Page 47 of Coming Home to Maple Tree Lodge

‘Great,’ said Lily.

‘Me too,’ added Ella. ‘I’ll come whenever I can.’

‘I love you guys,’ said Hannah, beaming.

‘Me too,’ Lily told them. ‘And I’m sorry I couldn’t be honest with you all before now.’

‘It doesn’t matter,’ said Beth. ‘We’re your besties, OK?’

‘Exactly,’ added Ella. ‘We’ve got your back, and your front too.’

Lily felt the tears prick at her eyes as she realised just how grateful she was for her friends’ support.

Keeping the theme of transparency, Lily had decided to reveal her secret project to the family.

So later that morning, she asked everyone to follow her upstairs and showed them all the bedroom that she had been secretly updating.

She was relieved to see the family’s enthusiasm over the new colourful décor.

‘I like it,’ said Walter, nodding his approval. ‘Especially keeping that wall of wood.’

‘So do I,’ said Ben, with a smile.

‘I love the colour,’ said Hannah, reaching out to stroke the warm green of the painted walls.

‘But this isn’t finished, is it?’ asked Faye, looking around.

‘Not by a long shot,’ replied Lily with a grin.

She looked at Ben to help her out.

‘I’m getting in touch with the carpet fitters today so that we can get all the bedrooms kitted out,’ he said.

‘What colour carpets?’ asked Dotty.

‘A warm beige,’ Lily told her. ‘To match the wood in each room. Talking of which…’ She took a deep breath and looked at Ben. ‘There was another feature I wanted to talk to you about. Four-poster beds.’

Ben’s eyes widened as he glanced down at the divan bed, still covered up with its plastic wrapping. ‘The trouble is that I’ve just paid for all twenty new king-size beds,’ he began, looking stressed.

Lily put up her hand. ‘That’s not what I meant,’ she told him. ‘The beds are great but just a little bland. Not romantic enough. So I was thinking that perhaps you could add an oak frame around the new beds to make them into four-posters.’

Ben looked at his grandad with raised eyebrows. ‘What do you think?’ he asked.

‘I think we’re going to be busy, lad,’ said Walter. But Lily was grateful to see him smiling his approval.

‘You’re not the only ones,’ said Lily, looking at everyone else. ‘There’s an awful lot of plain walls that need colour put on them in the rest of the bedrooms.’

‘OK,’ said Faye. ‘Well, it’s not like I’ve got anything else to do.’

‘I’m at work at five,’ said Hannah. ‘But am around until then.’

‘And my artistic talents are crying out to be used,’ added Dotty with a warm smile.

They all looked at Frankie, who had remained quiet until then.

She made a face. ‘Well, I’ve just checked my bank account. Unfortunately I’ve worked out that I’ve got just enough money in my savings to retire early and live comfortably for about two minutes. So I suppose I’d better help you!’

As everyone laughed, Lily found that she was grateful for her secret designs being out at last.