Page 36 of You Had Me At Pumpkin Patch
‘Treehouses? I’ll never get myself up into a horse chestnut,’ said Mags, offering Zain a parcel of cake.
His eyes widened, like he wasn’t accustomed to kind gestures. After a slight hesitation, he exhaled and took it. ‘They’d be more like wooden huts built onto the trees’ structure and strengthened from below by stilts, rather than something you need to swing into, like Tarzan.’
‘Knew he reminded me of someone,’ Mags muttered.
‘On stilts?’ said Bonnie.
‘It gives a true immersive experience,’ said Zain slowly, as if trying to remember something. Then his words picked up pace. ‘Being up there in nature, the rustle of the trees as you sleep. The views of the pumpkin fields to greet you as you wake.’ He swept his arm in their general direction. ‘A small balcony for al fresco dining on a hearty pumpkin stew, while you gaze at the stars. A set of binoculars to take in the birds as they peck happily from the pumpkin bird feeders. Not to mention the health benefits of forest bathing, orshinrin-yoku, as the Japanese call it. It reduces stress hormone production, boosts your immune system, awakens your senses, brings your creative soul to life...’
Rosie scratched her head. Who was this, and what on earth had they done with Zain? Now he was definitely starting to sound like he’d inhaled a brochure on the perfect pumpkin retreat lifestyle, complete with a few tomes on health and wellbeing. But like he said, he had a brain. It would be rude for anyone to assume he hadn’t.
Yes, Zain Kay had hidden depths. And the more Rosie saw of them, the more she liked.
Perhaps she should get him to write the retreats’ promotional material. He was certainly selling it to the others, who had all gathered around. Luna was looking gooey-eyed, and her girlfriend Ellen was tutting at her, good-naturedly.
‘And fewer creepy-crawlies and slithering creatures up there too,’ said Mags. ‘I don’t want any adders up my ladder.’
Zain shrugged. ‘Maybe Rosie will lend you her humane spider catcher. The best thing about the treehouses is that they’ll be a compromise.’ He turned to Rosie and held her with one of his looks, that were fast making her feel like she was the only other person in the universe. ‘They won’t take up precious meadow space or encroach onto the habitats of the farm’s wildlife. It will be more about co-existing in harmony. Growing to understand each other but still respecting the other’s space. I used to think people just brought problems – but I’m starting to learn that some have good hearts.’ He stopped for a moment, as though trying to remember what came next.
‘He gives a lovely speech,’ Luna breathed. ‘He should be an actor, or something.’
‘They’re all my own words.’ Zain’s response was a little on the gruff side, but he shook himself and blinked a few times, his face looking like he was trying to compute something. ‘Respecting each other’s space, good hearts,’ he muttered, checking things off on his fingers. ‘Yes, that was it.’ He lifted his head. ‘Some people want to make things better, even if they seem out of their depth and they wear the most unsuitable wellies. I respect that.’
Rosie tried not to grin.
He really did have a lot of words today, and not all of them sounded like the version of Zain that Rosie had come to know – but she could get used to the compliments. Rosie could only guess that seeing the men in suits sizing the place up and threatening to bring concrete had lit a fire under his particularly firm backside. That couldn’t be a bad thing.
‘We need to talk more about this compromising,’ said Rosie, grabbing Zain’s arm and pointing towards the fields. ‘Shall we?’
She experienced an unmistakable pull to hear more of his intriguing words. Suddenly it felt like, together, there was a growing possibility they could get somewhere.
Though there was a tug of fear that she ought to curb her mounting desire to be dangerously close to Zain. When she’d arrived, she had carefully constructed reasons to keep her distance. She had too many secrets. He was her mysterious muse. Her romantic life always ended in spectacular disaster. But the more she spent time with this intriguing hermit with the hidden heart, the more parts of that fell away. If she wasn’t careful, she’d have no walls left.
If they worked together, could she still keep a colleague-safe distance? And if she didn’t, would their newly found level of compromise come crashing down?
To everyone’s surprise, he took her hand and squeezed it. How long would this fascinating new version of Zain be sticking around?
24
Rosie heard a shuffling outside the door of her cabin, followed by a muffled cough.
‘Your smile lights up the sky. And... erm... it’s kind of dark out here.’
She thought she heard a rustling of papers, although she might have imagined that bit. In fact, she was half-convinced she was imagining the whole thing. Was that Zain’s voice out there in the darkness? It sounded like him. But like on a few occasions during that day, it didn’t seem like the sort of thing he would usually say. Maybe everything that was going on was changing him too.
Rosie stood in the candlelight, hugging her mug of milky tea. She’d been about to sit down and write, after a busy day of helping to build teepees and plan treehouses. Through her written words, she’d wanted to explore the tingle ofsomethingthat had been growing between her and Zain that day.
‘Don’t make me do thebaby it’s cold outsideline.’ He coughed. ‘Not that I have any actual lines, obviously. Erm. Anyway, the weather’s pretty mild. Are you in there?’
Rosie couldn’t help a grin as she opened the door to the person who was definitely Zain, albeit an unusually nervous version.
He looked a little dazed at the sight of her, like she’d thrown him off script. Maybe he wasn’t accustomed to fully-grown women in embarrassing Eeyore pyjamas.
‘I... erm.’ He looked over his shoulder towards the lake and then back at Rosie. ‘I don’t usually forget what I was meant to say.’
‘Must be my sky-lighting smile, putting you off.’ She gave him a wink to let him know she was jesting.
‘I think it was the donkey,’ he said, pointing to her top. ‘Cool character, that Eeyore. Grumpy, but misunderstood. Shall we... start again?’
