Chapter 9
She hadn’t made Tristan any promises when he’d asked her for a review, but he’d assured her that the location of the campsite would capture her heart and he’d been right.
Even if Port Agnes had meant nothing to her, she’d still have loved it and she would be recommending the site to her followers, but this had to be her last night, for her own sanity as much as anything else.
She’d woken up to an email from Ken asking Holly to call him as soon as possible and leaving his number.
Ken had always seemed very reluctant to use his mobile phone, only ever contacting her by email, so the request to call had filled her with unease for a fleeting moment and she’d almost called him straight away.
Then the realisation had hit her that he must have seen her the day before, when she’d spotted him in Port Agnes.
He probably wanted to cover his tracks, by getting her to phone him and coming up with some convoluted tale about why he and her mum hadn’t gone away on a cruise after all.
So she wasn’t in any hurry to phone him, because she knew whatever lies he told would just compound the hurt she was already feeling.
She’d call him when she got to Wales. Having a bit of physical distance between them might lessen the impact of the lies he was bound to tell her, or at least she hoped so.
She loved Ken, she really did, but the thought that her stepfather could lie to her hit incredibly hard.
It had taken her so long to trust him and now…
she just wasn’t sure there was anything he could say or do that could make up for the lies her parents had already told, and if he was going to layer that on with yet more fabrication, she needed to be ready, and she definitely hadn’t felt ready that morning.
She’d also woken up to a stream of messages about her latest video, telling her that her words had resonated, and how incredible she was for embracing a lifestyle that was clearly so good for her soul.
Holly had spoken about stepping away from the treadmill that so many people on the nine-to-five found themselves on, pushing themselves to burnout in order to achieve the next goal, just in order to upgrade their car, or buy a bigger house.
She’d hammered home the message that people were missing out on so much by always chasing those goals, and had talked about how the freedom her life gave her provided far richer rewards than owning any kind of house or car ever could.
She believed those things to be true, she really did, but what she didn’t mention was the price of rootlessness and the aching loneliness she’d felt in the hours leading up to making that video.
She certainly hadn’t mentioned that a huge part of her would give anything to go back to being the girl in the photograph, in the blazer that was several sizes too big, so that she had the chance to do things differently.
After her walk with the dogs, she’d dropped Casper back to the garden of Tristan’s house, safe in the knowledge that it was far enough away from the farmhouse for her not to be seen.
Then she’d spend some time finalising her plans to drive to Wales and responding to messages and comments online.
She’d made a video of Merlin swimming in the sea, which had already been watched thousands of times.
If she could get some good footage of the lambs, it would mean she wouldn’t need to appear on camera for a few days after her next ‘Woody’s Words of Wisdom’ slot.
She also set up some interviews with people living in their vans full time close to where she’d be staying in Wales.
It was the kind of content she knew was always popular with her followers, many of whom were contemplating living full time in some kind of alternative way, either through choice or circumstance.
By the time Tristan knocked on the door of the van, she couldn’t wait to get back outside.
Thankfully, there was no need to pretend she felt cold, despite the spring sunshine, and wrap herself up in a woolly hat and scarf.
He’d already told her that although they might bump into his cousin on the farm, he wouldn’t have the chance to introduce her to his cousin’s wife – his partner in the campsite business – because she’d gone to see her parents and would be having dinner with them.
Holly had wanted to release the voice screaming inside her that they were her parents too, and she’d desperately tried not to picture the cosy scene.
Her sister would never be told that they were away on a cruise just to fob her off.
But thinking that way wasn’t going to achieve anything, so instead she decided just to be grateful that there was no chance of bumping into Bex.
‘Are you ready?’ Tristan asked as she opened the door. His skin was already taking on the kind of sun-kissed glow that only someone who spent a lot of time out in the open would get at this time of year.
‘Absolutely.’ Holly turned back inside the van for a moment, checking that Merlin’s water bowl was full and placing a couple of treats next to his bed, where he was currently curled up recovering from the long walk down to the beach and back, plus the swim.
‘How do you feel about feeding the lambs?’ Tristan might as well have asked how she’d feel about being given a winning lottery ticket. ‘A couple of them have been rejected by their mums, so we’ve been bottle feeding them and they’re doing really well.’
‘That could be the biggest draw yet for the campsite and you could probably charge a fortune for people to have the chance of doing that.’
‘If we did, we might also be able to claim a Guinness Book of Records entry for the world’s fattest lambs.’
‘Yet another reason for people to want to visit the campsite! Although I think it’s got plenty of natural appeal.’ Holly locked the door of the van behind her and fell into step with Tristan as they walked across the field.
‘So does that mean you’ll be recommending us?’
‘Definitely.’ She couldn’t tell Tristan there had never been any doubt about that. The success of the campsite would have a direct impact on her nephews, and she’d never do anything to jeopardise that.
‘In that case, I’ll let you feed Lola. She’s the sweetest little lamb you’re ever likely to encounter and let’s just say the same can’t be said for her sister.
’ Tristan smiled and Holly found herself wishing once again that she didn’t have to leave quite so soon.
‘But there are plenty of other things to show you first.’
The tour of the farm exceeded her expectations.
The land was undulating, and traversing the fields had taken her breath away at times, but not nearly as much as the views from the highest vantage points, where the land seemed to fall away in the distance, and tumble straight into the sparkling blue sea.
The lambs were playful, chasing one another across the fields, bleating for attention from their long-suffering mothers and nudging determinedly at soft underbellies for their next feed.
There were the baby goats too, who seemed to be born entertainers and couldn’t help but make her smile.
She knew running a place like this, a mix of arable and sheep farming, would be incredibly hard work, but it was idyllic too.
Her sister had created an amazing life for herself, with the farm, her husband, and her three beautiful boys.
Now she even had a campsite. That had been Bex’s ambition, ever since she’d started her first job at the holiday park, and she’d made her dream come true.
Holly was so proud of her, but she knew Bex wouldn’t have accepted her congratulations, even if she’d been able to offer them.
They were in one of the barns now and the two little lambs inside began bleating in a frenzy the moment they saw Tristan, their tails wagging furiously, making them seem even more puppy-like than they already did.
‘This is Lola and Butty.’
‘Butty?’ Holly raised her eyebrows questioningly.
‘Yes, because she’ll headbutt you repeatedly in the leg if you’re too slow with the milk bottle, or if you dare to let it run out. And trust me, she’s channelling the energy of a full-grown ram when she does it.’
‘A strong independent woman then.’ Holly laughed.
‘They’re the best kind.’ Tristan locked eyes with her and yet again she found herself wishing that things were different.
If this was somewhere else, or he were someone else, she would have acted on the undeniable attraction between them, because she hadn’t felt anything even remotely close to this for a very long time.
Except nothing could happen between them, because it would make leaving Port Agnes even harder than it already was and she was never coming back.
She couldn’t put herself through this again.
‘Uncle Triss!’ The excited voice belonged to Tom, who came bounding into the barn with every bit as much energy as the lambs who’d been leaping around the fields.
‘Well, if it isn’t Master Thomas White, the best shepherd in Cornwall.’ Tristan turned slightly towards her. ‘You remember my friend.’
‘Err duh.’ Tom pulled a face. ‘Course I do. She’s got a cool name. Holly Day. She knows how to make sand angels and she bought me the biggest brownie ever. She’s much nicer than any of your other friends and I reckon she should be your girlfriend.’
Tristan roared with laughter and Holly couldn’t help joining in.
It was quite disconcerting to have such an honest character assessment, as though she hadn’t been standing there too, but it was pretty complimentary, so she couldn’t really complain, and thankfully Tristan didn’t seem to mind either.
‘The wisdom of nine-year-olds, eh? And what makes you think I want a girlfriend, Tom?’
‘I dunno, but Mum and Dad keep saying it’s about time you got one.’
‘Do they now?’ Tristan was still laughing.