‘The money should supposedly be in my bank this week apparently. They can’t say when exactly.’
‘That’s good though. Car shopping next on the list, then?’
I let out a heartfelt sigh. ‘Yes. I suppose so.’
‘The enthusiasm is rolling off you in waves.’
‘Yes.’ I gave a small laugh that was half air and little humour. ‘Sorry. Yes, it’s definitely next on the list. I’ll start looking when we get back.’
He glanced over as he drove down the driveway to the house, even more rutted since the heavy crane had been brought in.
‘I’m not rushing you. Just making conversation.’
‘No. I know. Sorry.’
‘Nothing to apologise for. You’ve got a lot on your plate. Talking of good news, I had a chat with the sheep farmer Joe had ordered those sheep from. He’s agreed to cancel the deal in good faith, bearing in mind the circumstances.’
‘He has?’
‘If that’s what you want.’
‘Definitely. Chickens are my limit at the moment, I think!’ I said with a relieved laugh. Pat and his wife had offered to see to the hens when they came up with Maisie to see Honey until I was back home so that was one worry off of my mind.
‘That’s fair enough. Baby steps. You can always reassess the sheep situation when you get more settled.’
‘You say that like it’s a certainty, which is interesting bearing in mind the state of things right now.’
‘It’ll all work out. You’ll see.’
We rode the rest of the way in a comfortable silence until Jesse pulled into a space outside his sister’s café behind the surveyor’s car. Now that the heavens had well and truly opened, we made a mad dash to the door.
Inside was warm and cosy with the fuggy, comforting scent of baking floating on the air. Julie waved as she saw us come in then turned and continued prepping the order she was working on.
‘Just an excuse to pop in here, I reckon,’ Jesse said as we sat down at a table for four, opposite Dermot.
‘How did you know?’ he said with a smile. ‘Spent hours doing that rain dance last night.’ He grinned. He had a boyish-looking face but the smattering of grey at his temples suggested he was older than he first appeared. I knew from the fact that Jesse had chosen him he was experienced and someone to be trusted.
‘Hello all!’ Julie rushed up to us. ‘How’s things? Are you here to look at Fliss’ house then, Dermot?’
‘Hi, Jules. Yep, that’s right. Bit of a state, eh?’
She placed a hand on my shoulder and gave a little squeeze as her brother had done earlier. ‘Luckily, Fliss wasn’t hurt though. That’s the important thing.’
Yes, that’s the important thing…
Jesse shot me a look as if reading my mind.
I offered up the expected smile and stayed silent.
‘Now, what can I get you?’
We placed our order and Dermot proceeded to show us his full findings and lay out his thoughts. As he continued, my brain came off the rails and began a three-word chant, making it difficult to concentrate.
So much money!
So much money!
So much money!
