Chapter 9
‘Mum! What are you doing here?’ asked Bea, halfway through her first shift at the Cosy Cat.
‘How’s it going?’ asked Carol.
‘Good, I think. I’m still getting the hang of the coffee machine, it’s so complicated.’
‘She’s doing great,’ said Tori, wiping her hands on her apron.
‘Mum, this is Tori,’ said Bea, ‘Tori, this is my mum, Carol.’
‘Good to meet you,’ said Carol, shaking Tori’s hand. ‘Thanks for giving Bea the job, I know she really appreciates it.’
‘Oh, it’s no problem. She’s very capable, and if it helps her out while she’s doing up the horsebox, I’m happy to help,’ said Tori. ‘I’m excited to see the book wagon when it’s finished.’
‘You and me both,’ said Carol, beaming. ‘I wasn’t sure about it when she first told me. Quitting her job like that, I was…’
‘Horrified?’ said Bea, arching an eyebrow.
‘I was just… surprised, that’s all,’ said Carol. ‘But now I’ve had time to get used to the idea, I can see the potential.’
‘Me too,’ said Tori, enthusiastically. ‘And anything I can do to help, I will.’
‘Tori’s got a business degree, she’s been helping with my business plan,’ Bea explained.
‘That’s kind of you,’ said Carol.
‘Grab a table, Mum, and I’ll come and take your order?’ suggested Bea.
‘I can’t stop, I’m off to see Maggie. Can I get two skinny lattes to go?’ said Carol.
‘Absolutely,’ said Bea, ‘coming right up,’ she said, filling the portafilter with coffee beans.
‘Hey, you!’ said a familiar voice. Bea turned to see Lochlan standing at the counter. He was wearing a navy suit with a crisp white shirt.
He looked jaw-droppingly gorgeous.
‘Oh, Lochlan, hi!’ Bea stuttered. Why did she suddenly feel all fingers and thumbs?
‘How’s your first day going?’ he asked.
‘Aren’t you going to introduce us, sweetheart?’ said Carol, pointedly.
‘Oh, yeah,’ Bea mumbled. ‘This is Lochlan. Lochlan, this is my mum, Carol.’
‘Lovely to meet you, Carol,’ said Lochlan.
‘You too,’ Carol replied. ‘So, how do you know Bea?’
‘We met on the footpath by the river. She was in a spot of trouble with her dog,’ said Lochlan, leaning against the counter.
‘What trouble?’ said Carol, turning to Bea. ‘What happened?’
‘Oh, it was nothing,’ said Bea. ‘He just got tangled in his lead, Lochlan helped me sort it out,’ she continued, flashing him a look.
‘Er, yes, that’s right,’ he said, catching on. ‘We laughed about it at the pub afterwards,’ added Lochlan.
Bea threw him a look to say please stop talking.
‘You went for a drink?’ asked Carol, excitedly.
‘Oh, yeah,’ said Lochlan, grinning. He immediately realized from the look on Bea’s face that he’d said the wrong thing. ‘We bumped into each other at the pub and got chatting,’ he backtracked.
Lochlan mouthed ‘Sorry’ to Bea over Carol’s shoulder.
‘Anyway, here are those lattes, Mum,’ said Bea, passing them across the counter. ‘You don’t want to keep Maggie waiting.’
‘No, I suppose not,’ said Carol. ‘Lovely to meet you, Lochlan.’
‘You too,’ said Lochlan.
‘Bye, Mum. Thanks for popping in,’ said Bea, watching her walk out the door. ‘Thank God for that,’ she said, slumping on the counter as soon as Carol was out of sight.
‘Sorry, I dropped you in it, didn’t I?’ said Lochlan, wincing.
‘Don’t worry about it. I’d not told her what happened with Wordsworth, that’s all.’
‘And the pub thing? Embarrassed to be seen with me, eh?’ he teased.
‘God, no!’ said Bea, mortified. ‘I’d just literally never hear the end of it, you know?’
‘I get it. My mum’s the same.’
‘You mean you don’t want to introduce me to her already?’ said Bea, in mock horror.
‘No!’ he replied, looking stricken. ‘It’s not that—’
‘Relax, I’m only joking,’ Bea laughed. ‘Anyway, what can I get you?’ she asked, flashing him her best smile.
‘Flat white to go, please.’
‘Coming up,’ she said, grabbing another takeaway cup from the stack on the counter.
‘Are you still good for Thursday?’
‘Yes, I’m looking forward to it. Where is it we’re going, again?’
‘It’s a surprise, but I think you’re going to love it,’ he said, pulling out his wallet. ‘I’ll pick you up at eight, if that works?’
‘Great. I’ll ping you my address.’
‘See you Thursday, then,’ he said, his hand lingering on hers as she passed him his coffee.
‘Can’t wait,’ she murmured, watching him leave.
‘Have you thought about a colour scheme yet?’ Jess asked, as they sat on the sofa at Archie’s place.
‘What do you think about baby blue for the outside? And then the lettering in pale pink along the side?’
‘Pastels are lovely, but they do get dirty quickly. Maybe go for slightly darker shades?’ suggested Jess, unfurling her legs from under her.
‘Good idea! I’m ordering the paint online, it’s a fair bit cheaper than in store. And I’m painting the panelling inside in white to help it feel more spacious. I could add a bit more colour with rugs and cushions, though.’
‘How are you doing for money?’
‘I’ve got a few hundred left in my account, and Nathan reckons that should be enough to get everything else done. He’s sorted the wood for me – he had loads left over from other jobs on the farm – and that’s saved me hundreds.’
‘Result!’
‘Yeah, I know. He’s been such a help; I wouldn’t have been able to get it done without him.’
‘Do you two fancy a takeaway tonight? My treat,’ said Archie, planting himself on the sofa next to Jess.
‘Er… yes!’ said Bea.
‘Like you even have to ask,’ said Jess.
‘Pizza?’ suggested Archie, scrolling through the options on his phone
‘Great,’ said Bea and Jess in unison.
‘Pepperoni okay?’ he asked. Bea and Jess nodded. How’s all this going?’ he said, pointing towards the laptop.
‘Good,’ Bea nodded. ‘There’s still a long way to go, but I’m getting there.’
‘We’re painting at the weekend, if you fancy helping?’ said Jess.
‘I’m around, so sure, I’ll help,’ said Archie, tapping away on his phone
‘Thanks, Arch,’ said Bea.
‘Food’s on its way,’ he said, shoving his phone back in his pocket.
‘Excellent!’ said Bea.
‘I’ve got some work to finish. Can you listen out for the door?’ he asked.
‘Sure,’ said Bea, as Archie headed back upstairs. ‘That was weird. Offering to help with the painting? If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was up to something…’
‘Like what?’
‘I’m not sure exactly,’ said Bea, eyes narrowed.
‘How’s it going, the two of you living together?’
‘To be fair, we’ve not seen that much of each other, we’ve both been so busy. He finally seems to have figured out how to load a dishwasher, though, so that’s a bonus.’
‘That must be a relief,’
‘Yeah, it is.’
‘Anyway, what I really want to know is, how was the date with Lochlan?’ Jess asked.
‘Good, I think. It always feels a bit strange at first, doesn’t it? Small talk, awkward silences—’
‘There were awkward silences?’ Jess asked, looking concerned.
‘Well, no, not really. We both seemed pretty comfortable with each other.’
‘Comfortable? Bea, is that what you want from a first date?’
‘Well, not really, I suppose.’
‘Was there any chemistry?’
‘I think so. He’s gorgeous, he makes me nervous—’
‘And?’ said Jess, leaning forward.
‘When he climbed out of the river, wet T-shirt clinging to his chest… it was like something out of a Diet Coke ad.’
‘Well,’ said Jess, ‘that sounds sexy.’
‘It was,’ Bea sighed, picturing the moment.
‘Just make sure you’re not rushing in, though,’ Jess warned. ‘I get that he’s good looking, and right now he probably seems perfect but—’
‘I am taking it slow, but I can still get caught up in the moment, can’t I?’
‘Of course,’ said Jess, a smile escaping her lips.
‘He came into the café today all suited and booted. He looked… hot. Mum popped in as well, so I had to introduce them and—’
‘Hang on, your mum’s met him?’
‘I know,’ said Bea, grimacing, ‘It wasn’t planned, believe me.’
‘God, I bet!’
‘She was on her way to see your mum, actually.’
‘So, what did you do?’ Jess laughed.
‘Well, Lochlan kind of dropped me in it by saying we’d been out for a drink, so I had to pretend we’d just bumped into each other. I’m not sure Mum bought it, to be honest.’
‘You’re a terrible liar, there’s no way she doesn’t think that was a date.’
‘You’re probably right,’ Bea sighed. ‘It’s not like it’s some big secret, but you know what Mum’s like. She’ll insist I bring him over for dinner so she can grill him and, well, it’s still early days.’
‘Hey, I get it, my mum’s exactly the same,’ Jess agreed. ‘So, are you seeing him again?’
‘Yeah, Thursday.’
‘Where are you going?’
‘I’m not sure,’ said Bea, shrugging, ‘it’s a surprise, apparently.’
‘Ooooh, I wonder where he’s taking you?’ said Jess.
‘I don’t know, but I can’t wait to find out!’
Bea was really struggling to concentrate on anything other than her date with Lochlan. She’d gone to Three Acre Farm to work on the horsebox, hoping it would take her mind off it.
It didn’t.
If anything, she was clock-watching more than ever. By mid-afternoon, her shoulders were aching and her back was sore from all the sanding and scrubbing.
‘How’s it going?’ said Nathan, walking into the barn with a plate of biscuits. ‘These are from Mum,’ he said.
‘Ah, brilliant, I’m starving,’ said Bea, biting into one. ‘Mmmm… delicious.’
‘Looks like all the prep is pretty much done,’ said Nathan, inspecting the horsebox. ‘Sorry I’ve not been able to help much, it’s been hectic—’
‘Don’t be silly. I don’t expect you to drop everything to help me all the time, you know.’
‘I know, but if I could, I would.’
‘Well, that’s very sweet of you,’ said Bea, smiling broadly. ‘I think I’ll be able to start painting on Saturday. Archie and Jess are going to help.’
‘I’ve not seen Archie in ages, it’ll be good to see him.’
‘Don’t stop working, though, I know how much you’ve got to do here. If you can help then great, but honestly, it’ll be fine if you can’t.’
‘Okay, well I’ll see how I get on,’ said Nathan, grabbing a cookie from the plate and shoving it into his mouth whole.
‘God, is that the time?’ said Bea, glancing down at her watch. ‘I’d best be off, I’ve got a, erm… a date tonight.’
‘A date?’ asked Nathan, looking taken aback. ‘Who with?’
‘Someone called Lochlan. He lives around here, maybe you know him?’
‘Lochlan,’ said Nathan, shaking his head. ‘Don’t think so. Well, have fun.’
‘Thanks, Nate,’ said Bea, planting a kiss on his cheek. ‘See you Saturday, then!’
‘Yep, see you Saturday.’
Nathan was surprised to hear that Bea was dating. He knew she’d split from Rory when she’d left London, but she hadn’t said anything about seeing anyone new, although why would she?
It’s just that they’d been spending a lot more time together recently, and he’d often wondered if there might still be something between them.
Okay, it was nearly ten years since they’d been together, but it was purely circumstance that had caused them to break up: Bea was heading off to university and he was staying right here in Blossom Heath.
If she hadn’t left, who knows where it could have led?
Lochlan? Nathan definitely couldn’t place the name, despite everyone knowing everyone around here, and a name like Lochlan wasn’t easy to forget.
Anyway, it was only a date, it wasn’t like Bea was planning to marry the guy. Nathan was just curious, he supposed; curious as to who Lochlan was and why Bea seeing him seemed to bother him quite so much.