Blue Skies Over Wildflower Lock (The Wildflower Lock)

Chapter 1

Daisy May closed up the shutters after another successful day at the Coffee Shop on the Canal. It was hard to believe this summer was almost over. June and July had whizzed by in a blur – a very hectic blur. Getting the coffee shop up and running hadn’t been as smooth sailing as she’d hoped, with issues from licensing to broken windows, and a slight turmoil in her love life to add to the mix. But she had got through it. And the last six weeks had been plain sailing, relatively speaking.

From learning to bake to waking up at five-thirty seven days a week, it was a steep learning curve, but no matter how tired she got, or how much she wished she had just a little more free time to see Theo, Daisy knew she could never go back to her previous office job. Just like she could never go back to living in a normal flat.

The situation with Theo was less than ideal. Having had her heart broken when she was younger, Daisy had actively avoided getting into another relationship and assumed she’d be single forever. But Theo had changed that. Unfortunately, Daisy’s fears about having her heart broken, combined with the very charismatic Christian – who swept onto the scene, and nearly swept her off her feet too – meant she and Theo took longer than necessary to get together. Thankfully, Daisy finally saw sense and they had officially been a couple for just over two months. Theo was everything she could have hoped for in a partner – encouraging and supportive, as well as being a dab hand in the kitchen. He made her laugh more than anybody else, and being with him truly made Daisy feel as though she was capable of anything. In fact, as far as Theo went, there was only one issue – he wasn’t there.

Daisy hated that she only had herself to blame. While she’d been trying to cope with the unexpected love triangle she’d found herself in, Theo had taken a job on the other side of the country – a three-and-a-half-hour drive away. With the coffee shop open every day of the week and Theo wanting to make as good an impression in his new position as he could, the time they had to spend together was limited. Which was why Daisy was shutting up shop fifteen minutes earlier than normal; so she had time to get showered and clean through the boat before he arrived.

As she finished the final wipe-down of the counters, her phone buzzed on the table. Theo’s name flashed up on the screen, causing her stomach to flutter with excitement.

Dropping the cloth where it was, she hurried to pick up the phone.

‘Hey, you,’ Theo said as soon as she answered. His voice was enough to make her heart race. It was crazy how much she loved hearing from him. And in only a few hours, they would be together. ‘How are you? How’s your day been? You’re not still open, are you?’

‘No, I’ve just closed up,’ she said. Her cheeks were aching as she grinned.

‘Good. Does that mean you have time to talk, then?’

‘You know I always have time for you.’

Theo chuckled. ‘That’s a nice line, but you know it’s not true, right? You’re almost always busy.’

Daisy grunted. It was true. The only time their schedules seemed to align was late in the evening and often, she was so tired, she could only manage fifteen minutes of conversation before she fell asleep. Lesser men than Theo might have been insulted that their girlfriend started snoring half the time they spoke, but Theo knew how hard she worked.

‘So, are you on the road yet?’ Daisy asked as she flopped down onto the sofa. ‘It feels like forever since I’ve seen you.’

‘I know. I’m really sorry about last weekend.’

‘You don’t need to apologise. It wasn’t like you put those otters in the canal.’

Theo let out a wistful sigh. ‘They were amazing, Daisy. Honestly. I wish you could’ve seen them. But we had to stay up there, make sure none of the boaters or borders disturbed them.’

Theo’s job involved general maintenance and monitoring of the canals, which meant that, just like Daisy, no two days were the same. It also meant he could be called upon at the most inconvenient hours, including when the pair were meant to be meeting.

‘Honestly, you don’t need to explain,’ she said. ‘I get it. It’s completely fine.’

As much as Daisy meant it, it didn’t stop the knot twisting in the pit of her stomach. It had been so many years since she’d been in a relationship like this and yet, since Theo had moved over six weeks ago, they had seen each other a measly four times. Three of those times were on weekends when he’d come down to the coffee shop, and it had been so busy, he’d had to spend the daytime working with her. It had been nice, of course, just being close to him, but by the evening, they were so exhausted, they could barely even manage a decent conversation. The other time was just for the evening when he’d managed to score the following morning off work.

‘So, are you on your way?’ she asked again, realising he hadn’t yet answered her question.

‘Actually…’ Theo paused. The knots in Daisy’s stomach tightened. It’d all seemed so straightforward before he’d left. They’d had a plan. Any time the weather forecast was terrible for more than two days in a row, she was going to head up to Slimbridge. Any weekends when Theo wasn’t called in for emergency jobs on the canal, he was coming down here. But the weather had been perfect, with barely a cloud in the sky, and Theo’s new job had far more responsibility than expected and emergencies always seemed to happen. Now, she sensed it was going to be even longer until she saw him.

‘Actually, Daisy, I hate to do this to you so much, but?—’

Whatever Theo was about to say was drowned out by a heavy hammering on her front door.

‘Sorry, Theo, did you say you’re not coming?’

The hammering knocked again.

‘For crying out loud,’ Daisy muttered to herself. She couldn’t imagine who it could be. Perhaps some irate customer who expected her to be open until six, even though the sign clearly said she closed at five. They’d knocked on the hatch doors before, but on her front door was a whole different level of rudeness. Besides, whoever it was, there was no way it was more important than hearing when, or if, she was next going to see Theo.

‘Actually, do you know what, Theo? I’ll ring you back. Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be two minutes.’

She strode across the September Rose, where her paintings hung from the wall, and the afternoon light filtered in through the windows. Once again, the knocking came.

‘Will you just hang on?’ she said as she swung open the door. ‘Do you?—’

Daisy stopped, staring at the sight in front of her. His long hair was tied up in its normal bun, while the hint of a smirk twisted on his lips.

‘Sorry, I know you were on the phone and everything, but I thought I might come down a bit earlier, if that’s all right with you?’