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‘Thinkshe’s trapped in the indulge and flagellation cycle.’Daisychanged the subject abruptly.Sheneeded to know. ‘Isuppose it’s not the day for the question but how’s it going withColin?’
‘Isuppose it might not be the right day, chick, but seeing as you’ve asked the question,I’llanswer it.It’sgoing slowly.Ihaven’t met his family yet, although they know about me.Hopingto meet them soon at a family barbecue.Benice if you could come along and give me some moral support.’Jansnorted. ‘I’mridiculously nervous about it.We’retaking our time over everything.Justenjoying getting to know one another.’
‘Sorry.Crasstime to ask you.’
‘Maybe, butIcan see why you’ve mentioned him.I’veactually just toldRodaboutColin.’Janwrinkled her nose, a mannerismDaisyrecognised as having inherited. ‘Weirdly,Ithink they would have got on, although they’re very different.’
‘You’reright, that is a weird thought.Isuppose they have you in common.Ahbut,Mum, how couldColin’sfamily not like you?Reckonthey’ll see he’s very lucky to have someone like you around.Andof courseI’llcome with you to the barbecue.Notsure how comfortableI’llbe butI’llbe there for you.’
‘AsI’vesaid before, just becauseI’mgetting fond ofColindoesn’t push the loveIhave for your father out of my heart.Theheart’s a wonderfully expanding muscle,Daisy.Itenlarges to love more people.It’sjust like having children.’Janchuckled. ‘AndIshould know,I’vehad three.Ilove your brothers butIloved you too when you came along.’Jansucked in a deep breath and then went on with difficulty. ‘And, something else,whatever happens with me andColinI’llalways put you and your brothers first.’
‘Iknow.Ilove you,Mum.We’renot the sort of family who do emotion very well, are we?ButIdo.’ThenDaisyflung her arms around her mother and hugged her close so she wouldn’t see the tears streaming down her face.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
September’s bouquet
Pink carnations – Dianthus caryophyllus
I’ll never forget you.
Heliotrope – Heliotropium spp.
Devotion.
Sweet Peas – Lathyrus odoratus
Love, devotion and blissful pleasures.
AsDaisydrove to deliverSeptember’sflowers toWalter’shouse she was thoughtful.
Theemotional day with her mother had made her take stock.Shewas genuinely pleased her mother was moving on, even though she still felt odd about it.Evena little lonely.DespiteJan’swords, she was sure she would have to learn to share her mother with someone else.Sinceher brothers had moved abroad some six years before, it had been just the two of them.Despiteher misgivings, she’d metColin, along with her mother and littleFleurin tow.They’ddecided to meet up for a quick coffee in the sun sitting outside theSeaSprayCafé.Lesspressure than being stuck having a three-course meal enduring tongue-tied small talk.
Colinhad been, thankfully, lovely.Obviouslynervous, he’d chatted about how much he loved living inLullburyBayand about his new role as a volunteer with theLeagueofFriendsfor the cottage hospital.Hewas obviously and genuinely fond ofJan.Daisyhad stayed for nearly an hour, fussed over the spaniel when the conversation lulled and promised she’d attend the barbequeColinhad planned when his family next visited.She’dfelt a twang of disloyalty to her father that she’d liked him so much but raised her face to the sun as she strolled back through the tourists and up the hill to the shop and forced the ridiculous notion out of her head.AtleastColinseemed a decent sort.Moreimportantly, her mother was happy.Thehappiest she’d seen her in seventeen years.Itwas a new beginning and it was suiting her.
Aswell as meeting up withJanandColin, she’d spent the week keeping busy, studying the flower catalogues, reading the book she’d borrowed from the library on the language of flowers, getting builders round for quotes for a conservatory and spending an hour at a car showroom eyeing up new vans and feeling horribly guilty aboutPrimrose.Freakingout about the amounts of money involved.Shewasn’t sure she could afford any of it but it kept her thoughts from straying toRick.
Shealso felt guilty aboutJakob.Afterhe’d returned to theNetherlands, he’d, very unusually, rung her several times.Sheonly saw him as a friend and didn’t think anything would change that.Afterhe’d suggested she take some time out and go over to stay with him, they’d had an awkward conversation about staying friends and that it was all she wanted.Shecouldn’t shake the irony that a perfectly nice, decent, extremely attractive man had come into her life just as she had become besotted with another.PoorJakob.Therewas nothing she could do to change her feelings towards him, however, and he deserved someone who could love him as he wanted.Hewas too lovely a man not to have that.As, she reminded herself, was she!
Now, as she headed out of town, she pressed determined lipstogether.Sod’em.Men.Thelot of them.She’dconcentrate on building her business, enjoying life, making more of a work-life balance, maybe even take that trip toThailandshe’d always promised herself but had never got round to.Shedidn’t need another person, be it her mother,Marionand certainly notRickto make her whole.Shedidn’t need a man, thank you very much.Shewas doing very well all on her lonesome.Shegave herself another metaphorical pat on the back.Lessa road toDamascusmoment, more of a random occurrence on theLullburybypass, but she’d take it.
Somehowthe decision, no matter how muddled and half thought through, cheered her.Itwas like shedding a skin she’d been inhabiting for too long.Sheseemed to have spent the summer being angry: at men, about her life, about anything.Andmostly the fury had been directed at herself.Theletting go of the angst made her shoulders ease and her heart lighten.
Nowshe felt fresh and sparkling and ready to face whatever life might bring her.Thefuture spread in front her, inviting and hopeful.Shewas doing okay, and she was doing it on her own!
Thevan protested as she crunched the gears. ‘Sorry,Primrose,Ido apologise.Wasn’tpaying attention.’Daisyconcentrated on turning right onto the busy road which led west.Shetried not to look at the cemetery and remember the weirdly happy hour she’d spent withRick.He’dbeen so understanding.Socomforting.Beinga good friend, she tried to convince herself.Maybeif she could work through the agonising sexual attraction, that intense connection she always felt for him whenever she saw him, even whenever she thought of him, he’d end up being a good friend.JustlikeJakob.
Asshe settled into slow progress along theA-road, heavy with traffic, singing along to ‘HereComestheSun’, her thoughts drifted again, this time to making a business plan.Aconservatory or a garden makeover?Sheglanced atPrimrose’sdecrepit dashboard; a new van ought to be a priority.EventhoughWebFloriststatus had only been granted inAugust, it had already boosted trade.Shewas at that awkward stage of not being quite ready to take on another member of full-time staff although it was beginning to feel as if it was necessary; there was only so long she could rely onJan’sgoodwill and now she hadColinin tow she wasn’t sure how much more free time her mother would have.Itwas unfair too; her mother deserved a life of her own.Maybethen, she should scrap any other plans and hire an assistant.MaybeMiawould be interested in more hours?Thegirl loved her work at the school but she might be willing to give up her supermarket job.
Shewas still mulling it all over as she pulled ontoWalter’sdrive, the greenFordFocusin its usual position.Goingto the back of the van, she was busy leaning in to take outSeptember’sbouquet and didn’t notice the whiteTransiton the track behind her, half hidden by aDevonbank smothered in pink herb-Robertand parked up next to the gate at the end of the garden.
Walter’sflowers this month were an eclectic bunch but hadn’t been difficult to source.Carnations, no colour specified soDaisyhad chosen baby pink, heliotrope and fragrant sweet peas.Miahad assured her the choice was a good sign as together they represented love, devotion and blissful pleasure.Daisyhad added some blushing pink-and-white alstroemerias as the bouquet had looked a little thin and ordinary and was pleased with the country garden vibe.Pastel-pink and olive-green ribbons to match added just the right casual touch.Sheinhaled the honied scent of the sweet peas as she took the bouquet from its holder and smiled.Lookedas ifWalterhad made up for whatever he’d done.Shewondered again what the story behind the flowers was.
Sighingwith resignation that, with just one more month’s worth of flowers to go, she was unlikely to ever find out, she turned and nearly dropped the bouquet as she spotted theFrenchdoors to the house were wide open.Instinctsilenced her and a prickle of unease made the hairs on the back of her neck rise.Spottingthe whiteTransitvan made her gasp silently.Hersuspicions raised, shethought rapidly.Tiptoeingback to the van, she put the flowers back in their holder, slid her mobile out of her shorts pocket and held it with her finger poised ready to key in 999.
Duckingaround the corner of the porch she waited.Itcould all be entirely innocent of course butMia’sdire warnings of thefts of lead from the church roof fell heavily into her mind.Hadn’tMarionsaid something about dodgy characters in a whiteTransit, or was thatMiatoo?She’dalways thoughtWalter’shouse was vulnerable, being empty and isolated, and there were probably all sorts of valuable architectural goodies on anArtsandCraftshouse like this one.Butwhat could she do?Shewas on her own.Herheart thumped.Whatif there were two or more of them?Hearingfootsteps crunch along the path from the house to the track her breath hitched in terror.Primrose!Brightyellow and a dead giveaway that someone else was here.Shecould only hope the overgrown laurel hedge which screened the drive from the house hid her van.Screwingup her eyes, she peered around the corner to see most of a man putting something into the back of theTransit.Shewasn’t going to let him get away with it.PoorWalter!
Withoutthinking it through and keeping her phone in one hand, she scanned around, her eyes lighting on a length of decorative tile edging.Pickingit up, she ran over the lawn towards the man yelling, ‘I’vecalled the police.Toldthem there’s a burglary in process.They’reon the way.Youput down whatever ofWalter’syou’ve got.Anddo it now!’
