Page 49 of New Beginnings on Railway Lane

As the others leaned forward in expectation, Katy found herself doing the same. These weren’t her friends, but she was fascinated by all the girl talk and found that she was keen to learn more about them.

‘Who?’ asked Libby, her eyes gleaming. ‘And why wasn’t I consulted about this?’

Flora laughed. ‘Because I don’t need to run my love life through you,’ she said.

‘Who is he?’ prompted Harriet.

‘Tyler Smith,’ said Flora after a short pause.

‘The farmer over in Cranbridge?’ said Libby, frowning.

Flora nodded. ‘Yeah. We met at the agricultural feed place last week and he asked me out to dinner. So I said yes.’

‘Very romantic,’ drawled Libby.

‘I think it is romantic,’ said Harriet, looking excited. ‘He’s asked her out to dinner.’

‘They met at the agricultural feed place!’ spluttered Libby.

‘Does it matter where?’ asked Harriet. ‘I mean, look at Joe and me. We didn’t exactly meet in the best of circumstances and now we’re living together in blissful love.’

She had a dreamy look on her face, which made Libby groan.

‘Please, you’ll put me off my flapjack,’ she said, before reaching out to take one from the plate on the coffee table.

‘Well, good for you,’ said Harriet to Flora. ‘I think it’s a smashing idea. Don’t you agree, Katy?’

Katy gave a start. She was still mulling over Harriet’s words. Blissful love? She had never known anything anywhere near those kind of feelings.

‘If Flora wants to go on a date and the guy has good prospects, then of course,’ she replied automatically.

Flora frowned. ‘Good prospects? I don’t think too many of the farmers could be described like that around here. The flooding’s been too bad for any of us to make a profit.’

‘But to have a partner and a companion,’ carried on Harriet. ‘That’s the most important thing. Then you can get through anything.’

Libby rolled her eyes. ‘As you can see,’ she said to Katy, ‘Harriet is the romantic one. Flora is the sensible one.’

‘And what about you?’ Katy couldn’t help but ask.

‘She’s the pain-in-the-neck one,’ said Flora, laughing.

‘I’m just grateful that Katy here feels the same way about love that I do,’ said Libby. ‘That it’s something to be avoided like the plague.’

‘There’s always Ryan,’ murmured Harriet, with a hopeful expression.

Katy shook her head. ‘Oh no,’ she said. ‘We put up with each other whilst I’m here. That’s all.’

‘Shame,’ said Libby, making a face. ‘After all, he’s a good-looking guy.’

Katy couldn’t stop herself from nodding in agreement. There was certainly no denying that, especially only wearing that towel that he had wrapped around his waist the other morning, revealing a dusting of dark hair on a firm chest. His six-pack muscles had been highlighted as well, all the way down past the towel…

Her train of thought broke off with a start. She looked up to find the others grinning at her dreamy expression.

‘It’s just work,’ she told them in an abrupt tone.

‘Of course it is,’ said Libby with a grin.

Katy was left with the feeling that her defence hadn’t worked. But they were wrong, weren’t they?