Page 81 of All Wrapped Up
Ash totted up a total and then offered to help carry the haul back to the field entrance while the woman went ahead to get their car.
‘No, you’re all right, lad,’ the man said and staggered off. ‘I can manage.’
‘Jake could do with some wheelbarrows or trolleys,’ Ash said, looking after him. ‘Someone’s going to slip a disc at this rate.’
‘I can see you’re preoccupied,’ I sighed and went to walk off. ‘Perhaps I’ll catch you later.’
‘I don’t think we’ll get a chance to talk today,’ he said, as he pulled off his hat. ‘I’m going to be on deputy duty all day.’
‘Another time then.’ I shrugged and then I did walk away.
‘You’re all right though, aren’t you?’ he called after me.
‘Yep,’ I said, turning to face him and giving him a thumbs up. ‘Never been better.’
I didn’t much feel like hanging around, but I didn’t want Ash thinking his sudden unfriendliness had driven me away either, so I stuck it out and actually, by lunchtime, I had almost forgotten about him and was happy helping Jake. There werepatches of the field that already looked barren compared to when I’d arrived and Jake was wondering if he was going to need to expand the pick your own patch to a larger site the following year.
‘I better head off,’ I told him, when there was a brief lull. ‘I can’t leave Pixie with Amber all day and I need to check the details for tomorrow’s spring bulb planting event.’
‘I hope you have a good turnout for that,’ Jake said kindly.
‘The interest has been so great that everyone who wants to plant has had to register,’ I was proud to tell him.
‘That was a good idea,’ he said. ‘Perhaps timed entry would have worked better here…’
‘To be honest,’ I said, thinking of the bulb planting, ‘I didn’t expect so many people would want to do it, so I’m pleased we’ve gone down the preregistered route. It would have been chaos otherwise.’
‘Um,’ he said thoughtfully, obviously still thinking about what had occurred in the pumpkin field that day. ‘And it was good of Harriet and Rachel at the garden centre to offer so many bags of bulbs, wasn’t it?’ he then added.
I had forgotten that they were all such close friends, so Jake and Amber would know all about that.
‘It really was,’ I agreed. Harriet, and her partner, Rachel, had been very generous with their donation and they had agreed to come along with their bulb planters for anyone who didn’t have their own trowels, too. ‘And it was great that Tom got the council to agree to a site to plant in so quickly, too,’ I added. ‘I can’t wait to see it in full bloom next spring.’
We were, under the supervision of the council parks department, going to be allowed to plant the bulbs in an area of thetown park that usually didn’t attract much attention. There had been talk of installing a couple of benches there the following year too, so I hoped that would also come off.
‘You’ll be as stiff as a board on Monday,’ Jake laughed. ‘What with all the carrying today and the bending tomorrow.’
‘It’s all good exercise,’ I laughed.
‘In that case,’ he nudged, ‘as you’re feeling fit, why don’t you take a walk around our new nature trail before you head off?’
‘As wonderful as it sounds,’ I told him, ‘and I’ve been hearing good things all day, I’m going to save it for another time. What time are you closing up here today?’
‘Fair enough,’ he smiled and checked the time on his phone. ‘You’re always welcome. Officially we’re finishing at half two, but if there are a few stragglers, I won’t mind hanging on.’
‘Well,’ I said, ‘I hope the idea continues to be a popular one.’
‘Me too,’ he agreed, as another customer came along to pay. ‘It’s got us out of a right fix. I’ll see you soon, Clemmie.’
‘Yes, see you again soon.’
I looked around the field ahead of walking back to the farm with three small, but heavy pumpkins of my own in a couple of string bags, but there was no sign of Ash. I hadn’t meant to look for him and gave myself a bit of a telling off as I marched back, then an even more severe one when I caught sight of him next to his truck and my heart kicked again.
I had been about to call out to him, when I realised he was talking to someone. It was a young woman. She had been sitting in his cab, but climbed out and carried on what looked like an intense conversation which ended with a long hug. Clearly, Ash wasn’t averse to talking to all of his female friends. Assuming she was a friend…
Stupidly, I hid out of sight, behind a tree which was conveniently next to the gate and waited until Ash had driven off and the woman had walked to the bottom of the yard. Then I ducked into the farmhouse, thanked Amber for looking after Pixie and headed back to Rowan Cottage feeling frustratingly far less happy than I had when I left it that morning.
Chapter 19
