Chapter 11 #2
‘No, no. He didn’t mention the baby. He is selling the dairy herd. He needs your help to check the pedigrees for the sale catalogue and to do the cattle-dressing for the sale.’
‘I can’t possibly go! How could he even ask? I have never heard a word since I left.’
‘He says you were always better at cattle-dressing than he is. I think he really needs you, Roxie. He sounded quite desperate.’
‘He did ask me to stay with them and carry on working, but he didn’t seem unduly worried when I was leaving.
Anyway, I would never go now you are going to have your operation.
He will have to postpone the sale. Maybe then, I might consider helping, once I see you properly healed and back on your feet. ’
‘Family must come first, Roxie,’ Amy said quietly. ‘The sale date is fixed for two weeks next Monday. He says you will need at least ten days to help him organise everything. He sounded quite frantic.’
‘Then why is he selling Father’s precious herd?
He hasn’t given himself a chance to like dairying .
. .’ Her voice cracked, but she swallowed her tears and went on.
‘He can’t be short of money. I know Father had more than enough capital set aside to build the new house for him and his wife.
The solicitor was keeping it invested until everything is settled.
If only they could have waited . . .’ She gulped and Ciaran realised she was very near to tears.
‘They don’t deserve any help. You have been far kinder to me than they ever were and I came to you as a stranger. ’
‘You are no longer a stranger to any of us,’ Amy said quietly.
‘You have made a place in all our hearts and you will be back here before you know it, lassie. I have not booked a date for the operation yet so I will wait until the week after you return. That will give us time to prepare for our stay in Glasgow.’
‘You truly do feel I ought to go?’
‘Yes, I do. Your brother admits he doesn’t deserve your help, but he hopes you will go for your father’s sake after all the years he put into building up the herd. I agree with that. I believe you would regret it if you didn’t give it your best effort, don’t you agree, Ciaran?’
Roxie turned to look at Ciaran.
‘You don’t want me to go and leave your mother at this time, do you?’
‘No, but it’s true what Mum says. Maybe you would regret it if you didn’t help to make the sale a success,’ he said reluctantly.
‘Mum will be fine for ten days or so, but whether or not you return depends where your heart is. Are you sure you will not want to stay down there when you see all your old friends again?’
‘My heart is more here than it is back there now,’ Roxie muttered. ‘It isn’t truly my home any longer and soon even the cows will have gone.’ She turned back to Amy. ‘You know I would never let you down after you have made me feel so welcome, don’t you?’
‘I do know that,’ Amy said firmly and gave Ciaran a speaking glance. He shrugged.
‘Mum will stay with me until you return.’
‘And Jenny is keen to come to keep me company and advise her about the baby.’
‘Oh. All right. I had better phone Tommy, then.’ She sighed and took out her mobile. ‘I will phone from my room.’
‘Your brother asked you to phone his landline. He says he does not have a mobile phone.’
‘No mobile? But he . . . Oh, I almost forgot . . .’ Her eyes brightened as she looked at Amy.
‘I got an email while I was in town from my friend, Lucy — the friend who has the twins. She and Steve are planning to book a holiday cottage up here about the end of August or beginning of September, so they can visit me. I’m sure you will like them.
The twins are adorable. Lucy wonders if there is any particular letting agency you can recommend. ’
‘Jenny might know,’ Ciaran said, sounding more cooperative, although she still sensed he didn’t want her to go home to Derbyshire.
* * *
Although Amy had told her she had arranged for Jenny, Donald and their baby son to stay at the farm with her, Roxie knew Jenny would not have much time or energy for cooking meals for them all, and she still had a niggling feeling of guilt about leaving Amy at this time.
During the days that followed, she baked and cooked to stock up Ciaran’s freezer for the time she was away.
After he had eaten his lunch each day, she had a box or a tray of food for him to take to his freezer — fruit pies, savoury dishes, cakes and puddings.
One of his favourite puddings was steamed syrup sponge and custard, so she had made several individual ones.
She had spoken to Tommy on the telephone and been surprised to find her heart aching for him.
He sounded young, and unhappy, and strangely defeated, not at all like a proud new daddy.
He told her he couldn’t cope with the dairy and he must sell now before their father’s reputation as a breeder, and all his hard work, were lost.
‘I shall make sure the solicitor pays you the remainder of your share according to our father’s will, without more delay. I realise now how hard you must have worked. You have earned it more than I have, Sissy.’ He had not called her that since they were young.
‘How will you make the farm pay without the monthly milk cheque?’
‘I am going to buy some commercial beef cattle and I would like to try breeding some pedigree Suffolk sheep. I am interested in breeding better stock, but not dairy cows. I detest being tied to milking twice a day every day of the year. You know I always liked the arable side of farming, so I shall plough more land and grow more cereals.’
‘I wish you every success, Tommy, whatever you decide to do,’ Roxie said sincerely.
She felt better after they had discussed things openly.
She could understand that not everyone shared her interest, or her father’s commitment to the dairy herd.
Even so, she had to try hard not to feel a bit bitter that Tommy had never been in touch until he needed her help.
He had never mentioned Gilda or their baby son, and he had not even thanked her for the beautiful little jacket she had sent.
Instinct told her there was more than the sale of the dairy herd troubling Tommy.
Roxie felt too tired to drive the two hundred plus miles on her own.
‘All that cooking and baking you have done for our benefit has exhausted you, Roxie,’ Amy said. ‘I think you should travel by train.’
‘I thought if I took the car, I could bring back some of my own items of furniture, like my precious sewing table, but it is an awful thought to drive so far on my own, especially after that awful crash.’
Ciaran was finishing his lunch. He immediately volunteered to drive her to the station in Dumfries the following morning. While she was clearing the table, Ciaran studied his phone.
‘According to this, you would have to change at least once so I will drive you to Carlisle to save you one change there. You will still need to change further down the line though, I think.’
‘Thank you, kind sir.’ Roxie gave him a dimpled smile. ‘I accept your offer.’
The next morning, Ciaran arrived in good time to collect her. ‘Is this all the luggage you’re taking?’ he asked in surprise, loading it in the back.
‘Yes,’ said Roxie, climbing in the front seat.
‘I had no idea when I was coming here what sort of accommodation I would have, or even if I would need to share a room. Remember your mother and I had never met. I left at least half of my clothes hanging in my wardrobe. Everything is still in my own room so I am not cluttering up the house with my belongings. I intend to fill my big suitcase and bring some of my things back with me, so the less I take now the easier it will be, especially as I shall be on the train.’
‘I see. Will you have wellingtons and other work clothes?’
‘Yes, of course. I didn’t need them to be a chauffeur companion! I bought a new pair of wellingtons after I came here, when I realised I would be living in the country.’
They chatted on in their usual friendly fashion, commenting on the fields and animals they passed until they drew nearer to Carlisle.
The road was busy. As they drew nearer the station Roxie murmured reluctantly, ‘We’re in good time.
You can drop me at the door if it will save you looking for a parking space. ’
Ciaran patted her hand where it lay on her knee. ‘I shall never hear the end of it if I don’t see you safely on the train. You know my mother has adopted you like a mother hen with a new chick.’
He drew into a parking spot without too much searching and insisted on carrying her backpack for her. Once she had her ticket and had located the platform, Ciaran bought them a cup of coffee and a huge fruity biscuit each, individually wrapped. They sat side by side on one of the benches.
‘When I return, I could catch the sprinter train up to Dumfries from Carlisle, if that would be easier for you. Shall I send you a text to tell you what time I hope to arrive?’ She thought he hesitated, but then he smiled.
‘You can do that if necessary. More importantly, phone to let me know when you arrive. I’m going to miss you, Roxie,’ he added, more urgently, as the train approached.
He still held her bag as the carriage doors began to open.
To Roxie’s delight, he wrapped his arm tightly around her, holding her close.
He kissed her mouth firmly, very firmly indeed, and felt her response.
His eyes met hers in a lingering look she found impossible to interpret, but knew she would never forget.
‘Be safe,’ he said softly, handing her bag up to her as she climbed aboard.
‘Thank you, for everything,’ she whispered huskily over a sudden lump in her throat.
In that moment, she wished she had not agreed to go, even though it was for Tommy’s sake and in her father’s memory.
The train was already pulling away. Ciaran was still standing watching.
All too soon he and the station were left behind.