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Holly nodded. ‘But your loyalty will be rewarded for getting in at the ground floor.’
The meeting ended with three very firm handshakes. Holly felt butterflies in her stomach.It’s really going to happen,she thought.The market, the rebuild, the hub.
With Joe’s help,Holly put the final touches to her new art studio. It was in the second bedroom of the caravan. With things starting to move along, she wanted to focus on her vision. It was more than reopening the nursery, it was also about her art. Holly knew she had to focus on rebuilding her portfolio. With no work to display it would be some months, maybe a year, until the hub opened. If it opened. What if Tom refused to back off? Forced her to sell? With no land, she would have no nursery, no arts hub and no home. Holly pushed the negative thoughts out of her mind. But they were always lurking there in the background ? the disaster waiting to scupper her plans.
‘Perfect,’ Holly said, stepping back looking at her new workspace. ‘I told you there was enough room for an easel. And the cupboard is the ideal size for my palate to perch on.’ Holly was excited at the sight of the paints she had bought from her favourite art shop in Bristol.
Joe scratched his head. ‘Make sure you keep the window open, love. For ventilation. And no matches.’
Holly put her hands on her hips. ‘I never started the fire, Joe.’ She shook her head. ‘I still maintain it must have been something to do with the electrics. Too much of a co-incidence, the fire starting after the light bulb blew.’
Joe raised his eyebrows. ‘So you keep saying.’
Holly knew Joe was teasing her, but she did wonder at times whether people thought the fire was her fault. She guessed she would never know exactly what happened.
Holly waved Joe goodbye. Picking up her new computer tablet, she opened her cloud storage to view the paintings she had logged before the fire.Where to begin?she thought. It was her aim to reproduce the paintings. Whilst it had taken years to create the collection, much of the time had gone into conceiving the ideas. Flicking through the images she came to a multi-coloured dragon in acrylic. It was her first competition piece from when she was a teen. A carefree time she wanted to tap into.
She set up her materials, then took a deep breath, staring at the canvas. Dipping her brush into the paint, she made the first stroke.
Two days later,Holly was still working on her dragon. She had left her staff to cover the nursery. Since the reopening there had been a steady flow of visitors, especially on sunny days. Some brought picnic blankets and sat on the grassy slopes of the top field as their children played, enjoying the cakes and refreshments bought on site. As well as the snack shack doing a roaring trade, the pots and hanging baskets had proved popular. They had sold so many, Holly wondered whether there were any houses left in the village without a Lovelands’ filled pot or hanging basket.
Holly stopped painting as she heard a rap at the caravan’s open door, followed by Trixy barking.
‘Come in.’ She turned to see Mitch lifting a white plastic bag with the logo of Eversley’s local store on it.
‘I’ve brought lunch.’ He smiled at Holly’s acrylic splattered apron. ‘You’ve been painting?’
‘Yes,’ she said to her uninvited but most welcome guest.
‘Do I get to see your work in progress?’
‘Okay, but don’t feel pressure to say you like it if it’s not your thing. It’s very different to the landscape.’
‘I’m sure it’s great.’
Holly was surprised at how much she was able to achieve. ‘I’ve been trying to recreate my collection. This is the first one, but it’s taken on a freer vibe compared with the original.’
She stepped to one side as Mitch squeezed into the small room beside her.
‘It’s tight in here,’ he said. ‘I’m surprised you don’t pass out with the fumes.’
‘It’s not ideal, but it’s a space. It’s calledDragon’s Mouth.’
‘I can tell it’s yours,’ Mitch said.
‘The dragon’s mouth is wider than before.’ Holly pointed at the canvas. ‘And I’ve added flecks of blue to its eyes.’
‘I love the way the blue juxtaposes the red fiery scales of the body.’
Holly laughed. ‘You sound like an art critic.’
‘My artistic knowledge is pretty limited. But I know I love your work.’
Holly blushed, feeling hot in the enclosed space, aware of his body in close proximity to hers. ‘I painted the original when I was seventeen. I tend to stretch the spectrum a lot more these days.’ Holly felt a tear in her eye. ‘One of the reasons I want to set up the hub is so that people who might not have painted before can step back and get a buzz from looking at their own creations.’
‘I’m sure the hub will come off.’ Mitch smiled at her as she turned and faced him. His eyes travelled down to her lips. She swallowed hard. Holly heard Jaz’s voice calling her in the distance. She was unsure whether she was relieved or annoyed at the interruption, convinced that Mitch was about to kiss her. He stepped back to allow Holly out of the room.
Walking to the window, she saw her petite friend approaching the caravan holding hands with Julian who seemed like a giant at her side. ‘Well, well.’ She shook her head. ‘Who’d have thought?’
