Page 21 of A Fresh Start on Crumcarey
Maggie frowned a little at the thought.
When she’d first arrived on Crumcarey, she hadn’t minded the idea of camping at the cottage for a couple of years while they got the jobs done one by one. But… that had come with a couple of caveats. Things had to be moving in the right direction – and at the very least, she wanted to be warm and dry.
Was it so unreasonable that those were her bare minimum requirements before she’d agreed to the whole thing? She certainly didn’t think so.
Of course, the reality of Pear Tree Cottage had turned into something else entirely – a slow, messy nightmare. Luke’s barn was the way itshouldhave been… and it had only taken him a couple of weeks to achieve it.
Amazing.
Who knew what state the cottage would be in by the time the storm finally blew itself out. What if she couldn’t even live there anymore?! No matter what Luke had said earlier about the damage sounding worse than it actually was - he hadn’t been there when it had happened. He hadn’t seen the vast tangle of tarp and roof slates that had dumped themselves onto her poor little car!
Maggie felt her chin quiver and she quickly shifted to lie on her other side, facing the wall. It might be dark and there might be a curtain, but she wasn’t going to show this moment of weakness to the world.
Taking a deep breath, Maggie did her best to steady herself.
Maybe Luke was right… maybe everything would feel better in the morning… maybe…
Letting out a long, slow sigh, Maggie’s eyes fluttered closed as Luke’s sweet, spicey scent eased her off to sleep.
Maggie yawned widely and opened her eyes… only to find herself staring at an unfamiliar, whitewashed stone wall.
Huh?!
Her bed didn’t smell right. And… what on earth was she wearing?!
It took a couple of seconds for reality to dawn on her. When it did, she settled back with a grin. Luke’s bed. Luke’s tee shirt. Luke’s bloomin’ boxer shorts!
A little snort of laughter escaped her, and she clapped her hand over her mouth. She had no idea what time it was, and she didn’t want to wake Luke if he was still conked out on the sofa.
Yawning widely, Maggie stared idly up at the ceiling for a long moment. That had to have been the deepest, most restful sleep she’d had in months… which was a bit of a miracle, given the reason behind her flight through the storm to Luke’s barn in the first place.
The thought dragged her fully out of sleep, and she struggled to sit up. Grabbing the edge of the curtain surrounding her little corner, she peeped around it, only to find the sofa had been abandoned. The duvet was on the floor, and sounds of splashing drifted over from the direction of the bathroom.
So – Luke was awake too. Perfect!
Jumping out of bed, Maggie made a beeline for her clothes. With any luck, they’d be nice and dry, and she’d be able to make a dash back to her bed-cave before poor old Luke was treated to the sight of her creeping around in his boxers.
With a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure the coast was clear, Maggie felt one leg of her jeans. The denim was rough and stiff – but mercifully dry! She was just gathering the rest of her clothes into her arms when the front door of the barn flew open, making her jump.
‘Oh!’ said Mr Harris, his bushy eyebrows bristling as he stared at her in surprise.
Didn’t the man knock?!
Of course he didn’t - itwashis farm after all!
‘Morning!’ came a cheerful voice from the other side of the room.
Oh great!
Maggie’s eyes flew from Mr Harris to Luke and then down to the scruffy, wiry little dog who’d just pelted towards her and was now busy licking her ankles.
‘Blimey Mags – he likes you!’ chuckled Luke.
Maggie met his eye for a split second, her face turning a steaming pink.
‘I… didn’t mean to intrude…’ said Mr Harris, looking confused as he eyed Maggie’s makeshift pyjamas. He threw a questioning glance at Luke and then turned back to her.
‘We can explain!’ said Maggie.
