Chapter 22

22

Stretching her arms above her head, Laura tried to inch her back taller. It hadn’t done her any good to move the furniture around in the owners’ suite by herself, but she’d been too impatient to wait until Jackson finished work to ask him. Still, it looked better now after her reshuffle. And it felt more like hers. As though she was putting her stamp on the place a little.

Her mobile phone rang, and she picked it up. ‘Hi.’

‘Hey, Laura.’ Jackson’s voice wafted through the phone, filling the room. He sounded cheerful. ‘What are you up to?’

‘Right now?’ She looked around at the pile of clothes she had taken out of the drawers to make the furniture lighter to shift, at the clumps of dust on the floor from where she’d pushed the wardrobe along and the cobwebs she’d unearthed from behind the curtains. All the stuff that could wait if it meant she could spend some more time with Jackson. ‘Nothing.’

‘Great. I was hoping you’d say that. I have a favour to ask you.’

‘Go on.’

‘Will you come down to the pub for a bit, please?’

Laura sank onto the edge of the bed, disturbing the pile of clothes. Leaning down, she plucked a T-shirt from the floor and replaced it in the now untidy heap on the bed. ‘I don’t think that’s such a good idea.’ Yes, Vivienne had explained why people might be treating her the way they had been but Laura hadn’t yet had the opportunity, or mustered up the courage to do anything, to speak to anyone, in an attempt to dispel the myths Evie had been spreading.

‘Please? I have a new menu I’m testing and I’m in need of an impartial opinion.’

‘I’m not sure. I don’t know how impartial I can be, anyway.’ She wasn’t impartial at all, not when it came to anything to do with Jackson. She was falling for him, and fast. Maybe it was because of their history, because they knew each other so well, or maybe it was because she’d always harboured feelings for him ever since that teenage crush. She wasn’t sure, but one thing she did know was that she was completely incapable of being impartial.

‘Please? Just for a bit?’ Jackson pleaded down the line.

How could she say no to that voice, to him? She exhaled heavily. ‘Okay, okay, but I’m legging it right out of there the moment anyone gives me a dirty look.’

‘Deal.’

‘All right, but you know that means I’ll literally only be there a few milliseconds at the most. Probably less than that. What’s smaller than a millisecond? A billisecond?’

‘Ha, I’ve no idea.’ Jackson chuckled. ‘See you soon.’

‘Umm, bye.’ Laura ended the call and then stared at the screen. She really didn’t want to venture back into the pub. She hadn’t stepped foot inside the place since she’d heard Evie and the other group of people talking ill of her. In fact, she hadn’t ventured into the village centre since then at all, apart from that one time she’d run to the grocery store and been completely ignored. She’d been using her car and travelling to buy supplies and food. It was annoying, but it was just the way it had to be for now. Still, a second in the pub to taste a meal Jackson had created wasn’t too much of him to ask her.

Pulling her hood down and rolling her shoulders back, Laura paused outside the pub door. She could do this. She could. It wouldn’t be for long, and she’d told Jackson she’d be escaping the moment someone looked askance at her, so in reality she probably wouldn’t even make it to the bar. She just needed to show her face and then she could get the heck out of there.

She reached for the handle and pushed, the warmth of the pub escaping into the street carrying the aroma of beer laced with food. Yum, it did smell good. She took a step inside and paused, looking around before continuing towards the bar, where she could see Jackson waiting for her.

Something was wrong. She paused again and turned, briefly taking in the scene. The pub was busy, tables were taken and people were standing huddled in groups by the bar. She blinked. That was it, that was what was different. People were talking, continuing their conversations. No one was looking at her, nobody was openly shunning her. So unless all the people were talking about her, then it seemed everyone was just getting on with their evening despite the fact she’d just walked in. What was going on?

She took the few short steps towards the bar and slipped onto the bar stool nearest Jackson, who was deep in conversation with a customer.

‘Evening, what can I get you today? We’ve had a new delivery of some local wines if you’d like to sample some?’ The bartender, who on her previous visit had ignored her, smiled at her.

‘Umm… yes, that would be lovely, thanks.’

‘Coming right up.’ The bartender picked up a glass and began to pour. ‘On the house to welcome you to the village.’

‘Really?’ Laura cleared her throat and tried again, keeping her tone light. She was being welcomed into the village? Why had his attitude towards her changed? And why had everyone else’s? ‘That’s great. Thank you.’

‘No problem. I’m Darren, by the way.’ Walking away, the bartender began taking someone else’s order.

Looking towards her, Jackson caught her eye and sidled across to her, leaning his elbows on the bar between them. ‘Hey, glad you could make it.’

‘Hi. What’s going on?’ She nodded towards the bartender. ‘I was just given a free drink as a welcome to the village.’

Jackson grinned and pointed across the pub towards a table in front of the roaring open fire. ‘It has nothing to do with me.’

Following his gaze, she twisted round on her stool and smiled. Vivienne Fields was sitting at the head of the table, surrounded by people Laura recognised from the awkward village meeting – Miss Cooke the mayoress and Mrs Pierce the owner of the bakery among them. ‘But how? Why?’

‘I guess she set the record straight.’ Jackson shrugged.

‘Really? So you’re not actually testing out a new menu? That was just a ruse to get me to agree to come down here?’

‘Oh no, I am trialling some new dishes and really would love your input, but, yes, I did use that to get you to agree to coming. I knew you’d make up some excuse not to if I didn’t make it obvious that I needed your help.’ Jackson laid his hand on hers.

‘Ha, you’re right, I would have. I didn’t think I’d ever step foot in this place again.’

Tapping her hand, Jackson winked at her before turning away. ‘I’ll catch you later.’

‘Hello, you must be Laura, the new owner of Pennycress Inn, is that right?’

A voice to her right caught her attention and Laura turned to see Jill, the woman who had been asking for volunteers for the craft fair. ‘Hi, yes, that’s me. I’m Laura and you’re Jill, right? I remember you with your toddler from the village meeting.’

Jill broke into a grin. ‘Yes, that was me. I’ve left little Kasey at home today. This evening is adults only.’ She held up a glass of wine before taking a sip and lowering her voice. ‘I’m ever so sorry I treated you the way I did. I so wanted to say hi and welcome you to Meadowfield, but…’ She glanced behind her.

Laura tried to see who she was referring to but was met with a blanket of people. Still, whatever the reason, Jill had at least smiled at her and begun to speak when Laura had said hello to her on the way out of the hall. That was more than anyone else had. ‘Don’t worry. What’s in the past is in the past and I’m sure you had your reasons, as did everyone else.’

‘That’s just the thing…’ She did it again, looked over her shoulder. ‘Anyway, are you still happy to volunteer on the day of the craft fair?’

‘Absolutely. Count me in.’ Laura nodded enthusiastically. She still couldn’t tell who Jill kept looking at, or indeed if she was. She might have just been trying to search someone out in the sea of faces in the pub.

‘Fantastic to hear. We’re so grateful to everyone who helps. It makes it possible to run these events.’ Placing her handbag on the bar, Jill rummaged through it before taking out her notebook and flicking through the pages. ‘I’ll pop your name on the list now.’

‘Thank you. Do you run other events, then?’

‘Oh yes, a few craft fairs dotted throughout the year, obviously a massive one in the summer and another big one at Christmas. We then run events in the village for May Day and a huge carnival in the summer holidays. That’s usually a busy one. The tourists flock to our carnival and the floats are amazing! Mrs Pierce from the bakery goes all out and wins almost every year.’

‘Wow, that does sound good. I’ve not been to a carnival since my hometown stopped having them when I was in my teens. I never understood why they stopped, to be honest. They were always the highlight of the summer.’ One year Laura, Jenny, Richie and Jackson had been involved in transforming Farmer Gilkes’ trailer into a sea of flowers for the local dance company, who danced, or attempted to, whilst Farmer Gilkes pulled the trailer through the town centre with his tractor. All had been going well until the tractor had taken the corner at St Hughes Street a little too fast and the dancing children had all toppled into the wooden flowers they’d all spent weeks painstakingly painting. Still, until then, their trailer had looked the best.

‘It’s a lot of organising – and I mean a lot – but all the local groups and clubs get involved.’ Jill replaced her notebook and perched on the stool next to Laura’s. ‘Just think, Pennycress Inn will be booked out that week.’

‘Oh, I do hope so.’ Laura frowned into her glass. That would be if she were able to get all the work completed before she ran out of savings. She looked across at Jill. Was she someone she could trust? ‘Can I ask… why the change of heart?’

‘About the volunteering?’

‘About you coming to speak to me at all.’

Jill took a slow sip of her wine before looking at Laura. ‘Vivienne seems to like you. She says you only want the best for the inn.’

‘Oh, is that why?’ Laura frowned as she watched Vivienne standing up and refilling the glasses around the table. She’d just told people she liked her? And now she was suddenly accepted into the Meadowfield community? That’s what she’d wanted and she should feel happy, relieved, she knew she should but on the other hand, these people still didn’t know her, they were only acting the way they were because they’d been told to.

‘Well, that and the fact that she said you’d bought the inn. Is that right? And you’re going to keep it as the Pennycress Inn we all know and adore? You’re not part of some big hotel chain who’s going to transform it into some grey box before moving on to the next one?’ Jill looked earnestly at her, obviously seeking some sense of reassurance.

‘What? No, of course not. I love the style and the feel of Pennycress. It was what drew me to put in an offer in the first place. I love it as it is.’ Laura shifted on the stool. ‘Of course, there is some remedial work I need to do to the place, but everything I do will be in keeping with the age and style of the building. And there one hundred per cent won’t be any grey.’

‘Or any moving on to find the next hotel?’

‘Nope. I’m here to stay. Whether people accept me or not.’

‘That’s a relief to hear.’ Jill shook her head and looked down into her glass. ‘There are just so many rumours going around about you and Pennycress. We were caught off guard and believed them, believed that you were some high-and-mighty business tycoon just after a good deal which led to Mr Yates evicting Vivienne.’

Laura laughed. Had people really imagined her as a business tycoon? She needed to remember that phrase to tell Jenny and Richie. They’d never believe her. ‘That is so far from who I am. All of this is new to me, and I probably shouldn’t say this, but I’m kind of learning on the job. I haven’t owned an inn before. Heck, I haven’t even owned a business or got anywhere in my previous career either.’

‘Really? How are you coping then? I can imagine running an inn would be quite a big task?’ Jill questioned, her voice full of curiosity.

Maybe she shouldn’t have admitted she was a complete novice. Just when people had seemingly decided to give her a chance, she’d given Jill all the ammunition she’d need for people to plot against her again. If they didn’t think she was up to the job, then they’d shun her once more. ‘It’s a learning curve, that’s for sure, but I’m so determined to do my best for Pennycress and to make it a success that I’ll do all I can in order to do it justice.’

‘I’ll drink to learning new things and taking on new adventures then.’ Jill held up her glass to Laura.

Raising her glass, she clinked it against Jill’s before taking a sip. ‘To new adventures.’

‘I’m taking on a new adventure soon myself, too.’ Jill leaned in towards her.

‘You are? What are you doing?’

‘I’m starting my own gardening business. You know, upkeep, landscaping, things like that. It’s super early days, but I’m excited to finally start using my knowledge of horticulture.’ Something clouded Jill’s face for a moment. ‘Not that I’ve done anything remotely to do with horticulture since I left uni eight years ago, that is. I seem to have been popping out babies, raising them and organising events for Meadowfield.’

‘I’m sure it’s not something you forget. Besides, if you’re passionate about it, I think you’ll be able to make anything work. By the sounds of things, you’re brilliant at organising and I’ve only known you for like…’ Laura glanced at the clock behind the bar. ‘Half an hour.’

‘I like you.’ The smile returned to Jill’s face.

‘Thanks.’ Laura tilted her head, thinking. ‘When are you starting your business?’

‘In a couple of months, probably. I need to get little Kasey settled into nursery first. Why? You’re not looking for a gardener, are you?’ Jill clamped her hand over her mouth. ‘Oh, excuse me, I shouldn’t have asked that. It was so rude of me.’

Laura laughed. ‘Please don’t apologise, but yes, I might be. I mean, yes, I definitely will be. I know nothing about flowers, plants or gardening at all. I can work a lawnmower, but that’s about it, and with the size of the inn’s back garden, it would be safer if I entrusted its upkeep into the hands of an expert.’

‘Wow, seriously?’ Jill’s face lit up. ‘I’d absolutely love love love to work on the inn’s garden! Vivienne always did such a lovely job on it. It was one of the reasons I studied horticulture at university, actually, her garden. She had a knack of making that place look magical and she inspired me. Sounds silly, doesn’t it? Choosing a whole life path because of one person’s garden?’

‘Not at all.’ Despite her spending hours alongside her dad and Richie trying to clear the back garden, they’d hardly made a dent in the amount of work which needed to be done. But if Jill really could work some magic, then it would be a huge asset to the inn. ‘Pop round when you start your business. It sounds as though you’d know exactly what to do with it.’

‘Oh, I will. I’ll start drawing up plans now from how I remember it…’ She indicated her glass. ‘Well, tomorrow anyway, and maybe I could visit to take a look sometime? See how different it is from what I remember and go from there?’

‘Haha, yes, no rush. Just let me know when you’re ready.’

‘Oh, I’m ready. Now you’ve promised I can let my creativity loose on Vivienne’s famous garden, I’d be thrilled to begin planning.’ Jill grinned.

‘In that case, that would be lovely.’ Laura glanced up as Miss Cooke came and hovered between their stools.

‘Jill, darling, why don’t you go and tell Vivienne all about the new puppy you’re getting? I think it’s time Laura and I had a word.’ Miss Cooke’s voice was friendly but firm as Jill stood up and scurried away.

Laura glanced across at Jackson, who was serving a couple at the bar. Catching his eye, he gave her the thumbs up. She had a feeling she might need more than that. From what she’d witnessed at the village meeting, Miss Cooke, or Mayoress Cooke, ran the village.

‘Laura— Can I call you that, or do you prefer Mrs, Miss or Ms Price?’ Slipping onto the stool so shortly vacated by Jill, Miss Cooke clasped her hands together on the bar.

‘Laura is fine, thanks.’ Laura took a long sip of her drink, forcing herself not to glug the whole thing down. What did the mayoress want from her? Jill had told her that Vivienne had been singing Laura’s praises, but she had a feeling Miss Cooke wouldn’t be so easily influenced.

‘Good, good. In that case, I want to offer the warmest welcome to the wonderful village of Meadowfield on behalf of myself and all the villagers.’

‘You do?’ Laura shut her mouth quickly. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, and definitely not in a tone laced with sarcasm. ‘Sorry, I mean, thank you.’

Lifting her hands from the bar, Miss Cooke inspected her nails before looking back at Laura. ‘I can imagine you’ve not had the best introduction to village life and I also want to offer you my sincerest apologies.’

‘Oh, right, thank you.’ Laura shuffled on her stool. ‘Yes, things have been a little… difficult.’

‘As I said, my apologies. You see, we were working on information given to us about you instead of passing our own judgement. That was wrong and I regret it. I hope you’ll see this as a fresh start?’

A fresh start? Laura looked into her drink. It was almost empty, a centimetre of wine left at best. Could she really forgive the way people had treated her? Yes, they’d been misinformed about her intentions, but did that excuse their behaviour?

She looked around the pub. A group suddenly cheered raucously from the far end of the room and a table of people at the other end burst into singing ‘Happy Birthday’ as the bartender lowered a cake to the table. These were good people. Or they looked it. Jackson said so, too. Maybe she should just forgive them and put everything that had happened down to someone spreading rumours. After all, from what she’d gleaned from Vivienne, the villagers had only been sticking up for the elderly woman and wanting Pennycress to remain an independent inn rather than be taken over by some huge hotel company.

She nodded slowly.

‘Good, good. Any problems or issues with anything, then please come to me and, as your mayoress, I will do my very best to resolve them.’ Standing up, Miss Cooke held out her hand.

‘Great. I will do, thanks.’ Taking the proffered hand, she smiled as Miss Cooke shook hers firmly. After watching her retreat to Vivienne’s table, Laura turned and stared into her wine glass. These were the same people who had been shunning her and yet, after a few words from Vivienne, they had made a complete one-eighty. She couldn’t quite believe how much things had changed in the space of one evening.