Chapter 13
Just as Rocco left the police station in Summerford, he received a text from his sister-in-law, letting him know she was heading back to Liverpool from filming in Oxford and would stop off to see his new home.
Rocco told her he would pick her up at the train station, excited to show her as much as possible during her brief visit.
The weather had turned quite mild that day, a beautiful pale-blue hue made the sky, and the fields no longer seemed so wintery now the snow had thawed completely.
Summerford was just as picturesque as Butterbrook, with rustic farmhouses and quaint cottages, and Rocco couldn’t wait to see the springtime flowers poking through and the sun warming him when on his strolls around the village that was now home.
I should plant some bulbs outside the cabin. Yeah, that’ll be…
Something caught his eye, and he reversed the truck so he could take another look. Yep, it definitely looked like what he thought it was.
Clambering out for a closer inspection, he scanned the little fairy ornament perched upon a gatepost at the end of a long driveway.
‘Hmm.’
After seeing the picture of Lady Vic that Cookie had shown him, he was quite certain he was looking at the missing lucky charm. He checked the photo on his phone to make sure, seeing it was a match.
Rocco glanced at the old farmhouse in the near distance, then opened the gate before getting in his truck to drive onto the narrow driveway. He got out on the other side and closed the gate behind him, then made his way to the house.
A young woman was sweeping the porch, hair pulled loosely on top of her head, navy tracksuit covered in dust. ‘Hello. You’re the first delivery driver I’ve seen use a pickup truck.’
Rocco glanced at his vehicle as he got out. ‘Oh no. I’m a police officer.’ He waggled a hand at his black jeans and shirt. ‘Off duty at the moment.’ Not that he ever felt he was. ‘I was just hoping to ask someone here about the fairy at the top of your drive.’ He thumbed behind him.
‘The little ornament?’
‘That’s the one.’
She raised a hand to her mouth. ‘Oh, goodness, does it belong to you? My dog found it at a park. I didn’t even see it clamped in his mouth until we were back at the car. A blizzard had just started, so we were in a hurry to get home.’
Rocco smiled to himself as the mystery was solved. ‘It’s part of a statue in Crescent Park, and the people of Butterbrook have been searching high and low for it, as it’s a bit of a good luck charm for the village.’
She placed her broom against the wall and stepped towards him. ‘I had no idea. My partner and I have just moved here, and we’ve been so busy with renovations, we’ve not had time for local news. We don’t even know anyone around here yet, let alone over in Butterbrook.’
He could see she looked mortified.
‘Please tell them I’m so sorry,’ she added. ‘I would have handed it in at the police station had I known it was worth something. I just thought it an old garden ornament that someone had perhaps thrown away over the park.’
Rocco thought it best to show her a photo of Lady Vic, just so she could double-check it was the same fairy.
‘It certainly looks the same.’ Once more, the woman held nothing but an apology in her expression. ‘Can’t say we’ll be popular after this.’
‘You didn’t do anything wrong, but I am going to have to put it back where it belongs.’
‘Of course. Let me just fetch the tool bag.’ She hurried inside, her voice calling out. ‘We glued it in place, you see.’
Rocco just hoped they could remove it without causing any damage.
The woman walked with him along the driveway. ‘We only put it there this morning. Lucky you drove by.’
He had to laugh. ‘Oh, I’m sure someone would have spotted it at some point.’
Her brow furrowed. ‘And might not have been as nice about it as you.’
He knew how to work with the public. ‘Let’s get this sorted, and I’ll explain everything to the people of Butterbrook. They’re really quite nice and will understand.’
‘I hope so.’
Thankfully, the ornament wasn’t stuck down very well, and it didn’t take long for Rocco to prise it off in one piece, which he sensed was more stressful for the woman than him, and he was sweating buckets with each jiggle and wiggle of the little thing.
‘Lady Vic.’ He smiled at the woman. ‘That’s its name.’
With wide eyes, she gazed at the fairy. ‘Ooh, my name is Victoria. Well, my apologies, Lady Vic. I’m so glad you survived the ordeal.’
She wasn’t the only one.
‘Right, well, I’ll just get this back.’
She walked him to his truck. ‘Thank you so much for being kind about this.’
‘You weren’t to know.’ He motioned at the farmhouse. ‘Good luck with your new home. I’ve not long moved to Butterbrook, so I know what it’s like to be the new kid. If they have any local meetings over here, join in. It’s a great way to make new friends.’
‘Thank you. I’ll look into it.’
Rocco climbed back in his truck, carefully placed Lady Vic on the seat to his side, gave Victoria a wave, then went off to pick up Cassie from the station.
Cassie was already outside by the time he arrived, sitting on a small suitcase, typing away on her phone. ‘There you are. I was just texting Rex. He asked me to go say hi to Reg on behalf of our family.’
Rocco gave her a kiss on the cheek, then placed her case on the backseat before asking her to hold Lady Vic. ‘Long story, which I’ll tell you on the way, but first we need to hand this in at Bridge House, and Reg might be there.’
Cassie’s hazel eyes beamed at the fairy. ‘How adorable.’
He chuckled. ‘Lucky, by all accounts.’
‘Ooh, I might just take her to my next audition then.’
‘She’s going home. Besides, you’ve got the skills to land your jobs. You don’t need luck.’
Cassie laughed. ‘According to one fella at an audition, I need to lose my accent or else I won’t go far.’
‘I hope you didn’t consider it.’
She gave a small shrug. ‘I can’t do other accents, so I’m stuck like this whether I like it or not. And it just so happens I like the way I talk. And I like representing Liverpool.’
‘And you’re always in work.’
She gave a fist bump to the air. ‘I know, right. Here’s to all the regional accents. Long may they live.’
‘Here, here.’
They chatted about Butterbrook as they drove along, Rocco pointing out all he knew, and when he pulled up outside the police hub, Reg was just coming out to pin something in the wooden cabinet that made the noticeboard.
‘Hey, Reg, this is Cassie, my sister-in-law.’
Reg and Cassie said a warm hello to each other, and Reg started to tell her all about the village and his family, and Cassie took some photos to show her husband.
A visit at Easter was definitely happening, and Reg looked ever so pleased.
‘Before we go, I have some more news.’ Rocco leaned in his truck and came back with Lady Vic.
‘Well I never.’ Reg chuckled as he took the fairy. ‘Thought this was long gone.’
Rocco told him Lady Vic’s adventure, and Reg said he would sort things from there, which Rocco assumed meant he knew an expert that could replace the ornament.
They said goodbye and set off, and Rocco had just enough time to show Cassie his new home before her train was due.
Iris was ever so excited to talk to Rocco about wanting to be a proper couple, she had practically raced home with Josie. Everything was suddenly simple, and a new beginning within reach.
Josie went off to see Norma, and Iris had to check a few things at the B&B before heading off to Cosy Cabin to see if Rocco was home.
The evening had set in, and a chill took away the last of the mildness that the January day had been kind enough to offer.
With a skip in her step, Iris tried not to let her emotions run away with her as thoughts of summer picnics by River Moon came to mind, along with strolls around the park while holding hands with Rocco, leaning in to kiss his cheek, snuggling to his side whenever she wanted, daytrips to a beach, perhaps horse riding, as she enjoyed that during warmer months.
I need to ask what hobbies he has.
There was still so much to learn about him, but she was going to enjoy every moment of doing just that.
After her last encounter with romance, or what she thought was the start of one, she never saw herself letting her walls down ever again. It had been hard having the whole village know she’d been lied to. That she’d let some loser into her bed just to use her for sex.
But that was the past, and there was a new Iris in town, or in her case, village. Grinning, she turned the corner to see Rocco in an embrace outside the cabin with a blonde woman, who then kissed his cheek.
Iris wasn’t entirely sure why her legs weren’t working, because the rest of her knew she wanted to run away from the intimate scene as fast as possible.
Rocco and the blonde went to his truck, then Iris noticed him look her way, and she thanked all the rainbows and stars that her trembling legs were able to make a dash for the B&B.