Page 25 of A Fresh Start on Crumcarey
‘We’ll wait for you outside,’ said Luke, suddenly aware that she might need a bit of privacy.
The place might be a dripping mess of half-done jobs, but it was still her home. Now that he knew she wasn’t about to get an electric shock, and no slates were teetering in the rafters like the sword of Damocles, he was happy that she was safe.
‘I can’t believe it,’ muttered Mr Harris in a low tone the minute the pair of them stepped back out into the daylight.
‘A bit of clearing up to do,’ agreed Luke. ‘The slates need shifting, and there’s probably some woodwork to do before anything else can happen,’ he added, nodding at the roof. ‘I’m not sure there’s any point using tarps again, though… maybe we can find something better to get her through the winter.’
‘I wasn’t talking about the storm damage!’ said Mr Harris, glancing over his shoulder to make sure that Maggie was still well out of earshot. ‘The state that poor girl’s been living in!’
‘Looks to me like she’s done loads,’ said Luke. He knew he sounded defensive, but he couldn’t help it. He was impressed she’d managed to do as much as she had.
‘Aye – I’m not disputing that, lad,’ said Mr Harris. ‘But there are jobs here no one could manage on their own… not even you!’
Luke nodded and opened his mouth to reply when Maggie appeared in the doorway, hugging a plastic box close to her chest. He raised his eyebrows. He’d been expecting clothes, maybe even some keepsakes she wanted to save from the water… but this was barely big enough to hold more than a notebook or two.
‘What have you got in there?’
CHAPTER 13
MAGGIE
Maggie considered changing her clothes. The outfit she was wearing was still decidedly stiff from being baked in front of Luke’s wood burner. She kept most of her clothes in plastic boxes, so theyshouldbe okay… but… she really didn’t fancy stripping only to get dripped on. Right now, it felt like it was still raining inside the cottage, andeverythingwas soggy.
Maggie quickly decided against it – especially considering Luke and Mr Harris were waiting for her just outside. Worst case scenario, she could beg Olive for the loan of a guest robe while she popped her outfit through the quick wash in The Tallyaff’s laundry!
As for grabbing anything else… she was too overwhelmed by the state of her home to think straight. Besides, she didn’t have anywhere to stash her stuff, anyway. The car might be miraculously in one piece, but it was still buried under a bunch of roof slates!
In the end, Maggie grabbed just one thing before making her way back outside.
‘What have you got in there?’ said Luke, curiously eyeballing the plastic box she had clutched to her chest.
‘It’s the drawings I made of the cottage when we first moved here,’ she said, smiling at him.
‘Seriously?’ said Luke, looking intrigued.
Maggie nodded. She felt slightly nervous. These drawings had stayed hidden away in this plastic box for a very long time. Ever since she’d shown them to Russell, and he’d promptly got the hump. He’d stomped around for hours and then told her that it would be better if she kept her nose out of things. He didn’t need the help of afailed designer. He wanted Pear Tree Cottage to evolve organically under his care and attention… because he knew best.
‘Can we take a look?’ said Mr Harris eagerly.
‘Oh!’ said Maggie in surprise. ‘Well… sure, why not.’
She rested the box on the bonnet of the truck and carefully lifted out the wad of drawings, handing them to Mr Harris.
The old man started to look at them one by one, handing them off to Luke as he went.
‘Blimey Mags!’ he gasped.
‘You did these?’ said Mr Harris.
‘Yeah,’ she said.
‘What did you say you did at uni?’ said Luke.
‘Design,’ said Maggie quietly. ‘I didn’t graduate, though.’
‘And after that?’ said Luke.
‘I worked in an architect’s office,’ she mumbled.
