Page 19 of Starting Over at Halesmere House
‘Anyone else?’ Zac looked from Sandy to his dad, and they thanked him and refused.
‘Haulage must have been very interesting, Alice?’ Neil was buttering another slice of sourdough.
‘It was; I loved it.’ She ignored the wistful note in her voice. ‘My dad started the company years ago and I joined him straight after college, when I was eighteen.’
‘Alice is an expert driver too,’ Sandy said loyally. ‘Drove lorries all over the country for years.’
‘Is that right?’ Neil gave her a grin. ‘You and Zac should get together, swap a few stories. He loves his cars.’ Zac returned with another bowl of soup and gave his dad a quizzical look. ‘I was just saying to Alice about you and your cars, Zac. You should take Alice out.’
‘In my van?’ He flashed her a smile and she wondered about the engagement party at the pub tomorrow night and whether he would be there. She hoped he would. ‘I don’t think that would be very interesting for you.’
‘Maybe I should take you out in my car instead.’ She’d barely driven since she’d moved; her car was tucked up in the garage out of the worst of the weather. She definitely needed something more practical, though, a vehicle that would cope with her new job and the coming winter conditions.
‘Yeah? What do you drive?’
‘A Porsche Boxster.’ She was thinking of her dad’s excitement when he’d found it for her, the work he’d done himself. Happy memories didn’t fade; they just meant even more now she couldn’t add to them. ‘An original 986. It’s not the quickest but I love it.’
‘Nice. I’d love to see it.’ The smile Zac had given Alice quickly disappeared. ‘Dad, we need to get back to work in a minute. There’s definitely rain on the way, and I’d like to be done before then.’
‘Time for a cup of tea before you go?’ Sandy asked.
‘We’d better take it outside, thanks.’ Zac’s second helping of soup was almost gone as well.
He collected the bowl when he left the table to pull his boots back on. Neil followed more slowly and they both thanked Alice again for the meal. Sandy helped her clear up and then she left for Halesmere to remove pots from the kiln, with a reminder about lunch after church on Sunday and the crumble Alice had promised to make.
Alice made more tea for Zac and Neil, then took hers up to the sitting room. She still hadn’t unpacked the books she’d brought from her old home, and it was hard to ignore a little sadness as she emptied boxes. Some books from her childhood, some of her dad’s old car manuals she simply couldn’t part with, not to mention favourite novels that seemed to land her straight back at the moment in her past when she’d read them.
By mid-afternoon the sky was darkening, and she was at the breakfast bar, flipping through a seed catalogue, thinking happily of spring and all the gorgeous new plants she’d be growing. Zac knocked on the patio doors, his safety gear gone, and she went to open it.
‘We’re done; Dad’s just loading the van. Do you want to have a look?’
‘Please.’ Unlike Zac, Alice needed a coat. She grabbed one from the utility room and stuffed her feet into wellies to follow him into the garden. ‘Oh, wow!’
The view Zac had opened up by removing the conifers was stunning. The valley stretched before her, dotted with ancient farms and stone cottages among clumps of browning bracken and green meadows. The pair of fell ponies in the field next door had wandered over and she couldn’t resist stepping through the uneven border to stroke one across the wall.
‘This looks so much better, thank you. I can’t wait to plant a new hedge and make sure the birds have somewhere to roost and nest again.’
‘You’re very welcome. The view is pretty amazing.’ He pointed to the hollowed-out ground where the conifers had been, scattered with sawdust and bits of timber. ‘So the stumps are gone as well. The roots are quite shallow, and I’ve got out as much as I can, but some of them are just too thin for me to grind.’
‘That’s okay, I can work on the rest before I put the hedge in.’ The pony raised its head to nudge her shoulder and she pulled a face as it deposited a blob of green slime on her coat.
‘Are you planning to plant the hedge now or wait until spring?’ Zac had joined her and was rubbing the other pony’s neck beneath its thick dark mane, and it curled a hairy top lip in pleasure. Neil was behind them, tidying away the tarpaulin and the last of the tools on the lawn. ‘I can recommend a nursery if you want; it’s the same one Max uses and they have plenty of bare root stock right now.’
‘Thanks, Zac, he’s already mentioned it. Visiting the nursery is another job on my list; I’m going to need more perennials for the meadow, but I’ll buy most of them in the spring. I hope I can plant this hedge soon – I’ll keep an eye on the weather. Thank you for sorting out the conifers; I appreciate you taking care of it so promptly.’
‘That wasn’t what you said when I came round on Monday.’ His familiar grin was back, and the splash of rain was cool on her face. ‘You tried to put me off and said it didn’t need doing yet.’
‘I didn’t want to keep you from more important work. I know the hotel is a big project and it’s going to take months to complete.’
‘Yeah, it’s reopening in May and there’s a lot to do before then.’ Zac’s phone was in his hand. ‘Can I take your contact details, so I can email you my invoice.’
‘Absolutely.’ Alice reeled off her email and she included her number for good measure. Now she was completely contactable to Zac, and she watched him adding her details on his phone. She stifled a smile; Kelly would be proud of her, and she hadn’t even had to swipe right to get this far. ‘I’ll pay your invoice as soon as you send it.’
‘There’s no rush. I don’t think you’re going anywhere, and I know where to find you.’
‘You’re right, I’m not going anywhere.’ That felt wonderful as she took another moment to enjoy her new surroundings. Both ponies were bored now and wandered off. Alice stepped out of the border, back onto the lawn, stamping her feet to remove some of the mud before she trailed it into the house, with Zac following.
‘Zac? Sorry. Can I have your keys? I’ll shift the van and hitch up the chipper.’
