Page 39 of A Fresh Start on Crumcarey
The guttering wasn’t the only surprise the pair of them had cooked up for Maggie today. Between them, he and his uncle had managed to fit the mad, swirly carpet. Then Luke had finished all the pipework for the wood burner’s back boiler.
He’d just set out the new windows where they would be fitted – but he’d run out of time for that particular job today. Not that that was a bad thing – he wanted to check Maggie was happy with them before they became a permanent fixture. After all, this wasn’t his place, and the last thing Luke wanted was for her to feel like he was taking over. That wasn’t the point of all this – plus, it sounded a bitch too much like Russell for his liking.
The final surprise - the icing on the cake as far as Luke was concerned - was the new sofa. It had come from Ray at Crum House. Apparently, it was one of the few bits of furniture his brother hadn’t stolen and sold off while Ray had been travelling. Either way, it was a beauty. Sure, it was a bit lumpy, old andsaggy… but it was wonderfully snuggly and comfortable. Luke knew this for a fact because he’d taken a five-minute catnap on it in between jobs.
Thankfully, Ray had helped to load it into the truck and had gladly hopped in for the ride to help unload it at the cottage, too. It was just as well, as there was no way Luke would have managed the heavy old thing with just his uncle’s help!
The sofa had only just squeezed down the narrow hallway, and there had been much giggling and yelling of the wordPIVOT!before it finally reached its destination in the open-plan living room.
Luke had left it plopped right in the middle of the space for the time being. It would be up to Maggie to choose where she wanted it.
‘Speak of the devil,’ he murmured, a broad grin spreading over his face as Mr Harris’s truck turned into the driveway. Luke leapt down off the wall and did his best to ignore the funny little backflip his heart performed as Maggie climbed down from the passenger seat. She was clearly still mid-gossip with his uncle.
These little heart flips were fast becoming a regular thing… and Luke wasn’t entirely sure what to do about them. He liked Maggie. She was gentle and kind and funny and brave. She was also so beautiful that she quite literally took his breath away.
Then there was the fact that she already felt like family – which was ridiculous, considering they’d known each other for less than a week.
Still… there was no way he could do anything about the weird, longing sensation in his chest. It wouldn’t be fair on her. She’d already been stranded on the island by one bloke. There was no way he was going to be responsible for history repeating itself.
‘Hi!’ said Maggie, turning to him with a sunny smile.
‘Good day?’ said Luke, quickly tucking his troublesome thoughts away in his pocket. He’d stick to the practicalities of back boilers and guttering for now – they were safe and reliable and didn’t threaten to land him in trouble at every turn.
‘Brilliant day, thanks,’ said Maggie. ‘I think I’ve got my social calendar mapped out for the next six months!’
‘She had to get a new diary and everything,’ said Mr Harris. ‘No shark stickers though.’
‘Erm… shark stickers?’ said Luke.
‘Long story,’ chuckled Maggie. ‘I can’t believe you’re here again.
‘Again?’ said Mr Harris. ‘The boy’s been here all day!’
‘Hush!’ muttered Luke, shaking his head at his uncle.
‘All day? Luke, I’m so sorry! I never meant to make so much trouble for you,’ said Maggie, looking horrified.
‘Rubbish,’ said Luke.
‘Aye, that it is,’ said Mr Harris. ‘He’s happy as a pig in sh—’
‘Shall I show you what we’ve been up to?’ said Luke, shooting Maggie a lopsided grin.
‘Great!’ said Maggie.
‘I’m going to head back to the farm,’ said Mr Harris, with a small smile as he shot a wink at Luke. ‘I’ve got… erm… cows to brush!’
Maggie raised her eyebrows, and Luke shrugged. As much as he was grateful for his uncle’s unexpected tact in giving him a bit of time alone with her… could he not have come up with a slightly more believable excuse to make himself scarce?!
‘You’re kidding me?!’ gasped Maggie, staring at the sofa.
Luke grinned. Suddenly, all the swearing and sweating as he and Ray had strong-armed the heavy bit of furniture into the cottage was more than worth it.
‘Nope – all yours,’ he said, smiling at her obvious excitement. ‘The old one’s beyond repair, I’m afraid. I wasn’t sure what you wanted to do with it…?’
‘Burn it?’ laughed Maggie.
‘That’s doable,’ said Luke. ‘It’s mostly wood, anyway.’
