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

by Alison Sherlock

  It was also looking more beautiful than Will could ever remember. The banister had been delicately wrapped with a mixture of flowers and fairy lights. All around them candles glowed, and branches glittered with yet more lights. Skye had truly done a tremendous job with the decorations.

  He had barely seen her all day, ever conscious that she was leaving tomorrow. But he wanted to see her and give her the praise she duly deserved for making the whole wedding so special. He also found that he just wanted to spend as much time with her whilst he still could.

  After the meal had been enjoyed and the wedding cake cut, everyone went along the corridor to the ballroom to watch Annie and Sam’s first dance, once more accompanied by Tom.

  Will was trying to find Skye amongst the crowd but couldn’t see her.

  ‘I’ve had a cracking idea, mate,’ said Mick, wandering over to clap his hand on Will’s shoulder.

  ‘Does it involve a prenup?’ asked Will, nodding at Bronte who was on the opposite side of the dance floor.

  Mick shuddered. ‘Way ahead of you with that, mate. Nah, I’ve been thinking. I’ve been married on a beach, a yacht and in the middle of the bloody desert. What about me getting married here? It might be a nice change.’

  ‘You mean in the local church?’

  Mick shook his head. ‘No. I mean here in the grounds of this lovely old place.’

  Will nodded thoughtfully. ‘I see. How about the marquee Sam and Annie were going to have? The costs would need covering, of course.’

  Mick held up his hand. ‘No expense spared. I’ll pay the going rate for hiring out a place like this so you guys can even make a profit. What do you think?’

  ‘I think it could be a good idea,’ said Will, his mind racing. ‘Are you still fixed on getting married on Valentine’s Day?’

  ‘Bronte is, for some reason. Don’t want too many Cupid bows and all that naff stuff though,’ added Mick. ‘Can’t have it clashing with my best leathers.’

  ‘Of course,’ drawled Will. ‘Look, leave it with me. I’ll have a chat with Sam once he’s back from his honeymoon.’

  ‘Cheers,’ said Mick, before he wandered away.

  In fact, Will managed to grab Sam as he left the dance floor, which was by then filled with everyone else wanting to dance.

  ‘Hey,’ he said. ‘Having a good time?’

  ‘The best,’ said Sam, grinning from ear to ear.

  ‘Sorry to talk business on your wedding day but I just need to run something important past you,’ said Will.

  Sam looked at his brother’s face. ‘Come into the library,’ he said.

  Once they were on their own, Sam turned to face him. ‘Is everything okay?’

  He’s still looking out for me, thought Will.

  ‘I’m fine,’ Will told him. ‘Better than fine. Actually, I wanted to let you know that I’m thinking about staying on indefinitely around here.’

  ‘Seriously?’

  Will nodded. ‘It’s been on my mind for the past month, if I’m honest. I was thinking that perhaps you might need that Estate Manager vacancy filled and that I might be the man for the job. At least you won’t need to worry about the small salary that comes with it.’

  Sam couldn’t find the words and so he stepped forward to give his brother a hug, merely clapping him on the back in response.

  ‘Don’t be too happy for us,’ said Will, finding his own voice a little gruff. ‘My first job will be to organise Mick’s wedding because he wants to get married here.’

  Sam burst out laughing. ‘It gets better and better.’

  ‘Look, we won’t talk any more now,’ Will told him. ‘It’s not the right time. But I just wanted you to know that I’m going to stick around and help this time, and all the times in the future too. Anyway, let’s get back to the party.’

  ‘When we get back from Finland, we’ll talk it all through,’ said Sam, putting an arm around his brother’s shoulders.

  ‘Definitely,’ said Will.

  As they went back into the ballroom, Will stared at the dance floor, deep in thought. There was only one person who could design a wedding for Mick to be held at Willow Tree Hall. But that would also mean Skye staying on until Valentine’s Day. He smiled to himself as the plan formed in his mind.

  However, his smile faded as the couple in his eye line moved aside and gave him a direct view of Skye dancing with Jamie.

  He found he couldn’t tear his eyes away. Rose had lent Skye one of her designer dresses for the wedding. It was a pale green, floor length halter neck. But Skye had drawn her hair back into a messy bun, leaving her back bare, the sight of which made him lose all train of thought. As she swayed in time to the music, a few more tendrils of hair had fallen around her face and he didn’t think he had ever seen a more sensual sight.

  Jamie obviously thought likewise. Will knew the moves the man was making all too well. Trying to grab her hand. Getting her to lean forward so he could whisper something in her ear.

  Will clenched his hands but was rooted to the spot. He couldn’t make a scene here at the wedding and yet he couldn’t walk away.

  He didn’t know how long he stood there watching. It took a while before he realised his brother was standing next to him.

  ‘You know,’ said Sam, casually, ‘I think between us we could take him.’

  Will turned to look at him in confusion. ‘What?’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Sam continued, nodding at the dance floor. ‘From what I hear, he’s all mouth and no action. I’ll make sure he stays away from your girl.’

  Will opened his mouth to protest but at that moment the bride interrupted them.

  ‘Hello,’ said Annie, holding a glass of champagne in her hand.

  ‘Are you having a good time, Mrs Harris?’ asked Sam, slipping a hand around her waist.

  ‘Absolutely,’ she replied, turning to face the dance floor. She briefly watched Skye as she continued to dance before turning to face Will. ‘Are you going to break that up or do you want us to?’

  Will frowned. ‘Why does everybody think that I’m not happy about her dancing with him?’

  ‘Because I’ve been watching you scowl at them for the past few minutes,’ said Annie sweetly.

  ‘Only because he should be struck off for behaving like that,’ said Will, feeling irritated.

  Annie leaned forward and kissed her new brother-in-law on the cheek. ‘I think the problem is that she’s behaving like that with someone who’s not you.’

  ‘I don’t think about her like that,’ he finally managed to blurt out.

  ‘Yes, you do,’ Annie told him. ‘And I think you’ll find that you’re the one that she really wants to be misbehaving with.’

  With a wink, she grabbed her husband’s hand and walked away, leaving Will to ponder over her words.

  48

  The wedding had been perfect. The entrance hall had looked magical. Everything looked amazing, thought Skye.

  So why did she feel so miserable?

  It didn’t help that everywhere she looked around the ballroom, she was reminded of Will.

  There was the painting that she had first cleaned, with his gentle persuasion as he stood next to her.

  There were the sprayed branches that they had both gathered from the woods after the storm where he had saved her life.

  There were the white candles in giant lanterns which she had cleaned and decorated whilst they had chatted in the cosy lounge of their lodge each evening.

  She was dancing with Jamie, but her heart wasn’t in it. He was handsome, charming and nice. But he wasn’t Will.

  Thankfully, distraction was caused by Hazy Memory, who had just stepped up to play their way through their Frank Sinatra album. Everyone stopped dancing to applaud their entrance.

  ‘Thanks for the dance,’ she told Jamie. ‘And I’m sorry things didn’t work out with us.’

  ‘He’ll hurt you, you know,’ he replied.

  She shook her head, knowing who he was referring to.
‘I don’t think so. Will’s not like that. Not any more.’ She leant forward and kissed him gently on the cheek.

  The next thing she knew, Will had suddenly appeared next to them. ‘Sorry,’ he said to Jamie, before taking Skye’s hand and leading her away. ‘Best man prerogative and all that.’

  She let him lead her into a nearby group of swaying partners. Mick continued to sing in a surprisingly soft voice as Will took her in his arms. She was very aware of how close he was and of his hand on her bare back as they moved around.

  She struggled to think of something to say. ‘They’re good,’ she said, eventually, nodding at the band.

  ‘Of course they’re good,’ he replied. ‘My brother wouldn’t manage any crummy old band, you know.’ But he gave her a soft smile which made her stomach clench and she made a big deal of looking back at the band until her cheeks had cooled down.

  ‘Have you enjoyed the wedding?’ she asked.

  He nodded. ‘Yes. And thank you for making the place look so beautiful.’

  She shrugged her shoulders. ‘It was nothing.’

  ‘Rubbish. It was hard work and you know it.’

  They continued to move around the dance floor, both desperately trying to think of something to say. For once, she was tongue-tied around him, her mind a fuzzy blur.

  And so they stayed like that, she didn’t know how long for.

  But suddenly everyone was being ushered through the French doors and out onto the patio to commence the countdown to midnight. She stood next to him at the far edge of the patio.

  ‘Ten, nine…’ chanted the crowd.

  She glanced at Will and found him staring down at her. ‘I’ve missed you,’ he said softly.

  ‘You have?’ she asked, suddenly breathless.

  ‘Eight, seven…’

  ‘It’s not a crime, is it?’ he said.

  She shook her head. ‘No, it’s not.’ She paused before adding, ‘I’ve missed our evenings in the lodge as well.’

  She found she couldn’t look away. The chemistry between them was almost too much to bear.

  ‘Six, five, four…’

  ‘It’s not just the evenings that I’ve missed,’ he said, pulling her close to him.

  ‘It’s not?’

  The touch of his hand on her bare back was burning her skin.

  ‘It’s the mornings, days and nights as well.’

  His eyes dropped to look at her lips and then she knew what he was saying. He wanted to kiss her again and she was going to be powerless to stop him. She didn’t want to stop him. She wanted to, needed to, kiss him so badly as well.

  ‘Three, two, one, Happy New Year!’

  He dropped his head and finally their lips met. On and on the kiss went, both of them barely registering that the fireworks had begun at the back of the grounds.

  They drew apart, as the sky was lit up above them.

  Skye didn’t turn her head to watch. She found she couldn’t look away from Will, nor he from her.

  When the fireworks were finally over, everyone else went inside, out of the chilly night air.

  Then they were alone, the music and soft light filtering through from inside the ballroom.

  She looked up at the night sky above, at the stars that she knew he loved so much.

  ‘Are you cold?’ asked Will, shrugging off his jacket and wrapping it around her shoulders.

  Then he drew her close and they began to dance once more. This time their bodies touched all the way down. She rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her hands around the back of his neck. His hands found her bare back once more under the jacket, the touch of him almost more than she could bear.

  ‘Will they miss us, do you think?’ she asked as they moved into a darker section of the patio, invisible to anyone inside.

  ‘I don’t care if they do,’ he told her, bringing his head down.

  Then they were kissing again. And it was just as good as before. Even better, in fact, because this time they didn’t stop. The kiss drew deeper and deeper and Skye couldn’t feel where her body stopped and his began.

  She didn’t know how long they kissed. Didn’t care. Time stopped still until he finally drew away from her to stare down at her in wonder.

  ‘Let’s go,’ she whispered.

  ‘Where?’ he asked, obviously as breathless as she was.

  ‘To the lodge,’ she told him, pulling him away into the darkness and holding his hand tight.

  She had the rest of her life to try and get over Will. But for that night, he was hers.

  49

  Skye woke up in the soft morning light of the master bedroom in the lodge, caught between a tangle of sheets and Will lying next to her.

  She turned on her side to look at him. It had been an amazing, unforgettable night and she didn’t regret one moment of their choice to sleep together.

  ‘Good morning,’ he murmured, opening one eye to smile at her.

  ‘I think we might have overslept,’ she told him.

  ‘Disgraceful,’ he said, reaching out and pulling her on top of him so that he could kiss her.

  ‘We must get up,’ she told him, breaking away long enough to speak. But she couldn’t stop herself leaning forward to kiss him once more.

  ‘Why on earth would we want to do that?’ he said, his hands moving up to get tangled in her hair.

  ‘We disappeared after the fireworks. What will your family say?’ she whispered, between kisses.

  ‘About time, probably,’ he replied, pulling her head down to kiss her for so long that she had to break away to draw breath.

  ‘So what happens now?’ she finally said.

  Will gave her a wicked smile before gently pushing her onto her back. ‘Well, you see, I’m going to move my hand down here like this…’

  She laughed. ‘I mean, after this!’

  He bent his head to kiss her neck. ‘I honestly don’t know,’ he said, his lips pressing against her throat.

  She stared up at the oak beams across the ceiling. ‘I didn’t go into this expecting anything serious from you, you know that, right?’

  He pulled away to stare down at her. ‘I know. It’s just that this is all a bit new for me too.’ He smiled gently. ‘You know how much you mean to me though, don’t you?’

  She nodded. ‘Yes, I do.’

  But she also knew that he couldn’t commit to her. That his fears ran too deep to ever pledge himself to anyone forever.

  ‘I just don’t want to hurt you,’ he whispered.

  ‘I know that you won’t,’ she told him, reaching up to stroke his cheek. ‘But I need to tell you something.’

  He went still.

  ‘I love you,’ Skye told him. She surprised herself by saying the words but she couldn’t stop herself. It was absolutely the right thing to do, she felt. She wanted him to know how much he meant to her.

  ‘You do?’ he said, after a long pause.

  ‘Yes. But it comes with no pressures and no expectations. I just wanted you to know how I felt.’ She gave him a soft smile. ‘Before I have to leave today, I mean.’

  ‘The thought of leaving Willow Tree Hall and Will was almost too much for her to bear, but it had to be done. She knew that. She had to be strong.

  Will was looking at her in utter dismay as if he had completely forgotten. ‘Today? You’re still leaving today?’

  She nodded. ‘It’s what we agreed, wasn’t it?’

  He pulled back. ‘Just give me a minute,’ he said, frowning. ‘We must be able to work something out for you to stay on a bit longer.’

  He sounded so desperate for her not to leave. And now that she had spent the night with him, she almost couldn’t bear to. Almost.

  ‘I mean, what would I do around here now that the lodge is nearly finished and the wedding is over?’ she told him.

  Will’s face suddenly brightened. ‘I know! Mick told me last night that he wants to hold his wedding at the Hall on Valentine’s Day. So maybe you could help design their wedding?
Like you did with Sam and Annie’s, I mean. Then you could stay until Valentine’s Day.’

  She knew she was prolonging the agony by spending more time with him. That the future heartbreak she would have to endure would be worse than any pain she had ever been through. But she also knew she couldn’t leave yet. She didn’t want to.

  She looked at Will who was also looking relieved. She knew her declaration of love might worry him later when he thought about it. He certainly was never going to say those particular words to her. But she also knew that he was upset that she would be leaving soon because he cared deeply for her.

  ‘And in the meantime,’ she said, pulling him closer to her once more, ‘we can enjoy each other’s company, can’t we? We’re adults, after all.’

  ‘What about when you do have to leave?’ he asked.

  ‘Let’s face that when the time comes,’ she said, beginning to kiss him once more.

  As the kisses grew deeper, the sensation of being so close to each other made all their worries fade away.

  *

  As Will had expected, when they announced the news later on that day, the family were both thrilled that they had obviously become an item and, perhaps even more so, that Skye was staying on.

  ‘It’s only to help with Mick’s wedding,’ Will had told them, anxious to dispel any expectations. ‘She’s leaving after that.’

  ‘Darling, you should stay until the spring,’ said Rose to Skye, totally ignoring Will’s words ‘It’s so lovely here at that time of the year.’

  ‘Now that the lodge is almost finished, it can be rented out,’ Skye told them, with a gentle shake of her head. ‘I’m sure once spring comes then people will be queuing up to stay there.’

  Arthur nodded. ‘Of course,’ he said. ‘But you can always come back and visit us. After all, there are lots of rooms here for you both to stay in.’

  ‘Absolutely,’ said Rose, in a firm tone. ‘You’ll always be welcome here, won’t she, Will?’

  He nodded, not breaking eye contact with Skye as they exchanged a knowing smile. They had both known that the family would react positively to their relationship but it was only a casual fling, by mutual agreement.

  He was trying not to think about the fact that she had told him that she loved him. But he trusted Skye was telling the truth when she had said she had no expectations about their affair.