The Cottage on Lily Pond Lane_Part Two_Summer secrets

by Emily Harvale

  'I did promise. And I won't say a word. I'm just surprised you haven't.'

  'There's no need. It's over and done with.'

  'Is it? I haven't seen you on the beach since then.'

  'I've been busy learning to fly a kite.'

  'You haven't been back since it happened, have you?'

  'How do you know that?' Did the man have super-human powers?

  'Because I know you better than you think. Don't let it set you back, Mia. You know what they say. If you fall off a horse you get straight back on.'

  'Which is why I don't ride horses. I'll go back to the beach when I'm ready.'

  'I hope so, Mia. It's important.'

  He turned away and Mattie followed at his heels as usual.

  Mia had a sudden and rather ridiculous urge to do the same, but Garrick returned, bearing drinks and she turned to him instead.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Lori was settling in. She had met Hettie and to Mia's surprise they had hit it off immediately. It was only after listening to one of their conversations that she realised her mum and Hettie talked alike. Not in the words they used or the tone in which they said them, but in their pattern of speech. They had a knack of stringing a number of sentences together, each one often about a completely different matter and hardly stopping for breath. Garrick had said something about it the evening Lori arrived.

  'For a moment there I thought it was Hettie talking and not your mum,' he had said.

  When Lori discovered Hettie enjoyed reading similar books to her, and mentioned her own book club, Hettie was all for starting a book club in Little Pondale.

  'We could meet at one another's cottages once every fortnight, deary. How long does it take most people to read a book because I can read a book a day, unless it's one of those days where my dear Hector wants to chat, or dear Prince Gustav requires more attention than usual. Men are like that, aren't they deary? One day they're off doing their own thing and the next they're all like lost little boys and can't do a thing unless you do it with them. Don't you find that, deary? But listen to me talking ten chickens at a time. Mia dear, your lovely mum and I are going to start a book club. I'm sure you and Ella will want to join dear, especially as Ella edits books and everything.'

  'That's wonderful, Hettie,' Mia had said. 'But are you sure that's a good idea, Mum?'

  'I think it's a fabulous idea. We could even ask the men to join. I've always been one for equality. Men like reading romance and women enjoy a good murder. We could vary the selections. But would getting hold of books be a problem in the village? There's no public library for miles. Such a dreadful thing they're closing so many libraries these days. When I was a girl I lived in the library. In fact, that's where I met my dear, departed husband, Ernest. You're so lucky that Hector still comes to chat with you, Hettie. Ernest came to me for the first year or so. At least I like to think he did. Mainly in my dreams but every morning when I awoke, I half expected to find him there in bed beside me, our conversations had seemed so real. So let's get the book club started next week, shall we? I'm in training for the Frog Hill Run. I'll have to walk most of the way but it sounds like a fun morning and following behind a group of very fit men in shorts has an appeal all of its own. Don't you find that, Hettie?'

  Mia had left them to it, but she later discovered that Lori was not the only one signed up to do the Frog Hill Run. Somehow her own name and Ella's too had been added to the list of participants. When she saw Jet's name on the list, she began her training right away, but as the mornings grew hotter with each passing day, so her wish that she could venture into the sea to cool off, increased. With Garrick by her side, she resumed her daily walks along the beach, although the walks had turned into a run, and she still hadn't told him why she had stopped for that week after the Summer Solstice. Fortunately, Tom still had not said a word about it. He didn't even mention it to her.

  The friendship between Lori and Franklin Grant also grew warmer with each passing day, and Mia continued to be undecided as to whether that was good or bad.

  'What's Franklin Grant like?' Mia asked Jet one morning when she spotted him walking Mattie along the beach. It was an exceedingly hot morning in the middle of July and the first time she had ventured to the beach alone since that fateful day in June. He was wearing khaki shorts and his tanned torso was bare as he paddled in the sea with Mattie by his side. At first she had been tempted to run the other way when she realised it was him. They hadn't seen much of each other since that day at the kite festival and she was still uneasy about the way she felt that day. But the opportunity to get to talk to him alone, outweighed any doubts she had and she slowed her pace to a walk and stopped several feet away from the edge of the water.

  'What?' he said, putting one hand to his ear. 'I can't hear you. You'll have to come closer.'

  'Don't be ridiculous. You can hear me. And there's no way I'm getting nearer to that sea. What's he like?'

  The twitch tugged at the corners of his mouth and burst into a smile. 'It's good to see you on the beach again. If you stand there long enough, the sea will come to you. The tide is on the turn.'

  'What?' Mia stepped back until she saw the look on Jet's face which for some reason made her step forward again. 'You once said you'd hold the tide away from me. Can I count on you to still do that?'

  'You can count on me for anything, Mia. Anything at all.' He stared at her for a second or two then shook his head. 'Franklin Grant. Hmm. You've met him. Several times by now I should imagine. Haven't you formed your own opinion?'

  'Yes. But you know him better and you've known him for much longer. I'd like your opinion.'

  'Why?'

  'Because he seems to be interested in my mum.'

  'Lori's a very interesting woman. Who can blame him?'

  'What's that supposed to mean?'

  He walked towards her but Mattie looked from him to the sea and decided to stay where she was.

  'It means exactly what I said. You mum's an interesting woman. She's also a very attractive woman. I can't blame him for liking her.'

  'She's also several years older than he is.'

  'So?'

  'So.' She frowned at him. 'How would you feel if your mum started having an affair with a much younger man?'

  'Absolutely astonished. She's been dead for five years.'

  His remark took her so much by surprise that she couldn't think of anything to say other than, she was sorry, and she shouldn't have mentioned his mum. Especially as Hettie had told her how Sarah Cross had died, although she didn't mention that bit to Jet.

  He shrugged. 'Why not? I think about her often. She's dead but she's not forgotten. And I'll tell you something for free. I'd give anything for her to be alive and having fun with any man, even if he was half her age. Life is short, Mia. We shouldn't spend it doing what other people think we should. We should do what is right for ourselves. Providing it's legal and it doesn't cause harm to others. Unless you fancy Franklin yourself, and that's the problem here, I'd say let her get on with it and have some fun.'

  'I don't fancy Franklin! I'm in love with Garrick!'

  'Ah yes. I keep forgetting. How is Garrick? We haven't seen him at rugby training for some time.'

  'Garrick is fine. He's better than fine, he's fabulous. I didn't think you trained over the summer.'

  'Fabulous? High praise indeed. We train throughout the year. But during the summer, a lot of our training is done in the pub.' He grinned. 'Seriously. Why haven't we seen much of Garrick? Nothing I've said or done, I hope.'

  'He's been very busy. He's getting lots of orders and his business is thriving.'

  'And he's spending all his free time with you? I can't blame him for that. I'd do the same if I had the chance.'

  'You'd do what? I really can't figure you out, Jet Cross. One minute you behave as if you're some sort of guardian angel hovering in the background watching over me because Mattie asked you to, the next, you behave as if you hardly know I exist.'


  'Oh, I'm aware you exist, Mia, believe me. But I've never said I was a guardian angel. Mattie asked me to keep an eye on you and I have. Although I haven't done a very good job because if I had, you wouldn't have been at Rainbow's End that day. But there's nothing I can do to change that now. It's nice to know you think of me as some sort of guardian angel though. Not so long ago you probably would've called me a peeping Tom. Or a devil.'

  'Yuk! I can't imagine you staring into people's windows so I would never have called you a peeping Tom. A devil?' She shrugged. 'Possibly. But I think it's nice that you're keeping an eye on me. Not because I like you looking at me. I mean, looking out for me. But because it's good to know you're doing what Mattie asked you to. That shows you're a decent man.'

  He pulled a face. 'Decent? Hmm. I'd rather have fabulous. But we can work on that. I always like to have something to aspire to.'

  She tutted. 'The day I refer to you as fabulous will be the day hell freezes over.'

  He grinned. 'Global warming's real you know. That may be sooner than you think.'

  'I wouldn't bet on it.'

  'I told you, Mia. I'm not a betting man.'

  Their gaze locked and Mia couldn't drag her eyes from him. His grin broadened and he moved slowly towards her. She wanted to back away but her feet wouldn't move. To her amazement he took her hand in his and that feeling she had experienced that very first time, swept over her again. As if her hand had slipped into a perfectly fitting glove.

  'Would you like to paddle?' He said, his voice little more than a whisper.

  The spell was immediately broken.

  'No way!' She backed away. 'I'm not ready for that.'

  He squeezed her hand but then abruptly released it. 'I'll be here for you when you are ready, Mia. Remember that.'

  She wasn't sure it was just paddling he was talking about.

  He turned away. 'Mattie and I had better get home. The farm won't run itself. Oh. But don't worry about Franklin. He's a really great guy. I'd even go as far as to call him fabulous.' He grinned before becoming serious again. 'The only problem is, he's returning to the States at the end of August. But I'm pretty certain he'll have already told Lori that.'

  Chapter Twenty

  The morning of the Frog Hill Run was sweltering. Forecasters predicted it would be the hottest day so far this summer and that temperatures would reach thirty degrees centigrade at least. Not the ideal weather to be running up a hill. Not the ideal weather to be doing anything other than sipping a cold drink beneath the shade of a parasol, or swimming in the azure sea. And Mia wished more than anything that she could do both. Sipping the drink was easy. Swimming, not so much. She still hadn't managed to paddle her toes in the sea. At least not willingly. What happened at Rainbow's End still gave her palpitations.

  But she was determined that, before this summer was over, she would put at least one foot in the cool, refreshing waters of the English Channel. The only fly in that particular ointment was that every time she imagined herself doing that, it was Jet who stood beside her and held her hand reassuringly in his, not Garrick, the man she loved.

  She didn't understand how she could be so in love with one man and yet feel so close to another. Especially as, during the two months and a bit, she had been in Little Pondale, she hadn't got to know much more about Jet Cross than she knew the day she arrived. That he was confident, gorgeous, sexy to the core, had a reputation for breaking women's hearts, and for some reason, a man she was drawn to, despite not wanting to be. The only things she did know about him, were from his past. Even that, she'd heard from other people. Jet rarely seemed to talk about himself. At least, not to her.

  'We're ready for this,' Ella said, as she, Mia and Lori stood in line at the foot of Frog Hill.

  'Speak for yourself,' Mia said. 'I'd rather be back in bed.'

  'So would I,' added Lori. 'And not alone.' She winked at Franklin who stood beside her.

  He momentarily took Lori's hand and Mia let out an involuntary gasp. She quickly looked away. Jet was right. She would rather her mum be out and having fun and if that meant being with Franklin Grant, then it was her mum's choice and Mia would have to learn to live with it.

  Garrick was at the finish line, waiting to cheer them on and it was Jet who came and stood behind her at the start line.

  'Am I in the way? Do you want to get in front of me?' Mia asked him as he seemed to be edging ever closer to her body. His warm breath brushed her neck and sent tingles down her spine.

  'No thanks. I'm enjoying the view. Besides I'll be in front of you soon enough.' He grinned.

  'Oh yeah. I wouldn't be so sure about that. Eat my dust, sucker.'

  He burst out laughing. 'In your dreams.'

  'Would you like to put your money where your mouth is? I've got five pounds in my T-shirt pocket that says I'll beat you.' She turned to him and stuck her chin in the air.

  His gaze drifted down to the little pocket over her left breast and he grinned.

  'Forgetting for one moment that it's a bit weird to have five pounds in your pocket when all you're doing is running up a hill and back down again and there's nothing you can buy either going up or coming down. I've told you before, I'm not a betting man. Although I'd very much like to put my mouth where your money is.'

  Mia gasped. Had he just said what she thought he had? She was so astonished at his comment that she missed the starter's gun and Jet shot past her, grinning at her over his shoulder. Had he done that on purpose?

  It took her some time to catch him up and even then, it was obvious that he slowed his pace so she could do so.

  'Is it too late to change my mind and take that bet?' He grinned as Ella, Lori and Justin all ran past. 'But if you win, I owe you a fiver. If I win, well, like I said, I'd like to put my mouth where your money is. Is that a deal?'

  'No! And you're not a betting man.' She tried to outrun him.

  He easily caught her up and he ran along beside her regardless of whether she picked up speed or slowed her pace. He wasn't even the slightest bit out of breath as they neared the top of the hill and just before the finish line of the first part of the race, he grinned at her and winked. 'Some things are too good a bet for any man to resist. Even a die-hard like me.'

  He ran past her and reached the finish line as Garrick stepped out of the crowd and caught Mia in his arms.

  'Now we get to start again and run back down,' Ella said, puffing and panting beside her in Justin's arms.

  Like Jet, Justin was breathing naturally as if he'd just taken a five-minute walk, not run up a hill with a ten-degree incline in some parts of it. So was Franklin who was holding Lori's hand and smiling at her as she took several gulps of water. Lori didn't seem as exhausted as Mia which was both a relief and an irritation. Mia definitely needed to increase her fitness levels.

  There was now no sign of Jet. He seemed to have disappeared into the crowd, but Mia spotted Mattie jumping up and down as someone Mia didn't recognise held her lead so Jet couldn't have gone far. A few minutes later he reappeared and took the lead from the man, smiling and thanking him as if he were a friend. Which of course, he probably was. Mia didn't know who Jet was friends with other than those in the village whom she'd met. He probably had friends all over the place. And possibly girlfriends too.

  Did he have a girlfriend? The thought hadn't occurred to her before but now that it had, she had to know. She hadn't seen him with anyone but he was gorgeous, single and a red-blooded male. The probability was high. She would ask him the moment she got a chance. Not that it mattered, of course. She simply wanted to know.

  They formed the line for the start of the run back down and this time, Jet stood nowhere near her. Typical of the man. When she didn't want him there he always popped up but when she wanted to ask him something, he was nowhere near her. And this time he didn't wait. He shot down the hill like a bullet from a gun and was long gone by the time Mia touched the finish line, puffing and panting as much as she had after the run up. She most c
ertainly needed to work on her fitness.

  But why Jet had disappeared was a mystery. Everyone else was going to the pub or mingling around the stalls that seemed to pop up at each of the events in Little Pondale.

  It was only much later that Mia found out where Jet had gone and why, and it was Hettie who came to Sunbeam Cottage to tell her.

  'It's Grace, deary,' Hettie said, looking flustered. 'Grace Tyburn, the vicar's grandma. She passed away during the Frog Hill Run. The vicar's beside himself, my dear. I was never very close to Grace and I may not entirely like the vicar but one thing I'll say about them was that they were devoted to one another. I was walking back from watching the run and I saw him running down the lane with Rupert. The next thing I see, deary, is Rupert dashing up the lane and racing back down again with Jet. I went to see if I could be of any help, because I knew at once that it must have something to do with Grace, but she had gone, my dear. I came away because there was nothing I could do. Rupert's notified the necessary people and Jet stayed to provide comfort for the vicar, dear.'

  That surprised Mia more than anything. That Bear – and Tom – looked to Jet for support at such a time. But then again, didn't she feel safe and somehow comforted whenever Jet was around? Well, maybe not always comforted. Sometimes she felt downright annoyed. And sometimes she felt something else entirely. But that was a topic she had no intention of dwelling on right now. Or anytime in the future come to that.

  'Is Tom okay?'

  Hettie shook her head. 'Not from what I saw. But I'm sure he will be. Jet may be a heartbreaker but he's also the man you need at times like this, my dear. He sat by his dear mother's bedside for hours at a time and she told me herself what a great comfort he was. And I know Matilda thought a lot of Jet. She was often at the farm, or he came here. You wouldn't think they had a lot in common would you, deary? But they clearly did. I'm not sure what Tom Tyburn will do without his grandma. As I said, they were devoted to one another, deary. Absolutely devoted.'

  That was the first time Mia thought she'd heard Hettie say Tom's name, other than when Hettie had first told her about all the single men in the village on the day Mia had arrived. It was also the first time Hettie had mentioned that Jet had been a frequent visitor to Sunbeam Cottage and Mia wasn't sure how she felt about that. But of course, he would have visited. Mattie had given him a loan and he had paid it back. That was probably why he came. And they were obviously friendly. She already knew that.