Chapter 2
‘You have to choose the life that you want,’ Willow said, nodding furiously. ‘Life is too short; we know that more than most people. And you deserve to be happy, Daisy.’
I shook my head as I wasn’t so sure about that but then I looked out of the window, catching sight of the wooden sign that declared we were turning into Birch Tree Farm. Thoughts of my wedding faded as I saw the farm again for the first time in five years.
Willow turned into the drive that was lined by beautiful birch trees, in full green bloom, swaying in the gentle, early-summer breeze as if they were directing me to somewhere safe.
‘You don’t think I’m a real bitch, do you?’ I asked Willow as she drove towards the quaint, red-bricked farmhouse ahead of us. ‘For leaving Henry pretty much at the altar?’
‘How do you feel now you’ve left?’ she asked.
‘Relieved. Like I am finally… free,’ I admitted.
‘Then you did what you had to do,’ Willow said firmly. ‘Come on, we need tea and cake, and… did you bring anything with you?’
‘No,’ I said. ‘I just… ran.’
‘Okay, don’t worry. I can lend you clothes so you can change out of that dress.’
I let out a snort. ‘That would be great, thanks.’
Willow parked her car outside the farmhouse as the door to it swung open.
Out stepped Willow’s dad and her border collie dog, followed by a handsome man I hadn’t seen before.
I braced myself. I had been so nervous to come back to the farm in case it had lost all its warmth and comfort, and now I had to face all its inhabitants and their questions as to why I was a runaway bride.
I tried to keep my nerves at bay but it was proving to be very difficult.
‘Are you sure about me coming in?’ I asked Willow uncertainly before she could climb out of her car. ‘You really don’t mind me turning up like this after so long?’ I bit my lip.
Willow shook her head. ‘Of course not. Daisy – we’re family. We have always loved you being here. We’ve got you. It will all be okay.’
Her words were the reassurance I desperately needed. I broke into a relieved smile. ‘Thank you, Willow.’
‘Come on.’ She jumped out and I watched as she beamed at the sight of the three people – and animal – who were clearly her favourite in the world. I realised then just how badly I had needed to hear that things would be okay.
Before I followed her, I felt my phone buzz in the pocket of my wedding dress – which had been sewn just so I could have my phone in there.
Henry’s family liked me to have my phone with me at all times.
I pulled it out. There were fifty-plus notifications.
I gulped and opened the glove compartment, chucked my phone in, shut it up and climbed out after Willow, deciding that I couldn’t face any of what was on it just yet.
‘Welcome back, Daisy,’ my Uncle Adam said, giving me a tight hug.
I guessed, by the lack of shock on his face, that Willow had warned him I was on the way.
Adam had been my dad’s elder brother and it was always a shock to the system to see the similarities between them.
He looked much older than he had five years ago.
An age my father would sadly never reach.
My uncle was now completely salt-and-pepper grey and there were lines on his face that hadn’t been there the last time I’d seen him.
I knew he suffered with arthritis, and his movements were a little stiff as he pulled back from me, but his smile was warm and welcoming just as it had been when I was growing up.
‘This is my boyfriend, Dylan,’ Willow said then.
Dylan smiled and held out a hand for me to shake. ‘I’ve heard a lot about you.’ He was tall with almost-black hair and bright-blue eyes. He had a posh accent too.
‘I would ask if it was all good but under the circumstances…’ I gestured to the white elephant in the room – my dress – with a grimace.
‘Oh, well, it definitely was,’ Dylan said, clearing his throat uncomfortably.
Willow nudged me. ‘You should style it out – act like it’s the new latest fashion trend for spring/summer.’
I chuckled – she had always been good at diffusing any awkwardness. ‘Yeah…’ I trailed off at the sound of a car on the driveway behind me. For a moment, I was worried it was Henry chasing me from the wedding. But when I turned around, I soon realised with relief that I didn’t recognise the car.
‘Shit, I forgot that Blake was coming now,’ Dylan said then.
‘Oh, that’s right,’ Willow said, giving me an apologetic smile. ‘One of Dylan’s old friends – he’s coming to stay for a couple of weeks in one of our Airbnb cottages.’
My heart sank a little bit. It was hard enough to be back at the farm again, let alone meeting new people.
I’d had to deal with meeting Willow’s boyfriend and now I had to face one of his friends too.
In my current frame of mind, and dress, I wasn’t at my most social.
I tried to push my shoulders back and stay confident but I was on the verge of crumbling.
Out of the car climbed a man who did a half-handshake, half-hug with Dylan, who had headed over to greet him. Willow and Uncle Adam also approached, while I hung back self-consciously.
‘You must be Blake,’ Willow said, smiling and holding her hand out.
‘This is my girlfriend, Willow Connor, and this is Blake Daniels,’ Dylan introduced them and Willow and Blake shook hands. Then Blake moved to greet my uncle. ‘Her dad, Adam.’
‘It’s nice to meet you all,’ Blake said.
Dylan looked behind to where I stood, feeling out of place. ‘And this is Willow’s cousin, Daisy.’
Blake turned to look at me and his eyes widened as his gaze looked me up and down, taking in what I was wearing.
‘Rocking this season’s “it” dress,’ Willow joked as I looked back at Blake.
He was so tall, I had to lift my face up slightly.
He must have been six foot five. He had light-brown hair that was short and tidy and a line of stubble around his chin.
He wore chinos and canvas shoes with a white shirt – kind of preppy-looking, the opposite of Dylan in his beat-up farm clothes.
I started to smile but his gaze flicked over me, looking at my dress, his hazel eyes cold when our gazes met.
‘Is this some kind of sick joke?’ he spat out, his deep voice suddenly sounding bitter.
There were a couple of seconds of shocked silence.
‘Um… no…’ Dylan said awkwardly. ‘Daisy is…’ he trailed off, stumped.
‘Wearing a wedding dress,’ I supplied, hating that I was making everyone so uncomfortable. ‘This was supposed to be my wedding day but I couldn’t go through with it.’
‘You left your fiancé at the altar?!’ Blake said incredulously. He stepped back a few steps like I might be contagious.
I narrowed my eyes. This man didn’t know anything about me but disapproval oozed out of him and it made me feel even worse than I already did. ‘Not that it’s any of your business but yes, I did.’
‘Look, why don’t we get you settled into the cottage?’ Dylan said hurriedly, putting a hand on Blake’s arm. ‘Willow can get Daisy settled in the farmhouse,’ he added, clearly desperate to separate me and Blake.
‘Sounds good to me!’ Blake said, abruptly turning around so I got his back view. ‘Let’s go.’
I raised an eyebrow as he started walking, clearly desperate to get away from me.
Dylan threw me and Willow an apologetic smile and then followed him.
This guy was really rude. ‘Not sure about your boyfriend’s taste in friends,’ I said to Willow, loud enough that Blake hopefully heard me as he left.
‘Sorry, yeah, that was awkward,’ Willow said.
She shrugged. ‘I haven’t met him before.
He actually lives in the city too. Said he needed to get away so Dylan let him have a cottage.
He’s going to renovate them this summer but he wanted to make room for a friend in need.
Come on, let’s go inside. You won’t have to see him much, I’m sure. ’
I didn’t want to cause any more drama so I threw on a tight smile. ‘Yeah. Maybe I could get out of this dress to stop any more awkward questions, though?’
She gave a tense laugh. ‘Definitely. Let’s go upstairs.’
‘I’ll put the kettle on,’ my uncle said, walking in slowly.
‘Perfect,’ Willow told him as we followed.
‘We’re trying to fix up the place as it has fallen into a bit of disrepair the past few years,’ she said, gesturing around as we stepped inside the farmhouse.
It looked just how it had done five years ago although I could smell fresh paint in the hall, which they had brightened up.
It had a low ceiling with beams and the floors were polished wood but with comfortable rugs making the place cosy.
They still had family photographs dotted around.
I could see one of me and Willow one summer out in the crop fields having a picnic.
Carefree days that I had loved and missed.
‘You’ll want to stay tonight, right?’ Willow asked me.
I hesitated, wondering how that would feel, as I followed her upstairs.
But really, I had nowhere else to go. I lived with Henry at his parents’ house on the edge of the city.
I didn’t want to face them today. I needed some space to take stock of the decision I had just made. ‘If you’re sure that would be okay?’
‘You don’t even have to ask,’ Willow reassured me. ‘This is your home too for as long as you need it.’
It felt too much. ‘Even though I haven’t come back for five years?’
Willow stepped into the spare room that I had always stayed in when my parents and I had spent time on the farm in the school holidays. ‘Listen, it was so hard for all of us…’ she broke off, her voice failing her.
I touched her arm. ‘I should have been there for you both more like you were for me.’
‘We all coped the best we could,’ she said, seemingly no hard feelings about me not coming back to see her and my uncle.
Her grief at losing her mum had brought mine back and I hadn’t coped.
I’d moved to the city where I took a job working for Henry’s dad as his PA.
And soon after, I’d met Henry and we’d started dating.
I’d slipped into this new life as Henry’s girlfriend and it had been easier to stay away from Birch Tree Farm.
Guilt washed over me as I looked around the pretty room.
There was the same floral bedspread, the same fireplace with a vase of lavender on top, the same mirror on the far wall and the window that displayed the farm in all its glory.
The sloping roof made the room feel cosy.
I used to love sleeping in here. I had been scared it would make me feel sad to return to it but something about the room soothed me instead.
I smiled, this time without the need to force it.
‘God, it’s good to be back.’ Yes, it was sad that Willow’s mum wasn’t here.
I could feel the place and the people had changed but Willow wasn’t broken, nor was my uncle, and I’d feared they would be changed forever – like I had been when my parents died.
‘It’s good to have you back. And it kind of feels perfect.
The past few months, we’ve really tried to pick this place back up.
And it’s working. Things feel so much brighter.
And they will for you soon too, I know it.
Hang on…’ She left the room and I perched on the edge of the bed, my body sinking into its softness. I suddenly felt exhausted.
‘Okay. Here are some of my clothes,’ Willow said, coming back. ‘Have a shower if you want, change, refresh yourself… then we can have tea and cake down in the kitchen when you’re ready? And you can stay tonight, and for as long as you like. This room is yours.’
‘I don’t know how to thank you,’ I said, swallowing the lump that had appeared in my throat.
It had been such a crazy day; I needed a moment to myself, and Willow was giving me that.
‘I left in such a hurry. All my things are at home with Henry and his parents. I work for Henry’s dad.
My whole life is there, I don’t know what I’ll do next… ’ My eyes were definitely watering now.
‘Listen, just take it one step at a time,’ Willow said gently. ‘Take that dress off. Have a cup of tea. We’ll sort the rest of it out soon. Okay?’
I nodded. ‘Okay,’ I managed to choke out.
She left me then and I let a tear roll down my cheek. I had blown up my life running away from my wedding. I felt relieved but terrified. I was exhausted but I saw a glimmer of hope on the horizon. I looked around the room. It was safe. It was familiar. It was comforting.
I didn’t know much right now but I knew one thing: I had made the right decision coming to Birchbrook.
And that was enough for now.