Chapter 7
When Bea and Nathan pulled into the lane leading to Three Acre Farm, the horsebox tethered behind them, rain was lashing down against the windscreen and Bea was struggling to see out of the jeep’s windows.
‘God, this weather is horrendous!’ said Nathan, flicking the wipers up to full speed.
‘I know, it’s proper end-of-days weather!’ Bea agreed, leaning back against the headrest.
‘Good thing we picked her up today, the forecast’s even worse tomorrow and that lane up from the stables always floods.’
‘Not more rain, surely? It’s been raining all week.’
‘There’s an amber flood warning out for the whole county.’
‘Seriously?’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘I know it’s not quite April but I thought it was supposed to be April showers not April monsoons.’
‘Ha!’
‘Well, luckily I don’t have much planned for tomorrow. I’m looking after Wordsworth for Mum and Dad, so as long as I can get out for a walk at some point, I can spend the rest of the day finishing off my business plan.’
‘Here we are,’ said Nathan, pulling into the yard. ‘I’ll reverse into the barn and then we can get her unhooked.’
‘Her?’ said Bea, tipping her head to one side as she clocked his use of the word for the second time.
‘Bea’s Book Wagon, right? Has to be a her, surely?’
‘I guess so,’ Bea laughed. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever named a vehicle before.’
‘Oh, all of mine have names,’ said Nathan, tapping the jeep’s steering wheel affectionately. ‘This is Gertie.’
‘You’re joking,’ said Bea, stifling a giggle. ‘Gertie?’
‘Don’t ask me why,’ said Nathan, ‘she’s just Gertie, aren’t you, old girl?’
‘You’re such a softie, Nate,’ said Bea. ‘Do you remember giving me your lunch on our first day at school?’ Nathan shook his head. ‘Mum had made me tuna sandwiches and you swapped them for your corned beef and pickle. Don’t you remember?’
‘Er, no,’ said Nathan, scratching his head.
‘Well, I do,’ said Bea, fondly. ‘I knew right away you were different from all the other boys.’
‘You weren’t so bad yourself,’ said Nathan. ‘You punched Oscar Halliday for calling me a loser when he beat me at cross country.’
‘I’d forgotten about that,’ said Bea, smiling.
‘It was a proper punch, too; knocked him out cold. I was impressed.’
‘He deserved it,’ said Bea, proudly. ‘He was such a bully. I got detention for a week, though, and Mum was fuming.’
‘He got so much stick for it,’ said Nathan, his mouth twitching in amusement. ‘His reputation as a hard man was seriously dented after that.’
‘Karma’s a bitch,’ said Bea, unable to suppress a grin. ‘Right, I’ll get out and direct you back, shall I?’
‘Good idea.’
Bea pulled up her hood, climbed out of the jeep and swung open the barn doors.
Being out in the rain for just a few seconds was enough to have her soaked to the skin, and even with both doors open, it was a tight fit getting the trailer inside.
But, eventually, after some impressive manoeuvring from Nathan that wouldn’t have been out of place on an episode of Top Gear, the horsebox was finally in the dry.
‘Here she is,’ said Bea, resting a hand on the wagon’s cracked and peeling paintwork.
‘Safe and sound.’
‘Thanks, Nate. I couldn’t have done this without your help.’
‘No worries, it’ll be easier to fix up being indoors, anyway. Even if the weather’s bad, we can still crack on.’
‘Let’s have a look inside,’ said Bea, excitedly. Nathan dropped the trailer’s ramp with a gentle thud and they both peered in. ‘God, it’s a bit whiffy. What is that smell? Is it… wee?’ she asked, pulling a face.
‘Probably,’ he said, laughing.
‘Yuck!’ said Bea, holding her nose.
‘It’s rotted the floor, but that’s easy enough to replace,’ said Nathan, ‘I’ll put down marine ply – that won’t warp – and vinyl over the top. Job done.’
‘Wow,’ whispered Bea, ‘I still can’t believe it’s mine.’
‘Well, it is, and it’s going to be great, Bea.’
‘I’ve got loads of ideas for what I want to do inside.’
‘Go on…’ replied Nathan.
‘I want to take this divider out, for starters,’ she said, sliding it out of position and laying it carefully against the back wall. ‘God, it looks huge without it!’
‘Almost like it’s doubled in size,’ he teased.
‘So, I want,’ said Bea, pretending not to hear him, ‘shelving along the walls… here and… here,’ she said, tracing a hand along the sides.
‘And then bookcases… here. Could you add stud walls? I want to paint them white to make it feel really spacious, and could we add a window at the back here?’ she asked, drawing a square with her hands in the air.
‘Uh-huh, that all sounds totally doable,’ said Nathan, nodding.
‘I can picture it already. I think I’ll have to get the bookcases custom-made, though, I don’t think standard IKEA Billys will fit…’
‘Oh, that’s easy enough.’
‘Easy?’ laughed Bea. ‘The last time I picked up a saw was at school, and you remember how that turned out?’
‘A three-hour wait in A easy to install, and cheap, too.’
‘Really? That sounds perfect.’
‘Why don’t you come in for a cuppa and you can tell me about some of your other ideas? You can catch up with Mum and Dad, too. Mum was baking when I left.’
‘Oooh, go on then. I’d kill for one of your mum’s scones, I’m starving.’
‘Come on, then,’ said Nathan, closing the wagon door and securing the bolt.
The weather outside had worsened, storm clouds had gathered and the rain had turned to hail. As Bea pulled up her hood, ready to dash towards the farmhouse, her mind was firmly fixed on the spark she had felt when Nathan took her hand.
Where the hell had that come from?
It had caught her completely off guard. She hadn’t thought of Nathan as anything more than a friend in years, but were emotions she thought long-buried awakening once more?
‘Wordsworth, stop, please!’ Bea groaned from underneath the duvet the following morning.
‘It’s too early.’ The little spaniel let out an ear-piercing bark.
‘Come here for a cuddle,’ she said, patting the pillow next to her.
He hopped up on the bed and licked her face.
‘Oh, for God’s sake!’ she said, throwing back the covers. ‘Okay, okay, I’m getting up.’
Yesterday’s rain had finally stopped and the sun was peering through the clouds at last. ‘Looks like we can go for a walk after all,’ she said, and the dog began bouncing around her heels excitedly. ‘All right, all right, let me get dressed first.’
They hadn’t even made it halfway along the footpath by the river but Bea had already skidded in the mud and landed flat on her back. The rain had turned the ground into a mudslide and she had totally misjudged her footwear.
‘This was a terrible idea. Here, boy!’ she called. Wordsworth, who was usually really obedient, darted off in the opposite direction, barking excitedly.
‘Wordsworth!’ Bea bellowed at the top of her lungs.
‘Come!’ He ignored her, sniffing and pawing at a patch of grass that was clearly more interesting.
‘That’s it,’ she huffed, jogging towards him as best she could in her flipflops.
‘Stop messing about.’ But, as she reached for his collar, he ran off again, this time directly towards the river.
Splash!
By the time Bea reached the bank, Wordsworth had swum to the opposite side of the river and was sat panting, looking pleased with himself. If he could talk, Bea was pretty sure he’d be saying, ‘I bet you didn’t know I could do that, did you?’
‘Come on, time to go home,’ she said, waving her arms and shaking his lead in the air.
The dog didn’t budge. ‘Wordsworth, here boy!’ she called, her patience waning.
‘You got yourself over there, you can make it back,’ she said encouragingly, pulling a packet of treats out of her pocket and shaking them. ‘Wordsworth! Come!’
‘Are you okay?’ a voice called. Bea spun around to see a man further down the footpath jogging towards her.
‘It’s my dog,’ she said, pointing towards Wordsworth. ‘He’s swum across the river and is refusing to come back.’
‘Ah, I see.’
‘I think I might have to wade across and get him.’
‘Really? In those?’ he asked, pointing to her feet. ‘It’s not that deep. I can get him for you if you like?’ he offered.
‘Oh no, I couldn’t ask you to do that, it’s too much—’
But the stranger didn’t hesitate; he pulled off his wellies and jacket and skidded down the bank straight into the water, wading across with ease.
Scooping Wordsworth up into his arms, he shouted, ‘Got him!’ and then made his way back across the river, which was swirling around his waist. ‘Here, take him,’ said the man, passing Wordsworth up to her.
Bea clipped the dog’s lead back on – there was no way she was going to risk him running off again – and began patting him dry with her jacket.
‘Thank you so much. Are you okay?’ she asked, as the man attempted to clamber back up the steep bank. She reached out a hand to help him, just as he lost his footing in the mud and slipped all the way back down into the water.
‘It’s okay, I’m fine!’ he said, spluttering.
His white T-shirt was soaked through to his skin, and Bea couldn’t help noticing the way it was clinging to his well-defined abs. He was in good shape… really good shape. She swallowed hard, suddenly aware of just how handsome he was.
‘Are you sure?’ said Bea, taking his arm successfully this time and helping him out of the river.
‘I’m good, yeah,’ he said, tousling his mop of dark, wet hair.
‘I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come along,’ said Bea. ‘I can’t thank you enough.’
‘You’re welcome,’ he said.
‘Here, take this,’ she said, picking his jacket up off the ground and handing it to him. ‘You need to get warm.’ As he took the coat from her, his hand brushed hers and butterflies surged in her stomach.
Who is this guy?
‘Sorry, I’m Bea,’ she said, quickly, ‘and this troublemaker is Wordsworth,’ she said, jangling the dog’s lead. ‘I don’t know what’s got into him today, he’s usually so well behaved. He never goes in the river.’
‘I guess there’s a first time for everything.’
‘Yeah, I suppose there is.’
‘I’m Lochlan,’ said the man, ‘good to meet you,’ he said, bending down to ruffle Wordsworth’s fur. The dog licked his hand appreciatively.
‘Lochlan,’ Bea repeated under her breath, God, even his name is exotic.
‘Do you live around here?’
‘I’ve only just moved here; a couple of weeks ago actually,’ she said, unable to take her eyes off him.
‘Ah that explains it, I’m sure I’d have remembered if I’d seen you around before…’
Was he flirting with her?
‘You live nearby?’ she asked.
‘Yes, near the village. I try to get out for a walk down here a couple of times a week, it’s normally pretty quiet,’ he laughed.
‘And then we came along…’ said Bea. ‘Sorry to cause you all this trouble, you’re soaked through,’ she said, her eyes flicking back to those well-defined abs.
‘It’s just a bit of water, no harm done.’
‘Even so—’
‘Honestly, I’m glad I could help,’ said Lochlan, sitting down on the bank to pull his wellies back on.
‘Can I at least get your clothes dry-cleaned to say thank you?’
‘How about a drink instead?’ he said, his dark eyes glinting. ‘Saturday night?’
‘Oh,’ said Bea, suddenly self-conscious. A drink? Did he mean a date? ‘That would be lovely.’
‘Good,’ said Lochlan, flashing her a perfect smile. Wow, those teeth really were sparkling. ‘Meet you at the Apple Tree at seven?’
‘Perfect,’ she said, beaming at him. ‘See you then.’
Then she watched him walk away, her heart pounding.
‘But, Jess, this was different, nothing like Rory or Dillon,’ said Bea.
‘It was literally the perfect meet-cute. He didn’t think twice, just jumped right in the river.
When he climbed out, his T-shirt was soaking wet, just like Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice.
Exactly the same. He was giving off total Darcy vibes. It’s got to be a sign—’
‘Bea, you always say this and it’s never a sign. Real life just isn’t like that; you don’t even know this guy, he could be a total—’
‘He isn’t.’
‘How do you know?’
‘I just do. He’s tall, dark and handsome. He’s an actual real-life hero and how often do you meet one of those?’
‘Well, just take it slowly this time, for God’s sake!’
‘Of course I will.’
‘But you always say that and then by date number two you’re head over heels obsessed.’
‘This time it’s different, Lochlan’s different. I’ve just got a feeling about him.’
‘I hope you’re right, Bea, but just be careful, okay?’
‘Promise.’
As Bea hung up the phone, she couldn’t stop thinking about how she had met Lochlan. It really was like something from one of the romance novels she loved so much, and if that wasn’t a sign, she didn’t know what was.