Page 34 of A Fresh Start on Crumcarey
‘I was talking to McGregor,’ said Maggie, giving Luke a little wink. Then she dropped a kiss onto the still-sleeping dog’s head.
The cottage felt strangely quiet as Mr Harris’s truck pulled away, even with the rattling drone of the two dehumidifiers doing their thing to remove the last traces of the internal rainstorm.
Letting out a long, happy sigh, Maggie turned on the spot, surveying the scene properly. She couldn’t believe how much work everyone had done to make sure she could stay in her home.
It would take a while to get all her new bits and pieces set out just the way she wanted them – but Maggie felt like the cottage was breathing a sigh of relief under its new metal roof.
It was loved. It was being looked after.
‘Time to do the same thing for yourself!’ Maggie yawned. She was going to get changed and make herself something for tea – and then she was going to fall onto her mattress and pass out!
Heading through to her bedroom – the one space she hadn’t even entered yet as it was the one room that hadn’t seen any storm damage - Maggie came to an abrupt halt.
‘Oh my goodness!’ she gasped.
Her mattress was no longer lying directly on the cold, damp flagstones. It was sitting on a rugged-looking bed base made out of huge pieces of timber that were held together with giant bolts.
On top of her beautifully smooth duvet and plumped pillows, there was a scrap of paper. With shaking fingers, Maggie reached out and unfolded it.
It’s nothing special – just bits of the old cow shed roof. Uncle Harris helped. Hope you like it! Luke x
Maggie ran a fingertip over the kiss at the end of the note. There was just one of them, and it was only small – but she couldn’t help the warm, wide smile that spread over her face.
This should have been one of the hardest days of her life. Instead, it had turned into one of the best… and she had a feeling she was in for plenty more just like it.
CHAPTER 16
LUKE
Luke was having the time of his life. He had tons to do – and that was just the way he liked it.
Putting his foot down, he urged Connor’s truck to speed up a bit as he pressed the button to turn on the radio. His friend had been more than happy to let Luke commandeer his truck for the day – which was a bit of a blessing, considering Mr Harris had cows to tend to after he’d taken Maggie to work. Luke knew his uncle no longer checked on his beasts on foot – he preferred to do it in style - trundling around the fields in his truck.
Luke hummed a couple of lines of a country tune as it blared from the radio, and McGregor promptly started to howl from the passenger seat.
‘Nice harmonies there, lad!’ chuckled Luke, glancing in his rear-view mirror just to make sure the windows and back boiler he’d collected were still safe and sound in the back. He was glad of the little dog’s company today – it would be a bit quiet in Maggie’s little cottage otherwise, considering it had a hive of activity of the previous day as everyone had pulled together for the main part of the clean-up operation.
‘What do you say to a quick detour first?’ said Luke, glancing down at the little dog.
McGregor let out a little woof and wagged his wiry tail.
‘Ice cream, you say? Okay – sounds like a plan.’
Luke indicated and pulled off the road into the little patch of parking above Big Sandy. He hadn’t been expecting to have to squeeze into a spot between one of Olive’s hire cars and a very snazzy-looking camper van, complete with a couple of surfboards strapped to the roof.
Hopping out, he quickly clipped McGregor’s rarely-used lead onto his collar – just in case the feisty little fellow decided to make “friends” with the tourists. Then he grabbed the box containing Maggie’s drawings. He wanted to take another look at them while he had this rare moment to himself.
‘Ready?’ he said, glancing down at McGregor, who was already straining towards the beach.
Luke grinned and ambled towards Ruby, the gorgeous vintage ice cream van that belonged to Stella and Frank.
‘Huh… a queue!’ murmured Luke, spotting five or six people lined up, waiting their turn at the hatch. It was a bit of a rare sight on Crumcarey… in fact, it was unheard of. Part of him wished he’d thought to bring his phone so that he could snap a photo to commemorate the occasion!
Joining the back of the line and keeping McGregor on a very short leash as he strained to sniff at the nearest pair of ankles, Luke craned his neck, trying to catch Stella’s eye. It took a couple of seconds, but when she did look up, Stella shot him a bemused grin – and then shrugged. Clearly, she was as surprised by the sudden rush as he was.
Crumcarey was alive with visitors – and going by the excited chatter of the ice cream hunters ahead of him, they all seemed to be overjoyed to have discovered such an unexpected opportunity to grab a 99 with a flake and real raspberry sauce!
‘Excuse me?’ said the woman in front, turning to him.
