Page 13 of Christmas at the Home Farm Vets (Hartfell Village #2)
Yorkshire, thirteen years ago
When Erin woke up it took her a few puzzled moments to remember she was back home in Yorkshire, not in her student flat at Catz, and the familiar sights of her room came into focus.
She checked her phone and saw it was almost eight o’clock already.
She stumbled out of bed and went to freshen up in the bathroom; she’d meant to be up earlier.
She heard her grandparents downstairs, which must mean that Oli was up too.
She dressed quickly and tapped on her mum’s door, deciding to leave her to rest when there was no reply.
In the living room Oli’s temporary bed had been tidied away, the duvet folded neatly at one end of the couch.
She went through to the kitchen and saw him sitting at the small table with her grandad, her nan at the hob frying bacon.
‘Morning.’ Her pulse pattered as Oli smiled at her and she was thinking of last night, of them holding each other.
The decision she’d made to pull back when he’d touched her hair and how she’d been afraid to explore what might have happened next, the exhilaration when she’d known he’d wanted to kiss her.
Her gaze skidded over to her grandad; she couldn’t count how many mornings she’d seen her grandparents doing exactly this, and Oli looked almost as much at home as they did. ‘Smells good, Nan.’
‘Sit down, our Erin, your grandad’s already ’ad ’is. I’m just making some for Oli before ’e goes outside.’
‘Outside?’
‘Aye, to see t’shed.’ Bill clambered stiffly to his feet and Erin felt a rush of love for the familiarity of home and her family. ‘What time are you two ’eadin’ off?’
‘We haven’t talked about it but soon, I suppose.’ She didn’t imagine Oli would want to stay any longer than they had to.
‘I’m in no rush.’ Oli was holding a mug of tea the colour of creosote and she wondered if her nan thought that might compensate for the lack of coffee in the house. ‘I don’t have to return the car until tomorrow.’
‘I’m puttin’ a chicken in t’oven, Erin, so you can ’ave your dinner before you set off.’ Joyce wiped her brow with a tissue from the pocket of her housecoat, bacon hissing in the pan as it browned. ‘You can take Oli into town an’ show ’im round.’
‘Nan, really, you don’t have to make our dinner as well,’ Erin replied helplessly. She’d never brought a boy home before and even if this one was only a friend, it wasn’t a huge surprise her family were laying out the red carpet. ‘And Oli won’t want to see the town.’
‘Actually, I’d love to, if you’ll take me?’ He finished the last of his tea and carried his mug to the sink.
‘Right then, you’re on,’ she muttered. ‘What do you know about brass bands, rugby league and the Brontes?’ That’ll teach him to go along with her nan.
‘Almost nothing.’ Oli grinned at her as he stuck his hands in the washing-up bowl and began clearing away the few dishes inside it, making Joyce beam with approval. ‘But I’m willing to learn.’
Erin’s heart did that annoying flip again and she thought crossly that if her mum had just charged her bloody phone, then none of them would be in this ridiculous situation.
She and Oli would still be at Catz, and he’d never have driven her home and met her family, let alone spent the night on their old couch.
‘Come on, lad, I’ll show you me shed while Erin ’as ’er breakfast.’ Bill winked at Erin, and she smiled; she always knew where to find him if he wasn’t in his armchair beside the fire.
He had a camping stove in the shed, and he’d potter all day long, making brews, tinkering, fixing things and potting up his plants.
He’d even rigged up a doorbell so Joyce could fetch him without having to march down the garden.
Erin knew he disconnected it when he didn’t want to be disturbed, but she wasn’t sure her nan did.
After Oli had been taken on a tour of the shed and the garden while Erin ate a bacon buttie and stuffed her few things back into her bag, they set off to walk the short distance into town.
After the intimacy of those moments on her bed and all they had talked of, it took her a few minutes to find more ordinary conversation as they wandered past grand Victorian buildings and the usual range of shops alongside some independents.
They walked to a museum, once the home of a Victorian textile millionaire, and on to the rugby league ground where Erin watched matches with her grandad.
She learned that Oli had played rugby union at school and teased him for it, airily informing him it wasn’t even rugby unless it was played under league rules.
He made her promise to take him to a game sometime so he could decide for himself, ribbing her too when he discovered she’d followed her grandad into his old colliery brass band and played the cornet.
Being with him was more natural and easier than she’d ever imagined, and she felt a rush of love for her grandparents when she saw the extra place laid for lunch at the bigger table in the dining room they rarely used, her nan’s sewing temporarily cleared away.
They’d welcomed him as they did every other visitor, with kindness, humour, and food, and she had to remind herself sternly that he’d very likely never see them again.
Her mum’s fibromyalgia flare-up was easing, and she joined them to eat.
Such time with her family was precious and Erin wouldn’t allow herself to think of the days when she’d be without them.
When they were ready to leave, Heather and Joyce hugged Oli and thanked him for bringing Erin home.
Bill shook his hand again, eliciting a promise to return in the summer and see his vegetable garden in full bloom, and Joyce pressed a packet of chicken sandwiches wrapped in greaseproof paper on them, along with half a dozen mince pies.
Oli thanked her and Erin hugged her family too, trying to hold back tears at having to leave them again.
Traffic was heavy for a Sunday, and they pushed on.
Erin didn’t want to stop at the services and have Oli incur extra expense on her behalf, and owe him any more than she already did.
Now that the adrenaline panic of yesterday had fled, she was beginning to dread the reality of having to face him every day at Catz now they’d spent a weekend together and understood more of each other’s lives.
Conversation was stilted on the drive back and eventually they slipped into silence.
When they reached Cambridge, they agreed he would drop her off at the Porters’ Lodge and she’d grab their things so he could park the car ready to return it tomorrow. At some traffic lights, a quick pause in their final moments together, she found the words that had been in her mind all weekend.
‘Oli, I really don’t know how to thank you.’ She willed the lights to stay on red long enough to explain. ‘What you did for me, it was incredibly kind and generous.’
‘You don’t have to keep on saying it. Your family were very welcoming, and I thought they were great. It felt like a real home, and that’s been a while for me.’
‘I’m glad,’ she said quietly. ‘They really liked you; my grandad doesn’t show off his shed to just anyone.’
‘That’s nice.’ The lights were changing, and Oli rushed to speak. ‘But if you do want to thank me, then say yes to a ticket for the ball. They go on sale at the end of January, and we get the first release.’
‘A ticket to the ball?’ Her mind was too full of the work that lay ahead to think about the end of their first year.
But she did know that the Catz May Ball, held in June just before the end of term, was legendary.
The college went all out on the entertainment and a theme, with live bands and DJs all through the night and on to daybreak.
It was the highlight of the student year and the hottest ticket in town.
Already she’d heard it being talked about with excitement and anticipation as details were gradually posted on social media.
Erin had barely given it a second thought; she had exams to deal with first.
‘For me?’ She wasn’t expecting the sharp rise in her tone and the words felt thickened as she wondered why Oli Sterling would buy her a ticket to the ball on top of everything she already owed him.
‘Yes, for you.’
She wanted to ask why and didn’t dare. Was it because he had wanted to kiss her in those moments in her room and was inviting her to be his date? Or because he felt sorry for her now he’d seen the reality of home and assumed she couldn’t afford a ticket of her own?
‘That’s very nice of you, but I don’t think I’ll be going.’ Her mouth was dry, and not actually showing up for the ball had never occurred to her until this moment.
‘Not going?’ He shot forward on the green light, almost stalling the car. ‘But why? It’s going to be amazing, and everyone will be there.’
They would, and if she was there with him they’d be staring at her too, and wondering why he’d picked an ordinary Yorkshire lass like Erin Hardy to be his date when he could have anyone he wanted.
Then he’d realise it could never work between them and she would be the one with a broken heart, pretending she was oblivious to him and the feelings he stirred up in her.
It was a new sensation, to realise that for once her emotions were threatening to run out of control.
The gates at the entrance to Catz were just up ahead and they were out of time.
‘I want you to be there, Erin,’ he said quickly, braking sharply outside the Porters’ Lodge, and a horn honked angrily somewhere behind them.