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Holly shook as she watched him get into his car and drive off.
‘I paid for that car too,’ she screamed after him. The tears tumbled down her cheeks, as soon as he was out of sight.
* * *
Holly wokethe following morning in the main part of the caravan. Her body ached and head hurt as she viewed the empty bottle of fizz, a home-warming gift from Joe that had been in the fridge. Hearing voices from outside, she remembered the staff were coming in to finish off the pots. Peeping through the curtain, she groaned at the sight of the cottage, bringing back memories of Tom the previous day. She glanced at the grazes on her palms, which looked less angry, but were still sore.
Half an hour later, Holly walked over to her staff, feeling much better, having showered and dressed in fresh jeans and a floral T-shirt. She had donned a pair of sunglasses, it was a lovely sunny day and a couple of painkillers dulled her throbbing head.
Joe waved as she approached him. Smiling, he thumbed over his shoulder. ‘Do you want to come and see what we’ve done?’
‘Of course.’
As Holly followed Joe, she brought him up to date on the insurance and told him that Tom had been sniffing around. As they approached the planting area, she could see Julie and Anne watering pots. Holly was impressed at the colourful spread. Val had not been in for work as she avoided the heavy jobs, which were not appropriate at eighty-two.I must get over and see her, she thought.
Holly clapped her hands together. ‘Wow, they look amazing, guys!’
There were at least thirty pots filled with pinks, blues, yellows and lilacs. She felt guilty. She should have joined in more and worked with the team. Picking up a trowel, she fetched one of the empty pots, realising it was time to get her act into gear.
After an hour of potting, Holly began to feel more like her old self. Her mobile dinged with a text from Ethan. She had messaged him the night before to thank him for his help with the insurance, although she avoided telling him about Tom’s visit. She did not want to sound like the forever victim. They had rearranged her design session for the coming afternoon.
Pick you up at three – I’ll bring you back here and use my software to help draft your plans xx
Holly’s heart dropped slightly, even though she felt excited about her plans. She looked down the hill to the farmhouse, wondering where Mitch was.This isn’t helping,she thought. She had to focus. The Mitchcrush–was a distraction. She fetched a fresh tray of plants.Just keep on track,she told herself.
Holly puta hand on the dash of Ethan’s car as he swerved at speed down a road which felt so small, it was as if she was on a toboggan run. If a car came in the opposite direction it would have been impossible for it to pass.
I wish I’d driven myself over, she thought. Even if it would have been a tight squeeze for her van, at least she would be driving slower. Her stomach churned and just as she thought she would be sick, the road opened out into a clearing and a house came into view. It was a sleek building backed by trees. The house reminded Holly of two huge shoe boxes – one stacked at an angle on top of the other, clad in wood. It seemed out of place, yet also sympathetic to the surroundings. As they got closer, the wood shone and huge floor-to-ceiling windows reflected the sun. Ethan parked up and walked around to help Holly out of the car. She felt uneasy with his over-gentlemanly nature but appreciated it, as she struggled to get out of the car’s bucket seats. Her Ford Transit might not be pretty but it was a lot more practical.
‘I love your place.’ Holly pointed at his home. ‘I assume you designed it yourself?’
Ethan nodded and smiled. ‘I’m glad you like it.’ He gazed into her eyes.
‘So beautiful,’ she said, quickly turning away to focus on the surroundings.
Holly noticed as Ethan gave her a tour of his house that, whilst it was indeed beautiful in a contemporary way, the inside was rather empty. As if no-one lived there. The floors were hard, with stone downstairs and wood upstairs. It was open-plan, with few dividing walls. The dining table was long and boardroom-like. The windows were massive, with huge white curtains which billowed in the wind like tall ghosts as Ethan opened them. The only area that appeared lived-in was his bedroom. The bed was slightly ruffled, a huge TV was affixed to the wall with a games console attached. Free-weights were piled in the corner and a towel lay discarded on the floor.This is where he lives then?she thought.
What she could not fault though was the view. It took her breath away as she gazed out to the sweeping landscape of hills, trees and farming land with Glastonbury Tor in the distance. Ethan approach from behind.
She turned. ‘It’s breath-taking.’
‘You’re breath-taking too, stood in the window like that.’ Ethan smiled at her. ‘I fancied you like mad at college. You know that, right?’
Holly gave a nervous laugh. ‘Er ... no?’
‘But then all the lads wanted to get with you.’ Ethan stepped back.
Holly breathed out.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to crowd you.’
Holly felt her face colour up. ‘No worries. It’s just a bit soon. You know – since Tom?’
‘Of course.’ Ethan clasped his hands. ‘Let’s get downstairs, then. I’ll show you the plans I’ve started.’
She followed him towards his office area, feeling a trickle of sweat travel down her spine.
They beganwork on the plans. Holly explained that she wanted to rebuild the nursery buildings, making use of the remaining stone walls that were still there, albeit in a blackened state. But she wanted the art barn to be a modern space. The plans Ethan had prepared were impressive and he had clearly put many hours of work into them but they were a lot starker than Holly’s vision. She spent time explaining her ideas, as Ethan adjusted the computer drawings to more of what she had in mind. This included a relaxation area, a zen garden and clearly-defined spaces. Holly relaxed into it and Ethan reminded her much more of the old Ethan – the one she had worked with in college. As the sun dipped below the horizon, it created an orange hue over the house. They sat back, looking at the computer screen.
