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Hope couldn’t blame him for his anger. She knew he was bound to be feeling guilty about having to front up to Amelia about it. They’d been close once. Sure, it was a long time ago, but Hope wondered sometimes if he still kindled a little flame for her. ‘He was already on his last warning,’ she reminded her cousin gently.
Rhys sighed. ‘That’s true. God knows I did my best by him, but I can’t help the man if he won’t help himself. And I won’t have anyone on the farm who puts my animals at risk.’
‘Of course not,’ his father said, his expression furious. ‘Where is he now?’
‘I chucked him off site and told him not to come back. I’ll have to have a word with Ziggy about changing the code on the gate.’
‘Don’t worry about that,’ Zap said, reaching out to cover his hand. ‘I’ll sort that, you worry about the herd. Take a breath, have a cup of tea and then I’ll come out to the barn with you and we can check all the stalls to make sure they’re safe. The cows will be all right outside for a day or two more.’
‘Cheers, Dad.’ Rhys covered his face with his hands. ‘What the hell am I going to tell Amelia?’
‘You don’t need to tell her anything, lad,’ Mrs Davis said in her no-nonsense tone. ‘Because she knows better than anyone what he’s like.’ She turned towards Hope’s mother. ‘I’ll speak to Daisy on the quiet and give her some extra hours.’
‘Yes, that’s a good idea,’ Stevie agreed. ‘I’ll speak to Ziggy and see if there’s anything else we can do.’
‘We’ll need someone to help keep the site office and welfare block up to scratch once the dig starts.’ Until Cam spoke up, Hope had all but forgotten he was there. When everyone turned to look at him, he raised one shoulder in an embarrassed shrug. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to butt in. I’d normally get the team to do it on a rota basis, but I can find some flex in the budget to take someone on for a few hours a week. It’s not a lot…’
Touched at his kindness, Hope reached out and squeezed his hand. ‘That’s a really good idea, and it’ll be easier to sell to Daisy so she doesn’t think it’s a case of us taking pity on her.’
‘With that and the cleaning at your lodge, it’s a start,’ Mrs Davis said then she reached around and rubbed her back. ‘Plus my sciatica’s been giving me terrible trouble so I’ll have to be on light duties around here.’
Hope bit back a smile because Mrs Davis was as fit as a butcher’s dog. ‘Right, if that’s sorted, we’d best be getting back.’ She hesitated, looking towards Rhys. ‘Unless you need a hand in the barn?’
Her cousin shook his head. ‘No, you’re fine. Dad and I can check the stalls tonight and then I’ll give the rest of the place a thorough going over tomorrow.’ He shook his head. ‘Let’s hope that was his only stash and I’m not going to be turning up the contents of an off-licence by the time I’m finished.’
‘I have some free time tomorrow morning, so I’ll lend you a hand.’ She turned to Cam. ‘You don’t need me for your meeting with Declan tomorrow, do you?’
‘No, that’s fine. You know what we’re going to talk about, and I can update you afterwards.’
‘Great. Come on. Let’s get out of here.’
14
They walked in silence for a while and Cam was content to focus on their surroundings and make a mental note of the route they took in the hopes he’d be able to remember it. Once they were away from the farm, it was easier as there were signposts dotted around pointing towards The Old Stable Yard, the hotel and spa, the campsite. As they reached the edge of the forest, Hope paused in front of a large board which showed a basic map of the estate. As well as marking out the main features, there were three suggested walking routes indicated with green, amber and red dotted lines, for difficulty or duration, he presumed. Hope tapped the green line. ‘We’re going to follow this one as it leads to the campsite, but I’ll show you where you can turn off the path and cut through to the back of the lodges.’
Cam was glad to see the discreet wooden posts spaced at regular intervals with a reflective green stripe around the top. With the torch on his phone, he reckoned he’d have no trouble finding his way even on the darkest night. It also meant he wouldn’t have to worry about his team finding their way back after their inevitable trips to the local pub over the duration of the dig. He made a mental note to add an orientation tour to his list of things to do with them on arrival, then let himself relax and just enjoy the shady peace of the early evening. The green route had been cut back so they didn’t even need the signposts to guide them for the most part. Here and there, Cam noticed trampled-down areas leading off under the trees where intrepid walkers had ventured away from the route to explore beneath the trees. Hope pointed towards one of the more well-trodden paths. ‘There’s a lovely glade through there, perfect for a picnic. Mum used to tell me it’s where the fairies live.’ She smiled as though recalling a memory and Cam could almost picture her as a little girl, racing around the woods with her long hair flying as she hunted for fairies.
‘The drainage at the bottom of our garden isn’t very good, so it gets a bit boggy in the autumn and winter. I’d often spot mushrooms or toadstools growing down there and Mum used to tell me that’s where the pixies lived.’ God, he hadn’t thought about that in years.
Hope glanced up at him through the thick weight of her fringe. ‘Not such different lives, after all.’
He had to admit that she had a point. He’d been a bit overwhelmed by the material gulf between their upbringings, but some things were universal. Children had the same imaginations and willingness to believe in magic whether they were gazing out of the misty window of a two-up, two-down terrace or across acres of parkland.
‘My mum always said I could travel the world in the pages of a book, and she was right. My favourite day was Wednesday as she’d take me to the library on our way home from school. Dad wasn’t into fiction much, but I used to always pick a reference book or a travel guide and he’d sit on the end of my bed when he came home from work and we’d read it together.’ It hadn’t occurred to Cam at the time, but his dad must’ve been tired most days from a long shift. He never showed it, though, or perhaps Cam had been too wrapped up in his books to notice.
‘That must’ve been nice for you both.’ There was something wistful in the way Hope said it that had him wondering about her own situation. There was no sign of her father, no mention of him either, only her mother, Stevie.
‘I don’t think I took him being there for me for granted,’ Cam said, his head once more in the past. ‘But I’m not sure I ever told him how much it meant to me either.’ Plenty of the kids he’d been at school with had been from single parent homes. Sure, his dad hadn’t been one of those who was marching up and down the touchline at every football match, but Cam hadn’t minded that given the way some of the other dads had bellowed and bullied if they didn’t think their kid was trying hard enough, or the ref had made a bad call. He knew his dad needed to work, had never been in any doubt about where the food on the table or the clothes on his back had come from. Those quiet hours, just the two of them, had been a really special gift, he realised now.
‘I’m sure he knows,’ Hope said, her voice soft.
Cam nodded. ‘Yeah. He works some funny shifts so it’s not always easy to catch up, but we do our best. He’s recently discovered GIFs.’ He laughed as he said it because it was fun to watch as his dad tried to find the right meme for every occasion. He didn’t always understand the context behind some of the clips, which only added to the humour of the messages they exchanged.
Hope swung to face him. ‘Thanks for weighing in earlier with that suggestion about a cleaner for the site offices.’
The abrupt shift in the conversation took him aback for a moment. ‘I hope it didn’t feel like I was poking my nose in, I just saw an opportunity to help.’
She nodded. ‘It’s a tricky situation, especially for Rhys, as he’s been close friends with Amelia for a long time. He only took Keith on as a way of trying to help her and her mum out and now it’s blown up in his face.’
