Page 3 of Promises & Petals in Nettleford-on-the-Wold (Escape to… Nettleford-on-the-Wold #1)

‘ W hat is it, Hannah?’ Gemma called up the stairs.

‘It’s...’ Hannah stepped onto the landing so she had a better view.

She wasn’t even sure what she was looking at.

Tilting her head back, she spotted a huge jagged hole in the ceiling with cracks splitting off in all directions and.

.. she could see sunlight. There must be a hole in the thatch.

Looking down at the carpet beneath her feet, a deep growth of mould had discoloured the cream of the carpet and was growing up the wall beside it.

That would explain the problem with the electrics.

Hannah turned as she heard the thump of footsteps behind her.

‘Yikes!’ Halting beside her, Gemma gripped Hannah’s arm as she surveyed the carnage in front of them. ‘What on earth has happened here?’

Shaking her head, Hannah finally found her voice. ‘I don’t know. Something must have damaged the thatch. There must be a hole in the roof.’

‘What could have caused this? I mean, roofs don’t fall in just because the place has been left empty, do they? Unless they were left for decades, I mean.’ Gemma stepped forward, peering up through the hole in the ceiling. ‘The rain must have literally come straight through the ceiling.’

‘Uh-huh.’ This wasn’t going to be a quick job, was it?

Gone were her plans of cleaning the cottage, perhaps putting a few things into storage before getting an estate agent round and putting it on the market.

No, she’d be here for far longer than the two months she’d given herself.

She’d have to get someone to fix the roof - and how many thatchers were out there?

Few, she gathered, and likely zero who had an opening in their diary right about now.

Plus, she might need a whole new thatch too.

It wouldn’t be just a case of fixing one small hole; the damage might indicate a larger problem too.

Leaning heavily against the wall behind her, she dragged her fingers through her hair.

She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t stay here that long.

It had taken her four years to force herself to walk through the door again.

She couldn’t live in the cottage, with her grandad’s stuff around her reminding her of what she’d lost. She just wasn’t strong enough.

She needed to be moving. She needed to leave.

‘Oh, Hannah.’ Sophie spoke quietly beside her.

Turning, she fixed her eyes on her friend, hoping to block out everything else. ‘What am I supposed to do? I’m going to be stuck here for ages now. I’ll have to get it fixed. I can’t sell it like this. I...’

‘Hold on, I’ll give Josh a call. See if he has any space.’ Sophie pulled her mobile from her pocket and began scrolling.

‘Josh? Your brother Josh?’ Hannah bit down on her bottom lip, hoping nobody would notice the flush of self-consciousness she felt coursing across her skin at the mention of his name.

Not by Sophie, at least. She glanced quickly at Gemma, who had an enormous grin plastered to her face whilst her eyebrows had shot up so high her fringe almost entirely covered them.

Shaking her head slightly, she narrowed her eyes at Gemma before turning back to Sophie.

‘Ah, he’s not picking up.’ Lowering her mobile, Sophie grimaced. ‘I’ll speak to him later, though. Even if he’s too busy at the moment, I’m sure he’ll be able to recommend someone else.’

‘Doesn’t he still live in London? I thought he went back? What does he know about roofs?’ Hannah tried her best to keep her voice steady. The thought of seeing Josh again after the way they’d left things the last time she’d seen him filled her with dread.

‘Nah, after he came back just before your grandad… you left, he decided to stay. He’s retrained and now has his own roofing business.

’ Hannah tilted her head as Florrie called for her.

‘Sorry, I’d better get going. I’ve got to drop Florrie off at my parents before running to work, but I’ll let you know what Josh says after I’ve spoken to him. ’

‘Okay, thanks.’ Hannah nodded as she gave Sophie a quick hug before watching her run down the stairs. Turning back to the mess in front of her, she tried desperately to ignore Gemma staring at her.

‘What’s going on...?’ Lucy thudded up the stairs before coming to an abrupt stop beside the two of them. ‘Jeepers! No wonder Sophie looked as though she’d seen a ghost.’

‘Yeah. It’s not great.’ Hannah stepped forward and ran her hand down the damp wall, her heart still pounding from the news that Josh had never returned to London.

He’d been back about three months before her grandad had passed away, taking a break from his corporate role and having a break from his long-term relationship, but she’d always assumed he’d gone back to London.

He’d loved London – the Big City as he called it.

During a brief conversation before Hannah had sliced their friendship in two by telling him how she felt about him, how she’d always felt about him, he’d said the buzz of the city energised him.

How had she been so stupid? He’d been on a break from his long-term girlfriend, Tasha, at Tasha’s request too, and everyone knew what a break meant.

And it didn’t mean that the relationship was over.

Not that Josh would have ever reciprocated her feelings anyway.

Absentmindedly, she knelt and touched the green growth on the wall.

It was wet and flakes of plaster rained down onto the ruined carpet.

‘Wait. Stop! Don’t do that! It might make you ill or bring the wall down.’ Lucy gripped Hannah’s shoulder and pulled her back. ‘I happen to have a date tonight, so if you could leave the whole burying me under a ton of thatch and plaster thing for another time, I’d be grateful.’

Nodding, Hannah shoved her hands in her pockets to avoid the temptation to touch it again. Turning to Lucy, she tried to focus on what she was saying. ‘Who with? Who’s your date with?’

‘This guy called Graham. He’s from a dating app, but he sounds so lovely. Really down to earth.’ Lucy grinned. ‘I think he might be the real deal.’

‘You said that last week about Dave too.’ Gemma shook her head.

‘Doug. It was Doug.’ Glancing down, Lucy used the toe of her trainer to move a little plaster.

‘Well, Lucy isn’t the only one with a hot date in the near future, is she?’ Gemma nudged Hannah’s shoulder, her eyebrows wriggling.

‘A date? I’ve not even thought about...’ Hannah blinked. When would she even have time to date, especially now with the cottage to sort out, not to mention the fact that dating was the last thing on her mind?

‘Oh, who?’

‘Josh is coming round to rescue the damsel in distress.’ Gemma flipped her hair over her shoulder dramatically.

Hannah rolled her eyes. As much as she was grateful for the distraction, even if it meant Gemma teasing her, she’d rather not have Josh’s name being bandied about like this.

Even the mere mention of his name had her reliving the last conversation she’d had with him, the churning of her stomach and the fierce flush of embarrassment feeling as real today as it had four years ago.

Although one thing that was for sure, if she’d come into the cottage alone and found the landing covered in mould, plaster and whatever else lay amongst the mess, she’d have likely dropped to her knees and sobbed, at least with her friends here she felt supported and their teasing was keeping her mind from spiralling.

She just wished it wasn’t about Josh Morgan.

‘Ooh, Josh as in Josh-Josh, Josh Morgan, Sophie’s brother Josh? The Josh Hannah declared her undying love to before taking to her wheels and disappearing into the hills?’ Lucy spoke as though Hannah wasn’t there, which she knew would rile her into answering.

‘Yes, that’s right. Sophie’s Josh.’ Hannah sighed as she began picking her way through the mess. ‘Now, I need to find Alfie before he injures himself.’

‘Umm, Alfie is downstairs.’ Lucy patted her thigh before calling his name. Two seconds later and Alfie appeared by her side, his tail wagging and his tongue lolling out.

‘How did he...?’ Hannah shook her head. He must have run straight past her whilst she’d been trying to figure out what had happened up here.

‘Yes, he’s here. Now, what were you saying, Gemma? Josh is coming to rescue Hannah?’

Crossing her arms, Hannah glared at two of her closest friends. She had a horrible feeling they were about to make her even more nervous to see him.

‘That’s right. He’ll ride on his white horse to fix the roof.’ Gemma did a little gallop on the spot and laughed.

‘Look, do you two mind? Not only have I walked back into my childhood home for the first time in four whole years. Plus, I’ve been greeted with the reality that the roof is caving in.

I don’t need this.’ Hannah waved her hand between the two of them, her cheeks burning.

Josh may not have been the reason she’d left Nettleford-on-the-Wold, but not having to face him again had been a happy by-product.

‘And might I remind you, I didn’t even know he’d moved back permanently to the village.

If either of you - or Sophie - had decided to warn me, I might not have bothered coming back at all. ’

To Hannah’s surprise, both Gemma and Lucy had the good grace to look sheepish. Stepping back over the plaster, Hannah walked past them and back downstairs. She needed some fresh air. She needed to think.

‘Hannah, wait up. I’m sorry, I just...’ Catching her up, Gemma wrapped an arm around her shoulder. ‘Come and grab a cuppa. Sophie’s probably left her flask. You can have it.’

Nodding, Hannah let herself be guided outside where Gemma passed her Sophie’s purple flask.

Taking it, she unscrewed the lid, suddenly thirsty.

As she took a sip, she grimaced. Of course, Sophie didn’t take sugar.

Still, it was better than nothing, and she still had to unhook the caravan and get it into a better position before she could make herself a hot drink.

It would do. Slumping into the middle camping chair, Hannah gulped another mouthful of tea.

‘I know you’re both just teasing me, but, seriously, what am I supposed to do?

I can’t face Josh. Not after I admitted to him that I fancied him. ’

‘You were grieving. He’ll just have to put it down to that. He won’t have clocked that you’ve had a crush on him since you were, what? Fourteen?’

‘Eleven.’ Hannah gulped another mouthful of tea, suddenly wishing it were something a whole lot stronger than a brew. ‘And I think I remember telling him that too.’

‘Honestly, he’d have understood your head was all over the place. It was the day of your grandad’s funeral, after all.’ Gemma patted her on the knee. ‘Don’t worry about it.’

‘Did he tell Sophie?’ Hannah whispered as she sank back against the fabric of the camping chair.

She’d worried about that ever since she’d uttered the mortifying truth to her friend’s older brother.

Sophie had never said anything, but then, would she have?

Would she have intentionally embarrassed Hannah by bringing up a conversation she’d had with her brother when she’d been drunk and upset?

Probably not. Sophie was too kind for that.

‘Nope.’ Sitting next to her, Gemma shook her head.

‘How do you know?’

‘Because I told him not to.’ Lucy perched on the camping chair next to her. ‘The day after the funeral when you’d driven off on your big adventure, he came to me and asked if you were okay. I told him not to mention anything to Sophie.’

‘Thank you.’ Hannah whispered. Why did she still feel ashamed that she’d blurted out her feelings to him?

It had been literally four years ago. She hadn’t expected, or even wanted, anything to happen between them, but she’d still told him how much she felt for him.

And knowing he’d had a partner he was likely to get back to as well.

Yuck. No wonder she couldn’t shake the feelings of dread now that she was going to see him again.

‘Honestly, you don’t need to worry. Just forget about the entire conversation.’ Lucy took Hannah’s hands in hers before dropping them quickly and jumping to her feet.

‘What’s the matter?’

‘I’ve just realised the time. I should get going too.’ Lucy bit down on her bottom lip. ‘Look, don’t even give that conversation with Josh another thought. It was years ago.’

‘I should probably get going too.’ Gemma stood up and wiped down the back of her trousers, a fine sheen of plaster dust sprinkling to the floor. ‘Are you going to be okay here on your own?’

‘Yes, I’ll be fine. I’ll sort my caravan out and then try to find some local roofers in case Josh can’t fix that...’ Hannah pointed towards the cottage roof. ‘Plus, I probably need to find an electrician too.’

‘Good idea. Why don’t you pop over to my place this evening and we can grab a takeaway or something?’ Gemma drew Hannah in for a hug.

‘Okay, thanks. That sounds good.’ Standing up, Hannah helped her friends gather their camping chairs and belongings before watching them disappear down the street.

Venturing back into the cottage, Hannah closed the door quietly behind her.

With her back against the door, she looked around the small living room.

It felt strange being back here after all this time, and if she closed her eyes and really concentrated, she swore she could still smell the Old Spice aftershave her grandad had worn.

Sighing, she opened her eyes again. She needed to get out of here.

‘Come on, Alfie, let’s unhook the caravan.’ Once outside again, Hannah unscrewed the lid to Sophie’s flask once more. Maybe she’d sit on her grandad’s wooden swing chair and finish this first, basking in the sunlight before it faded.