A Way Back Home: Full of warmth, laughter, tears and a wedding! (The Willow Tree Hall Series)

by Alison Sherlock

She stared at the wall ahead of her. There were at least five paintings on that particular wall alone. ‘I don’t know,’ she said, with a shrug. ‘I’m honestly not sure.’

  Will nodded as if he understood her concern. ‘Okay. Look, I’ll try and calm Annie’s expectations,’ he told her. ‘I know she’s put quite a bit of pressure on you. I think the whole countess stuff scares her, to be honest. I know being an earl would scare the hell out of me.’

  She raised her eyebrows. ‘I would have thought that nothing scared you.’

  He leaned in close and for a second she had to hold her breath as his handsome face was within touching distance. Kissing distance, she realised.

  ‘Nothing is scarier than you driving that trailer,’ he said.

  He stared at her, the quips suddenly drying up. His eyes were very blue, she realised.

  Then, with a start, he quickly straightened up. ‘Right. I’d better get going on the lodge. Maybe together we might actually achieve something. Which, speaking for myself, would be a first.’

  Then he turned on his heel and walked out of the room, leaving Skye to ponder his words as she stared after him. Why was he always so hard on himself? He had so much confidence, didn’t he? Or was it all a lie?

  Actually, Will had achieved something, she wanted to tell him. By urging her on, she had regained some confidence she had thought long gone.

  She looked back at the painting, the colours and artistry slowly being brought back to life. For the first time, in a very long time, she felt proud of herself. She had achieved something using her artistic skills. They had long since been buried, along with every dream she had ever had. But here, in Willow Tree Hall, in this abandoned ballroom full of the work of long gone artists, she could feel herself coming out of her shell. Feel something stirring deep inside. A whisper of a dream. Her dream.

  With a surge of confidence, she bent over and carried on with her work.

  33

  Will watched the Aston Martin being towed away. It was for the best, he told himself. He had owned an amazing car for a brief few weeks. Had even driven it through the Alps and across France. That was enough. It was time to let it go.

  He’d taken a massive hit on what he had paid for the car because of the damage to the bodywork but he wasn’t going to tell anyone that, especially Skye.

  He thought back to the evening when they had watched the meteor shower. He had actually enjoyed his stargazing time with her which was a surprise to him, especially as he didn’t share anything personal with anybody. But he had been thinking more and more recently that he should.

  Skye was working so hard on both the paintings in the ballroom, as well as the designs for the lodge and the wedding. He knew it was time for him to take responsibility as well. Time to be sensible. To be a grown-up. So many other people had made sacrifices along the way. It was time for him to make a few as well.

  Besides, now that he was working on the lodge, he no longer needed a fancy sports car. He could use his Range Rover every day to pick up supplies and get rid of the debris from upstairs.

  Back there, he threw a couple of rotten floorboards on a pile a few steps from the stairs. Most of the ones in the larger bedroom had needed to be replaced, but at least he found he was getting somewhere.

  ‘Need a hand?’ asked Sam, appearing at the top of the stairs.

  ‘Thanks, but I’m nearly there,’ Will told him.

  ‘How’s it going?’ asked Sam. ‘Looks like you’re making progress up here.’

  ‘Slow but satisfying.’ Will yawned. ‘I’d forgotten how hard physical work is.’

  ‘I wouldn’t know,’ said Sam, laughing.

  Will knew this was true. Sam’s talents lay in paperwork and organising his bands. He had hired a very knowledgeable team of local builders to renovate the hall the previous year. But, of course, he had had some savings put aside at the time. He was far more money savvy than Will would ever be.

  ‘Come and have a beer,’ said Sam, turning round. ‘It’s freezing up here.’

  Will took one last look at the master bedroom. At least the floor was nearly secure. Once that was done, he would be able to work on the remainder of the room without fear of falling through the ceiling below.

  Back downstairs, Sam had lit the fire and slumped into the armchair.

  Will sank gratefully onto the sofa and he wasn’t sure which groaned the loudest, his aching bones or the ancient springs he was sitting on.

  ‘I got in touch with Mr Reynolds,’ said Will. ‘His guys are booked in next week to start work on the recording studio.’

  ‘That’s great,’ said Sam. ‘Thanks. It feels like déjà vu with all these builders around again.’

  ‘Let the fun begin again,’ said Will.

  Sam laughed. ‘You think it was fun? The only highlight was meeting Annie. Yes, she’s the best thing to ever happen to me, but boy, it’s been tough.’ His humour quickly faded. ‘I’m still trying to keep this place afloat, you know. This wretched water pipe breaking couldn’t have happened at a worse time.’

  ‘Are we in trouble?’ asked Will.

  Sam smiled. ‘You know, that’s the first time that I can remember you saying the word “we” when talking about Willow Tree Hall.’

  ‘Enjoy the moment while it lasts,’ drawled Will, trying to disguise his own surprise.

  Sam looked serious. ‘We’re in trouble. Yes, the house is safe now, but unless it starts paying its way somehow we’re still going to lose it.’

  Will was shocked that the situation was so dire. ‘Does Grandad know? Aunt Rose?’

  Sam shook his head. ‘Annie does, of course. Why do you think it’s such bad news about the flood?’ He dragged a hand through his hair. ‘I wanted to give her one big beautiful wedding.’

  Will hated seeing his brother looking so upset. ‘Good thing that Skye’s here to wave her magic wand then.’

  Sam looked more cheerful. ‘Absolutely. I don’t have the first clue about this kind of thing, but Annie says it’s going to look great and if she’s happy then I’m happy.’ For a moment his face dropped. ‘I’m drowning. What the hell do I know about running a business and estate like this?’

  ‘I should have helped,’ blurted out Will.

  ‘Yeah, but you weren’t around.’

  It wasn’t an accusation from his brother but Will felt the palpable guilt just the same. ‘I am now though.’

  ‘For how long?’ asked Sam, with a knowing smile.

  ‘Long enough to help,’ said Will, in a firm tone.

  ‘Great,’ said Sam. ‘Do you know anything about running an estate?’

  ‘No,’ replied Will. ‘But between us we must be able to think of something.’

  There was a short silence while they both took another sip of beer.

  ‘I wish I knew what to do about the Christmas fair,’ said Sam. ‘I mean, it’s so inconsequential compared to everything else, but I’m getting hassle night and day from the stallholders.’

  ‘What about the school?’ asked Will.

  Sam shook his head. ‘Already booked out.’

  ‘I know,’ said Will. ‘How about the stable block? Apart from Eleanor, it’s barely used.’

  ‘Another business idea that’s turned into a disaster.’ Sam rolled his eyes.

  ‘Not necessarily,’ Will told him. ‘If we get the fair organised, perhaps we can tempt some of the stallholders with the stables.’

  ‘That’s an idea,’ said Sam, nodding. ‘I just wish I had time to deal with it all.’

  ‘Let me,’ Will found himself saying.

  Sam looked surprised. ‘Seriously?’

  ‘I want to help,’ said Will. ‘I think I’m overdue on that part.’

  They locked eyes for a minute. ‘You mustn’t feel guilty, you know,’ said Sam. ‘I’m the eldest. It falls to me to do all this. I want you to carry on with that great life of yours.’

  Will took a sip of beer. ‘It wasn’t that great,’ he muttered.

  Sam frown
ed. ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘It was all a sham, to be honest,’ Will told him. ‘Especially this last year. The parties. The hectic social life. The flings. It didn’t make me happy any more. I chose my dates deliberately, knowing that they didn’t want anything serious and wouldn’t want to know the real me. I haven’t dated anyone properly in over a year. Since Grandad’s fall.’

  ‘But what about Maria?’ asked Sam.

  ‘It was only a casual thing. I was just helping her get out of an abusive marriage,’ said Will. ‘Her husband’s a pig. Slapped her around. I was so angry, I gave him a black eye of his own.’

  ‘And that’s when you ended up in the papers,’ said Sam, nodding in realisation.

  Will stayed silent.

  Sam blew out a low whistle. ‘What a lowlife.’ He shook his head. ‘I should have talked to you more over the past year.’

  ‘And I should have helped out.’

  ‘Yeah, but I’m your big brother,’ said Sam.

  ‘Only in years. You’re much uglier.’

  Sam grinned. ‘That’s not what Annie tells me.’ His smile faded. ‘She told me just before I came to see you that Grandad was asleep in the drawing room. He deserves the rest. Now I can see how exhausting it must have been running the estate all these years. I should have been around more,’ said Sam, before looking more positive. ‘But I’m here now.’

  ‘So am I,’ Will told him. ‘It’s not just on your shoulders any more. Let me share the burden.’

  Sam looked at him for a beat before raising his bottle of beer at him. ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Here’s to a new future.’

  Will raised his own bottle at Sam, feeling the guilt about all the previous years begin to slip away at last.

  34

  Skye was making what she felt was extremely slow progress on restoring the paintings in the ballroom. So far, she had managed to clean only four in total and it had taken her two days.

  She sighed, leaning back in the chair at the table, her back aching from being hunched over for most of the day. It was quite satisfying watching the paintings come to life. She just had to ensure that she didn’t get ahead of herself and rush the work.

  But there was so much else to do and she was now being frequently interrupted by an overexcited bride-to-be.

  ‘Look!’ said Annie, rushing into the room, holding a large box of jam jars. ‘Will these do?’

  Skye had mentioned cleaning up some old vases and empty jam jars in preparation for their transformation into candle holders.

  ‘They look great,’ Skye told her.

  ‘You really think you’ll be able to put paint on them?’ asked Annie, holding one up to the light.

  Skye nodded. ‘Absolutely. And so will you.’

  Annie grimaced. ‘I doubt it. I’m not very arty.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter,’ Skye told her. ‘I can show you how.’ Annie’s face was still looking unsure. Skye had already realised that she was seriously lacking in confidence. ‘Besides, won’t it be great to look round on your wedding day and think, I painted that!’

  Annie immediately brightened up. ‘Oooh, I didn’t think of that,’ she said. ‘Okay. Well, let me know when’s a good time to take you into that big craft shop in Aldwych.’

  ‘I will.’

  As Annie left the room, Skye was thinking that there would never be a good time to take a shopping trip when there was so much to do. But she really did need to go with Annie to ensure that they bought everything for the DIY wedding ideas that she had. The only thing she could do was work on the paintings during the day and then work on the wedding decorations each evening. Besides, what else was she going to do with her time whilst she stayed in Cranley?

  And it appeared that she was definitely staying until at least the new year as that morning, Annie had presented her with a wedding invitation.

  ‘For me?’ Skye had asked, wiping her hands before picking up the card.

  ‘Of course,’ Annie had replied, with a wide smile. ‘You will stay until then, won’t you?’

  ‘Well…’ Skye’s voice had trailed off.

  In truth, she hadn’t known quite what her next move would be once she had helped out with the wedding. The only thing waiting for her in Liverpool was her sister. She had no job and no fixed abode. She could go anywhere. She had a sudden vision of towing the trailer all the way to Venice before she shook the idea out of her mind. She hadn’t even sorted out a car yet. Couldn’t afford to.

  But there was no doubt that working on the paintings, as well as the wedding decorations, was making her rethink what job to try and find next. She was loving spending each day using her artistic skills. Although she had so much to do she didn’t know where to begin, she was excited every morning to start work. None of her previous jobs had ever given her so much satisfaction.

  ‘That’s great!’ Annie had said, taking Skye’s silence as acceptance. ‘You’ll be here for Christmas and my hen party too!’

  The thought of Christmas at Willow Tree Hall played on Skye’s mind. It would be a beautiful place once decorated with all the trimmings. And it made sense for her to remain at the hall so that all the work for the wedding could be completed in time.

  But there would be one important thing missing.

  Skye picked up her phone and rang Summer’s number. Expecting it to go to voicemail, she was surprised when her sister picked up.

  ‘Hey, sis,’ she said.

  ‘Hi,’ said Skye. ‘You’re not at work?’

  ‘Not until tonight,’ said Summer, with a yawn.

  Skye felt instantly guilty at disrupting her sister’s sleep during her break in shifts. ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘Were you asleep?’

  ‘Doesn’t matter,’ said Summer. ‘How are you?’

  ‘I’m fine,’ said Skye. ‘Well, really busy. Anyway, the reason I was calling was to ask you if you wanted to come here for Christmas. The family have asked me to stay on. It’s really lovely and I’m sure the family wouldn’t mind. You’ve got to see this place. It’s stunning.’

  ‘Oh. I’d love to,’ said Summer, sounding hesitant. ‘But I was going to call you about Christmas. You see, a bunch of us were thinking about heading off to the Alps over the holidays if we can get the shifts to tie up. Somebody’s dad owns a chalet or something.’

  ‘You mean, I won’t see you at Christmas?’ asked Skye, stunned.

  ‘I wouldn’t have gone if I thought it would have left you on your own. But now that you’re staying there…’ Summer’s voice trailed off. ‘You’re not disappointed, are you?’

  ‘No, of course not,’ said Skye, ignoring the hurt deep inside. They had never been apart before, but she had to accept that they were growing up and that Summer had a life of her own.

  ‘Besides, you’ll be too busy kissing hunky Will under those Christmas lights,’ said Summer, with a snigger.

  ‘No, I really won’t,’ said Skye, grateful that she wasn’t on Facetime with her sister so that her burning cheeks wouldn’t be seen.

  ‘Yeah, right,’ said Summer. ‘So you don’t mind then?’

  ‘Of course not,’ replied Skye. ‘Anyway, I’ll let you get some sleep. Love you.’

  ‘Love you too.’

  After she had put down her phone, Skye continued her work on the painting in front of her. But it didn’t stop her mind straying back to the conversation.

  Yes, she was upset that she wouldn’t be seeing her sister on Christmas Day for the first time ever. But she understood that Summer had to have her own life. However, the real conflict inside was what Summer had said about Will. Yes, of course he was handsome. Skye had known that since she had met him. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to be attracted to someone that charming. And even if he had been interested in her, he was totally out of her league. Of course, he was. What would he ever see in her? She was totally not his type. Besides, she was happy on her own. That was how she had coped through the ups and downs of her life. She would continue doing that. Forever, if ne
cessary.

  But her mind kept going back to Will and the way he had been looking at her when he had crouched next to her before she had begun the first painting. But then again, he probably looked at all women like that.

  Then she wondered how she had been looking at him in return and hoped that her eyes hadn’t betrayed the feelings she was trying so hard to suppress.

  35

  Will had had a busy day, splitting his time between plastering the master bedroom in the lodge and taking what felt like endless phone calls about the Christmas fair that he had told Sam he would organise. It turned out that there was a lot more to organising something like that than he had thought. But he was hoping that it would be worth it and there would be some interest in renting the empty stables from them afterwards which would generate some much needed funds for the estate.

  Most of the family were out at various functions that evening so he wandered back towards the lodge, wondering if he should order a takeaway pizza for himself and Skye.

  The light was on in the Airstream so he presumed she was riffling through the many boxes for the sprays and paints which had been used to transform the wine bottles and jam jars.

  He was about to knock on the door when he heard singing. Somebody was singing “Happy Birthday” very loudly. He slowly lowered his hand. The voice didn’t sound at all like Skye’s. Then he heard her say thank you.

  Not wanting to intrude, he went into the lodge. She must be on the phone to her sister, he thought. Did anyone else know it was her birthday? The family would certainly have made a fuss if they had known. But she had kept it private, as usual.

  He sighed, feeling guilty. After all, how much did they really know about her?

  He paced up and down inside the lounge for a bit. He could leave her on her own. That was presumably what she wanted. But something tugged deep inside his heart. He knew his grandfather would have done something if he had known. It wasn’t right. He himself had spent many birthdays away from the family but had always celebrated with friends. He looked out through the window once more at the trailer and decided to go and see her. So he went back outside and, not hearing any talking, knocked on the door.