Page 29 of Falling in Love at Pennycress Inn

‘Don’t apologise. I could actually do with a proper hug.’ He smiled, his face relaxing as he held his arms out towards her.

Stepping into his space once again, she felt her own shoulders relax as his arms wrapped around her. This was one thing Nathan had never been any good at. Giving hugs. Nope, he’d much rather flop on the sofa with a beer can than show her any affection whatsoever. Of course, she now knew why. Nicola sighed as she felt the reassuring weight of Charlie’s arms around her shoulders. She’d missed this.

‘Much better.’ He grinned as he dropped his arms and continued walking. ‘Thank you.’

‘No worries.’ Looking away, she couldn’t help but smile. Maybe he wasn’t who she’d thought he was. There was a softer side beneath the prickly exterior.

15

As Nicola fell into step beside Charlie, they continued to make their way down the street, passing the quaint yellow Cotswold stone cottages on either side. She glanced across at him. That hug had felt good. Really good.

Shaking her head, she cleared her throat. It had just been a hug. Nothing more. Nothing less.

‘So, it was a bit of a surprise finding out you’d inherited your uncle’s farm then?’ she asked.

‘Now that’s an understatement.’ Charlie ran his palm across his face, as if thinking twice about what he was going to say. ‘I must admit, when I first came here, I’d planned to put it straight on the market. I hadn’t planned to stay for any length of time.’

‘You’re having second thoughts about selling?’ She looked sidelong at him. It wouldn’t be so bad if he hung around.

‘No, no. But when I saw the place and saw how run-down it had become, I knew I needed to bring it back to how it used to be. Something my uncle would be proud of again. So, I arranged a secondment from work, employed a couple of experienced farmhands and here we are. Another few weeks and it’ll be back to its glory days and I can sell it on knowing my uncle would be proud of it.’

‘Oh.’ Nicola wrapped her arms around her middle. Why did her stomach feel as though a heavy stone had appeared, sitting lurking at the bottom of it? She’d never wanted to see Charlie Williams again the first time she’d set eyes on him, but, despite his flaws and the way he’d behaved, she was warming to him.

‘It’s important to me that it’s passed on to the next owners in good condition. That way, hopefully they won’t need to change much. They won’t come in and destroy all he’d worked for.’

‘I guess you’ve just got to hope a big developer doesn’t want to build a new housing estate on the land.’

Charlie winced. He took a deep breath in. ‘No, I’ll vet whoever puts an offer in. I’ll do my research.’

‘Uh-huh.’ She nodded. She couldn’t very well turn around and tell him that might not work, that those developers might not advertise themselves as such. She paused as they reached the junction out of the village and pointed towards The Twistle. ‘This is me.’

‘I’ll walk you to your door.’ He patted his stomach. ‘I could do with the exercise.’

She smiled, a strange warmth running across her skin. Being a farmer, even if just temporarily, must be one of the most active jobs there was about.

‘So, tell me about you. Have you always lived in Meadowfield?’ Cupping her elbow, Charlie gently guided her towards the other side of the road as a car turned into the village.

‘Most of my life, yes.’ Nicola nodded. ‘I went off to uni, studied in Birmingham, and despite being tempted by city living, once I’d finished, I moved back.’ She looked around her, taking in the quirky cottages, the trees lining the pavements and the surrounding countryside.

‘You weren’t that tempted then.’

‘At first I was, but the longer I stayed there, the more I wanted to return to Meadowfield. There’s just something about this place for me. And it was calling me home.’ She scrunched her nose up. ‘Now that sounds corny as anything, doesn’t it?’

‘No.’ He tilted his head one way and then the other before chuckling. ‘Maybe a little.’

‘It’s true though. I loved growing up here and because my mum ran the inn and we lived there too, I think of the whole community as a big extended family, I guess.’ She held her hand over her face. ‘That sounds even cornier.’

‘I didn’t realise you grew up at Pennycress Inn. That must be strange, working back there?’ Pausing, he reached over and gently prised her hand away. ‘And yes, what you said does sound corny, but it’s sweet too.’

‘It is strange in a way, but I couldn’t have asked for a better job, and working back in the inn I was raised in… I love it.’ Sweet? He’d said sweet. She looked across at him, her hand still in his, and grinned. If someone had told her a few days ago that she’d be having these mixed feelings about the guy who had shut her down after asking a favour for the village, she’d have never believed them.

‘Nic! There you are!’

She recognised that voice. Jumping back from Charlie, she turned and watched in stunned silence as Nathan stormed down the street towards them. What was he doing here? She hadn’t thought she’d hear from him again since the night she rang him asking what was happening with her car.

‘I’ve rung you, like, ten times already and you’ve just been ignoring me.’ Nathan’s tone was angry. As he got closer, Nicola could see spittle flying from his mouth as he ranted. ‘Do you make a habit of ignoring your phone now?’

‘Nathan, I?—’

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