Page 35 of A Second Chance in Seabury
‘Sorry,’ muttered Jason. ‘Crap subject… erm…’
‘Don’t worry about it,’ said Hannah, quickly deciding to let the poor guy off the hook. ‘For the record, I’m glad he’s not here, too.’
‘Okay,’ said Jason, looking relieved. ‘Cool.’
‘So,’ she said, hunting around for a decent change of subject, ‘how did the Snakes and Ladders marathon go last night?’
‘It was epic!’ said Jason. ‘Ten games, and we’re even. We’re planning a rematch in a couple of weeks. Maybe you could come too? We could do a full-on games night before Sarah heads back to college.’
‘That sounds amazing, but I’m not sure if I’ll still be in town,’ said Hannah.
‘Ah, gutted!’ said Jason. ‘Will you be back for Christmas? We could do another one then – with added sherry and mince pies!’
‘I’ll… think about it,’ said Hannah, though she instantly regretted it. She should come clean. After all, it was going to be pretty obvious she was telling porkies in a couple of weeks when a For Sale sign went up outside the house. ‘Actually, I’m back in town to get the house ready for the estate agent to come and take photos.’
‘Wait… you’re selling?’ gasped Jason.
‘That’s the plan,’ said Hannah.
‘Ah man, that’s a shame.’ Jason pulled a face. ‘Talk about the end of an era. I feel like you’ve been around all my life. I guess you have, in a way!’
Hannah nodded, blinking hard and suddenly glad of the wind in her face. At least it was some kind of excuse for the fact that her eyes were starting to water.
‘Does dad know?’ said Jason.
‘Honestly? I’m not sure,’ said Hannah. ‘He seems to know most things before I’ve even thought them.’
‘Welcome to my world!’ laughed Jason.
‘What’s his secret?’ said Hannah, glad of the opportunity for a gentle change in topic.
‘It’s the bees,’ said Jason. ‘They tell him things.’
Hannah raised an eyebrow and glanced across at Jason, expecting to see the laughter still firmly on his face. Instead, hewas completely unbothered. Like he hadn’t just said something that made him sound like he’d been busy munching on interesting brownies.
‘The bees?’
‘Yep.’
‘Okay then.’
Hannah shook her head in wonder. She’d always thought Mr Eaves was a bit odd. Mysterious, even. And here was the proof.
‘Race you to the top of the hill?’ said Jason, giving her a cheeky smile.
‘That’s a hard no!’ laughed Hannah.
For one thing, her legs would never hold up. They were already straining from all this unaccustomed exercise as it was. For another, she was in no rush for this ride to be over. The winding backroads were ripe and golden in the autumn sunshine, the air was fresh, and the countryside was unspoiled. With every push of her pedals, Hannah couldn’t help asking herself one question…
Why on earth was she planning to leave all this behind for good?
CHAPTER 15
‘Hello, you two!’ David straightened up from the fence post he’d been leaning on to grin at Hannah and Jason as they bumped along the gravel path. ‘This is an unexpected pleasure!’
‘Hannah!’ Sarah peered around David, her face breaking into a beaming smile as she spotted them. ‘I can’t believe it.’
‘Believe what?’ puffed Hannah as she came to a halt next to them. She put one shaky foot to the ground and promptly decided to give it a couple of minutes before attempting to get off the bike.
