Page 8 of A Second Chance in Seabury
Okay, so this wasdefinitelysomething she needed to sort out! She didn’t want to keep paying for it for all eternity! Still, it was good to know she had an emergency line to the outside world while she was there.
Replacing the handset, Hannah let out a long sigh. It was time to go and face the music upstairs.
Dragging her feet, Hannah took the steps at a snail’s pace. She was clearly too tired to even consider going shopping this afternoon. Luckily, thanks to Mr Eaves and his thoughtful delivery, she didn’t have to. There would be enough in the box along the tins she’d found to tide her over until the followingday… though it was still a complete mystery how he’d known she’d be back.
Hannah shrugged and picked up her pace as if she was trying to outrun his kindness.
And was that a little flickering flare of warmth in her chest?
Nope! She wasn’t there to catch feelings—for him, or this house, or even Seabury, come to that! All she needed to do was stay put for the requisite two weeks, clear out the house, say her goodbyes, and then skedaddle back to the capital…
‘And real life,’ she muttered.Such as it was.
The reality was—her life was still in tatters. The divorce had left Hannah feeling empty. Depleted. Back to square one. All her friends seemed to think she should feel liberated—finally free to chase her dreams now that she’d got rid of the anchor that was her belligerent ex-husband. But if she was being honest, Hannah didn’t really know where to start. Her dreams had been on hold for averylong time.
Hannah’s hand flew to the necklace at her throat, holding on tight to the silver acorn pendant with its tiny emerald. Her dreams might have been on hold, but she’d not forgotten about them. This necklace was one of the pieces of jewellery she’d made in the final year of her silversmithing course. One of the last pieces she’d ever made. Because she’d met Gareth, and “real life” had happened. He’d pointed out that she’d never amount to anything special as a designer… so what was the point even trying?
At least there was one positive change she’d managed since the split. Hannah had left the boring admin role she’d stuck with for years and found a job with a large high-street jewellery chain. It wasn’t exactly perfect—she spent most of her days fixing chains and re-sizing rings… but at least it was a tiny step in the right direction.
Hannah winced as she remembered Gareth’s reaction when he’d found out about her new job. He’d laughed. Right in her face.
‘Urgh! Get out of my head!’ she growled, wandering into the master bedroom and doing her best to yank herself back into the present.
Spotting the rolled-up magazine she’d left on the windowsill earlier, Hannah hurried over and grabbed it. After Mr Eaves’s kindness, the sight of her makeshift bee-dispatcher made her feel more than a little bit guilty. She quickly unrolled it and popped it back onto the nightstand where it had come from. There wasn’t a sign of a single bee in there anyway, and the open windows had already started to clear the air.
It hadn’t done anything to clear the depressing neutral tones, though!
‘Nope,’ she muttered. ‘I’m not staying in here.’
Backing out of the room, Hannah headed for the single bedroom next door. Taking a deep breath, she cracked open the door and peered inside.
So… this was where all the good memories were hiding!
Hannah remembered piling as many of her aunt’s belongings in there when Gareth had laid siege to the master bedroom. The sight of them now brought a smile to her face, even though they were crammed into every available nook and cranny.
At least the tiny single bed was clear, though. It had been stripped, but one of Aunty Millie’s hand-knitted patchwork blankets lay folded on the pillows.
Hannah squeezed through the piles of boxes and pieces of stacked furniture to peep out of the window. This one looked right out over the back garden and afforded a beautiful view of the old maple tree’s rich red canopy. She could see right down to the end of Mr Eaves’s garden, too.
A small smile appeared on Hannah’s face as her eyes came to rest on several large hives. So, the bees were still there, then?
‘Why are you smiling, idiot?!’ she tutted, cracking open the window before drawing the curtains and sneezing as they let out a puff of dust.
Well, it was decided. This would be her room for the next two weeks. Hannah wasn’t entirely sure it was such a great idea to be so thoroughly surrounded by Aunty Millie’s things, but it had to be better than the beige nothingness of the master bedroom!
If she was honest, it would have been much easier if she could have stayed at the hotel while she was in town. It would have been simple to travel up to the house each day to work on cleaning and clearing the place.
Simple and a lot less emotionally draining!
Unfortunately, it was precisely the kind of thing Aunty Millie had stipulated against in her will.
‘How would she even know, though?’ muttered Hannah, rummaging around in the blanket box at the end of the bed for a set of clean sheets.
That wasn’t the point, though, was it? As much as she hated the idea of staying in this house where so many memories swirled around her—both good and bad—Hannah loved her aunt far too much to go against her final wishes.
‘Even if they are a bit random.’
CHAPTER 5
