Chapter 12
Twelve
Bob, the electrician, and Colin, the plumber both arrived at eight.
After yesterday, Lara had completely forgotten they were coming and although she was up, showered and dressed, she was still half asleep.
She hadn’t slept well and had tossed and turned for most of the night, much to Nicodemus’ displeasure.
He let it be known that she should stop fidgeting, by plonking himself on top of her at one point, which didn’t help at all with Lara’s sleep.
At least the weather was better this morning.
The sky was a bluey-grey and the sun was coming out between a mixture of slate grey and off-white clouds.
The air, when Lara opened the front door to let Bob and Colin in, was warmer than it had been yesterday, which was an added bonus, bearing in mind the heating would be off all day while Colin worked on it.
‘Hi,’ she said, forcing a smile and a cheery tone. ‘I forgot you were coming today.’
‘We heard about Tom,’ Bob said, stepping into the hall and giving the cardboard box cat tray the side-eye, ‘so I can see why. You’re a bit of a heroine in Bluewater Bay for saving his life. Tom’s highly respected around here.’
Colin nodded. ‘And not just in Bluewater Bay. Mention his name anywhere in this county and most people will have heard of Tom, or at the very least, Bright Bonn Construction.’
‘Bright Bonn Construction?’ Lara repeated. ‘Oh, how lovely. He included his wife’s name in his business.’
‘He included Bonnie in everything,’ said Bob. ‘Tom and Bonnie were joined at the hip. Have you got a cat?’
‘What? Oh yes. I’ve been adopted by a stray. At least, I think he’s a stray. I’m going to ask in the pet shop if anyone around here has lost a black cat.’
‘I’m allergic to cats,’ Bob said, glaring at the box at if it might attack him.
‘Oh. Will that be a problem? As it’s a nice day I might be able to coax him outside for a while, but I can’t promise he won’t get back in. He got in somehow on my first night here.’
Bob screwed his mouth into strange shape and then let out a trumpet of a sigh.
‘We’ll have to see, I suppose. If you hadn’t done what you did for Tom, I’d be out of here. They make me sneeze.’
‘I’m sorry. Let me know if it’s a problem and we’ll see what can be done. I think he’ll probably be on my … in my bedroom all day.’ She was going to be careful about mentioning her bed after Jenny’s interpretation of Jasper’s reaction yesterday.
‘Fine. I’ll leave that room till last. If you can open the windows when I’m in there, that might help.’
‘My old gran said a squirt of salt water up your nose helps,’ Colin offered.
‘I’ll go for a dip in the sea then,’ Bob joked. At least he had a sense of humour.
‘Would you like tea or coffee before you start?’ Lara asked.
‘No thanks,’ they said in unison.
‘We’ll crack on,’ Colin said. ‘I’ve got an apprentice coming to join me, but like all teenagers he’s still in bed.’ He grinned. ‘He’s my son. He’ll be here in about an hour.’
‘A mate’s joining me later,’ added Bob. ‘Not my son. My nephew.’
‘Family businesses?’ Lara said. ‘That’s always good. Erm. Did Tom’s son join Tom’s business?’ She knew he must have had a son because Jasper had Tom’s surname. And yet Tom hadn’t mentioned his son, only his grandson.
‘Yep,’ Bob confirmed. ‘Until the day he retired and moved to Spain. Wanted Tom to go with him but Tom will leave that cottage and Bluewater Bay in a box and not before. Which won’t be for years yet,’ he added hastily.
‘That’s interesting. Why didn’t Jasper join the family business? Just out of curiosity.’
The men exchanged glances as they sorted out their various tools.
‘Wanted the bright lights of the City,’ said Colin. ‘Not the ‘Bright’ future his dad and granddad were offering.’
Lara grinned at his play on words. ‘Tom and his son must’ve been a little sad about that.’
She wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or disappointed that neither man responded. It was good they didn’t gossip about Tom and his son and grandson. Although they had divulged that the son now lived in Spain.
‘We’d best get on,’ said Bob. ‘We’ll try not to cause too much mess.’
‘Don’t worry. I’ve … Oh no. I’ve just realised the cleaners will be here again this morning. I wanted the cottage cleaned beforehand, but it seems a bit counter-productive today while you’re working here. I’ll try and call them and see if I can book them for another day.’
‘Thought the place looked different,’ said Colin. ‘I’ll start in the kitchen with the boiler. I assume you still want the new one in the same position?’
‘Yes, please. Unless you think it’ll be better elsewhere.’
‘Makes no difference to me. I’d keep it where it is. It’s out of the way but easy to get to if you need to.’
‘Then that’s where it’ll be. I’ll call the cleaners.’
Lara had no idea how long it might take to completely rewire and replumb the cottage, but both Bob and Colin informed her that, all being well, they would be finished by lunchtime on Saturday, so apparently, two and a half days.
She managed to cancel Ula and Greg without too much trouble and to rebook them for another clean on Saturday afternoon.
‘You’re lucky because we’ve just had a cancellation for Saturday,’ she was told by the woman she had spoken to previously, ‘so we can fit you in. I wouldn’t do this for everybody, but as you’re a friend of Tom’s I’ll make an exception. Especially as you saved his life.’
‘How did you hear about that?’ Lara was aware that villagers had a reputation for spreading gossip like wildfire, but news of her so-called heroics had reached the ears of all and sundry within hours of the event, it seemed.
‘From Shirley, of course,’ the woman said, as if Lara would know who Shirley was. ‘We’re all so relieved. It can sometimes take us a while to warm to incomers, but as you knew Tom, most of us were ready to welcome you into the fold. After this, everyone in the village will treat you like a friend.’
‘Oh. That’s … nice.’ Lara couldn’t think of an appropriate word to describe how she felt about that.
Obviously, it was good to know that the villagers would welcome her, but it was also a little creepy in a way.
Like she had now joined some sort of cult or something.
Or maybe she was simply feeling tired and was overreacting to a friendly comment.
‘Do you know a woman called Shirley?’ she asked Colin, who was removing the old boiler when Lara went into the kitchen to make herself a coffee, shortly after that call had ended.
‘Shirley?’ He grinned at her over his shoulder. ‘Everyone knows Shirley. She’s the Reception Manager at The Cliff Surgery. She’s also Captain of the Ladies’ Darts Team at The White Lion. And the musical director of the Bluewater Bay Women’s Choir. Why?’
Well, that explained how news of Tom’s accident had spread so far and so fast.
‘No reason. Her name was mentioned, that’s all. Oh. That’s either your son, or Bob’s nephew,’ Lara said, when the doorbell rang.
‘Too early for Paul,’ said Colin, ‘and if that’s Harvey, I’ll eat my hat.’
Lara didn’t ask which one was which, she would find out soon enough.
But when she opened the front door, she was greeted by a team of three men, one of whom was Roger, the roofer, who was standing on her doorstep, while the other two were opening the tailgate of a flatbed lorry piled high with scaffold poles and boards, that was boxing in her car.
‘Oh, hello. I wasn’t expecting you to start until tomorrow,’ she said, unsure whether she was pleased or disappointed to see him today.
‘Good morning to you too,’ said Roger, good naturedly. ‘I’m not here to start on the roof. I’m here to get the scaffold up. You didn’t think we’d be up and down ladders, did you? Can’t do that these days. Not with Health and Safety breathing down our necks.’
‘No, I … Erm. I didn’t think about it,’ she said, truthfully. ‘I can’t recall you mentioning it, but it’s been a hectic couple of days.’
‘So I hear. Good on you. We need more people to look out for their neighbours.’
‘I only did what anyone else would have.’ How many times had she said that since yesterday? ‘Will the scaffolding take long to put up?’
The other men were already offloading the poles and boards so she didn’t want to tell Roger that she was hoping to drive into the village this morning to get supplies for Nicodemus and they would need to move the lorry to let her out.
‘Should be up by lunch. We’ll be back tomorrow at eight to make a start on the roof and we’ll be here on Saturday morning.
We’ll make sure the place is watertight over the weekend, so don’t you worry about that.
Then we’ll be back first thing on Monday, and by Tuesday evening, with luck and the weather on our side, you’ll have your new roof.
Wednesday at the latest. Thursday at the worst. Friday if…
’ He laughed. ‘No. I’m joking. The roof will be done and dusted by Tuesday.
We might need to pop back on Wednesday though to take the scaffolding down. ’
‘That’s … wonderful.’ She was really struggling for words today and it dawned on her that she was exhausted. On top of that, she felt more than a little overwhelmed by everything that was going on.
Until this week her days had begun at eight-thirty and after the din of her alarm had been silenced, she had tumbled out of bed, gazed out of her bedroom window for a few moments, made herself coffee and ate breakfast in the relative peace and quiet of her kitchen with just the faint rumble of traffic passing by.
Then she had spent all day, every day, even sometimes at weekends, ensconced in her cosy home office, working on whatever project she had to complete.
During the course of a week, she might have spoken to one of her colleagues at Pliny Software on a work-related issue, or to Jenny for a friendly chat, and occasionally to the postman or woman, or a delivery driver, but that was it.
Her evenings would invariably have been spent watching TV, reading, drawing, or just lying around on the sofa planning adventures she knew she would probably never take.
Once or twice a week she would go to Jenny’s house, or Jenny would come round to her flat. Sometimes they would go out for a drink or a meal, or to the cinema. Most nights she would be in bed – alone – by ten-thirty, or eleven at the latest.
That had been her life. Until she had made a rash, and drunken, decision to purchase a cottage in Bluewater Bay.
After living on her own for so many years and having few visitors other than Jenny, being in this cottage was starting to feel as if she were living in Piccadilly Circus.
She had to get out of here for a while. She needed a bit of peace and quiet. But she didn’t want to ask Roger to move the lorry. Could she wait until they had finished? He had said the scaffolding would be up by lunchtime, but that was hours away.
She could go for a walk. The weather was perfect for that today.
Except the grass on the cliff would probably still be like a quagmire after yesterday’s downpour, if her front garden was anything to go by.
The scaffolders had already had to place metal plates beneath the upright poles to stop them from sinking into the sodden ground.
She could venture down Old Oak Lane. But that would necessitate passing Tom’s cottage. Jasper might spot her and think she was spying on him. Or worse than that, that she was stalking him or something.
Now she was being ridiculous. Why shouldn’t she take a walk down the lane without Jasper or anyone else for that matter questioning her motives?
It was a free country after all. The lane only led out into the main road at the other end, so if she wanted to stay on firm ground, the only option was to head in the direction of the village.
If that meant passing Tom’s cottage then so be it.
Jasper might be out, so there might not be any need for her to feel anxious.
Why should she feel anxious, anyway? The misunderstanding, if that was what it had been, was entirely down to him. She had not tried to seduce him in any way, shape, or form.
But Jasper might think she had.
Perhaps it would be good for her to make it clear that was definitely not the case. She could make a joke of it. Show him that it was no big deal. Make it clear that she only thought of him as Tom’s grandson. Better yet, she should say she didn’t think of him at all.
Except that wouldn’t be entirely true. In fact, it would be an outright lie. Since meeting Jasper Bright she had thought of little else but him. His build. His voice. His hair. His face. His kissable lips. His come to bed eyes.
Not that his eyes had told her he wanted her to come to bed. Although … when she had opened the front door to him last night, she had seen something in those gorgeous eyes that had made her think he liked what he saw. Those eyes had scanned her from head to toe, just as her eyes had scanned him.
But she must have misread the look in his eyes because just ten minutes or so later, the man had bolted from the cottage, indicating quite clearly that he had no interest whatsoever in going to bed with her.
Not that she had asked him to.
She had only met the man last night.
She didn’t even want to go to bed with him.
Did she?
No. She found him attractive, she would not deny that. Very attractive.
But her thoughts had gone no further until Jenny had told her that Jasper had rejected her, and then, like it or not, last night, as Lara had tossed and turned in her bed, and tried to understand what had happened, she had felt rejected. Something she hadn’t felt since…
Well. Not since she had gone to live with her aunt and uncle and cousins, fourteen years ago.