A Way Back Home: Full of warmth, laughter, tears and a wedding! (The Willow Tree Hall Series)

by Alison Sherlock

  He stirred once more, as he too, slowly began to wake up.

  She knew she should look away. But she had never been this close to him before. Now she could see the faint stubble on his chin. The sweep of the lashes on his still closed eyelids. And lastly, a lock of messy hair which had fallen over his forehead as he lay next to her. Her hand twitched to smooth it down but it was trapped by her side. And by Will’s arms, she realised.

  They were lying on the sofa, side by side.

  It shouldn’t feel this good to be so close to him. It should feel strange and uncomfortable. But, at that moment, she had a yearning to stay wrapped in his arms forever.

  Then Skye remembered that she didn’t do things like this. She didn’t need his strong arms protecting her. She could protect herself, couldn’t she?

  Except last night she had failed spectacularly. She had nearly been killed by her own stubborn refusal to accept help. She could so easily have been crushed by the tree if Will hadn’t been there to save her. Instead it had been her little car which had suffered the worst damage.

  She allowed herself one last look at his face up close before making exaggerated moves as she pretended to wake up.

  ‘Good morning,’ she said, as he began to come to.

  ‘Good morning,’ he mumbled, frowning as he looked around and also realised that they had remained lying on the sofa together. He swiftly sat up, obviously not keen to be lying down with her.

  ‘It sounds as if the storm has moved on,’ said Skye, quickly standing up.

  Daylight peeped through the curtains but the roaring wind was definitely not outside any more.

  Will dragged a hand through his hair, messing it up even more. Skye decided she liked it messy and not fixed into its normal neat style. Then she told herself that that wasn’t the most important thing to focus on that particular morning.

  As Will reached behind the sofa to open the curtains, light flooded the room. Skye’s eyes struggled against the bright glare of the sun briefly before she too, peered out. The woods at the back of the lodge looked like the pick-up-sticks game that children play. The storm had uprooted trees and spun them around before dropping them in a haphazard way.

  Will looked out, for a moment silent. Then appeared to rally himself. ‘At least we’ll be okay for logs this winter,’ he drawled, with a smile. But Skye could see that he was still a bit shocked and that the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

  ‘Talking of which, shall we light a fire?’ she asked, with a shudder. It was definitely cold in the lodge.

  But Will shook his head. ‘We’d better check that the chimney’s still fixed to the roof first,’ he told her, standing up.

  He stretched his arms up high and Skye found she had to tear her eyes away from the bottom of his sweatshirt which had risen up to reveal a toned stomach.

  She had to stop thinking like this. Had she hit her head when she had been outside last night?

  She quickly went over to open first the lounge door and then the front door before marching outside. But her steps faltered as she took in the sight around her.

  The woods were a mess. Debris of branches, leaves and tree trunks were everywhere. And there, in the middle of it all, was her trailer. Thankfully its sparkling silver walls looked intact, even though it was still leaning over at an alarming angle. It had survived the storm.

  But her car hadn’t. It was squashed almost flat by the huge tree that had fallen on top of it.

  She gulped, trying to think positively. The most important thing was that the trailer had survived. But the thought of the car made her want to cry. She felt Will come to stand next to her.

  ‘The main thing is that you’re okay,’ he told her, putting an arm around her trembling shoulders.

  She looked up at him. ‘But it was all I had,’ she told him, her voice thick with tears. ‘Apart from the Airstream.’

  Will shook his head. ‘The lodge is yours too, remember.’

  She nodded, desperately trying to soak up the positive vibes that he was attempting to give her.

  ‘Is it okay? Our lodge?’ she asked.

  ‘I think so,’ he told her, letting go of her to turn back round.

  Skye too, was grateful to turn her back on the ruined car and study the lodge. The roof appeared to have lost a few slates but the windows and chimney looked intact.

  She felt Will let out a sigh of relief.

  The sound of someone calling out their names made them both turn round once more.

  ‘Hi,’ said Sam, appearing through the trees. ‘You’re both okay?’

  ‘We’re fine,’ said Will, quickly heading over to his brother. ‘What about the rest of the family?’

  ‘Everyone’s fine,’ said Sam.

  Both men seemed to pause for a second before they stepped forward to give each other a hug.

  ‘Thank god,’ murmured Sam, his shoulders sagging in relief as he stepped back once more. ‘I’ve been trying to get you on your mobile but there’s no signal. The Wi-Fi must be down everywhere. It was just too dangerous to head out last night to check on you. The family’s been awake most of the night fretting about you both.’

  ‘What about the hall?’ asked Will quickly.

  ‘No chance to check it properly yet, but it seems okay. You two were more important, to be honest.’

  Skye felt relieved that the family hadn’t been hurt during the storm and that the lovely hall had kept them safe.

  Sam gave a low whistle as he took in the sight of the almost flattened car. ‘Wow, that’s terrible.’ He turned to look at her with wide eyes. ‘You weren’t in it at the time, were you?’

  Skye shook her head.

  ‘We were standing right next to it,’ said Will, frowning as he seemed to remember the worst of the evening. ‘You could have been killed,’ he said, his eyes wide with fear.

  ‘But I wasn’t,’ said Skye, trying to remain positive.

  ‘You were lucky,’ said Sam, glancing back at the car once more. ‘Really lucky.’

  Will nodded, still looking Skye over as if checking for injuries.

  ‘Look, I’d better tell the family,’ said Sam, checking his watch. ‘They’re going out of their minds with worry about the two of you.’

  ‘We’ll come up with you,’ said Will. ‘I can help you check the house properly.’ He gave Skye a soft smile. ‘And I don’t know about you, but I need a massive coffee.’

  They walked carefully through the woods, the brothers keeping an eye on Skye as they weaved their way around so many fallen trees. But with the new day, her foot had improved a little and she was able to keep up with only a slight limp as they went.

  ‘This lot will keep us stocked up in logs for many winters to come by the time they’ve dried out,’ said Sam, looking at all the debris around them.

  Skye smiled. ‘That’s exactly what Will said.’

  Sam gave his brother a smile before they turned their attention back to the stable block as they went past. ‘It seems okay,’ said Sam, glancing over it. ‘I can’t see any reason why Eleanor can’t use her workshop, if she wants.’

  ‘We’ll check it properly later,’ said Will. ‘She’ll need electricity.’

  ‘It’s going to be a busy day,’ said Sam, blowing out a sigh. ‘I’ve got to check the recording studio, as well as making sure all the tenants’ houses are secure.’

  ‘I can help,’ said Will.

  Sam raised his eyebrows but only said, ‘Okay. Thanks. Could do with all the help I can get.’

  Will shrugged his shoulders and they carried on towards the hall.

  Skye’s stomach was rumbling when they went into the kitchen and inhaled the aroma of toast and coffee. But there was no chance to taste either initially as the first thing that happened was a rush of people coming towards them.

  ‘They’re okay,’ announced Sam, in a loud voice.

  But his words didn’t stop Skye from being swept into the most enormous bear hug from Rose.

  ‘Darlings, thank
goodness,’ said Rose, finally releasing her and giving her a stern once-over. ‘You’re definitely okay?’

  ‘We’re fine,’ began Skye but then she found herself being hugged by Annie.

  ‘We’ve been so worried about you both,’ said Annie, tearily.

  Finally it was Arthur’s turn. ‘It’s good to see you, my dear,’ he murmured, giving her a soft smile.

  ‘Thank you,’ said Skye.

  All attention turned to Will, but he was accepting his aunt and Annie’s hugs and concern with good grace.

  ‘We’re fine,’ he told them but he was smiling.

  Over their shoulders, Skye saw him look at his grandfather.

  Arthur nodded. ‘Glad you’re okay, my boy,’ he said, stepping forward to clap Will on the shoulders.

  ‘You too, Grandad,’ came the reply, although Will’s voice was a little gruff with emotion, she thought.

  Skye found she had to look away to stop her eyes from welling up with unexpected tears. She and Will were both then swept towards the kitchen table where plates piled high with toast and mugs of coffee were produced.

  Sam announced that he was going to quickly check the grounds of the hall and disappeared up the kitchen steps.

  As Skye began to eat her breakfast, Will told them about her car. The family looked horrified.

  ‘Darling!’ said Rose, shaking her head with dismay. ‘How awful. But how glad we are that you’re okay.’ She reached out to squeeze Skye’s hand.

  Annie was also looking concerned. ‘What a shock you must have had.’

  Skye nodded. ‘Thanks to Will, though, it wasn’t any worse than that. If he hadn’t dragged me to safety, I’m pretty certain I would have been squished as well.’

  Everyone’s mouths fell open and they all turned to look at Will.

  ‘What?’ he said, shrugging his shoulders. ‘You’d have done the same.’ He took a swig of coffee and Skye wondered if she was the only person to spot that he nearly spilled it down him.

  ‘What if something had happened to you both?’ said Rose, glancing at Arthur.

  ‘Thank goodness you’re all right,’ said Arthur, also appearing a little unsteady at the news of their near miss.

  ‘For the fifth and final time, we’re both okay,’ said Will.

  Arthur nodded. ‘Of course you are,’ he said, clearing his throat.

  ‘What about the lodge?’ asked Annie.

  ‘A few roof tiles missing, but that’s it,’ Will told her, seeming almost grateful for the change of topic.

  ‘Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for this place,’ announced Sam, reappearing at the top of the kitchen steps. His face was ashen. ‘I think you’d better come and see for yourselves.’

  Skye followed everyone else through the entrance hall and the French door towards the rear of the building. They hurried along the uneven patio slabs that ran along the back of the house to the end of the west wing, near to the ballroom.

  She heard Annie’s sharp intake of breath as she came to an abrupt halt. Skye followed her horrified gaze to where there was a torrent of water bubbling up in the middle of the patio slabs at the furthest corner away from the house. The water was then running away in a steady stream into the garden.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ said Rose, staring up at the walls of the house. ‘It seems to be intact.’

  Sam frowned. ‘It’s more of an underground water leak than something caused by the storm,’ he said. ‘I’ve rung Mr Reynolds. He’s on his way with the plumber.’

  ‘What do you think we should do?’ asked Annie, biting her lip.

  ‘Nothing until they’ve had a good look,’ said Sam, going to stand next to her and putting a strong arm around his fiancée. But Skye thought he looked pale and worried.

  ‘At least it’s draining away from the house,’ said Will. But his voice was filled with concern.

  ‘I hope so,’ said Sam. ‘Otherwise the whole foundation is buggered.’

  Skye gulped. This sounded really bad. Not knowing how else to help, she said, ‘How about a cup of tea for everyone?’

  She looked across where Arthur and Rose were looking equally worried.

  ‘That would be great.’ Will gave her a grateful smile.

  Skye headed indoors and managed to locate a tray and make a few mugs of tea. Before she went back upstairs, she checked her phone and saw that the Wi-Fi was back up, so she quickly sent a text to Summer asking if she was okay. Thankfully the reply was swift enough to put her mind at ease.

  As Skye carefully carried the tray up the kitchen steps, she realised that her foot was holding up pretty well. It was almost pain free as well. But that was the least of her concerns that morning.

  By the time she got back out onto the patio, the builder and his plumber had arrived.

  ‘The roads are in a hell of a state, but thankfully we were already nearby,’ said Mr Reynolds. ‘I haven’t heard about any major damage in the area apart from lots of trees being down.’

  Sam and Will helped lift the patio slabs up before the digging commenced.

  Arthur stood nearby, looking worried.

  Skye took him a mug of tea. ‘Here,’ she said, handing over the drink. ‘Drink this. It’ll help.’

  ‘Thank you,’ said Arthur.

  ‘What if it’s the foundations?’ asked Rose, looking fretful.

  ‘My dear sister, Willow Tree Hall survived a large bomb landing on it during the second world war,’ said Arthur. ‘We can survive this.’

  Rose nodded. ‘Of course, dear. You’re absolutely right.’

  But Annie still led her over to a wooden bench nearby and gently sat her down. ‘I’m sure it can be easily sorted,’ she said, trying to be cheerful.

  But unfortunately Annie’s prediction was way out.

  Once everything had been checked over, Sam and Will came over to talk the family.

  Annie had been sitting next to Rose on the bench but jumped up, looking hopeful. ‘Well? Is it just a crack in a pipe? They can fill that with something, can’t they?’

  But Sam shook his head and sighed. ‘They think a tree root has ruptured a pipe underneath,’ he said. ‘Hopefully it’s just that, but we’re still going to need to check the whole length of the pipe, from the driveway all the way to here. The whole thing might need digging up and replacing.’

  Annie blanched. ‘That sounds like a mess. Did it happen during the storm?’

  Sam was shaking his head. ‘They think it was actually nothing to do with the storm. Just bad timing. It’s the original pipe, so it’s years old.’

  ‘Is this why the water bills were so high?’ asked Arthur.

  Will nodded. ‘Probably due to the original leak, before the crack widened so that we could see it.’

  ‘So what do we do?’ asked Annie. ‘Ring the water company?’

  Sam gave her a sad smile. ‘It’s not that simple. It’s on our land, so we’ll have to use private contractors.’

  Annie was aghast. ‘How much will that cost?’

  ‘I have no idea,’ said Sam, looking thoroughly beaten.

  Will wandered away to stand by himself, staring down at the stream of water running away from the house.

  Skye went over to stand next to him.

  He looked at her with bleak eyes. ‘Thankfully we never did get round to replacing the old patio so that’s some luck.’

  But she couldn’t even raise a smile at his attempt at humour. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she told him. ‘What can I do to help?’

  He sighed. ‘I don’t even know what I can do,’ he sighed.

  And so they stood in silence, staring down at the huge water leak and wondering how much money it would take to get it fixed.

  26

  Will felt completely helpless regarding the huge underground leak that had been found by Sam. In fact, there was nothing anyone could do until the private contractors had visited Willow Tree Hall. By some miracle, someone was due to visit the following day for a proper inspection.

  T
hankfully there was enough to keep everyone busy for the rest of the day to try and stop the worry about how much the work would cost.

  Will and Sam spent the morning going around the estate, checking on the various outbuildings to ensure that everything was still intact.

  Sam was becoming more gloomy by the hour, especially when they realised that a tree had taken out half of the roof over the recording studio.

  ‘That’s all we need,’ said Sam, groaning. ‘Apart from rent from the tenants, it’s the only source of income that we’ve got.’

  ‘We’ll get a roofer booked in,’ Will told him.

  Sam laughed without humour. ‘I should think they may be a bit busy at the minute.’

  ‘We’ll find one,’ said Will, feeling determined.

  The stable block had thankfully missed being damaged, although there was a huge amount of debris in the courtyard that needed removing.

  ‘That won’t take long,’ said Will.

  His elder brother nodded, but Will could see how shocked Sam was by the mess that the storm had created all around the estate.

  Any thought of the storm still had the capacity to bring Will up short and make his heart race a little faster. If he closed his eyes, he could replay the moment over and over again as he saw the tree begin to tear away from its roots in the high winds and fall towards them. He could still see Skye standing out there in her pyjamas, right in the eye of the storm and completely vulnerable. The thought that she could have been crushed along with the car brought a cold chill over him.

  Before they left to check on the village, Will and Sam grabbed a quick cup of coffee in the kitchen.

  ‘The vicar assures me that both the church and most of the congregation are okay,’ said Arthur, sitting down at one end of the table with a cup of tea in one hand and a phone in the other.

  ‘That is good news,’ said Rose, putting down her iPhone. ‘And no reported injuries from my friends at the WI group so that’s most of us old folks covered.’

  ‘How do you know?’ asked Will.

  ‘We’re on a WhatsApp group, darling,’ said Rose.

  ‘Seriously?’ Will was amazed.

  ‘What did you think we used?’ asked Rose, with a throaty chuckle. ‘Carrier pigeons? Sweetie, I’m a modern girl. I’m even on Amazon Prime. How else do you think I was able to order that Viagra for my last boyfriend?’