Page 113 of Hope and Happiness in Bluebell Wood
‘If they look into it they won’t find anything, will they? Colin will have hushed everything up. He may be rude, annoying and a pain in the arse, but he’s not stupid.’
‘Maybe one of the builders will come clean?’ Callum suggests.
I shake my head. ‘No, they’ll be too afraid of losing their jobs, and the person that got paid off will keep quiet or the same will happen to them. It’s no good, Callum, Colin Cuckoo wins again!’
‘Ava,’ Callum says, standing up and coming over to me, ‘you need to calm down. This isn’t helping anyone – especially not you.’ He tries to comfort me by placing his hands on my arms.
‘I know,’ I wail, ‘but I’m just so frustrated. Whatever I do it doesn’t work; I can’t stop them. I want to help Bluebell Wood.I want to help you, Callum, and if I’m honest I want to help myself, too. This has become about more for me than just stopping some houses going up. It’s about doing what’s right and, more importantly, preventing what’s wrong.’
‘I know it is,’ Callum says supportively. ‘I know you need to do this, and I understand why. If they do find Colin Cuckoo has been concealing things he believes to be treasure, then he’ll be in a lot of trouble. Lonan said a fine, possibly imprisonment.’
‘I bet he’ll wriggle his way out of it,’ I grumble. ‘He’s that type.’
‘But you’ll have sullied his reputation in the process,’ Callum says. ‘And that counts for a lot in the business world.’
I know he’s trying to help me, but I can’t help but think there must be something else we can do. I can’t and I won’t give up now.
We sit back down on the sofa and I snuggle into Callum while he wraps his arm around my shoulders.
‘How’s your sister?’ I ask, hoping a change of subject might help my mood.
‘Yeah, she’s doing okay. Things have calmed down a bit now her meds are kicking in again.’
‘They wanted to put me on anti-anxiety medication after the attack,’ I tell him, ‘but I refused.’
‘Do you think it might have helped you?’
I shrug. ‘Maybe. At the time I didn’t want to have everything I was feeling dampened down, though. I think I needed to feel those emotions, to allow them to process properly.’
‘Do you think you’ve processed it all now?’
‘Probably not. You’ve seen how I’ve been reacting to everything that’s going on.’
‘That might not just be because of what happened. Perhapsit’s in your nature to root for the underdog – to try to protect those around you from what you perceive as harm.’
‘What do you mean what Iperceive as harm? Are you saying the houses are a good thing now?’
‘No, of course I’m not. But sometimes bad things have to happen to us to make us stronger humans. The process we go through while we’re dealing with what we consider bad things sometimes makes us a better person as a result.’
‘I know you’re a vicar,’ I say, looking up at him and smiling, ‘but do you have to always find the good in everything? It’s very annoying!’
Callum smiles too. ‘That’s not my profession, that’s just me. And you’re the one who sees everything as black and white. Good and bad. Life has many grey areas, in my experience.’
‘You’re probably right,’ I say, sighing a little.
‘But that shouldn’t stop you from fighting for what you think is right. That’s one of the things I love about you – your clear sense of right and wrong.’
I gaze up at Callum.
‘I love you, Ava Martin,’ he repeats, as my heart feels like it’s going to burst with love for him.
‘And I love you, too, Callum Crawford. More than you know.’
We kiss, and as our passion grows and I rearrange myself on the sofa to get closer to him, I feel something in my pocket prodding into my side.
‘Hang on,’ I say breathlessly as I sit back for a moment to remove whatever it is. I reach into my pocket and retrieve the object: it’s the locket.
‘What’s that?’ Callum asks, beginning to kiss my neck now.
