Escape to Oakbrook Farm: A wonderfully uplifting romantic comedy (Hope Cove Book 2)

by Hannah Ellis

  “I was enjoying the peace until he showed up,” she said, but her face gave away how happy she was to see him. “He’s working in Brighton?”

  “Hmm. Didn’t he mention it?”

  “No. I haven’t really had chance to talk to him properly.”

  “You told him about Jack, though?”

  She nodded. “Yeah.”

  “And what did he have to say about that?”

  Josie laughed. “You’re very nosey today!” Annette just smiled and looked at her expectantly. “He didn’t say a lot … but he seemed quite happy about it.” The memory of kissing him the previous evening jumped into her head. He’d definitely seemed happy.

  Annette didn’t comment further, and Josie grabbed a cold drink and wandered back outside. She spread her blanket out again and sat down, inhaling the wonderful aroma of freshly cut grass. Sam was working his way from the house towards the barn. For a few minutes, Josie watched him, taking in the look of concentration on his face. When he glanced over, she was embarrassed at being caught and lay down to enjoy the sunshine once again.

  The noise of the lawnmower finally died out half an hour later. A few minutes after that, Josie was aware of a shadow falling across her and opened her eyes as Sam flopped down beside her.

  “I’m hot,” he said wearily.

  She passed him her bottle of water and he gulped at it before lying down on the blanket and closing his eyes. Josie stared at his face, then watched the steady rise and fall of his chest. He looked so relaxed. Her heart was beating fast and she averted her gaze, worried that he’d catch her staring again.

  “I told Annette I could mow the grass,” she said. “Seems daft for you to do it when I’m quite capable.”

  Lazily, he opened his eyes. “Don’t ever cut this grass,” he said flatly.

  Her mouth twitched to a confused smile. “Why not?”

  “It’s my job,” he muttered.

  “What?” She couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not.

  His eyes opened fully and he sat up, his gaze roaming over the freshly cut lawn. “I’ve been cutting this grass since I was ten years old. So that’s like …” He winced slightly and sucked in a breath. “Twenty-five years. For twenty-five years no one but me has mowed this lawn. Even when I was living in Bristol I used to come back and mow the grass. Don’t start stealing my jobs.”

  “Okay,” she said, beaming. “Since you have so much experience!”

  He lay down again. “Annette will still offer to pay me. I think the last time I accepted money I was about sixteen, but she still offers. I don’t know what the rate would be now. Do you reckon she’d give me more than the 50p she used to give me when I was a teenager?”

  Josie laughed and lay beside him. She concentrated on the fluffy clouds above, hoping that might help bring her heart rate back to a more normal tempo.

  “Don’t laugh at me,” she said, after a few minutes, “but I’ve been reading all these books about dogs. About training dogs and different dog breeds and stuff … and now all the clouds look dog-shaped. Is that just me?”

  “Yes,” he said. “It’s just you.”

  “Seriously, though …” She raised an arm to point. “German shepherd … beagle ... bulldog … Airedale.”

  “I think you know your dogs better than your clouds …” He moved her arm. “Cumulus … stratus … cirrus …”

  She batted him away, laughing. “Okay, know-it-all, you’re ruining my fun!”

  “Well I don’t see dogs,” he said. “But I see a dinosaur.”

  “It’s actually a golden retriever standing on its back legs, begging.”

  When she put her arm back down it landed alongside Sam’s. The feel of his skin against hers made her light-headed. She was glad she was lying down.

  “I think you need to get away from here more often,” Sam said. “You’ve got dogs on the brain.”

  “You might be right.” She paused, conscious of his hand so close to hers. She moved her little finger and it grazed the back of his hand. In return he gently stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. “I quite like it here, though.”

  “Do you?” He propped himself up on his elbow.

  “Yes. Why?”

  “I don’t know. I just always had the impression that you wouldn’t stay around long.”

  She looked into his green eyes, then quickly shifted her gaze to the clouds again. “Who knows. I’m surprised by how much I like it here. Everything is turning out way better than I expected.”

  His fingers continued trailing over her hand. “Did Annette tell you I’ll be working in Brighton for a few weeks?”

  “She mentioned something.”

  “I leave tomorrow.”

  Josie felt a ridiculous sense of panic, which she hoped didn’t show. “So you stay down there and come back at the weekends?”

  “We only get Sunday off and it’s too far to come back for a day.”

  “Oh.” Josie’s voice was barely a squeak. “What is it you’re doing there?”

  “It’s a new build. Some big six-bedroom house. It’s already underway but they keep hitting problems, and now the company’s so far behind schedule that they’re bringing in a load of guys to get it finished as quickly as possible.”

  “How long will that take then?”

  “I don’t really know. They’re saying three to four weeks but that could change.”

  Josie stared at the changing shapes of the clouds, trying to think of something casual to say. Nothing sprang to mind. She actually wanted to laugh. Finally, she’d split up with Jack and could spend time with Sam without feeling guilty, but he wasn’t going to be around.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Sam said, hooking his hands behind his head.

  She flashed him a puzzled smile.

  “You’re wondering how you’re going to get home from the pub on Friday nights without me to escort you.”

  She spluttered out a laugh. Although, now that he mentioned it, she realised he had a point. She loved her evening walk with Sam after a night in the Bluebell Inn. “I don’t know how I’ll manage!”

  “I’ll have a word with Andy. He’ll be happy to drive you home. Obviously he’s not as charming and quick-witted as I am, but he’ll get you safely home.”

  Their eyes locked, and after a moment Josie’s smile faltered. “I’ll miss you,” she blurted out quietly.

  “I’ll miss you too.” He leaned closer, his lips gently brushing hers. Her heart hammered on her ribcage, and she hooked an arm around his neck, greedily pulling him closer.

  After a few minutes they broke apart, grinning at each other.

  “I was going to ask you to have dinner with me tonight,” Sam said. “But Max called me earlier and said we’re all going to the pub. It’ll just have to be another double date, I’m afraid.”

  Josie closed her eyes in embarrassment as she remembered her conversation with Lizzie the previous week. “You heard me talking to Lizzie, didn’t you?”

  “It was hard not to. The window was wide open.”

  Josie felt her cheeks turning pink.

  “It’s all right,” Sam said. “I can’t stop thinking about you either.”

  She reached up and lightly kissed his lips. “That’s okay then.”

  “As soon as I get back from Brighton I’ll take you on a proper date.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  “I think I better go home and shower now.”

  She wrinkled her nose as she pretended to sniff him. “Good idea.”

  ***

  Max and Lizzie arrived late in the afternoon, just as Sam was arriving back, fresh from his shower. Between the four of them, they convinced Annette to have dinner at the pub too. She jokily told Andy that she’d been bullied into it when they arrived but seemed to enjoy herself regardless.

  It was yet another evening when Lizzie didn’t drink. She used driving as an excuse, but Josie didn’t quite buy it. There was something different about Lizzie too. She
looked exhausted and yawned frequently throughout their meal in the pub. With a laugh, she blamed it on jet lag, but that was surely dragging on a bit now. For the first time, Josie had an inkling that Sam might be right. Maybe Lizzie was pregnant. If she was, she obviously didn’t want anyone to know yet.

  It was a lovely evening. The atmosphere was relaxed and conversation was light and cheerful as always. As much as Josie enjoyed it, she looked forward to a date with just her and Sam. It was an effort to keep her hands off him. She hoped the next few weeks without him around would go quickly. She expected the opposite, and on the walk home she felt suddenly melancholy. Lizzie dropped back to walk with her.

  “I take it something’s going on with you and Sam,” she said quietly. “Judging from the way you gazed at each other all evening!”

  “Is it that obvious?”

  “Yes!”

  Josie managed a half-smile and shook her head. “I can’t believe I finally split up with Jack and Sam’s going away. Talk about bad timing.”

  “Maybe it’s a good thing,” Lizzie mused. “You don’t want to jump straight into another relationship. A bit of breathing space will probably be good.” It was a typical response from Lizzie; she was always so sensible and level-headed.

  “Maybe,” Josie said, though really she disagreed. She didn’t need breathing space. Her feelings for Sam were nothing like what she’d felt for Jack. And it wasn’t just the excitement of a new relationship; it was more than that. “But I hate the thought of not seeing him for three weeks. I’ll miss him so much.”

  “Aww! You love him!”

  Josie blushed bright red and bumped her shoulder against Lizzie’s.

  “Seriously, though,” Lizzie said. “You never spoke about Jack like that. I’ve never heard you talk about any guy like that.”

  Josie stared ahead at Sam and butterflies took flight around her whole body.

  “He’ll be back before you know it,” Lizzie said, then went quiet when they caught up to the others at the gate.

  She hoped so.

  Chapter 23

  Sam promised he’d see Josie the next day before he left, and she was pleasantly surprised to find him in the barn the next morning when she went out to the dogs. He was sitting on Brendan’s sister’s couch, playing around with the two beagles.

  “These guys are cute,” he said, as Josie leaned on the stable door. Then he walked over and kissed her like it was the most natural thing in the world. “I’d have come up to the house, but I was hoping to get some time alone with you.”

  She opened the door and bent to stroke the dogs. “I’m afraid I have to work this morning.”

  “You call this work?” He bent to ruffle the fur of the excited dog. “This is too much fun to be work.”

  “I suppose I can’t complain,” she agreed. “When do you have to leave?”

  “Not until this afternoon. I thought we could walk the dogs and then have a quick lunch at my place?”

  She agreed happily, glad to have some time with him before he left. They spent a wonderful couple of hours wandering the countryside. Sam was so easy to be around and conversation flowed seamlessly.

  At lunchtime they sat out on Sam’s patio eating sandwiches. Josie had taken the dogs back home and told Annette her lunch plans. It was a nice little garden at the back of Sam’s house, and they enjoyed the peaceful surroundings as the sun came and went between fluffy white clouds. They sat opposite each other, bare legs touching beneath the table.

  “How did you get into the building work?” Josie asked, polishing off her sandwich. “Have you always done it?”

  “Yep. My mum sent me to a woodwork class one summer when I was a kid and I got really into it. I started making furniture when I was a teenager and did carpentry at college. When I figured out it was hard to make a living from making furniture, I got a job with a construction company.” He pushed his plate away and leaned back in his chair. “It’s not glamorous but I like it.”

  “What kind of furniture did you make?”

  “All sorts of stuff.” He glanced around. “I made this table. And the chairs. Pretty much anything around here made from wood I made myself.”

  “Really?” She examined the patio furniture in a new light. “That’s amazing.”

  “I still do some custom orders for furniture in my spare time. Mainly for people who know me. And I do the odd bits just for fun. My garage has been turned into a workshop over the years.”

  “I can’t believe I didn’t know that about you. Annette is always singing your praises, but she never mentioned that.”

  “Half the furniture in her house is my stuff,” he said casually.

  Josie beamed excitedly. “Can I see your workshop?”

  He nodded and stood up. “It’s not very exciting, though. It’s a bit of a mess.”

  The smell hit her as soon as he opened the garage door: all woody and fresh. Wood shavings crunched underfoot as she walked around the furniture in various stages of assembly and repair.

  Sam leaned on the doorframe, watching intently as she explored his space.

  “This is beautiful.” She gazed at an antique-looking dresser.

  “It’s mahogany,” he said, moving beside her. “I’m just restoring it. Some of the wood’s damaged here …” He ran a hand along the scratches in the front. “I’m thinking about taking out these panels and putting glass in to make a display case … Then there are some chips in the wood on this corner …” He kept talking, mesmerising Josie with his passion for the project.

  He’d just moved around the side of the dresser, pointing out some other imperfection, when he stopped abruptly. “Sorry. I’m going on. It’s boring.”

  “It’s not,” she said, trying her best to look serious.

  “Why are you laughing, then?” His mouth twitched to a smile.

  “I’m not laughing.” She was, though; she couldn’t help it. “Sorry.” She took his hand. “I wasn’t laughing at you. I just remembered something Tara and Amber told me.”

  “What?”

  “They were telling me about you going on a date with whatshername … the woman from the pharmacy …”

  His eyebrows shot up. “Belinda?”

  “Yes. Apparently she said you were so shy you barely spoke …” She grinned. “It seems quite hard to believe now …”

  “Have you met Belinda?” He raised his hand to make a talking motion with his thumb and fingers. “I couldn’t get a word in!”

  “You don’t seem to have a problem with your conversational skills.”

  He looked serious. “Get me talking about furniture and it’s hard to shut me up. I realise it’s pretty boring.”

  “It’s not.” She walked around some more, taking it all in. “It’s fascinating, actually. That you have something you love so much. I always wanted that. I never really found anything.”

  “Seems like you do a great job at the kennels.”

  “I don’t know about that but I enjoy it. It’s not my life’s dream, though.”

  “What is then?”

  “I don’t know. That’s always been my problem – I’m constantly looking for something but maybe there just isn’t anything. For a while I was sure I wanted to get into acting. I was working on a TV show for a while but it never took off. It was so much fun.”

  “I can imagine you as an actress,” he said, smiling.

  “It’s a hard business to get into. I gave it a try, anyway.” She laughed. “You wouldn’t believe how many auditions I went to!”

  “It sounds frustrating.”

  She bit her lip, remembering how many times she’d got her hopes up after an audition only to be rejected. “I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”

  Sam frowned. “Annette thinks you’re doing an amazing job for her. She says you have a head for business and a knack with people.”

  Josie registered the fact that there was no mention of how she handled the dogs. “It’s definitely one of the more enjoyable jobs I’ve had.�
� She paused, looking at a vaguely familiar table. “Is this the one you got from Brendan?”

  He nodded beside her. “I sanded it down and gave it a good polish and a coat of varnish.”

  “It looks great. Will you sell it?”

  “Yeah. I take stuff to car boot sales now and then. I don’t make a lot of money from it – it’s more of a self-sustaining hobby. At some point this place gets rammed with stuff and I just need to make space.”

  “I think it’s a nice hobby.” They drifted back outside just as the sun reappeared from behind a cloud.

  “I can’t believe the girls told you about Belinda.” Sam’s arms snaked around her waist, drawing her close. “What else have they been saying about me?”

  “Not much … they said you lived in Bristol for a while with your girlfriend, but it didn’t work out.”

  “I’m not sure I like you hanging around with those two. They’re telling all my secrets.”

  “What happened? With the girlfriend in Bristol?”

  He shrugged. “We wanted different things.”

  “It must have been pretty serious, though, if you were living together?”

  “Not serious enough to last,” he said.

  Clearly he didn’t want to talk about it, which made Josie curious. “How long were you together?”

  “Why are we talking about my ex?”

  “Because I’m nosey,” she said. “Also because that’s what people do on dates. Talk about their lives to get to know each other better.”

  “Who said this was a date?” He gave her a cheeky grin.

  “Feels like a date to me,” she said, her arms lightly hooking around his neck.

  “You must have very low standards. The bread for the sandwiches wasn’t even fresh.”

  “I did notice that.”

  “As soon as I get back we’ll have a proper date.”

  “Great. Then I can quiz you about your ex-girlfriends!”

  “I’m sure we can find more interesting topics of conversation.”

  “We’ll see. Do you think on a proper date you can try not to look at your watch so often? It’s off-putting.”

  “Sorry.” He automatically glanced at his wrist again.