Chapter 22 #2
Sam was already striding on, eager to show Jenna the Ingledews’ beautiful home.
They turned off the main lane down a side street which was, if it were possible, even quieter and so pretty.
Standing on its own, set back a little from the others, was a beautiful cottage that was clearly several hundred years old.
It had a wraparound garden, a tiled roof, and latticed windows.
There were even roses growing round the front door.
‘Oh, wow,’ Jenna breathed. ‘How lovely is that?’
‘Cartwheel Cottage,’ Sam said, unconsciously sounding as proud as if it were his own place.
‘I helped them do it up. When Katy bought it – well, let’s just say it was a bit rundown.
She hired Luke to work on it, and he brought me in on the job.
You should have seen it then, and how they transformed it.
It’s full of oak beams and it has an inglenook fireplace and everything.
Proper chocolate box cottage. That was, what, seven years ago now. ’
‘So, she wasn’t with Luke at the time?’
‘No. They fell in love when he was working here, and now they own it together. They got married about six years ago, and they have two little children. And a dog.’ He laughed. ‘You can’t forget Pip. He’s getting on now, but he’s a real character.’
Jenna gave him a sideways look. ‘This family really means a lot to you, doesn’t it?’
‘Luke’s my best friend. He’s been my best friend for nearly a decade now.
His mum and dad own The Seagull Inn back in the square, so we had a lot in common.
He and Katy are such a happy couple. Mad about each other.
And the children. It’s… it’s kind of like a dream really.
I suppose I sort of envy them, in a way.
Luke always wanted to settle down and have a family and he’s achieved it. And what a place to have a family, eh?’
Luke, as he’d often thought, had everything he’d ever wanted. He’d turned into a real family man since he’d met Katy and was never happier than when he was spending time at home with his wife and children.
Sam wanted that for himself. Like Luke, he’d never really been one for going out drinking.
Maybe being raised in a pub had something to do with that.
Also like Luke, he’d had the example of two loving parents to follow.
His mum and dad had been devoted to each other, and he wanted a life like that.
He wanted a home of his own, a woman he loved, who loved him in return, to walk beside him every step of the way.
And he wanted children. He was, he’d realised over the last few years, increasingly broody.
Maybe it was turning thirty that had done it.
But he’d never expected that when he did finally fall in love, the woman who won his heart would come with two children – and a husband – in tow.
‘Couldn’t get anywhere more beautiful,’ Jenna agreed. ‘Do you want to knock on the door?’
‘No. Luke and Katy will be at work.’ He gave her an awkward look. ‘I’m invited for tea later. I said I’d pick the key and the children up from Luke’s parents and bring them back here. Katy’s bringing us a takeaway home. Is that okay?’
‘Why shouldn’t it be okay?’ she asked, surprised.
He wanted to tell her that he felt guilty for abandoning her after the riding lesson, and even more guilty for not asking Luke and Katy if it would be okay for her to join them. But how could he? Jenna would probably think he was crazy if he said he wanted her to meet his best friends.
‘How will you get home afterwards?’ she asked suddenly. ‘You came here in my car.’
‘Luke or Katy will drop me home around ten, unless they’ve had a glass of wine or two with their tea. It’s less than an hour’s walk if they have.’
‘But it will be dark by then! You can’t walk home in the dark, not along those country lanes and paths,’ Jenna said, horrified. ‘I’ll come and pick you up myself if you want!’
Sam smiled. ‘As if I’d ask you to do that!’
‘I’d be happy to. Honestly. I don’t like to think of you walking alone all that way at that time of night. I won’t be able to settle, not knowing if you’re safe.’
Sam felt the familiar tug of love for her and tried to ignore it. ‘We’d better get back,’ he said. ‘The riding lesson will be finishing soon.’
They headed back the way they came, through the square and along the long and winding lane that led to the sea.
‘You know,’ Jenna said wistfully, ‘the more I see of Holderness, the more I love it. It’s so underrated, too, because it’s not flashy or grand in any way.
Hardly anyone knows about it outside of the local area, and they miss all these pretty villages and the peace and quiet.
I can’t believe I’ll be going home soon. ’
He felt his spirits sinking at the thought. ‘When?’ he asked. ‘When exactly will you be going home?’
‘I’m hanging on till the very last moment, but I’ll have to go on the 5th.’
‘The 5th? That’s only’ – he did a quick mental calculation – ‘ten days away!’
‘I know,’ she said sadly. ‘The new term begins on the 7th so I’m pushing it really, because I need time to get the twins ready for the new term.
I’ve been working after my shift for the last couple of weeks – lesson plans and that sort of thing.
I’m taking the girls into town the day after tomorrow to collect their new school uniforms and treat them to some stationery and other bits and bobs. It’s all starting to feel very real.’
‘Yeah,’ he said glumly. ‘It is.’
She stopped and, to his amazement, she took hold of his hand. ‘I’ll come back, Sam,’ she said. ‘Not to work in the pub, obviously, but to see you.’
‘Me?’ Surely she meant her mum and Mac? Her family.
Jenna was staring at the ground now, and her fingers, wrapped around his, suddenly tightened. ‘Yes, you,’ she mumbled. ‘I’m going to miss you.’
Sam’s heart leapt. Was she saying what he thought she was saying? Everything he’d hoped for and dreamed of these past few weeks felt suddenly so much closer, but it was a torment not knowing for sure if he was just letting his imagination run away with him.
‘Jenna,’ he said nervously. ‘You know, don’t you, how I feel about you?’
The hand tightened a bit more. ‘I think so,’ she said, not looking at him.
‘This summer,’ he said, swallowing hard.
‘It’s been brilliant, working with you, getting to know you.
That evening when you walked into the pub for the first time – well, the first time I really noticed you – you looked so beautiful, I just wanted to take care of you.
Everything I felt that night – it hasn’t gone away.
It’s just got stronger. I-I think I’m falling in love with you, Jenna. ’
She looked up and he saw that her face was flushed and her eyes were shy.
‘You think?’ she asked uncertainly.
He shook his head. ‘I know,’ he said firmly.
‘But I also know that it’s different for you.
Everything you’ve been through with Joel – it’s still raw.
I don’t expect you to just forget all about him, or what’s happened.
I just want to know, I suppose, if there’s any chance for us at all.
You said you’ll miss me. Did you mean that in the way I hoped, or do you mean as friends? ’
Jenna let go of his hand and his heart sank. Had he pushed her too far already?
She wrapped her arms around herself, staring now at the nodding cow parsley that was being ruffled by the strong breeze blowing down the lane from the North Sea.
‘I don’t honestly know,’ she said, turning to face him at last. ‘Sometimes I think it’s more than friendship.
Like when you drove me all the way to Corlington to spy on Joel and Annette, even though it turned out they didn’t live there after all.
And you brought pack-up and didn’t complain, even when you found out I had no idea which flat we were supposed to be watching.
And when you took care of me that night I was crying in your flat and your dad came to tell you.
And then when you turned up at Watersmeet for the twins’ party, and you looked all sexy in that pink shirt and black jeans… ’
Sam couldn’t help grinning. ‘I looked sexy, did I?’
She nudged him. ‘Yes, you did! You made my stomach flutter…’ She broke off, biting her lip as if reliving that moment.
‘Well,’ he said hopefully, ‘that’s something, isn’t it? If you find me sexy at least. That’s something to build on, isn’t it?’
‘I don’t know,’ she admitted. ‘Kendra says I probably won’t be able to tell how I really feel until I kiss you.’
Her cheeks flushed even pinker, and she looked as if she couldn’t believe she’d said the words.
Sam reached out and stroked her hair away from her face. ‘Kendra said that? Well, maybe she’s right. I’m happy to test the theory with you, if you are.’
‘But what if I don’t feel that way about you after all?’ she asked, her eyes large with worry. ‘I really don’t want to hurt you, Sam. You’ve been so good to me.’
‘There’s only one way to find out, isn’t there?’ he said softly, moving closer to her. She nodded, smiling nervously. He gently cradled her face between his hands and lowered his lips to hers.
He wasn’t sure how Jenna was judging this test, but from his point of view it confirmed that, on his part at least, this was love.
And judging by the way she responded to him, moving even closer, one hand reaching up to cup the back of his head, the other snaking around his waist, he was pretty certain that she was feeling something other than friendship for him.
He’d imagined this moment for so long, and it was everything he’d hoped for and more. His kiss went even deeper, as he knew his body couldn’t get close enough to hers to satisfy the longing for her, and she didn’t back away but returned his passion.
If a car hadn’t suddenly rattled round the corner, frightening the life out of them both and making them pull apart and leap back against the grass verge, they might have stayed there, kissing for hours.
But the car drove past them, and the driver grinned at them both with a knowing look in his eyes, and they gave each other sheepish smiles as Sam realised the moment was over.
Jenna’s fingers had been pressed against her lips, as if she could still taste him on them. Slowly she lowered her hand.
‘We’re going to be late for the twins,’ she said. ‘We’d better hurry.’
He wanted to ask her if he’d passed the test, but the fact that she hadn’t immediately told him he had, worried him deeply. So deeply that he didn’t dare ask for her verdict.
Suddenly she stopped and turned to him. ‘You know what? It’s stupid you coming back to the riding school with me. You might as well go straight to The Seagull Inn and collect your friend’s children for them. You’ll only have to walk back down here otherwise, and what’s the point?’
Sam frowned, not sure what to make of her sudden change of attitude. ‘It’s okay,’ he said slowly. ‘I don’t mind.’
‘Honestly. It makes sense for you to go now. I’ll run on and collect the girls. Thank you for keeping me company.’
‘Jenna, I…’ His voice trailed off as he realised he couldn’t ask the question.
Wasn’t it obvious what the answer was? Her whole demeanour told him she wanted to get away from him, which could only mean he’d failed the test. She’d realised her feelings for him weren’t what they’d hoped after all, and she was trying to be kind. Let him down gently.
How, he wondered sadly, had he got it so wrong? He’d been so caught up in that kiss that he’d imagined she had been, too. Clearly that wasn’t the case at all.
‘Okay,’ he said. ‘I’ll go, if you’re sure. Don’t worry about giving me a lift home tonight, by the way. If Luke or Katy can’t bring me back I’ll probably sleep on their sofa.’
‘If you’re sure?’ she said, sounding relieved. ‘Okay. Well, bye, Sam.’
Before he could say anything else she turned and began to run up the lane towards the riding school. It was true that she was going to be late collecting the girls, but even so he couldn’t help thinking that she was running to get away from him as fast as she could.
‘Sam Hughes,’ he said bitterly, ‘you are the biggest moron going.’
He should never have kissed her. It would have been better to have never known.