Page 55 of Falling in Love at Pennycress Inn

‘Nathan, stop…’ She pushed back, the gate standing midway between open and closed. She could hear her own voice shaking. She just wanted him to go.

‘You heard her. Leave.’

Charlie’s voice boomed from behind her and she twisted around, watching him as he yelled at her ex. His jaw ticked with anger, and his face was ashen.

‘Hey, mate. No reason to be like that.’ Nathan immediately let go of the gate as Charlie stood next to Nicola, them both squeezing between the wall and the gate, not leaving an inch for Nathan to fight his way through even if he wanted to. ‘I’m only here for my things.’

Crossing his arms, Charlie glared at him.

‘Just go, Nathan. Just leave.’ Knowing Charlie was beside her, the stutter in her voice disappeared.

‘Fine, but I’ll be back.’

‘No, you won’t.’ Charlie kept his eyes on Nathan as he retreated down the path.

‘Whatever. I don’t need that rubbish, anyway.’ Waving his hand in dismissal, Nathan got into his car and drove off.

‘Are you okay?’ Charlie turned to Nicola, his expression instantly relaxing.

‘Yes, I’m fine. You didn’t need to come and be my bodyguard, though. I had it under control.’ She closed the gate firmly behind her ex. Hopefully shutting him out of her life once and for all.

‘Sorry, I…’ Charlie wavered. ‘I thought I was doing the right thing coming to support you. No one should speak to you like that.’

‘Yes, but I’m not always going to have your support, am I? Not when you move back to London.’ She fiddled with the latch on the gate, making sure to click the paddock down. Nathan needed to know he couldn’t mess with her, not that he could walk all over her if Charlie wasn’t around, but she could tell from his shocked expression that she shouldn’t have said anything. ‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t mean it.’

‘Hey, you know I’ll always support you, right?’ He paused as they walked back to the table, holding her hands in his and looking her in the eye. ‘Wherever either of us might be, we’ll always have each other’s backs.’

She nodded slowly. It wasn’t quite the same though, was it? He might still have her back, but being over a hundred miles away wouldn’t be much good to her when Nathan came sniffing around again. Not that she was about to voice her fears right now. ‘I know.’

‘Okay. I just don’t want you thinking this long-distance thing is going to change how I feel about you.’ Cupping her cheek, Charlie gave her a short smile. ‘I can feel myself falling for you, Nic. Nothing’s going to come between us.’

She swallowed. He was falling for her? ‘I feel the same about you.’

‘Good.’ Leaning forward, he wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in a hug, and kissed the top of her head. ‘I’ve never felt this way before.’

‘Me too.’ She smiled against the soft fabric of his uncle’s well-worn checked shirt, but she couldn’t deny the doubts in her head. They might be falling for each other, but would that really be enough to overcome the reality of hardly spending any time together? Of running their own completely separate lives?

29

‘Here, let’s see if we can get further to the front.’ Charlie grabbed Nicola’s hand and began weaving through the crowds gathered along Meadowfield High Street. The carnival was in full flow and after making sure all the children were safely in position on the back of the trailers, Nicola and Charlie had run ahead to find a good spot to watch the procession.

‘Sorry, thank you.’ Nicola smiled as she let Charlie pull her towards the edge of the path, right in full view of the approaching carnival. The brass band, the same one which had played at Suzy and Owen’s wedding, led the procession, their conductor, Jerry, leading the way with some very clever back-walking. As soon as they stopped, Charlie pulled Nicola into his arms so her back was against his chest, his arms wrapped around her middle.

‘Oh look, there’s Miss Cooke’s float and the netball team.’ Charlie pointed towards the first float in the possession, hot on the heels of the brass band. Miss Cooke was riding upfront in the cab of the tractor next to one of the farmhands working at Little Mead. ‘Is that the royal wave she’s been practising?’

Letting out a splutter, Nicola tried to hide her laughter as Miss Cooke waved at them. ‘I think it might well be.’

The trailer the tractor was pulling had been transformed into a netball court, complete with its own goal posts and goal rings, the girls trying their best to stay upright and play netball as the float bumped over the cobbles.

Next up were floats from the local litter picking group, the history club and even their very own bridge club. Nicola waved as her mum whistled to get her attention from where she was perched on a hay bale in the back of the float, playing cards taped to her jumper.

Nicola leaned back against Charlie’s chest, the warmth from his body warming hers, and smiled. They hadn’t said a word about him leaving, not since that night in her back garden when Nathan had caused a scene. And she was content with that. It was easier not to think about it, easier to pretend he was here to stay.

She held his hands as Meadowfield’s children’s dance club danced their way past them. Having decided not to have a float this year, the youngsters pivoted and jived their way down the High Street. Clapping her hands as one boy did an impromptu backflip, Nicola glanced up at Charlie. ‘So, when are you learning how to do one of those?’

‘You mean you don’t think I can already?’ he asked, raising his eyebrow.

‘You can?’ Twisting in his arms, she widened her eyes. ‘Seriously?’

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