Page 14 of Starting Over at Halesmere House
‘Oh!’ What did that mean? Being around Zac was like learning a whole other language, one without a dictionary at hand.
‘Heads up, I’m hoping you’re going to make me a cup of tea while I check out those conifers in your garden.’
‘You are?’ Monday was already more fun. ‘It was very good of Max to ask you but it’s not urgent. I’m sure you must be busy at the hotel.’
‘Not so busy that I can’t find time to at least have a look. From what Max said it won’t be a big job and I’m here now.’ Zac straightened up and shook the carton in his hand. ‘It’s cold out here, Harvey. What’s it to be?’
‘You could try wearing a coat; I don’t know how you do it.’ Alice wanted to shiver just looking at him, but that maybe wasn’t down to the weather. She folded her arms firmly. ‘How do you like your tea?’ Why did that simple question suddenly sound so intimate, as though she was asking it the morning after the night before?
‘Strong, no sugar thanks.’ He pointed to his booted feet. ‘Shall I take these off or go around the back?’
‘Probably easiest to go around the back. There’s a gate beside the garage; the conifers are through there.’
In the kitchen, she filled the kettle and put it on the Aga, staring at Zac’s pint of milk sitting on the worktop. That carton implied planning, that he’d intended to surprise her and had gone to the community shop first, had been thinking about her. She ignored the flutter in her stomach and dropped tea bags into two mugs. She didn’t have time to run into her bedroom and change, and almost everything he’d seen her in so far was hardly flattering anyway.
It was a dry, crisp morning and she’d planned time in the garden at Halesmere later to help keep it ticking over until spring, then she’d switch to planting seeds in the polytunnel when the rain came. Zac tapped on the patio door a few minutes later and she let him in. He was bending to unlace his boots and she spoke first.
‘Don’t worry about them; it’s a hard floor and they’re not dirty.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Absolutely. So what’s the verdict on the conifers?’ Alice passed him a steaming mug and he thanked her as she retreated to the Aga, leaning against the rail to appreciate the warmth. She realised she had actually used his milk and now she didn’t know whether to hand it back or put it in the fridge. Her kitchen felt different with him inside it, his presence filling the space in a way she wasn’t used to.
‘They need to come down. At least two of them are about to fall and they’ll probably take part of the wall with them if they do. It’s a day’s work and I could do it on Thursday.’
‘So soon?’
Zac nodded, a hand around his mug, another green T-shirt matching the one she’d first seen him in. ‘Better to get on with it before the weather and the ground get any worse. I’m pretty much booked up with Max until I leave but I can fit in a day. He’s good with it.’
It made sense and Alice knew it. ‘How do you never seem to feel the cold?’ she rushed out. ‘I’m already planning to light a fire tonight and curl up beside it.’ It was part of her new wintering ritual: to be outside and really feel the season before snuggling indoors again.
‘Don’t know. Never have, I suppose.’ His free hand was on the chain around his neck, and he tucked it out of sight beneath the T-shirt. A buzzing noise started emanating from a trouser pocket on his right thigh – his phone, she assumed – but he ignored it. ‘How are you settling in? Halesmere’s great; I love the landscape here.’
‘So do I. And fine thanks, getting there. I’m lucky to have Sandy so close.’
‘She’s your aunt, right?’
‘Yes. It’s because of her that I discovered Halesmere and met Ella and Max. They’ve been really good, giving me a chance here.’
‘The meadow is a lot of work.’ Zac finished his tea and put the empty mug in the sink. ‘Max was ready to turn it back to wildflowers if he couldn’t find someone to take it on. But from what I’ve seen of you, I think that meadow’s met its match.’ He slid the phone from his pocket to check it. ‘I’ve got to head off. See you Thursday.’
‘Zac?’
‘What?’
‘Don’t you want the rest of your milk back?’ Alice felt lighter as she smiled. She was doing it more every day.
‘Keep it.’ The grin was still there as he opened the door. ‘Then hopefully you’ll still have enough left for Thursday.’
Alice gradually settled into the beginnings of a new working routine as the week went on. She was at Halesmere early on Wednesday to join Ana and Rachael for a yoga session and loved it, promising to take part as often as she could. Stan had bustled past as Alice was leaving the barn with Ana, calling over that he’d have the kettle on if they wanted a proper brew to put right all that bending and breathing malarkey, which he was sure would be very bad for him if he ever attempted it.
Ana didn’t have time to stay but Alice took him up on the offer, sitting in his comfortable workshop, full of the array of tools he used for his carpentry and chatting together like old friends. Down in the meadow later she found plenty to do, glad that the gardens were in good shape and just needed an eye and a few hours each week to keep them tidy for the winter. Spring was the season when she’d be busiest, and she would be welcoming her first guests to the Flower Shed in three weeks.
Ella was on maternity leave and Alice saw her most mornings with the children, feeding the chickens and the guinea pigs before they walked down to school with Prim, their lively English pointer. Ella’s parents were moving into their cottage soon and her mum would be taking over housekeeping responsibilities for the holiday business.
Stan liked to pop his head into Alice’s studio to ask if she needed anything, and he could usually be enticed in for a brew, nattering as she filled the shelves with vintage china and the array of pretty vases she’d picked up second-hand.
She’d seen Zac a couple of times, but they didn’t speak again until Thursday. He arrived at the barn promptly at eight a.m., just as darkness had given over to daylight. She was already at a small desk she’d set up in a corner of the dining area off the kitchen and planned to spend the morning finalising content for her new website. Through the window she saw his van pull up and when a second man followed him out, the similarities between them were too obvious to miss.
