Page 9 of Falling in Love at Pennycress Inn

‘Don’t worry. I’ll go again. See if I can get him to change his mind.’ Nicola bit down on her bottom lip. Why had she just said that? Why had she offered to go back for Round Two with the grumpiest farmer she’d ever had the misfortune to meet?

‘Really?’ Jill beamed, the creases across her forehead disappearing. ‘Are you sure you don’t mind?’

‘Not at all,’ Nicola lied. If she came face to face with the young Farmer Williams in ten years’ time, it would be too soon, but she couldn’t let her friend down now. She had to at least try to make him see sense. ‘I’ll pop in after work. See what I can do.’ She held her hand out for Jill’s empty mug.

‘Thank you. I really, really appreciate it.’ She passed her mug across. ‘I’ll look out some photos of his uncle at the carnivals. Maybe he’ll have a change of heart if he sees how involved he was.’

‘Maybe.’ Nicola nodded. She didn’t want to tell Jill that the man seemed thoroughly incapable of having a change of heart. If indeed he had a heart at all, after the way he’d frightened away poor Claudette the sheep. ‘Anyway, I’ll let you know how I get on.’

‘Thanks, Nic.’ Jill smiled before kneeling back down and continuing with what she’d been doing beforehand.

Nicola gripped the mug as she walked back up the garden. What had she got herself into? There was no way she could get the answer that Jill was hoping for, but Jill was right. Yes, they could beg another farmer to loan them the tractors and trailers, but the Meadowfield carnival wouldn’t even exist if it hadn’t been for the original Farmer Williams.

She shook her head. She really did need to start referring to him as something other than Farmer Williams, that was just tarnishing the name of the kind and generous farmer from her childhood. Farmer Grumpy seemed the obvious choice, but knowing her luck, she’d end up calling him that to his face and then there’d be no backtracking from that.

5

‘Hi, Mum.’ Nicola adjusted her grip on her mobile she was holding against her ear as she walked the short route through Meadowfield from Pennycress Inn to her own little cottage.

‘Hello, love. How was work?’ Her mum Vivienne’s voice drifted down the phone line full of warmth and kindness.

‘Good, thanks. We’re fully booked for the rest of the summer now.’

‘Oh, I’m so pleased to hear that. You’ve done wonders with the marketing. Laura was singing your praises only last week when I saw her in the pub practising for the upcoming darts competition.’

Nicola pulled her handbag higher up on her shoulder. ‘That’s lovely of her, but, honestly, I think it’s just that I know the inn so well.’

Her mum chuckled. ‘And so you should after being brought up there.’

‘Exactly. It’s so great being back. I almost feel as though I’ve never been away.’ Nicola grinned. With just her and Laura working at the inn full time and Laura’s fiancé, Jackson, part-time chef and, of course, Jill gardening, it felt more like a small family-run business than anything else. Just as it always had been when her mum had run the inn. She’d never known her dad, so it had always been her and her mum living at the inn, but her mum had coped with help from a couple of other women from the village who had had part-time jobs there over the years.

‘I bet. Oh, before I forget, when I popped by to drop off your dinner, I got Trixie’s treats out to give her one and the little rascal knocked my hand, causing me to drop the packet. So if she doesn’t eat her dinner, it’ll be because she’s filled up with the spilt treats.’

‘That sounds like one of her little ploys to get more than she should! Thank…’ Nicola rounded the corner onto her street, The Twistle, and paused. A large tow truck dominated the narrow street, its warning lights flashing despite the still-brilliant sunshine, but more to the point it was her car, her little Fiat, which was being dragged up onto the back of the truck.

‘Nicola? Are you still there, love?’

‘Uh-huh, sorry, Mum. I’m going to have to ring you back.’ Quickly ending the call, she shoved her phone into her bag and began running towards the tow truck as the driver secured her car. Coming to a stop by the side of the truck, she reached out and placed her palm on the side of her car. ‘Excuse me, this is my car. What are you doing?’

Straightening his back, the man turned to her before walking past her and retrieving a clipboard from the cab of the truck. He tapped a pen against the attached paperwork. ‘I’ve got a Mr Nathan Briggs down as the owner.’

‘Nathan? No, it’s my car. Not his.’

‘I’m afraid I’m just doing my job.’ The man shook his head sympathetically.

But, no… It was Nathan’s car on paper. He was even the main keeper on the insurance too, but it was hers. They’d had an agreement – she’d pay off his debts, and he’d get finance on a car for her. He’d said it made sense that he’d be saving money by not paying interest on his debt, but he’d still be repaying her through the car payments. ‘Why are you taking it?’

‘Mr Briggs has defaulted on the payments. The finance company is recalling it.’ The man chucked the clipboard back onto the driver’s seat of the cab and finished securing her Fiat to the back of the tow truck.

‘Can I… Is there anything I can do to stop you taking it?’ She fixed her eyes on her car. She needed it. She needed her car to take her mum to her doctor’s appointments, to go to the retail parks, to… everything. She could walk to work, but apart from that, she needed it for everything else.

‘You’ll have to take it up with the finance company. That’s the only advice I have.’ Having secured the car, he jumped in the cab and pulled the door closed.

No, no, no. She couldn’t just let him drive off. There must be something she could say or do to stop him. She tapped on his window with a little more force than she’d intended.

As he wound the window down, he sighed. ‘Yes?’

‘What if I pay this month’s missed payment? Will you leave it then?’ Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her purse and begun riffling through her cards. She probably had the money on her credit card.

---