Page 55 of The Twilight Garden

‘Well, her husband’s the local estate agent, isn’t he? And she has a portfolio of properties as long as your arm which she rents out. Too much of a coincidence, if you ask me.’

‘So you’re saying you think they buy them on the cheap? Through her husband’s connections?’

‘Something like that.’ Hannah shook her head. ‘Don’t listen to me. I am just envious they’ve got all that money, but I probably wouldn’t mind so much if they were a nice family. They’re not though, they’re horrible.’ She put out a hand. ‘I mean, I’m sure Ashley’s very nice. I don’t know her all that well, but Merryn’s a bit of a witch and her family go waaay back. There isn’t much around here they don’t know. Or own, come to think of it.’ Hannah slid the pile of books towards her with an apologetic look. ‘Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have said all that. I’ll climb down off my soap box now.’

‘No, that’s okay…’ Thoughts were racing through Gemma’s head. Unwelcome ones. ‘It’s probably better I know.’

Hannah pulled a face. ‘It’s not really work, is it? Being a dodgy landlord – more a way of life…’

Gemma made it outside and as far as her car before she stopped, her hand on the door. She was troubled by something, a feeling she knew of old, but hadn’t experienced for a long while. A whispering at the edges of her thoughts, a heart beating a little too fast, an unquiet sensation in the pit of her stomach. Apprehension. And an odd but steadily increasing sense of panic.

She pulled out her phone to check the time, almost dropping it in surprise when it burst into life. Not a notification though, or a message, an actual call. And not Cat, or Willow, but Leo. She held it to her ear, pulse thudding.

‘Where are you?’ he said, his voice urgent.

‘In town, why?’

‘Can you come back to the farm?’

‘Yes, I’m almost finished, but I⁠—’

‘Now, Gemma. Can you come now?’

‘Yes, I… Has something happened? What’s wrong?’

There was a pause. A distracted, I-don’t-know-what-to-say pause. ‘Just come home, please…’

21

The drive back to the farm was just long enough for Gemma to think of pretty much every scenario which might greet her, each one becoming increasingly alarming as she fought to keep her imagination under control. But the situation revealed itself all too soon as she neared the turning for the farm track.

There were cows. Everywhere. The docile beasts which had existed quite happily in a field a little further along the road, and who seemed quite small and unthreatening when viewed at a distance, were now milling all over the road. Big. And scary-looking. Wild-eyed and panicked. And among them, looking pretty panicked himself, was a young man wearing navy-blue overalls and riding a quad bike.

She drew to a halt a safe distance away. Her car was elderly, and she was not particularly precious about it but, up close, she could see just how much damage could be inflicted if she got in the way of the cows’ enormous bodies and sharp hooves…

Wracked with indecision, she tried to put a call through to Leo, but the signal dropped out after two rings. She tried again, holding her phone higher, but this time it didn’t even connect. She was loath to get out of the car and yet she needed to get to the farm, and if the urgency in Leo’s voice earlier was anything to go by, she needed to do so soon.

The farmer hadn’t even appeared to notice her yet, too busy trying to herd the cows back up the road. As she watched, two more appeared from behind the farm gate, followed by a sheepdog which shot out from behind them at speed, darting back and forth to bring them in line. And then, slowly, slowly the jumble of animals changed shape, changed direction and began to thin out along the road. It was as if they had sensed their missing number, but as soon as the last two cows rejoined the herd, they settled themselves, and with the sudden realisation that safety and familiarity were not far away, they followed the quad bike towards home.

Gemma drove on slowly, inching closer to the farm gate, but as soon as she turned into it she stopped again. The way ahead was impassable, not in her car at any rate. The track, always somewhat muddy after rain, a little uneven and bumpy in places, was now a churned mass of thick mud, the edges of the huge wet clods glinting in the sunshine. She peered forward, wondering if there was any way she could make it through, when she caught sight of Leo a little way along waving both arms above his head.

With scant regard for her boots, she clambered from the car and began to run towards him, stumbling, not caring one jot if she fell over, just trying to get closer in the quickest possible time. He came forward, holding out a hand, and hers met it outstretched, feeling the rough warmth of it, like a lifeline through the chaos.

‘What on earth’s happened?’ she asked, panting from her exertion. The mud had sucked at her feet, gluing her legs to the ground. ‘How did the cows get in?’

Leo shook his head. ‘We don’t know. Willow just went out this morning and found them. But Jesus, Gem, the damage.’

His use of the name he had always called her tugged at her heart, but it felt right there, fitting back into the hole he had left as if nothing had changed. But his face… It reminded her of the bleakest day of her life so far, bar one of course, and she knew immediately where Willow had found the cows.

The destruction to the crops was worse than she feared. She should have guessed how they might look if the state of the farm track was any indicator of what damage could be wreaked, but somehow she had tried to spare herself. To hope that only one area had been damaged, that the cows might have simply walked through, automatically avoiding the cultivated areas. But they hadn’t. One patch of ground was the same as the next, and they had shown no discrimination over where they had trampled.

What was perhaps even harder to see was the sight of Willow and Rowan picking their way disconsolately through the mess, all hope gone, disbelief and shock their only emotions. Willow bent to retrieve something from the ground and, as she straightened, she visibly crumbled and was caught by Rowan, who held her shaking and crying with their world in pieces around them.

Tears burned Gemma’s nose, rolling down her cheeks as she pulled away from Leo’s hand and made her way towards them. The greenhouses were upright but several panes of glass had gone. The turned soil had been churned, and the plants, while sturdy and strong against most of what Mother Nature could throw at them, were no match for the weight of a herd of frantic cows. They were torn and trampled, the crops ground into the mud by countless hooves. Some small areas had survived the wreckage, as if a tornado had passed through, picking and choosing what to destroy in its path. One plant obliterated while next to it, the other pristine and still bursting with life. It was senseless. Violent. Heartbreaking.

She hung back, knowing that Rowan was providing all the comfort Willow needed, but it didn’t stop Gemma from wanting to help, to offer something, anything, which might ease the pain of the situation. What that might be, she had no idea. Where would you even begin?

As if sensing her presence, Willow drew away from her husband and half turned in Gemma’s direction. She held out a hand and welcomed her into a shared embrace, and all Gemma could think was that she didn’t deserve it.