Page 34 of Daydreams at the Farm on Muddypuddle Lane
Dulcie’s eyes widened and she whirled around. ‘Mum, I thought you were supposed to be keeping an eye on the potatoes.’
‘They’re fine,’ the woman said. ‘Your name is Adam, isn’t it?’ She was looking at him with disdain, her nose wrinkled.
He didn’t blame her for being less than impressed. He wasn’t exactly looking his best right now. Abruptly he wished he hadtaken the time to go home first. Maisie wouldn’t have minded.
Ah, there she was. His heart lifted when he saw her. As usual, she looked gorgeous: her face was glowing and she wore a beaming smile.
It faded when she caught sight of her mother’s sour expression. ‘I see you’ve met Adam,’ she said.
He held out his hand, glanced at it, saw how dirty and oily it was, had second thoughts and let it drop. ‘Nice to meet you, Mrs Fairfax.’
Maisie’s mum pressed her lips together.
‘Call her Beth,’ Maisie said, earning herself a scowl from her mother. Adam thought he had better stick with MrsFairfax for the time being. He nodded to her and smiled.
Her gaze swept over him from the top of his bun to the toes of his worn, muddy work boots and her scowl deepened.
Adam was dismayed: he clearly hadn’t made the best of impressions, but hopefully he would be able to rectify that when she got to know him better.Ifshe had the opportunity to get to know him better.
He hoped with all his heart that she would, because that meant Maisie would be staying in Picklewick. And the way Adam felt about her, he wanted Maisie to stay more than he had wanted anything else in his life.
Maisie was furious and embarrassed. Her mother’s rudeness and obvious dislike of Adam were inexcusable, especially since she had only just met him and knew absolutely nothing about him.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said stiffly as he drove out of the farmyard. ‘My mother can be a bit judgemental at times.’
‘It’s fine. I’m not exactly looking my best. I should be the one apologising – I came straight from a job to pick you up. If I’d known I was going to meet her, I’d have gone home to shower first.’
Maisie knew it wasn’t just Adam’s lack of a shower that was responsible for her mum’s reaction. And she also heard the faint recrimination in Adam’s tone.
‘I wishIhad known you were going to meet her,’ she said. ‘She just turned upout of the blue this afternoon. Dulcie wasn’t happy.’ Neither was Maisie, but she didn’t want to go into that right now. ‘She’s staying until after the Easter Fayre; she says she’s here to help, but I reckon she thinks she’s missing out, what with Dulcie, Nikki and now me in Picklewick. And since she retired, I think she’s bored and lonely.’
‘She doesn’t look old enough to be retired. What did she do?’
‘She used to be a supervisor in a supermarket down the road from where we live. It was handy, because she could walk to work, and when I was younger I used to pop in on my way home from school to beg a couple of pounds for a bag of chips and a can of pop if she was on a late shift.’
‘She must miss you.’
‘Yeah, she does.’ Maisie pulled a face. ‘The thing is, I can’t live at home forever just to keep her company. I’ve got my own life to lead.’ And she was growing more convinced that she wanted to spend it here in Picklewick.
Her mum turning up and expecting Maisie to travel back with her in less than two weeks, was making her anxious, and she had a feeling that after the Easter Fayre, Dulcie would be glad to see the back of both of them. Maisie didn’t blame her: she wouldn’t want anyone invading her space if she was all loved-up. And it wasn’t as though Dulcie and Otto were an old married couple: they’d got together less than a year ago and their relationship hadn’t been plain sailing either. So that meant that if Maisie intended to remain in Picklewick, she needed to find herselfanother job and somewhere to live a bit sharpish.
A thought occurred to her – did she want to stay here because it was a fresh new start, or did she want to stay because of Adam?
Pushing it to the back of her mind to think about later, she suggested they go to the flat so Adam could get cleaned up, and order a takeaway to be delivered rather than pick one up on the way and risk it going cold whilst he showered.
Maisie wasn’t overly hungry, her mother having killed her appetite somewhat, but she guessed Adam would be starving, so as soon as they stepped inside the flat she asked, ‘What do you fancy?’
‘You.’ His eyes widened. ‘Sorry, that just slipped out. I don’t mind… Whatever you fancy. I’ll, er, just go jump in the shower.’
He hurried upstairs, leaving her standing in the living room with a thudding heart and a dry mouth. Maisie heard footsteps above her head, then the sound of the shower running.
Imagining Adam underneath the jet of hot water as it cascaded over his body made her feel faint, and she knew what she wanted to do…
Tingling with a mixture of excitement, fear and desire, Maisie slowly went upstairs, her pulse throbbing at her throat. She was trembling, her palms were damp, and she almost decided to forget the whole thing. And she might well have done, if Adam hadn’t steppedout of the bathroom just as she reached the top of the stairs.
He was naked, water droplets glistening on his skin, his modesty only preserved by the towel he was holding to his face which draped over his chest and stomach to his thighs.
Gosh, he’s got nice legs, she thought, as her eyes slid down his body.
