Chapter Twenty-One
Hattie opened her eyes cautiously the next morning but realised drinking a lot of water before she went to bed had held off a hangover.
A quick shower and she felt good as new before she headed over to Luke’s.
She brought with her croissants from the freezer and some mixed seeds and berries that she’d bought for her sister.
She was a bit anxious; she really hoped Leonie hadn’t been critical or disapproving of Luke’s house.
‘Hi!’ she said cheerily as she got out of the car. Frank and Fearless, who reached her first, were followed by Xander, looking sleepy. ‘Am I too early?’
‘No. Mum and Luke are up. Have you brought food? Mum’s not thrilled by the sausages that Luke is offering.’
‘I have,’ said Hattie. ‘Are things… How’s your mum?’
‘Weird,’ said Xander. ‘Half her usual quite critical self and half happy.’ He smiled somewhat wistfully. ‘Living with Luke is so simple.’
Hattie laughed. ‘Down, dogs!’ she said, and went into the house.
Luke leapt to his feet the moment she appeared. ‘Hi, Hattie! Coffee? Tea?’ He was looking strained.
‘Tea please, and I’ve brought breakfast.’ She put her basket on the table. ‘Croissants which will need heating. Berries and seeds which don’t. I’ve got Greek yoghurt too.’
‘That’s good,’ said Leonie. ‘Luke and I have very different diet preferences.’
As Hattie unpacked her basket she tried to work out what mood her sister was in but it seemed that Xander had been spot on when he said she was half her usual self and half happy.
‘How did you sleep, Lennie?’ said Hattie, finding bowls and giving them a quick swipe with a tea towel. Luke’s open-shelf kitchen storage looked very attractive but would have worked better for someone who didn’t bring dust home on their clothes.
‘OK – sort of.’ She made a face. ‘I had a bit more to drink than I usually allow myself.’
Hattie found her sister a spoon and handed her the berries. ‘Me too. Although I seem to have escaped a hangover. I have milk thistle at home if you’re not so lucky.’
‘Proper food will sort me out,’ said Leonie, scattering her yogurt with seeds which made Hattie think of sand. ‘I don’t need your vile-tasting potions, thank goodness.’
‘That’s lucky. Milk thistle does taste fairly nasty.’
‘Toast, Hattie?’ asked Luke.
‘Yes, please. Have you got any Marmite?’
Just then, Leonie’s phone pinged. As she had very strict rules about phones at the table, this was a surprise. Leonie looked down at her phone and got up. ‘Excuse me.’
She came back quickly, but she had a smile on her face she was obviously trying to suppress.
‘Sorry about that. Nothing important.’ A slight pause. ‘Just Tom checking to see he had the right number for me.’
Now it was Hattie suppressing a smile; her sister had a case of mentionitis. That had to be a good sign for her and Tom.
Breakfast had dwindled to final cups of tea or coffee. Xander said, ‘Luke? Can I show Mum the cabin? Maybe play her that track we made?’
‘We’ve got time before lunch?’ said Leonie.
‘Of course,’ said Luke.
‘Do you want to borrow my car to go to the pub? Or are you just going to the Wagon and Horses?’ said Hattie. She didn’t think the Wagon and Horses was quite Leonie’s sort of place, but she was full of surprises today.
‘Your car is a bit big for me,’ said Leonie, ‘and Luke has kindly offered to take us to the Ragged Cot.’
Luke smiled. ‘Leonie didn’t fancy driving my truck, either!’
‘Come on, Mum!’ said Xander. He stopped. ‘Oh, by the way, you guys realise that term ends on Friday, don’t you?’
Hattie felt her mouth open and quickly shut it. ‘I had no idea…’
‘Xan!’ said Leonie. ‘You might have told us!’
‘I just have!’
‘But, darling, I hadn’t realised it was quite so soon. I’ll get in touch with your father. I can’t take you back to Switzerland with me, I’m so busy trying to wind things up before I leave.’
‘Can’t I just stay here?’ said Xander. ‘I’ll be fine at home on my own.’
Leonie took a breath but Luke spoke first. ‘I’m happy for him to stay here for as long as he wants. I’m still away in Cornwall a fair bit, but of course Hattie comes overnight when I’m not here.’
Leonie didn’t speak for a few moments. ‘It would only be until Xander goes to visit his father for his usual summer visit,’ she said.
‘So that’s OK then?’ said Xander. ‘Mum? You coming?’
Leonie got up. ‘I do wish I’d had some warning about your term ending,’ she said.
‘It’s been in your diary since before I started at college,’ said Xander. ‘Now come and hear this track!’ With that he practically dragged Leonie from the room.
Luke and Hattie looked at each other in bemusement. ‘Are you sure you’re happy with this? It won’t be long till Xan goes to Scotland.’
‘It’s fine,’ he said.
‘But it’s so unlike Lennie not to have the date etched on her memory, with a plan in place.’ Hattie was amazed. ‘And usually she’s on my case about everything, all the time. But she’s hardly told me off at all during this visit.’
‘No,’ Luke agreed. ‘She was quite relaxed about sharing a bedroom with my tools too. Although I had bought some new bed linen.’
‘That would have helped. But anyway, if she’s happy, we mustn’t stop her. It’s lovely that Xander wants to show her your cabin. I just hope she doesn’t mind him making music that doesn’t involve recognisable instruments.’
Luke laughed. He was, Hattie decided, looking handsome in a rugged way.
Maybe it was his casual denim shirt which showed off his builder’s physique.
Or his recently washed hair which was a bit longer than he usually had it or the fact his teeth looked particularly white against his faint tan.
For the first time since she’d met him, Hattie allowed herself to admit it was a shame he was such a good friend.
Xander and his mother came back to the kitchen. ‘She quite liked it, didn’t you, Mum?’
‘I don’t really understand that sort of music but it did sound nice,’ said Leonie. ‘Maybe you’ll be able to keep practising when we move here. I’m really hoping to be able to relocate somewhere nearby by September or October.’
Hattie wondered again how she’d feel about her sister living in the same area as she did. It would certainly be nice to see Xander more often. She’d become very fond of him since he’d been under her wing.