Chapter 11
Saul found his father in the pens behind the big barn, moving rails around. Murray was nowhere in sight.
‘Where have you been?’ Geoff demanded. ‘I’ve been looking all over for you.’
‘I’ve just got back,’ Saul said, yawning.
His father sent him a cross look. ‘I hope she was worth it, son, because we’ve got our hands full today, and I can’t have you slacking because you’ve been awake all night.’
Saul’s mouth dropped open. ‘It’s not what you think.’
He was about to explain that he had been helping Kazz move her stuff from London to Tanglewood, and then he’d had to go see a bloke about a ram, but he decided not to bother. He had arranged it ages ago, as the farm needed fresh breeding stock, but the ram was near Builth Wells and it had taken him an hour to get there and an hour to get back, and in the end it had been a wasted journey because the ram wasn’t a particularly good specimen, so he hadn’t bought it.
‘Where’s Murray?’ he asked, rolling his head to ease the ache in his neck. He had been on the go since early yesterday morning, and he was so tired that he could sleep for a week. He must have been mad to drive to Builth Wells after unloading Kazz’s stuff, but the trailer was hitched up to the Landy, so he’d thought he might as well.
His head had been full of Kazz as he’d driven up the A470, and he had kept remembering her in the passenger seat, fast asleep. She had looked so sweet, with her mouth slightly open and her eyelids fluttering, and now and again she would utter a cute little snore. Seeing her so vulnerable had made him want to go all manly by sweeping her into his arms and vowing to look after her and protect her.
He didn’t think she would appreciate it, though. Kazz, so Leanne had informed him, was a sparky, no-nonsense lady, who was more than capable of looking after herself.
Yet… she had shown him her soft side yesterday, and his heart went out to her as he thought of the upheaval she was going through.
His dad broke into his thoughts. ‘Murray is getting the ewes in. The vet is coming out today to scan them.’
Ah, that explained his dad’s mood. Scanning the ewes to find out how many were in lamb was always a tense time. The results could mean a good financial year or a bad one.
Saul whistled for Tam, knowing that the dog wouldn’t be far away. ‘I’d better get a move on,’ he said, ignoring his dad’s grumbling as he headed towards the shed where the quad bikes were kept.
He got on the nearest one and fired it up, Tam leaping onto the back, her tail wagging, her ears pricked. At least someone was happy to see him, he thought, wishing he had been able to stay to give Kazz a hand after they’d unloaded the trailer. He’d felt bad for having to abandon her to the mammoth task of getting the place shipshape, and he wondered how she was getting on.
Should he give her a call and ask?
No, better not. His reason for phoning her wouldn’t be purely platonic, and since he had made a promise to himself not to date for a while, he didn’t want to break it with the first pretty woman to cross his path.
There was another reason, and one he wasn’t sure he wanted to admit: he didn’t want to risk hurting her. Because if they started dating, he would definitely let her down at some point. Usually at around date number four or five. And she didn’t deserve that. None of his dates did, if he was honest.
Feeling a bit of a heel, he dragged his mind away from his love life, and turned his thoughts to his future. If he could stay awake long enough this evening, he would work out a business plan. Knowing how much he would need as a deposit, and how much he would need to borrow, would give him a starting point.
As he aimed the quad through the gate leading onto the hillside above the farm, Saul wondered how Murray and his dad would cope without him. A twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week operation, farming was hard work, and he felt a prickle of guilt. He loved what he did, but sometimes it was overwhelming.
‘Stop whinging,’ he said under his breath, recognising he was finding it hard today because he was knackered. It was his own fault. He should never have agreed to take Kazz to London, but he was glad he had, and Kazz’s face floated into his mind and hovered there. He had enjoyed spending time with her. He was also full of admiration for what she was doing, although circumstances had kind of pushed her into it. OK, not pushed, because she could simply have dumped all her grandad’s books in a skip and found another chef job in London. But he guessed the time was right for her to take her career in another direction.
A loud bang from the rear of the quad made him jump, and he braked hard. Thankfully, he hadn’t been doing more than about five miles an hour, because the track was sorely rutted, but even at that slow speed, the underneath of the vehicle could be damaged if he hit a rock.
Saul hadn’t hit a rock.
He had hit a sheep.
Or should he say, the sheep had hit him .
Donald, the lamb that Saul had hand-reared in the spring, had rammed him, and was backing up to have another go. Tam had wisely jumped off the quad and was eyeing the sheep warily, waiting for instructions.
Donald charged, his head down, his legs stiff, and collided with the back of the quad. The bang made Saul flinch as the quad juddered forward. The daft animal wasn’t pulling his punches. Having been born in March, he was still technically a lamb, but today he was acting like a fully grown adult. It didn’t help that he had no fear of dogs or humans. Or quad bikes, by the looks of it.
‘Oi!’ Saul yelled, waving his arms. ‘Go find something else to headbutt.’
Donald bleated loudly and trotted towards him, his head lowered again. But this time it wasn’t a charge; Donald wanted his nose scratched.
Saul sighed. ‘OK, you win.’ He rubbed the animal’s hairy nose, and Donald waggled his tail in bliss. ‘I’ve a good mind to send you to market,’ he threatened, as he examined the rear of the quad bike. There were so many dings and dents on it already that he couldn’t tell whether any of them had been made by Donald.
Saul pushed the sheep away and climbed back on the bike, Tam leaping up behind him. Although it was only the ewes that were being rounded up, he knew Donald would follow. In fact, the batty creature would make a valiant attempt at doing the rounding up himself. The silly sod thought he was a dog, reminding Saul of the film about a pig that thought it was a sheepdog. If Saul did happen to find a farm to rent, he vowed to take Donald with him. Despite his threats, this was one sheep that would never go to market.
Tanglewood might be small, but its proximity to the National Park, along with the pretty river running through it, meant that it had become a mecca for hikers, ramblers and cyclists. The lovely range of artisan shops and the pride that the residents took in their village also helped to attract numerous visitors, hopefully some of whom would want to buy books on their way through, and this was Saul’s first thought when he opened his eyes this morning, and he wondered how Kazz was getting on.
She had been on his mind quite a bit since Wednesday, and although his mum had been keeping him abreast of what was going on, he was nevertheless curious and wanted to see for himself, especially since the bookshop would be opening its doors tomorrow. He would be shocked if she could manage to pull it all together in such a short amount of time. Not many people could go from concept to reality in just a few days, and her can-do attitude was impressive.
Armed with a list (his mother wouldn’t let a shopping opportunity pass her by), Saul headed into the village, parking in one of the side streets and walking the rest of the way.
Making a detour to his sister’s flower shop, he poked his head inside.
‘Morning, Lea,’ he said, his eyes scanning the cheerful blooms as their sweet perfume wafted up his nose. Leanne had an instinct for which flowers went with which, and she had even come second in a national floristry competition, which led to her working part of each month in London for an internationally renowned ‘florist to the stars’. Saul was so proud of her, he could burst.
Leanne was frowning. ‘What are you doing here? Buying some flowers for another one of your dates?’
‘I’m going to the bookshop,’ he said.
His sister’s eyes narrowed. ‘Ah, I see.’
Against his better judgement, he asked somewhat defensively, ‘What do you see?’
‘Don’t go there, Saul. Kazz has got enough going on without being messed about by you.’
Saul blinked. ‘I’ve no intention of messing Kazz about. I’ll have you know I’ve sworn off dating.’
‘Ha! That’ll be the day!’ Leanne looked remarkably unimpressed at his announcement. ‘You will never give up dating.’
He decided to ignore the comment. ‘I like books, and I want to see what she’s done with the place,’ he said.
‘If you are that interested, you could help. The poor girl has been working all hours.’
‘I didn’t think it my place to. Anyway, I’ve done my bit.’
Leanne’s tone was accusing. ‘I did hear that you refused to take any money, not even for diesel. I thought you were supposed to be running a business?’
Saul had thought so too, but when the time came, he simply hadn’t been able to do it. He said, ‘Is that why you’re assuming I’m trying to get her into bed?’
‘Aren’t you?’
His hesitation was minuscule. ‘No, I told you, I’m sworn off dating.’
But Leanne had put the image of him and Kazz in bed together into his mind and now he couldn’t shift it. Heat began to pool in his stomach at the thought, and he shifted from foot to foot, embarrassed at the abrupt surge of desire.
‘I’d better get going,’ he said. ‘Mum has given me a list.’
It was a good distraction, and Leanne chuckled. ‘Make sure you get exactly what’s on it,’ she reminded him. ‘No substitutes,’ Saul and Leanne chorused together.
Iris had scolded all of her kids, at some time or another, for bringing back the wrong item. Their father hadn’t been immune to a telling-off, either.
As Saul turned to leave, Leanne called after him, ‘Remember what I said: no trying to get into Kazz’s knickers.’
Saul hurried away before his sister saw the flush on his face.
To give himself time to calm down and rein in his wayward imagination (Kazz in nothing but a scanty pair of panties had the starring role), Saul decided to duck into Peggy’s Tea Shoppe for a cuppa before he saw Kazz in the flesh.
Argh! No , not the flesh! Anything but the flesh! He tried to rid himself of that image by replacing it with one of her slumped in the passenger seat of the Landy as he drove back from London. But even fast asleep, she had looked adorable. Her mouth had been open a fraction, her lips parted—
‘Tea. A large one,’ he stammered, as he approached the counter.
Betty snorted. ‘You’re not in the pub now, you know. You’ll have a normal size cup and lump it.’
‘A pot?’
The old lady put her hands on her hips. ‘What is up with you, Saul Green? We only ever serve tea in pots. You’ve been coming here long enough to know that.’ She squinted at him. ‘What’s got you all hot under the collar?’
‘Nothing.’ Betty was fast bringing him down to earth. She was very good at that.
‘Have you been to see our Kazz yet?’ she demanded.
Our Kazz? His face grew warm again. She might be Betty’s Kazz, but she wasn’t his .
But she could be…
‘Shut up.’ He could do without any little voices in his head making unseemly comments.
‘Pardon!?’
Shit, he had said that out loud. ‘I wasn’t talking to you,’ he said to Betty.
‘Good, because you’re not too old for a clip around the ear.’
Saul let the comment pass.
‘Well?’ she demanded. ‘Have you been to the bookshop?’
‘I’m going there after I’ve had my tea.’ He stared at her pointedly.
Betty didn’t take the hint. Instead, she pulled out a chair and sat down at a newly vacated table. When she pointed to the seat next to her, Saul did as he was told. He sat.
Betty pursed her lips. ‘You’re not going to mess Kazz around.’
‘Not you as well? I’ve just had an earbashing from Leanne. She warned me off too.’
‘It’s not a warning.’ Betty’s gaze was piercing.
‘A threat, then,’ he amended, wondering what Betty might do if he did ‘mess Kazz around’, and not sure he would want to find out. Betty might be old, but she was spiky.
‘Not a threat. Just a simple observation.’
Saul had no idea what she was getting at. His bafflement must have shown.
‘You are not going to mess Kazz around,’ she repeated.
Running a weary hand across his face, Saul said, ‘I heard you the first time, Betty.’
‘No, you didn’t. She’s your for-six .’
‘Excuse me?’ Please go away and fetch me my tea , he begged silently. He wasn’t in the mood for the old lady’s eccentricities. He knew she could be a bit odd, but she was acting stranger than usual today. Had she been sniffing the marzipan?
Betty leant forward and grabbed his forearm. ‘Remember me telling you that a girl would come along who would knock you for six?’ Saul stared at her wordlessly, and when Betty said triumphantly, ‘Well, Kazz is that girl,’ words continued to fail him.
And neither did he say anything when his mum gave him an earbashing for forgetting to pick up her groceries after he’d decided against calling in to see Kazz and had slunk back to the farm, Betty’s words ringing in his ears.