Chapter 30
Among other things, Mam and I had tasked our builders with converting the museum into a private dining room for the briefing and refreshments during the cow cuddling experiences.
They’d helped us relocate the cart and farm machinery into one of the barns flanking the farmyard and Mam and I had been gradually moving all the other exhibits and information boards.
The latter could do with replacing but we wanted to see how popular the museum was before we spent money on it.
Access to the farm would still be via the café but, with the museum gone, all visitors would be directed through the stables.
We’d secured large noticeboards to the long plain wall beside the ramp and my first task for this afternoon was to display some laminated factsheets and photos about each of the horses.
Mam joined me as I was finishing with the noticeboards and told me that Maddie had cycled into Rowanbridge.
‘Cycled?’ I raised my eyebrows.
Riding her bike had been another thing she’d ditched after starting sixth form.
When I was sorting out the garage ready for the move, I’d asked her if she wanted to keep or sell her bike.
Do what you like. I don’t care! had been her delightful response.
I’d been tempted to sell it but I’d thought about our remote location and how, as she hadn’t wanted driving lessons when she turned seventeen because Carmen hadn’t learned to drive, she might be grateful to have a mode of transport.
I’d taken it to a bicycle specialist and had it serviced and the tyres replaced.
I was glad she’d decided to use it although I dreaded to hear her verdict on Rowanbridge.
It was a beautiful village, popular with tourists in the summer, but I could see it through her eyes and imagine her contempt.
There’s nothing to do there! That wasn’t the point of our move.
We were here for the animals and the countryside.
By the time Mam and I went into the farmhouse to make tea, Maddie hadn’t returned and I couldn’t help but feel a little anxious. It was possible she’d decided to explore the whole Triple Trees area but, even so, I’d have expected her back by now or to have messaged me to say where she was.
‘I’ve got a text from her,’ Mam said.
From Maddie
I’m at Willow’s. Her mum’s invited me to stay for tea. Back before it’s dark
Relief that Maddie was safe blended with hurt that she’d texted Mam rather than me.
‘At least she let one of us know,’ I said. But I knew how Maddie worked. She wasn’t speaking to me and this was her petty way of showing it. It didn’t make sense. I thought I’d handled yesterday really well and her eagerness to help this morning had backed that up, but clearly that wasn’t the case.
* * *
‘Whose is this?’ Mam asked as we cleared away after tea. ‘I keep knocking it over.’
I looked at the silver drinks bottle in her hand. ‘It’s Caleb’s. He gave me some juice in it when I fainted and I keep forgetting to return it.’
‘Why don’t you take it back now?’ she suggested, that mischievous twinkle returning to her eyes. ‘And, as it’s a Saturday night, perhaps you could take a bottle of wine to thank him for helping with Clemmie and partake of it together.’
‘I can’t just turn up at his door without an invite.’
‘Why not? You’re returning his property and giving him a thank you gift. If he’s got plans, he won’t invite you in. It doesn’t need to be complicated.’
I mulled it over. ‘I guess I do need to collect my hoodie. Okay. I’ll freshen up and do that. What are you going to do?’
‘Get lost in a book.’
I ran upstairs and rummaged in my suitcase for a summery top, tutting to myself that I still hadn’t unpacked my clothes.
Earlier today, I’d pulled my hair back into a messy bun and several curly tendrils had now broken loose but it probably looked better like that than it would if I let it down and tried to brush it.
If Caleb had invited me to join him for a drink, I’d have applied make-up but doing that now would be too much – a suggestion that I was either expecting to be invited in or that I was heading out somewhere else.
He’d already seen me barefaced several times and…
I tutted once more. Why was I overthinking this?
Who cared what I looked like when I saw him? We were neighbours – nothing more.
But as I made my way towards Peartree Cottage ten minutes later with his clean drinks bottle in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other, the butterflies in my stomach took flight.
Scampi barked when I approached the front door and I heard the scampering of his paws on the wooden floorboards as I knocked and stepped back to wait for Caleb. A minute or so passed with no answer so I knocked again. I was about to leave when the door opened.
‘Hi!’ I said, smiling at him. ‘I’ve finally remembered to return your drinks bottle.’
‘Thanks.’ He took it from me without a smile.
‘And I wanted to give you this to say thank you for your help with Clemmie.’ I lifted up the wine. ‘I wasn’t sure if you liked red or white or even if you like wine but I figured white would be the better choice for the summer.’
‘You didn’t need to do that,’ he said, his tone flat.
When he showed no sign of taking the bottle, I thrust it closer to him. ‘Please take it. If you don’t like wine, you can give it to a friend or donate it to a tombola or something.’
I really needed to stop talking. I was babbling just like I had the day we met and I’d wittered on about country singers.
He took the wine from me with a nod. ‘I’ve got your hoodie. Wait here a second.’
My stomach lurched as he closed the door to. Clearly there wasn’t going to be an invite inside to share the bottle with him. Thank goodness I hadn’t put any make-up on after all or, much worse, invited myself to stay for a drink.
‘Here you go,’ he said, opening the door and handing me my hoodie. ‘All the stains are out and it’s dry.’
‘Thanks so much for doing that. It was over and above.’
‘It’s fine. See you later.’
And he closed the door on me.
I exhaled slowly before turning and heading back to the farmhouse.
Mam looked up from her book when I joined her in the lounge. ‘That was quick. Was he out?’
‘No, he was in but it was strange. It was like Thursday night had never happened and he was back to being aloof with me.’
‘Men!’ she said, rolling her eyes before returning to her book.
‘Yeah, men!’ Whatever that meant. ‘I’m going upstairs. The unpacking isn’t going to do itself.’ The dogs looked comfortable sprawled across the rug so I gave them a quick stroke then called for Clemmie and headed up to my bedroom.
Clemmie curled up by my pillows watching me as I placed dresses and tops on coat hangers and hung them in my wardrobe.
‘I’m so confused,’ I told her. ‘He was lovely on Thursday and I thought we were going to be friends. I even thought there was a spark between us, although we both know I’m not ready to go there yet.’
I picked up another dress and shook it out.
‘And when I bumped into him in Tesco yesterday, he…’ I gasped and dropped the dress back into the suitcase.
Of course! The pregnancy test. He had to have spotted it.
What if I hadn’t imagined that spark? What if he had been attracted to me but now he thought I was pregnant?
That would be an understandable reason for pulling away.
‘Is it big headed to think he might like me?’ I asked Clemmie, sitting down beside her and stroking her warm belly.
Before resuming my unpacking, I pulled up a playlist on my phone that Jude and I had compiled of tunes from our university days.
But even though I sang and danced, I couldn’t stop my thoughts straying to Caleb.
I shouldn’t care that he might think that I was pregnant, that he’d been off with me this evening, that the closeness between us had gone as quickly as it arrived.
But I did.