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Chapter 4
Holly opened her eyes. Her head thumped and she groaned. Her throat felt as if she had gargled with facial scrub. Oddly, the feeling of dread and nausea which had been with her for the past few weeks had lifted. A picture of Tom’s face flashed into her mind. Rolling over in the bed, she attempted to force the image away. For nearly two years he had been the first person in her thoughts when she woke up, the first person she told news to and the last person she spoke to at night. Now he was gone.At least things can’t get any worse,she thought.Val often said, ‘You’re the best person to have in a crisis.’ Maybe that was true because she felt nothing, not sadness, not joy, just a smooth cool nothingness.
She looked around the bedroom, taking in the newness of it all. The walls a pale grey, the paintwork white. The bed was comfy and whilst Holly preferred blankets and sheets, she liked the simplicity of the white duvet. The room was far from boutique style but radiated a homely, fresh feel. Pushing the duvet off, she sat up and hugged her knees. She shut her eyes and visualised herself painting.Maybe this is the first day of the rest of my life,she told herself.
Opening her eyes, she hesitated, staring at the curtains through which the sun glinted. Considering the direction of the sun, she realised she must be positioned to see the nursery. But she was not ready to look out of the window and up the hill to her property. She remained still, cocooned in the safe environment.
Holly glanced at the bedroom chair over which she had thrown her dirty clothes, they were gone and in their place was a bulging supermarket bag-for-life. Reaching for the towelling robe beside her, she got out of bed. Her whole body seemed to creak.This must be what it feels like to be eighty,she thought, picturing Val who always groaned every time she got out of a chair. The bag was full of clothes. Lifting them out individually she found a pair of jeans, two T shirts and a blue hooded sweatshirt with a white logo on it. There was also a plastic pack of four bikini style pants, a pack of socks, a pull-on sports type bra and a pair of trainers which were luckily her correct size. Over the back of the chair hung a green Parka coat with a grey-fur-edged hood. Stuck on the bag was a handwritten note:
Hope these fit. Call when you are ready. I have a proposition for you. Mitch.
Holly assumed Mitch’s proposition was about him buying her land.Typical of me and my big mouth,she thought.Remembering her offer to Mitch in the early hours, she bit her lip. Her parents would not have been pleased about her offering the Loveland acres up for a knock-down price, least of all to a Booth.Although she still wondered whether a change of scenery might be for the best. Maybe she could pursue a job in an art gallery or get a teaching qualification – rent an art studio, start afresh, away from Eversley, away from Tom. She decided to grab a quick shower and get dressed in case any of the Booths came in to check on her.
On her way to the en-suite she noticed her mobile phone plugged in on charge. She hesitated, wondering whether to check her messages but continued to the shower – not wanting to see the missed calls or messages, or catch any videos posted on social media with #Lovelands #fire, going viral. She wanted to live in this safe bubble for a little while longer, pretending everything was fine and that she was on a weekend break somewhere, a million miles away.
Covering herself in pine-scented body gel and washing her hair in an all-in-one shampoo, she felt alert. They were male products, she loved the freshness of the zesty, woody fragrance. Once dry, she put on the new clothes.Hmm, snug,she thought as she checked her reflection in the mirror. Not ill-fitting, but tighter than her usual attire of polo shirts and cargo trousers. Turning to the side, she flushed red. The clothes really were figure-hugging and the bra, maybe a size too small, was pushing her boobs up and creating a cleavage which the V-necked T-shirt could not hide.I’ll definitely be wearing the hoodie,she thought. Locating a hair dryer in the bedside cabinet, she rough dried her locks. Without a brush, her natural blonde curls blew around.
Holly pulled on the hoodie and zipped it up. Taking a few deep breaths, she stared at the curtains.Here goes.Pulling them wide open, the blackened buildings loomed up like a haunted house perched on the hill. Her eyes smarted with hot tears and she could not help the sobs. With her heart pounding she covered her mouth, as if to stop herself screaming.
A fire service van was parked up next to the wreckage. She presumed they were carrying out their inspection.Shaking her head, she knew she couldn’t leave the nursery. Couldn’t leave everything her relatives had built – like it had been thrown in the bin. Discarded. And then there were her staff.Oh no, the staff,she thought.
Holly squinted in an attempt to see who was up there, realising sheshould have texted. She picked out Val’s canary scarf. Quickly making the bed, she grabbed the undies she had slept in and stuffed them in the supermarket bag. Pulling the phone away from the charging cable she looked at the screen, there were many missed calls. She texted Joe, her head groundsman.
Sorry – should have warned you … stayed at Booth Farm. Don’t think there is much we can do today. Let everyone know they can go home and I’ll text an update later.
Holly put her phone down, watching her hand tremble. A reply came through from Joe.
Thank God you are safe. Shall we come down to you? No one is going anywhere – here for you.
Holly shook her head and texted him back
Coming up now. Can you check on animals? x
As well as the text, she had three missed calls from Val and the remaining calls, fifteen of them were from Tom. A knot tightened in her stomach. He had probably heard the news, she assumed. She would have to call him at some point, she needed her savings back. Not knowing how long it would be until the insurance was sorted, she would need to find somewhere to live. Checking her phone for her broker’s number she decided to call him from the van.Best get that out of the way,Holly thought. She would face Tom tomorrow.
As Holly headed towards the door she saw her folio propped against the wall. Opening it she removed the painting. The fields she had painted, were the fields of Booth Farm and the house in the distance, was the house she was in. It felt odd, like she had painted her future. She shivered – the painting felt eerie to her now. She did not want to take it with her. Placing the watercolour on the bed, she turned over the note Mitch had left with the clothes and took a pen from the dresser and wrote:
Thanks for calling the emergency services and for letting me stay. And for the clothes, I will pay you back. Please accept this painting as a thank you. Holly.
Outside,the farm appeared quiet. Holly hesitated and glanced back at the house.Should I phone Mitch?she thought, then shook her head as she walked towards her van, guessing he would attempt to convince her to stay in bed and rest. Holly unlocked the van and opened the passenger door, placing the bag of remaining clothes, her new coat and the empty folio inside. Walking around to the driver’s door, she hoisted her aching body onto the seat. She started the engine then called her insurance broker’s number, waiting for the hands-free to kick in. Taking a deep breath, she drove away from the farmhouse onto the main village road. As she turned into the narrow lane which led to Lovelands, she left a message on her broker’s answer machine. Reaching the nursery drive, the blackened buildings seemed to shrug in disbelief. Val stood in the car park with a hanky in her hand. Joe had a comforting arm around her shoulders. Although a man of sixty, Joe was young enough to be Val’s son. They walked towards the van as Holly parked up. Joe opened the door for her and Holly was hit again with the smell of smoke.
Val pushed in front with her arms outstretched. ‘Oh love, I’ve been beside myself, I really have.’ Her voice faltered, her cheeks were crimson.
Joe gently moved Val aside, holding out a hand to help Holly down. ‘You’re a sight for sore eyes. We’ve been phoning around the hospitals searching for you. And Jaz isn’t answering her phone.’
‘She’s in Exeter.’ Holly took Joe’s hand, jumped down and gave him a hug. ‘Does she know?’
Joe shook his head. ‘Not from me, I only left a message to ask her to call.’
Val moved forward and hugged Holly. ‘Love, I’m so glad you’re safe,’ she said dabbing her eyes. ‘It probably looks worse than it is.’
Holly took in her cottage, studio and the main nursery building. A mixture of sooted stone and charred wood.
‘Oh love – how did it happen?’ Val asked.
Holly shrugged her shoulders. ‘They think it started in the studio.’ She pointed to the fire brigade on site. ‘It might have been an electrical fault. The lights have been blowing for days. It’s my fault – I should have had the electrics updated a long time ago.’ Holly saw Julie approach from the petting zoo. ‘The animals – how are they?’
Julie with eyes wide open replied, ‘They’re fine. Anne’s making a fuss of them, doling out extra food.’ Julie reached Holly and put a hand on her shoulder. ‘I’m sorry this has happened to you.’
