Chapter 44
Beth couldn’t help wondering what was happening between Rick and Cora. The few days that Rick had stayed to help out at the well-being centre had been wonderful. He’d cleared gutters, moved tables, cleaned windows and helped to paint the “Muriel”. The sight of him chatting to Barbara’s posse and teasing the children had warmed Beth’s heart despite the perpetual undercurrent of anxiety that nagged at her. When he set off for London, he had hugged her for a long time before pressing a hard kiss to her lips. She could tell that he wasn’t planning to return. Every moment since had felt slow, heavy and exhausting, and she had to force herself to stick to her usual routine, ignoring the impulse to crawl under her duvet and never come out.
At midday, she stood outside preschool, waiting to pick up Grace. A message came in from Lucy.
A bit snowed under in the shop. Please can you bring Hari over, when you get Grace? Thanks .
As Beth sent back a reply to agree, she saw an email arrive. Opening it, she read the contents with rising excitement.
One-handed, she scooped up the plethora of bags, coats and finger paintings that Hari and Grace scampered out with, and then carefully herded them across the road to the craft shop. The bell jingled overhead – a bright echo of her delight. Lucy was at the far end of the room, pricing ribbons. Beth hurried over. Grace was hard on her heels; Boo under one arm, Hari in hot pursuit.
‘Guess what, Lucy? No, never mind. I can’t wait for you to guess. The planning permission came through.’
‘Yay!’ Lucy gently danced her around in a little circle before releasing her. ‘That’s great news.’
‘We passed the kitchen inspection, too. Although that means I now need to have a conversation with Rose about the tearooms.’
‘I think she’s onto something. You’d have a customer base from the well-being centre, as well as people walking up from the village and the campsite at the bottom of the hill.’
‘I know, I just don’t see how we’re going to house it properly. I mean, when the weather is fine, we can use the patio… but maybe we should use the conservatory as well. It’s just not very big. Maybe I’m overthinking.’
Lucy quirked one eyebrow. ‘Maybe? I think you’re well past the overthinking stage. You look like you might go into orbit any second. Take a deep breath. It’s going to be fine.’
‘We don’t know that, though, do we? If only we had a space we could dedicate to it.’
‘It will sort itself out. Let’s just enjoy the good news about the planning permission coming through so quickly. Lord Astley must be spitting pips at having to use his influence on your behalf.’ Lucy laughed. ‘Barbara pretended to be shocked, but I could tell she was impressed at the way you handled him. Remind me never to get on the wrong side of you.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
‘If we’ve got permission, we can start advertising initial crafting sessions. It won’t take long to get the main section operational. We could have our first trial run in a couple of weeks.’
‘As soon as that?’ A buzz of excitement ran through Beth.
‘Daisy is handling social media. She can start marketing the courses. We need an opening ceremony, maybe a barbeque or a party of some sort. Take pictures and videos, hopefully with lots of people smiling. Have a ribbon to cut or something. It’s a shame we can’t get someone famous to do the honours.’
‘That’s a good idea.’
Lucy pulled out a pack of coloured card and some thick marker pens. ‘Let’s make some posters.’
Beth eyed the pens as if they might bite. ‘I’m not the creative one, remember.’
‘I’ll write out the first poster, then you can copy me. It’ll be easy. Look, Grace and Hari are already on it.’
Beth smiled at the sight of the two children pulling pens from the pack.
‘What else is on your list?’ asked Lucy.
‘I have to sort out the loos at the back of the stable. They’ve not been used for yonks.’
‘Not by yourself, surely? You’re better than you were, but you’ve still got to take it easy.’
‘Don’t worry. Rose won’t let me do anything strenuous.’
Lucy pushed the top back on her pen. ‘Leave the loos until tomorrow – I’ll pop up and help. I can get someone to cover me here for a couple of hours.’
The bell jangled again, this time with an alarming sense of urgency, as the door crashed back on its hinges.
Rose dashed in. ‘Beth. There’s a guy in The Coffee Pot asking about Rick.’
‘What guy?’
‘I don’t know. Reena’s getting ever so cross with him.’
Lucy moved towards the door. ‘Come on. Before Reena uses her taekwondo on him. The last thing we need is her dislocating another elbow.’
‘Ouch, poor Reena. I bet that was painful.’ Beth helped Hari off his chair as Grace grabbed Boo, and they all hurried after Lucy.
‘Not for Reena, it wasn’t.’ Lucy broke into a run.
*
At The Coffee Pot, Stacy was attempting to mediate between a tall, dark-haired, rumpled-looking stranger and Reena. ‘Now, come on, you two. Settle down. You’re disturbing my customers.’
Reena ignored her. ‘Whoever you are, young man, you’d better not be here to cause that lovely Rick Mahon any trouble.’
‘I’m not,’ said the stranger. ‘Where is he?’
‘I’m not telling you that. We respect people’s privacy around here.’
‘Please, I just need to find him.’
Beth had the vague feeling she’d seen the man before. She put a hand on the older woman’s shoulder. ‘It’s okay, Reena.’ She turned to the man. ‘Who are you? What do you want with Rick?’
But the stranger wasn’t listening. Instead, his eyes had fixed on something just behind her. ‘Boo!’
A smile transformed his face and Beth knew exactly who he was.
‘David.’
*
Rick had just left Cora and Dean when his phone rang. Even though his mind was reeling from the events of the afternoon, when Beth’s name flashed across the screen, he didn’t hesitate to answer. ‘Hi. Is everything alright?’
‘I know you didn’t want to… I mean, you said you wanted to stay away from me, and I don’t … well.’
The hesitation in her voice made him want to kick himself. ‘Beth, it’s fine. You can always call me if you need me. What’s the problem?’
‘It’s not a problem. David is here.’
‘What?’
‘He turned up in the village. You said you were worried about him, so I thought you’d want to know.’
‘Yes. Definitely. I’ve been trying to call him. Is he alright?’
‘I think so, he’s just exhausted.’
‘Can you put him on?’
‘He’s asleep. I was making him a cup of tea and he just nodded off.’
Rick checked the time. ‘If I set off now, I can be with you in a couple of hours. And Beth?’
‘Yes?’
‘Thank you.’
*
For once, the route out of London was clear. Rick made excellent time back to the forest. He didn’t stop to knock on the front door of the farmhouse; he just walked straight in. ‘Is he still here?’
Beth hurried towards him. ‘Yes. He’s in the lounge. I think he’s still asleep. Apparently, he drove over from Italy to look for you a couple of weeks ago, after he got wind of that awful podcast. He knew you’d inherited Charlie’s place, but he didn’t know the address. He’s been combing the New Forest, showing your photo to everyone, trying to find you.’
Rick groaned. ‘Gita said he phoned the surgery ages ago, but that they couldn’t tell him anything because they didn’t know where I was.’
Beth pulled a face. ‘I should warn you. He’s quite angry. It’s probably best to let him sleep.’
The door to the lounge opened and a sleep-rumpled David appeared.
‘David! I’ve been so worried about you.’ Rick stepped forward, arms outstretched in welcome, but stopped short at the glower on his son’s face.
‘You’ve been worried about me?’ David crossed his arms. ‘I’m not the one who disappeared off the face of the earth, Dad.’
‘I know. I’m sorry.’
‘What the hell were you playing at?’
Paddy whined. Out of the corner of his eye, Rick saw the little dog creep towards Beth.
She leaned down to the cowering pooch and gave him a reassuring pat. ‘Let’s go through to the kitchen, Paddy. We’ll find David and Rick a snack. Hungry people get grumpy. Grace, come out from under there and give me a hand.’
Grace scrambled out from under the stairs and peered around her mother’s legs, her eyes darting from Rick to David and back again. ‘Is he telling you off, Rick?’
‘He is, but you know what?’
‘What?’
‘I deserve it. I was thoughtless and I upset him.’
‘You’d better say sorry,’ Grace whispered. ‘Then he can say it’s alright.’
‘Good idea.’ Rick turned to Beth. ‘Thanks for your help and for the offer of a snack, but I think David and I should take this discussion over to the barn.’
‘If you’re sure.’
‘I am. Perhaps… if you don’t mind… Could you and I catch up tomorrow?’ She might not want to, given how adamant he’d been about staying away. ‘There are some things I’d like to tell you.’
‘Yes, that’s fine. Tomorrow.’ Her eyes were wide and solemn.
Rick rubbed the back of his neck and turned back towards his son. ‘Shall we?’
David nodded and glanced at Beth. ‘Thank you for your hospitality.’
*
Rick led the way, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. ‘I’m very sorry, David. I should have contacted you when things first started to go pear-shaped.’
‘Why didn’t you? If I’d known you were in trouble, I’d have come back.’
‘I didn’t realise it was going to get as bad as it did. Plus, you’ve got your own life. You don’t need to babysit your old man.’
David nudged him with his shoulder as they scrunched across the drive towards the barn. ‘It’s not babysitting. It’s caring.’
‘I know. And, anyway, I did call eventually. Not straight away, admittedly, but when I did, you didn’t pick up and it wouldn’t let me leave a message. And then, after that, it wouldn’t connect at all.’
David pulled out his phone. ‘When? Look. There’s not a single missed call on here from you. And you haven’t responded to my emails or social media messages either.’
‘I had to get a new number and a new email, and I’ve closed my social media accounts down. I was inundated with calls and messages from journalists and other people wanting comments.’
‘Oh, I’ve had a lot of those, too. Persistent sods. At first, I turned off messages and then I blocked unknown numbers.’
‘Might you have blocked me, too? My new number, I mean.’
‘It’s possible.’
‘You’re right, though, son. I should have called sooner, but I didn’t know what to say. I’ve been too ashamed.’
‘Ashamed? Of what?’
Rick’s voice was suddenly hoarse. ‘Being a failure.’
‘You’re not a failure, Dad. You’re my hero. You always have been.’
Rick dashed a traitorous tear aside. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘It’s fine. I’m here now.’ David clapped him on the back. ‘What can I do to help? Do you need me to come to court?’
Rick took his keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. ‘There’s not going to be a court case.’
‘How come?’
Rick gestured into the barn. ‘Come on. I’ll explain everything. I’ve had a very eventful day.’ He looked over at the farmhouse. As soon as he had caught up with David, he couldn’t wait to go back and see Beth properly. He had so much to tell her, but that would have to wait until tomorrow.