Page 43 of Starry Nights over Dragonfly Lake

She looked up at him with raised eyebrows.

‘Black sheep of the family still have eyes and ears,’ he told her.

She blushed. ‘I don’t think the family think of you that way any more.’

‘I don’t care what they or anyone else think of me,’ he replied quickly.

Too quickly, she thought. It was a lie, she realised. But perhaps, like her vintage clothing was her own armour, maybe that was Noah’s armour as well. To keep people at arms’ length.

But to her surprise, it made her want to be the exact opposite and to find out what lay beneath the rough exterior.

22

Despite his assurances to Ben that it wasn’t a problem to be staying on the whole winter at Maple Tree Lodge, Noah still had a couple of personal reservations.

He had only ever built boats so he was hoping for Walter’s expertise on shoring up an actual liveable structure like four lodges that needed to be sturdy and yet attractive enough to be rented out to paying customers. For that, he wanted to retrieve his own tools and had headed back to Brighton where he had just finished work restoring a 1950s yacht.

He looked around the static caravan that he had rented for the past five months. It had been fine enough for the summer months but now that it was the end of October, it felt cold and damp. He only had a couple of weeks’ rent left before the caravan park closed for winter anyway, so he packed up his belongings into his pickup truck before leaving once more.

Not that he had a lot else other than his clothes. He had always travelled light throughout his life. He had lost too many toys growing up from moving around from place to place to care too much about possessions. So he had nothing personal to showfor his life so far except his tools. He had worked hard for everything that he had bought himself and nurtured and cared for them as much as other people watched over precious antiques.

It had been a long day’s drive so by the time he had returned to Cranley, he found only Walter and Faye sitting at the kitchen table. Everyone else had finished their dinner and had headed into the lounge.

‘I’ve saved you a dinner plate,’ said Faye, getting up from the long oak table and collecting it from the oven.

‘That’s very kind,’ replied Noah. ‘And by the way, I wanted to apologise about refusing dinner last night. It’s not a reflection on your food and I really did appreciate the offer.’

He knew that the price to pay for staying at the lodge was that he would have to put up with the family gatherings all winter. He could cope with it for a few short months surely, he told himself.

‘It’s absolutely fine,’ Faye told him, as she placed a plate groaning with pasta and meatballs in front of him. ‘We all need a break from the family sometimes. It can be a bit much when everyone’s talking at once.’

‘Why do you think we live in the cottage?’ added Walter, with a grin.

Noah smiled and was silently thankful that they seemed to understand.

‘This looks great,’ he said, picking up his knife and fork. ‘Thank you.’ Before starting to eat, he asked Walter, ‘How are you?’

‘Not so bad,’ replied Walter, shifting the sling across his arm and shoulder. ‘And feeling better with the news that you’re going to be helping Ben out with the lodges.’ He gave Noah a teary smile. ‘Must say, that’s the best start to my recuperation I couldhave asked for.’

Noah felt a little embarrassed at Walter’s gratitude and began eating. As anticipated, the food was delicious.

‘I’m sure you’ll be a huge help,’ said Faye, with a smile. ‘Especially given your expertise in carpentry.’

‘Not so sure about that,’ replied Noah, after swallowing. ‘I only really know about boats.’

‘Rubbish,’ Walter told him. ‘You know about wood. That’s the most important thing.’

‘It’s certainly a vital skill,’ added Faye, nodding.

‘Absolutely,’ said Walter, with a hearty nod. ‘It’s important to have that connection to the environment, being in touch with the natural world. Think of the trees that we’ve had to fell to make the lodges. When you’re felling a tree and then planting another, you can’t think about instant results. This is about the next generation. And then the one after that. By the time Ben and Lily’s children are old enough, those saplings will be towering up in the forest along with the rest of them.’

Noah stayed silent. He had never thought about having children of his own, too scarred by what he had seen through his own childhood. He had always wondered how rubbish a parent he would make, given his own experiences.

‘Maybe we’d better let Ben and Lily’s relationship just take its time,’ murmured Faye.

‘I won’t go on about it,’ said Walter, rolling his eyes. ‘What I was trying to say is that working with wood is about appreciating the past as well as the future. About what my family have built.’ He looked at Noah. ‘Ourfamily, I mean to say.’

Noah’s food lodged in his throat before he could swallow. His family? It was still a new concept to him.