“Sorry, I’m just taking it all in. It’s quite a big house for one person.”
Norman realized then that he’d been assuming that Amy was on her own -- why else would she need help? He ignored the part of him that was actually hoping that was the case. Oh no, Norman, none of that, no more girls for the moment.
“I suppose it is, but I have Rollo and Tabatha here with me and I enjoy being on my own.”
Norman sensed that she didn’t want to discuss it too much. Of course, he understood that he hadn’t exactly told her everything about himself either. He did feel a little guilty about lying to her but it had seemed like a good idea, he didn’t want too many questions asked and just wanted to be treated like a normal guy.
“Tabatha?”
“Oh, Tabatha’s the cat. She’s around somewhere or other and she’ll no doubt greet you at some point. I hope you don’t mind waking up to the occasional mouse at the foot of your bed.”
“I’m sure I can handle the odd dead mouse or two.”
Amy laughed and Norman was instantly struck by how pretty she was, her brown eyes sparkled and she seemed to come alive.
“What is it? What’s so funny?”
“It’s just that Tabatha doesn’t always kill them. There have been several times when I’ve woken up being tickled by a mouse running over my feet. I have to admit I was just thinking that I might not tell you and then see how you reacted.”
Norman laughed too. “Well I’m glad you decided against it, I’m not sure you or my masculinity could have handled my girlish screams first thing in the morning.”
“Well, this is a very old house, with plenty of creepy crawlies. I’m sure I’ll get to hear you screaming at some point. Anyway, can I fix you drink? Would you like some iced tea? It’s rather hot outside and you look like you could do with some cool refreshment.”
“Yes, please. I have to admit I haven’t had anything to drink in a few hours, really starting to feel it now.
He watched her some more as she turned and went over to the fridge. Taking a moment to enjoy the sight of her long tanned legs. Her shorts were tiny and only just covered her bottom. He couldn’t help but feel a little aroused as she bent over to get the cold jug of iced tea off the fridge shelf. He suddenly had an almost irresistible urge to touch her, feel how soft her skin was under his fingers and hear her moan as he trailed them further up her thigh. At that very moment, a thought of yesterday’s fight crossed his mind again. Damn it, Norman, you can’t think things like that about someone you’ve only just met.
Deliberately turning away he moved closer to the window so that he could look outside. It was a gorgeous view of fields enclosed by woodland. Closer to the house a large oak tree stood in the garden, a hammock hanging from it. He could just imagine how nice it was to sit out and look over the fields. Far away from the hustle and bustle of his life. Despite the fact that he was used to a far more glamorous lifestyle, now he had a sense that he was going to like it here. Provided he didn’t let himself get too carried away with his feelings for his new boss.
Chapter 3
One of the things that Amy loved most about the farm was the mornings. It was so refreshing to wake up and actually be looking forward to the day ahead. Yes, it was a day of hard work and grafting but it was satisfying work, work that took her one step closer to her dream. Ordinarily she’d get up and spend half an hour, wandering around the garden in her pajamas with her coffee. Better not do that this morning, though, it was Norman’s first morning here and she didn’t want to scare him off straight away.
She looked at Tabatha who was curled up at the foot of the bed still asleep and gave the cat a little poke with her foot.
“Wake up sleepyhead, it’s time for breakfast. Swiftly followed by your mid-morning snooze of course”. Tabatha stretched and padded over to her, head butting her in greeting. “Good morning, my gorgeous girl.”
Amy spent a few minutes lightly stroking her and relaxing to the sound of purring. She had to admit that she was slightly nervous about today. It was the first time she’d employed anybody to work on the farm with her and she wasn’t entirely sure what she was supposed to do. She looked over at the cat, hoping for inspiration or maybe even an answer.
“Where shall I start Tabatha? Hmmm? The same place I usually do, with a list? You are a genius cat! Don’t let anybody else tell you otherwise.”
Feeling a bit more confident Amy quickly got dressed and headed out into the kitchen in search of her trusty notebook that was already getting full with the list of jobs that she found, it seemed to be a new one every day. She’d cross one off and have to add another three. Hopefully, things would go the other way round now that she had Norman to help her. Speaking of Norman, he was awfully quiet. She’d expected to hear some kind of movement from him, but actually, the house seemed empty.
She looked out of the window and found that his car had gone also. She called out, just to make sure he hadn’t moved it.
“Norman? Norman are you up yet?”
Nothing but silence greeted her. Great! Typical man -- makes a promise and then does a bunk in the middle of the night! Surprisingly, she didn’t feel too disappointed. In a way, she really couldn’t imagine Norman getting on with the work. But as difficult as it was for Amy to admit, some sort of sadness started to arise from the depth of her heart.
Well, she thought to herself, I guess it’s just me after all, I suppose I’d better still get on with the list, those jobs aren’t running away.
After about half an hour Amy had completed compiling her list of jobs for the day and was just rinsing her coffee cup when she heard a car outside. Looking out of the window she was surprised to see that it was Norman, so he hadn’t left after all. Where had he been? She made her way outside to greet him.
“Hey Norman, have to admit I’m surprised to see you. I saw your car had gone and thought you’d changed your mind.”
She felt her breath catch in her throat slightly as he turned around to greet him. He seemed far more relaxed than yesterday. He was dressed in dark blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt and she couldn’t help noticing his tanned muscular arms, he obviously hadn’t been lying when he said he had experience of building work. You didn’t get muscle like that just from working out.
“I’m sorry, that wasn’t my intention. I got up early and thought you might like some pastries for breakfast.” He held up the white paper bag he was carrying. “I’m afraid I don’t know the area well so hopefully these are ok.”
She looked the bag he carried with a very familiar logo.
“Oh goodness, did you go to Fanshaw’s? They are my absolute favorite bakery. You certainly know how to get on the good side of your boss. Please tell me you got an apricot crown?
Norman smiled at her obvious joy. She’d had a face like thunder when he’d gotten out of the car, no doubt from thinking that he’d abandoned her. Thank goodness he’d lucked out on the pastries.
“Well, I didn’t know what you liked so I got a selection. I figured that we’d be working pretty hard throughout the day and would need something to keep us going.”
Amy took the bag from him and made her way back to the kitchen.
“I’ll put a fresh pot of coffee on and we can eat these while I take you through the list of jobs I’ve made up for today. It’s quite extensive but obviously, we’ll just get through as much as we can and carry the rest over until tomorrow.”
***
The first job that they had decided to tackle was the leaking barn. Having this fixed would mean that it could be used as storage for some of the items that were currently in the house, which would then give them better access to the areas there that needed work doing.
Norman had wandered around the farm getting together everything that they would need. He’d managed to find a ladder, hidden under some hay in another of the barns while Amy had nipped into town to buy the planks needed for the roof. He had to admit that the reason he’d been up so early was because he�
��d been looking forward to the day ahead. He’d started out building when he was very young and even though he didn’t do it professionally anymore he still liked to keep involved. He’d even done some of the work on the castle himself. Not that he wanted to think about that now. No, he was just going to concentrate on today and the work he was doing. Forget all about Norman the Billionaire Bore and just be Norman, the farm hand.
Once Amy had returned they had soon settled into a good working rhythm. He was on top of the roof, hammering the planks into place, while she cut them to the right size and handed them up to him. He was surprised to find that they worked in a companionable silence. He’d spent so long either on his phone, at meetings, or listening to Celine’s constant inane conversation that he’d forgotten what it was like to just enjoy the quiet and the work. And what surprised him even more, was how good Amy was with this rather men’s tasks -- a far cry from his ever useless ex-girlfriend.
He was already starting to feel far more relaxed than he had in months, years even. This really was going to be the best thing for him. Lost deep in his thoughts, he brought the hammer down on his thumb.
“Arrgghhhh, for the love of…. Ouch, ouch, ouch…” he tried really hard to not jump up and down too much and end up going through the roof.
Amy shouted up to him. “What’s going on? Are you ok?”
“Yeah, I guess, just managed to hammer my thumb instead of the nail.”
“Ooo that does sound painful. Why don’t you come down and I’ll take a look at it, it might need ice or something?”
Amy tried to hide a smile as Norman made his way down the ladder, looking a little forlorn. She did have sympathy for him having done it herself endless times but he did look rather funny trying come down the ladder one-handed.
“Here, let me look”, Norman tentatively held out his thumb, wincing as she gently held it.
“Ouch, yeah that does look bruised. Let’s go back to the house and sort it out. We don’t want you out of action on your first day.”
Back in the kitchen, Amy busied herself gathering ice from the freezer and wrapping it into a clean tea towel, while Norman held his thumb under the tap.
“Here, this should help.”
She took his hand again and held the icepack against it for a minute. Suddenly she was aware of how close they were, she could feel the heat from his body and smell his aftershave, she couldn’t help but breathe it in. He smelt gorgeous, like lemons. How did he manage to smell so nice after all the work they’d been doing? She looked up, surprised by how close his head was to hers and looked into his eyes, a spark of electricity ran through her and she quickly stepped away, blushing slightly.
“Errrr, that should do it, you’ll just need to keep the ice on it for a little while longer. You stay there and rest, I’ll go and carry on with cutting the planks, I’ll soon have a nice pile built up for when you’re ready to carry on.”
She left the kitchen as quickly as she could and walked back towards the barn. The hot afternoon doing nothing to cool down the warmth she was feeling. Damn it all, why did he have to be so distractedly handsome? She really needed this work doing and the last thing she or the farm needed was a man coming along and ruining her plans like they always do. If there was one thing that she’d learn in life it was that men and love were not always the fairytale that the media would lead you to believe.
She thought back to Paul and the wedding that never was. They’d been together since high school and even managed to survive a long distance relationship at different colleges and yet, two weeks before the wedding, Amy had caught him in bed with her best friend. Even at the time she’d laughed at how much of a cliché it was. Not only was her relationship ruined but her friendship as well. The two people that she’d trusted most in the world and who’d she thought would never hurt her had broken her heart into a million little pieces.
Then, 6 months ago she’d found out that they’d gotten married, even though it had been a couple of years since she’d seen either of them she’d been surprised at how hard the news had hit her. She’d been spiraling into a deep well of misery and self-pity when she found out she’d inherited the farm. This place had been her refuge, she’d retreated here to lick her wounds and found it sparking a longing in her that she’d forgotten about. Now was the chance for her to live her dreams. To set up a place where she could rescue animals and provide them with a safe, loving space. She was determined that nothing was going to stop her, especially not a man.
Chapter 4
Watching the sun setting, Amy sat on the porch in one of her uncle’s old chairs. It had been a busy week but Amy was surprised at just how much work had been finished now that she had Norman to help her, you could really start to see the difference in the place.
She wasn’t surprised to feel a presence standing over her shoulder and looked up into Norman’s deep blue eyes, greeting him with a smile. He smiled back and held out a mug.
“I thought you’d enjoy a hot chocolate round about now. I wasn’t sure how you take it so I made it how I like mine.
Amy took a sip. “Ummm, it’s delicious. Did you put some kind of spice in there?
“Yep. Cinnamon and a pinch of ground ginger. It just adds a special something.”
“You're right about that, thank you so much, it’s yummy. I think you can stay for a few more weeks, especially if you keep making me hot chocolate.” Amy teased, but in all honesty, she’d enjoyed his company over the past few days and he had already made a huge difference to the farm.
“Why don’t you pull up a chair? It’s a lovely evening.”
“I’d love that. Thank you.” Norman lifted up a chair from the other side of the porch and carried it over, placing it next to Amy’s before looking down tentatively.
“Ummm, I’m not sure this is going to hold me. Promise you won’t laugh if I end up in a heap on the floor?”
Amy giggled. “I can’t promise any such thing but I don’t think you need to worry, the chair should hold. It’s one that my uncle made and he was a pretty good carpenter.” Growing silent for a second, Amy looked out over the farm. “This was one of his favorite places to sit. He’d come out every evening with his pipe and a whiskey just to watch the day end. He’d always say that it helped remind him of the beauty of life. Even after a bad day, you could come out here and this...” Amy swept her arm across indicating the view and the pink-streaked sky. “...this would make it all worthwhile.”
She turned back to Norman, her eyes slightly wet with unshed tears. “He was right, of course. It wasn’t really until I moved here that I truly understood it.”
Norman was gentle in his response. This was the first time that Amy had spoken about herself and he didn’t want to ruin it.
“He sounds like quite a man. Is that how you ended up here? Your uncle?”
“Yeah. He left it to me when he died.” Amy responded. “Not that it was as easy as that. Some company had their eye on it and wanted to turn it into a golf course. They tried to contest the will. It took months and months before the judge finally ruled in my favor and by that time the farm, which was already run down had almost gone to ruin. I have to admit, it did leave a slight taint over the whole thing. I’d been so excited when I’d first found out. This was a chance to live my dream, but I started to wonder if it was really worth fighting for.” Amy paused for a second to clear the lump in her throat.
“I’d already been through so much before then and was also grieving for my uncle. He was the only family that I’d had left and losing him, after losing so much already. Well, I wasn’t sure I had the strength in me to fight.”
She was surprised when Norman leaned over and lightly placed his hand over hers.
“If it’s your dream it’s always worth fighting for.”
She turned her head and gazed at the sunset, trying to accept his words. Was it really worth it? Sometimes after a long hard day of toil and seemly getting nowhere she wasn’t so sure. But this past week, with Norman
and all that they had achieved she’d started to see glimpses. Small realizations that her dream was still just out of her grasp but reaching ever closer.
“What is it?”
She was startled out of her thoughts by Norman’s question.
“What is what?
“Your dream?”
Her dream? Amy took a moment to decide how to answer. She hadn’t really told anybody the full details of her dream. She always tended to brush it off with a flippant comment and change the subject. It felt different with Norman, though. Suddenly she wasn’t afraid to share things with him. In fact, she wanted him to know. Wanted him to see what she saw, sitting here now, in the deepening dusk, she wanted him to know what it was they were working towards.
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