Chapter 5
I didn’t wait for Constance to ask again if I wanted to view the apartment before I burnt my bridges on the imminent trip to Bali but instead rushed outside to the garden and walked back and forth, taking in nothing of my lovely surroundings, until I landed on a spot which had a halfway decent phone signal.
I had felt calm and grounded as I walked around the woods, but now I was practically spinning!
‘Zack!’ I shouted when he finally picked up and as I wilted with relief that he was currently somewhere with enough signal for the call to connect.
I was standing close to the side of the house and felt quite dazed. The heady combination of Constance’s out of the blue offer and my lack of dinner was taking its toll and I leant against the wall for support.
‘Tills!’ he shouted back. ‘How are you getting on?’
‘Brilliantly!’ I told him, my excitement making me almost trip over my words. ‘I’m still in Willowell and you won’t believe what’s happened!’
‘Tell me,’ he laughed.
‘Before I do,’ I said, as I pulled in a calming breath. ‘Can you tell me if you would be terribly upset if I didn’t fly out to join you? At least not yet. And please be honest,’ I hastily added.
If he said he would be disappointed, then I’d tell him about the woods, but not about Constance’s accommodation offer.
If he was going to be upset that I was bailing, then I wouldn’t let him down, even though, as selfish as it felt to admit it, I would much rather stay in Willowell and get to grips with the potential next chapter of my life.
‘To be honest,’ he finally said, ‘given how things are working out here, I was going to suggest you didn’t fly out and if you’ve got another option, you should take it.’
‘What’s going on?’ I frowned, my excitement quickly taking a backseat. ‘Has something happened with the project?’
‘It’s not the project,’ he said eventually, sounding completely unlike himself. ‘That’s all fine. In fact, I have no idea why my bosses wanted me to come and check it.’
‘So, what is it then?’
‘It’s me,’ he sighed. ‘There’s something going on in my head and it is to do with work, but I can’t put my finger on it yet.’
‘You didn’t really sound like yourself the day you told me you were heading out there,’ I said, thinking back. ‘I’m worried about you, Zack.’
‘Don’t be, please,’ he insisted. ‘I daresay it’s all the travelling catching up with me. I’m going to try and take a bit of a break. Which I know probably sounds absurd, given where I currently am.’
‘It doesn’t sound absurd,’ I quickly reassured him.
‘You’re in Bali for work, not play. You’re always dismissive about taking holidays because of where you’re located.
’ I couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a proper break.
‘You should take some time off. You deserve it and you mustn’t get burnt out, especially when you’re on the other side of the world! ’
I remembered that when I’d confirmed that I’d left my job, the day I came to Willowell, Zack had mentioned it being time for a new adventure.
I had wondered then if he had meant just for me or for both of us but hadn’t asked.
Perhaps now it was time for him to also consider making some big changes.
So far, I was predominantly thrilled with what I’d managed in such a short space of time, and I hoped a break would give my wonderful brother the headspace to achieve something similar.
‘I’ll see what I can do,’ he promised. ‘I’m sorry to put a downer on things. You sounded so excited when you called. Tell me what’s happened.’
‘Only if you stop apologising.’
‘All right.’ I didn’t say anything. ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘I mean it. Tell me.’
My heart kicked again as I zoned back in to where I was standing and why.
‘Oh Zack,’ I smiled. ‘You were right. I sounded excited because I am. I really am!’
‘Good!’ he said sincerely. ‘Now, tell me why.’
‘Can you brace yourself? Because it’s pretty monumental.’
‘I’m locked and listening.’
‘Okay,’ I said. ‘Here goes.’
I then explained how I’d come across Willowell Woods, who they belonged to, how I’d met Constance and that I’d been gifted a look inside Fernside. I saved the news that the woods were up for sale for the biggest reveal once Zack had processed all of that.
‘Crikey, Tills!’ he said in amazement. ‘That sounds like all your childhood dreams rolled into one. Finding woodland in Willowell and getting to look around your dream home. But how come discovering the woods took you to Fernside? Were you asking for permission to walk in them or was it just an excuse to have a nose?’
‘Well…’ I said, dragging the word out. ‘I did come to Fernside to ask for permission to walk in the woods.’
‘And have you been? How did you find them?’
‘I have been. And they’re practically perfect. So wonderful in fact,’ I squealed, ‘that I’m thinking about buying them!’
‘Say that again,’ Zack requested, after a beat had passed. ‘I think the signal must have dropped out. I thought you said you were thinking about buying them.’
‘I did!’ I told him. ‘The woods are up for sale, and I want to buy them and set up a business in them.’
My declaration was heartfelt and sincere, and I was back to feeling giddy again.
‘Do you mean it?’ Zack gasped.
‘With the whole of my heart,’ I told him. ‘I’m not sure exactly what I want to do yet, but most likely something similar to the set-up at Woodland Adventures. There’s some remedial work to sort out first, but there’s so much potential, too.’
‘You’re more than qualified to do it,’ Zack said keenly, and I was grateful that he hadn’t waded in with a note of caution. That would have contradicted his laidback personality and might have made me doubt myself. ‘And in your dream setting. This is so amazing!’
‘It really is,’ I agreed.
‘Your excitement is more than justified,’ he laughed, and I was delighted he thought so. ‘Are the woods well established? Are they old?’
‘Pretty old and very established. There are some huge oaks.’
‘Oh wow.’
He sounded wistful and I guessed it had been a long time since he’d seen trees in a woodland setting in the UK for himself.
‘And there’s so much wildlife and so many wildflower varieties and birds,’ I said. ‘It was impossible to count them all on just one look around.’
‘It sounds idyllic.’
‘It is.’
‘Though you know,’ he thoughtfully pointed out. ‘That level of diversity might not be in your favour Tilly, because it isn’t going to be easy to get permission—’
‘There’s already been a business on the site,’ I happily interrupted him. ‘And I know that doesn’t guarantee that permission would be granted again, but it’s a help, isn’t it? And there’s a building, too. A big cabin, legally erected and all ready to go.’
I knew that was a slight exaggeration, but once the cobwebs were brushed away, the dust vacuumed up and the chimney swept, the cabin would be all set. It wasn’t a huge undertaking.
‘And parking?’ Zack asked.
‘Hardstanding for at least half a dozen cars just the other side of where the woods start and that’s included in the sale, too.’
‘Crikey,’ he whistled. ‘So, all the time I’ve spent worrying that you’d be stressed about what you were going to do next has been wasted, because you’ve already got to grips with it!’
‘I sure have.’ I smiled, though I didn’t like the thought of him worrying about me, especially when he had concerns of his own. ‘I’ve made a decent start, anyway.’
‘And what about the finances?’ he asked. ‘Have you got into that side of things yet?’
‘Just a little so far but I’m aware that I can’t rush in and buy the woods on the assumption that I’ll be able to do what I want with them. You don’t need to worry about me leaping in feet first where funds are concerned.’
‘I wasn’t worried about that,’ Zack laughed. ‘That’s far more my style than yours. You’ve never been a feet first kind of person, have you?’
‘Hey!’ I objected.
‘That’s not a criticism. Especially not in this situation.’
‘Good,’ I said back. ‘And Constance is happy to wait while I get my ducks in a row. She’s keen to get to know me before we progress any further because the woods have been in her family for ever and she isn’t willing to let them go to just anyone.’
The fact that she’d already tried to put me off by making up a local buyer was proof enough of that. How lucky was I that she was willing to consider that I might be the right fit?
‘Do you know why she’s selling them?’ Zack asked.
‘I don’t,’ I told him because all I’d heard was gossip and I wasn’t going to share that. ‘But she’s not had the site properly valued and is currently seriously underselling it. I’ve suggested a formal valuation before we finally settle on a figure.’
‘Yes,’ Zack said seriously. ‘You must get that sorted. What’s she like?’
‘I’ve only spent a few minutes in her company so far so I can’t really say, but I’m going to get to know her much better extremely quickly now.’
‘How come?’
‘Because she’s invited me to move to Fernside while we move things forward.’
‘You’re joking?’ Zack sounded as flabbergasted as I had been when Constance had offered me the garden apartment. ‘She’s asked you to move in?’
‘She has,’ I laughed. ‘There’s an apartment here and it’s that she’s offering me.’
‘Crikey,’ Zack laughed. ‘That sounds ideal. Does she live in Fernside on her own?’
‘As far as I know. She mentioned it was her younger sister who ran a horticultural business from the woods, but as Constance talked about her in the past tense, I can only assume that she’s died.’
I felt emotional as I took in the size of the house. It was a huge place for one person to rattle around in and, if she was entirely on her own, I wondered if she might be feeling lonely and whether that could have also prompted her to ask me to move in.
‘So,’ Zack said, once he’d taken a moment to further process everything. ‘You’re moving to Fernside.’
‘Yes,’ I smiled. ‘I am. I don’t know how long for, but I can’t imagine there’s a better place for me right now, can you?’