Page 49 of The Village Shop for Lonely Hearts

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Josh stood by the front door and looked out, and saw that the recent sunshine had given way to more rain.

The yellow leaves that had already fallen to the ground beneath the trees were looking as sodden as the muddy riverbanks. The river was also running quite high. Yet more rain and storms were forecast over the coming weeks.

Of course, that was nothing compared to the tempest that had hurtled through Cranbridge Stores since his mum had left, he thought, turning slowly around.

He blew out a long sigh. The shop was in utter disarray. Although he knew that the piles of boxes in each corner were in some sort of order, removing the large shelves from the middle had left a mess on the floorboards.

Although, of course, the worst of it was the horror of the dirty old tractor that was now in the middle of the shop.

For the life of him, he couldn’t see Amber’s point of view regarding leaving it where it had broken down.

He could see a patch of oil that had leaked onto the floor. And there was still a smoky, metallic tang in the air. He quickly opened the front door, anxious to air the shop out, and came face to face with Stanley.

‘Good morning,’ he said, with a nod.

‘Morning,’ said Josh, wondering what on earth was good about it.

Josh watched as the smile slowly faded into something akin to shock on the elderly man’s face.

‘Good gracious!’ exclaimed Stanley, staring at the tractor with wide eyes. ‘Have you become a garage mechanic overnight?’

Josh shook his head. ‘A temporary glitch,’ he said. ‘Now, the papers have just been delivered out the back. I’ll get yours. You’re a bit earlier than usual this morning.’

‘I’ve got a doctor’s appointment later this morning,’ said Stanley, stepping carefully into the shop. ‘The perils of getting old, I’m afraid. The company I desire is not exactly to be found at our local health care centre.’

Josh stepped over various boxes and weaved his way around the tractor before heading through to the back room.

When he returned, he found Stanley studying the tractor.

‘I must say, this takes me back,’ said Stanley, who had been peering at the dashboard. ‘My father had one of these when we owned our smallholding on the edge of the village when I was growing up. A good solid make, the David Brown 25.’

‘Solid being the operative word when it’s stuck in the middle of a shop,’ drawled Josh.

Not even Amber with her obvious design talents could make the tractor look any good. But right now there was no plan b so he would just have to trust her.

Stanley handed over the coins for his newspaper. ‘Well, you can’t say it’s not unique,’ he said, with a smile. ‘I shall watch what appears to be something of a facelift with interest.’

Josh smiled despite his reservations. A facelift? The shop needed a full makeover, complete with major heart surgery.

As Stanley left, Josh took the coins over to the till, which he could just about find behind a new stack of boxes. He sat down heavily on the stool behind the counter. It had been quite an exhausting few days and he was feeling low on energy. He had got spectacularly drunk with Amber, which didn’t help as it had been a later night than usual. He thought of her standing in the darkness, looking up at him. He had almost been drunk enough to kiss her. Almost.

Besides, he knew that she would probably run a mile if he made a move on her. Which he most definitely wouldn’t. Even if a small part of him was seriously tempted.

He gave his head a little shake. He didn’t need temptation right now. He needed the shop to look like a shop again. With a groan, he slumped forward and put his head in his hands.

‘I’m not surprised you’re feeling like that after the amount of wine you two put away last night.’

He looked up to find Belle standing in the open doorway, staring wide-eyed at the mess in the shop before her eyes flew back to the elephant in the room. Or, rather, the tractor.

‘Morning,’ he said, with a nod.

‘Good morning,’ said Amber, coming into the shop, looking far more cheerful than Josh felt.

‘What the hell happened in here last night?’ asked Belle, walking slowly around the tractor.

‘We had a design meeting,’ said Amber, with a grin.