Page 73 of A Forever Home at Honey Bee Croft

‘She’s been good to all of us and they’ve shafted her.’

They’d shafted us all yet, strangely, I felt really calm about it. Instead of being a disaster, this might be the best thing that could have happened. Like Barney suggested, I could take the summer off to spend with Imogen while Tilly had her hands full with her new twins, I’d have more time to see Poppy, and I could take that time for a major rethink. I knew for sure that I didn’t want to work in a factory again. No more twelve-hour shifts. No more nights. It was an exciting thought.

But as I headed to Eloise’s office, my heart sank. What about Scotland? I’d said last night that Poppy and I would find a way to make her present and future work together, but what if my future meant moving to Scotland because that was the only way I could see Imogen? I was going to have to do one hell of a lot of manifesting to stop that happening because I wanted my present and my future to include my daughterandPoppy. And I wanted it to be right here in Yorkshire.

29

POPPY

After Joel left, I struggled to drift back off to sleep so I got up and started working. I was used to rising early and found that, as long as I had a strong coffee to hand, I could race through tasks first thing. I’d therefore accomplished stacks before 9a.m. at which point it felt reasonable to start making phone calls. My priority was to ring Marnie because, if Dad had taken a turn for the worse, staying an extra night wasn’t an option. She assured me there was no need for me to rush back, especially when the break was doing exactly as intended – recharging my batteries. My next call was to Mary to confirm staying one more night, which was no problem. I rescheduled my client meeting for Wednesday and then FaceTimed Sharon.

‘You look and sound a lot brighter than you have in a long time,’ she said.

‘I feel it. You were so right to push me to get away. I think I was close to breaking point. I love it here, I’ve made some friends and I got to see Phil.’

‘I’ve spoken to him, and he said you were on good form. He said I was to ask you about the best man.’

My cheeks flushed as I told her about Joel and admitted that he was the reason for staying one more night.

‘I’m so pleased for you,’ she said, smiling. ‘But why don’t you stay until the end of the week?’

I shook my head. ‘I’ll fret too much about Dad and end up undoing all the good this past week has done me. I need to see him myself. I miss him and I need a hug.’

‘I can understand that. I had a couple of lovely visits with him. He showed me his Poppy bear.’

He might not remember me but the love he clearly had for the bear I’d given him swelled my heart.

‘I’ve made a big decision,’ I told Sharon. ‘I’m going to sell Dove Cottage. I know you and Ian have always loved it so, if you could see yourselves living there, you’d have first refusal. No offence taken if you’re not interested.’

‘Oh, gosh, honey. Selling up is huge.’

‘I know, but it’s the right thing to do. I need a fresh start and Dove Cottage needs somebody to love it again. Someone like you.’

‘It would be perfect for us. I’ll have a word with Ian and we can talk about it when you get back.’

When Sharon and I had finished catching up, I messaged Wilf to tell him I’d be back tomorrow. An hour later, a response came through and my stomach churned as I read it.

From Wilf

Damon was at your house again this morning. I went out and he demanded to know where you were. He was more wound up than I’ve seen him. I don’t like it. I think it’s time to call the police

To Wilf

I’m so sorry he keeps turning up. Do you really think I need to involve the police? You don’t think it’s worth me trying to speak to him tomorrow?

From Wilf

I have no problem telling him to clear off so no need to apologise. And yes to the police. If you think it’s worth one more try to get through to him, that’s your choice but it seems like you’ve given him plenty of chances already. Enjoy your last day and see you tomorrow. Benji says woof

I put my phone down with a sigh, wondering if Wilf was right. Damon hadn’t crossed my mind for days, which had been lovely, but now I felt a heaviness in my stomach knowing I was going to have to face him tomorrow. Was the situation serious enough to involve the police? If an ex-police officer was suggesting it, perhaps it was, but I still preferred the idea I’d discussed with Phil of getting his mum to have a word first.

Feeling restless after Wilf’s text, I drove to Bloomsberry’s to get something for lunch and some small gifts to thank Amber, Fizz, Natasha and Samantha for helping me with my wedding attire.

As I wandered through the extensive gift section, my eyes were drawn to a flash of something yellow in a clear plastic bag with a sale sticker on it. I looked closer and saw that it was a felt blue tit in a bag with felt versions of several other common garden birds – a great tit, goldfinch, chaffinch, bullfinch, house sparrow and robin. It seemed they were part of a mobile, but the hanging part was broken and the starling was missing so it had been reduced. I thought about Dad’s disappointment on wet days when he couldn’t see as many birds. If I bought some ofthose removable hanging strips, we could hang the felt birds in his bedroom and he could see garden birds every single day. I popped it in my basket and continued my search.

I found some scented candles for Fizz, Samantha and Natasha, and a wooden heart sculpture with tealights around the base for Amber. In the wedding section, I spotted some washi tape, sequins and stickers which I thought Imogen might like for the pages in her scrapbook so I couldn’t resist buying them for Joel to pass on to her. I wished I could see her one more time before I left. She was such a delight to be around, but it was time to return to Winchcote and put plans into place to get my life back on track.

My final stop was the food section for lunch. I paused by the fridge, smiling. Was it really only six days since I first saw Joel right here? So much had happened since then. Who knew that I’d meet the man of my dreams by a fridge full of ready meals?

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