Giving himself a mental shake, he checked his tie in the mirror and headed downstairs. Today the house felt even bigger, his footsteps echoing on the polished wooden floorboards in the hall. He had no doubt it had been a well-loved and lived-in house, but it was crying out for some attention and updating. At least the shower had worked this morning even though it was rickety and had made a slightly alarming noise.
Wandering through to the dining room at the back of the house he could see the potential to make it a beautiful home if you knew how to go about it. He wouldn’t have a clue where to start. Clearly it was too big for him. He’d be rattling about here on his own. A door led him through to the kitchen. Most people would want this as one big space, he imagined as he walked over to the large window overlooking the garden.
‘What the – ?’
In dungarees on her knees at the bottom of his garden was his new neighbour, Eva Harris. She appeared to be chasing a chicken around his back garden. Other chickens were clucking around in her own garden and a small manic dog seemed to be getting in on the action also. Watching for a few moments Ben realized she seemed to be coaxing the chicken from his garden back into her own.
Unlike last night, her hair was loose, tumbling down her back in soft waves. He watched as she made a sudden lunge for the chicken and then hoisted it over the fence back into her own garden. Ben couldn’t help smiling. God, she looked mad. And utterly beautiful. He shook his head and forced himself away from events in the garden, as enticing as they were.
Ben started to get some papers ready for his meeting. Walking back through the hall, an envelope caught his eye lying on the mat by the front door. Opening it, he found a set of keys. Clearly Eva Harris was an early riser and had returned the keys to his house. He tossed them onto the sideboard, ignoring the inexplicable stab of guilt he felt, and went to get ready.
***
‘Come on, Betsy … this way!’ Eva used her best chicken voice but Betsy was choosing to ignore her and instead seemed intent on pecking something interesting on the ground. There were times when Eva questioned her decision to rescue six chickens especially when it came to the weekly cleanout and even more so when they decided to go on walkabouts into other people’s gardens.
She should have fixed that gap in the fence ages ago and hadn’t noticed it had got big enough for an escape party. She loved her girls and it was wonderful being able to provide her guests with fresh eggs. But there was no doubt it had been a labour of love and it had been hard work to get them from the sad-looking creatures they once were to the cheeky happy characters they were now.
Spotting her moment, she grabbed Betsy with two hands and lifted her back to the safety of her own garden. Hamish, happy to have Betsy home safely, barked in approval. Eva had very carefully introduced Hamish and the chickens but she needn’t have worried. They were all firm friends now and Eva suspected Hamish had assumed the role of pack leader.
Finding a piece of wood from her shed she dragged it over and managed to prop it up against the gap in the fence, hoping that would secure it until she could fix it properly. She doubted her new neighbour would appreciate a chicken on the loose in his garden; he was more likely to be the type to slab everything over with concrete.
Disappointment had given way to anger when she thought about him now. Eva began vigorously brushing up the dirty pine shavings from the coop, thinking just how rude he had been. She tossed the shavings onto the compost heap at the bottom corner of the garden and with some help from Hamish, rounded up the chickens. Ushering them back into their clean coop Eva left them to settle down and roost in peace.
Early morning was Eva’s favourite time of day and getting up early to deal with guests had never been an issue. She loved being outside in her garden, and was making the most of it before the clocks went back and she would lose light in the morning. She trudged down to the bottom of the garden where she kept a small vegetable patch, enjoying the feel of muddy earth under her feet. It had been hit and miss with the success of her vegetable growing and her latest offering of carrots – slightly shrivelled and sorry-looking – had done nothing to convince Jamie eating vegetables could be a pleasurable experience.
Still, she loved that she had created a little safe haven for the two of them. Sometimes she wished she could lock the outside world out and just keep things the way they were. Ben Matthews’s arrival had rankled her. Almost as if she blamed him – unfairly she knew – for making the MacKenzies leave and change everything.
A light rain was now falling and Eva started to feel chilled so she headed back towards the house with Hamish at her heels. She went in through the back door to the utility room, which had become a dumping ground for shoes, jackets, tools, and old toys. Eva had cleared way to make room for Hamish’s feeding bowls and basket, hoping she could train him to stay in this area and out of the kitchen.
‘Hamish, here boy.’ She pointed to his basket and was delighted when he obediently flopped into it. She gave him a treat and patted his head, thinking just maybe she was getting the hang of this training lark. She pulled off her wellies, slipped out of her dungarees, and washed up before heading upstairs.
In his darkened room Jamie slept soundly. She picked up a few random items of clothing and a Harry Potter book discarded on the floor by the side of his bed. Eva took a moment to watch him sleep, marvelling at the innocence of his sleeping young face. The smallest of smiles played on his lips as if he was in the middle of a lovely dream and Eva felt guilty for waking him.
She wished she had some sort of parental magic wand she could wave over him to keep him safe. He had been just four the day she’d woken him to go to the hospital after Paul’s accident and Eva couldn’t bear that she was about to wake him and bring tragedy into his life. Of course he wouldn’t fully understand but somehow she was going to have to try and explain he would never see Daddy again. She could only hope the love and stability she provided would make up for his loss. Eva had always made sure Jamie knew who Paul was, sharing memories of him so her son knew he’d had a father who loved him very much.
Eva began the ritual of waking him, clicking on the bedside light and opening the curtains just enough to allow a sliver of grey morning light in through the gap. Jamie, not sharing his mother’s love of mornings, rolled over in protest at the sudden intrusion into his slumber. ‘Morning, love,’ she said, giving him a gentle shake. Once she knew he was fully awake and in no danger of falling back to sleep, Eva left him to get dressed.
Returning to the kitchen with hot coffee on her mind, Eva felt the distinct crunch of cereal under her feet. Not necessarily an unusual occurrence but when she followed the trail of crumbs she found Hamish in his basket with his nose buried deep in a box of cereal. Clearly he had jumped up and taken it from the table, probably violating at least half a dozen health and safety regulations, thought Eva grimly.
‘Oh, Hamish!’ She snatched the box away and he looked up at her with guilty eyes. ‘What am I going to do with you?’ she sighed. Hamish, seeming to understand Eva’s annoyance, crouched low in his basket, ears flattened against his head.
Eva tidied up and made herself a now much-needed coffee. She sat at the table with her hands wrapped around her mug, thinking of the day ahead. She glanced at the pile of papers and envelopes stacked on top of her laptop sitting in front of her on the table. The guest house always generated paperwork but she wasn’t sure she was in the mood to face insurance quotes or marketing matters.
She’d do more work on the guest bedroom today. After several encouraging calls to Jamie he finally emerged from upstairs. Eva smiled to herself at his sudden interest in his appearance. Hair gel, spot cream, and a particular brand of deodorant had recently been added to Eva’s weekly shopping list. Now his hair was neatly gelled into place and his school tie adjusted to what Eva presumed was an acceptably cool angle.
Donald MacKenzie had often stepped in to help Jamie master certain skills, including doing up his tie. His youngest grandson was a couple of years older than Jamie and Donald had always made a point of including