It felt nice lying there, so she gave herself a couple more minutes while issuing her fingers strict instructions not to stroke over his arm. It was so tempting, but she couldn’t allow herself to get carried away with the situation. They weren’t on their honeymoon, she wasn’t even his girlfriend, just one moment lost in time.
There were many times when Ginny daydreamed about waking in the arms of a man who loved her. It was stupid to attach a dream to the man in bed with her, especially as he cared little for her, proven by his tea shop theft.
Giving herself a mental shake, she lifted slightly, glanced at his peaceful face, dropped her gaze to his lips, told her heart off for giving her feelings, then slipped out of bed to look out the window to see the settled snow while shivering at the instant chill in the air.
‘Morning,’ he murmured.
Ginny turned.
‘Did you sleep well?’ he asked.
‘Yes, it was okay.’
‘Lot warmer in here, right?’
She twisted her mouth at his smug grin. Ooh, he wasn’t winning her over anytime soon.
One idea was to get back in bed and pinch his warmth once more, but she went with plodding off to the bathroom instead, astheir bedroom may have had a bath, but it certainly didn’t have anything else she needed.
After freshening up, putting on some warm clothes, and not having much to say to Will, she went down to the kitchen to rustle up some breakfast.
Mrs Henshaw was pottering about, cleaning the handle on the back door. ‘He always leaves a bit of dirt there.’ She looked over her shoulder and smiled. ‘There’s some tea in the pot, dear.’
Ginny poured a cuppa, glad to have a morning brew. ‘I can make you brekkie if you like. I’m used to it, as I run a café.’
‘No, no. This is my domain. But you can help me put these chickens back in their pen. Mr Henshaw has cleared the path.’
‘Where is he now?’
‘Out front. Shovelling more snow, then salting the ground ready for the next lot.’
‘Oh, when is that due?’
‘Not until tonight, apparently. So you should be good to head off after you’ve eaten. But feel free to stay if you want.’
Ginny wanted very much to stay at the farmhouse love hotel despite her confused feelings around Will the dream stealer. Waking in his arms was so lovely, but she had a life waiting for her back home. And a mother, who would no doubt moan as soon as she saw her.
Mrs Henshaw gestured at a side room and told Ginny to grab a coat, wellies, and hat from in there. She opened the back door, letting in a blast of cold air, then waved Ginny over. ‘Come on. The fresh air does you good.’ She inhaled deeply, then coughed.
White sheets of snow covered the fields far and wide, making the area look pretty and clean.
‘Oh, wow! It looks stunning.’ Ginny took in her surroundings, still unsure of where she was. There were no other houses in sight, just land and a few trees dotted about all covered by the blizzard.
Mrs Henshaw grabbed a chicken pecking the ground close to her feet, then opened the large enclosure they’d reached. ‘You grab Hettie, dear.’
Ginny widened her eyes at the ball of feathers mooching behind her, looking to prefer the kitchen. She’d never held a live chicken before. How hard could it be?
Hettie made it extremely hard, and it took Ginny all of ten minutes to capture the sprightly creature.
‘Just plop her down in here,’ said Mrs Henshaw, scooping out some feed. ‘The others will soon follow.’ She handed Ginny another scoop and gestured towards the feeding pots.
Ginny got on with her task, finding it quite therapeutic. ‘Have you always wanted animals?’
‘We rescued a chicken years back from a neighbouring farm. Found it wandering along the road. Terrible state it was in, poor thing. Had hardly any feathers about it. Looked as though it had just escaped someone’s cooking pot. Anyway, we took it to the farm only to discover it had closed down. The little thing must have somehow been left home alone, so we took her home, fed her up, and Mr Henshaw built this here enclosure and henhouse.’
‘It’s very nice, and there’s lots of space.’
‘Yes, we knew straight away we were going to take on more.’
