Page 38 of New Beginnings on Railway Lane

‘We went to school with Ryan and Ethan,’ explained Flora.

‘Ryan’s the sensible, sympathetic one,’ said Libby. ‘Unlike his pain-in-the-neck brother.’

Katy frowned. ‘I’m not so sure about that,’ she told them. ‘He wasn’t very sympathetic when I fell over on the platform this afternoon.’

They all looked at her questioningly, so she quickly told them about her soggy walk back from Cranbridge. By the time she got to the part about leaving her heel behind in the grate and limping off, they were roaring with laughter. In the end, she had to concede that she must have looked utterly ridiculous and began to laugh along at herself.

What was in that gin? she wondered. But she could feel herself beginning to relax around the other women, even start to enjoy herself. She was reminded how much she had missed out on over the years by not having friends to laugh with.

‘So, what will you do when you’ve tidied up the station?’ asked Flora.

‘If I ever manage to tidy it up,’ said Katy, rolling her eyes. ‘There’s so much to do.’

‘Those men are hopeless,’ said Libby, sprawling out on the cushion she was sitting on. ‘They’ve had all this time and haven’t bothered before. Sometimes a woman’s touch is what’s needed. Let’s be honest, men are a desperate bunch.’

Harriet laughed. ‘Not all of them,’ she countered.

Libby groaned. ‘Yeah, yeah, you found one of the good ones,’ she said. ‘Joe’s wonderful and you’re in love.’

They all laughed at her cynical tone.

‘So I’m in love,’ said Harriet to Katy, beaming with joy. ‘And Libby hates men. Opposites attract with friends, it seems.’

‘What about you?’ asked Katy, looking at Flora.

‘I have no time for love,’ said Flora with a sad smile. ‘I have a failing farm to try to keep going.’

‘Have you tried diversifying?’ asked Katy.

‘We’ve tried everything,’ said Flora, sighing.

Katy tapped her chin in thought. ‘There must be something we can do,’ she said, running her mind through all the business magazines and papers that she had read. Then she cast her mind back to Flora’s beautifully decorated kitchen and Grams’ delicious home cooking. ‘Have you got some spare bedrooms?’

Flora looked at her surprised before nodding. ‘It’s bigger than it looks,’ she said. ‘We’ve got four bedrooms, so there’s two spare.’

‘En suites?’ asked Katy.

‘There’s a spare bathroom that we never use at that end,’ replied Flora.

‘How about accommodation?’ said Katy. ‘You know, most people love to get out of the cities at the weekends and enjoy the countryside.’

‘Like you?’ asked Libby, laughing.

Katy shuddered. ‘Not likely,’ she confessed. ‘But there are loads of people that would pay good money to stay at your farmhouse and enjoy the walks and whatever people do out here in the middle of nowhere.’

‘I’d never thought about it,’ she said. Flora looked at the others. ‘What do you think?’

Libby nodded. ‘I think any extra income would be good.’

‘I think it’s amazing,’ added Harriet, before looking at Katy. ‘Wow, you’re good at this kind of stuff.’

Katy shrugged her shoulders. ‘I’m a problem solver. That’s what I do. I love to solve everyone else’s problems.’

‘Well, I’ll have a chat with Grams,’ said Flora. ‘Thanks.’

‘So where’s your next problem-solving mission?’ asked Libby, looking back at Katy.

‘I’m still waiting for a managerial job at a hotel to come up,’ said Katy.