Chapter 31
Blake walked me back to the farmhouse as midnight approached.
‘Are you sure you don’t want to stay the night?’ he had asked as we pulled our clothes back on, giving each other shy smiles each time our eyes connected.
‘I don’t want Willow to know about last night just yet,’ I said.
‘We don’t know what this is…’ I trailed off.
I really didn’t want to have the what are we?
conversation yet. I was on a giddy high from being in Blake’s arms but he had only planned to stay in Birchbrook for two more days.
Plus, he was yet to work anything out with Sarah.
I knew it was unlikely this could be anything more than a summer romance but maybe that was enough.
I felt more alive than I had in a very long time. Blake had helped that happen.
And I was grateful as hell for it.
So, we had strolled back to the farmhouse hand in hand, the farm still and quiet in the darkness, a bright moon high on the horizon.
‘I don’t know how I’m supposed to sleep,’ Blake said softly as he squeezed my hand. ‘What if I’m thinking about you all night?’
I smiled. ‘What if I’m thinking about you all night?’
He tugged on my hand and stopped, bringing me around to face him. He leaned down and gave me a kiss. ‘That’s why we should stay together and both not sleep.’ He dropped me a wink, making me giggle.
‘What’s got into you?’ I asked as Blake took hold of my other hand and stepped closer to me. I looked up at him, his handsome face silhouetted by the moon, his eyes bright and shining from the silvery glow but, I hoped, it was also from being with me.
‘You,’ he replied simply.
This time, I kissed him. How could Sarah have thought he wasn’t good at speaking to women?
He had no trouble with me. That one word melted me again.
‘What’s going to happen?’ I blurted out before I could stop myself.
I had wanted to go to bed without being needy but when Blake looked at me like that, I wanted to know if he was wondering about what we would do once he left.
Blake let go of one of my hands and reached out to stroke my hair. ‘I don’t know yet, gorgeous. But we will work it out, won’t we?’
I nodded. ‘I hope so.’ I didn’t want to lose the high of the night and feel sad so I kissed him again. ‘Let’s try to sleep. It’s going to be a busy day getting everything ready for the opening, isn’t it?’
‘We work well together, don’t we?’
I smiled. ‘I think so.’
Blake leaned in and gave me a tight hug. ‘Sweet dreams,’ he whispered.
We held on for a full minute, clinging tightly to one another, unspoken wishes between us. Maybe we would speak them out loud soon.
‘Goodnight,’ I said reluctantly, letting him go finally.
I walked to the door and pushed it open, giving him one last look over my shoulder, wishing I had just stayed with him, Willow or no Willow.
Blake lifted a hand to wave and then his figure faded into the darkness.
With a soft sigh, I went inside, closed the door and headed up to my bedroom.
I slipped into my pyjamas and opened the window slightly as the night was humid and sticky, and I lay down on the bed, unsure if I would be able to sleep but weirdly, my eyes closed and I drifted off calmly.
* * *
The following morning, there was no time to replay my evening with Blake.
Willow and Taylor were talking to my uncle when I came down after my shower, dressed for the day and in need of coffee. I walked into the kitchen and saw the three of them at the table. I was about to say good morning when I realised the atmosphere was tense but it was too late to retreat.
‘You have to do what the doctor said,’ Willow was saying crossly to Adam. ‘And let me worry about being ready for the opening.’
‘You need me to help; we don’t have our summer staff,’ my uncle replied stubbornly.
‘We have Daisy!’ Willow said, pointing to me.
‘Should I…?’ I offered to go away again.
‘Help us talk some sense into him,’ Willow said to me so I sat down and poured strong coffee into a cup. ‘He wants to run the pony rides, but it will be too much for him. Dylan will have to do it.’
‘He’s renovating the cottages! You can’t pull out after paying deposits for the work,’ Adam pointed out. ‘And Blake will be leaving soon so he can’t help any more.’
‘I’m here, though,’ I said. ‘I can do whatever is needed.’
‘Can I say something?’ Taylor said gently as Willow and Adam fell into an annoyed silence, glaring at one another.
She was an attractive lady, smartly dressed, and I’d only heard good things from people about Birchbrook’s mayor.
‘I don’t want to talk out of turn,’ she continued.
It must have been hard for her with the shadow of Willow’s mum around the place.
‘Perhaps Adam can help with something that would still fit with what the doctor told us? I know at the pumpkin patch, you helped customers when they came to pay but there won’t be heavy pumpkins this time; you could man the till and be there for visitors when they have finished at the trail.
A sitting-down job that is needed and will keep you busy. ’
‘I do like dealing with everyone,’ Adam said, ‘but I did more with the pumpkin patch than that.’
‘That was a few months ago and you’ve just had a health scare, plus now I’m running the farm,’ Willow pointed out.
She smiled at Taylor. ‘I think that’s a good idea.
Dad, you can rest until we open, then run the till table.
One of us can give you a couple of breaks each day. I’ll figure the rest out.’
‘There might be some local teenagers who fancy a summer job,’ Taylor suggested then. ‘Weekends for now, then when the schools break up, they could help every day?’
Willow’s eyes lit up. ‘Great idea. I bet Sabrina knows who I can ask at her school. That could be really useful. See, Dad? We’ll be fine!’
Adam sighed. ‘Okay, okay, I can see I don’t really have a choice, do I?’
‘Why don’t we find a nice pub for lunch? Let the others get the farm ready for the opening,’ Taylor continued to Adam.
Willow sighed with relief. I felt it too. We didn’t want my uncle doing anything that would make his health deteriorate any further.
Once Taylor and my uncle had left the table, Willow turned to me.
‘There is so much to do; Dad was right about that. I’m almost done with the pumpkin field.
Then I need to talk to Blake about the ponies so we can decide what to do with them.
Dylan is busy all day with the cottages so can you please take over to make sure the finale to the Strawberry Fields Trail is all ready? ’
‘Definitely,’ I said. ‘It’ll be fine,’ I promised, although I’d never helped run the pick-your-own season before.
But I was determined to repay my family’s help this summer by doing all I could to make it a success.
I headed straight out to the fields as the picnic benches Willow hired arrived in a van and I helped them be placed close to my flower arch.
Then, I put a watering can with flowers onto the centre of each one, a sudden brainwave that looked perfect if I did say so myself. The Portaloos came later in the day too so they were set up behind the driveway close to where visitors would be parking.
Finally, the Birchwood Café van arrived on site. Paul, the son of the owners – the two Pats – got out of the cream and green van and marched over to me.
‘Willow said you’re in charge,’ he said gruffly, without preamble. ‘Where shall I park the van then?’
Willow said the van had been really helpful in drawing customers to the first ever pumpkin patch, as the café was so popular, so she had let them have the pitch for free.
But it had been so profitable, female Pat had offered to pay a fee for the summer: another reason why Willow was so anxious to make the Strawberry Fields Trail a hit.
‘I’d say over here,’ Paul said, pointing to the middle of the picnic benches.
‘But then the van will be in people’s photos if they sit on the bench with the flower arch,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘How about here, off to the side? It’ll be easily spotted and then there’s lots of space for people having picnics. I don’t want the van spoiling the view.’
‘Hmm. We’ll see if that works okay. If not, I’ll tell Willow we will need to move it,’ he replied shortly.
‘Fine. Have you decided on the menu?’ I matched his brisk tone.
He ticked the items on his fingers. ‘Coffee, tea, iced version too, obviously, seasonal sweet treats like Eton mess and lemon tart, and ice creams plus a selection of sandwiches too.’
‘What about a picnic box? With one of each in? I think people would love that,’ I suggested, picturing people eating that on the benches.
‘I’ll think about it,’ he replied, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets. ‘See you on opening day at midday then.’
‘Wait,’ I said hastily to stop him walking off. ‘Will you have a bin for rubbish? We definitely don’t want any litter left around the benches. That would spoil the vibe I’m creating here.’
Paul raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re just like your cousin.’ He strode off back to his van.
‘Is that a yes?’ I called to his retreating back.
He nodded once.
I turned to Dylan, who was having a break from the cottages and had come over to secure one of Sabrina’s Strawberry Fields Trail wooden signs as it looked a bit wobbly. Apparently, in autumn, they’d had issues with a storm and didn’t want to take any chances. ‘Is he always like that?’
Dylan grinned. ‘Yes. He seems to hate Birchbrook and all of us who live in town but he never leaves so we all think it’s just an act.’
I remained unconvinced but if Paul did as I asked then I’d ignore his grumpy attitude.
* * *