Page 17 of Finding Home in Hartfell
He pulled a phone from his jeans pocket and checked it, sending unwelcome sparks dancing across Pippa’s arm when he brushed it with his hand. ‘About an hour? There’s something I need to borrow as well whilst I’m there.’
‘I thought you might. It’s all ready for you. Cheerio,’ she barked and nodded at Rose. She turned and left without offering Pippa a goodbye. Something was definitely creaking as she marched off and Pippa wondered grumpily if it was Dorothy’s joints or the coat.
‘I’d better run too, I’ve got to drop Alfie at a Young Farmers’ thing.’ Rose’s smile for Pippa lit up her face. ‘Teenagers. I swear I do way more running round after him now than when he was tiny.’
‘I’ve got one of those too,’ Pippa said wryly. ‘I know exactly what you mean.’
‘Would you like to have a coffee sometime?’ Rose laughed awkwardly. ‘I promise I won’t ask you about your dad, I just thought you might welcome a friendly face.’
‘I’d love that, thank you.’ Pippa was ready to clamber over the counter to embrace Rose now, hyper aware of Gil and certain he was blocking her on purpose. After meeting Dorothy, Pippa decided she needed all the friends in Hartfell she could get, and coffee sounded simple enough. ‘And ask whatever you like about my dad and the band, I don’t mind, and neither will he.’
‘That’s so kind. I work from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so pop round whenever you can, Pippa.’ Rose left another pile of postcards on the counter for clients to pick up. ‘Alfie and I live with my brother and his family on Abbeywell Farm, it’s about a mile outside the village.’
‘Thank you, I will.’
Rose left and Pippa really didn’t want to be alone with Gil and his grumpiness. She held her breath and everything in as she squeezed past him, still bent over the monitor.
‘So, when can I expect Harriet to turn up?’
‘Er, Monday, I suppose.’ Pippa was braced for some cutting comment, refusing to allow any lingering sympathy to soften her defences. ‘Thank you for allowing it.’
‘Not sure I had much say in the matter.’ He straightened up and she took the opportunity to make for the door. ‘I suppose you’ll be coming with her?’
‘Is that a problem?’
‘Maybe more than you realise.’ His eyes found hers and she felt the air between them vibrate with something different, something altogether more dangerous than displeasure. Her breath stuttered as his gaze held hers before he dropped it and turned back to the monitor.
Chapter Seven
Pippa returned to the house, her mind caught on Elaine’s story of Gil’s past and her own connection to Hartfell. Two families entwined, reaching back to a pair of young boys who’d been best mates until one of them had died, and Gil had lost his parents. And Ivy, whoever she was, whom Violet believed was connected to Pippa in some way. She’d never delved into her family’s past before; their present had kept her occupied enough until now.
She couldn’t unravel the reason Jonny had stepped in and bought the farm when Gil had wanted it for himself. Her dad already owned a London apartment, the holiday home in Majorca they all still used, and a rambling cottage on the Norfolk coast where he escaped alone to write music. That was his place, one where he didn’t like to be interrupted and he shared it with her brother Raf, whom Pippa knew also required solitude to write songs he refused to reveal to the world.
She knew Jonny was toying with buying a place in Australia as he was coming to love it there so much, but surely things weren’t so uncertain that he’d have to sell Home Farm to fund it. As she opened the back door into the kitchen, she decided she’d better find out. Raf would know. Of all of them, he spent the most time with their dad.
Whilst the band were on a break from the tour, Raf was supposed to be summering on a Scandinavian island with his girlfriend Lina, a stunning Swedish journalist. He and Lina had been very loved up in the beginning, but Pippa knew from experience that it might not last. Raf loathed the idea of permanent commitment and she longed for him to find a true home for his sensitive soul, one he was careful to keep hidden. Of all her siblings, she was closest to him, but even their lives had become more distant and their catch-ups rarer.
Her phone was on the kitchen worktop, and she picked it up, opening the email application. It failed to refresh, and she felt another glimmer of sympathy for Harriet, wishing she’d thought to take the phone with her when she’d gone to see Elaine. The kitchen felt different now Pippa knew exactly whose home it had once been, and judging by the state of the cupboards and the ancient range, she didn’t imagine it had changed since Gil’s grandmother’s days.
Was she really going to insist that he move out now she knew something of his history here? Was she even legally entitled to, if he changed his mind and decided to stay? Unlikely, if he had a formal agreement in place with Jonny. Pippa was hazy on the rights of sitting tenants, but she was pretty sure they couldn’t be evicted without notice. She was still trying to decide whether he’d be more inclined to leave if she was really nice or utterly foul to him when Harriet appeared, phone in hand.
‘What’s for lunch?’ She glanced up momentarily from the screen. ‘Can I borrow your hairdryer please? Mine’s still at Isla’s, I forgot to bring it back with me.’
‘Of course, it’s in my case. Lunch will be soup and fresh bread I bought in the village. The shop is lovely, Harriet, you should pop down and have a look.’ Pippa was clutching at straws with that one. Used to London markets and the odd boutique when she wanted something special, Harriet wouldn’t be impressed with Violet’s old-fashioned treasure trove.
‘Mmm. Where’s Gil?’
‘I presume still at work, somebody called to ask him to have a look at a nanny. I think that’s a goat.’ Pippa considered her next words carefully, hoping to find an opportunity to talk on neutral ground. ‘What would you like to do this afternoon?’ Probably best to see if Harriet had any suggestions rather than making her own right now.
‘Dunno.’
‘Right.’ All that money on a nice school and Harriet still didn’t speak in sentences. Jonny had paid for it and that was another bone of contention between them. Pippa didn’t think she’d ever stop missing her; the house always felt so much less of a home without Harriet’s presence in it.
‘I thought I’d go for a walk and explore. It is very pretty, from what I’ve seen so far. Would you like to come with me?’
‘Since when did you come over all rural?’ Considering the lack of Wi-Fi, Harriet seemed to spend just as much time staring at her phone.
‘I don’t think I have come over “all rural”.’ Pippa decided that Harriet could probably teach Dorothy a thing or two about disdain. And she’d speak to her daughter another time about her attitude; there were only so many battles she could have on the go. ‘You know I enjoy my running and I’d like to find a nice route while we’re here.’
