‘Sure, I need a break, anyway.’ He turned to face her.
‘Freddie said you’re having second thoughts about being Humpty.’
‘I’m not, really. The thing is that I know it’ll make great publicity and I want to do that, but I don’t want to seem silly.’
‘Oh, Hector, there’s nothing silly about Humpty Dumpty,’ she laughed. ‘I think the angle we’ll go for is that you’re so committed to our charity and so good with kids that you were willing to do this. And you’re a star, we all think so.’
‘Even you?’ Hector smiled sadly.
‘Especially me. I know we haven’t chatted much, but every time I’ve seen you recently, Brooke’s been with you.’
‘Oh, she’s great, isn’t she? She’s been giving me PT, which I need, because despite the fact I look in peak physical condition, it turns out I’m not.’
They both laughed. Pippa missed this, laughing with Hector. Harvey had made her laugh at first, but when they were in London, she only giggled when she was horribly drunk.
‘You seem OK to me.’
Pippa treaded carefully. She knew that if she complimented him too much, she’d be in trouble for flirting, but she didn’t want not to be his friend.
‘Yes, well, Brooke’s really helping and she’s so much fun to be around. I’m enjoying her company immensely.’
Hector looked a little embarrassed. Pippa decided to change the subject.
‘Right, well, I’ve got to get on, but how about we have supper tonight? In the bar. The dining room’s only half-full, but I think I’d rather not eat with the guests – you know, me being staff and all,’ Pippa suggested.
‘I’ll tell you what, let’s do that, and Brooke can join us.’
‘I’ll go and invite her now,’ Pippa suggested.
‘This little piggy … Oh! Hi, Pippa,’ Brooke said as Pippa tracked her down in the drawing room, where she was looking after Toby.
Pippa had seen Brooke with Toby before but it still struck her how natural she was with him. But then she was with everyone. Once again, Pippa was hit by how composed she was for someone so young and she tried not to feel envious of that. Toby grinned and Pippa melted.
‘You on babysitting duties?’ she asked.
‘Only for a bit. Harriet had to find something in the office and so I got to steal him away. He’s gorgeous, isn’t he?’
‘Oh yes, he is.’
Toby rewarded them with another smile.
‘How was your time away?’ Brooke asked without hostility.
‘You’ll probably be pleased to know that I’m not seeing Harvey again,’ Pippa said.
‘Oh, Pippa, if you’re unhappy, of course I’m not pleased. You know, it’s just that Hector—’
‘I know, my entire family wants us to be together and you seem to, too.’
‘I think we care about you both and want you both to be happy,’ Brooke explained.
‘Well, the three of us can have supper tonight, if you promise not to do any matchmaking!’ Pippa said.
‘I’d love that,’ Brooke replied.
It seemed that since Lucky and now her decision about Harvey, she and Brooke were really in a good place once again.
In the end, the three of them ate in the kitchen.
‘You know, since the hotel’s been quieter and I’ve taken a bit more time off, I’ve realised how nice that is to have more of a balance,’ she said.
The three of them were quite comfortable together and dinner was turning out to be fun.
‘Well, you know what they say – all work and no play,’ Brooke teased.
‘But she’s got Harvey now,’ Hector said, staring at his plate.
‘Harvey and I are just friends,’ Pippa said carefully. ‘I mean, I probably won’t really see him again, unless he has to do another team-building thing here,’ she explained.
She tried not to notice how happy Hector looked.
‘I’m glad you’re OK about it,’ Brooke said, breaking the silence.
‘Oh yes, fine. By the way, how’s Chris doing? Is he happy to be a chicken still?’
Pippa’s lips curled. Brooke had proved to be a good sport yet again by deciding to be a chicken for the Easter event and Chris had apparently reluctantly agreed, as well.
‘Chris is fine, great, so busy with plans for the new gym, but he’s still coming to the Easter event. I mean, we won’t let you down. But you know, the studio’ll be ready soon, so I’ve decided I’m definitely going to stay in the UK.’
‘That’s great!’ Hector said.
‘At the hotel?’ Pippa asked.
After all, Harriet said she could stay as long as she wanted for free to thank her for saving the sanctuary; although perhaps not forever.
‘Are you sure you’re happy with me staying now I’m not paying?’ Brooke asked, looking worried.
‘You know, we’re delighted you’re staying and want you to stay for as long as you want,’ Pippa reassured. ‘I just wondered if you were happy here, that’s all.’
‘I can’t stay here forever. As lovely as Meadowbrook is, I know it’s not my home. But if Chris and I do progress with the gym I’ll probably move nearby, so I won’t be too far.’
‘And then I’m going to help Brooke find her father’s family,’ Hector announced.
‘I know I should have done it by now, but I’m scared, you see,’ Brooke said.
‘Of what?’ Pippa asked.
‘Rejection. I’ve faced a lot of it in my life and if I track down my father’s relatives … what if they don’t want me?’
She sounded genuinely scared, Pippa thought.
‘Why wouldn’t they want you?’ Pippa said. ‘You’re fabulous! Look how much everyone here loves you.’ It was true, they did. ‘You’ve become such a part of Meadowbrook and any family you find would be lucky to have you.’ Pippa surprised herself, with her words, but she saw the vulnerability in Brooke, something she hadn’t seen in a while, and she was young, on her own. Pippa felt her heart go out to her and she wanted to reach out. ‘In fact, if you want any more help, we’ll all muck in,’ she announced.
‘Thank you. I might just take you up on that,’ she said.
‘I think we should start by looking after the Easter event,’ Hector said. ‘As long as I’m in one piece after being Humpty, of course.’
‘That’d be great,’ Brooke said. ‘Guys, I really appreciate this. I’ve got names and places in my room, so when we’re ready we can start with the Internet, I guess.’
‘You haven’t looked at all?’
‘No. I’m too scared they won’t want anything to do with me. And then what? I’ll be rejected by yet another family.’ Brooke suddenly burst into tears.
‘Oh, Brooke, I’m sure they won’t reject you,’ Pippa offered, feeling a little heartbroken.
She might complain of loneliness, but she didn’t know what it was to feel alone, not in the way Brooke clearly did, and she was so lucky for that.
Chapter Twenty-eight
As always, the Easter event was going to be a huge celebration. Not only had they saved the sanctuary, but also the positive press after William admitted that he was the cause of Lucky’s distress had brought in new donors, and some very big ones at that. Harriet had started a new private sponsorship scheme and they’d acquired three baby donkeys, who Gerald loved, four more pigs and another alpaca, who thankfully Samantha and Sebastian had welcomed without any spite on their part. There were more dogs and cats coming in all the time, but the adoption drive meant that – post William – they were still finding homes for some of their animals. It was never enough, but at least that side seemed to be growing. After the unfortunate incident with William, though, they’d decided to add an extra home visit to their adoption process as part of a more vigilant check on each person or family.
Pippa had been frantically running around as the hotel was getting busier and she was interviewing more staff to carry them through the busy period. Corporate bookings were increa
sing and Harvey had, indeed, spread the word about Meadowbrook, as they now had other groups booked in from his bank. They were still talking on occasion, Harvey and herself, but they agreed to remain just friends. But then as they weren’t really friends in the first place, that wasn’t going to happen.
Pippa was surprised by the fact that she didn’t mind. She’d almost gone through her first adult relationship decision, one that hadn’t been forced on her by either a scamming husband or a cheating boyfriend. She felt as if she was finally growing up. But she also acknowledged that the short time she spent with Harvey had made her realise that she was ready for a relationship. Although she knew it wouldn’t be easy, what with managing the hotel, she’d also learnt that things didn’t fall apart when she wasn’t there. Harriet said she was becoming more like her, so maybe it was time to concentrate on her personal life and not be such a workaholic. It was as if Pippa needed to find a life balance. She’d gone from not working at all to being all-consumed by work, so now she needed a middle ground. It was her Easter resolution. If there was such a thing.
She still felt nervous as she went down to the field at the crack of dawn to get ready for the day. They were blessed, fingers crossed, with a rain-free forecast. It was a relatively warm day and it felt as if spring was finally here after what seemed to be a very long winter.
The field was quiet but Pippa had expected to be the first there. Gerry had built the wall where Hector – Humpty – would sit, with crash mats placed either side. The Easter egg hunt was set to be held in one of the enclosed gardens, a little similar to the one they’d made last year when they had the Peter Rabbit theme. There were stalls set up for the raffle, bric-a-brac and also for the egg painting. And, of course, then there was the small marquee they’d used last year to serve refreshments.
It all looked ready to go as Pippa breathed in the early morning air and enjoyed the peace for a while, knowing how manic and exhausting the day would be, and that was as long as all went to plan. She was optimistic that this would be a great day for families. They’d pre-sold more tickets than last year and had more availability for others to attend on the day.
The hotel guests were made fully aware of the event when they’d booked. There was one family celebrating a seventieth birthday and both parents, two children and their partners, and two teenagers had said they’d love to join in. There was also a couple celebrating their anniversary who’d barely emerged from their room, so they didn’t expect to see them. Vicky and the other staff were all there, holding the fort; although they were going to take turns to come down and help. The events at Meadowbrook brought out the best in everyone and it had become quite a draw from both Parker’s Hollow and beyond. Pippa knew they could all be proud of that.
‘Oh my God, I can’t take it!’ Pippa laughed, grabbing Gemma’s arm for support as Hector appeared, trying to walk in his Humpty Dumpty outfit.
‘He even makes being a walking egg kind of sexy,’ Gemma grinned.
‘Gemma, how could you?’
But Pippa had to admit that once he mastered walking, the egg, with Hector’s face peeping out of it, was kind of cute.
‘He’s such a star for doing this,’ Gemma said.
‘I know, and then we’ve got Brooke and Chris PT dressed up as chickens, and Gerry as the Easter Bunny. It makes me feel as if I should be in some kind of costume.’
‘I’m sure it could be arranged… At least we’ve got our bunny ears on. Anyway, we might be needed to do some actual work today so it would hardly be practical,’ Gemma laughed.
That was their excuse and they were sticking to it as the hordes of people began to arrive.
By the afternoon, Hector had fallen off his wall many times already and was a huge hit with the children. And their parents, of course. He’d been amazing, Pippa conceded. Even when the children missed hitting him with the foam eggs they’d made, he still pretended and fell off anyway to shrieks of laughter. Freddie was taking the money for the Humpty stall and he was almost crying with laughter as Hector struggled to get off the crash mats. He let him struggle for quite a while before going to help him each time.
Chris and Brooke had proved huge hits dressed as chickens. They’d been selling raffle tickets and doing silly dances, thoroughly entering into the spirit of the day. Pippa couldn’t fault either of them – they were brilliant.
Gus’s egg painting was also a huge hit and the refreshment tent was doing a roaring trade. The bric-a-brac and raffle were even making money, as no one got to walk past without parting with money. The Easter bonnet competition was being judged by Harriet, who in totally un-Harriet style gave prizes to each of them. She said it was becoming a mum that had made her do it, having made her soften towards children. Hopefully it was just hormones, Pippa thought, and next year she’d be back to her competitive self. Fleur and Hayley were looking after Toby most of the day, and Amanda and Gemma were floating around helping where it was needed.
Children lined up to feed the ponies and donkeys, supervised by Connor, and were largely on their best behaviour – the animals, that is, not the children. There had been one ropey moment when a ten-year-old boy climbed over into the chicken coop, but Elizabeth Bennet, Freddie’s favourite chicken, had soon seen him off and, thankfully, he was in trouble with his parents rather than the sanctuary being blamed.
The children shrieked with happiness, the adults were talking and laughing, and, most importantly, they were parting with money. The animals were also all happy, which was the main thing. Gerald had eaten an Easter bonnet as per, which the children found hilarious, and the ponies lapped up the attention. By the time the morris dancers did their special Easter dance – which was pretty much like all their other dances – the day was hailed a great success and the sanctuary was back to where it should be, the awful Lucky situation firmly put behind them.
When things began to quieten down and she finally had five minutes, Pippa went to see Hector.
‘You’ve been amazing,’ she said genuinely.
‘Thanks, Pippa. Do you want to join me on my wall?’ He raised an eyebrow.
Pippa giggled and then climbed up.
‘Nice wall you’ve got here,’ she said.
‘Isn’t it just. Wow! I’m exhausted. Please tell me I don’t have to fall off anymore.’
‘You don’t. Freddie’s rounding up the stragglers to get them out of here and so you’re free to go. You can even take your egg costume off, unless you’ve grown a little fond of it?’ she teased.
‘I think I will, I mean, I quite liked being an egg, though.’
‘You’re a good egg,’ Pippa grinned.
‘Too much egg-citement for one day. And before we get really carried away with egg jokes now we’ve finally “cracked it”, I think I’ll call it a day.’
They both laughed and before she knew it, Hector had grabbed her and flung her off the wall with him. As they landed, with her on top of him, they were helplessly laughing and Pippa had tears rolling down her face.
‘Are you all right?’ Brooke asked, still dressed as a chicken.
Pippa had told her that she and Chris were the cutest chickens she’d ever seen, which Brooke had found amusing. Chris was preening at all the compliments he received, as well. They were both good Meadowbrook sports.
‘I’ve always wondered,’ Hector said. ‘What came first, the chicken or the egg?’
Leaving Brooke looking a little bemused, they collapsed laughing again.
‘Well, Pip, you’ve pulled it off again,’ Gemma said as they were about to go back to the hotel to get the evening’s entertainment ready.
The Cooper family had the dining room to themselves, as the couple celebrating their anniversary had requested to dine in their room. Gwen had baked a birthday cake and they’d put plenty of champagne on ice. Normally after events, they had a big party at the house for all involved, but they couldn’t do that tonight, so Pippa had organised it for the following Monday evening, when the hotel was briefly empty be
fore the new guests arrived.
‘We pulled it off! It was a team effort and everyone played such a huge part.’ Pippa knew that she’d organised a lot of it – all the eggs for the children, the stall layout, the costumes and so forth – but she felt as if her contribution was definitely mainly behind the scenes this year.
‘I thought Chris was great – and Brooke, of course – but he made a fantastic chicken,’ Gemma laughed.
‘Amanda said that Fleur and Hayley were both trying to flirt with him. I mean, those teenagers flirting with an older guy dressed as a chicken …! Luckily, Gus was too busy painting eggs to notice.’
‘And with Fleur being in love and all!’ Pippa laughed.
‘Yes, well, apparently she said that flirting was all right and that she wouldn’t act on it. Not that they stood a chance. Chris was a very professional chicken,’ Gemma laughed.
‘He was a good sport. And he’ll be at the party on Monday night so we can thank him. You know, I think he and Brooke would make a good couple. I mean, they even looked good together as chickens.’ Pippa wasn’t sure where that had come from. ‘Although as they work together I guess…’
‘Yes, Brooke’s told me that they both want to make some kind of business work here so they’re keeping things purely professional,’ Gemma replied.
‘But that might change?’
‘I don’t think so. Also, Freddie seems to think that Brooke and Hector are having some kind of thing.’
‘Really? Harriet implied the same but I haven’t seen them as anything but friends,’ Pippa said.
She knew that, very fleetingly, she’d wanted Hector and Brooke to get together in the past, but that was when she was worried Brooke might be interested in Freddie, which of course proved groundless. Now, she was more concerned that Brooke and Hector getting together would spell the end of her friendship with him.
‘I’m not sure, but Freddie seems to think they’re getting closer. Now we’re engaged, he’s trying to get everyone partnered off, so you’d better watch out,’ said Gemma.
‘Not sure there’s anyone for him to try to fix me up with – and don’t say Chris. He’s not my type.’
The Ticket to Happiness Page 25