Page 20 of New Beginnings on Railway Lane

She decided that Bob was most definitely avoiding her as he was nowhere to be seen either. Presumably, he was still upset at her decision to throw away the old timetables. She would have to tread more carefully in the coming days if she wanted to progress with the work and complete the task she had agreed to.

By the time six o’clock rolled around, she thought about working on into the evening, but she was getting a bit stuck without anyone to guide her through what was actually inside all the boxes. It was still way too early to finish work, as far as she was concerned, but she appeared to have little choice.

Unwilling to upset Bob even more, she decided to give up for the evening, especially as her stomach was rumbling. So she locked up the station, shivering as she went along the darkening platform. The nights would soon be drawing in and she would be glad to be back under the bright urban streetlights once the darker days arrived.

She headed upstairs to the apartment and, to her surprise, found Bob there, kneeling on the floor and starting a fire in the hearth.

‘Oh.’ He looked equally startled to see her as well. ‘I’d forgotten that you were still here.’

‘Sorry if I frightened you,’ she told him, edging into the room. ‘How was your afternoon?’

‘I fixed a couple more bearings on the water gauges,’ he replied before clearing his throat. ‘So, are you hungry?’

‘Well, I had some delicious croissants to keep me going all day,’ said Katy. ‘Ryan said they were made by one of your neighbours.’

Bob nodded. ‘That would be Maggie.’ He smiled to himself as he stood up. ‘She’s got a real talent. She sold loads from a little stall out there when the lavender fields were open for the summer.’

‘I see.’ Katy looked out of the window at the fields in the darkness beyond. ‘Was it that busy?'

'Oh yes,' said Bob, nodding enthusiastically. ‘Harriet did a wonderful job. They were only open for the summer months when the lavender was in full bloom, but it really was something special to see. And now she’s got her spa as well. There are always people coming and going. It’s ever so popular.’

Katy was surprised as she hadn’t seen anyone, but then remembered the narrow passageway between the station and the Lavender Spa and figured that the customers went to and fro that way instead.

‘So what shall we have for dinner?’ asked Bob, looking at her expectantly. ‘Your choice as you’re our guest.’

Katy was a bit shocked. She hadn’t factored in sharing dinner with anyone. ‘Oh, well, there’s really no need to worry about me. I’m not a very good cook, I’m afraid.’

‘Me neither,’ he replied with a sheepish grin. ‘Unlike Ryan.’

‘Have you heard from him?’ she asked.

Bob nodded. ‘He landed an hour ago.’

‘Maybe you could get a takeaway and treat yourself tonight,’ suggested Katy. ‘That’s what I do when I’ve had a busy day.’

To her surprise, Bob laughed. ‘Where do you reckon I get one of those from around here?’ he said, with another chuckle. ‘We’re not exactly inundated with McDonald’s in Cranfield.’

He had a point, she realised.

For a moment, Katy felt out of her depth before realising that she did have one solution.

‘Tell you what,’ she told him. ‘How about I rustle up something for dinner?’

Five minutes later, they sat on the sofa holding their steaming-hot Pot Noodles.

‘This is fun,’ said Bob, with a smile before taking another forkful of noodles. ‘Tastes all right, doesn’t it?’

‘I don’t mind it,’ she told him, with a shrug. ‘Anyway, I don’t normally have time to cook. I just grab what I can.’

‘You modern girls,’ he told her, with a shake of his head. ‘Careers are everything, eh?’

She nodded. ‘Ambition has got me this far,’ she replied.

‘And a good chef as well!’ he told her, with a laugh.

She joined in with his laughter. ‘Most definitely not,’ she replied.

Afterwards, he offered to make her a cup of tea. ‘As you made dinner,’ he told her and they both laughed again.