Page 40 of The Village Inn of Secret Dream

‘The son of a famous rock guitarist?’ ventured Lucy, with a sly smile.

‘One who looks mighty fine in those jeans,’ added Molly in wistful tone.

‘Ewww!’ said Amber, screwing up her face. ‘He’s going to be my brother-in-law!’

‘I’m just saying he’s very handsome,’ said Molly.

‘And he knows it,’ snapped Belle. ‘Any larger and his head wouldn’t be able to fit through the door.’ She sighed once more and placed her empty wine glass on the table. ‘Don’t let me drink any more,’ she told her friends. ‘I’ve got yet more builders starting early in the morning and I won’t be able to handle all that noise if I’m hung-over.’

She was really quite worried about the builders. Not the level of the work, but perhaps the inn would lose something in the renovations. Perhaps it wouldn’t even feel like home any more. It was already strange without her aunt and uncle there. And what with bumping into Pete every five minutes, it all felt awkward and unfamiliar.

Having been deep in thought for a while, she looked up to find Lucy studying her.

‘What?’ asked Belle.

‘I was just trying to decide if you two are going to fall in love or kill each other,’ said Lucy, leaning her head on one side whilst she studied her friend.

‘Love?’ spluttered Belle. ‘I think you’d better just settle for a nice clean murder.’

After all, whatever had happened in the past, there was no way she was ever going to fall in love with Pete Kennedy. No way at all.

23

Monday evenings were normally the quietest night of the week but Pete’s family had decided to celebrate Cathy’s birthday in The Black Swan and had invited all their friends to join them.

Thankfully Angie’s awful food had been thrown out along with the rest of the kitchen so Pete and Josh had organised for a substantial buffet to be brought in by an outside caterer instead.

‘You could have picked somewhere that wasn’t a building site, mum,’ said Josh, glancing around the room as he ordered their round of drinks.

‘It doesn’t matter what it looks like,’ said Cathy. ‘It’s a family business.’

Pete smiled in thanks at his mum but inside he was feeling a little embarrassed about the state of the place. Half the walls were shrouded in plastic sheeting and the dust could be seen hovering in the air in front of the lights. Pete almost found himself hoping for yet another power cut from the dodgy circuit board which had yet to be replaced. At least then nobody would be able to see the mess.

It was the last place he would have chosen to celebrate his mum’s birthday but she had insisted. Despite the disarray, he was grateful for his family’s support.

Cathy and Josh headed away to join the large group of people that had turned up to join in the celebrations.

Pete looked across at Belle who had just finished pouring out some more drinks.

‘Thanks again for giving up your night off,’ he said quietly, as she came closer to use the till.

‘It’s fine,’ she told him. ‘It’s a nice atmosphere when it’s busy like this, isn’t it?’

Pete nodded in agreement. There was a warmth about the place when it was full of conversation and laughter. He was beginning to see why it meant so much to the villagers to keep the place open, even during the building work.

The shop and community hub were great places to meet during the day but it was at night that the villagers needed somewhere to go and there was nothing else open.

Spotting some empty glasses, he walked across the lounge to pick them up. Along the way, he was greeted by quite a few people. He was beginning to learn people’s names and he found he was starting to enjoy the role of landlord. Only temporarily, of course, he quickly reminded himself.

However, not everyone was enjoying the convivial atmosphere that evening. Ned Shearing was in his normal position next one of the fireplaces and sitting by himself.

‘A bit more lively in here than your usual Monday night,’ said Pete, with a smile as he picked up the empty pint glass.

As usual, the smile wasn’t returned.

‘I’ll say,’ said Ned, with a grimace. ‘Can’t hear myself think.’

‘Would another beer help drown out the noise?’ asked Pete.