Page 38 of Summer At Willow Tree Farm

‘OK, well…’ She forced herself to continue in the same upbeat manner, determined not to be put off by his attitude. ‘Bill said once we renovate the building and put in a proper floor, we’ll probably find the problem has remedied itself. But either way, he’d be happy to come by and check out the situation and will eradicate any remaining vermin in return for a year’s supply of Dee’s apple and almond polenta cake.’

‘You’ve done a ton of work on this,’ Rob said, as he finished leafing through her business plan. ‘And I for one am really impressed,’ he added, looking pointedly at Art.

‘I got a lot of help with it from Tess, Annie and my mum,’ Ellie said, feeling oddly teary at the chorus of approval from everyone else in the face of Art’s continued silence.

‘Bugger that! We did virtually nothing,’ Annie said, getting nods of agreement from Tess and Dee. ‘This is Ellie?

??s baby and she’s done nearly all the work. And we wanted to ask her if she would consider managing the shop, at least until she goes back home?’

Ellie’s stomach went into free fall as all the co-op residents except Art chimed in.

‘I don’t know…’ She hadn’t even considered it. After all, she was only here for the summer. But, as Tess and Annie and Dee continued to try to persuade her, she sniffed and smiled, and found herself agreeing to the request.

As everyone started clapping and cheering, the wave of approval almost knocked her off her feet. What was making her so overemotional? This really wasn’t that significant. She’d had nothing else to do in the last week and she’d enjoyed working on the business plan – having a project like this to sink her teeth into was exactly what she loved doing. The planning, preparation and troubleshooting before and during a job were the things she’d excelled at as an event coordinator. But still, she couldn’t deny the feeling of achievement and acceptance that both humbled and excited her as everyone began to talk at once about the project and Tess and Annie both came up to thank her.

Her mum pushed a plate of walnut coffee cake in front of her. ‘I think you’ve earned this,’ she said.

‘Why don’t we take a vote and make the Willow Tree Farm Shop and Café Project official?’ Mike Peveney said, placing an arm round his wife’s shoulders as Tess sent her a thumbs-up.

Ellie wanted to kiss the man. To kiss all of them.

‘All in favour…?’ Annie shouted.

‘Where are we going to get the money from?’ Art’s surly tone sliced through the optimism filling the room like a machete, hacking down the forest of raised hands in its wake.

Ellie stared back at him, trying not to take his negativity personally.

‘Your costing says fifty grand,’ he continued, when she remained silent. ‘I think that’s underestimating it. You want to get it up to code, it’s going to cost more than that. And you just finished pointing out we don’t have fifty grand to spare.’

She stared at her papers, to give herself a chance to calm down and stop her voice betraying her thoughts. ‘The plan was for us to all chip in with our labour to do the grunt work, the painting and decorating et cetera, in any free time we have,’ she said.

Dee had also been singing Art’s praises as a possible project manager, because he supposedly had major skills in carpentry and construction.

So much for that idea.

‘Pam had done costings on the main expenses, which will be hooking up the water and electricity, laying a proper floor and fitting out the kitchen.’

‘And her costings are five years out of date.’ Art dragged a hand through his hair. ‘It’ll cost more now. And you still haven’t said where this magic fifty grand is coming from.’

‘I factored in a five per cent increase in those costs for inflation,’ Ellie replied, her voice rising in counterpoint to his. The rest of the company had gone silent, glancing from her to Art, obviously scenting the tension between them. ‘We’ll have to get a business loan, but there are grants we can apply for too.’

‘If you think all this is going to happen in five weeks, you’re nuts,’ Art replied. ‘Even if we could get the finance in place, how the hell is everyone going to find the time in their schedules? We’re all busting our balls already to keep this place afloat and you–’

‘Art,’ Dee intervened. ‘Stop it. We’re all adults here and we can decide for ourselves whether this is something we can devote enough time to or not. Between the four of us…’ She paused to encompass herself, Ellie, Tess and Annie. ‘We’ve worked out a detailed schedule, which includes an estimate of exactly how much time it’s going to take. It’s daunting,’ she continued. ‘We all know that. But we four will be doing the bulk of the work and this would give us all a chance to work towards achieving our dream for this place, which was Pam’s dream too, instead of just keeping our heads above water. And that’s why, for me, it’ll be worth every extra hour I spend busting my backside to make it happen.’

The emotion in Ellie’s throat swelled back up again. That her mother had backed the project was one thing, that she’d stood up to Art to do it seemed even more significant. She swallowed, determined not to get sidetracked by feelings that were nineteen years past their sell-by date.

‘I agree with Dee,’ Rob added. ‘Plus you need to chill out, Art. You’re getting worked up about nothing. This is just a vote to give Ellie the go-ahead to get confirmed estimates and check out the situation with a loan. If you’d actually bothered to read this like the rest of us–’ he held up the business plan then slapped it back down on the table ‘–before getting your bollocks in a twist, you’d know that.’

Ellie knew full well why Art hadn’t read the plan more carefully. But she couldn’t muster any sympathy for him.

His enmity felt personal because it was personal, just like it had been nineteen summers ago when he had made her life hell. She hadn’t belonged then, she’d been the outsider, and he’d rubbed her nose in it. This time the tables were turned, the members of the co-op had welcomed her, had given her a stake, albeit temporary, in this place. And he resented that. She might not want to get sidetracked by the past, but he appeared to be stuck there.

‘So are we all finally ready to take a vote?’ Annie said, lifting her eyebrows at Ellie in exasperation.

The vote was carried, with only one abstention – who left the kitchen without another word.

No one commented further on Art’s behaviour, everyone keen to congratulate Ellie and talk about all the things they could contribute in the weeks ahead, if they could secure the loan and turn Pam’s dream into a reality.

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