Page 69 of Summer At Willow Tree Farm

She spotted him standing beside the tractor and their gazes met.

The reservoir of heat, which was always there when she encountered Art, smouldered in her belly. Luckily, in the last week, ever since they’d had their moment by the millpond, she’d been running around like a headless chicken on acid trying to get everything done. And Art had been locked in his workshop finishing off the commission that he’d got behind on during the shop’s construction.

She’d crashed into bed each night unable to string a coherent thought together, so there had been no time to fixate on the picture of Art’s naked body in the moonlight that had been branded into her brain a week ago. She’d been way too exhausted to even contemplate sex, let alone worry about what that moment had meant and whether it might complicate their relationship. There hadn’t even been the need for sleeping pills or exploring vibrator options on Amazon.

He looked away first, bending to recheck the trailer coupling. And the smoulder was joined by a hum at the sight of tight male buttocks in worn denim.

Ellie ignored the leap of panic under her breastbone.

Everything was OK. They were OK. They hadn’t spoken to each other since that night. Why should she be scared of what was just a recreational crush? She liked looking at Art. He was an exceptionally good-looking guy. Rugged and raw and appealingly masculine. He excited her. Why wouldn’t he? She was a grown woman, who hadn’t had sex in nearly a year, and good sex in a whole lot longer.

That didn’t mean she’d be nutty enough to act on the attraction, so what harm could it do? He simply provided a chance to fantasise about something other than produce lists or health and safety regulations in her few moments of downtime. Just like he’d once distracted her from her loneliness and confusion nineteen summers ago.

She forced her gaze away from him. As long as she didn’t indulge, she would be fine.

Her mum squeezed her shoulders. ‘Pam would have been so pleased about all this.’

Ellie’s eyes stung, moved by her mother’s obvious pride. ‘I wish Pam could have been here too,’ she said, ‘so I could apologise for the mean way I treated her that summer.’

‘You were unhappy, Pam understood that,’ her mother replied, her smile kind and reassuring. ‘No apology was ever necessary… But if there had been…’ Her mother released a quiet sigh, her gaze drifting over the activities getting underway as Rob and Mike greeted the bank manager and the two other VIPs and their families who had arrived early. ‘What you’ve done here is more than apology enough.’

The children raced past them, heading for the bouncy castle and the free rides Jacob had promised them. As Ellie tracked their progress, she saw Art disappear in the direction of his workshop.

She ignored the pulse of regret. Art wasn’t a people person. She hadn’t expected him to get involved with their opening day once the customers arrived. She’d planned to thank him for all his help to date, but that could wait for another day – when she wasn’t feeling quite so emotional and she’d got that hum of awareness under complete control.

Plus, looking at Art could be very distracting. And she simply did not have time for any leisure activities today.

Her mother gave Ellie a final hug.

‘Now, I think we should go greet our first customers,’ Dee said. ‘And get this party started in true Willow Tree Farm fashion.’

CHAPTER TWENTY

‘Are you sure you don’t want me to pay for the jams?’

Ellie plastered an easy smile on her face as she glanced over her shoulder at Malva Hardwicke, whose devil child had just laid waste to two pots of Dee’s apple chutney. ‘Don’t worry about it, Malva.’ She bit off the cranky suggestion that Malva keep a tighter rein on the aptly named Damian next time she was in the shop. ‘We love having you in the shop and our insurance covers any breakages.’

Not entirely true, but Malva had been in twice already since the shop had opened a week ago and parted with over a hundred pounds. She’d also brought in a couple of her friends. She was the sort of valued local customer they needed to attract. And Damian was three, built like a mini pickup truck, and a complete terror. No one short of Supernanny would be able to keep him from causing death and destruction wherever he went.

Sweeping up the last of the glass and chutney, Ellie made a mental note to give the area a proper clean as soon as they closed in twenty minutes.

‘That’s so understanding of you,’ Malva said, over Damian’s shrieks of protest. ‘Laureston’s Café in Gillingham wasn’t nearly so understanding when Damian had a mishap with their cake stand.’

‘Really, it’s not a problem.’ Ellie kept her easy smile in place while making another mental note to put an armed guard around their cake stand next time Damian was in. ‘Tess will ring up the rest of your purchases and we hope to see you soon.’

The harassed mother dragged the screaming Damian away with more effusive praise for the shop’s customer-friendly attitude. Ellie rubbed her back, aware of the low ache caused by standing at the counter all day making lattes and espressos. A couple of young mums were having a quick coffee and some of Dee’s lemon drizzle while their kids played on the train set table Art had built in the corner of the barn. The line to Tess’s till was at least five deep. The easy smile dropped from her face though when she saw Maddy coming in from the stockroom hefting a crate of Rob’s elderflower champagne.

Ellie dashed round the fresh produce display. ‘You shouldn’t be carrying that in your condition.’

Maddy grinned as she let Ellie lift the crate out of her hands. ‘Oh please, you’re almost as bad as Jacob – he won’t even let me cook a meal any more.’

‘Don’t knock it, being pampered is what makes pre

gnancy worthwhile,’ Ellie said, as she began stacking the bottles in the display rack. ‘That and the end result.’

Maddy cradled her still mostly non-existent bump. ‘We had the second scan yesterday. They found a penis.’

‘Congratulations.’ Ellie laughed, trying not to remember the last penis she had seen.

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