Page 72 of Starting Over at Halesmere House
‘You definitely didn’t.’ He bent down to whisper in her ear. ‘Go on, say it. Our banana wants you to.’
‘They’re not a banana now, more like a marrow.’ Alice slid her arms around him, pulling him as close as she could. She’d missed his kisses as well, his energy, his everything, and she put the first one to rights immediately. ‘Okay, I did come here to tell you I love you too. I felt the same, when you left, and I was afraid of holding you back. Happy?’
‘I am now.’ He hesitated. ‘I haven’t really been happy since I got here. All I could think about was you and me, and how we were crazy to let go of something so incredible. I was planning to quit my job and ask you for a chance, but once I knew about the baby, I felt I couldn’t, that we needed the security.’
‘So why have you done it now?’ She tilted her head back to stare at him, loving the new exhilaration in his eyes.
‘Well, I’ve gone and bought a wood instead of a house.’ He laughed, astonishing her all over again. ‘The one next door to Halesmere. Max was interested and he stepped back when he knew I wanted it. I’m going to manage his alongside ours. I completed the course while I’ve been up here, so I know what I’m doing. Some, anyway. There’s lots to learn.’
‘A wood! Zac, that’s wonderful; think of everything we can do with it.’
‘Exactly. We can’t live there but I’m going to build a cabin where we can hide away when we want to, the three of us. I’d love it to be a place where kids can run wild. Ours, Isaac, Lily and Arlo, our girls, the lot of them. I’ve been thinking about the idea of a forest school as well, and I’m planning to start training.’
‘I think it’s perfect. You’ll be perfect.’
‘It won’t be enough on its own,’ Zac said quickly. ‘I’ll still need work. But Max and I have talked and I’m going to set up my own company. I’ll work with him when he needs me, but I’ll be freelance too, taking on other contracts. Alice, I’ll do whatever it takes to look after our family, I promise.’ His hold around her fingers was tight, eyes blazing with love and hope. ‘So what do you think?’
‘I think you need to pack up that cottage and come home with me,’ she whispered.
‘I haven’t got a home at Halesmere,’ he reminded her. ‘The flat was only temporary.’
‘Of course you do.’ Alice shifted his hands, holding one and putting the other on their baby. ‘We’re your home.’
Epilogue
August, three months later
Crowds had been building all morning, swelled by holidaymakers passing through, and the weather was ideal: the sun not too hot with a gentle breeze helping keep the competitors cool. The entire Halesmere team, plus Alice’s mum, Steven, Jenna, their girls and Zac’s family, had all turned out to support him. Alice’s friend Kelly and her partner, Damon, had sent their apologies, delayed on a flight from Dubai.
It had been Zac’s idea to enter the triathlon and he’d devised a training plan and stuck to it. Alice had been lost for words when he told her he’d entered straight after Isaac’s christening, knowing she wouldn’t be able to continue. He’d explained he wasn’t doing it just for her, but for the same reasons she had wanted to enter in the first place. To say thank you for the support she’d received and to help those who would come after her. And not only that – and she’d laid the blame for crying again firmly on her hormones – but he felt braver because of her and their baby.
Ella had organised a giant picnic and people were still trickling in long after the competitors had finished their swim and the cycle and were out on the run. Alice had been here all day and she’d seen Zac enter the lake first thing before he was lost in the flurry of swimming caps and arms in wetsuits arcing through the water.
She was near the transition area to clap him through when he emerged from the lake, pulling off his wetsuit as he ran and flashing her a grin. He’d created his own fundraising page when he’d moved back to Halesmere, and Alice found she minded much less about people guessing why she’d had the idea in the first place. Their baby’s due date was less than two weeks away, and she had a check-up appointment with the midwife on Monday.
Lily and Arlo were wildly excited when they arrived with a dog each. Prim was much better behaved, being a very grown-up two years old, than Arlo’s adored collie, Fly, his birthday present back in May. Fly was learning to be sociable as well as useful, and he and Arlo were both in training with Luke down at the farm. Max had to make a grab for Fly’s lead more than once when it seemed he’d settle for herding children instead of sheep, and Noelle had joined them with a friend up from London. She was sketching baby Isaac as he giggled on his nana’s knee, charming everyone.
Lily and Arlo soon handed over the dogs to Max so they could take off and play with Alice and Zac’s four nieces, who often came to stay with them at the barn. The sight made her heart bump with love – such a simple thing and one day their child would join the gang with Isaac. Mates, all mucking in together.
The sale of the wood was complete, and she and Zac spent much of their free time there, working sometimes but also coming to understand the land and the trees. What grew and flowered where and when; land that held the water after rain and swelled the stream gushing through the wood and out into a river; the birds and wildlife that called this place home, just like they did. He’d already picked out a spot for their cabin, which he planned to build himself with a bit of help from Stan, and then there would be a treehouse for wild adventures and long days outdoors.
Neil had moved north too, dividing his time between his two children and their families, and he and Sandy were regulars at the barn. He’d taken up photography, encouraged by Lizzie, and loved his early morning starts in search of the golden hour and a perfect shot. Lizzie and Cal’s wedding was planned for next summer and everyone was invited, including the reality television star who’d become a friend, and who Stan still insisted on calling ‘that daft lad’.
The television series about the Lakes and the Dales was going out next month and Stan took all the teasing about the potential for becoming a TV star in his own right with endless good humour. Max’s hotel project was complete, and the garden was breathtakingly beautiful, constructed from local and natural materials with abundant, joyful planting, and he was booked up for the next two years as a consequence. His current project, and one he considered at least as important as the hotel if not more so, was redesigning the garden at Lily and Arlo’s primary school. He’d promised the head teacher he’d do it and the full weight of his landscaping team was on it through the holidays.
Zac was working through his forest school training and he would be running sessions in the autumn, allowing children to set their own pace as they learned how to take risks, create their own ideas and adventures in a safe and supported environment. Alice loved sharing the barn with him, and it had never felt more like home. She’d found the strength to start over at Halesmere and knew she had friends and family alongside her when she needed them. She and Zac would both be taking some time off when the baby arrived, and they planned to work around each other’s commitments as much as they could. His own company was just getting going and projects were filling his calendar months in advance.
She had begun her mindfulness training and, once complete, they planned to combine this with the forest school and the Flower Shed, helping to connect people with nature and bring a little of it into their everyday lives. Halesmere was growing and evolving, and the house was booked for retreats for the next twelve months. The reality television star was staying for Christmas and Lizzie had arranged a butler after he announced he never wanted to see the inside of a tent again.
Alice, their four girls, Lily and Arlo were waiting for Zac when he returned from the cycle and set out on the final stage. The children all ran alongside him for a few yards, and he managed to high-five everyone before they abandoned the chase. Lily had a job holding on to Prim, who was used to running with Ella and very much wanted to continue.
Zac had been concerned about Alice sitting out for hours today and she’d told him she would be fine. She’d been having Braxton Hicks contractions for a few days, all perfectly normal as her body prepared for their baby to be born. Even though she was apprehensive about the actual birth, she couldn’t wait to meet their child. Sleeping was difficult now and she was tired more often but none of it mattered, not really. Just a safe and healthy delivery.
She was feeling much less comfortable as the first runners returned and was at the finish line with the children to cheer and clap Zac as he crossed it. He hugged her in triumph as best he could before bending to catch his breath, hands on his knees. He accepted a medal from an organiser, along with some goodies, water and an energy bar. He wanted Alice in the official photograph with him and everyone else had their phones out.
‘You’ll be happy to hear we’ve saved you some food. Even though Ella brought masses, six kids have had more than their fill.’ Alice caught Zac’s hand, drawing him to a halt before they reached the others. ‘Thank you,’ she said simply. ‘It means the world and I know why you did it.’
‘How could I not?’ he said softly. ‘I was thinking of you both the whole way round. Well, that and how I’m never going to do it again. I hate running.’
