Constable Williams cut in the conversation, ‘I’ve everything I need for now. I’ll be back over in the morning with an update but for now …’ he glanced at his watch. ‘I suggest you all try and get some sleep.’
He stood up and slipped his notepad in his pocket and headed outside.
‘Come on, let’s go home,’ said Fergus, tapping Alfie on the back before glancing up at the clock. ‘I’ll be back milking the cows in less than three hours,’ he joked.
‘Honestly, we can’t thank you enough for everything that you’ve all done for us tonight,’ Isla said, with tears in her eyes. They really were so lucky to have friends like this, and a community that looked out for each other.
‘What are friends for?’ smiled Fergus, slipping his arms into his coat.
‘What a night,’ exclaimed Isla, once the door had closed behind them.
‘What a night indeed,’ added Martha, placing the empty mugs in the sink. ‘I’ll wash these up in the morning. I’m off to bed, I suggest you pair do the same.’
‘Night, Gran.’
Martha popped a kiss on top of her granddaughter’s head. ‘And can we try and keep drama to a minimum in the future, I’m getting too old for all this malarkey.’
‘I second that,’ laughed Isla.
‘And I third it,’ chipped in Drew.
Isla and Drew sat in silence, reflecting on the night.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Isla, taking Drew by the hand. ‘I’m sorry about buying the alpacas, letting a stranger into our lives.’
‘I think we lost our way for a wee while but tonight has taught me one thing,’ Drew paused and locked eyes with Isla. ‘Our boys, you and Martha are the most important things in my life and without any of you …’ Drew swallowed down the lump in his throat as he blinked away his tears. ‘From now on, we have to promise each other … we share everything, otherwise this team isn’t a team.’
Isla agreed, stroking away the tears from his cheeks with her thumb.
‘And another thing I’ve learnt, as a man – it’s okay not to be okay. It’s okay to cry … it’s okay to ask for help,’ Drew said.
‘We need more quality time together … Drew-and-Isla time.’
‘Agreed,’ said Drew.
Isla’s heart lifted, the connection between them had been mended, they’d found each other again.
‘Now come on, let’s get to bed, Pete will be here tomorrow.’
‘Today,’ corrected Isla with a chuckle.
‘Today,’ smiled Drew. ‘The alpacas will be sheared, the fleeces sold, and the mortgage paid … fresh start.’
‘Fresh start,’ Isla wholeheartedly agreed.
‘I love you, Isla Allaway.’
Feeling the warmth of love rush through her body, Isla planted a kiss on his perfect lips. ‘I love you too,’ she said.
Chapter 35
The next morning Isla sneaked back into bed after milking the cows, and fell straight back to sleep. She was woken a couple of hours later by Drew kissing her softly on the lips.
‘Are you awake?’ he whispered.
‘I am now …’ she said, grinning, turning and snuggling deeply into his chest.
‘Last night I had the strangest dream. Someone was trying to steal the alpacas,’ Drew said.
Isla swiped his chest playfully. ‘We best get up, you know. Constable Williams could be round at any time.’
‘Do you smell that?’ asked Drew, sniffing the air. ‘Your gran is worth her weight in gold.’
‘I couldn’t have managed without her in the last few weeks. Family is all that matters …’
‘And our best friends,’ added Drew.
‘We live in the best village with the best people.’
‘And I have the best wife.’
‘And don’t you forget it!’
Isla threw back the duvet and pulled on Drew’s old sloppy sweater over her head. ‘Come on, get up.’
‘I’m coming,’ he said reluctantly, wishing he could stay in the warmth of his bed for at least another hour. ‘It’s not that easy with a broken leg.’
As they padded down the stairs, they were greeted by the aroma of sizzling sausages and bacon. Finn was helping Martha place the glasses on the table while Angus was strapped into his high chair.
‘Good morning,’ said Isla, breezing into the kitchen.
‘Martha, you are just a superstar,’ Drew said, balancing on his crutches. He puckered up his lips and kissed her on her cheek. ‘I could get used to this.’
Martha smiled, ‘Could you now. I was hoping you pair would look after me in my old age.’
‘Old … you will outlive us all.’
‘Daddy, Great-granny has been telling us about the rustling alpacas.’ Finn’s eyes were wide and everyone laughed.
‘Alpaca rustlers,’ corrected Drew, smiling at his son. ‘But they are all safe now.’
‘Pete’s already here,’ said Martha, nodding towards the window.
‘You’re joking? I best get out there,’ said Drew.
‘You sit down, Fergus is already here too. Have some food first.’
Drew saluted, his stomach was rumbling and Martha did always cook up a good breakfast.
‘How you both feeling?’ she asked.
‘Tired,’ Isla and Drew replied in harmony, then laughed.
The last couple of weeks had been bedlam, but as Isla pulled out a chair and sat down at the table, she looked around at her gorgeous family and her heart swelled with contentment.
‘This farm is going to go from strength to strength,’ announced Isla from nowhere.
‘You better believe it,’ said Drew, kissing his wife on her cheek.
‘Eww,’ burst Finn, covering his face up with his hands, then peeping through his fingers, causing Angus to giggle.
‘I love you lot, just for the record,’ announced Isla, placing a noisy raspberry on Finn’s cheek.
Martha took the plates out of the Aga and placed them on the table. They all began tucking into a hearty breakfast when Fergus appeared at the back door.
‘Morning mate, grab some food,’ said Drew, nodding towards the spare chair at the table.
‘Thanks, but I’m in the middle of helping Pete …’
‘What is it?’ asked Isla, noticing the wide-eye look of worry on Fergus’s face. ‘Those scumbags haven’t been released without charge, have they?’
‘You have a visitor.’
Isla and Drew noticed there was a figure standing behind Fergus.
‘Who is it?’ asked Drew.
Fergus moved out of the way to reveal Gracie Maxwell standing behind him.
Surprised, Isla dropped her cutlery onto her plate. ‘Gracie, I thought you’d be in the South of France by now, enjoying your retirement.’ Isla noticed the exchange of worried glances between Drew and Martha.
‘Isla, Drew, Martha …’ Gracie acknowledged them all before turning back towards Isla. ‘Something came up, I bet you didn’t expect to see me again so soon.’
Isla’s heart was thumping fast as she tried to keep her cool. ‘What can we do for you?’
‘I believe you had a bit of trouble last night.’
‘How do you know?’ asked Drew.
‘News travels fast between farmers.’
‘Gracie is married to a farmer,’ chipped in Isla, hoping this conversation wasn’t going where she thought it was going.
‘Cup of tea?’ asked Martha, pulling out a chair for Gracie and sliding a mug in front of her. She clasped her hands together and rested them on the table. Immediately the good mood in the kitchen had evaporated and the atmosphere was tense. If Gracie was here to claim the alpacas back, the farm was in danger of losing its financial security once more.
‘I’ll take the children into the living room,’ said Martha, scooping Angus out of his high chair and grasping Finn’s hand.
Gracie eyed Isla. To say that Isla was a nervous wreck was an understatement.
‘My guess is, you’ve been looking after something that
belongs to my boys.’
Isla quietly inhaled and grabbed Drew’s hand under the table.
‘How about you tell me all about it, as I’m surprised that you didn’t divulge that Foxglove Farm has suddenly become an alpaca farm when you saw me outside Clover Cottage.’
Uncomfortable silence hung in the air.
Isla looked towards Drew who cleared his throat and took control of the situation.
‘James Kerr was your former husband. I’m assuming you have no claims to his estate. Your boys were in jail.’ Drew stated the facts.
Gracie unhooked her bony fingers and narrowed her eyes and pointed at them, ‘You stole from my boys.’
‘We didn’t steal anything from your boys. We bought those alpacas in good faith.’ Drew was thankful his voice was calm.
‘And I bet you were rubbing her hands together, prize alpacas … thousands landing at your feet, not to mention a contract with a fashion house. I bet you thought you’d won the lottery.’ Gracie didn’t take her eyes off the pair of them.
‘Well, where are your boys, Gracie?’ spluttered Isla, beginning to lose her cool. ‘When they were released, they didn’t even contact you, you said so yourself.’
‘Those alpacas are not your property.’
‘They aren’t yours either, Gracie Maxwell.’
Everyone looked towards the door, where Constable Williams was standing in the doorway with another police officer standing behind him.
Gracie scraped her chair back but there was nowhere to run.
The police officer stepped forward, ‘Gracie Maxwell … you are under arrest on suspicion of sheep and alpaca rustling. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand?’ asked Constable Williams.
A hollow laugh escaped from Gracie’s mouth as the police officer led her outside to an awaiting car.
‘What’s going on? What’s this got to do with Gracie Maxwell?’ asked Drew, perplexed, watching the kerfuffle as she was led away.
Constable Williams pulled out a chair and Isla poured him a mug of tea.
‘Mrs Maxwell and her husband have been under surveillance for the last six months. They’ve mainly been operating in the Lake District, running a lucrative criminal enterprise – livestock rustling – along with her nephew Nathan Kerr … Nate.’
Drew blew out a breath, ‘Nate was a Kerr?’
‘Afraid so, and wanted by the police for numerous crimes.’
‘The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,’ stated Isla, feeling a fool. ‘I suppose he wasn’t even Irish?’
‘Most certainly not Irish. He had no steady job, his criminal record was growing and when James Kerr passed away, they thought they’d try their luck at claiming the farmhouse, with Nathan Kerr posing as one of his sons. But unbeknown to them, James Kerr had made a will, and the farm and Clover Cottage was not left to either of his errant sons.’
Isla blew out a breath, ‘I bet they were gutted. Where are the Kerr brothers now?’
‘From what we know, they haven’t headed back to these parts. The guy who sold you the alpacas was Gracie’s husband. The plan was, whoever they sold them to, they would fleece them of a lump sum, then steal the alpacas back and do it all again. Gracie still had acquaintances over in Glensheil who’d told her that James’s health was deteriorating and mentioned the prize-winning herd, and that’s when they moved from sheep and upped their game with the alpacas. Nate pretends he’s looking for work, susses out the place and masterminds the plan of when to steal them back.’
‘And when I broke my leg, I bet he thought all his Christmases had come at once,’ added Drew, amazed at the nerve of the guy.
Martha popped her head around the door, ‘There’s a police car outside … oh sorry,’ she said, clocking Constable Williams sitting at the table. ‘Where’s Gracie gone?’
‘Gracie’s been arrested,’ spilled Isla. ‘The whole thing was masterminded by her. Nate is her nephew.’
Martha blew out a breath, ‘You’re kidding me.’
Isla shook her head, ‘No, it’s all true.’
‘Well I never.’
‘I’m not sure I want to know the answer to this,’ said Isla, looking between Drew and Constable Williams. ‘But what happens to the alpacas now? You mentioned a will?’
Knowing the alpacas were being sheared right at this very second and that there was a policeman sitting in their kitchen, Drew knew the outcome was more than likely bleak.
They all waited in anticipation as Constable Williams flipped open his notepad. ‘James Kerr’s will states that he left the alpacas in the care of …’ he scanned his notes.
Isla closed her eyes and willed him to hurry up.
‘… Stuart Scott, the local vet practice. Apparently James held Stuart in high regard.’
Drew slumped back in his chair, Stuart was a family friend. ‘That’s that, then. We can’t sell the fleeces.’
Isla knew what this meant for the farm, the initial injection of cash was lost. The mortgage arrears and loan could not be paid without that income.
Before they had time to ask any more questions, the back door was flung open. ‘Morning!’ said Rory, beaming from ear to ear. ‘I’ve come with news.’
‘I think Constable Williams has just beaten you to that snippet of information,’ said Isla. ‘We’ve just heard, your father is the proud owner of our prize-winning herd of alpacas.’
‘Well, there’s more.’
‘I’m not sure I can take any more,’ admitted Isla, her emotions were all over the place.
Rory pulled out a chair, ‘Believe me, you really want to hear this! Drew, according to my father, many moons ago, your father, Mr Allaway Senior, loaned my father the money to buy his practice. The money was paid back, but if it wasn’t for your father taking a chance on my father’s dream, he would never have been able to build up his business. He was always grateful. He knows the financial difficulty you are in and wants to help. He’s decided he’s too old to run an alpaca farm, so …’
‘So?’ asked Isla, her heart thumping against her ribcage, hoping this was good news.
‘So, my father thinks they are already in the best hands. They are all yours!’
‘Are you kidding us?’ asked Isla, astonished.
‘I’m definitely not kidding you. They are yours … all yours.’
Isla let out a scream and jumped on Drew, hugging him tight.
‘Mind the leg,’ he said, laughing, as he hugged her back before outstretching his hand towards Rory.
‘I … we can’t tell you how much this means to us.’
‘We’ve been friends from the year dot and that’s what friends do. You are the good guys and good guys always win.’
With a heartfelt thanks, Isla couldn’t stop the happy tears from flowing down her face as she hugged Rory. ‘I’m absolutely speechless, absolutely speechless.’
‘That makes a change,’ joked Drew.
‘There’s nothing more to worry about and I think you should release the mother and baby out into the paddock. Mop is strong enough now and she’s an absolute beauty.’ Rory turned to leave, happy that after their ordeal things were finally working out for Isla and Drew.
‘I’ll be off too,’ said Constable Williams, standing up and shaking everyone’s hand. ‘I’ll have great pleasure putting Gracie Maxwell away in a cell. It’s been a long time coming.’
Drew beamed at Isla and flung his arms open. ‘Come on, you two … group hug,’ he said, gesturing for Martha to join in.
‘I told you I couldn’t stand any more drama,’ laughed Martha.
‘We promise life will be plain sailing from now on! No more dramas!’ confirmed Isla.
‘Mum, Mum,’ everyone turned around to find Finn standing in the doorway, wafting his nose. ‘Angus stinks.’
‘Now that’s a drama I can deal with,’ chuckled Mar
tha.
‘My turn,’ insisted Isla. ‘My turn.’
Chapter 36
Six weeks later
The letter box clanged, and Isla bent down to pick up the envelopes, junk … junk … junk … then she saw the writing on the next envelope, ‘Highlands Planning Department’. Her stomach lurched.
‘Drew … Drew!’ she shouted at the top of her voice.
He was sat in the passenger seat of the truck, his leg was still in plaster, but he was due back in hospital on Monday to have the cast removed. It couldn’t come quick enough for either of them.
Fergus was behind the wheel, they were on their way to the Saturday Farmers’ market over in Glensheil. Fergus was just about to start the engine when he noticed in the mirror Isla running toward the truck, waving something in the air.
Drew wound down his window, ‘Where’s the fire?’
‘That’s not even funny, after recent events.’
He grinned, ‘I’m only joking … what’s up?’
She waved the envelope in front of him. ‘It’s here … it’s from the Highlands Planning Agency.’
‘Is this what I think it is?’
She nodded.
‘Well, open it then.’
‘I daren’t … what if?’
Drew shook his head in despair, ‘Get it open, we won’t know until you do.’
Isla slipped her finger under the edge of the envelope and tore it open. She held her breath as her eyes scanned the words as quickly as possible. There it was, the decision in black and white. Foxglove Camping was now official. The licence had been granted, which meant all the other caravans could be moved to the field and she could really put her new business on the map.
‘We did it … we did it!’
To Drew and Fergus’s amusement, Isla began jumping up and down on the spot. ‘Foxglove Camping has arrived!’ she shouted happily, waving the envelope in the air.
Drew clambered out of the car and kissed his wife. ‘I’m so proud of you.’
‘I’m proud of me too,’ she said, ‘but I couldn’t have done this without everyone’s help and support … and especially yours,’ she said, kissing him.
For the last few weeks Drew, with the help of Fergus, had modernised the shower block and Isla had spent those weeks cleaning and scrubbing the other vans, while Martha had kitted them out with more home furnishings. Life was certainly good.
Foxglove Farm Page 24
