Page 70 of The Beekeeper's Cottage
Grace settled herself back behind the wheel and waited for Amos to join her.
‘You know, my head is spinning with the thought that we can go anywhere and do anything. It’s the most delicious feeling. I ought to be terrified but…’ She took Amos’s hand, unable to say any more.
‘You heard the lady,’ he replied. ‘We’ve wasted far too much time already. Come on, let’s hit the road.’
It seemed as if a lifetime had passed since Grace had pulled away from Hope Corner Farm the day before, but now, as she drew up in front of the gates, she was excited to be back, even if it was only for a short while…
She gave a couple of toots on the horn before climbing from the cab, looking around to see if she could spot anyone. They had decided against phoning ahead, instead wanting to spring a surprise on everyone at the farm, but it was late afternoon and she knew that everyone would be busy.
It was Brodie who spotted them first. The elderly dog gave a half-hearted woof as he raised himself up from where he’d been lying in the shade of a tree. Moments later, as he walked towards them, tail wagging, Grace spotted Flora at a distance, walking alongside two other people. She was about to rush forward when she realised that they could well be prospective customers and so she hung back a little, looking at Amos; perhaps they should go to the house first. She was about to suggest it, when there was a gleeful shout and Grace looked back to see Flora hurtling across the yard towards them.
Flora was moving so fast she almost bounced off Grace, crushing her in a hug before letting go and doing the same to Amos.
‘Oh my God, you’re here… both of you… together!’ She laughed, jiggling about in an excited fashion so that her wild curls bounced about her shoulders. But then she stopped suddenly, her face falling as her hand went to her mouth.
‘Oh… is everything okay…? Are you…?’ She stopped, she couldn’t say any more.
Grace took her hand. ‘Yes it is… and yes, we are…’ And then she pulled Flora into another hug.
‘Oh, I’m so happy!’ Flora pulled away, unashamedly wiping under her eyes. ‘It’s been agony wondering how things were going. I didn’t know if you’d found Amos, or if you had, well, you know… whether you’d be together. I nearly called Maria so many times to see if she knew anything.’ She grinned at them both.
‘I know, I’m so sorry,’ replied Grace. ‘We were going to call, and then we thought we should just turn up. It’s been a bit mad, to tell you the truth. Utterly wonderfully, gloriously mad, but mad all the same.’
Flora nodded. ‘None of that matters, it’s just so lovely to see you. Come on, we need to go and find everyone else.’
Grace peered over her shoulder at the two figures who were loitering hesitantly a little distance away. Noticing, Flora slapped a hand to her forehead and turned towards them, beckoning them over.
‘This is Huw and Kitty,’ she explained, gesturing at the two young people. ‘You might remember when you first arrived, Amos, that I was due to have a couple of students come and work for the summer but they decided to go to Greece for a bit… Well, it would seem that things didn’t work out quite the way they hoped and so… well, here they are…’ She broke off, peering at Amos. ‘You didn’t have anything to do with that, did you? I wouldn’t put it past you.’
Amos laughed. ‘How could I possibly have anything to do with it?’
‘Hmmm…’ Flora’s eyes narrowed. ‘I don’t know, but I still reckon I’m right. I always said there was something about you…’
They all shook hands before Flora asked Huw and Kitty to go and fetch Ned from the field. Then she turned back to Grace and Amos.
‘Cup of tea?’ she asked. ‘I bet you’re dying for one. And I need to hear everything that’s happened, come on.’
They followed her back inside the farmhouse, where her loud shout brought Hannah and Fraser into the kitchen. Ned arrived soon after, and it was some minutes before their excited chatter died down enough for Amos to speak.
‘I am sorry for just taking off like that,’ he said. ‘But…’ He trailed off and Grace remembered that she was still the only one who knew about his past. She wondered what he was going to say when Fraser leaned forward, cutting him off.
‘I’ve said it before lad, but I told you that as long as you looked after us here you were entitled to keep your past to yourself until you were ready to tell us, and the same is still true. We couldn’t ask for more from you, Amos, and, as far as we’re concerned, the only reason you left is because of the way you feel about this wonderful lady here.’ He paused for a second, looking at Grace, a huge smile on his face. ‘And really that’s all we need to know. So, I don’t reckon that today is the day to tell us, after all. Besides, the smile on Grace’s face has told us all we need to know.’
Amos smiled gratefully. ‘My headisa little all over the place,’ he admitted and then blushed a deep red. ‘But then I’ve never been in love before.’
Ned gave a low whistle and clutched hold of Flora’s hand. ‘And I thought it was just me that was a soppy idiot.’
‘Romantic,’ said Flora, firmly. ‘Not soppy.’ But her smile was as bright as her husband’s.
‘So, what are you going to do now?’ she asked them both.
Grace glanced at Amos. ‘Well, I have the van for two weeks,’ she said. ‘So we’re going to do a little driving, and a little thinking… but mainly we’re just going to enjoy what life seems to have brought us.’ She took hold of Amos’s hand. ‘Isn’t that right?’
He nodded. ‘But we’ll be back… I don’t know how long we’ve got before the house is sold, but there’s all the work to finish here and—’
Ned held up his hand. ‘Don’t you worry about that,’ he said. ‘That’s not going anywhere and we don’t need to rush, we’ve plenty to keep us going for the time being. Our dreams aren’t going anywhere.’
‘No,’ said Flora, smiling. ‘No, they’re not. And we’ll sort something out for you two, one way or another. The universe isn’t going to let us down now,’ she added. ‘It wouldn’t dare.’
