by Jane Linfoot
And then we start to turn, and from across the sky Bella is waving at me. Only this time around I know I look just as gruesome as she does with my cheeks flattened.
Last time I did this I loved my life, but now I love living. Every moment is precious, I’m grateful for every day. And for that alone, I wouldn’t change a thing about the last year.
Then, just when it feels like it’s never going to stop, there’s a yank, the air rush halts and I’m hanging. Everything’s slowed down, my screams have stopped, my face is still numb, but it isn’t getting pulled off any more. As I glance up, high above us there’s a broad blue parachute stretching across the sky. And I’m already anticipating the feel-good explosion I’ll get as we lurch back to earth, that sense I’ll be invincible forever.
But I also know that since last year my biggest leap has been on the ground: learning to believe in myself, to be strong, to be happy with who I am. With the support of people who love me, I can be anything I want to be. Do anything I choose to do. Be wherever I want to be. And as I float downwards it couldn’t be clearer – the choice I’m making is right. It’s the only one for me.
As we drift, there’s time to look down at the silver snake of the road glittering in the sun, the little box of the headquarters. Loella’s truck, slewn across the car park. Aunty Jo and Malcolm sitting on picnic chairs, next to Sadie and the crew from Zinc Inc. Tash and my mum and dad standing by the fizz gazebo, Tiddlywink and Wilf pointing up at me.
Then the ground is rushing towards us really fast and there’s Dan’s voice again, as his hand clamps my head onto his chest. ‘Okay, lift up your legs – we’re almost down.’
One massive bump later we’re lurching forwards. Then my feet hit the ground too and guys are slapping me on the back as they run past to pick up the parachute. As I stagger I hear a whoop, and Bella’s crashing back down to earth off to the side of me.
As Dan’s unclipping me he gives me a wink. ‘Same time next year then?’
‘Too right.’ But I’m already looking past him because Beth, Loella and the kids are stampeding across the grass and, out in front, there’s Cam and Dustin. And as they hurl themselves at my thighs Cam’s screaming. ‘You did it, you really did, you really, really jumped out of a plane.’
Then there’s a lower, more gentle voice. ‘Good job, Edie B.’
And as Barney throws his arms around me and pulls me into the kind of hug that warms me right to my core, it flashes through my head that if Colin Firth had been here, I wouldn’t even have looked at him.
And as Barney spins me around I know there’s never been any doubt in my mind about where I should be.
Then he puts me down and I look up into his eyes, take his face between my hands and brush the curls back off his forehead. ‘Good job yourself, Barney barn person. So when we’re done here, will you take me home with you?’
As he laughs down at me there are crinkles at the corners of his eyes. ‘To St Aidan?’
I grin up at him. ‘My trial month is over, I know now I belong with you and Cam. If that’s okay?’
His lips slide into that heart-crushing smile of his. ‘It couldn’t be better, Edie B.’
P.S.
When I began I was talking about beginnings, and how they’re hard to pinpoint, and I was desperate to get back to where I’d started, so the rest of my life could begin. Even though I didn’t realise it then, that first day I turned up looking for Periwinkle Cottage was the start of a whole new and different life. Which kind of proves the difficulty with beginnings.
As soon as I move back to St Aidan, Barney and I lose no time launching Barnaby and Browne. I brave the polished concrete and testosterone and move in with Cam and Barney, and Dustin’s owner goes into a care home so he gets to stay on too – in the crook of my knees at night, and similarly close in the day.
Now Malcolm’s at Aunty Jo’s full-time, they’ve already added window boxes, and now the barn yard is permanent it opens for sales every Saturday. There’s another happy twist when Cam’s trustees buy the big barn from Aunty Jo, and Barnaby and Browne agree to rent it until he grows up. Even better, St Aidan becomes Zinc Inc’s Cornish outpost; we design and build the first shepherd’s hut for one of their clients, with the promise of many more orders to come.
And somewhere along the line, I’m not even sure when, I stop counting the days because they aren’t important any more.
When I did my first skydive my happiness was careful and ordered, heaped up in neat piles. But the kind of happy I’ve found in St Aidan with Barney and Cam is wilder, and more intense. It’s unexpected, surprising, rich and random and chaotic. Huge like the ocean, and as certain as the tides. But most of all, it’s real. And it’s wonderful.
And I can’t ask for a better beginning or end than that.
Also by Jane Linfoot
The Little Cornish Kitchen
Christmas Promises at the Little Wedding Shop by the Sea
Summer at the Little Wedding Shop by the Sea
Christmas at the Little Wedding Shop by the Sea
The Little Wedding Shop by the Sea
The Vintage Cinema Club
High Heels & Bicycle Wheels
The Right Side of Mr Wrong
How to Win a Guy in 10 Dates
Acknowledgements
A big thank you … To my editor, Charlotte Ledger, for her inspiration, support, brilliance and all round loveliness. This is our tenth book together, it’s been the most wonderful journey. To Kimberley Young and the team at HarperCollins for their fabulous covers and all round expertise and support. To my agent, Amanda Preston for her warmth and brilliance, her vision and encouragement, her sparkle and her super-fast responses. Whether I’m crying into my tea towel, dancing around the kitchen, or venturing out to events in London, she’s always there for me.
To my writing friends across the world … To the fabulous book bloggers, who spread the word. To all my wonderful Facebook friends. And special thanks to Naomi Priestly for helping with the medical bits in between her shifts on the stroke ward.
To my wonderful readers … these books are all for you, thank you so much for enjoying them – I love hearing from you and meeting up with you.
And last of all, huge hugs to my family, for cheering me on all the way. And big love to my own hero, Phil … thank you for never letting me give up.
About the Author
Jane Linfoot writes fun, flirty bestselling romantic fiction with feisty heroines and a bit of an edge. Writing romance is cool because she gets to wear pretty shoes instead of wellies. She lives in a mountain kingdom in Derbyshire, where her family and pets are kind enough to ignore the domestic chaos. Happily, they are in walking distance of a supermarket. Jane loves hearts, flowers, happy endings, all things vintage, most things French. When she’s not on Facebook and can’t find an excuse for shopping, she’ll be walking or gardening. On days when she wants to be really scared, she rides a tandem.
@janelinfoot
www.facebook.com/JaneLinfoot2
@janelinfoot
www.janelinfoot.co.uk
About HarperImpulse
HarperImpulse is an innovative, award-winning digital imprint. In the five years since launch, we have continually hit digital bestseller lists, hosted the UK’s first online romance festival, published into over ten countries and grown an exciting stable of commercial women’s fiction authors.
Readers, come and say hi to the team and your next read …
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Writers, our vision is to publish the very best in digital-first commercial women’s fiction and we are simply looking for good stories! So, what are you waiting for? To submit, e-mail us at [email protected].
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