‘I know he’s deaf too, if that’s what you’re wondering.’
His eyebrows shot up. ‘That does surprise me. He doesn’t tell anyone that, especially not so soon into a relationship.’
‘I sort of caught him out and he explained he was deaf.’
He picked up another candle and started tearing the paper away.
‘He’s really sensitive about it, I wouldn’t expect him to go into too much detail about it.’
She nodded. ‘He told me a bit about his childhood, how your mum made him have therapy.’
‘Wow, you really have got under his skin. He never discusses that. In my mum’s defence she was trying to do the best for him. My aunt had a tough time growing up deaf in the sixties, there just wasn’t the support that we have now. There wasn’t that much support when Andrew was growing up, but there was a lot more understanding and awareness of it. My aunt didn’t even learn sign language until much later on in her life as it wasn’t something that was encouraged and I think Mum felt so useless in not being able to help her. Mum decided that Andrew’s upbringing would be different. The whole family learned sign language so we could communicate. She was determined he would be treated the same as any other children, but sometimes I think she went too far in trying to prove to him and to everyone else that he wasn’t different.’
Willow was quiet, wondering if there would be more.
He sighed. ‘As we grew up, Andrew always thought he had to show that he was as good as everyone else, because my mum was always fighting to prove it. She had to fight to put him into a mainstream school because it was thought he should go to a special school that could cope with his needs, whatever they were. So he worked hard, studied long hours, made sure he always did his homework on time to prove he deserved to be there. It wasn’t easy for him.’
Willow thought about this; she knew Andrew had only shared the tip of the iceberg when it came to that side of him. She wondered if she could get him to open up some more, rather than keeping it bottled up inside.
‘You’re not what I expected, Willow McKay. When Andrew told me all about you, well I was expecting…’
‘A manipulative bitch?’ Willow supplied.
‘I don’t know if I would go that far but I didn’t exactly have high hopes. Andrew has had his fair share of crappy girlfriends and I think it’s put him off anything serious. Over the last few years every girl he has been with has been very casual and I suppose it’s safer that way for him. Don’t fall in love, don’t get hurt. He certainly hasn’t been in love for a very long time. To see him floating around on cloud nine this morning, well I wanted to make sure he wasn’t falling for someone crappy again.’
Willow picked up one of the other cups and started tearing the cardboard away. ‘And do I meet with your approval?’
‘I wouldn’t go so far as to say that,’ Jacob said, a mischievous smile on his lips. ‘But you’ll do.’
Willow laughed.
Jacob walked to the door and then turned back. ‘Are you going on this date tonight?’
Willow hesitated for just a second before nodding. ‘Yes I am.’
Jacob nodded. ‘Good. I’ll be here for a few days so I’m sure I’ll hear all about it tomorrow, so keep it clean for my sake.’
‘I can’t promise that.’
Jacob rolled his eyes and walked away.
Willow smiled. Andrew was right, his brother was an arse, but she liked Jacob nonetheless.
She turned her attention back to the candles and then her heart leapt. Shit. She had a date that night.
Sixteen
Willow went to the pub at lunch, deciding she couldn’t hide away from the villagers forever. It was nice to see that it was a bit busier today than it had been on her first day. There were several tables or large groups all talking in excited tones. She had no idea whether it was the Secret Society business that was keeping them entertained, or her non-existent sex life with Andrew, or something else entirely, but it was still good to see.
She went up to the bar and Tabitha greeted her with a smile.
‘What do you recommend for lunch today?’ Willow asked.
‘The fish and chips are good. The fish was fresh off the boat this morning and Connor makes all his own batter.’
‘That will do,’ Willow said. ‘And can I have a glass of lemonade too?’
Tabitha picked a glass from under the counter and half filled it with ice. ‘So the mystery presents have been the talk of the village all morning. Would you happen to know anything about it?’
‘Me? No,’ Willow said, the lie coming that little bit more easily.
‘It just seems a little convenient that the first gift appeared after you arrived here.’
‘As you heard, I was with Andrew last night,’ Willow said.
‘Well he was here earlier and he seemed very surprised by the news that you two had slept together.’
Willow cringed. ‘I never said that.’
‘You implied it,’ Tabitha said.
‘I just said we were busy all night.’
‘Doing what?’
Willow blushed.
‘Aha, so you are sleeping with him?’ Tabitha seemed even more excited by this than the prospect that Willow was the secret gift-giver.
‘We’re… getting to know each other,’ Willow said.
‘Ah, is that what the kids are calling it these days?’
Willow smiled to herself. Tabitha couldn’t be more than ten years older than Willow. She decided to change the subject slightly. ‘So if it wasn’t me and Andrew that delivered the presents, as we were both getting to know each other all night, who is the most likely suspect?’
‘Well, there’s lots of ideas. Dorothy is still insisting that Joseph gave her the cake, so maybe he’s trying to woo all the ladies in the village,’ Tabitha said, handing over her glass of lemonade.
‘Ha, maybe he is.’
‘My money is still on Kitty and Ken,’ Tabitha gestured to the other side of the room. Willow looked round to see the couple in question tucking into their fish and chips in one of the booths. ‘What would anyone else have to gain from it?’
Willow frowned slightly. ‘Why do you think it’s being done for some kind of gain?’
‘People don’t just give presents to other people for no reason.’
‘Of course they do, sometimes people do things for other people just to be nice.’
Tabitha shook her head. ‘Maybe you’re right but my gut says there’s some other reason for this.’
Willow didn’t like that. When it inevitably got out that it was her and Andrew who were giving the gifts, would the other villagers think she was doing it for some ulterior motive too?
‘I’ll be over there with Kitty and Ken,’ Willow said, taking her drink. She walked over to their table and they looked up. ‘Do you mind if I join you?’
‘Not at all, dear,’ Ken said, patting the seat next to him.
She slid onto the bench. ‘Beryl not cooking for you today?’
‘Ah, it’s her day off. Besides, Connor’s fish and chips are the best for miles around,’ Kitty said.
‘Well, if we get any visitors to the castle, if you decide to go down that path, maybe we can encourage people to go to the pub after. We could print the pub name on the back of the castle tickets, “Try the best fish and chips in the world, five percent off with this ticket”, or something like that.’
Ken nodded as he chewed his fish. ‘That’s not a bad idea.’ He looked around and lowered his voice. ‘Though personally, as much as I love Connor’s fish and chips, I think he could do so much more with fresh fish, different sauces, different dishes. I think he could attract more visitors to the village if he offered something a bit more than great pub grub.’
‘Oh shush, the food is lovely.’ Kitty waved her hands at her husband, protectively.
‘It is, I’m not saying it isn’t, Connor is a great cook,’ Ken said. ‘I just think he could up his game slightly.’
‘Oh, I wouldn’t want to interfere,’ Ken said.
Willow smiled. ‘I look at it more like positive suggestions or constructive feedback. And as they are renting the property off you, albeit for free, you are technically their boss.’
Ken clearly thought about this. ‘Maybe you’re right.’
‘For now, the locals seem happy enough and we don’t get too many outside visitors, and probably won’t unless we give them something to come here for,’ Willow said, carefully. She tapped her chin thoughtfully as if thinking about ways to bring people to the village. She didn’t want to push them into opening the castle to the public – having people traipsing all over their home was not going to be everyone’s idea of fun.
Kitty smiled, seeing right through Willow’s attempt to be vague.
‘We’ve been seriously thinking about your idea actually,’ Ken said. ‘There’s a man that’s coming out tomorrow to see whether it’s safe or which areas we can open to the public. I’ve looked into getting a website designed and spoken to someone I know about marketing. I’ve looked into insurance too. But everything hinges on tomorrow. We have to make sure it’s safe for the tourists above everything else. It might be that we need to do a few repairs here and there, or it might mean we can’t open it to the public at all. But if the man gives us the OK, at least for parts of it, we thought we’d try to coincide the big opening of the castle with the open day of the village. There’s a nearby battle re-enactors group, and we’ve asked them if they would come along on the day and teach the children how to be knights. We might even get a jousting group in. I mean, the castle isn’t medieval, not even close, but I don’t suppose the little kids will care too much about historical accuracy when they have a wooden sword and a shield in their hands.’
‘I think that sounds like a wonderful idea,’ Willow said, excitedly.
‘Try to rein in that excitement for a bit longer,’ Kitty said, practically. ‘I think we’ve all been getting carried away with the idea but the castle is in a bad way. And although I agree with you about the children loving the ruins, we won’t be able to open at all unless we’re given the all-clear tomorrow.’
Willow nodded. ‘OK, no excitement. I’m not really that bothered at all.’
Kitty laughed. ‘You’re a terrible liar. Anyway, do you know anything about these gifts that everyone has been receiving? It’s quite exciting actually to think someone is doing this for all the villagers.’
Kitty and Ken were the last people she wanted to lie to, and it was their village, so maybe they should be kept apprised of what was happening inside it. Although she didn’t know if she could trust them to keep the secret if she told them, and the secrecy of the gifts was key to making them a success.
However, by the looks on Kitty and Ken’s faces, they’d already guessed it had something to do with her.
‘I… may know something,’ Willow said, quietly.
The smile on Kitty’s face grew.
‘We think it’s a wonderful idea. Do you know if the plan is for everyone to get a gift?’
‘Yes, that’s the idea. I believe,’ Willow quickly added.
‘Well, if you think whoever is responsible might need any help with it, then let us know,’ Ken said.
‘I’ll… pass that on, thank you,’ Willow said.
Kitty finished her lunch, wiping her lips with her napkin. ‘Now, more importantly, we want to hear all about you and Andrew.’
Tabitha walked over at that point with Willow’s fish and chips and she deliberately hovered for a few minutes, laying out the napkins and the knife and forks then getting salt and pepper and sauce for the table. It was quite clear she was hoping to hear more gossip. Willow busied herself with eating and waited patiently for Tabitha to go away. Eventually she did, but only because she had to serve someone.
‘Andrew is such a lovely boy,’ Kitty gently pushed.
‘He is. I really like him. I’m not sure what you’ve heard but we haven’t… we’re not… We’ve kissed a few times and we’ve got our first official date tonight. So we’ll see how it goes,’ Willow said, wanting to be honest with Kitty and Ken, at least about that. ‘It’s very early, and really I’ve only just met him.’
Ken nodded. ‘I think in life, you can meet people who you like and you can meet people you fall in love with and sometimes, very occasionally, you meet someone who is your soulmate. It was like that for me and Kitty. We knew, from the very first moment we met, that we were going to spend the rest of our lives together. I asked her to marry me after one week and everyone thought she was crazy for saying yes. We’ve been together forty-six years now. I’m not saying that’s going to happen for you and Andrew but don’t let the time you’ve known him put you off. When you know, you know.’
Willow stared at him. That was very wise advice. There was no right time to fall in love, the heart decided that and there was no point in fighting it. She wasn’t sure if she believed in the whole soulmate thing but it was definitely time to see where this connection between them would lead.
* * *
Andrew dipped his roller in the tray of paint and then spread it across the wall, smiling to himself at how much fun it had been the night before doing this with Willow. He had been exhausted, they had nearly got caught too many times, but they had been giggling and laughing the whole time about the ridiculousness of painting a house in the dark. He had been by the house earlier and they hadn’t done the best of jobs, although it certainly looked better than it had before.
‘Are you thinking about Willow again?’ Jacob said, dipping his roller in the tray and painting his section of the wall.
Andrew grinned. ‘What gives the game away?’
‘You have that big stupid smile on your face again,’ Jacob said. ‘I haven’t seen you like this about a woman in… well, forever. It’s kind of a bit creepy, like my brother has been possessed by something.’
‘Ah shut your face, you’re just jealous.’
‘I met her earlier. When I went into the village, I kind of…bumped into her.’
‘You met her, why didn’t you say?’
‘We only chatted for a few seconds, I just forgot. She seems nice. Not my type, but nice.’
‘What does “not my type” mean?’ Andrew said, feeling suddenly very protective of Willow.
Jacob smiled. ‘She’s… soft and sweet and lovely. Definitely not my type.’
Andrew liked that description of her, Jacob had summed her up perfectly.
‘Look, I know she’s important to you and quite honestly I can see why,’ Jacob said, in a rare moment of seriousness. ‘Just… try not to fall in love with her, not yet anyway. Tread carefully.’
Andrew stared at him. ‘Are you seriously trying to give me advice about matters of the heart?’
‘I know. Trust me, I hear myself and it sounds ridiculous even to my own ears, but… I don’t want you to get hurt.’ Jacob said the last bit so quickly, Andrew wasn’t sure he had even heard him correctly.
‘Christ, are we going to start hugging soon? I’m not sure we’re ready for that,’ Andrew said.
‘Let’s not go that far,’ Jacob muttered. ‘And remind me again why I’m here helping you paint when I’m supposed to be on holiday?’
Andrew noted the change of subject and decided to let it go. Jacob could be an arse sometimes but he had always looked out for him. It seemed that habit had never gone away, despite them both being grown-ass men now. ‘Because you have nothing better to do with your time.’
‘I could go on long coastal walks, look for inspiration for my sculptures,’ Jacob said.
Andrew laughed. ‘You’re not really the outdoorsy, coastal-walk sort of person. You’re more the sitting-in-the pub, faffing-about-on-your-phone type.’
‘Wow, you make me sound such a catch,’ Jacob said, dryly.
‘I’m simpl
y saying, living in a tiny village by the sea isn’t really your thing. You’re a townie through and through.’
Jacob carried on painting for a moment. ‘I don’t know about that. This place has a certain… charm.’
‘Could you really see yourself living in a place like this?’ Andrew said. He wasn’t sure he actually wanted his little haven taken over by his brother.
Jacob shrugged. ‘I lived in London for several years and hated it. And living in Penzance now is… it’s nice but it doesn’t feel like home. This would be a good place to settle down and raise a family one day.’
Andrew stared at him in shock, paint dripping from his roller. ‘What the hell is going on with you? You suddenly care about me getting hurt, you want to get married and have kids. This is not the Jacob I know. You’ve never had a serious relationship in your life.’
‘Maybe it’s time that changed.’
Andrew resumed his painting. He wasn’t sure if he was ready for that change, especially not on his own doorstep.
Seventeen
Willow looked down at her black dress despondently. It had taken her over an hour to decide what to wear for her date with Andrew. She had no idea what people wore on dates any more. In fact, it had been way too long since she’d been on one. She’d never even been on a date with Garry. He had been her flatmate and it had slowly turned into something more. By that time she’d already been to the pub with him as a friend on several occasions with other friends or just the two of them. So there had never been a time when he’d actually asked her out on a date.
She had tried on multiple outfits for tonight and nothing seemed to be right. In the end she had settled for her trusty black dress, but now she was standing on Andrew’s doorstep she was doubting that decision. Black wasn’t her colour at all. She liked sparkles and bright patterns. Maybe she had time to go home and change. But she didn’t want to be late for the date, she hadn’t seen Andrew all day to confirm she was coming and she hated the thought that he would be sitting there feeling disappointed that she wasn’t.
The Little Village of Happiness: A gorgeous uplifting romantic comedy to escape with this summer Page 13