Page 75 of The Village Shop for Lonely Hearts

As Tom walked away, Josh heard him whistling ‘Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head’.

‘Do we?’ asked Amber, turning to look at him. ‘Have any sandbags, I mean?’

Josh shook his head. ‘Everything but, unfortunately. But we’ll be OK. The shop is raised up, remember. We’re a foot and a half above the lane.’

‘How bad would it have to be?’ she asked.

Her brown eyes were filled with worry and he was grateful that she cared so much about the shop. Probably even more than he did, he knew. Although, in truth, he had begun to feel more invested in the shop since the renovations had begun. More so than he had felt in a long time. Since his dad had passed away, in fact.

Josh looked outside once more. ‘If it gets as high as the bridge over to the pub, then we’ll be in trouble.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean, it’s the same level as the shop,’ he told her. ‘So if the bridge disappears then it’s likely that the shop will flood.’

Amber looked horrified.

‘But that would mean it has to become extraordinarily high,’ he carried on, trying to reassure her. ‘The river’s got to come up over the bank and then up the steps and across the veranda to get to the front door.’

Amber nodded. ‘OK.’

‘Unfortunately, a lot of homes aren’t as elevated as us,’ he added. It was a grim thought.

‘Will Grandma Tilly be OK?’ she asked.

He nodded, somewhat relieved. ‘Those new bungalows were built on a slight incline. She should be fine.’

‘But don’t you think she’d better move in here for the next few nights, just in case?’ said Amber.

Josh nodded. ‘Absolutely.’

‘Everyone’s worried,’ she told him. ‘You can sense the fear of everyone who’s come in this morning.’

They had had more customers than usual. People who were nervous about driving any great distance in the flooded back lanes would rather come into the shop for their milk and bread. Thankfully he’d picked up more stock than usual, just in case.

The new customers had looked a bit startled at the tractor, but once they had got past the farm machinery in the middle of the shop, they had taken their time to browse for a few different goods. There had been a bit of a run on batteries and wellington boots.

‘I had no idea it was this pretty in here,’ said one woman.

‘We’ve just renovated,’ Amber had told her. ‘I’m so glad you like it.’

‘I shall come back in here when I’ve got more time,’ the customer had replied.

It was working, Josh had thought. The shop was more attractive and starting to appeal to customers. It was still missing its identity, something that he couldn’t place his finger on. But for now, he was just grateful for anyone coming through the front door.

As another gust of wind rattled the veranda outside, he said, ‘Let’s just hope they’re wrong about this Storm Amber.’

‘It’s not my fault, you know,’ she told him with a soft smile.

He smiled back at her; their eyes locked together for a moment. ‘I know.’

As wrong as I was about the other Amber, thought Josh as he watched her walk away. He had got used to having her around. Her cheerful smile at the customers. Her companionship. It was nice to have a friend around. He also felt distinctly protective of her. Maybe that’s because he knew how little confidence she had in herself. How shy she could be.

He had a sudden flashback to drunken Amber looking up at him in the dark, asking him for a kiss. Thankfully another gust of wind brought him back to his senses as he began to imagine just what would have happened if he had said yes.

31

By the following afternoon, the river was beginning to rise and had almost reached halfway up the grassy riverbank that was on either side. The water had turned a murky brown, full of silt and leaves that were being swept downstream.