Page 119 of All Wrapped Up
‘It’s the cottage,’ he said, sounding a little choked himself. ‘It’s Rowan Cottage.’
‘I can see that,’ I said tearfully. ‘It’s stunning, Jason.’
‘It might not look exactly like this now, but this is how I remember it.’
‘The outside is just the same,’ I said, bobbing down to take in the details. ‘Right down to the covered porch. It’s perfect.’
‘Well,’ he said, clearing his throat. ‘Like I said, you can have it.’
I felt moved to give him a hug, but Jason didn’t strike me as the type who would feel comfortable with that, so I settled on heartfelt thanks instead. Looking intensely embarrassed, he insisted on carrying his creation over to the Land Rover, then said a hasty goodbye and headed over to the pub.
I looked at the image and, even though the painted pumpkin auction was still to take place, I decided I wanted to go home. Pixie seemed ready to head off too, and Jason’s gift meant I wasn’t going away empty-handed. Far from it.
‘Can I give you a hand with the clearing up?’ I called over to Jake.
‘Nope,’ he said. ‘It’s all in hand, Clemmie. You get off if you need to.’
‘Sure?’
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘It’s been a fantastic day. A total triumph. All I ask is that we do this again next year.’
‘For sure,’ I said, giving Amber a wave as I opened the Land Rover door.
I hoped I would be around next year to join in, but if I couldn’t get my heart to behave soon, I might find myself in danger of closing the door on the world again and that was not a happy thought to end such a wonderful day on.
Chapter 26
The next day, the sun appeared again. The sky was a cheery mix of clear, bright blue and billowing white clouds and, even though I was grateful for the upturn in the weather in time for the hastily created fungal foray in the Skylark Farm woods that the previous rain and damp weather had made possible, it in no way matched my mood.
I had been having a wonderful time at the pumpkin celebration day in town, right up until the moment Ash had popped into my head and then stubbornly refused to walk out again. I knew it was early days for quashing my crush, or whatever it was, but I wished it’d soon pass, so I really could see the wood for the trees again.
And talking of woods and trees…
‘Clementine,’ Molly from Wynthorpe Hall greeted me, when I arrived at the farm on Sunday to take part in the walk. ‘I wasn’t sure I’d see you today.’
I was primarily attending in my guise as festival organiser who was making amends for her forgetfulness the day before – not that I’d made my slip public and Joanne and Lizzie’s helphad completely covered it – but I was also there because I was interested in the fungi and it was something I didn’t know much about.
‘There was no way I was going to miss this,’ I told her, making sure I sounded brighter than I felt. ‘I’m really looking forward to it. Are you joining in with the walk?’
‘Amber has asked me to lead it,’ she smiled. ‘I’m a bit of an expert.’
I shouldn’t have been surprised about that. Of course, a witch would know her fungi!
‘Fantastic,’ I smiled back. ‘And is there much here for us to see? Amber told me the damp weather has helped.’
‘Oh yes, it has,’ Molly agreed, as she tucked her wild red hair behind her ears. ‘There’s lots for us to look at. I’ve already walked the trail and found plenty to admire. Not as much as in the Wynthorpe Hall woods, but enough to hold everyone’s interest, I think.’
‘Perfect,’ I smiled again, as I looked around the yard.
No one else had arrived yet, but then I was early.
‘Why don’t you go and walk the trail yourself before it gets busy?’ Molly suggested. ‘I get the feeling you could do with a few minutes of calm.’
My gaze swung back to her and I felt my face flush.
‘Take Pixie and make the most of the peace,’ she further said. ‘I’ll let Amber and Jake know you’re here.’
‘All right.’ I nodded, trying not to feel shocked that she had known just what I needed. ‘I’ll see you in a bit.’
