Chapter 4
I looked up as female Pat met my gaze. Paul stopped making the drink to stare, and male Pat looked over his shoulder at us.
I also felt the gaze of several customers linger on me as this man asked about my farm.
I knew instantly who this was then, and I was pleased I had got him completely right.
Mr Suit Man, who ordered boring coffee, and couldn’t remember the name of the farm he wanted to buy, was the Henderson brother I was being forced to meet soon.
‘I know it,’ I found myself blurting out before anyone else could speak. Again, I felt all eyes on me.
Mr Suit Man turned around, and I watched him take me in.
He gave me a quick head-to-toe sweep and lingered on my scruffy boots, my baggy jeans and my cardigan that used to belong to my mum, which was so soft and cosy but definitely not high-fashion, and then up to my make-up-free face and messy bun.
‘You do?’ he asked, as if surprised that I would know anything.
He looked about my age and was tall. I had to slightly look up to meet his rather startling blue eyes.
He had broad shoulders and was conventionally handsome with a clean-shaven face and almost-black hair that slightly swept over his forehead.
But the haughty expression on his face made sure that even if he was attractive, he most definitely would never be my type.
Instantly on edge at his disbelieving tone, I nodded. ‘Sure. We all know the farm.’
The man glanced at the family behind the counter, who all quickly nodded then looked back at me, wondering where I was going with this. As I was too.
‘Google Maps directed me to the town, not the farm, which is crazy,’ he said, shaking his head in disbelief that a place could exist which Google couldn’t find.
‘Yeah, it does that, but we are all used to directing people who are lost,’ I said, knowing the town was super helpful in summer when people were trying to find our farm, but I knew this guy didn’t deserve any help. The way he said ‘farm’ just dripped with disdain. My back was definitely up.
I heard the bell on the café door jingle then and someone came in, stopping behind me.
I could tell by the waft of a familiar floral perfume that it was Sabrina, probably wondering why everyone in here was looking at me and listening to my conversation with the stranger in a suit.
I ploughed on quickly before she could say anything.
‘You need to go through the High Street then take a right and go down the hill and the farm will be there; it’s about a twenty-minute drive,’ I said pointing to the opposite way the farm was.
I knew it was childish but I just couldn’t help it.
This was all happening so fast and I felt like I had to do whatever I could to slow things down while I thought of a way to stop it altogether.
I could tell everyone was confused why I had given the wrong directions but they had known me for all of my twenty-five years and they trusted me so no one said anything to disagree.
Mr Suit Man sighed. ‘Great, another twenty-minute drive. Glad I went for the double shot then.’ He gave a business-like nod. ‘Thanks,’ he said curtly to me, picked up his coffee in a takeaway cup and then strode out of the café, making the bell ring out shrilly by how hard he yanked the door open.
‘Willow!’ Sabrina chastised me. ‘What did you do?’
Everyone in the café was quiet, waiting for me to explain myself.
I turned to face the room. ‘I know it looks bad but he’s here because he wants to buy our farm…
’ I had to swallow down the lump in my throat.
‘And build houses on our land. Dad is considering it as the farm isn’t doing that well.
I just need more time to come up with an idea to stop us from having to take his offer,’ I added in a nervous rush.
‘Oh, Willow,’ female Pat said. ‘I know what you need,’ she said, immediately bustling around to get me something to eat and drink.
‘Are things on the farm that bad?’ Sabrina asked, reaching out to touch my arm.
I looked at my best friend’s anxious face.
We had been close since primary school, growing up here together.
She was even shorter than me, but curvy to my slim frame with blonde hair to my brown, and her eyes were a gorgeous blue.
We always joked we were opposite in every way.
She had married her school sweetheart and they had a baby last year.
They lived in a cottage on the edge of town.
She was a teacher at the school we had met at, and her husband worked for a big company in the next town to ours, and honestly, they were my favourite people.
Her concern made the tears welling up in my eyes threaten to overspill, and I knew she could tell.
‘Sit down at our table; I’ll get this – no arguments,’ she added when I opened my mouth to protest.
I nodded, knowing that firm tone of hers well, so I went over to the corner where our favourite table sat empty as if it had been waiting for us.
As I passed people I had known for years, I received sympathetic smiles and nods, murmurs of, ‘Anything we can do, let us know’, and I sank into a chair feeling grateful for them all, slightly bad for sending the Henderson man in the wrong direction but mostly terrified for what the next few hours were going to bring.
Because he would end up at our farm at some point, and it felt like a bulldozer was already heading towards us, threatening all I held dear.
‘Okay, tell me everything while you enjoy these,’ Sabrina interrupted my doom-like thoughts as she sat down opposite me, sliding a tray onto the table.
‘We have a pumpkin spiced latte each, of course, and then I got us two sweet treats to share – an apple and toffee muffin and a slice of pumpkin spiced loaf cake.’
‘I already feel better,’ I said, smiling at what was on offer. It all smelled so delicious, my mouth started watering instantly. ‘Thanks, Sabrina.’ I looked over at the counter and gave female Pat a grateful wave too. She smiled back and then turned to tell Paul off about something.
I took a sip of my latte and let the sweet spiciness warm my body up. ‘It gets better every year.’
‘I look forward to autumn mostly for this,’ Sabrina agreed, cutting the cakes in half and handing me a plate with my share on. ‘And carving a pumpkin. And collecting conkers, and watching the Gilmore Girls and Hocus Pocus . There’s too much to enjoy actually. I love it all.’
‘The best time of year,’ I said, taking a bite of the muffin.
‘Oh wow,’ I cooed. ‘Just so good. I love it all too, although it’s a shame it signals the end of our busy season on the farm.
’ Everything washed back over me and I sighed.
‘I hate to think about having to let the farm go. I just don’t know what to do. ’
‘Willow, you can’t seriously be considering selling the farm and your home,’ Sabrina said, looking shocked.
‘We’re really struggling. We only bring in money in spring and summer and bills are only going up and up; we can’t rely on the summer season any more to see us through the rest of the year.
Dad said if I could come up with an idea to help, he’d reconsider, but I’m worried this offer from Henderson Homes will be too good for us to turn down.
I don’t want to lose the farm; it’s my home, you know how much it means to me… ’
Sabrina nodded while I took another sip of my drink.
‘But an idea that might turns things around just isn’t coming to me.’
‘We have to come up with something. That Henderson man looked like he’d never set foot on a farm. And he seemed to be turning his nose up at the town too.’
I nodded. ‘He seemed to be exactly what I thought he’d be like. He’ll find the farm at some point today so I probably haven’t achieved anything sending him the wrong way but I couldn’t help myself,’ I admitted. ‘I’m not usually petty but I’m not in my right frame of mind right now.’
‘Of course not, you must be worried sick,’ Sabrina said. ‘I wish you’d told me how bad things had got on the farm, though.’
‘I’m sorry. I suppose I have been doing what Dad has told me off for – sticking my head in the sand a little bit,’ I confessed. ‘I’m just scared. I never thought of doing anything, or living anywhere, else. Birch Tree Farm means so much to me.’
‘I know it does, Willow. We can’t let this happen,’ she said firmly. ‘Do you have any ideas at all?’
‘Well, we do pretty well in the summer, as you know; we just need to think of something that could generate income in the colder months. Like this place.’ I gestured around.
‘They have really tapped into autumn, haven’t they?
Decorations, seasonal-themed drinks and food: it means that people come in to see what’s new. ’
‘Especially us as we love autumn,’ Sabrina agreed, nodding.
I stared at my best friend, my brain starting to tick over furiously.
I looked around the café again, taking in the autumn theme they had going.
‘That’s it,’ I said slowly. My eyes caught on the pumpkins outside the door.
‘We do love autumn,’ I added, moving my gaze back to Sabrina, who was looking at me worriedly.
‘You’ve spaced out again; are you okay?’ she asked.
‘I think I just had an idea!’