Chapter 40

CHAPTER 40

L uca

"Luca. Luca!" Jackson comes barrelling into the kitchen whilst I'm making our midmorning coffee. It startles me, as I was thinking about marketing. We hosted a photography crew for a day last week as a magazine wanted to run an article. There's been a lot of interest in the reopening of the Larchdown gardens.

"What is it?" I whirl round, thinking of a dozen awful things that could have happened, to see him standing in the doorway grinning.

"I want to show you." He grabs my hand and drags me off to the gardens.

I have an idea as soon as we enter the rose garden.

"There." He flourishes a hand towards the modest rosebush he uncovered in the spring.

The Larchdown rose has several buds and one flower in bloom.

"It's beautiful." The flower, which is open, has closely packed petals—more than those of a tea rose. I can't remember seeing it before, even though I knew Aunt Frances had grown it while I was still living here. "What type is it?"

"A floribunda. It's very pretty, is hardy and won't grow too big, but look at the colour." Jackson places an arm round me as we stand admiring it. I look at the dark green, glossy leaves and the deep, purple-blue of the flowers. "It's the exact same shade as your eyes. I never knew your Aunt, but I can't think of a better way she could have captured you in a rose."

The thought that she would have done something like that brings tears to my eyes, and I wish I'd gone to see her in her last years instead of hiding, thinking she'd be disappointed in me. Jackson probably senses why I'm quiet as he gives me an extra squeeze, and then demands coffee to lighten the mood.

Jackson's excited to tell the regulars at The Arms that night. We've been for a few evenings out at the pub in the village—it's a safe place, and I know Jackson feels comfortable there. Ben and Keith, and sometimes Sally and Paul, often join us. Occasionally, Cole will pop in if there aren't any emergencies. Sometimes, even Harlen will appear, though he's even more of a recluse than Cole—he lives in a cabin in the woods.

It's a world away from London, a place which I think less and less about, the longer I stay in Larchdown. I suppose at sometime I'll need to decide if I want to go back there or stay here. There's a part of me that knows it will depend on Jackson, but I don't want to think about that right now. For now, I'm taking one day at a time. He's somehow seen to the bottom of my soul and said, "Yes, that's for me." That he can do that is a marvel to me and sometimes I feel that I still don't deserve it—like I'm living in a dream—but then I wake up next to him and being in his arms feels like home.