Eve considered the question. In the past she would have replied yes, out of some sense of loyalty to what she’d had with her husband and what they’d lost, but now she didn’t know. ‘I’m not really sure. I mean, I miss having someone around. My house is so big and empty. I miss planning a future with someone and having a light on after work when I get home in the evenings. The darkness, you know, it can be so lonely at times. But I wonder now if that’s all Darryl actually was for me.’ She gasped, alarmed at her realization. Poor Darryl! He hadn’t deserved that. Did she treat him like a doormat then, walk all over him whenever it was convenient? ‘Oh my goodness, that makes me sound like such a bitch. What must you think of me?’
Jack smiled, then raised her hand to his lips and kissed the palm gently, folding her fingers around it as if to keep the kiss there. ‘Eve, I don’t think you’re bad at all for admitting that. Life is tough and some of us marry for the wrong reasons. Some of us marry for the right reasons but find as time goes on that they’re no longer right any more. From what you’ve just told me, it seems like your relationship changed over time. That’s not your fault and it wasn’t Darryl’s fault. It’s just life.’
Eve nodded, then turned back to the sink and wiped around the edge with a cloth. Jack was right in some ways, relationships did change, but she hadn’t told him the full story about why things between her and Darryl didn’t work out. If she had, he would certainly have thought that she was in the wrong. What kind of woman did what she had done? What kind of mother did what she had? What kind of wife had that made her? Darryl had every right to leave her and that was a fact that Eve would have to live with for the rest of her life.
* * *
Jack closed the front door behind him and took a deep breath. It was cool and fresh, a perfect Monday morning that promised a beautiful day ahead. He zipped up his grey hoodie against the morning chill then walked away from the house.
‘Wait up!’
He turned at the unexpected voice.
‘Jack …’ Eve panted as she caught up with him. ‘Is it okay if I come to the farm with you?’
‘Uh … yes, if you like but shouldn’t you be resting? I thought that was the whole point of coming here.’
‘It is, yes, but resting and resting are two different things.’
He tilted his head to the side and stared at her pretty face. She looked better than she had when she arrived on Saturday but she still had dark shadows under her eyes and it would take a while to put some weight on her. ‘Are they?’
‘Yes. Resting for me means not being at work, not thinking about work and yet being active. With lots of coffee breaks.’
‘I see.’ He didn’t but he wanted to humour her.
‘Usually I’m up at five and in work as soon as I can be. This is the first Monday in ages when I won’t be at school. I could sit here all day, but if I do, I’m worried I’ll just think about what I should be doing. So if you let me come with you, it will keep my mind off it. Surely that’s a good thing?’ She nudged him with her shoulder and he gazed down at her. She was so petite and slender. He could easily lift her with one hand and the thought made something inside him stir.
‘Well, okay then. But you have to promise me that if you get tired, or if you start to feel at all … anxious, you’ll let me know immediately.’
‘I promise.’
‘It’s not easy up at the farm. There’s a lot of dog sh— poo!’
Eve grinned. ‘I can handle dog sh— poo. I’ve been dealing with sweaty, germ-ridden people for as long as I can remember … and that’s just the teachers!’
Jack laughed. ‘Come on then.’
As they walked through the lanes, Jack admired the scenery as he always did. He’d never tire of the natural beauty that began just outside his front door and spread for as far as the eye could see.
‘These hedges are so pretty. I don’t think I’ve seen so many different flowers together in ages.’
‘I’ve been trying to learn the names, to be honest.’
‘So you could impress the ladies?’
He chuckled. ‘Not exactly, but I’ll try it now, shall I?’ He stopped walking and pointed at the hedge in front of them. ‘There you have a bare stone wall base, most likely erected by a local farmer to show where his land begins. They also serve the purpose of keeping his animals in.’
‘It’s like a nature documentary.’
Jack cleared his throat. ‘If you look closely, you can see the lichens and moss that grow on the stone. This one has a particularly thick covering here.’
‘Oh yes. I see that. So what’s the name of that flower?’ Eve pointed at a cluster of small yellow flowers that were shaped like tiny slippers.
‘That would be the common bird’s-foot trefoil.’
‘Impressive!’
‘Thank you.’
‘Let’s try another.’
‘I can see you must be an exacting head teacher.’ He winced. ‘Sorry. Didn’t mean to mention the thing we’re not supposed to discuss.’
‘It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.’
Keen to change the subject, Jack fingered the soft white petals surrounding a bright yellow centre. ‘This is an oxeye daisy. Not to be confused with a common daisy.’
Eve smiled. ‘Is there such a thing as a common daisy?’
He shrugged. ‘I’m not sure about that, but it sounds good, right?’
She nodded. ‘What about that blue one?’
‘Ah … now that’s a sheep’s-bit. You sometimes find them at the edges of hedgerows but often you’ll come across a carpet of them in a field.’
‘I like their fluffy round heads.’
They came to a stile in the hedge. ‘If we cut across the fields here, it’ll save time.’ He climbed over, then held out a hand for Eve. She jumped down and they made their way across a small field. When they reached the end, they crossed another stile.
‘Oh, that’s just perfect!’ Eve clapped her hands as she gazed down into the valley.
‘That is Foxglove Farm, so named because—’
She held up a hand. ‘Don’t tell me! It’s because of an abundance of foxgloves.’
‘How ever did you guess?’
They descended through the grass of the next field and it swished against their ankles. Jack was worried Eve might trip because she kept gazing around her, although he could understand why she wanted to take it all in.
‘So this is where they make the ice cream, right?’
‘It is. Didn’t you ever come here as a child?’
Eve shook her head. ‘The greyhound sanctuary wasn’t here then and you could buy the ice cream in town so I had no reason to visit. But it’s beautiful.’ She glanced nervously at him. ‘Do the cows graze in here?’
‘Sometimes, but you don’t need to be afraid of them.’
‘They’re so big, though, aren’t they? And solid.’ She wrinkled her nose.
‘You don’t have a cow phobia?’
‘No. I just wouldn’t want to be up close to one. It might kick me or something.’
‘Only if you startle it or annoy it. Most of the time they’re pretty sedate and happy just to graze.’
‘I’ll take your word for it.’
At the end of the field, Jack opened a gate then stood back. ‘After you.’
‘Thank you.’
He closed the gate and latched it behind them. When he turned back to the track, Eve was already walking up to the farm. The morning sunlight made her short hair shine like gold. She’d dressed appropriately in jeans, trainers and a black jumper that was sheer enough for him to see that she wore a fitted T-shirt underneath. As she turned to him to beckon him forward, he could see her curves in profile. Seeing her like that, as she stood with the wind in her hair and roses in her cheeks, stirred him deep down. But he had to stay strong around her. Eve Carpenter had been through a lot recently and so had he, in the past. Sure, she was beautiful, funny and endearing – in her way – but that was where this
had to end. There would be no getting closer to her this morning, or any morning for that matter.
‘The scenery here is just breathtaking!’ Eve said as he reached her side. ‘It makes me sad yet happy. Do you ever get that?’
Jack followed her gaze across the fields, where the green and the yellow and the grey stone walls just stretched on and on. The view always comforted him because it made him feel that his own existence wasn’t that important. He would only be here on earth for a short while, just like every other human, but that didn’t matter. What mattered were moments like these where he could enjoy the view alongside another person; someone who understood. ‘Yes. I know what you mean. In the grander scheme of things, we’re pretty insignificant.’
‘So whatever happens in my life, whether I’m a success in my chosen career or not … it doesn’t really matter, does it?’
‘Not as long as you’re okay with it.’ She was reaching for comfort, he knew it. She wanted him to reassure her, to tell her that being away from work didn’t matter, so he did. ‘You’re doing the right thing, Eve. Don’t worry about it now. It will all be okay.’
She met his eyes and he was rendered speechless by how hers glowed, their green so luminous it was shocking. His heart pounded so hard he could barely swallow.
‘I think you’re right – it will be okay. Being here makes me hope it will.’
‘Do you know what you’ll do if you don’t go back?’
She worried her bottom lip then released a heavy sigh. ‘I’m not sure, but I’m hoping the answer will come to me.’
‘I’m sure it will.’
She nodded. ‘If I go back … if I don’t go back …’ She didn’t finish what she was about to say because a horn beeped behind them, making them both jump, and a vehicle pulled up alongside them.
‘Jack!’ It was Neil Burton, the farm owner.
‘Hey, Neil!’
‘Get in, both!’
Jack opened the Land Rover’s front passenger door and gestured to Eve, but she shook her head and opened the back door, so he climbed in next to Neil.
‘Neil, this is Eve, Mary’s niece.’
‘Nice to meet you, Eve.’ Neil gave a quick sideways nod.
‘You too.’
‘So you’re staying in Conwenna for a while, are you?’
‘That’s right, yes.’
‘Good, good! So we’ll be seeing more of you, then? Always the need for an extra pair of hands at the sanctuary, you know, or mucking out the cowsheds.’ He chuckled and his jowls wobbled under his salt-and-pepper beard. He looked exactly like Jack had always imagined a farmer would, with his messy hair sticking out from under a flat cap and his green knitted jumper with elbow pads straining over his ample belly.
Jack turned in his seat and saw Eve smile at Neil in the rear-view mirror. He wondered if she realized that Neil was teasing.
Foxglove Farm consisted of a series of buildings. There was the original old farmhouse with an extension that had been added about twenty years ago; the two barns where Neil’s animals were housed; then further back beyond the house, set in its own space, the converted stable block and yard that made up the greyhound rescue sanctuary. To the left of the farm, in one of the large fields that Neil used for crops for personal use, were two cottages that he rented out to tourists.
The farm was a mix and match of old and new and Neil and his employees were often seen repairing things because the funding for the rescue centre wasn’t always consistent. Neil explained to Eve as he drove towards the buildings that he had inherited the farm from his father and his grandfather before him. Years ago it had thrived on supplying the local community with fruit and vegetables, but due to fluctuating prices of produce and the politics surrounding farming these days, he had decided to focus on the dairy farming side of the business and the resulting ice cream, which was made in an annexe at the back of the farmhouse by his wife and two long-term employees. The rest of his earnings came from renting the cottages, hiring out a field for the annual village fair, and the pony treks that one of his three sons ran.
Jack knew things were sometimes tight, but he’d rarely heard Neil complain. In his late fifties, he was old-fashioned like that: he maintained a stiff upper lip and just got on with things and made the best of it. But what Jack admired the most about him was his love of dogs and how he’d set up the rescue sanctuary three years earlier. He’d told Jack that when he died, he wanted to know that he’d made a difference, even if it was small, and Jack could understand that.
Neil pulled up in front of the farmhouse and cut the engine, then swung open the door and stepped down. Jack did the same then went round to help Eve out.
‘So this is Foxglove Farm.’
Eve looked around. ‘It’s very pretty, isn’t it?’
‘It can be noisy with the dogs but the rental cottages are far enough away that they’re not disturbed by the noise.’
‘What about Neil and his family?’
Neil walked around the vehicle. ‘We’re used to it. Don’t notice the racket any more when they start up.’
‘And you work here regularly, Jack?’
‘I do a few hours here and there, helping out with the dogs and some general maintenance. Whatever Neil needs, really.’
‘Couldn’t manage without him now,’ Neil said, placing a heavy hand on Jack’s shoulder. ‘There’s a new dog coming in for assessment this morning, Jack, if you could check her out.’
‘Of course. Eve’s going to shadow me for the day if that’s okay?’
‘More the merrier! Like I said, an extra pair of hands is always helpful.’ Neil tweaked his flat cap at them. ‘I’ll see you later. Things to do, people to see and all that.’ He walked across the yard and disappeared into one of the barns.
‘So that’s what I’m doing, is it? Shadowing?’
‘If you like.’ Jack saw the mischief in her eyes.
‘Kind of like a secondment.’
‘Perhaps we’d better discuss a wage for you then?’
‘Oh no! Please don’t do that. I wouldn’t dream of it. I don’t need paying.’
‘I wasn’t thinking about paying you in cash. I had a few other ideas in mind.’
Eve’s cheeks turned pink and he realized why. ‘I didn’t mean that like it sounded. I meant that I’d take you out for dinner or something. Nothing … uh … untoward.’
‘I didn’t think that for a second, Jack. I guess it can’t pay a lot anyway, though. With it being a charity.’
Jack smiled. ‘Not really, but I’d probably do it for free.’
‘But how do you manage?’ Eve bit her lip. ‘Sorry. That’s none of my business.’
‘It’s fine. Nothing wrong with being curious. I have a modest pension from my time in service and a few other tricks up my sleeve. I get along all right. As would you.’
‘I hope so. I don’t mind the prospect of losing the money so much as the security of knowing who I am. Teaching has been where I’ve felt safe.’
‘Perhaps now you’ll find security in other ways. But enough chit-chat, underling, time to get you to work. I intend to take full advantage of this free labour for as long as possible.’ He dusted his hands off dramatically.
Eve laughed and her face lit up. Jack’s heart lifted at how mirth made her appear healthier and more relaxed. He realized that he wanted to see her smile more, to see the positive effects it had upon her, and he vowed to do what he could to make her stay enjoyable, because if Conwenna Cove had the same effect upon her as it’d had on him, then that would be good for Eve and good for Mary.
* * *
Jack and Eve crossed the yard that was sandwiched between the farmhouse and the smaller barn and headed for the stable block. She could already hear barking. From the front, it looked like a normal stable with its eight dark wooden doors and overhanging roof. When they reached it, Jack directed her around the back of the building and it was then that she noticed the kennel runs. They were like large cages, designed to give the
dogs access to air, a short run and a toilet trip. At the far end of each run was what appeared to be a large dog flap set in the back wall of the stable block.
As Eve and Jack rounded the corner, they were greeted by a chorus of barks and howls as they were spotted by the dogs. Jack jogged up to the wire of the first pen and Eve jumped as a large fawn dog leapt against the wire.
‘Hey there, boy, calm down,’ Jack soothed as he rubbed the dog’s muzzle through the fence.
Eve stood next to him and watched. ‘That is a big dog!’
He nodded. ‘Some of the male greyhounds are fairly large. But this fella, named Rolo, is a big softy, so you’ve nothing to fear.’
Eve slowly lifted her hand but the dog pulled back its paws then bounced against the wire again, making it rattle and causing her to gasp. She instinctively pulled her hand back and tucked it under her arm.
‘It’s okay, Rolo. Eve’s new but she’ll soon get used to you.’
The dog whined in response then licked Jack’s fingers before bouncing around again.
They moved on to the next pen but Eve found her gaze dragged back to Rolo. ‘How long has he been here?’
‘About six weeks, I think.’
‘Will he find a home?’
‘Hopefully. We have a fairly high success rate, but some dogs take longer than others to find the right home. It depends on a variety of factors, such as what condition they’re in when they arrive, how they are with people – especially children – and also how they are with other domestic animals like cats and small dogs. Rolo there is a handsome boy but if he’s not good with cats or smaller dog breeds then that would obviously put some potential families off. In more fortunate cases, we find that the dogs can be trusted around smaller animals, but it doesn’t always work. And sadly, some of them have been so badly treated before they make it here that …’
Eve scanned his face. ‘They have to stay in the sanctuary?’
He nodded but didn’t reply. Eve could tell from the bobbing of his Adam’s apple that he found the subject emotional.
Summer at Conwenna Cove Page 8