by Jade Winters
‘That bad huh?’ Teal asked, in an amused tone.
Carissa cringed at her own honesty and gave herself an internal kick. ‘Umm, yes, it is.’
‘Do you mind if I ask why?’
‘I … my girlfriend left me to go to India. I couldn’t afford to keep our flat,’ Carissa rambled on without a filter. ‘So now I’m living with my mother and seriously considering a job at McDonald’s, not that there’s anything wrong with working there.’
As her voice trailed off, Carissa gently banged her forehead repeatedly against the bannister. So much for making a good impression. All she had done so far was make herself sound like some incompetent, desperate loser who couldn’t find a job or keep a partner.
‘Well, it’s a good thing this job comes with a room,’ Teal said after a moment’s pause.
‘Excuse me?’ Carissa asked in a high-pitched voice.
‘My job offer,’ Teal said. ‘It comes with free lodgings. That’s if you want to stay here. From what my solicitor told me the place is in a bit of a state. You could commute if you wanted but—’
‘Are you saying I’ve got the job?’
‘That’s exactly what I’m saying,’ Teal said.
‘I’ll stay in the house. I don’t care how bad it is.’ And she really didn’t. Well, saying that she did draw the line at mice and cockroaches. Other than that, she was game for anything.
‘Can you be here by the end of the week?’
A few weeks ago, if Carissa had been told she’d landed her dream job she would have run into the street, screaming in jubilation, but now she did nothing. Her feet remained where they were as if stuck with glue. Such was the disbelief that she had got a break after not only having her heart trodden on, but being made homeless as well.
‘Are you still there?’
‘Sorry. I … of course … yes, I can,’ Carissa said. ‘Thank you. I don’t know what to say. Thank you so much.’
‘No worries. I’ll text you the address,’ Teal said. ‘Let me know when you’re arriving.’
‘Yes, of course. I’ll book my ticket as soon as I get off the phone. Thank you so much for this. You won’t regret it. I promise.’
‘I know I won’t.’
The line went dead and Carissa stared at her phone for a few minutes before reality sank in. ‘Oh my God,’ she breathed. ‘I got the job. I got the freaking job!’
Chapter Four
Teal rolled over, trying to remember where she was. Sunlight showered the room through the windows that faced her bed. It wasn’t until she saw her suitcases in the corner of the high-ceilinged hotel room that she remembered. Bibury. She was finally in the village that she had grown up hearing so much about.
Teal rubbed her eyes and stretched before slipping out of bed. She was naked under her t-shirt as she walked over to the window and peered outside. In the distance, she could see rolling hills, budding plants, and a spectrum of different trees, everything from oak to beech. Pathways ran through the trees and led to houses with thatched roofs. It was a picture of perfection and it was exactly how she had always imagined the village. And yet, it left her feeling hollow.
Teal turned away from the view and crossed the room. She dipped into her suitcase and pulled out her sketchpad with every intention of sketching the view, but somehow the urge wasn’t strong enough. In frustration, she stared at the blank page for a moment before she put it back and walked into the bathroom in a daze of thought.
Teal stood in front of the mirror for a few moments without really seeing her own reflection. It felt surreal. The only thing she could blame her unease on was her unfamiliar surroundings. Given a few days, she would be back to her normal self after her close call with the grim reaper. At least she hoped she would. She stepped into the shower and tried to shake away all negative thoughts so she could concentrate on the day ahead.
Once dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt, she paid her bill at the quaint reception counter and left the Silver Tree Inn for Foyers Café. It took her all of five minutes to get there, but it was another fifteen minutes before she could find parking with the limited free spaces available in the village. Once she found a spot, Teal parked and made her way to the café where she was meeting her new contractor.
‘Hey there.’ A raised hand called for Teal’s attention from the back of the cafe. ‘Teal?’
Teal looked in the direction of the voice and saw an attractive middle-aged woman, wearing a thick jumper, jeans, and steel toe cap boots.
Teal weaved between the tables until she reached her. ‘Nicole?’
She had slightly greying cropped hair, intense dark eyes, and when she smiled she revealed two crooked front teeth.
‘In the flesh. My friends call me Nic,’ Nicole said extending her hand. ‘Pleasure to meet you.’
‘Likewise,’ Teal replied, giving her hand a quick shake.
Nicole gestured for Teal to sit down and she called out to the waitress for two coffees.
‘Were you able to get a look at the house this morning?’ Teal asked as she shrugged out of her jacket and sat opposite.
‘I just came from there.’
‘So, what do you think?’
Nicole bit a fingernail. ‘Want my honest opinion?’
Teal nodded.
‘Looks like a drug addicts’ den. And the atmosphere feels just as depressing. The place is a right shit-hole.’
Stunned, Teal couldn’t think of a fitting remark, so she offered a meek reply. ‘That bad? Really?’
‘Really,’ Nicole confirmed.
‘But you can sort it, right?’
‘What d’ya think?’ Nicole said dryly.
Does she think I’m a mind reader? ‘I don’t know.’
Nicole smiled indulgently. ‘You think I’d be sitting here if I couldn’t?’
‘I take it that’s a yes then,’ Teal said trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice. If there was one thing she detested it was sarky comments but she needed Nicole on-board. She was the only contractor available.
‘Yes, I can sort it,’ Nicole said. ‘If it wasn’t Grade II listed, I’d suggest razing it to the ground and building a block of flats.’
‘Do you think it being listed is going to cause a problem? I’m hoping to have it ready for sale in four weeks.’
Nicole held her hands in the air and laughed. ‘Four weeks! You’ll be lucky. I think at least six. Anyway, we’ll need to check what the listing covers, it may just be external, in which case there’ll be no problems. If it’s internal too, you’re looking at a lot longer.’
Teal gave a nod of thanks to the waitress when she placed their coffees in front of them.
Nicole took a quick slurp from her cup before saying, ‘So, you moving in while you renovate it?’
‘That was the plan. I mean it’s liveable, right?’ Teal said.
‘Depends on what you consider liveable. Think along the lines of a two-star hotel—’
‘As long as I’ve got a roof over my head I’ll manage.’
‘That’s sorted then.’
‘Oh, I forgot to tell you, I’ve got an interior designer coming later this afternoon. I think it would be good for the three of us to meet tomorrow so we know where we’re going.’
‘Sounds good to me.’
‘Until then,’ Teal took out a pen and pad from her bag, ‘what do you think needs doing to the house?’
Nicole leant back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. ‘Let’s see, some of the wooden floors need to be treated and in some areas they need to be replaced. The roof also needs repairing.’
‘It doesn’t sound that bad,’ Teal said, thinking Nicole was making a mountain out of a molehill.
‘I haven’t finished.’ Nicole took off her wire-rimmed glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. ‘The windows downstairs need replacing. Ceilings need plastering and you need new kitchen appliances and new cupboard doors. If I was you I’d use a microwave for now. God knows what’s been cooked in the oven.
’
By the time Nicole finished ten minutes later, Teal understood why Nicole had laughed when she had suggested a four-week turnaround.
‘Anything else?’
‘Nah, that’s about it.’ Nicole picked up her coffee and took another mouthful.
‘I didn’t think it would be that bad.’
Nicole shrugged. ‘When people don’t give a shit about their surroundings, these problems are to be expected.’
Teal didn’t meet Nicole’s gaze. Instead, she kept her eyes on her cup. ‘I thought it would just need a lick of paint.’
‘To be fair, that’s about all upstairs needs. Have you any idea what colours you’re going to use?’
‘Not yet. I’m waiting to see what the interior designer comes up with.’
‘So you’ve hired some fancy hot-shot from London, eh?’
‘Not quite.’ Teal forced a note of cheerfulness in her voice. ‘Now, let’s talk about cost.’
After wrapping up her meeting with Nicole half an hour later, Teal took some time to explore the village. She found a decrepit looking bookshop that stocked original classics that she would have expected to see in London, not a small village like this.
The village itself was surprisingly busy. There were a number of different pubs and cafes that catered to the many tourists that seemed to be milling about, and it had a few tiny souvenir shops that held pamphlets on the attractions that Bibury had to offer.
Once she finished trailing round the shops, Teal sat outside one of Bibury’s pubs and wiled away the time with a ploughman’s lunch, a glass of wine, and a book. As two o’clock approached, Teal picked up her car and drove to Swindon Station. As she parked, she realised she hadn’t given much thought as to what Carissa Dunne looked like. With her arrival imminent, Teal started making a mental sketch of her in her head.
She was obviously young and inexperienced. She was fresh out of University and desperate for the chance to prove she was capable; based on the tentative lilt of her voice and the way she seemed to ramble on when she was nervous. Teal pictured a doe-eyed, redhead or a chirpy, little blonde woman. Teal knew her assumptions had no basis in reality, but she liked drawing pictures, even if they were only in her mind.
The train made its way into the station right on schedule and Teal stood waiting, trying her hardest not to think about the last time she was on a platform. Only a few people disembarked from the train so it was easy enough for her to figure out who Carissa was.
The woman she assumed to be Carissa stepped out of the train’s third carriage in dark jeans, combat boots, and a white shirt under a khaki jacket that looked a little too big for her. She had a long face with arched cheekbones, her mahogany brown hair was long and hung loosely around her shoulders, and her eyes were a startlingly light hazel. The only thing that seemed out of place about her was the expensive black suitcase she wheeled behind her.
Teal was about to approach her when she heard someone call her name from behind.
‘Excuse me? Hello? Are you Teal Adams?’ The familiar voice asked. ‘I’m Carissa.’
Carissa.
The name floated through Teal’s mind as she turned around.
Carissa.
Her tanned skin looked so incredibly smooth. Her features sharp, but her eyes, broken by slivers of brown and green, somehow softened them. The combination lent to a jaw-dropping appearance.
Teal bit her lower lip and swallowed hard as she absorbed every aspect of her. She let her gaze drop down Carissa’s body, steaming up as she did so. What a body! Teal could almost hear Alana’s voice in her head egging her on. Saying what she’d normally say to Teal when she saw a hot woman. ‘What are you waiting for? Go for it!’
‘Are you okay?’ Concern flashed in Carissa’s eyes. The sound of her voice jolted Teal like a bolt of lightning.
With some prompting, Teal persuaded her eyes to move back to Carissa’s face and almost reluctantly, she blinked away the blinding effect of her beauty.
‘Yes,’ Teal said with a coolness that surprised her. ‘Sorry, I tend to zone out when I haven’t slept well. Yes, I’m Teal and you must be … ahem … Carissa.’
Just saying her name caused her heart rate to spike. Alana would like her. When Teal had spoken to Carissa on the phone there had been no way of knowing how gorgeous Carissa was. Would I have hired her if I knew? No, definitely not. The last thing she needed was a silly crush, especially on a new employee, but she couldn’t help the way her body was reacting.
Teal should have known better at her age, that looks didn’t account for anything, but she didn’t. It took the knots in her stomach to make her realise this. She stared at Carissa’s mouth. The way her sensuous lips curved made Teal never want to look away.
Carissa glanced down at her feet. Her fingers wrapped around the suitcase handle were pale in comparison to the rest of her body. It was only then Teal realised she was making Carissa nervous.
‘Did you have a pleasant trip?’ Teal asked with a lightness she didn’t feel.
‘Yes. It helped having Wi-Fi on board. I hope you haven’t been waiting long.’
This is not a good start. The poor woman looks terrified. She probably thinks I’m weird. So would I if someone reacted like I did.
‘No, I’ve only been here a few minutes. Come on, let’s get you back to the house. You must be tired.’
‘A little.’ Carissa smiled in agreement. ‘I’ve been so excited about coming here, I’ve barely slept all week.’
Teal liked her. A lot. She was happy, lively and had a childlike enthusiasm.
Just what I need.
‘Let me.’ Teal took hold of Carissa’s case and led her to her car whilst making small talk with her about her trip. Address the balance. Make her feel at home. Reaching the car, Teal put Carissa’s suitcase in the boot with her own and jumped into the driver’s seat, started the engine and drove off.
Now and again she glanced at Carissa as she steered the car along endless country lanes.
‘I can’t believe it,’ Carissa said. ‘This place is even more beautiful than I’d imagined.’
Teal studied the lush green countryside, which was dotted with sheep and cows. ‘It does have a certain charm about it.’ Like you.
‘The house you inherited, it belonged to?’
‘My aunt,’ Teal replied. ‘She used this place as a holiday home, but when she got ill she couldn’t make the long journey anymore.’
‘That’s so sad,’ Carissa said. ‘I can’t imagine ever leaving a place like this. It looks like something out of a fairy-tale.’
‘We’re about ten minutes away,’ Teal told her as she glanced at the Sat Nav. ‘The house is on the edge of the village.’
‘What’s the space like inside?’ Carissa asked.
‘Umm … the space?’ Teal said. How could she explain to a woman she had only met five minutes ago that she hadn’t actually seen the property. That for some strange reason she hadn’t wanted to go there alone.
Carissa smiled. ‘It’s okay, I can take a look when we get there.’
They continued the drive in sporadic silence, with Carissa occasionally pointing out the design of a cottage’s architecture. Teal took the road’s natural turn before she came to a slight fork. She turned the car right and drove down the narrow street until the house came into view. It was a two-story cottage, with small windows, a chimney standing on its left side, and sparse little vines that were hanging on for dear life. While it held many similar features to the buildings Teal and Carissa had just driven by, it lacked the life and vibrancy of a functioning home.
Pulling up outside, Carissa exited the car and stood in front of the house, hands on hips. Her eyes were completely focused; her expression was one of concentration. Knowing that she was completely distracted, Teal took the opportunity to study her face again. She was a beautiful woman, whose features lacked the naivety Teal had expected to see.
‘The house is built from Cotswold Stone,’ Carissa said in a con
versational tone.
‘Really? I know nothing about it.’
Carissa nodded. ‘I researched the architecture from this region. The honey toned stones give it away. It’s the limestone that gives it its colour.’
After a moment, Carissa turned to Teal with a grin on her face. All traces of nervousness gone. ‘I can’t wait to see the inside.’
Teal was relieved that Carissa didn’t seem daunted or intimidated by the size of the house. On the contrary, she seemed excited by it.
‘I hope you’re as impressed with the inside, because it’s going to be our home for the next few weeks.’
Chapter Five
As far as Carissa was concerned, Bibury was about as good as it could get. The small village was a picture of stillness with its rolling hills and their shadows and textures. The only noise to be heard was the sound of birds chirping with an insistent cheerfulness as they flew gracefully in the cloudless sky. Her surroundings stood in stark contrast to London’s congestion, noise and incessant bad temper.
From where she stood on the grassy shoulder of the road, Carissa eyed Teal’s detached cottage in admiration; overlooking its rough edges to find the beauty. She could barely contain her excitement. For her first real paying job, she couldn’t have asked for anything more than this charming house. With a lot of love and attention she could see its potential and couldn’t wait to fulfil it. This was her chance to prove her worth. To be the success she knew she could be. This was one opportunity she was not going to squander.
Teal walked to the back of the car and retrieved the suitcases from the boot.
Carissa took hold of her case by the handle and followed Teal along the winding path and into the house. The first thing that hit her was the faint smell of mustiness. The interior was exactly what she had expected. Large wooden beams and original fireplaces. The rooms on the ground floor were reminiscent of the architecture of that time; irregular shapes that had minimal light coming through from the small windows.
Carissa could feel Teal’s eyes on her as she trod carefully around the living room, delicately skimming her fingertips along the wall’s surface. The room was in need of a minor overhaul which a good builder could complete in no time at all. It really wasn’t as bad as she had imagined.
