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Chapter 4
Victor
Well this was a turn up for the books! Victor had not one but two people in his home and after so long alone. Oh,anda giant dog too. The latter he could have done without but he didn’t even mind that much because the dog seemed docile enough. True, it had knocked him over in the park but it had partly been his fault for not paying attention. He’d been wondering how many meals he had left in the freezer and whether he should bother to get more when suddenly, he’d had the wind knocked out of him and he’d been on his backside on a pile of leaves. Thankfully, he hadn’t been hurt but it had given him a bit of a shock. Enough of a shock to knock some sense into him, he imagined Mavis saying. And he could agree with that. Here he was, alive and well, moping around and feeling sorry for himself when he should be honouring the woman he’d loved,still loved, and making the most of however much time he had left. For all he knew he could die tomorrow and then what would he say to Mavis at the pearly gates to explain his behaviour? She’d give him short shrift for sure.
In the lounge, he looked around, seeing the room as Leif would be right now. How had it got so messy? He’d known things were getting on top of him but not to this extent. Therewere mugs on the coffee table in front of the sofa, two small plates covered in crumbs from the cakes he’d nibbled at when a full meal seemed daunting, a whisky tumbler balanced on the arm of the sofa and newspapers and magazines strewn around. One of his cardigans was draped over the lamp in the corner and a sock lay abandoned on the carpet in front of the TV.
‘I’m s-sorry about this.’ Victor gestured at the room.
‘About what?’ Leif frowned.
‘The… the mess.’
Leif shrugged. ‘What mess? This is nothing. Watch this…’ Leif whizzed around the room, picking things up. He put a pile of clothing on the chair then collected the plates, mugs and glass like he was a waiter clearing a table. ‘See? Nothing at all to worry about. I’ll take these to the kitchen then be back for the clothes.’
Alone with Magnus, who was now lying on the hearth rug, Victor sank onto the sofa and dug the TV remote from under a cushion. He would help tidy up in a bit but right now, he felt exhausted and wanted nothing more than a cuppa and a nap. Perhaps the fall had upset him more than he’d realised. In fact, he’d close his eyes for a moment while Leif was in the kitchen and grab a quick snooze.
And with the sound of Magnus washing his front paws, Victor drifted off, content to know that for the first time in a long time, he wasn’t home alone.
Chapter 5
Flora
‘Oh dear,’ Leif said as he entered the kitchen.
‘I know.’ Flora took a deep breath and looked around. To say that the kitchen was a bit messy was a huge understatement. Poor Victor had been living in a state and looking at it now, Flora could understand how it would be hard to find the motivation to do anything. ‘Where to start?’ she said.
‘Good point.’ Leif set the plates and mugs he was holding down then added a glass he’d had tucked under his arm. ‘Poor Victor. He could do with some help around here.’
‘How old is he, do you think?’ Flora asked, meeting the handsome man’s piercing blue eyes.
‘Late seventies possibly early eighties. Although these days some people age so well that it’s difficult to tell.’ He wrinkled his nose.
‘I’d have placed him early eighties. Oh, life is unfair sometimes. I mean… from the photos I’ve seen around here so far, like the one in the hallway, he was with his wife a long time so losing her after all those years must be terrible.’
‘He seems lost.’ Leif shook his head. ‘Sadly we can’t change that but we can help him around here.’
‘Do you have time?’ Flora asked.
‘I do have time. It’s my day off and I’m happy to help. To be honest, I couldn’t go home and leave the place like this. Does he even have anyone else in the village?’
Flora gave a small shake of her head. ‘I don’t know. I’m sure that if we contacted the council there would be someone who could help but… I don’t know that it’s our place to do that. It could hurt or upset Victor and he seems like a proud man. I say we tidy up a bit and get things straight for him then see how he’s feeling.’
‘That sounds good to me.’ Leif went to the sink and opened the cupboard door underneath it.
‘What’re you doing?’ Flora asked, trying not to notice how broad his shoulders were in the fitted maroon jumper or how long his legs were in soft, faded denim jeans. He was such a big man with thick, blond hair that curled at his nape and a beard to match. His eyes were as blue as a clear winter sky, exactly how she’d always imagined a Viking would look. Add to that his sexy musical accent and she could see how someone could fall for this man. Not her, of course, because with her disastrous romantic history she’d sworn she’d never get involved again. But it was still nice to admire the scenery and in this case the scenery was very pleasant indeed.An aesthetically pleasing Norwegian landscape.
Leif turned around and she averted her eyes quickly, wondering if he’d seen her staring at him. Or was thatoglinghim?Yikes!
‘I was looking for these.’ He waved two packets of rubber gloves in the air along with a bottle of bleach spray. ‘I figured he’d probably have some here somewhere.’
‘Excellent.’ Flora accepted a packet of rubber gloves and opened them while Leif did the same. When she’d set out on her walk this morning, she’d had no idea that she’d end up cleaningsomeone else’s house with the help of a real-life Viking, but here she was. Some days just brought surprises…
Just over an hour later, they’d sorted out the kitchen. The dishwasher was on its second cycle, the surfaces were clear of food and containers, the plants on the windowsill — that had clearly not been watered in some time — had been put out in the composter and together they’d emptied the fridge of all the out-of-date food then blitzed the glass shelves. It looked like Victor needed a food shop and Leif had offered to go to the village shop and get him some basics in later on. For now though, he had milk and bread so they made him some tea and toast and took it through to the lounge. There was no doubt that the rest of the bungalow needed cleaning and sorting too, but Flora said she didn’t think they should go too mad in one day because Victor might feel like they were intruding. Instead, she’d said, it would be better to take it one room at a time.
In the lounge, they found Victor on the sofa with his head on a cushion, his legs tucked up under him. Next to him, on the sofa, was Magnus. Leif gasped but Flora put a hand on his arm and shook her head. If the dog being on the sofa had worried Victor, then he wouldn’t be lying there with one hand on Magnus’s back while the dog’s head was resting on Victor’s knee. They looked like they were totally comfortable with each other and as if they did this every day.
‘They got comfortable together,’ she said and Leif nodded.
