Once Diana had hung up, Nina quickly phoned Robyn to update her on what had happened that day. She also let her know that Diana would be phoning her too with undying thanks for helping Sammy when he’d been taken ill, though Robyn was just as convinced as Nina that they’d really done very little to be thanked for.
‘I take it Toby came home OK?’ Nina asked, though the lack of panic in Robyn was evidence enough of that fact.
‘Eventually, at some ridiculous hour that he just knew would make me angry.’
‘Where had he been?’
‘Out – that’s all he’d say.’
‘Did he tell you why he didn’t go to see my dad?’
‘Said he’d forgotten. Lying little toerag – I know he didn’t forget because he mentioned it to me yesterday morning and his memory can’t be that bad at seventeen.’
‘You know, if he doesn’t want to go and work for Dad, Dad won’t be offended.’
‘I want him to at least give it a try, and he knows that. He knows how important it is to me and surely that’s enough to make him give it a go?’
‘In the end, you can’t make him do something he doesn’t want to, no matter how hurt you might be by his refusal.’
‘Nobody knows that better than me,’ Robyn said. ‘It’s the curse of the teenage boy. The thing is, I know he’d enjoy it if he gave it a chance. Do you think your dad would be willing to give it another go? Could we fix up another day and I’ll drive Toby there myself this time to make sure he got there?’
‘I can ask him.’
‘Actually, maybe it’s better if I have a chat with him myself about it. Can you give me his phone number?’
‘Of course. Listen, there’s something else I need to tell you about. Diana’s arranged for her gardener to come and look over our plot tomorrow morning. He’s supposed to be helping us get it straight again.’
‘That’s nice of her.’
‘It is. The trouble is, almost everyone’s busy tomorrow morning so I’ll have to meet him alone.’
‘Everyone’s busy? Even the terrible twins?’
‘Ada’s got a dentist appointment – root canal or something—’
‘She’s still got teeth? Blimey!’
Nina couldn’t help but laugh. ‘Anyway, you know they go everywhere together so Martha is going with her.’
‘And there’s literally nobody else? What about the big gorilla man… Ron? He seems like a man who likes to feel important – surely he’d love this.’
‘We asked him to help with the repairs but he said he’s done his bit and it’s not his fault the garden needs doing again. He also said he’s not breaking his back to see it wrecked a second time.’
‘Mean-spirited sod,’ Robyn hissed. ‘He barely broke his back the first time. All I saw him do was eat a free lunch – one that he didn’t contribute one crumb to.’
‘Well, we can’t force him to help,’ Nina said. ‘So, would you mind seeing this guy with me?’
‘Scared he might be a psychopath?’
‘No.’ Nina laughed. ‘I’m sure Sammy and Diana wouldn’t have him working for them if he was. But I’ve never met him so I’d still feel better with a bit of moral support.’
‘Like you said, if he works for Sammy and Diana he can’t be a complete monster, but if you really want me to I’ll come.’
‘Thanks. You know how nervous I get around new people.’
‘I don’t know why because everyone who meets you ends up loving you.’
Nina smiled. ‘I don’t think so, but thanks. So he’s supposed to be coming at ten – is that OK?’
‘It’ll have to be.’
‘If it’s a problem—’
‘No, it’s not a problem. I’ll pop over once I’ve dropped Toby off at college.’
‘It would mean a lot to me.’
‘I know; I wouldn’t do it for anyone else, you know.’
‘I’ll see you in the morning then,’ Nina said.
‘He’d better be good-looking after all this – got to be some perks for driving across town first thing,’ Robyn said with a laugh before ending the call.
Chapter Eleven
The next morning, Nina was sipping her first cup of tea of the day. Her phone was charging on the kitchen worktop and she got up to look as it bleeped the arrival of a text. She let out a groan as she read the message. It looked as if she was going to have to deal with this gardener by herself after all.
Sorry, honey, burst pipe. Woke up this morning and there’s water everywhere – it’s like bloody Titanic. Nothing to worry about but I need to wait for the plumber so I can’t meet you this morning. If your gardener is hot and single, put in a good word for me.
Rx
It didn’t matter really – Nina was perfectly capable of showing him what needed to be done – but she would have felt a lot better if Robyn, or at least someone else, could have been there with her. She thought about calling her dad to ask him if he could come but, with less than half an hour until she was due to meet her man, it would be a terrible rush for Winston to get there and it was unfair to ask him so she decided against it.
Going to the mirror in the bedroom she did her best to tame her curls with some divine-smelling serum Robyn had bought for her birthday and clipped the sides up. Despite her efforts, her hair still looked like an explosion in a spring factory, but at least it was out of her face. Then she applied a coat of moisturiser and a slick of lip balm to protect her skin from the cold wind and went to look for her wellies.
When she arrived at the garden a white van festooned with transfers depicting graphics of leaves and trees was already parked on the kerb outside. Nina noted the company name – more of a man’s name really.
Colm Quinn
Landscape Gardener
She could hear music coming from the cab; it sounded like soul or Motown, not that she was any expert, and she wondered whether to knock on the window. It was only five minutes to ten, though, and maybe knocking on the window would seem impatient. In the end, she simply took herself to stand by the entrance to the garden to wait, hoping that the occupant would notice she was there. But he had his head down, looking at his phone. Nina took the opportunity to get a better look at him without making it too obvious. He was perhaps her own age, or maybe closer to forty with thick, dark hair. He looked muscular (at least his top half did) and quite tall too.
He looked up finally and she tore her gaze away. Then the music stopped and he stepped out of the van. Nina’s hunch had been right – he was very tall, at least six feet if not more.
‘Nina?’ he asked, walking towards her.
‘Yes.’ She offered a hesitant smile and a hand in greeting. ‘You must be…’
‘Colm,’ he said warmly. ‘I work for Diana and Sammy. She said you would be expecting me.’
‘Yes,’ Nina said again, suddenly struck by the blue of his eyes. They were very blue, the sort of blue that made you catch your breath without even realising. He took her hand in a gentle grip and shook it.
‘Pleasure to meet you.’
‘You’re Irish,’ Nina said.
He grinned. ‘Is that going to be a problem? I’m not going to install leprechaun houses in your garden or fill it with shamrock or anything.’
Nina flushed. ‘Of course… Sorry. I didn’t mean… I just meant I like your accent – it’s nice.’
‘Why, thank you,’ he said, hardly missing a beat. ‘I’m surprised it’s survived all the years I’ve lived in England.’
Nina smiled, though she couldn’t help but feel foolish. What kind of stupid comment had that been for her to make? What did it matter if he was Irish and why point it out? It wasn’t like he didn’t already know. No wonder he was so ready to tease her about it. But this sturdy man with his sparkling blue eyes and dark hair and musical accent that made it sound as if he was singing everything was having an effect on her the likes of which she hadn’t felt in a long time, one she’d never imagined she’d feel again. She couldn’t
deny there was something exciting about it, but she couldn’t help but wonder if it might make her say more very silly things before the day was done.
His gaze went to the plot of land. The residents had done their best to tidy the paths and put the clumps of earth back where they belonged, but it still vaguely resembled a recently cleared battlefield. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his thick combat trousers. ‘So you want to tell me about it?’
‘We’d finished it to be honest,’ she said. ‘It wasn’t exactly a masterpiece but it looked OK. But then we had visitors…’
‘Ah. Diana told me about the vandals. I don’t know what’s wrong with people.’
‘Me neither.’
‘You’ve no enemies who might have had it in for you?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Someone might have messed up your garden out of spite?’
Nina paused. ‘Not that I know of,’ she said uncertainly.
He fixed his gaze on Nina. ‘And fair play to you for what you did for Sammy. Saved his life, so I heard.’
Nina blushed again, so hard that if someone had thrown cold water over her at that moment it would have turned to steam. ‘I didn’t do anything except call for an ambulance… and really my friend did that so I didn’t do anything at all.’
‘That’s not how I heard it.’
Nina shook her head, her gaze going to her feet.
‘OK,’ he said with a warm chuckle. ‘Not one for praise, eh? Fair enough. So what can I do to help with your garden?’
‘It’s probably easier if I show you,’ Nina said, trying desperately to focus on the task in hand.
‘So you’d only just finished?’ he said, ambling after as she led the way.
‘Yes. You probably wouldn’t have thought it was very good but…’ She shrugged. ‘We’d all worked hard to make it nice and I can’t tell you how upset everyone was.’
‘The whole street worked on it? That’s something you don’t see every day.’
‘Not the whole street but quite a few of us. We’re a very close community.’
‘Sounds like a nice place to live.’
‘Mostly it is.’
He cast a critical eye over the space. ‘Mind if I walk it – have a proper look?’
‘I’ll come with you.’
They began to walk the path slowly, Colm’s eyes everywhere, taking every detail in.
‘Is that your tree?’ he asked, nodding to a decent-sized fir that had survived the onslaught, mainly because it had probably looked too big and solid to tackle.
‘My tree?’
‘Diana said you wanted to fill one of them with lanterns or something. Something about charity?’
‘Oh, that! Yes. The memory tree. The lanterns are for lost loved ones. People make a donation for charity and they dedicate a lantern with a message for someone they’ve lost. We were going to do it as part of the Christmas celebrations, which we’d also planned to have in the garden before all this happened.’
‘Lost, eh? Anyone who’s lost?’
‘I suppose so. If someone makes a donation I can hardly dictate who they dedicate their lantern to.’
‘Well, if it’s for charity then I might take a wee lantern myself when we’re done putting everything right again.’
Nina wondered who he might light his lantern for, but he didn’t volunteer the information and, as they’d just met, she didn’t like to ask.
‘It’s a beauty,’ he said, turning back to the tree. ‘Lucky they didn’t damage it.’
‘I suppose so. It would have been hard to replace.’
‘It would with something the same size. What are you wanting here?’ He pointed to a patch of bare earth that had been completely cleared.
‘That was supposed to be a lawn,’ Nina said. ‘At least, it was a lawn until yesterday. We were going to have community picnics and things on there in the summer.’
‘Right. And you want everything back in like for like?’
‘I suppose so. Nobody’s actually said.’
‘Well, I could make the space work better for you – not that there’s anything wrong with it now,’ he added hastily.
‘Apart from being a bit bare.’ Nina smiled. ‘Don’t worry, I don’t think anyone would be offended by the offer of a little professional advice. None of us is exactly Capability Brown.’
He raised his eyebrows and broke into a broad grin. ‘So you know your gardeners then?’
‘I visited Blenheim Palace once,’ she said, trying not to blush again under his interested gaze. ‘I thought it was lovely.’
‘Ah, that’s a beautiful place,’ he said. ‘I can’t promise yours would look like that but there’s a lot of potential here.’
‘There’s plenty of help on hand too,’ Nina said. ‘If you needed it. I’m sure most of the residents who pitched in last time would be happy to do it again.’
‘I’d be glad of it. Would that be including you?’
‘For what it’s worth. I have enough time on my hands so it would be a bit mean-spirited of me not to. I’m not much good at anything really, though.’
‘I’m sure that’s not true.’ He scratched his head and then took his phone from a side pocket on his trousers, studying the screen as he scrolled through a list of something that Nina couldn’t quite make out. ‘Diana says she’s happy enough to give me up for this week so I’ve got tomorrow free. I could make a start then for you.’
‘The whole day? Diana said you only worked half days for her and we can’t pay the extra so—’
‘Don’t worry about it,’ he said. ‘A wee flask of tea every now and again would be grand. To be honest, I wouldn’t be doing much else so I might as well be doing something useful as watching daytime TV.’
Nina wondered if she ought to consult some of her neighbours – at least Nasser – before she accepted his offer. But it seemed silly to turn it down and she couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to object.
‘In that case, thank you,’ she said.
‘No worries. I’m going to need some supplies. Some of it I might already have on the van or in my storage at home, but if I don’t—’
‘Let me know what you’re short of and I’ll see if anyone can help. Whatever it is, we’ll find a way to get hold of it somehow. Honestly, I can’t thank you enough for this.’
He smiled and her stomach did that strange, unwanted flip again. ‘I hope you’re still saying that when I’m done.’
‘Oh, we will. I mean, it can’t look any worse than it does now, can it?’
‘I think there’s a compliment in there somewhere, eh?’
‘Oh, I didn’t mean…’
‘It’s OK.’ He laughed. ‘I know what you meant. So, is there anything else you need to ask me about today?’
Nina shook her head.
‘Then I’ll see you in the morning,’ he said. ‘You’ll be here, won’t you?’
‘Yes… yes, of course. I’ll see who else can come too.’
‘That’ll be grand.’
With a nod and a warm smile that nearly sent her into meltdown, he turned and strode back to his van. As the engine started and he left the street, she was seized by a strange mixture of relief and regret. But there was also a healthy dollop of guilt.
‘Oh, Gray,’ she murmured as she turned back to her own house, ‘I’m so sorry…’
She’d had a busy afternoon reporting back to Nasser about Colm and what they’d arranged (which Nasser approved of wholeheartedly), then calling Robyn to see if she was OK (being careful not to give anything away when Robyn had questioned her about what Colm was like), then going to see her dad to talk about the ongoing Toby situation, amongst other things. By the time she’d climbed into bed that night Nina was exhausted and wondering how on earth she’d ever fit a job in if her life was going to be like this all the time. There was no way she was going to be able to stay awake for a minute, and as her head hit the pillow her eyes closed.
But almost as soon as
they had, they pinged open again.
All day she’d tried to avoid the question, but now, in the quiet and darkness of her room, there was no getting away from it. She was definitely more than a little attracted to the handsome gardener who’d walked into her life that day and she felt like maybe she could see he was a little attracted to her too. It was hard to know why, after all this time of feeling nothing but indifference when it came to dating, she should suddenly be struck by this man, but the fact remained that he had made a huge impact on her.
And then her mind wandered, as it often did, to what Gray might say had she been able to talk to him. Would he approve if he could see her now? Would he be glad to see her moving on? Would he have said it was finally time? Given that he’d tried to broach the subject of her meeting someone else many times before he died – despite the fact that she’d constantly rebuffed him, finding the notion too difficult to contemplate, let alone talk about – Nina thought the answer to these questions might be yes. So why did it still feel like she was betraying him?
Flipping onto her side, she tried again to close her eyes. It was ridiculous and pointless to dwell on any of this. For a start, she didn’t even know if Colm was single, let alone interested in her. She felt he might be interested, but then again, perhaps that was just his way. Perhaps he was just that charming and attentive with everyone. But her eyes opened again and that look replayed in her head, the broad, warm smile as he re-evaluated her and seemed to see something he liked. She wanted him to look at her that way again tomorrow, and she wanted to believe that Gray would have been OK with that.
Chapter Twelve
The day started dry but grey. Colm was waiting at the garden when Nina arrived, just as he’d promised. He gave her a cheery wave as she approached the van. They exchanged pleasantries, discussed the weather prospects, took time for everyone who’d gathered to help to introduce themselves to him, and then they took stock of the garden. It hardly looked better than it had the day before, but somehow the mess didn’t look so daunting now that they had Colm on their team. Certainly, his optimism and confidence that they’d have everything put back in no time was infectious.
The Garden on Sparrow Street: A heartwarming, uplifting Christmas romance Page 11