Home for the Summer (Hartfell Village #3)
Chapter One
For Cassie McLeod, the prospect of a weekend in Hartfell with her closest friend Pippa was usually a happy one.
Their teenage daughters Isla and Harriet were almost inseparable despite the miles between them, and her son Rory wasn’t alone in craving the wide-open spaces of the Yorkshire Dales after the confines of London.
Cassie, too, found solace and strength in being outdoors, and her days didn’t feel complete if she hadn’t walked at least a mile or two.
Between the demands of her career and the children, time to herself was in short supply, though she didn’t really mind as it gave her less time to think.
Less time to dwell on life before her husband Ewan had passed away so suddenly after a cycling accident two and a half years ago, and left his family and friends bereft.
But this May half-term holiday promised to be a difficult one, and Cassie was secretly looking forward to it being over.
Not because she wanted to hurry back to London, but after the overnight stay in Hartfell, they would head further north to help her beloved parents-in-law move out of their home.
She pressed a hand to her temple as she drove, pulsing with the beginnings of a headache, uncomfortably aware she was sidestepping conversations if they included any mention of Pippa’s younger brother Raf.
She and Pippa generally shared everything, and Cassie hated this new deception and having to hide her feelings from the person who knew her best.
Formerly the drummer with his dad’s legendary rock band Blue at Midnight and Ewan’s best friend, Raf had invited Cassie, Isla and Rory out to Australia for the final leg of the band’s global retirement tour last November.
It had been an exceptional and exciting experience, and they’d loved every minute, despite missing Ewan.
Raf had been a wonderful support since Ewan had passed away, and for Cassie the holiday had been the perfect distraction after Pippa and Harriet had moved to Yorkshire last summer.
Her phone on the passenger seat flickered with a notification and she pulled a face at the sight of the home screen.
She seriously needed to update the wallpaper.
The image was one Isla had chosen, a selfie of the four of them on the beach in Australia.
In between gigs, Raf had escaped the band and driven her and the children up the coast for a couple of days, and they’d had a wonderful time snorkelling, swimming and chilling out.
But the new tension between them was her own fault.
If he hadn’t found her on their last night in Queensland, sitting beside the pool at their beachfront house, then he might never have hung around to make sure she was okay.
And he wouldn’t have hugged her in the way she was so used to from their years of friendship, one which reached back decades to when he and Pippa had moved into the North London street where she’d lived with her parents.
A hug which had quickly become something else entirely.
The memory of how she’d felt in those moments still made Cassie go cold and then hot every time she thought of it.
So now she did her utmost not to think about Raf, or what had occurred between them.
At least he wouldn’t be in Hartfell this weekend, so she didn’t have to worry about bumping into him.
But it was getting ever more impossible to prevent anyone close to them, most of all her children, from suspecting that anything was amiss between her and Raf.
He came and went from their home when he was in town much as he always had, and she usually had an excuse ready if there was any possibility that she might be left alone with him.
She’d managed to clear her inbox in preparation for the few days away.
Officially she worked full-time hours across a four-day week as head of public relations for a small group of luxury hotels, dividing her time between home and an office in Mayfair, north of the river from their house in Putney.
There were still days when she relished the rapidly changing dynamics as she and her team sought new ways of placing the hotels at the forefront of those searching for luxury and home-from-home comforts.
Others she found draining, work sapping her energy until she felt barely fit enough to throw together a meal once the children were home from school and whatever extra-curricular activities they had on.
They’d set off for Hartfell in good time and Cassie was thankful they were almost there, the motorways behind them.
She stole a glance at her children slumped in the back seat.
It had been worth Isla’s grumbling about the early start, and at least they would arrive in time for lunch, one Pippa was hosting to welcome a new artist to her gallery in the village.
Cassie smiled at the sound of Billie Eilish escaping Isla’s single ear bud.
Isla always made her presence felt without even trying.
It wasn’t that she was disruptive or difficult; she was simply unmissable.
Cassie often thought that her daughter had inherited this characteristic from her own mother, who’d been a successful model in her day.
Rory, two years younger than Isla at thirteen, had long learnt to ignore his sister when he wanted some peace, and Cassie guessed he’d been watching cycling videos on YouTube before he’d dozed off.
Isla’s passion for horses was undimmed by living in the city, and she planned to spend most of her time in Hartfell with Harriet and the two ponies who lived at Home Farm with Pippa and her partner Gil.
One of the ponies, Flo, whom Harriet had rescued last Christmas, was due to give birth any day, and both girls were desperate for the foal to arrive this weekend.
Isla spent most of her Saturday mornings volunteering at a city stables in return for rides.
Cassie was getting used to Isla’s growing independence as her daughter approached the end of Year Ten, meeting her friends and making her own social arrangements.
Rory, meanwhile, was desperate to take his new gravel bike out this weekend, a treasured birthday gift from his grandparents and another precious link to his dad.
Cassie, driving along pretty lanes narrowed by lofty hedges thick with new green leaves and punctuated by clumps of stone walls swathed in moss, ignored the familiar squeeze of anxiety when she thought of him riding it.
Her mind turned to lunch instead, trying to recall what Pippa had mentioned about the new artist. He was a sculptor, apparently a very successful one, whose work was highly collectable.
A relieved sigh escaped as she left the familiar sights of the village and turned into the entrance of Home Farm.
The farmhouse, built centuries ago from local stone, which gave it a creamy hue between mullioned windows, sat securely on her left, the pony paddock to her right.
Further on, the drive curved towards the house before it turned towards the vet practice that Gil ran.
Cassie pulled up and turned off the ignition, the children waking instantly and flinging open the doors to escape.
She spotted Pippa, Gil and Harriet, plus their family dogs Lola and Maud, crossing the back garden to greet them, and she waved merrily before going to the boot to retrieve a couple of bags.
Harriet was first to reach the gate, and she and Isla squealed as they embraced.
Rory crouched to cuddle the dogs leaping excitedly around the three teenagers’ legs.
Cassie stretched, grateful for the warm spring sunshine welcoming them.
Even the air here was different, so fresh and clear, and her shoulders began to loosen.
The girls linked arms and hurried towards the stables and the vet practice across the yard as Gil hugged Rory, and Pippa found Cassie.
‘Cass, it’s so wonderful to see you! It’s been weeks.
’ Pippa’s arms went around her as the dogs weaved between their legs, and Cassie melted into the familiar embrace.
However much they caught up online, nothing could compare to being together.
‘I’m so pleased you’ve made it in time for lunch. I can’t wait for you to meet Jago.’
‘Jago?’ They separated, and Cassie’s mind snagged on the name as Pippa took one of the bags. Her phone beeped again and she frowned at the new notification, one from a colleague. ‘Oh yes, your new artist. Sorry, I’m still not quite in holiday mode yet.’
‘Work?’ Pippa understood the demands on Cassie’s time.
‘Of course.’ She sent her an apologetic look. ‘I’m sorry, it looks as though I’ll have to schedule a meeting later. Something’s come up with an influencer from Paris who’s staying next week. She wants to arrive twenty-four hours ahead of schedule, which will require some readjustments.’
There was often a call she needed to make, or an email requiring an urgent response.
But her boss was understanding too, and she couldn’t mind the interruptions too much because the company was flexible when it came to her family commitments.
She could lead the meeting from here and hoped her children wouldn’t mind yet another mini absence.
Unlikely, seeing as Isla would be off somewhere with Harriet, and Rory probably out cycling with Gil, who was kind enough to ride with him whenever they came up.
Raf rode with him too, and Cassie was grateful that both men looked out for Rory the way they did.
‘So you haven’t looked Jago up?’
‘No, sorry. It slipped my mind and we were on the road early.’ Something in Pippa’s tone had Cassie shooting her a loaded stare. ‘Why do you ask? You sound suspiciously casual.’
‘No reason. We’re just seven for lunch, and as it’s such a gorgeous day, I thought we’d eat in the garden. Gil’s made the most divine rhubarb and ginger cheesecake. He’s really getting into baking and we’re all…’