Poppy's Recipe for Life: Treat yourself to the gloriously uplifting new book from the Sunday Times bestselling author!

by Heidi Swain

  ‘What about the radio spot?’ asked Mark. ‘Does it say anything about that?’

  Lisa handed the letter back to Neil.

  ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘and we’re going to need some help from you lot there. They want two of us to go in on Saturday.’

  ‘What, this Saturday?’ asked Luke.

  ‘Yes,’ said Lisa, biting her lip. ‘I can’t do it. I’m going to be in London, promoting my book at a blogger event. I can’t miss that.’

  ‘Of course you can’t,’ said John.

  ‘And I’m going to be on site with a tricky client,’ explained Neil. ‘It’s taken weeks to get our diaries to coincide.’

  Luke was the obvious choice as the owner of Prosperous Place, but he was eschewing anything to do with the media now he’d given up his modelling career, and Heather, Glen and John would have their hands full with their little ones. Harold declared he was too old for messing about on the wireless, and Carole and Graham had booked a coach trip to the coast. Carole looked gutted, whereas Graham appeared relieved. I couldn’t blame him.

  ‘So,’ said Lisa, turning to Jacob and me. ‘That just leaves you two.’

  ‘No way,’ said Jacob.

  ‘Yes,’ said Neil, ‘you guys would be perfect. The two newcomers.’

  Everyone’s eyes swung to us.

  ‘You’ll be able to explain how inclusive the place is, Jacob,’ said Lisa, smiling at him. ‘How coming here has helped you settle in and get to know everyone.’

  ‘And you could talk about how you’ve been making use of all the produce, Poppy,’ added Neil.

  ‘I’ve barely started,’ I reminded him.

  ‘You could even mention your recipe cards,’ suggested Mark. ‘That’s bound to give us an edge! I bet none of the other gardens can boast having a champion pickler on their premises.’

  I’d never been a champion at anything, but I didn’t have the chance to point that out.

  ‘You’ll be the perfect pairing to promote the place,’ said Kate. ‘Don’t you think, Ryan?’

  ‘Absolutely,’ my cheeky brother joined in, no doubt encouraged by my look of dismay.

  ‘That’s settled then,’ said Lisa, sliding the letter back into its envelope and handing it to Neil so he could add it to the file. ‘What a relief.’

  Jacob looked every bit as dumbfounded as I felt and I was just poised to form further objections when Gus let out a bark and ran across the garden.

  ‘Hey, Colin!’ called Ryan as he came into view through the gate and scooped up his overexcited pooch. ‘You’re back!’

  *

  Within seconds of Colin’s arrival, a deep rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance and fat heavy raindrops began to fall.

  ‘Let’s call it a day, folks,’ announced Lisa, ‘thank you, guys. Oh, and if we can come up with a name for the garden by Saturday that would be even better. An official title would help the place stick in people’s minds. Isn’t that right, Luke?’

  ‘Absolutely,’ he agreed. ‘Great idea.’

  ‘And’ she added, now addressing Jacob and me, ‘if you could be at the radio studio by three on Saturday, that would be great.’

  ‘But I’ll be at work,’ I told her, thinking it might be worth having one last-ditch attempt at getting out of it. ‘I don’t finish until five on Saturday.’

  Jacob didn’t look at all impressed that I was bailing on him, but I couldn’t do it. I’d get tongue-tied and make a total twot of myself, I knew I would.

  ‘And Harry won’t be able to spare me again,’ I pushed on. ‘I’ve had so much time off recently . . .’

  ‘Don’t worry, sis,’ said Ryan, throwing a heavy arm round my shoulder, ‘I’ll cover for you. I’m sure Harry won’t mind. It’s only for an hour or so.’

  I could have brained him.

  ‘That’s settled then,’ said Lisa, smiling at Ryan before rushing off to get out of the rain.

  I still couldn’t look at Jacob.

  ‘Thanks for that,’ he tutted. ‘You were going to leave me high and dry.’

  ‘Come on,’ said Colin, before I could defend myself, ‘let’s get down to The Dragon before it really starts to pour.’

  ‘Great idea,’ I said, reaching for a couple of the umbrellas we kept in the bothy and which would be just the thing for blocking Colin’s view of his shop as we ducked by. ‘We better take these.’

  As we walked to the pub I had fired off a quick text to Lou, letting her know her recently identified hero was finally back in town, but as I listened to what he had to say, I wasn’t sure that had been a wise move.

  ‘So,’ he said with a sigh, as he came to the end of telling us exactly what had happened to his dad and how his recovery had been slow but positive so far, ‘he’s being discharged from the convalescent home next week. I’ve helped Mum get as much sorted as I can. He’s going to have some pretty intense therapy to help get him better, not to mention some fairly major lifestyle changes.’

  ‘Well,’ I said, ‘it certainly sounds as if you’re on top of things, Colin.’

  ‘I’ve done what I can,’ he said, his cheeks turning slightly pink, ‘but I couldn’t have managed even half of it without Natalie. She’s been amazing,’ he added wistfully.

  Ryan looked at me and raised his eyebrows. I knew exactly what he was thinking. The name Natalie had come up at least half a dozen times since we’d arrived at the pub and I clearly wasn’t the only one who had noticed.

  ‘So, this Natalie,’ Jacob began, venturing where I, in view of what I now knew about how Lou was feeling, didn’t dare, ‘she sounds . . . nice.’

  ‘She’s the best,’ Colin cheerfully agreed. ‘We were at school together, but she was in the year below me. She works for the care agency I called hoping to find someone reliable. We knew she was going to be perfect straight away.’

  ‘You’ve known each other for a while then,’ Jacob carried on.

  ‘Not really,’ Colin replied. ‘We used to go to the same reading group after school but we weren’t what you would call close, or even friends really. To be honest, I was surprised she even remembered me.’

  ‘But she did.’ Ryan grinned. ‘You sound well in there, Col.’

  ‘Well,’ said Colin, laughing, ‘I don’t know about that but we have been out a couple of times and she’s been really great helping us get the house sorted and drawing up a care plan. The agency couldn’t have sent anyone better—’

  ‘I daresay she’s just doing her job,’ I interjected, trying not to think how Lou was going to react to the news that Natalie the nurse was tending to more than Colin’s dad’s needs.

  ‘Perhaps,’ Colin said, looking at me, ‘but Dad isn’t the only one feeling better for having her around—’

  He broke off as his phone began to ring, and fished around in his pocket for it before heading to a quieter spot in the bar. ‘It’s her,’ he mouthed, pointing at the phone and grinning.

  ‘Bloody hell,’ I groaned.

  ‘Ironic, isn’t it?’ muttered Jacob.

  ‘Just a bit.’

  I had been so excited that Colin was going to come back and discover that Lou had finally acknowledged her feelings for him that I hadn’t considered the fact that while Colin was away he might fall for someone else. He was supposed to be looking after his parents, for goodness sake, not falling for the carer. It was all very First World War love story, only the nurse was looking after his father, not him.

  ‘What is?’ Ryan asked. ‘What’s ironic?’

  ‘Never you mind,’ I said tersely, handing him a five-pound note and asking him to get some crisps so I could have a moment to think what to do next without his chatter.

  ‘Do you think you should call Lou,’ Jacob asked as soon as Ryan was out of earshot, ‘give her a quick low-down on the situation?’

  ‘That might not be a bad idea,’ I agreed, reaching for my phone. ‘If I can head her off and set her straight before she . . .’

  The words died in my throat as the pub
door was flung open and Lou rushed in, forcing her way through the crowd at the bar and enveloping Colin in the biggest bear hug imaginable.

  ‘Ah,’ said Jacob, ‘too late. Time to initiate plan B.’

  ‘Which is?’

  ‘I have absolutely no idea.’

  Lou didn’t look at all happy when Colin eventually prised himself free from her clutches and pointed first at his phone and then to where Jacob and I were sitting.

  ‘Hi,’ I said nervously as she came over.

  ‘Hey,’ she harrumphed, ripping into one of the bags of crisps Ryan had just dumped on the table. ‘Apparently he’ll be over in a minute, he’s just talking to his dad’s carer.’

  ‘That’ll be Nurse Natalie,’ nudged Ryan, throwing in a cheeky wink for good measure.

  Lou sat up a little straighter in her seat.

  ‘I’ll get another round in,’ said Jacob, jumping up. ‘Give us a hand will you, Ryan?’

  ‘And who is “Nurse Natalie”?’ Lou demanded.

  ‘She’s an old friend from school,’ I said lightly. ‘Apparently,’ I forced myself on, ‘they’ve been out for a couple of drinks.’

  Lou blanched. She knew as well as I did that that wasn’t usual Colin behaviour at all. Yes, he headed to The Dragon with us and Mark most weeks, but that was different.

  ‘I’m sure there’s nothing in it,’ I blundered on even though I didn’t know anything of the sort.

  ‘Right,’ she said, chewing her lip and looking over to where Colin was still talking animatedly into his phone. ‘I see.’

  We could hear him laughing, even though the bar was pretty crowded.

  ‘Well,’ she said, rallying, ‘he looks happy. That’s the main thing, isn’t it? I mean, he’s been through a shitty time of it recently. He’s entitled to have a bit of a laugh, isn’t he?’

  ‘Absolutely,’ I said, relieved that she seemed to be taking the unexpected turn of events in her stride. ‘You’re right. This is a good thing, and it’s great news that his dad’s getting on so well.’

  ‘Exactly,’ she agreed, ‘and I can’t wait to see how he’ll react when he sees what we’ve done with the shop.’

  ‘I’m just grateful it was raining as we came along and I was able to use the brolly to shield his view of the papered windows. I suppose he’ll want his keys back now.’

  ‘No way,’ she said. ‘Ryan and I won’t be handing them over until we’re completely ready.’

  ‘You can’t stop him going into his own shop, Lou.’

  ‘Just you watch me,’ she said firmly. ‘Ryan and I have worked bloody hard to turn that place round and we’ll be giving it the launch it deserves. A little earlier than expected, I know, but it’s happening nonetheless.’

  ‘That was Natalie,’ said Colin, beaming, rejoining us at the table at the same time as Jacob and Ryan. ‘I left some books at her place and she wanted to know if she should send them on.’

  ‘Nice.’ Ryan sniggered.

  The rest of us didn’t comment.

  ‘And talking of books,’ said Colin, taking the chair next to Lou and stretching his arm across the back of hers in a relaxed gesture that wasn’t like him at all, ‘I suppose I better have the keys to the shop back. Maybe we’ll pick up where we left off with the makeover next week, Ryan? That is, if you’re still up for helping out?’

  ‘Oh blast,’ said Lou. She was clearly better at subterfuge than my brother, who had turned bright red and looked about to give the game away. ‘I’ve left the keys at mine.’

  ‘Never mind,’ said Colin, ‘I’ll come back with you when we’re done here and pick them up, if you like.’

  Lou winked at me and I wondered if she was planning some sweet seduction using the keys to the Reading Room as bait.

  ‘You’re more than welcome to come back to mine,’ she said, leaning back onto Colin’s arm, ‘but why not leave the shop until Saturday?’

  ‘But why would I?’

  ‘That sounds like a good idea,’ said Jacob, cottoning on, ‘why not take tomorrow off, mate? I’m sure keeping the place shut for just one more day won’t make any difference, will it?’

  ‘I suppose not,’ Colin agreed, stifling a yawn. ‘I’m hoping I’ll be too busy to take much time off once we’ve finished the makeover, so perhaps I should make the most of it.’

  ‘Exactly,’ said Ryan, ‘leave the keys with Lou for now and spend tomorrow bonding with Gus again.’

  I knew it was going to come as a wrench for Ryan to have to hand Gus back. They’d been practically joined at the hip from the moment they met and the little chap had been no bother at all. He had the loveliest manners.

  ‘Actually,’ said Colin, leaning across to where Gus was sitting on my brother’s lap and stroking the dog’s soft little head, ‘I was wondering if you wanted to hang on to him for a bit. I’m going to be doing quite a bit of travelling during the next few weeks to check up on Dad and see Natalie and Gus isn’t great in the car. And besides,’ he added, ‘look at him. He’s obviously far happier with you than me.’

  Ryan looked as if he’d won the lottery but poor Lou was suddenly looking as sick as a dog.

  Chapter 20

  Saturday morning, I was a jumbled bag of mixed emotions. I was excited about the relaunch of Colin’s shop, terrified at the thought of appearing on the radio and frazzled from Lou’s seemingly endless and increasingly paranoid babble.

  ‘How am I supposed to compete with her healing hands?’ was the most frequently asked question as Colin continued to sing Natalie’s praises at every given opportunity. ‘I can’t possibly best Natalie friggin’ Nightingale!’

  No matter what answer I came up with, Lou couldn’t be calmed and I had my hopes pinned on the extensive work she and Ryan had undertaken in the Reading Room as being enough to help Colin see that her efforts were definitely more than those which could be expected of a friend.

  ‘Hey, Poppy,’ said the man himself with a frown, when he turned up in Greengages earlier than expected that morning. ‘I’ve just been to Lou’s place to pick up the shop keys, but it’s all shut up and she isn’t answering her phone. There isn’t anything wrong, is there? She never misses a Saturday.’

  ‘Not as far as I know,’ I said, my panic kicking up a gear as I realised that if Colin had come down the street the other way the whole plan for a grand reveal would have been scuppered.

  ‘Well, we arranged to meet there this morning,’ he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. ‘Perhaps I should give her mobile another—’

  ‘No!’ I cut in. ‘Let me ring her, just in case she’s poorly or something.’ I didn’t give him the opportunity to point out that he was every bit as capable of talking to a poorly Lou as I was. ‘You wait here.’

  I ushered Harry into the back room on the pretence of him helping me find my phone.

  ‘You have to go to Colin’s shop, Harry,’ I urgently whispered, ‘and tell Lou that Colin’s on his way. I’ll hold him here for as long as I can but she might have to let him cut the ribbon early.’

  With Harry dispatched I quickly made two cups of coffee and carried them back through to the shop. Thankfully it was a slow start to trading and I happily imagined everyone was gathering further down the street, waiting to finally find out what had been going on behind the papered windows of the Reading Room.

  ‘I thought you might like a coffee,’ I told Colin, handing him a mug.

  He looked at me as if I was from a different planet.

  ‘What?’ I asked, taking a caffeine-packed sip.

  ‘Did you get hold of her?’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Lou!’

  ‘Oh,’ I spluttered, ‘no, sorry. She’s not answering. But I’m sure everything’s fine.’

  ‘Well, I can’t just hang about here all morning,’ he tutted. ‘Saturday really is the only day I have a chance of getting more than half a dozen customers into the shop. Perhaps I should go back and see if she’s turned up at her place yet.’

  �
�Have your coffee first,’ I encouraged, trying to sound calmer than I felt.

  I managed to keep him talking for the next twenty minutes or so. As soon as I mentioned the name Natalie he was off and running and by the time Harry arrived back with Ryan and Gus in tow and had given me a crafty thumbs-up to indicate that everything was good to go, I was every bit as sick of the kind-hearted carer’s name as Lou was.

  ‘So here you are, Colin,’ said Ryan, playing along a little too dramatically. ‘Lou’s been waiting ages for you down at the Reading Room.’

  Colin handed his empty mug back to me and tutted.

  ‘But I told her last night on the phone that we’d meet at her place,’ he grumbled. ‘I swear she doesn’t listen to a word I’m saying half the time.’

  It wasn’t all that long ago that he’d found that particular flaw in Lou’s character endearing, but now he just sounded annoyed. I would have bet my weekly wages that Natalie hung on his every word, never missing so much as a single syllable.

  ‘I better get down there,’ he said, sounding more irritated than ever.

  ‘I’ll come with you,’ said Ryan, rushing off after him.

  Harry and I quickly locked the shop and followed on a clandestine few paces behind.

  ‘What’s going on?’ we heard Colin call ahead of us when he realised that all of the shops were closed and the owners, along with quite a crowd, were gathered around the front of his store. ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘We have a surprise for you, Colin,’ Lou said, smiling, as she stepped away from the masses to greet him.

  She quickly took his hand and turned him back round before he saw too much. She glanced over to me and beamed, looking absolutely beautiful in a fifties-styled frock, the fabric of which was covered in books. She was really going all out to impress him. I only hoped her efforts weren’t now in vain.

  It was amazing to think how quickly and completely the tables had turned on this pair who seemed destined to keep missing each other.

  ‘I’m not a big fan of surprises.’ Colin frowned.

  ‘Well,’ said Ryan, handing over Gus’s lead to Jacob, who was at the front of the crowd and looking every bit as excited as Lou, ‘I can guarantee you’re going to love this one, mate.’