Pausing, she glanced across at Josh. She hadn’t realised he had followed her. ‘I don’t know. Umm, yes. I guess so.’
Scratching at the stubble on his chin, Josh furrowed his brows. ‘It must be tough coming back here after being away forso long. Especially...’ He waved his hand back in the general direction of the cottage.
Biting down on her bottom lip, she began walking again, thankful once they made their way past the last cottage of the village. Fields offered the anonymity Hannah craved right now. ‘Sorry, I just needed to get out. All the memories... Plus it’s only just hitting me that I literally abandoned the place. I know how stupid that sounds. Of course, I knew I’d not been back since Grandad... But...’ She shrugged, unsure how she could properly explain the emotions running through her when she didn’t understand them herself.
‘I get it.’
‘Do you?’ She crinkled her forehead. How could he ‘get it’? How could someone like Josh Morgan understand? An army of friends had always surrounded him growing up. He came from a loving family. He’d always been successful in whatever he chose to do. Life had come easily to him. And that was great. Josh was a great guy. Huh, she should know; she’d only been crushing on him for all of her teenage years after all.
‘Huh, not quite. But I do a little. I remember what it was like when I moved back to the village. After so many years away, it took me some time to adjust. And that’s putting it mildly.’ He chuckled.
‘I’m not moving back. I’ve only come to put the cottage on the market and then I’ll be gone again.’
‘Oh, really? That’s a shame.’
Stopping in her tracks, Hannah looked at him. Why did he care whether or not she stayed? She ran her fingers through her hair. He didn’t. It just meant that he thought she’d want the roof fixed sooner rather than later. Not that she’d be able to live in the cottage with it as it was anyway, so what difference that made she didn’t have a clue. But that’s what he’d be referring to. ‘Isthat going to be a problem? With the roof? Are you going to be able to fix it?’
‘Yes, I sure can.’ He nodded.
‘But you’re not free until six months’ time? Or it’s going to cost ten million pounds?’ She began walking again, watching as Alfie’s fluffy tail bobbed from side to side as he ambled along the narrow path in front of them.
‘Nope. I can do it now.’ He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked. ‘I do have another job on at the moment, but I’m happy to work in the evenings whilst it’s light.’
‘I can’t ask you to do that.’
‘No, but I’m offering.’ He smiled.
‘And how much will it cost?’ Hannah swallowed. Whilst being away, she’d prioritised exploring over work. She’d still worked, and she’d still had, still did have, money coming in, but only enough to keep things ticking over, and that hadn’t been much. Just enough for fuel, food and the basic bills for the cottage. She pinched the bridge of her nose. She should have found more work; she should have used the time to focus on building her portfolio, her customer base.
‘We can sort that out later. I need to take a look at how much materials and such will cost.’
‘I’d rather know now. Even if it’s a ballpark figure. Am I looking at ten thousand or two grand?’ Had Sophie told him how broke she was? She’d vented to her a few weeks ago now when she’d needed to get the tyres replaced on the car. She’d mentioned how she regretted letting her work slide. No, Sophie wouldn’t have told him. She wasn’t one to blab. Sophie was the listener of the group, always had been, and with that came the confidentiality of a counsellor.
‘Honestly, I’m not even sure myself yet. Not until I price up the materials.’
‘Right, of course. Sorry.’ Hannah sighed.
‘No worries. In fact, I should probably be getting back anyway. I’ll take another quick look at the damage if you don’t mind before I leave?’
‘Yes, of course. And thank you. I really do appreciate it.’ Pausing, Hannah waited for a tractor to pass and the rumble of its wheels on the road to subside before looking at him. ‘And sorry for just walking out back there. It was really rude of me.’
‘It wasn’t rude, Hannah.’ Josh gave her a small smile. ‘Are you going to be okay?’
Hannah nodded. ‘I think I’ll head to Gemma’s now. We’re all supposed to be meeting up there this evening, anyway.’
‘Okay. Well, take care.’ Holding his hand up in a wave, Josh turned and began retracing his steps towards the cottage.
As she watched him leave, she blew out a little breath. He hadn’t changed one iota. Although he had gained a few wrinkles around his eyes, which in her opinion only made him cuter. She tilted her head as he turned the corner. There was something else. There was a quiet edge to him. He’d always been happy-go-lucky, the complete opposite to his sister, who was more reserved and definitely a thinker. Hannah couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was something. He seemed more guarded, perhaps?
Maybe she wasn’t the only one who had things to unpack, the only one with history to come to terms with. She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked down at Alfie, who had settled to sit on her right foot. She hadn’t even asked him if she and, what was her name? Melinda or something were still together. She assumed they were. She assumed the ‘break’ had ended. After all, who would walk away from someone like Josh?
Shaking her head, Hannah pushed all thoughts of Josh out of her head and tapped her thigh. ‘Come on, Alfie, let’s head to Gemma’s.’
Chapter Six
Looking up from her bowl of dry cereal, Hannah twisted on the caravan sofa and peered out of the window. The only person she was expecting today was Gemma, who had offered to help her clean up the cottage a little, but with it being the school holidays, she’d be surprised if Gemma wasn’t making the most of being out of routine. Standing up, she walked the few short steps through the tiny kitchen area to the door and pulled it open. ‘Gemma! You’re early.’
‘Morning! I know, but it’s the last day of the school holidays, and I’ve got to go into school this afternoon to double-check I’ve got everything ready in the classroom for the new kids coming in.’ Gemma jumped down from the step, giving Hannah the space to join her on the driveway.
