‘A farmer fell off it and died, and his dog wouldn’t leave the spot for the next twelve years until he died too.’
Emma raised her eyebrows. ‘You sure know how to show a girl a good time.’
‘Don’t I?’
The funny thing was, despite the sarcasm in her tone, she was having a good time. That was what worried her.
Chapter Fifteen
Tia stumbled into the kitchen just as Emma was finishing her breakfast.
‘Here she is,’ Emma said with a wry tone, ‘the dirty stop-out.’
‘Sorry,’ Tia said sheepishly. ‘It got a bit lively in the pub. It might be a tiny village but they know how to party.’
‘Really?’
‘Honestly.’ Tia took a seat at the table and felt the teapot before pouring out some lukewarm and slightly stewed tea. ‘I know the average age in this place is about ninety but I’m not even joking.’
‘I’m glad to see you going above and beyond and doing such valuable work to ingratiate yourself with the locals.’
‘Oh absolutely. I mean, someone’s got to do it.’
‘Well’ – Emma got up to take her cup to the sink – ‘if anyone has a natural talent in that regard then it’s you.’
Tia grinned.
‘I should ask about your date,’ Emma added, turning back to her.
‘It wasn’t really a date…’
‘Of course it wasn’t,’ Emma said. ‘Whatever it was then.’
Tia’s cup halted halfway to her lips, a faraway look in her eyes that would have been comical had it not been so earnest.
‘He’s a great kisser,’ she said.
Despite her doubts, Emma couldn’t help but laugh. It was hard to stay mad at Tia for long, and she definitely had a knack for bringing the lightness out in any situation.
‘Well I hope you can control yourself on the job today because we don’t have time for kissing.’
‘We’ll keep it strictly to lunch breaks.’
‘Ugh,’ Emma cried, her laughter getting louder, ‘too much already!’
As she left to get her shoes from the bedroom, she heard Tia call after her, ‘Let’s call at the café on the way to the site – I need a bacon sandwich!’
‘I’ll bet you do,’ Emma called back with a grin.
Darcie greeted them with a warm smile and was only too happy to furnish Tia with two slices of doorstep bread filled with thickly cut bacon.
‘Just a coffee for me,’ Emma said. She looked slyly at her friend. ‘I’m not the one trying to cure a hangover.’
‘I won’t have a hangover once I eat this,’ Tia said. ‘Never takes me long to get back on my feet so you don’t need to worry on that score.’
‘Oh, I wasn’t worried,’ Emma said. She was about to make some quip about how she’d crack the whip no matter how delicate Tia’s state was when a van came to a halt outside and Darcie nodded at it.
‘Your boys are here. They probably want bacon sandwiches too; I’d better put some more on.’
Blake walked in first and winked at Tia, who grinned and almost drooled the coffee she’d just sipped at right out again. Aidan came in a few seconds later.
‘Morning!’ Blake said cheerily. He was addressing them both but Emma felt distinctly invisible all of a sudden. Neither he nor Tia alluded to their evening together; they simply grinned at each other like naughty kids sharing a secret. Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She smiled at Aidan.
‘Alright this morning?’ he asked her. ‘Not too tired after your ramble?’
‘Raring to go.’
Tia threw her a questioning look. ‘What ramble?’
Emma laughed. ‘While you were getting to know the local people, I was getting to know the local area. So I wasn’t being completely idle while you were hobnobbing in the pub.’
Tia looked between her and Aidan and, as something apparently clicked into place, she looked suddenly smug. ‘You sly fox,’ she said.
Emma opened her mouth to set things straight when Blake spoke.
‘We’ve got the van outside – we could give you two a lift down to the site.’
‘It’s not that far for us to walk,’ Emma said.
Tia stepped over. ‘I’ll have a lift!’
Aidan looked at his brother. ‘A bit cosy in the van with all four of us. It’s a nice day; if Emma wants to walk I’ll walk with her – you take Tia in the van.’
‘I’d be so lucky,’ Blake said with a cheeky wink at Tia, who began to giggle like a schoolgirl. Emma shot a look of barely disguised despair at Aidan, who threw one of warning to his brother.
‘I’ve got the bacon on,’ Darcie said as she came back through from the kitchen behind the counter.
‘You know us so well,’ Blake said. ‘I’ll have a double this morning; got to keep my strength up.’
‘One for you?’ Darcie asked Aidan.
‘Why not?’ he said amiably. ‘It’s going to be a busy day – might as well kick it off right.’
Once they’d got their packages of food, Blake and Tia climbed into the van and were gone, leaving Emma and Aidan to walk the mile or so to the old station house.
‘I’ll have a word with Blake,’ he said.
‘About Tia? Don’t, I’m sure it will blow over in no time.’
‘That’s what I’m worried about. He’s a good lad, you know. This track record with women that you might have heard about… it’s a reaction.’
‘To what?’
‘He was hurt badly a few years back. Cut him up, and since then it’s been about having fun, but deep down he’s just trying to fix himself.’
‘In that case he and Tia are well matched. Tia’s divorce was tougher than she makes out. I think she’s probably just looking for fun too right now. My only worry is if it interferes with our plans for the station. I have a lot riding on it – we both do, only Tia doesn’t seem quite so aware of that.’
‘You put a lot of money in, I suppose.’
‘Worse than that – I put a lot of my dad’s money in.’
‘Hmm. I can see now why you might get a bit nervous. I’ll talk to Blake and tell him to cool it, but you don’t need to worry about us on site; he’ll be professional when we’re working.’
‘Thank you.’
Aidan bit into his sandwich and chewed solemnly for a moment. The sun was throwing a gentle warmth over the morning, while rooks in a distant field were cackling and causing a ruckus, probably the same ones they’d seen when walking to Mary’s Stream.
‘See that tree over there,’ Aidan said suddenly.
‘Where?’
‘Well more of a stump really…’ He pointed to something that looked like it might once have been a tree but now resembled the leftovers of a fire. It was at the roadside, almost buried by the long grasses and delicate yarrow that grew in the shadow of the hedgerow, and if Aidan hadn’t brought it to her attention Emma might never have noticed it. She certainly wouldn’t have given it a second thought.
‘Oh, right. What about it?’
‘The hanging tree. It’s where they used to hang criminals in the days before it was done properly.’
‘Like any hanging is proper,’ Emma said with a shudder. Then she gave him a sideways look. ‘Don’t you have any nice stories about this place?’
He grinned. ‘Well that’s sort of where I’m going next. The story goes that this guy was wrongfully accused of killing his wife – at least, most people thought she’d been having an affair and the lover had actually done it. On the day of his execution there was a rainstorm. Just as they kicked the stool away and the rope straightened, a bolt of lightning struck it, cut him free and set fire to the tree. He ran away into the storm and was never seen again.’
Emma gave him another wry look as he bit into his sandwich. ‘Is that actually true?’
He shrugged. ‘I have no idea, but it’s what I was told.’
‘If we ever need a local tour guide, I think I might have found our man.’
&nbs
p; ‘I think you might.’ Aidan turned to her with a grin. ‘Not to toot my own horn but I think I’d be pretty good at it.’
‘We could call it the misery tour.’
‘How about the Tour of Terrible Tragedies? More of a ring to it.’
‘So have you got more stories for this tour?’
‘Loads. But if I tell them all to you at once I’ll have nothing left when I want to impress you.’
‘So I have to be rationed? Hardly seems fair.’
‘It just means you’ll have to spend more time with me if you want to hear them.’
‘Or I could go and buy some local history books.’
‘True,’ he said, ‘but they wouldn’t tell it with such panache.’
‘And I think we’ll be spending a lot of time together anyway – you are building a hotel for me after all. You won’t be finding excuses for more – you’ll be trying to get away.’
‘You know, I think it’s great that you’re taking that place on. It’s special.’
‘I think so too. So you have a tragic story for it?’
‘Loads. I could keep you entertained for hours.’
‘Well,’ Emma said as the roof of Honeymoon Station came into view, ‘there’s something to look forward to.’
‘Are you being sarcastic?’
‘Me?’ She grinned. ‘As if!’
When Emma and Aidan arrived at the station, Tia and Blake were standing close, heads bowed over Blake’s phone. Emma couldn’t help but reflect that they looked very comfortable together already, though how long that would last with the baggage of two damaged pasts was anyone’s guess. It did make Emma wonder if she’d been too quick to judge and perhaps it was about more than a roll in the hay. On closer inspection, she could see that they were studying web pages, though it was hard to make out what the photos were.
‘Anything interesting?’ Aidan asked as they looked up.
‘I was just showing Tia some of Hank’s jobs.’
‘Who’s Hank?’ Emma asked.
‘We’ve got this contact in Winchester for specialist stuff,’ Aidan said. He looked at Blake. ‘I’m guessing you’re thinking of him for the timbers?’
Blake nodded. ‘I mean,’ he added, looking at Emma now, ‘as I was just explaining to Tia, we could bodge the timber sections of the walls well enough and they wouldn’t look too bad from a distance, but if you’re having guests and trading on the fact you’re a renovated station you probably want them looking their best. Hank’s pricey, there’s no getting around that, but he will do you a cracking job. His work is beautiful.’
‘He’s certainly a craftsman,’ Aidan agreed.
Blake came over with his phone to show Emma the photos. There was a white house on stilts sitting in mudflats by the sea, a section of windmill, a house set into a hillside, another renovated railway station and a line of seafront properties, all rendered in beautiful lacquered and painted wood.
‘Might be worth spending the extra,’ he said as Emma pored over them.
After a moment she looked up at Tia. ‘Maybe we can talk it over later?’
‘OK,’ Tia said.
Emma handed Blake his phone. ‘When do we need to tell you what we decide?’
‘I’d book him as quick as you can; he’s in demand and you might have to wait months.’
‘Oh, just get him in that case,’ Tia said.
Emma stared at her. ‘We don’t know how much he costs yet,’ she said, trying to keep her voice level. ‘Or if we have the extra to spare in the budget. We really need to look at it properly before we decide.’
‘But what’s the point of scrimping? Blake said it – if we want it to look top class we have to hire the best.’
‘I’m not scrimping, I’m being realistic. It’s pointless having beautiful wood panelling and then not being able to afford a roof!’
Blake and Aidan exchanged an awkward look. Emma was aware it wasn’t her finest moment and she probably sounded like a tyrant, but one of them had to be practical about this.
‘Fine,’ Tia huffed. ‘If it makes you happy we’ll hang fire.’
Once they’d discussed who needed to do what and prioritised jobs, work began. Despite her hangover, Tia threw herself into every task. Blake was like a machine, clearing away rotten bits of the structure, preparing what surfaces they could save and rebuilding parts they couldn’t. Emma fetched and carried like any good builders’ mate, and after Aidan had shown her how to mix the cement, she kept them topped up. Aidan tended to the things that took a more delicate hand while overseeing the works more generally so that everything ran at maximum efficiency. It very quickly became apparent to Emma what the dynamic between the brothers was. Aidan was the brains and Blake the brawn. Aidan, she’d discovered, was also the oldest by two years. He was sensitive and thoughtful where Blake was enthusiastic and gregarious. That wasn’t to say Aidan was without charm and lively wit, but it was of a more subtle tone than his brother’s raucous joking.
By the time lunch arrived, even Emma was flagging and she couldn’t imagine how Tia was coping. Self-inflicted, she thought, but it still must have been tough.
‘I fancy something from the café,’ Blake announced.
Aidan looked at him. ‘We have sandwiches in the van.’
‘They’re not as good as one of Darcie’s pies.’
‘Which means you’ll have to eat at least two?’
Blake patted his six-pack. ‘I think I’ve earned them.’
Aidan grinned. ‘Don’t be long then. You might as well pick one up for me too.’ He looked at Emma, who was pouring tea from a Thermos flask. ‘Want Blake to pick something up from Darcie’s for you?’
She shook her head. ‘We’ve got lunch, thanks.’
‘I’ll go with Blake,’ Tia said. ‘I fancy something.’
‘But we’ve got lunch here,’ Emma said.
‘Yes, I know, but then Blake mentioned pies and I really fancy one.’
Emma shrugged. At this rate it would take less than a week for Tia to undo years in the gym, but she’d said before she didn’t care about that, and who was Emma to stop her? Obviously, when Tia had said she was fed up with watching her diet, she’d really meant it.
‘Besides,’ Tia added, ‘it’s a good thing to spend money in the village supporting all the local businesses. In the end it benefits us.’
‘It’s alright,’ Emma said, ‘you don’t need to convince me. Get your pie with my blessing.’
‘Don’t you want anything at all from there?’ Tia asked her.
‘Thanks, but I’ll make do with what we have.’
‘OK… we won’t be long!’
Tia skipped to follow Blake to the van. A moment later the calm of the moment was shattered by the sound of his engine starting up and they left. Emma handed Aidan a mug of tea from her flask.
‘Lovely,’ he said with a grateful smile.
‘Want to share this lunch now that Tia’s not eating it?’
‘What is it?’
‘Tuna wraps.’ She pointed to a cool bag. He wrinkled his nose.
‘Sorry but not really a tuna kind of guy.’
‘Seriously?’
He nodded.
‘Well,’ Emma said, ‘now the wedding’s off.’
He chuckled. ‘All the more tuna for you.’
‘I’m not going to lie; I could quite easily polish both lots off.’
‘Go for it…’ He sat on a tree stump and sipped at his tea. ‘Labouring does work up a fair appetite.’
‘You must have to eat mountains of food, the amount you do then.’
‘I do. If I ever stopped doing this job I’d be like a whale.’
‘Better not stop then.’
Emma took a seat close by on a pile of bricks. Even a couple of weeks ago she’d have been horrified at the thought of sitting amongst the dirt and rubble, but already that felt like a very different Emma. Her aunt Patricia would have been shocked to see her now; Emma had always been such a fastidious child
, and it had been something of a family joke over the years. She half thought about taking a selfie to send to Patricia and Elise, but she would have felt silly doing it in front of Aidan.
Still, she had to muse that she might quite like this new Emma, who had muddy jeans, calloused hands and sweat stains on her T-shirt but didn’t care. The mess was, in a strange way, symbolic. All her life she’d tried so hard to maintain order and keep things neat. She’d been so busy making sure life for everyone around her ran like clockwork in the absence of her mother that she’d forgotten how good a little chaos could feel. Here in Honeymoon she was finally beginning to realise that sometimes mess was the start of something beautiful. And if she could steady the project and keep Tia on track, their hotel could be that beautiful something.
Aidan let his gaze wander to the station building and Emma’s followed it. The place looked almost worse than when they’d started, but so much of the structure had needed removing before they could begin to rebuild that it was hardly surprising. But the bones were there, more visible than ever.
‘What do you think?’ Emma said into the comfortable silence that had fallen between them. He turned to her. ‘Think we’re nuts yet?’
‘Oh I thought that when you first arrived and announced your plans,’ he said with a chuckle.
‘Think it’s doable though?’
‘Yes,’ he said after a pause. ‘It’s doable. At first glance the building’s surprisingly sound considering how long it’s been battling the elements out here. As long as we don’t find anything nasty lurking we’ll be OK.’
‘Think we can get it done by the autumn?’
‘That’s harder to say in all honesty. Some companies would bull you but I won’t. If you do manage, it’ll be by the skin of your teeth.’
Emma nodded slowly. ‘I appreciate the no-bull approach.’
‘I thought you might.’
‘Want some more tea?’
‘I wouldn’t mind.’
‘You and Blake have lived in Honeymoon all your lives,’ she said as she topped him up.
‘Yep.’
‘It’s unusual, if you don’t mind me saying. I mean, Nell was saying that the younger generation all leave to find work, but you didn’t.’
The Hotel at Honeymoon Station : A totally heartwarming romance about new beginnings Page 16