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Kate laughed. “I think most of the people in there smelt gross.”
“No, not sweaty beery gross… a sort of raw meat kind of gross.”
“Raw meat?”
“Yeah, I remember him saying he works making pasties…Ginsters, I think he said. Hopefully that explains the smell.”
“If you’d said he works for any of the local pasty makers, I’d tell you he’s a keeper, but Ginsters? You’re well rid.” Bob took a sip of his coffee and grinned at Maddie.
“Sorry,” said Maddie, looking confused as if she’d just noticed there was someone else sitting at the table. “Who are you?”
“Bob. Pleased to meet you,” he said, holding out his hand for Maddie to shake.
CHAPTER TEN
KATE PLUMPED UPthe pillows for the hundredth time that day and straightened the already straight handmade soaps lying on the new fluffy towels. The first guests were due to arrive in a few hours, and she wasn’t sure what to do with herself in the meantime. Maddie and Bob had helped her list the house online over the weekend. They’d made a good team once Maddie’s hangover subsided, and she got used to finding a strange, half-naked man in Kate’s garden.
Bob insisted on cooking them breakfast before he left, despite his fragile state. After a plate of bacon, sausage and eggs, Maddie declared him her new best friend and tried to persuade Kate to let her move in so she could be closer to Bob. If she hadn’t known Maddie was joking, she would’ve been worried; no way could she keep up with Maddie’s lifestyle of work-hard, play-hard. Kate didn’t mind the working, it was the playing she struggled with.
Kate gave the bathroom another glance over. Spiders were sneaky beasts and it would be just her luck for one to whip up a web in the hours before the guests arrived. Next, she moved through to the guest sitting room. The flowers on the table were giving off a beautiful scent. Glass jars were filled with ground coffee, a choice of teas and luxury biscuits. It was impressive, but Kate knew she’d have to find a way to cut her costs if she was ever to make a profit.
The hands on her watch ticked slowly round, still two hours to go. If she went round the house checking again, she was more likely to make a mess than find one. Instead, Kate settled herself in her room and flicked through film options on her laptop. It would have to be a comedy. She didn’t want a tear jerker and the guests arriving to a red eyed emotional wreck of a host.
Five minutes into the film, her phone pinged with a message-
Hope it goes well with the guests. Thinking of you x
Thanks, I’ll let you know how it goes xshe replied.
Kate smiled at the message. Bob was a sweetie, like a giant teddy bear. She didn’t feel he’d completely opened up to her yet, though. It was true he’d been very open about his past and he had no qualms talking about his dead wife, but she still knew very little about his current life. She had half expected he might invite her round one day. After all, he’d been to her place often enough, but the invite never came. And every time she asked after his parents, he brushed away the questions, changing the subject as quickly as was polite.
Kate checked the sound was up on her phone in case the guests called and settled herself down for ninety minutes of escapism. She realised within the first ten minutes thatWe Bought A Zoowas a risky choice, but it was too late. She was hooked. Before long, a pile of sodden tissues lay beside her and her nose was red from all the blowing. Kate checked her watch. Still another hour before they arrived. That left plenty of time to paint concealer around her puffy red eyes.
A knock came on her bedroom door and Kate froze. Someone was in the house. She paused the film and grabbed the nearest weapon. A hairbrush was an unlikely weapon against intruders, but it was the best she could do, and who knows what damage those bristles could inflict? Sitting on the bed seemed a vulnerable position, so she raised herself to standing and tried to still the shake in her legs.
“Hello? Who’s there?”
The door opened and an auburn head poked around it.
“Are you Kate?”
“Yes. Who are you? What are you doing in my house?”
“I’m Sarah, your guest. This is Mark.” Sarah pushed the door open wider to reveal a scrawny-looking boy with glasses. Sarah, in contrast, was ruddy and well built. They reminded her of Jack Sprat and his wife.
“Oh, oh, hi, nice to meet you.” Kate dropped the hairbrush onto the bed and rushed forward with an outstretched hand. Sarah gave it a hearty shake. Mark’s hand felt cold and damp, like a limp fish.
“We knocked and rang the bell, but there was no answer.”
“Oh, God, I’m so sorry. Have you been waiting out there long?”
“Fifteen minutes” “Five minutes” said Sarah and Mark simultaneously. Kate noticed Sarah jab her partner in the ribs before giving a hearty laugh. “Let’s meet in the middle and say ten.” She grinned at Kate, who struggled to take her eyes off Mark as he rubbed at his elbow-dented ribs.
“Well, I can only apologise. I’ll have to get the doorbell checked. I’ll show you to your room. Do you have much luggage? I can take it for you if you like?”
Kate knew she was babbling, but couldn’t stop the verbal diarrhoea. Sarah insisted they didn’t need help with their luggage, before handing both backpacks to Mark. They were almost as big as him, and Kate was worried he’d topple backwards as he wrestled them up the stairs. Sarah and Mark were hard to read, but seemed happy enough with their accommodation and Kate left them to settle in, instructing them to find her if there was anything they needed.
Kate returned to her position on the bed and tried to get back to the film. Above her, she could hear every footstep and the sound of voices, or one voice to be precise. It had taken all of thirty seconds to see who wore the trousers in that relationship. A thud came through the ceiling as bags were plonked on the floor. It was a strange feeling, knowing strangers were just upstairs. Kate felt like she was eavesdropping on them, an intruder in her own home. She gave up on the film, clicking the laptop shut. Perhaps in the kitchen she’d feel more at home.
