Page 15 of Welcome to Pennycress Inn

Sighing, she stood up and followed Jackson through to the utility room. She didn’t have the energy to argue anymore. Besides, he was right, she needed a good night’s sleep and this, allowing him to help this one time, would give her that. She leaned against the doorframe as he knelt down.

‘Looks like you’ve done most of the work.’ He placed the back of the machine, which she’d left off, aside and twisted it towards him.

She nodded. She’d done her best. She’d tried. She was just incompetent. Or that’s how she felt.

‘Honestly though. You really don’t have to prove yourself to anyone.’ Jackson looked up at her as he tugged the belt into place. ‘You’ve done an amazing thing, taking the leap to buy your own inn. You should feel proud of yourself, nothing less.’

‘Huh, but I’ve still got to get it ready and open it, haven’t I?’ She wiped the towel over her forehead as a droplet of raindripped down onto her nose. She obviously couldn’t even dry herself properly. Why did she think she could take on a task as big as this? ‘I should have listened to Dad, to Richie, when they offered to come and view it with me, but no, I wanted to do it myself, be independent, and as it turns out, they were right.’

‘In what way?’ Jackson looked up at her.

‘Well, look at it.’ She glanced around her, encompassing the space. ‘I thought it would be ready to just clean up and open to the guests, but it’s not. The washing machine was broken, there’s plaster crumbling from the wall in the hallway, the guttering, the loose roof tile. I should have noticed it. I should have realised what I was getting myself into.’

Jackson breathed out through his mouth before standing up and facing her, screwdriver still in hand. ‘Look, you’ve not done anything I haven’t in the past. Things aren’t always visible during a viewing. Estate agents want a quick sale, owners want the same and so defects, things which need fixing, aren’t pointed out, or worse, they’re hidden.’

Glancing down at the floor, Laura shifted position. ‘But I should have known what to look out for. I should have been able to spot the telltale signs. They would have – Dad and Richie – they’d have spotted them.’

‘Not necessarily. You should have seen the first house I bought to do up.’ Jackson gave a lopsided grin, the dimple in his left cheek drawing Laura’s attention to him. ‘It was a right state. I’d been in a hurry, bought it at auction after only going to have a look at the outside of the property and, well, it cost me more to do it up than I got back.’

Laura nodded. ‘But I bet you’ve never made that mistake again.’

‘No, but this is your first time buying an inn.’

‘I should still have known what to look for. I was just impatient.’ She shrugged. She had been. As soon as she’ddecided what to do, she’d been desperate to make a start on her new life. She’d wanted to move out of her parents’ and her childhood town as soon as she could. She’d wanted that fresh beginning where people didn’t know her family, didn’t keep asking about how her sister and brother were, pointing out how well they were doing and thereby highlighting how rubbish her life was.

‘Pennycress Inn is beautiful.’ Placing the screwdriver on top of the washing machine, Jackson held his hand out for her and led her into the hallway. ‘Look up. Look at all of the original features, the beams, each and every mark on them a memory. This place is stunning.’

His skin was warm against hers as she watched him point out, with his other hand, the features which had made her fall in love with the property in the first place. Looking across at him, she smiled. His eyes were wide, enthusiastic, his smile genuine. He really liked this sort of stuff. She’d forgotten how into history he’d been at school, how immersed he used to become on homework projects. Whereas Richie would always just sit there on his bed throwing a tennis ball in the air, Jackson would be at Richie’s desk, his body bent over the books he was reading, the information he was lapping up.

‘It is, but it’s still falling apart.’

‘It’s old. That’s all. It needs some care. Some love. And it will be just as stunning as it once was.’ Jackson released his hold on her hand and turned to her, his eyes still full of the wonder of history. ‘And I think you’re the perfect person to do this.’

‘Now I know you’re just saying stuff to try to make me feel better.’ Still, it was sweet of him and seeing how mesmerised he’d been with the features of the inn had done something for her. It had made her realise that if she could pull this off and reopen the inn, then itcouldbe really beautiful.

That was a big ‘if’ though. She still only had the same measly amount of money in the pot for repair work – repair work she hadn’t envisioned and money she’d planned to use as a buffer whilst she was building up bookings.

‘No, I’m not. You always had an eye for the creative when we were growing up.’

‘That was a long time ago. I haven’t as much as been to an art gallery in the past fifteen years and I’m not confident I could tell one end of the paintbrush from the other anymore.’

Jackson chuckled. ‘You’ll do a great job with Pennycress. You just need to start believing in yourself, that’s all.’

‘Hmm.’ Laura sighed. She could hear how negative she was being but she couldn’t help herself, there was so much to do, to overcome, before she could even dream about the inn becoming a success.

She followed him back through to the utility room, where he knelt once again and replaced the back on the machine before shifting it back into place.

‘Thank you.’

‘No worries. I told you it wouldn’t take long.’ Standing up, he placed the screwdriver on top of the machine. ‘Now, go and get out of those wet clothes before you catch pneumonia.’

‘I will. No, I mean thank you for talking to me, for telling me you believe I can do this.’ She smiled. ‘As well as for fixing the machine and rescuing me from the roof, obviously.’

‘Haha, no problem.’ Walking towards the front door, Jackson pulled it open, pausing in the doorway. ‘Just shout if you need anything else.’

‘Thank you.’ She wouldn’t. The stubborn streak of wanting to be independent was still very much alive in her, but it was sweet of him to offer. Standing in the open doorway, she watched as he pulled his hood up whilst walking away.

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