Chapter 17 #3
‘I can’t say for certain until we’ve talked it over properly,’ I said in a bid to temper his enthusiasm, ‘but I’m sure we can come up with something.’
‘What’s this?’ Erik frowned.
‘We’re having a Halloween ball,’ Luke said and clapped Erik on the back. ‘And you and Skylar are going to help us organise it.’
That wasn’t quite what I wanted him to have his heart set on or how Kate had framed her request for me to help, but the sudden look of surprise and delight on Erik’s face left me in no doubt that I would support them in making some sort of spooky celebration a success, no matter how hard I had to work and in the process hopefully make a mint for The Chapel.
The day was getting on by the time I’d moved my car, Erik had found a dry coat to wear and helped me fill the boot which I’d then unloaded at the house.
I was excited to decorate the house over the weekend, and I was excited about the prospect of the Prosperous Place event now, too.
My mind was already full of ideas as to how I could help and with just five weeks left to organise it there wasn’t any time to lose.
Kate and Luke had a busy weekend ahead, but we’d set a time to go through everything on Monday.
‘Have you finished for the day?’ I asked Rafe, when I found him reading in his sitting room with the cats for company.
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘It’s felt like wading through treacle today, so I called time about an hour ago.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that.’
‘That’s just how it is sometimes,’ he shrugged.
‘Given that it’s been going so well so far, I’m sure you’ll soon get back in the swing of it,’ I encouraged. ‘Maybe you’re tired after the party?’
‘Perhaps,’ he said and went to go back to his book.
‘I’ll leave you to it,’ I said, ‘but before I do, there’s something I have to tell you.’
He picked up a leather bookmark and, having marked his page, put the book down. I joined him on the other end of the sofa.
‘I know you have,’ he said. ‘I know you have something to tell me.’
‘You do?’
‘Yes.’
‘How do you know?’
Given what Kate had said, I was certain no one else knew about the potential fundraiser.
‘I know,’ he said, ‘because the wind blew over the recycling bin and among the empty egg cartons and loo roll tubes, I picked up the piece of paper with your new job details on.’
‘Oh, no—’ I started to protest.
‘It’s all right,’ he cut in. ‘You’re moving to Devon and even though I wish with the whole of my heart that it wasn’t so far away, I also know you’re a grown woman who knows her own mind and if this is what you’ve decided to do, then—’
‘It isn’t what I’ve decided to do!’
‘It isn’t?’
‘No.’
‘So, you haven’t already been applying for jobs then?’
‘Not a single one,’ I responded, feeling devastated that he’d thought that.
‘But the sheet? The job offer…’
‘Arrived completely out of the blue, unlooked for and even though it was a very attractive package, it wasn’t the right fit for me. After a bit of time thinking it over, I realised it would be an out of the frying pan situation.’
Given that I had now accepted that I needed a rest, the idiom wasn’t an exaggeration, though I never would have told Madeline and Tobias how worn out I had become. They would have been mortified to think I’d been working too hard for too long even though much of it had been self-inflicted.
‘Do you mean it?’ Rafe sniffed.
His eyes were full of tears.
‘I do.’
‘Oh god Skylar,’ he swallowed. ‘Last night I was so desperate to beg you not to do it, I wanted to plead with you not to go, but I knew it was none of my business, so I kept quiet. Then I nearly got into it this morning, but you were in such a rush.’
‘So, this is why you’ve been out of sorts,’ I said. ‘You should have said something straightaway, and I would have told you then. No,’ I tutted and reached for his hand, ‘I should have told you about it as soon as I’d decided to turn it down.’
I had previously thought there would be no point in mentioning it, but I hadn’t reckoned on this horrid muddle happening.
‘You didn’t have to tell me anything,’ Rafe choked and squeezed my hand.
‘All right, I should have hidden the evidence better then,’ I joked.
He looked at me and shook his head.
‘So, you’re really not job hunting and you’re not going to leave?’
‘Leave!’ I laughed. ‘How can I leave when I’ve just agreed to support Kate and Luke who will soon be hosting the biggest event they’ve ever put on at Prosperous Place?’
‘An event happening just over the road!’ Rafe gasped, his eyes widening in delight and surprise, before narrowing. ‘But it won’t be like a Highfell event, will it?’
‘Nothing like,’ I promised.
‘In that case,’ he said, ‘that you can tell me about!’
There wasn’t much I could tell Rafe yet about the celebration Kate and Luke were hoping to put on, but having explained about The Chapel and them not wanting to get anyone’s hopes up, I did make him swear to keep it a secret.
Had it not been for the muddle over the job I’d turned down I wouldn’t have told him anything, but I knew he would keep it to himself.