Page 6 of A Second Chance in Seabury
Unfortunately, Bernard didn’t seem to be in the mood tojust get backanywhere, and promptly took a little detour right into the middle of the nearest flowerbed.
‘Erm… I’m really sorry to have to ask…’ Mr Eaves turned to Hannah. He was looking decidedly pink in the face, though she wasn’t sure if it was from all the sheep wrangling or simply fromthe embarrassment of having to do it with an audience. ‘Do you think you could help?’
Hannah stared at him for several long seconds, surreptitiously pinching her leg.
‘No… you’re not dreaming,’ he said, clearly catching her in the act. ‘There reallyisa giant sheep stuffing its face with your flowers right now.’
Hannah raised an eyebrow. She knew she should be affronted by this man’s audacity. Hell, last time she’d seen him, she’d yelled at him for an awful lot less. Right now, though, she was too busy trying not to giggle to even think about yelling.
Taking pity on her rather pink-faced neighbour, Hannah gave Mr Eaves a little nod. Without a word, she began to sidestep her way around the flower bed, not taking her eyes off Bernard, who was now happily munching on a clump of marigolds.
‘Don’t even think it!’ she muttered as he paused to glare at her. Two seconds later, he darted sideways, making a desperate bid for freedom. ‘Oh no you don’t!’
Hannah lunged in front of the galumphing sheep, then let out a cheer of triumph as she managed to head the woolly blighter off at the pass.
‘You’re a natural!’ puffed Mr Eaves. He’d just hurtled forwards and had managed to get his hands on Bernard’s behind.
‘Gee… thanks!’ tutted Hannah, not sure if it was the kind of compliment she needed right now.
Keeping her arms open wide—just in case Bernard made another break for it—Hannah watched as her oddball neighbour forcibly steered the troublemaker back towards the gap in the hedge.
Two seconds later, the pair of them disappeared from view. Hannah dropped her arms, suddenly feeling daft.
Silence.
She put her hands on her hips and glared at the hedge.
Nothing. Well… of all the cheek. Not even so much as a thank you or goodbye?!
Hannah stood there for several long seconds, her chest heaving as she fought to get her breath back. That had been… weird… and far more fun than it should have been!
Wrapping her arms around herself, Hannah turned away from the hedge. She felt oddly disappointed that the bizarre little adventure had come to such an abrupt end. She was just about to skulk back inside the house when a faint voice drifted over from the other side of the hedge.
‘Thank you!’
‘No worries,’ she called back, unable to keep a smile from spreading across her face. ‘Hey—can I ask you something?’
‘Sure.’
‘My electricity seems to be off.’ She paused, feeling a bit daft. ‘Any ideas?’
‘Try the trip switch,’ he said. ‘If your place is anything like mine, there’s a second one that’s separate from the main fuse box. Mine’s in a little nook above the airing cupboard in the kitchen.’
‘Oh. Great, thanks.’
‘No probs. By the way, that bread’s fresh. I picked it up for you this morning. And I hope you don’t mind about me looking after your gardens while you were away.’
‘That was you?’ said Hannah.
Silence.
‘Hello?’
No answer. Mr Eaves was clearly gone… probably to deal with Bernard.
Disappointment hit her again, only now it was mixed with a good dollop of confusion. Mr Eaves had been the one looking after her gardens? Andhe’d delivered that box of goodies? Shereally should have guessed—after all, the jar of honey was a dead giveaway. The real question was, why had he done those lovely things for her?
‘No,’ Hannah muttered under her breath. ‘The real question is, how did he know I’d be back today?’
