Page 17 of Sunny Sundays at Primrose Hall

With a wave, Katy breezed out the front door and Sophie was left with Tom, whose attention was also distracted by the menu board. Not that Sophie had been hinting in any way. She hoped he didn’t feel obliged to choose something just because she’d mooted the idea. The Three Feathers was the kind of place where you could sit down and eat a meal by yourself without feeling self-conscious, and on the few occasions she’d previously visited, the landlord Malc and his wife Jan had always made a point of saying hello and asking how she’d been settling into the village. She’d also got to know some of the other bar staff, who were equally as friendly and welcoming. She would be more than happy to sit there and eat her dinner alone.

‘I’m going to join you,’ said Tom, his face lighting up.

‘Well, that would be nice, but don’t feel as though you have to.’

‘No, absolutely not. I’m starving. That’s if you don’t mind me joining you for dinner, of course?’ His eyes flashed a questioning look across at her.

‘Not at all. It’s always nicer to share a meal with a friend, and a roast, for me, is a proper treat. I love them, but it’s not really something you cook for yourself, is it?’

‘Exactly! If I’m lucky, I sometimes get invited to the hall for Sunday lunch. Pia and Jackson are great hosts and Jackson is a fabulous cook.’

‘I can imagine, especially if it’s anything like Christmas lunch was.’

With their meals ordered and their drinks refreshed, Tom sat down on the cushioned pew beside Sophie and turned to her, his gaze perusing her face.

‘So how have you been?’

Sophie’s eyes caught on Tom’s, and she saw and heard the genuine interest in his question. They had been chatting on and off throughout the day, exchanging pleasantries, laughing, but now she could tell that he was asking something deeper, that he really wanted to know how she’d been actually doing.

‘Good,’ she nodded. ‘Work’s great, a lot less stressful than my previous job. I get on well with everyone, it pays the bills and I like the way that I can walk away at the end of the day and forget about it. Maybe that’s not really the attitude, but to be honest, I’m much happier when I’m working on my own projects at home. Like the jewellery. I’ve also started crocheting in my spare time.’ She gave a rueful laugh. ‘Not that I have much of that, but I was talking to Maddie the other week, admiring her blankets, and she gave me a quick lesson in how to get started. She showed me how to cast on and how to form the basic stitches, and while I didn’t have a clue at first, she also pointed me in the direction of some online tutorials so I’ve been spending my evenings getting to grips with that.’

She paused, hearing her voice wittering on about crochet stitches. What must Tom think? It was hardly the most scintillating conversation. Probably the sort of chatter he might expect if he took his granny out for tea. Although Tom was far too polite to show any hint of boredom. Instead, it was as though he was hanging on to her every word as she spoke, holding her gaze and smiling interestedly. That was something she’d discovered about him on that very first occasion she’d met him over Christmas lunch at the hall. Although at the time she’d put her ease and candour down to the very quaffable free-flowing wine and the fact that she thought she was never likely to run to into the good-looking stranger again. She’d since discovered that he was always that easy to talk to, so much so that it was easy to forget that really they didn’t know each other as well as their easy relationship might suggest. What was it about him, she wondered, that made her feel so comfortable in his company? She gave herself an imperceptible shrug to shake away that thought and instead switched her focus onto him.

‘What about your job… jobs?’ she added with a smile. ‘Are you still enjoying what you’re doing at the moment?’

Tom shrugged. ‘Yeah, I guess but I have been givingmy future career…’ – he loaded those words with some light-hearted intent – ‘…some serious thought. Like you, I enjoy the work and it’s not too demanding or stressful, and that was just what I needed when everything blew up last year, but now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t consider a better long-term career. What I’m doing at the moment, it’s not what you would call a proper job. I’m definitely Jack-of-all-trades and… well, you know the rest.’ His chocolate-brown eyes shone with humility. ‘You know, I look at Jackson and Pia, and the wonderful set-up they have up at the hall and it makes me look at what I’ve achieved in my life and realise it’s sadly lacking…’

‘Don’t say that! You can’t compare yourself with Jackson even if he is your brother.’ Certainly the physical similarities between the pair were hard to deny. They shared a tall and broad physique, and had the same sweep of thick hair, but it was their mannerisms that singled them out as being related. It was something about the way in which they held their head, the jut of their jawline and the way they scrunched up their eyes when deep in thought that highlighted the familial connection.

‘No, I realise that and I try not to, but it has made me consider what I want for my future. I’m living alone in a small one-bedroomed bachelor pad and I’m not certain I’d still want to be doing that in five years or even one year’s time. I’d not want to go back to my old career, that’s for sure, but I probably need to find something that offers a more stable future. My savings won’t last forever and I’d probably want to buy another house at some point, as well.’

Sophie nodded, remembering that Tom had told her how, when he’d walked away from his relationship with his ex, he’d signed over his share of the house to her, which had been a lovely and honourable thing to do, although Sophie suspected it was driven from guilt on Tom’s part. Now, he picked up his beer glass and took a glug of ale before continuing.

‘From what Dad and Ronnie have told me, Jackson is a changed man ever since Pia entered his life and to see them so happy, working together, with their family and animals around them has given me a different perspective on what’s important in life. I think I’m in a better place now, having found my family and come to terms with what happened with my mum and dad, to put down some roots of my own. If that makes sense?’

‘It does. Definitely.’

It wasn’t the first time that she’d noticed the similarities between their lives. Maybe it was fate that had brought them together as friends to help support each other out of thosedifficult times. Sophie knew all about starting over. After the trauma and upset of extracting herself from a situation that had made her desperately unhappy, she was now in a good place, energised and positive about the changes she’d made for herself.

‘Well, I hope you won’t be leaving the stables anytime soon. You’re doing a great job at managing the open days. I’m sure I speak for all the traders when I say we’d be lost without you.’ She wouldn’t admit that in such a short space of time she’d come to look forward to those times when she knew she would be seeing him again.

Tom looked up from his beer, his gaze snagging on Sophie’s, and a smile spread across his lips.

‘Thanks, Sophie, that means a lot. And rest assured, I’ll keep my Sundays free to make sure I can still get along to the stables, whatever else I might be doing.’

With their meals delivered to the table, they concentrated on the delicious feast in front of them. With tender beef, roast potatoes, carrots, spring greens, and cauliflower cheese piled high on their plates, along with the biggest Yorkshire puddings Sophie had ever set eyes on, all covered with a delicious rich gravy, she didn’t take any time in getting stuck in.

‘This is great, just what I needed,’ she said, looking up and across at Tom, who bit back a smile and leant across the table with his napkin to wipe away some gravy that Sophie could feel clinging to her chin. ‘Ooh, sorry,’ she said, laughing, ‘what am I like?’

‘Don’t apologise on my account. I’ll probably be doing the same any moment now, and it’s always good to see someone enjoying their food.’

There it was again, that sense of familiarity. She didn’t need to put on any airs and graces with Tom and didn’t feel any sense of self-consciousness tucking into her dinner with gusto. It was as though Tom had accepted Sophie for who she was right fromthe start and she didn’t need to pretend to be someone she wasn’t, which she found entirely refreshing.

Finishing their meals, they both sat back in their seats, fully sated, declaring that they couldn’t possibly eat another thing. That was until the friendly young waitress arrived to clear their plates and offered to show them the pudding menus. After some prevarication, Tom said, ‘Well, it will do us no harm to look. See what we might be missing.’

That was the deed done. After they’d perused the menu, Tom had opted for a sticky toffee pudding and Sophie, only to keep Tom company, had chosen the crème brûlée.

‘I won’t need to eat for an entire week,’ said Sophie when she had managed to clear her plate. ‘Not that I regret a single mouthful for a moment.’

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