‘Would anyone like a coffee or tea first?’ I asked, standing my ground against Jesse, his words about being reserved still floating around in my mind.
A series of positive replies followed and I mentally took a note of the orders and headed back into the kitchen to make the drinks. Digging about in the cupboards, I found a packet of unopened Hobnobs and placed some on a plate before loading the lot onto a tray and heading back outside.
‘Ooh lovely, thanks, Felicity.’ The man they’d called Romeo lingered as he took the penultimate drink. ‘No biscuits for me.’ He patted what looked like an already flat set of abs. ‘Gym night tonight.’
A groan went around the group.
Jesse stepped closer and took the last drink, and, with a glance at Romeo, took two biscuits. ‘I’ll have yours, then.’ From the brief flash of stomach I’d seen when I’d knocked the man on his arse with a plank of wood, Jesse was not someone who needed to worry about calories. Lucky bugger.
‘What’s the verdict, then?’
‘You’ve got a bloody great tree house, love.’
‘Shut up, Nobby,’ Frank called before turning back towards me. ‘You can see why we call him Nobby.’ He rolled his eyes and I laughed, in turn causing the older man to smile. This type of banter was new to me. In my world, comments were made but one could never be entirely sure that there wasn’t an element of underlying truth, a barely concealed dig veiled with a fake smile. But this was different and I liked it. I thought again back to my old life and what the people I’d once called friends would think now as I stood here sharing refreshments I’d prepared myself with a collection of tradesmen. I could almost picture their horrified faces, which made me smile even more. I hid it behind the mug as I took another sip.
‘First things first, check for any other obvious damage. Jesse’s done a recce already, that right?’
Jesse nodded.
‘Then once we’re sure there’s no extra risk, we’ll get that tree lifted, get some measurements taken and materials ordered, as well as covering the hole with a tarp and?—’
‘A what?’ I asked.
‘Tarp. Tarpaulin.’ He pointed to something large and blue on the ground nearby before continuing. ‘That’ll keep the roof protected from any more weather. From what Jesse’s said, it sounds like the room’s going to need to be gutted.’
‘Yes, so he said this morning. Naturally, seeing that it was the only room that was closest to being finished.’
Frank screwed up his nose. ‘Yeah, I heard you got stuffed a bit with the sale. Sorry about that, love. The owner wasn’t using local people, so none of us knew what it was like inside and could only go on the photos online. Sounds like old Joe used a bit of poetic licence on those. I take it you didn’t view it beforehand, then?’
‘We’d probably better get on,’ Jesse said, taking a step closer.
‘No, I didn’t,’ I replied to Frank, sharing a momentary glance with Jesse to thank him for his attempt at diverting the conversation. ‘Not my finest decision but there we are. It’s certainly been a lively introduction to living in the countryside, that’s for sure.’
Now who’s being reserved?
Frank gave my shoulder a brief pat. ‘You’ve got a good attitude there, Felicity. When it comes down to it, the important thing is that you’re here at all.’ He eyed the sharp spikes of the trunk where the tree had snapped and fallen. ‘Things could have been a lot worse.’
All eyes looked up.
‘That’s very true. So, is there anything I need to do? Any way I can help?’
‘Nope. All under control here, isn’t that right, Jesse?’ Frank looked across.
‘Frank’s right. There’s nothing you can do here right now.’
‘OK.’ Suddenly, I felt useless. No longer part of this little band as I had been moments ago, but then that was ridiculous too. They probably hadn’t thought I was part of anything. More likely the dopey posh girl who’d bought a house in the middle of nowhere without even going to see it first. Maybe they thought I deserved everything I was getting. Certainly, some of my acquaintances – calling them friends any longer seemed pointless – had encountered difficulties in some places with their second – or third, or occasionally fourth – homes, where the locals had been far less friendly than I’d so far experienced. But then some of their own manners, I realised now, left a lot to be desired so perhaps there was more to their stories of ‘ghastly locals’ than I’d been led to believe.
Then Jesse’s arm was around my shoulders, giving the briefest squeeze.
‘Don’t look so worried. We’ll get it sorted.’
I looked up, met the concerned face and smiled. ‘Thank you,’ I replied, my voice, to my horror, breaking on the second word, tears threatening in my eyes. What was wrong with me? I didn’t cry. I kept emotions in general to a minimum if I could. That had been my modus operandi for more years than I cared to remember. It kept a carapace around me. It didn’t necessarily protect me from hurt but it did stop others seeing that hurt, which was the next best thing. But since I’d got to this most ironically named Paradise Farm, everything was changing and I seemed to have little say in the matter.
8
Jesse’s arm rested a moment longer as he turned his back to the rest of the crew, his size effectively blocking me from their view.
‘It’s going to be fine.’
