we refurbished. Once upon a time it was a working farm. We even thought about going into farming. The closest we got was our little vegetable patch, but we kept the name as Oakbrook Farm anyway. Have you seen inside the house?”

“Not yet.”

“Come on then. You’ll need to see where you’ll be living!”

Josie chuckled. “Nothing’s definite yet.”

She was given a guided tour of the lovely old farmhouse. There certainly was plenty of room. The spare bedroom upstairs had a fantastic view out over the hills, and Josie could imagine sitting and gazing out. Of course, she’d probably get bored of the views after five minutes. She was a city girl after all. She’d soon miss seeing buildings all around.

“Are you convinced yet?” Annette said as the three of them sat at the kitchen table cradling coffees.

Josie shook her head. “I don’t know.” She didn’t even know Annette very well but already she was tempted to say yes just to please her. She felt so sorry for her all alone with nothing to keep her occupied. She couldn’t make such a drastic change just to cheer up a little old lady, though. And she couldn’t make any rushed decisions. She needed to think about it properly. And talk to Jack.

“I’m really flattered that you offered, and it is tempting. I’m going to think it through.” She finished her coffee in one long gulp. “I really need to get home.” It was about a four-hour drive back to Oxford and she was already tired.

“I thought you might stay for dinner,” Annette said quickly. “Both of you. Maybe Sam could take you down to the local pub later so you get a feel for the village.”

“I thought you were trying to tempt her.” Sam stood when Josie did. “Taking her to the Bluebell Inn is a sure way to scare her off.”

“Maybe another time,” Josie said at the door. “Thanks for showing me round.”

Annette picked up a business card from the windowsill and gave it to her. It had the address and phone number for the kennels. “Call me when you decide,” she said. “Maybe you could give her your number too, Sam. Just in case she can’t get hold of me.”

“Oh my God,” Sam muttered under his breath as they stepped outside.

“Bye, Annette!” Josie called, beaming.

At the car, she turned to Sam. “Do you think Annette offering me a job is just an elaborate ploy to get you a date?”

He frowned and then his lips twitched to a smirk. “It’s a definite possibility.”