‘I’m already tied up with some village stuff, actually – but I must get on. Got somewhere to be this morning.’ He glanced up at the clock above Hannah’s head. ‘Is that the time?’
Hannah was gratified – and Helen more than a little miffed – that as he left, he popped his head round the door and said, ‘Don’t forget about tomorrow.’
‘Well,’ Helen said, with some asperity, putting her phone back in her bag, ‘I was going to ask how you were settling in, but it seems you’ve caught us all on the hop.’
She fixed Hannah with an unreadable look and then disappeared to the back of the shop, pausing only to collect a wicker basket. She returned a few minutes later with it stacked full – gratifyingly so, Hannah thought. She had been wondering how profitable a village shop that sold everything you could buy in the supermarket, only for quite a lot more, could actually be.
‘Important to support our local shops,’ Helen said cosily, helping to unload the things onto the counter. ‘And important for us to support our local shopkeeper,’ she added. ‘Why don’t you pop round this evening for a drink, and we can have a chat about your plans?’
‘That sounds lovely,’ said Hannah automatically, wishing at the same time that she was the sort of person who had ready-made excuses for things like that up her sleeve. It didn’t take a genius to work out that she was going to be completely wrecked by the end of a day of trying to learn the ropes and keep the shop going.
The rest of the day flew past – as Beth had instructed her, there was a busy period first thing, then a lull, and another rush of people coming in around lunchtime. The early afternoon saw walkers coming by, and of course a steady stream of people made their way into and out of the cafe. But she managed to find half an hour when the village volunteer was manning the till to stand in the alcove where the bookshop was going to be and draw a sketch of what she wanted. There was room for shelves on both sides, and even a little space under the window where children’s books could sit. Maybe she could even get Ben to do some painting on the whitewashed walls, or make a sign. The one subject he’d always flourished in at school besides sport was art. It would do him good – give him a bit of confidence, and hopefully make him feel part of things.
And that was how she ended up sitting at Helen’s kitchen table that evening, watching as Helen, notebook in hand, sat holding court with a glass of wine in front of two other women she’d only just met.
‘This is Mina. She’s my right-hand woman.’
Mina, the dark-haired women from the day of the fête, was dressed almost identically to Helen. She gave Hannah a thin smile.
‘And Jenny. She’s new to the village, like you. Jenny, Hannah’s cousin Beth was running the shop until this week.’
Jenny was very slim, with hooded eyes and a slightly beaky nose. She was dressed in a floral dress and a pair of silver sandals. She looked at Hannah and narrowed her eyes briefly. ‘The one you—’
Helen widened her eyes and shook her head, imperceptibly. It wasn’t the first time that Hannah had picked up on something – some sort of atmosphere – about Beth. She knew her cousin could be a bit of a gossip, but her heart was basically in the right place. It felt like the villagers weren’t convinced about that, though.
‘I’m sure Hannah has her own ideas about how to run the shop. New broom sweeps cleanest, and all that.’
Jenny flicked a glance at Helen. Hannah, feeling like the girl at school who everyone was picking on for no reason, shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She placed a hand over her wine glass as David, Helen’s husband, appeared, brandishing a brand new bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. ‘No, I’m fine, thank you. I’ve got to be up in the morning.’
‘You’ll be glad to have Sundays off, though?’ David smiled. He seemed far less spiky than his wife.
‘Definitely.’ Shifting in her seat, she absent-mindedly twisted her wedding ring round on her finger. She was exhausted, and all the work she’d been doing over the last few weeks was catching up with her. All she wanted to do was go home, order a pizza and curl up on the sofa to watch something mindless on television.
‘So tell me,’ Helen said, turning to face her. ‘What exactly have you got in mind for the shop?’
Hannah began cautiously at first, not wanting to tread on any toes. But as she warmed to the bookshop idea and explained what she hoped to do, she knew that her excitement was showing. To her relief, all of them seemed to be on board.
‘This is just the best idea ever,’ Helen beamed. ‘We’ve found the telephone box library has been rather a victim of its own success. Poor Lucy, who said she’d be in charge of book distribution, has been completely flooded with donations.’
‘I met her the other week,’ Hannah said, taking an olive. ‘She seems lovely.’
‘Oh, she’s a gem.’ Helen nodded approvingly. ‘And such a good teacher. An asset to the village. And it looks like you might be too,’ she added, squeezing Hannah’s arm. ‘Coming up with ideas for fundraising for the village hall when you’ve only just arrived. Goodness. We’ll have to get you on the WI committee. And you must come along to the Parish Council meeting, too. Oh, and while I think, you need to—’
‘I—’ Hannah began, alarmed.
‘Cool your jets,’ said Mina, laughing and shaking her head. ‘Don’t mind our Helen. She can’t help herself.’
‘I am here,’ Helen said, indignantly.
‘You’re going to scare her back to Manchester at this rate,’ Jenny said, joining in the laughter.
‘So sorry,’ Helen said, offering Hannah some more wine. ‘I can get a little over-enthusiastic at times.’
You’re not bloody joking she can, Hannah texted Katie later that night when she’d made it home and was tucked up in bed, eyelids drooping.
You said you wanted all that village stuff, Katie replied, with a laughing face emoji.
I did! Hannah agreed. Just not all of it in one evening.
Chapter Thirteen
The morning of the football trials, Jake woke early and went for a run. Sarah was up and cooking bacon when he got back.
‘What are you up to today?’ She pointed to the frying pan. ‘You want a sandwich?’
‘Football trials,’ he said, nodding. It’d cancel out the run he’d just done, but never mind. He could never resist a bacon roll first thing in the morning.
‘I thought I might go into town and have a wander about.’
‘Bletchingham?’
Sarah nodded. It was nice to see her coming out of herself a bit more. For a long time, she’d seemed content to just sit at home like a cat that had been caught out in the rain.
In the park he set out cones for some training drills, trying to convince himself he wasn’t looking out for the pretty woman from the shop. But every couple of minutes he found himself glancing across the field, looking for anyone that looked like her. He checked his watch – quarter to. The rest of the boys were milling about, some kicking a ball back and forth, others jogging on the spot and chatting.
‘Hello,’ said a familiar voice.
She was standing behind him. He spun round, still holding the coiled rope for the sideline.
‘Jamie, can you put this out?’
One of the boys nodded and took it from his hands.
‘I’m taking my life in my hands being here,’ she said, laughing and nodding in the direction of her son, who’d joined the others and was passing the ball back and forth.
‘Plenty of other parents here today,’ he said, pointing to a group of them standing nearby. ‘I think trials are a bit different.’
‘Well, I’ll just keep my head down and try not to do anything embarrassing.’
He watched as she headed over to join the other parents, and then the trial session started in earnest and his focus was completely taken up with the boys and how they were performing. It was a relief that Ben, her son, wasn’t just averagely good – he was genuinely promising. Every time he could, he put himself between the opposing p
layer and the goal, putting on speed and showing some incredibly nimble footwork. And best of all – in Jake’s eyes – he was a generous player, happy to share the ball and not determined to hog it at all costs. That was something that was instinctive, as he explained to Hannah when they finished up.
‘He’s good,’ he said, not wanting to be effusive. ‘Really good.’
‘I think he is,’ she said, proudly. ‘But you don’t know, do you? I mean, I’m not a football person. All I know is he seems to get results, and he loves it. He comes to life when he’s on the pitch.’
‘Sounds familiar.’ Jake nodded. ‘I was exactly the same. Hated school, was happiest when I was outside. Not everyone’s cut out for academia.’
‘You’re right.’ Hannah threw the hoody she was holding across to Ben, who’d ventured over and was hovering just a few metres away, clearly desperate to know how he’d got on.
‘You did well,’ Jake told him. ‘See you next weekend for training?’
Ben’s face burst into a huge beam of happiness. ‘Really?’
‘Really.’
‘Cool.’
‘I think he means “thanks Jake, that’s a real honour and I promise I’ll do my best”,’ teased Hannah.
‘Yeah,’ said Ben, ducking his head and looking embarrassed. ‘That as well.’
‘Off you go,’ Jake said, laughing. ‘You lads might as well have a kickabout while I talk to the parents.’
Hannah – feeling shy, because all the others seemed to know each other – hovered on the edges of the group as Jake spoke to the parents about training times and his plans for the team. It was clear that most of them were in awe of him to start with, but once he started chatting and the ice was broken, everyone relaxed. Jake seemed to relax as well, and looked markedly less stressed than he had when they’d spoken earlier.
She was touched when he came over to talk as all the other parents drifted back to their cars or headed across the field with their dogs.
‘It’s a bit weird being the new person,’ he said, pushing his hair out of his eyes.
‘Tell me about it.’
‘So you’ve taken over the shop from your cousin?’
She nodded. ‘It was a last-minute thing.’ She looked across at Ben, who was laughing and kicking the ball to one of the other boys. ‘But it seems like it’s working out okay. I wanted to get him away from . . . well, he was hanging around with a dodgy crowd.’
‘I was the same at that age. Football’s a good way of focusing the mind. There’s not much time to mess about if you’re taking it seriously.’
‘That’s what I’m hoping.’
‘Well, he’s got potential, so that’s a start. So how’s it going, taking over from your cousin? She was . . .’ He paused, clearly trying to choose his words carefully. ‘She seemed like a village stalwart.’
‘That’s one way of putting it.’ She caught his eye and they both laughed. ‘I adore Beth, but she’s always been a gossip.’
‘Well, I didn’t like to say, but . . .’
‘Oh, I know exactly what she’s like. And so does everyone in the village, it seems.’ She bit her lip thoughtfully. ‘The trouble is, it sometimes feels like I’ve been tarred with the same brush. I got here thinking it was going to be like living in an episode of The Archers where everyone was super-friendly, but they’ve all been kind of . . .’
‘Standoffish?’ He finished her sentence.
‘Not quite.’
‘Are you feeling the North-South divide?’ He grinned.
‘I dunno.’ She lifted her shoulders slightly. ‘I think maybe I just need get used to village life. It’s a big change from back home.’
He picked up the bag of kit and shouldered it, but didn’t make a move to leave. When he spoke, Hannah noticed, he had a habit of focusing very intently, so you felt like you were the only person in the world. It made her knees go a bit weak.
‘Yeah, it’s a bit of a change, isn’t it? Have you seen the village Facebook group?’
She smiled. ‘I have. Are you on there?’
‘Under an assumed name, ridiculously. But yes, I can’t stay away because it’s hysterical.’
‘Did you see the post about the escaped goats?’
He laughed. ‘And the one complaining about someone rifling through the contents of a skip?’
‘I’m sort of weirdly addicted to looking at it.’
‘Me too.’
‘Are we going, or what?’ Ben ran up, barely out of breath despite having been playing for a good two hours.
‘Yes, come on.’ She rolled her eyes, laughing. ‘I better get this one home before he starves to death, plus I’ve left someone in charge of the shop when I’ve only just taken over. I don’t want to get a reputation as a slacker.’
‘And I’ve got stuff to do, too. Good game today, Ben. Look forward to seeing you next week?’
He looked at Hannah as he said it. Afterwards, making cheese on toast for lunch, she replayed it in her head. He obviously meant Ben, not her. But she couldn’t help daydreaming about what it would be like to have a handsome, charming, kind man paying her that sort of attention. God, she really needed to get a grip. And phone Phil, her perfectly pleasant – if not exactly demonstrative – husband. He was probably pining away back in Manchester, missing them terribly.
Chapter Fourteen
On the day Beth had handed over the keys and full responsibility to Hannah, only the briefest flicker of guilt had crossed her face as she mentioned the village AGM that was imminent.
‘It’s nothing major – just a chance for the villagers to get together and iron out any problems, check we’re all singing from the same song sheet, that sort of thing . . .’
‘I don’t even know what song we’re singing!’
‘Oh, you’ll pick it up. It’s easy enough. Helen’s in charge – that won’t come as a surprise – and all you have to do is turn up to the village hall for seven on the Thursday after next, say a few words and it’ll be fine.’ Beth had had the good grace to look a tiny bit shamefaced at that, but only briefly.
And so it had come to the day of the meeting. Hannah left Ben installed in the little sitting room on Beth’s slightly lumpy sofa, Pinky the cat curled up on a striped crochet blanket by his side.
‘I don’t know how long I’ll be, but I can’t imagine it’ll be much later than nine. You can ring me if you get stuck, but I’m sure you’ll be okay.’
Ben looked up from his Xbox game, headset askew. He pushed one headphone off an ear and frowned.
‘What?’
‘I said –’ Hannah began, then sighed and shook her head. ‘Never mind.’ She lifted the headphone back over his ear and pointed to the door. ‘Going out. Back in two hours.’ She lifted two fingers and waggled them in the air. Ben gave a vague grunt of acknowledgement.
The village hall stood at the side of the road, opposite a row of neat red-brick houses that reminded her a little bit of the ones back home in Salford. Where everything else in Little Maudley seemed almost too perfect and regimented, these were scruffier around the edges – the gardens weren’t perfect, the cars outside a bit older and less pristine. She was just gazing at them when a small, slight woman with a mass of light brown curls and a pair of glasses perched on the end of her nose emerged through a bright yellow door.
‘Hello,’ she said, giving a smile so welcoming that Hannah felt for a moment she might burst into tears of gratitude. ‘Are you going to the village meeting?’
‘I am.’
‘Me too. Let’s go in together – it’s always less scary when you go in with someone else.’
She smiled again and they crossed the road, Hannah following a second behind her.
‘I’m Nicola.’
‘Hannah.’
‘Oh, of course! You’re the person who’s taken over the shop from Beth.’
The door opened just as Nicola was about to push it.
‘Oh, this is a nice surprise – nice and early, you two.�
�� Kirsten, one of the shop volunteers, gave an approving nod of her head. She was holding a clipboard and ticked off Nicola’s name. ‘You’re not on here yet, Hannah, so I’ll just add you to the bottom and then we can tick you off. I do like a nice list. Keeps everyone organized.’
Hannah caught Nicola’s eye briefly. Nicola widened hers slightly, making Hannah giggle.
‘Right, that’s you two officially in attendance. Why don’t you go and get a nice cup of tea and sit down? We’ll be starting business at seven prompt.’
‘It’s very serious stuff,’ Nicola said, her grey eyes dancing with amusement. They joined the tea queue behind an elderly man who was trying to juggle his tea, a plate with an iced bun, and a walking stick. ‘Let me help you with that.’
‘Thanks very much, my dear.’ He handed Nicola the iced bun and his teacup, and she saw him to his seat.
‘Lovely to see you here,’ said Helen. She was standing behind the counter of the village hall kitchen, flowery Cath Kidston apron tied neatly over her crisp white blouse, wielding a huge stainless steel teapot. ‘Tea?’
‘Yes, please. And I think one for Nicola?’
It was surprising how many people had turned up for the meeting. There were about ten rows of chairs, all serried neatly, and almost all of them were full. The room was filled with the sort of excited chatter Hannah was used to hearing at the start of a school performance, when everyone was catching up with one another and hearing all the latest playground gossip. She sat beside Nicola, who was checking her phone, and listened in surreptitiously.
‘The thing is, we can’t expect the Neighbourhood Watch scheme to just run itself . . .’
‘I don’t know what he was thinking, leaving her for that woman. Imagine doing it in the middle of harvest, as well. She’s had to pay contractors to come in and do everything.’
And then (quietly, but not so quietly that she couldn’t hear) someone behind whispered, ‘Just remember, she’s Beth’s cousin, so she’s probably . . .’ The rest was indistinct. Nicola clearly heard that bit and looked up from her phone, giving Hannah a reassuring look.
The Village Green Bookshop: A Feel-Good Escape for All Book Lovers from the Bestselling Author of The Telephone Box Library Page 10
