Chapter 4
The following Monday, Thea found herself back at Saints’ Farm.
The mobile library stopped in the car park once a fortnight and this was the last chance before Christmas to stock up on some books.
It was a lovely, mutually beneficial arrangement because people returning books often popped into the shop for impulse buys, and those already coming to the shop were prompted to start, or continue, their book borrowing habits.
Thea had been taking both children to the large, cheerful bus since they were toddlers, and although Cora’s reading habits had declined since she got a smart phone and started secondary school, she still tagged along with Dylan and Thea to see what new titles had been added to the collection.
The bus was staffed by volunteers, and the Saint family had taken to providing them with a coffee when they made their stop at the farm shop.
As Thea pulled up and parked, she could see Nick retrieving the coffee cups from the bus, and he waved a hand in greeting as he headed back into the shop.
Thea resolved to pop in after the kids had chosen their books – she owed him another thank you after he came to her rescue last Wednesday.
She’d also reserved another Throw Bag, after the varied contents of the first one, and wanted to pick it up.
With the much-needed cash injection of her part-time teacher’s salary hitting her bank account on Friday, the first thing she’d done was fill the tank of her car, so she wouldn’t end up in the same predicament again.
‘I thought you’d read that one?’ she said to Dylan as he pulled one of the Percy Jackson novels off the shelf of the fantasy section.
‘Nope,’ Dylan said confidently. ‘I skipped ahead in the series ’cos someone got it before me, so I want to catch up with what I missed.’
‘Fair enough.’ Thea smiled at her son. ‘Have a look and see what else you want.’ She glanced over at Cora, who was engrossed in something on her phone, as per usual.
‘Anything catch your eye?’ she asked her daughter pointedly.
Cora shook her head, not bothering to look up from the screen.
Thea suppressed the urge to stride over and snatch the damned device from her daughter’s hands.
She hoped Cora would come back to reading in her own time, which was why she still insisted that the girl visited the mobile library regularly.
The novelty of having the world on a screen in your pocket had yet to wear off, though, and Thea had to accept it as a necessary evil, for now.
‘I’m just going to pop into the shop,’ she called again to Cora. ‘Can you keep an eye on your brother for me?’
Dylan rolled his eyes. ‘I don’t need keeping an eye on, Mum.’
‘I know.’ Thea ruffled the top of his hair affectionately. ‘But indulge me.’
Grumbling, Dylan ducked away from her and continued to look at the shelves. Cora looked up and gave Thea a brief grin of acknowledgement and then returned to her phone. Thea smiled at Bess, the volunteer who staffed the Monday afternoon session, and stepped back down into the car park.
As she entered the farm shop, Thea was surprised by how festive the place looked.
In the few days since her last visit, Saints’ had gone all out to make it feel like Christmas.
Hanging from the wooden beams that ran in parallel lines across the shop were strings of warm white fairy lights, twinkling away and catching the colours of the decorations on four pine trees, one in each corner of the shop, themselves glinting with coloured lights.
Each tree had a colour co-ordinated theme, and Thea was amused to see that the one nearest the counter was decked out in the navy blue and gold colours of the shop’s branding.
An unobtrusive compilation of seasonal songs played softly over the shop’s PA system, and Thea had to suppress a laugh when she saw Nick behind the shop counter, sporting a very fluffy and festive Christmas bobble hat.
‘It suits you,’ she said as she approached him. ‘Maybe you should think about wearing it all year.’
Nick grimaced. ‘It was Annabelle’s idea, although I’m half tempted to chuck it up onto the roof now that she’s left the country!’ He pushed the white band of the hat up a little, where it had sagged over his forehead.
‘Have they gone for some winter sun?’ Thea asked, then sighed. ‘I could certainly do with some!’
As Nick filled her in on Jamie’s last-minute deal and the holiday destination, Thea felt envious.
How lovely to be married to someone who’d plan something like that and then make it a sun-drenched surprise.
No chance of anything happening like that for her and the kids, she thought.
Getting through Christmas without blowing a fortune on the central heating was about as glamorous as it was going to get for her.
‘So, it’s left me in a bit of a pickle,’ Nick was saying as she caught the thread of the conversation again. ‘Dad and I are working flat out, but we really could do with some extra staff in the run up to Christmas. Mum’s cracked a hip, so can’t really help too much, either.’
‘Sounds stressful,’ Thea commiserated. ‘How did she do that?’
‘She slipped on the back steps of the cottage while she was going out to put some bread on the bird table,’ Nick replied.
‘Thankfully it’s only a hairline fracture so it’ll mend with rest and time, but it’s giving her a fair bit of gyp.
’ He paused before adding, ‘She didn’t let on to Annabelle how bad it was before Annabelle and Jamie left because she didn’t want Annie to worry, but it does leave me rather short-handed with just Dad to call on during the week. ’
‘Poor Maggie,’ Thea said. ‘If I know your mum, she’s going to be really frustrated about not being able to help out here.’
Nick grinned briefly. ‘She is. And the bloody film crew are coming back at the end of this week, too.’
‘Film crew?’
‘Yup.’ Nick paused, seemingly embarrassed.
‘A couple of years ago, we were featured on a TV show for Channel 5 – Britain’s Loveliest Farm Shops .
It was Annabelle’s idea, and because it was so soon after we’d had a refit, we all thought it would be great publicity to apply to be featured.
Anyway, it all went so well that they asked us back in the summer if we’d mind doing another segment for a festive catch-up show.
They’re going to be using a lot of the footage from the first time around, but they want to do a kind of “Farm Shop at Christmas” thing.
Annabelle said yes to it, but didn’t realise she was going to be whisked off on holiday during the filming, so it’s down to Dad and I to handle that, on top of everything else. ’
‘Can’t you pull out?’ Thea asked. ‘I’m sure they’d understand.’
‘Nope. It’s all been arranged, and they’re coming in on Thursday to do some filming.
They hope to have it all done by the middle of next week so they can air it over Christmas.
Their schedule’s quite tight, and the publicity’s too good to pass up.
’ He smiled ruefully. ‘I managed to stay off camera when they were here before, although they did catch me a few times, but now they want me front and centre.’
‘Makes sense, really,’ Thea teased. ‘I mean, filming Nick Saint at Christmas – what a coup!’
Nick looked briefly thunderous, but then, much to Thea’s relief, he laughed. ‘OK, so I suppose it is kind of inevitable, but that doesn’t mean I’m looking forward to it. But never mind – I’m sure we’ll work something out.’
‘I used to work in the local shop in the village, years ago, if you’re desperate,’ Thea joked. ‘The tills are probably a bit different now, but I’m a quick learner.’
Nick’s pause made Thea a little nervous.
‘Is that a serious offer? I mean, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m pretty desperate and out of ideas…’
‘Thanks,’ Thea said dryly. Then, her mind began to fill in some gaps.
A bit of extra work, even if it was only for a couple of weeks before Christmas, would certainly come in handy.
And while the money wouldn’t match her teaching salary, it would be less demanding, she hoped.
‘Seriously, I could help out, if you wanted me to.’
‘Aren’t you working at school?’
‘Only Monday to Wednesday,’ Thea replied. ‘I’ve been trying to get more hours, but it’s not that easy in a nice school where no one ever leaves. From Thursday onwards, I could be here, if it helps.’
Nick’s relieved face gave Thea’s heart a little, joyful lift.
He had looked so stressed when she’d come in, and it felt good to be able to do something to help him out, especially since he’d saved her bacon with the diesel.
Working in the farm shop for a couple of weeks would be a nice change from school, and it would mean a little extra cash for Christmas, which would come in very handy indeed.
‘Any time you can give us would be great,’ Nick said. ‘And since the film crew start on Thursday, the tail end of the week is where we might need the most help. If you’re sure?’
Thea nodded. ‘To be honest, you’d be doing me a favour, too. Christmas is an expensive time of year, especially now the kids are old enough to tell me exactly what they want. And what they want tends to cost more money, the older they get!’
‘Well, that sounds like a plan, then.’ Nick reached over the counter. ‘Shake on it?’
Laughing, Thea took his hand, which felt warm and firm against hers. ‘It’s a deal.’
As Nick let go of her hand again, he added, ‘Would you be OK to come in on Wednesday afternoon after school for a couple of hours’ training? I can take you through the till, show you the ropes a bit, that sort of thing.’
‘I’ll have to check with my gran that she can pop over and keep an eye on Dylan, but I’m sure that’ll be fine,’ Thea replied. Lorelai was always happy to see her great-grandchildren, and she was sure a couple of hours wouldn’t be a problem.
‘Great! I’ll see you then.’ Nick gave her a smile, and Thea’s heart gave that little, joyful lift again. ‘Was there, er, anything else you needed?’ he added as she lingered at the counter.
‘Oh, right, yeah.’ Thea grabbed her phone from her bag and clicked to find the reference for her next Throw Bag. ‘I liked the bag I got last week, so I thought I’d take a chance with another one.’
As Nick headed to the stock room to retrieve her Throw Bag, Thea realised she hadn’t done what she’d come in for and thanked him for the diesel.
She was lucky she had a friend like him, she thought as she waited for him to return to the counter.
Nick was the kind of person who’d do anything for anyone, and she yet again found herself wondering why he hadn’t been snapped up by some lucky girl years ago.
Maybe he had some terrible habits she wasn’t aware of, she thought in amusement.
After all, she hadn’t a clue, when she’d fallen in love with Ed, just how destructive some of his ‘habits’ were going to be.
Somehow, with Nick, who seemed much more straightforward, she doubted it, though.
Perhaps he just hadn’t found the right person yet?