Chapter 18
Amber and I sat talking through the prospective project and making more detailed plans as to how the site could look and would run until Honey began to stir.
‘So when do you think you’ll be taking your first bookings?’ Amber asked, as she began to repack her bag.
I had known, right from the first time we met, that she was a fast worker, but I was going to have to settle for a more measured pace to get my own dream business up and running. Becoming more business-minded was going to be a steep learning curve for me. A point hammered home when I remembered I still hadn’t negotiated a price for the Cherry Tree caravan yet.
‘I don’t know,’ I said, biting my lip. I had no idea how long it was going to take to get enough money together to make even a tiny start. ‘There’s so much to think about. My funds are pretty tight at the moment and I’ve still got to talk to Mags about a price for the minivan, of course, and that’s even before I’ve factored in the cost of all the work that needs doing on the cottage.’ Perhaps the fee I would negotiate for transforming the Bailey would go some way to covering that.
‘What work?’
‘Oh, there are lots of things,’ I said dismissively, as if I wasn’t worried about it at all. ‘I won’t bore you with the details, but it isn’t going to be cheap getting the place back in decent condition.’
Amber looked at me, wearing the same expression of disbelief that Will had thrown me when I said the same to him.
‘Are you sure?’ she frowned.
‘Hey now, don’t you start,’ I said, with a small smile. ‘Will didn’t believe me when I told him either.’
‘I’m not saying I don’t believe you,’ said Amber, stooping to pick up her daughter. ‘I’m just surprised, that’s all.’
‘He was surprised, too,’ I told her. ‘He said he couldn’t believe Matt was right about it all actually.’
‘Well, he would know,’ she said, passing me the still drowsy bundle that was Honey.
‘Who?’ I frowned, unsure which of the men she meant. ‘Are you talking about Matt or Will?’
‘Both, I guess,’ she shrugged, ‘what with Matt being a builder, but I was actually thinking of Will in this instance.’
‘How,’ I puffed, hoisting Honey a little higher on to my shoulder, ‘could an ex-soldier possibly have any idea about what’s wrong with my cottage?’
‘Well, he converted the barn practically single-handedly,’ said Amber, ‘and it was nothing more than a few crumbling walls when he took it on, so I dare say he’d have a pretty good idea.’
‘Did he?’ I gasped.
I still hadn’t seen this magnificent conversion Mags had mentioned for myself, but I knew it was a gargantuan task transforming a few dilapidated walls into a homely abode.
‘Yes,’ Amber tutted. ‘And you needn’t sound so surprised. He’s done an amazing job on the place. I think it was some sort of therapy after . . . ’
‘After what?’ I pounced.
‘Well, I don’t know really,’ she frowned. ‘He had problems when he first moved here, but no one knows much about them, or his life in the army, come to that. He’s a very private person, especially when it comes to his past. He never says much about anything.’
‘Except for when it comes to airing his opinion about my home,’ I said with a smile.
‘Look,’ she went on, ‘I know the pair of you didn’t exactly hit it off, what with the nettle fiasco and everything, but if you do have any doubts about what Matt has suggested then you could do far worse than ask Will to have a look round.’
‘I’ll consider it,’ I said, thinking that I hadn’t really had any doubts but if I did decide to talk to Will about it, we were, thanks to the lift into town, on friendlier terms now at least.
‘Good,’ she said. ‘And don’t forget, Will was very close to Gwen. I’m sure that if there was anything that required really urgent attention then he would have sorted it for her the second it came to light.’
I couldn’t help thinking that it was Matt that Gwen had turned to about the work and Will hadn’t exactly put his foot down about replacing the shower and fuse box, had he? But he had at least alerted her to the seriousness of the problem, I supposed, and I knew for myself that she could be pretty stubborn when she wanted to be, so the fact that it still wasn’t sorted wasn’t really his fault.
We finished gathering and tidying the papers and magazines together and then walked back to Amber’s truck.
The wind had picked up and, even though it was still hot and disgustingly humid, I could see dark clouds gathering on the horizon. I hoped we weren’t in for a storm. I hated thunder almost as much as I hated the thought of driving.
‘Do you know,’ I said as I helped wrestle a now wide-awake Honey back into her car seat and dismissed the sudden change in the weather in the hope that it would blow in the opposite direction, ‘even with all the work ahead and money to find, I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.’
‘Lifted off?’ Amber questioned. ‘Surely you mean you feel as if a weight has descended?’
‘No,’ I said thoughtfully. ‘I feel liberated in a way.’
‘Liberated?’
‘Yes,’ I said, ‘liberated, and all thanks to Gwen. She’s given me something I can really sink my teeth into here, hasn’t she? She’s handed me the perfect opportunity to finally get on with the job of living.’
I knew it probably sounded strange to Amber, but I knew what I meant.
‘So,’ she frowned, much as I expected she would, ‘I take it you’ve never felt like this before then? Don’t you feel as if you’ve been living life to the full?’
‘No,’ I said, ‘I haven’t. I know from what you’ve told me about your career and the farm that you’ve always been someone who sets their sights on something they want and then makes it happens, but that’s not been me. I’ve just jogged along really,’ I shrugged, thinking how safe my job and limited life back in Lincoln had been. ‘For the most part, I’ve just fitted in with whatever happened to come along. I’ve never actually gone out looking for a big adventure like this. I’ve never wanted to.’
‘Until now,’ said Amber, her eyes lighting up.
‘Yes,’ I agreed, ‘until now. From this moment on I’m going to be brave and I’m going to be the one who makes things happen.’
‘Well, good for you,’ she laughed. ‘That’s wonderful.’
‘It is rather, isn’t it?’ I laughed back. ‘And it’s all thanks to dear Gwen, but you won’t tell anyone about my idea, will you, Amber?’
‘Why ever not?’ she frowned, turning to face me again. ‘You’re going to need all the help you can muster to get this idea up and running.’
‘I know that,’ I nodded, ‘and I won’t want to keep it all to myself forever obviously, but just for now, while I’m getting to grips with it all and thinking it through, I’d rather keep it under wraps.’
‘Well, as long as you’re sure?’ she asked doubtfully.
‘I know you think I should be shouting about it from the rooftops,’ I acknowledged, ‘but I promise you, I do have my reasons for keeping quiet.’
‘Do you want to tell me what they are?’
‘Not today,’ I said firmly. I was already dreading what the suspicious locals were going to say about my ambitious project and knew it was paramount I had it all clear in my mind before I attempted to get them onside. ‘But I might one day, assuming they haven’t all been forgotten in the excitement when things begin to happen, of course.’
‘All right,’ she agreed, ‘that’s fair enough, but don’t forget, it really is up to you to make this a success.’
‘How could I possibly forget that?’ I laughed. ‘You’re going to be reminding me every five minutes, aren’t you?’
Amber laughed along with me.
‘Of course,’ she smiled, ‘and I promise I’ll keep your secret far better than I have this baby business,’ she added, running her hand over her still flat tummy. ‘Just so long as you make sure you put me and Jake down for the first mini-break booking, OK?’
‘But it’s only up the road,’ I reminded her.
‘That doesn’t matter,’ she enlightened me. ‘When you’ve got a farm, a fella, an ageing aunt, a daughter, livestock and a business to run, even a trip to the supermarket can be a welcome break.’
‘Fair enough,’ I smiled, thinking that she, Jemma and Lizzie were all women on a mission. ‘I’ll put you and Jake down as my very first guests.’
‘Brilliant,’ she beamed. ‘And how are the hens, by the way?’
‘Hilarious,’ I said, ‘I can watch them for hours, and the eggs might be small, but they’re packed full of flavour. They’ve quite transformed my breakfast. First I cook what they’ve presented me with, then I sit and watch them darting about the run, fixated on anything that flies.’
‘Have you named them yet?’
‘No,’ I said, ‘not yet, but give me time.’
‘Excellent,’ she smiled, climbing behind the wheel and scanning the horizon. ‘You might want to shut them up for a bit if this storm hits.’
Right on cue, there was a distant rumble of thunder and Minnie scuttled back towards the cottage with her tail between her legs.
‘I’m hoping it’s going to roll around us rather than come over,’ I said, with a shudder. ‘I hate it.’
‘Well, you never know,’ said Amber. ‘We might get away with it, and sometimes it does seem to track the river. Anyway, congratulations, Lottie Foster,’ she nodded. ‘I think you’ve got the makings of a very beautiful and successful business here.’
‘Well, I hope so,’ I said, biting my lip and looking back towards the barns.
My head was full of exciting possibilities and my heart suddenly seemed to be beating to a very different tune. I was already beginning to wish I hadn’t felt the need to keep ambition at bay for so long and I knew that Gwen and Gran would have been delighted that I was determined to make up for lost time.
‘I know so,’ Amber said firmly. ‘I’ll see you later.’
‘Thanks for coming,’ I said, taking a step back. ‘Bye.’
‘Bye,’ called a little voice from the back seat.
‘Bye, bye, Honey bee,’ I called as Amber pulled away, ‘I’ll see you soon.’
As they disappeared out of sight I could hear the telephone ringing in the cottage and rushed to pick it up before the answerphone cut in, fumbling with the hula girl key ring in my haste. A vehicle drove by and I glanced back at the road to make sure it wasn’t Amber coming back for something she had forgotten. But it was Will. Heading towards home, he was still driving slowly and gave me a thumbs up in the process. I waved back then rushed into the house feeling pleased that he was sticking to the speed limit.
‘Hello,’ I said, snatching up the phone just before Gwen’s voice cut in.
‘Lottie?’
‘Yes,’ I frowned.
‘It’s Simon.’
I was feeling none too impressed about his no-show and having quickly glanced at the answering machine I could see that he hadn’t even called and left a message.
‘I’m sorry about this morning,’ he began.
‘I thought you were coming out to see me first thing,’ I snapped. I knew I sounded cross, but I hated being messed about.
‘I was,’ he said, ‘but this emergency came up.’
‘Right,’ I said, trying not to sound peevish. I might have been annoyed but my bad mood wasn’t going to make him materialise out of thin air. ‘So when are you coming?’
‘Won’t be today now, I’m afraid,’ he said with a sigh. ‘There’s the mother of all thunderstorms heading in our direction apparently and I won’t be doing any electrical work during that obviously.’
Just as he finished speaking, I saw a flash in the distance and Minnie dived under the table. The storm still looked a long way off, but I could tell it had its sights set on making its presence felt.
‘But what about my fuse box,’ I swallowed. ‘Tell me again what I need to do if the power goes off?’
‘Nothing,’ said Simon seriously. ‘And I really mean that. Don’t go anywhere near the damn thing.’
‘But what about when the storm has gone?’ I said. ‘What do I have to do to get the power back on, assuming it’s knocked out of course?’
‘Oh, it’ll be knocked out all right,’ said Simon, ‘but I don’t want you going anywhere near that box. That thing’s a tragedy waiting to happen. You ring me later and then sit tight until I come out and sort it.’
I didn’t know if that was a comforting suggestion or not. Surely the wretched thing was as much of a threat to Simon as it was to me and if he got hurt, or worse, I was sure there would be someone waiting to sue me.
‘Well, all right,’ I said reluctantly. ‘But make sure you keep your phone handy, won’t you?’ I told him. ‘Because I have a feeling I’m going to become your latest emergency very soon.’
‘Just batten down the hatches,’ said Simon firmly, making no attempt to allay my fears. ‘It’s going to be a big one.’
He hung up and immediately the phone rang again. This time it was Amber.
‘Are you all right?’ I asked. ‘Are you home?’
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘We’re just back, but I wanted to warn you about this storm. Annie seems to think it will be with us in about half an hour and it’s going to hang around. Will you be all right? For some reason the stretch of drove where you are seems to cop it worse than we do when its right overhead and I know you said you don’t like it.’
‘I’ll be fine,’ I insisted, but I was feeling less fine with every passing second. ‘I’ve got Minnie to keep me company.’
‘I can come and get you both, if you like?’
There was no way I was going to ask a pregnant woman to come and rescue me, even if I did want to seek sanctuary under a blanket with some company.
‘No,’ I said, trying to sound as if the prospect of the storm was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. ‘Thank you for the offer, but we’ll stick it out here. I can carry on working on my plans and lists.’
‘Well, as long as you’re sure.’
Amber eventually rang off and I was sure for about the next two minutes as I went upstairs to get changed out of my work gear, but then I began to panic. What if the fuse box really was as dangerous as Simon had suggested? What if it sparked and ignited something in the cupboard? My mind was free-falling out of all control as I began to pace the hall and watch Minnie cowering under the table, and consequently I made quite possibly the most ridiculous and dangerous decision of my entire life.