Chapter 18
18
Mind spinning from what Lorelai had revealed to her, Charlotte decided that she needed to clear her head and get some air. And possibly something stronger. She was just debating what to do with herself when there was the sound of a van pulling up in the driveway. Realising it must be Nick Saint with her delivery, she hurried out to the front of the cottage to meet him.
‘Here you go,’ Nick said as he unloaded the three paper bags of groceries from the back of the blue van, which had ‘Saints Farm, Local Produce’ emblazoned in gold on the side. ‘I hope you enjoy your purchases.’ He paused before adding, ‘And if you want to order directly from the website, it might save you and the dog a trip next time.’
‘Thanks,’ Charlotte replied. ‘I’ll bear that in mind, although the shop’s so lovely, it was great to look around.’
She declined Nick’s offer to help her into the house with her bags, but as he was about to leave, he turned back to her. ‘Look, er, I wanted to apologise about the way Dad was when he spoke to you about Observatory Field. He’s still coming to terms with the fact that it’s all going to change up there, and there are quite a few people like him, whose feelings are still running high about the whole thing. He didn’t mean it personally, and I wouldn’t want you to think it was an attack on what you’re doing. He’ll come around in time.’
‘Thanks.’ Charlotte, who hadn’t been at all worried by the older man’s abruptness, was surprised at Nick’s attempt to apologise for this father. ‘I didn’t give it a second thought, but I appreciate the check-in. It’s not surprising he feels aggrieved about it, given, er, everything that’s happened up there…’ She trailed off, unsure if she should allude any further to the information that Lorelai had given her. Small villages like this were notorious for folklore and gossip, and a tragedy was bound to still be very much in everyone’s consciousness, even after all this time.
Nick nodded briefly, seeming to understand. ‘Well, I’ll be off then,’ he said, then grinned. ‘If I hurry, I might just catch the last few overs of the game at the cricket club. I asked them to put me in late to bat.’
‘Wouldn’t want you to miss your moment of glory!’ An amused voice came from further down the driveway, and as Charlotte turned to see who it was, she saw the familiar faces of Lorelai’s great-grandchildren, followed up by an attractive woman with brownish-blonde hair and a broad smile on her extremely pretty face.
‘Thea!’ Nick’s grin was broad as Thea approached them both. ‘Long time no see.’ Charlotte watched as he gave the other woman a slightly awkward hug. Thea seemed equally pleased to see him, and Charlotte was sure she saw her blushing slightly as Nick released her.
‘It’s been a while,’ Thea agreed. ‘Time flies when you’re wrangling two children.’
‘Hey, guys.’ Nick smiled down at Cora and Dylan. ‘Nice to see you, too.’
The kids said hello and then scampered off to see their great-grandmother.
‘Hi.’ The woman turned and smiled at Charlotte. ‘I’m Thea Ashcombe. Are you helping Nick out with his deliveries?’
Charlotte grinned. ‘Nope – I’m living here. Nick’s just dropped off my order.’
‘Oh, right – you’re the new lodger.’ Charlotte felt as though she was under scrutiny as Thea glanced her up and down. ‘My brother told me about you. And your dog.’ Then, Thea gave a smile, which seemed to undercut the bluntness of her statement. She thrust forward a hand. ‘It’s nice to meet you. The kids really loved playing with your spaniel.’
Charlotte relaxed again. It was only natural for Lorelai’s grandchildren to be a little cautious about anyone sharing her space, but it seemed that Comet had smoothed her path. ‘Nice to meet you too. You’re, er, Tristan’s sister?’
‘Yup, guilty as charged!’ Thea laughed. ‘He mentioned he’d met you.’
Charlotte wondered what exactly Tristan had told his sister about her, and wryly assumed it wasn’t great. However, now Thea had met her, perhaps both siblings would be reassured.
‘Well, nice as this is, I’d best be off,’ Nick interjected, ‘or I really will miss my chance on the wicket.’ Charlotte noticed Nick looked back at Thea as he added, ‘Why don’t you, er, bring the kids down to the club later, Thea? There’ll be a few people there if you fancy a pint and a catch-up.’
‘Thanks,’ Thea replied. ‘I’ve got a few things to do this afternoon, but I’ll see how it goes.’ She smiled at Charlotte briefly and then headed past her around the back of the house.
‘Thanks again for the last-minute delivery,’ Charlotte said. She noticed that Nick was still looking towards where Thea had walked and wondered what the story was. They were obviously good friends, if the hug had been anything to go by.
‘All part of the service!’ Nick said, snapping his attention back to her. He said goodbye and then jumped in the van. ‘See you back at the store soon.’
As Nick pulled out of the driveway, Charlotte found she was still smiling. What a contrast he was to the dour, stormy presence of Lorelai’s grandson, Tristan. And he wasn’t bad looking, either. She definitely wasn’t in the market for anything other than some good food from the Saint family, but it was a lovely contrast to have a chat with someone who didn’t spend their whole time criticising her and her dog. On cue, Comet bounded around the corner of the house and stuck his nose straight into one of the paper bags.
‘Out!’ Charlotte said briskly, picking the bag up. ‘If you’re a good boy, I’ll take some of those fresh dog treats out with us on our next walk, but for now, let’s get this lot safely into the kitchen.’ She managed all three bags at once, and, when everything was put away, she debated where to go to stretch her legs. It was a long time until dinner, and she felt at a bit of a loose end. Working a nine to five had never been part of her career, so she wondered if she’d be better off just heading back to the observatory for a couple of hours. Given everything she’d discovered from Lorelai, she was feeling an urge to return there, to try to connect more with the ghosts of the past. She’d take Comet this time, too – he’d be all right if she kept him inside the building and on a lead inside the fence. She changed back into her walking boots, made a quick flask of coffee to take with her, as well as grabbing some snacks for herself and Comet, and set off back up the hill.