Ginny nodded, thinking of everything she’d been through. ‘I guess we just get on with it, don’t we?’
‘Yeah, when it’s not messing with our mind.’
She leaned forward and patted his hand. ‘You did good, Sam.’
He breathed out a quiet laugh. ‘Oh, I’m still fighting demons.’
Me too.
Ginny banged her palms together. ‘Right, let’s turn this café into an extension of the Happy to Help Hub. You get your people down as soon as possible, and perhaps we can open for the winter.’
‘Great. One last thing. How would you feel about me buying your properties?’
The question floored her for a moment.
‘You don’t have to decide straight away,’ he added.
‘Sorry, no, it’s not that. You just caught me off guard, that’s all. Honestly, Sam, I wasn’t expecting you to say that.’
‘If you’re selling, then I’m buying. I’d like to add your house into the renovations we’re doing. It’ll create way more floor space for Lottie’s wheelchair to whizz around, and, yes, she often likes to whizz.’
Ginny laughed, knowing that to be true. She glanced at the fishing net hanging above her. ‘Why do you want the flat?’
‘I was thinking of having a headquarters for the Les Powell Trust. Most of my staff work from home, but it would be nice to have a place, rather than my house.’
‘Makes sense.’
‘So, will you consider my offer?’
Ginny beamed with delight at the opportunity to get things moving along faster than expected. ‘Consider it a done deal.’ She shoved out her hand. ‘Do you want to spit shake?’
Samuel laughed. ‘No. This is good enough. And thanks.’
‘No, thank you. This makes life so much easier. We’ll sort solicitors, and I’ll sell at market value.’
‘Sounds fair.’ He sat back and laughed. ‘Wait until I tell Lottie. Not sure what she’ll make of another extension.’
‘Oh, she’ll love it. It’ll give her more garden space for her allotment.’
‘Yes, that’s definitely coming along. Although she does miss George’s help.’
Ginny had nothing but fond memories of the man who lived in the house between Lottie’s and hers. ‘He was a good egg.’
‘He certainly was. I’ve hired a gardener to help out a bit. Lottie wasn’t too keen at first, but now she appreciates his help, especially as I’m all brown thumbs.’
A fizz of excitement fluttered into Ginny’s tummy, creating her first inside smile since her mum died. Was her farmhouse dream actually about to come true so quickly? Oh yes it was, and she really wanted to happy dance but thought it best to stay seated.
‘Hey, Sam, by the time it takes everything to go through, and for me to find somewhere to live, it probably won’t be until the new year, so if you want to surprise Lottie for Christmas, I can keep my mouth shut until then.’
‘I like your thinking. Yes, let’s do that. I’ll wrap up a door key and pop it under the tree.’
‘Aww, she’ll love that, then no doubt tell me off for moving away.’
‘Will you go far?’
Ginny shook her head. ‘No way. I love Port Berry too much. No, I’ll look inland, see what’s available. Might have to buy a bit of land and build. See what happens.’
‘Or you could buy Roger Lane’s old place,’ said Luna, coming out the toilet. ‘Artie said he was putting his dad’s home up for sale after Christmas. Have a word with him. That’s a farmhouse with land.’
