Page 4 of The Village Inn of Secret Dream

The inn and Cranbridge had been the only places where she had ever felt at home and at peace. What on earth was she going to do if she had to leave it all behind?

2

Pete Kennedy yawned as the long overnight flight began to take its toll. His body clock was still in Singapore even though he was actually now in England. He had no idea what time it was, let alone what day of the week it might actually be.

‘No chance of stopping somewhere to grab another coffee, I suppose?’ asked Pete, glancing down at his empty takeaway cup.

His brother, Josh, gave him some side-eye before concentrating on driving his van once more. ‘I know you’re jet-lagged, but try to remember that you’re in the countryside now,’ said Josh. ‘Not a big fancy city with a Starbucks on every corner.’

Pete nodded in rueful agreement. That much he didn’t need reminding of. His life in Singapore was at an end. The economic downturn had abruptly curtailed his career in the finance sector. Without a job, he didn’t have a visa. And without a visa, he had nowhere to go but back home.

Home. Was that how he felt about it after being away so long?

He’d missed his family, of course. And the countryside too, he had to admit to himself.

He looked out of the window at the colours that made up the early-autumn landscape. It was a marked contrast after the tropical urban landscape of Singapore. He’d forgotten how much he loved the changing of the seasons. Outside, the hedgerows were ablaze with sun-ripened flowers and long grasses which were long since faded. As far as the eye could see, the rolling hills were a mix of greens, yellows and soft browns to signal the onset of autumn over the coming weeks.

He had a sudden flashback to their dad lighting a bonfire one autumn day, the sweet smoke of the damp leaves filling his nostrils as they toasted marshmallows near the flames. Happy times. But that was all a very long time ago now.

Besides, everything had changed. Even his big brother, he thought, looking back at Josh. Where Pete had always been dark-haired, Josh was blond, and he appeared to have a couple of new lines around his face. Hardly surprising after the stress of the past few years, thought Pete.

If Josh had followed his younger brother to Singapore, as Pete had encouraged him to do a few years ago, where would his life be now?

But instead Josh had remained behind to take over the running of The Cranbridge Stores, the village corner shop that had been in the family for so many generations. And now it was Josh’s turn to be in charge. He had taken over as head of the family after their father had passed away. Josh had been the grown-up one whilst Pete had run away to Singapore from his grief and pain. And his family had let him. Sometimes being the baby of the family was both a blessing and a curse.

All his life, Pete had been laid-back and breezed from year to year, without too many cares in the world. But losing their dad unexpectedly had brought him up short. He had already accepted the job in Singapore, thinking that a few years in the Far East would be fun.

But suddenly he had received a phone call from his brother and life had changed dramatically. Both he and Josh had had to race through the night to the hospital just in time to say their last goodbyes. The shock of losing such a powerful, charismatic man as Todd Kennedy had been almost overwhelming for Pete.

After the funeral, Pete had told his mum and Josh that he hadn’t wanted to leave. He had tried to convince them that he should stay and help out. But it was all a lie, thanks to the letter that he had found amongst his dad’s possessions. It contained a secret that could devastate his family, so he had run away to Singapore to hide from the truth. And he hadn’t been back since.

‘By the way,’ said Josh. ‘Be nice to Amber, okay? You haven’t seen her for years.’

Amber was the daughter of their mum’s best friend and they had all played together as children before her family had moved away when she had become a teenager. She had only to returned to the village a year ago.

‘Be nice?’ Pete laughed. ‘You think I don’t know how to speak to a woman?’

Josh glared at his brother. ‘If you talk to my fiancée the way you flirt with every other woman, then you’ll find yourself flat on your back in the river pretty damn quickly.’

Pete grinned. ‘You don’t think I could take you these days? I go to the gym, you know.’

‘And I’m lifting boxes and stock all day, so bring it on, little bro.’ Josh looked at the road ahead once more. ‘Look, you remember Amber from when we were small? You know that she’s shy. Just be gentle with her, okay? Not your default, flirty self.’

Josh had a point. Pete had chatted to his future sister-in-law online but had not met her face to face for many years. She was extremely pretty but normally had to be cajoled into saying anything more than a few sentences when the family were all together.

‘I still can’t believe you’re getting married,’ said Pete.

He watched Josh smile to himself. ‘It was one of my better ideas,’ he murmured. ‘Besides, I was hoping she wouldn’t be able to say no with a packed inn watching us. I couldn’t have timed it better just after the local village council meeting had finished. Everyone was there.’

Everyone but him, thought Pete, with an unexpectedly dull ache in his heart.

Perhaps his silence spoke volumes as Josh looked across at him once more. ‘I’d have waited for you before proposing, but, to be honest, we weren’t even sure you were going to make it home until you told us that you were actually boarding the plane. We figured you’d probably go to Fiji or somewhere else far away instead. We know how much of a free spirit you are.’

Pete forced himself to give a nonchalant shrug. ‘No worries,’ he said, placing a smile on his face. ‘You know how I feel about marriage, so I would have probably come out in hives or something if I’d had to witness any proposal.’

Pete thought back to the beautiful apartment in Singapore that he had owned. It had been beautifully decorated, home to some beautiful and expensive furnishings and even more beautiful women whom he had brought back after romantic dates in one of the city’s most glamorous restaurants.

Oh yes, Pete knew how to show a lady a good time. They dined at the best restaurants. Ate the best food. Drank the best cocktails. And he always sent them flowers.