by Holly Martin
‘Well, I was forced to abandon my car in a road filled with sheep, I was chased down the hill by an insane turkey that thinks it’s a dog and a crazy old lady with green hair has predicted who I’m going to marry.’
Parker laughed. ‘That crazy old lady is my aunt.’
Crap.
‘I mean she’s not crazy, she seems lovely, even if she is a little misguided.’
‘It’s OK, you don’t have to be diplomatic. Agatha is completely bonkers. She has been predicting the marriage of everyone in the village and anyone she meets for as far back as I can remember. She got lucky and accurately predicted the marriage of my mum and dad and hasn’t stopped predicting people’s marriage ever since. I think she currently has a success rate of eleven couples out of the hundreds she has predicted. Though when you ask her about the ones she got wrong, she says that her predictions were who they were supposed to marry, and she can’t be held accountable if the couples get it wrong.’
Tori laughed. ‘That’s a good get-out clause.’
‘So, come on then, who did she predict you were going to marry?’
‘Some bloke called Aidan Jackson.’
Parker laughed loudly.
‘What, is he hideous? Does he collect stamps? I bet he has a comb-over and wears patchwork waistcoats and enjoys playing tunes on the penny whistle. Does he have bad breath and warts all over his face? I bet he has a pet tarantula that he calls Princess.’
‘No, none of those things. So, Emily didn’t tell you much about me when you were talking about coming here?’
That was a weird change of subject. Maybe Aidan really was horrible. Or Parker knew him, and she’d offended him by insulting his friend.
‘No, not really. We talked about the fruit-picking and the cottage and Sandcastle Bay. To be honest, I didn’t even know your name until Emily mentioned it in the café earlier.’
‘Parker.’
‘Yes, that’s right.’ Tori frowned in confusion. Had she misheard?
Parker pulled up outside a gorgeously cute cottage that was painted a dusky pink, had a golden thatched roof and flowers crawling up the side of the purple door. It even had a little waterfall at the side of the garden. It was picture-postcard perfect and Tori couldn’t wait to go inside and have a look around.
‘Welcome to Blossom Cottage,’ Parker said.
‘It’s beautiful.’
‘And before we go any further I feel like I should properly introduce myself.’
Tori turned back to look at him in confusion.
‘I’m Aidan Jackson, pleased to meet you.’
4
Tori stared at him in confusion. Finally, she found the words she needed.
‘But you’re Parker.’
‘It’s a nickname. When I was a kid, I told everyone I was Spiderman and insisted on being called Peter Parker. I’d introduce myself like James Bond. “I’m Parker, Peter Parker.” Parker kind of stuck, well it did for Emily. Everyone else calls me Aidan.’
‘But… but… how can you be Aidan Jackson? She’s your sister and she’s Emily Breakwater and… She’s married, isn’t she?’
He nodded. ‘To Stanley Breakwater, they have a daughter called Marigold.’
How embarrassing. No wonder Agatha seemed so pleased to see the connection between them, well at least from her. Aidan had been nothing but polite so far.
Aidan turned to face her, a smirk on his face. ‘So, if we’re going to get married you should know a few things about me. I don’t like spiders, freaky little buggers, so definitely no pet tarantula called Princess. I don’t play the penny whistle, but I can hold a tune or two on the guitar and my triangle skills are second to none. I got a sticker the last time I went to the dentist because my teeth are in such good condition. Well to be fair, I went with Marigold and she got a sticker and she asked why I hadn’t got one, so the dentist felt obliged to give me one too. It said, “Winning Smile” so hopefully I don’t have bad breath. I don’t collect stamps, but I do have a collection of old paint cans in my garage that I’ve never got around to getting rid of. What else? I can cook a mean curry. My lasagne is pretty good and my beans on toast is the best you’ve ever tasted. Always fancied being a bit of chef actually, puddings and desserts are the things I enjoy making the most. I’m not particularly tidy, I’m not a morning person and I sing in the shower, probably very badly.’
Tori couldn’t help but smile at the brief run-down of his character. ‘I’m glad you cleared all that up. If we’re going to get married, these are things I definitely need to know.’
‘And what about you, Tori Graham, what do I need to know about you?’
Fear suddenly rose up in her at the prospect of any kind of relationship with this man, coupled with a wonderful thrill of excitement which she didn’t like at all.
‘I don’t do relationships,’ she blurted out and then immediately regretted it. Aidan was only joking with her and she had suddenly ruined the lovely banter with her silly fears.
He leaned back out of her space, watching her carefully, his eyes soft and gentle.
‘Why don’t I show you around?’ Aidan went to get out of the car.
‘No, wait. I’m sorry. I’m not a complete nutter, I promise. I just…’
‘Have trouble letting people get close to you. It’s OK, I get it. Believe me, I understand. I have absolutely no interest in having a relationship with anyone either. No more jokes about marriage and this…’ he gestured to the space between them, ‘will be as close as I get to you, you have my word.’
Tori nodded with relief but she was confused by the disappointment she felt too.
‘Doesn’t mean you can’t tell me more about yourself though,’ Aidan said. ‘Give me the bullet points.’
Tori smiled, glad he wasn’t completely freaked out. ‘Well, I’m very organised. I plan for everything. Hazards of the job where I storyboard everything before we take any shots.’
‘Oh yes, Emily said you were an animator. So you make cartoons?’
‘I work mainly with clay and plasticine, but I have done some cartoon work.’
‘Sounds like fun.’
‘It is, I love it.’
He stared at her for a moment. ‘I have a ton of questions about this.’
‘You do?’ That surprised her.
‘Of course, I own a fruit farm. I love it, but it’s pretty mundane, it’s just looking after and picking fruit. But your job sounds fascinating. I’ve never met anyone who’s an animator before. But we’re doing bullet points, so I can grill you about your job later. What else should I know about you?’
‘I can’t cook. Not at all. I basically live off tins of soup, cheese on toast and bacon sandwiches. Melody used do all the cooking for us. So, if we did get married, you wouldn’t be getting a wife that could look after you.’
He laughed. ‘I’m thirty-two years old, I’m big enough and ugly enough to look after myself. Besides, I do love a good bacon sandwich.’
‘I can make an excellent cheesecake as well, chocolate, raspberry, marshmallow, any flavour really, but it’s the one thing I’m really good at.’
‘Then I think with my beans on toast and curry and your bacon sandwiches and cheesecake, we’d never go hungry.’
She smiled at this.
‘What do you do with your spare time?’ he asked.
‘I don’t have a lot of that, but I have a skateboard and occasionally I dig it out and use it. There’s a skateboard park near my house and, though I can’t do much, I can at least stay on.’
‘Wow, you do surprise me. How on earth did you get into that?’
‘I don’t know. Matthew was my best friend as a child, he loved it growing up and I always wanted to be as good as he was. My parents bought me one and I taught myself and I suppose I never really grew out of it. The kids at the local park think I’m the cool old lady.’
Aidan laughed. ‘You’re not old. Not unless you’re secretly eighty-five and looking great for it.’
‘I’m thirty-one but the kids are all around the age of twelve, so to them I must be ancient.’
‘So true. I asked Marigold how old she thought I was the other day and she said a thousand and one. I obviously haven’t aged as well as I hoped.’
‘You look bloody fine to me,’ Tori said, without thinking, and then blushed. Stupid mouth. It would often say things without her permission.
‘Thank you.’ He smirked at the compliment but obviously decided not to pursue it. ‘What else do you do with your time? Bungee jumping perhaps?’
She hesitated to tell him in case he thought she was a complete nerd, but she wasn’t there to impress him or have any kind of relationship with him, so what did it matter what he thought of her? Plus, it seemed she had already won brownie points for the skateboarding.
‘I like to do origami.’
His face lit up. ‘You see, that is something we have in common.’
‘You do origami?’ That was so unlikely – she couldn’t really seem to connect this big, gentle man who owned a farm with the delicate, intricate paper folding of origami.
‘I did a twelve-week course when I was at school,’ Aidan said. ‘It was one of those after-school clubs. I wanted to join the computer games club but that was full, and I was never any good at any of the sports or drama activities, so I reluctantly signed up for origami. I loved it. I have to say I never really pursued it once I finished with the club, but I can still make a great paper flower and a swan. I find myself doing it sometimes when I’m thinking about something. Doing something with my hands helps. Or if I’m stressed out I like to make one, you can’t worry too much when you’re concentrating on the paper folds.’
‘Yes!’ Tori was delighted that someone understood. ‘I find it so relaxing because some of the more intricate pieces take all of your concentration.’
‘See, our marriage will be just fine. Love is completely overrated. A shared love of bacon sandwiches and origami is all we need. Come on, I’ll show you around.’
He got out of the car before Tori had time to digest that statement. She knew that love wasn’t for her, but it sounded like Aidan didn’t believe in it at all. Not that that was any of her concern. She was here for two weeks and then she’d be going back to London. She got out of the car too and walked up the path, which had flowers spilling onto it from either side. Aidan pulled out a large gold key and unlocked the little purple door.
He had to duck to step inside as the door was so small – or he was so big – and after another glance around the picturesque garden with the flowers tumbling out of pots and borders, she followed him into the cottage.
She wasn’t sure what she was expecting when she walked inside what was going to be her home for the next two weeks, but it wasn’t what she got. Judging by the outside, Tori half expected to see a lot of chintz and perhaps old antique furniture, but it was fairly modern and looked warm and cosy.
There was a large royal blue log burner up one end of the lounge with a thick railway sleeper as a mantelpiece which housed a few candles. The sofa was a beautiful pale duck egg blue with pink cushions and it looked squashy and comfortable. It had wooden flooring which was obviously the original floor and there was a white fur rug in front of the fireplace. A wrought iron twisted metal coffee table stood in the middle of the room with a few magazines stacked haphazardly on one side. Off through an archway she could see the white gloss cupboards of the kitchen.
‘Well, I’ll give you the “state the obvious” tour. This is the lounge,’ Aidan said.
Tori laughed. ‘So it is. And let me guess, through there is the kitchen.’
‘You’re kind of spoiling my tour guide spiel.’
Tori giggled. ‘Sorry, go ahead.’
‘Through there we have the kitchen. And if you’d like to follow me, I’ll show you upstairs.’
In the corner of the lounge was a small spiral staircase which disappeared up through a hole in the ceiling. Aidan seemed to have to squeeze his way up, the staircase creaking and moaning under his weight. Tori waited until he had stepped off at the top before she made her way up, not trusting that the old stairs could hold their combined weight.
She stepped out into a white bedroom with red curtains at a tiny window and a large white bed that took up almost all of the space. There was a large skylight over the bed that gave the room a bright, airy feel.
‘Which room is this?’ Tori asked, innocently.
He smiled. ‘This is the bedroom.’
‘Oh, yes, I see that now.’
‘Bathroom is through there. When you turn the shower on, give it five minutes for the water to heat up.’
‘Right. Are you sure you don’t want to show me the shower as part of the guided tour?’
‘I think you’ll be able to work that one out for yourself. Spare blankets and sheets are in the ottoman. The window jams a little, just give it a shove if you want to open it.’
He gestured for her to go ahead of him back down the stairs, so she carefully did; some of the stairs were very narrow. She walked back into the lounge and smirked at the sight of him trying to negotiate his way back down the tiny stairs and then nearly bump his head on the ceiling.
‘I take it, if we got married, we wouldn’t be living here?’ Tori said. The place was tiny and lovely, but there was no way someone of Aidan’s size could comfortably live there.
‘No, we’d live at the farm. I can’t even fit into that bathroom, which is why it wasn’t part of the guided tour.’
He moved into the kitchen and she followed him.
There was a top-of-the-range gas stove that gleamed in the sunlight streaming through the windows and a little wooden table with benches either side. But it was the stunning view of the sea at the bottom of the garden that captured her attention. It seemed to stretch on forever.
‘This is the power generator. It doesn’t normally stop working but, if it does, give me a call and I will come and turn it back on. But if the power does go out you’ll still have gas for the oven and log burners and candles don’t require any electricity,’ Aidan said.
Tori looked around at the candles that dotted the surfaces. They were unlit at the moment but they clearly had all been used quite a bit.
‘There are spare candles under the sink,’ Aidan said, as if reading her mind.
‘How often does the power generator pack up?’
He pulled a face. ‘More often than I would like.’
Tori looked again at the view. So the house wasn’t perfect, but that view more than made up for it.
‘Dog food is in this cupboard here,’ Aidan said, pointing to a tall door.
Tori frowned in confusion. ‘I don’t have a dog.’
Aidan rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. ‘He sort of comes with the cottage.’
‘Who does?’
‘Beast. He’s some sort of Gordon Setter mix. He’s quite big, so will need a bowlful every morning and night. You can leave it outside if you don’t want him in the house.’
‘What do you mean, he comes with the cottage? Who does he belong to?’
‘No one, he just sort of turned up here a few years ago.’
‘So, he’s a stray?’
‘Sort of. He kind of lives here.’
‘Why didn’t you take him to a shelter, so he could be properly looked after or rehomed?’
‘I can’t catch him. He hasn’t got a collar and he’s too strong to be able to restrain for any length of time. Chasing him is all a big game to him. The animal shelter has been out, and they finally caught him after several hours and then he escaped a few days later. He’s escaped from them three times. He misses his girlfriend too much.’
‘He has a girlfriend?’
Aidan nodded. ‘Beauty.’
‘Of course,’ Tori laughed.
‘Although it’s more of an ironic name, she’s very tatty. She’s much more timid than Beast is, she won’t let anyone go anywhere near her, and he seems to be quite protective over her. An
yway, we’re kind of stuck with him.’
‘So, you feed him? Doesn’t that encourage him to keep turning up?’
‘I suppose it does, but I can’t bear the thought of him going hungry.’
‘Well, where does he sleep?’
‘Um, well, I have a heater in the shed. It’s set to come on a timer every night and I’ve put a mattress and blankets in there too so he’s very comfortable. I installed a dog flap as well, so it stays warm at night and he can come and go as he pleases.’
‘No wonder he keeps coming back if you treat him that well,’ Tori said.
‘Some of the people who have stayed here have had him in the house and he sleeps in front of the fire, but don’t feel you have to do that if you don’t like dogs.’
‘I don’t have a problem with dogs, I just didn’t know that my responsibilities would extend to dog-sitting as well as fruit-picking.’
‘There’s no dog-sitting needed, I promise. Just put a bowl of food and water out every morning and night. Beast will take care of his own walks and come back at night to go to bed.’
‘And what if I forget?’
‘Then Beast will probably remind you.’
Tori sighed. ‘Any other animals I need to be aware of?’
‘Well… no.’
‘What does “well no” mean? That doesn’t sound like a straight no.’
‘Well, Dobby sometimes turns up for a visit. Him and Beast seem to be friends and Jamie can’t stop Dobby escaping.’
‘The turkey?’
‘Yes.’
‘The one that chased me down the hill?’
‘Yes, but he’s very friendly. He probably won’t turn up at all, so you don’t need to worry.’
Tori glanced again at the view.
‘I’m sorry, I know this isn’t ideal and the cottage comes with a few tiny issues but…’
‘It’s fine. Feed the dog, don’t worry about the turkey, give the bedroom window a shove if I need to open it, wait five minutes for the shower to heat up and give you a call if the generator packs up. It’s fine. I’ll be out during the day fruit-picking anyway so…’
His face fell. ‘Didn’t Emily tell you?’