Page 12 of The Island in Bramble Bay
‘Charlie!’ Maggie called out to him from the edge of the heavily wooded area they were working in. Clearly, she wasn’t prepared to fight through the undergrowth today.
‘Hey, Maggie! I’m coming out to you.’ He picked his way to the cleared area where Maggie stood.
‘Josh said you have a tree for me to look at?’
‘Yeah, it’s over here.’ He led the way, taking the footpath until they got closer.
‘I think Josh and Megan are seeing each other,’ said Maggie.
‘Dating you mean?’
Maggie nodded.
‘Yeah, he said he likes her.’
‘Well, Megan is in a constant love daydream so I’m glad he feels the same way.’
‘Watch out because the next thing will be they want everyone else to be in love as well. Josh is already onto me.’
‘Really? Not with Alice?’
‘No, with you.’ He looked at her briefly to gauge her reaction and noticed her eyes widen, though she was staring at the ground. ‘‘Because you know wearethe same age, Maggie.’
She looked up at him and grinned. ‘It’s so funny that they think we’re a couple of no-hoper old fogeys.’
‘What the hell’s a fogey?’
‘Not fogey,oldfogey. I don’t know the exact definition but some ancient decrepit person.’
‘Like an old coot?’
‘Okay, if you like.’ Maggie looked at him, with one eyebrow raised. ‘Anyway, there’s more to it than being the same age, obviously.’
‘Obviously.’ And there was more to it than that, Charlie knew it and he would bet on the fact that Maggie knew it too and that was why they were holding back from each other. He knew why he was; he’d taken losing Jessica so hard that he had never wanted to put himself in that position again. And it wasn’t that he was suddenly over everything and ready to fall in love again, it was purely Maggie. She was making him think about falling in love again and he had no control over it. He was starting to see that maybe he had to let it happen and that was terrifying but exhilarating and exciting at the same time. On the other hand, she was literally the first woman that had crossed his path in years, not counting Jan and Clare. Was he just having these feelings because she was there and they got on, rather than because she was someone he would pick out of a crowd of eligible women? Did that even matter? Being friends was a great start. He needed a friend, someone like Maggie who made him smile and if that turned into something else, well, he would worry about that later.
They reached the oak tree. It wasn’t huge, probably around fifty years old but it wasn’t thriving. Maggie bent down to collect some leaves from the ground.
‘It’s got bad leaf drop for this time of year.’ She looked up at the tree, concern furrowing her brow.
‘And there are signs of beetle infestation. I think it could be Acute Oak Decline.’
‘Are there other oak trees of the same species around here?’ Maggie rubbed her hand against the bark as if she was soothing the tree.
‘Yeah, I’ve checked them and there are no signs of it having spread. You think we should fell?’
‘Reluctantly, yes. Do you?’
‘Yes, I hate felling trees in their prime but in this case, there’s good reason. Josh and I will do it tomorrow.’
‘Poor tree.’
‘It was probably always a little weak to have succumbed to that. It’s the best thing for the rest of the wood.’
Maggie looked so forlorn that Charlie wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug, her head resting against his chest. It had been instinctive and now that he’d had a second to realise what had happened he felt a little panicked at not having thought it through.
‘I know.’ Maggie said, her voice muffled as she spoke into his flannel shirt. ‘Thanks, Charlie.’ He felt her arms squeeze him a little then she patted a hand on his back and pulled away. He let her go, so relieved that it hadn’t been at all awkward that he didn’t stop to think about how amazing it had felt to hold her in his arms. How she had fit there perfectly and naturally as if she had been made to match his embrace.
‘Well, I should get back to Josh, make sure he hasn’t gone too easy on the sycamore. Thanks for coming to check out the tree.’
