‘So…’ Seth closed the front door and smiled expectantly at Hattie. Considering she’d put so much effort into her appearance he didn’t seem to be taking a lot of notice. His tone was brisk, friendly, but strictly business. ‘What can I do for you? Is there a problem at Sweet Briar?’
‘Not exactly. I mean, yes, but it’s not the animals.’
Hattie glanced past him to where the door to his consulting room stood open. There was a lot of ceramic and steel in there, and some very unfriendly-looking gadgets. She supposed everything had to be clinical and sterile, but it was a world away from the welcoming shabbiness of Sweet Briar Farm.
Seth dug his hands in his pockets. ‘Can I get you a coffee or anything? It wouldn’t take a minute.’
‘Um…’ Hattie paused. He smiled patiently, still waiting. Now that she was here, however, ready to explain herself, she couldn’t help but feel that it was going to sound stupid. The whole daft situation that she had created was going to sound very stupid indeed. What had made perfect sense as she’d cooked it up and recruited her dad’s help now made her seem… well, perhaps a little arrogant. At least, that might be how it looked to Seth.
‘I need your help,’ she blurted out finally.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Oh, nothing. It’s just… well, it’s Jo’s bill.’
Seth frowned. ‘I’m not sure I can discuss Jo’s financial affairs with you. I know you work with her but—’
‘I know the bill’s been settled. My dad came to do it.’
‘Your dad?’ Seth looked confused, but then, he’d only been in Gillypuddle a matter of months and when he’d moved there Hattie had still been in Paris – and besides, he probably didn’t have an encyclopaedic knowledge of everyone’s connections yet. ‘Your dad is Dr Rose?’
‘Yes.’
‘Oh.’ At this, Seth looked even more confused. It was understandable and Hattie did feel very much to blame. ‘I was under the impression that the payment was a donation that Jo was fully aware of. Are you telling me that’s not the case?’
‘I asked my dad to come and pay the bill. I’m going to pay him back as soon as I can. But Jo doesn’t know we’ve done it.’ Hattie felt the heat rise to her face. ‘In fact,’ she continued, deciding that it might as well all come out now, ‘she kind of asked me not to interfere. Well, told me not to interfere… But I was worried,’ she added quickly, seeing his expression darken, ‘you know, that she might get into trouble for not paying it. Or that we might lose your services – and we definitely can’t afford to do that.’
‘I would never refuse to treat a sick animal regardless of an outstanding bill and I have absolute faith that Jo would have paid me eventually,’ he said coldly.
‘I know, I should have realised that. So, what I wanted to ask today is that you don’t tell her that I’ve paid. Or rather, that my dad has.’
‘You want me to lie to her?’
‘Not exactly. I just don’t want you to mention the bill at all.’
Seth shook his head. ‘I can’t do that. This whole situation is nothing to do with me. You need to be talking this through with Jo, not me.’
‘But Jo doesn’t like talking anything through! She doesn’t like talking full stop! Trying to get a conversation about anything out of her is like trying to pull teeth.’
‘She always seems perfectly reasonable to me.’
‘Look, Sweet Briar will be making money soon and then she’ll come down to pay you. All I’m asking is that you play along. Take the money from her and return it to my dad and she need never know.’
‘What if she asks me about her account before then?’
‘Then just tell her it’s still outstanding.’
‘A minute ago you wanted me to avoid discussing it with her at all.’
‘Please…’
‘I can’t do that – sorry. My opinion hasn’t changed – I don’t think this is a situation I should be involved in. I’m afraid you’re going to have to come clean with Jo.’
‘You won’t go and tell her, will you?’
‘It’s not my place but I think you ought to.’
‘She’ll hate me.’
‘Quite possibly.’
Hattie’s shoulders slumped, as if all the pride and optimism had been let out of her, leaving only a vacuum of uncertainty and worry behind. Why had she ever thought this was a good idea? Her impatience to fix what she thought needed fixing might well jeopardise the real progress she’d made with Jo on things that actually mattered. She ought to have seen the bigger picture more clearly before.
‘What I can do,’ Seth said, his expression softening as he witnessed Hattie’s obvious shift to despondence, ‘is refund the money your dad gave to me.’
‘But then you wouldn’t have your payment.’
‘I also wouldn’t have this extra thing to worry about. I don’t want to be part of your wacky scheme but I don’t want to cause tension between you and Jo either. It seems to me that you’ve done this for the right reasons, even if they’re a little misguided. I was content to wait for Jo’s payment before and I’m still content to wait now. If what you say is true and Sweet Briar is set to make money, then I expect I’ll get paid soon enough.’
Hattie gave him a grateful smile. She couldn’t say that she was entirely happy with the outcome of her visit but Seth’s idea did seem like a sensible solution.
Seth went into his office and pulled a cheque from a desk drawer.
‘I hadn’t sent it to the bank yet anyway,’ he said, walking back through and handing it to Hattie.
‘Thank you.’
For all her scheming and plotting to catch Seth’s attention in a romantic way, now all Hattie wanted to do was leave. She felt silly and she could only imagine that Seth thought she was silly too.
‘I’m sorry to have taken up your time,’ she said.
‘It was no trouble at all.’ Seth gave a little nod and smiled, and Hattie thought that maybe she saw something like playful amusement in his eyes, but she couldn’t allow herself to dwell on it because she knew she’d blush from head to toe.
‘So, I’ll see you when you’re next at Sweet Briar,’ she said uncertainly.
‘You will.’
‘OK. Well, bye then.’
Hattie turned to leave. With her hand on the doorknob, his voice called her back. She turned to face him again.
‘For what it’s worth,’ he said with that same playful look, ‘it was a sweet idea. Even if it was a little screwy.’
Hattie grinned, and sure enough, her face started to burn. She dashed out so he wouldn’t see, and as she let the door close behind her, she could have sworn she heard him chuckle softly.
Lance looked stressed. Hattie didn’t think she’d ever seen Lance look stressed before. Mark was taking an afternoon off and Phyllis was on shift, taking up the slack so that Mark could rest as he was supposed to. It soon became apparent, however, that Phyllis was the reason Lance was stressed.
‘Oh! Hello, Dottie!’ she said brightly, turning with a broad smile as Hattie pushed open the door of the Willow Tree café. She looked as if she was clearing a table, but she also looked as if she couldn’t quite decide which item to pick up first because she took up a teapot and then put it down, then did the same with a cup and saucer, before finally settling on a teaspoon. ‘You’re back from America then?’
Hattie smiled. Lance stood behind the counter. He rolled his eyes heavenward.
‘Please tell me Medusa has sacked you,’ he hissed as she approached the counter. ‘That one’s driving me mad – I’ll be mad as a hatter if I have to deal with her for much longer.’
Hattie began to laugh, but Lance grabbed her wrist and fixed her with a pleading look. ‘Seriously, the job’s yours if you want it. Please tell me you can start right now!’
‘You can’t sack Phyllis,’ Hattie said, trying to stifle more laughter. ‘She’s too nice.’
‘Oh God, I know. Imagine her face – it’d be like telling
your three-year-old you just shot Santa.’
‘Where’s Mark?’
‘Lucky bugger’s gone to get a reiki massage.’
‘Maybe you could get some reiki massage to calm your nerves?’
‘I’ll need more than that to calm my nerves. Tell you what, another opening has just come up then. Apply. Please! I’ll put you on shift every day. With a bit of luck she’ll forget she works here and stop coming in.’
‘You can’t do that either,’ Hattie said, her gaze wandering back to the table Phyllis was clearing, apparently picking up one item at a time to take through to the kitchen. She was well past retirement age but Hattie had always known her to be a sprightly and cheerful lady. In fact, since Rupert’s wife had died, there’d been some in the village trying to throw him and Phyllis (whose husband had also passed on) together. Hattie would have liked to see it too, but it seemed that both Phyllis and Rupert were happier on their own.
‘I’ll pay you a million pounds an hour,’ Lance said.
‘She can’t be that bad.’
The reply was an almighty crash from the kitchen.
Lance buried his face in his hands and let out a strangled cry. ‘Give me strength!’
‘Shouldn’t you go and see what’s happened?’
‘I don’t think I could bear it. Mark won’t be the only one with heart trouble at this rate – mine’s racing like an eighties drum machine!’
‘Go and see if she’s OK,’ Hattie said with a smile. ‘I can wait for my order.’
‘So you’re turning me down in my hour of need?’
‘I’m afraid so.’
Phyllis tottered out of the kitchen wearing an apron that was far too large for her tiny frame and carrying what looked like strawberry milkshake.
‘Don’t worry – all under control,’ she announced in a raspy voice before going to fetch another solo cup from a recently vacated table filled with cups. Lance shook his head.
‘I’d offer to get you a drink but I don’t think we could manage it without some kind of incident,’ he said.
‘Actually – that’s OK. I’ve come to ask a favour.’
‘Oh?’
‘Sweet Briar Farm is opening to visitors, and I was wondering—’
Lance’s mouth fell open in a most comical way, all thoughts of the one-woman disaster zone that was Phyllis clearly forgotten.
‘Oh, sign me up!’ he squeaked. ‘I’ve always wanted to see what Hades looks like!’
‘Lance!’ Hattie scolded, but she couldn’t help a grin.
‘You can tell me off but I don’t think you understand the significance, my love. You haven’t been here for the last two years being shunned by that woman at every opportunity. Nobody has been allowed in there.’
‘The vet has,’ Hattie reminded him.
‘Nobody who doesn’t shove their hands up animals’ bottoms for a living then. It’ll be like the gates to North Korea opening.’
‘I’m allowed in there,’ Hattie said, starting to laugh again despite herself. She didn’t entirely approve of Lance’s comments, but she had to admit that he was funny.
‘Yes, and you’ve been inducted into the cult now.’
‘Lance – be serious.’
Lance smoothed a wicked expression into one of pure innocence. ‘Go on then,’ he said. ‘What has this wonder got to do with me? You said you needed a favour. Are you looking for a sacrificial victim, because if you are I think I might know one – she’s currently wrecking my kitchen…’
‘I was wondering if you could give us a mention whenever you get tourists in. No need to shove it down anyone’s throat but if they say they’re looking for somewhere to visit, maybe you could big us up, send them our way.’
‘And send all those poor innocent people to their doom?’
Hattie pretended to frown impatiently at him and he laughed.
‘Alright – only because it’s you. You’re welcome to put posters up if you want; maybe leave some flyers with us.’
‘I would but it’s got to be low-key.’
Lance raised his eyebrows.
‘I know,’ Hattie said. ‘Jo might be opening the doors but she hasn’t quite decided if she likes the idea or not yet. I’m still trying to persuade her that it makes sense, and I’m hoping that a bit of money coming in might do that – we sure need it.’
‘How much are you going to charge for entry?’
‘I’m not. I was thinking more along the lines of voluntary donations but with a suggested amount – like they do in museums. It doesn’t seem like quite such a capitalist venture then, does it?’
‘I can’t imagine her being very welcoming if anyone does go up – donations or not.’
‘That’s why I’ll be taking care of the visitor side of things.’
Lance was thoughtful for a moment. ‘What else are you doing with the place?’ he asked.
‘What do you mean? I don’t think there’s anything else we can do other than getting people up there.’
‘What about sponsorship? You see the ads all the time, don’t you – daytime telly’s full of them. Three pounds a week for this cat or this dog.’
‘Sponsor a donkey?’ Hattie’s face lit in a broad smile. ‘That’s brilliant!’
‘I know,’ Lance said, looking supremely pleased.
‘How would I get the word out? We can’t afford TV ads.’
Lance tapped the side of his nose. ‘I think I might know someone who can help.’
‘Who?’
‘Let me ask him first and then I’ll tell you.’
‘OK, so now I’m going to be mad with curiosity until I find out.’
‘I thought you might be. So, you’re sure I can’t tempt you to take that job, after all?’
Hattie was about to reply when there was another crash from the kitchen.
Lance made the sign of the cross over his chest. ‘Lead me not into temptation,’ he muttered, his gaze on the ceiling, and Hattie couldn’t help but laugh again.
Chapter Sixteen
Hattie looked at the website her dad had designed. It looked good – nice and clear, well laid out, lovely photos of Sweet Briar Farm and the views along the coast, some adorable shots of the donkeys and chickens, and Hattie herself, looking as welcoming as possible as she hugged Norbert. Melinda had taken the last picture and, considering how many she’d had to snap before she managed to get one that included all of Hattie’s head, it wasn’t half bad really. Hattie had taken everything over to her dad a week ago and they’d spent the evening setting it up. He’d even managed to link it to a charity page so that people could donate to the upkeep of the donkeys online if they couldn’t get to visit and wanted to help. Since then, they’d had a grand total of zero visitors and three donations – one was from Melinda (which was touching considering their own financial struggles), one from her mum and one from Rupert. It was hardly encouraging.
On the plus side, though, Hattie had never seen Jo look so happy. And by happy she meant not scowling. Hattie had to suppose that there was some kind of satisfying vindication in being right, because Jo had predicted that nobody would be interested in her donkey rescue centre. Hattie thought that a bit of her revelled in some martyred idea that the care of Sweet Briar was a labour of love for her to undertake alone, but Hattie could also see that it was no way to run a place like Sweet Briar and she wasn’t giving up yet. There was no denying the lack of visitors made Jo happy, however – whatever the reason was – and Hattie found it all massively frustrating. Surely somebody wanted to come? And preferably someone other than Melinda and her kids, who would have come every day if they’d been allowed. The fact that she couldn’t do proper advertising was putting a serious spanner in the works.
In the meantime, Hattie carried on with the daily routine around the farm during the day, while in the evenings she tried to figure out how to get that extra publicity they needed, and what they could do to make themselves look more attractive to the paying public, while still respecting
Jo’s boundaries. She was still waiting for Lance to get back to her too about whatever this secret weapon was that he’d promised he had up his sleeve.
She was about to shut the lid on the laptop when her phone started to ring. It was almost as if she’d willed it by thinking about it, because she looked at the caller ID to see that it was Lance.
‘Can you come to the café tomorrow?’ he asked without preamble. ‘There’s someone I want you to meet.’
‘Tomorrow? It’s a bit short notice… Is this the person you were telling me about?’
‘Yes. Tomorrow’s the only day he can come.’
‘Oh. Well in that case I’d better try. What time?’
‘About noon?’
Hattie paused. ‘I don’t think Jo will go for that.’
‘But this is for her! Can’t you explain that to the evil hag?’
‘Alright – I suppose I’ll get there somehow. Who am I supposed to be meeting?’
‘It’s a secret but I think you’ll be happy.’
‘Will I? Is it the Duke of Sussex?’
‘Better, my love.’
‘Better than the Duke of Sussex? Now I’m interested.’
‘Oh love, I’ve got to go – Phyllis has her hair stuck in the food processor…’
‘But—’
‘See you tomorrow. Wear something nice!’
The line went dead. Hattie looked at the screen as it went black. Then she pushed herself off the bed and went to her wardrobe. Wear something nice? Who was this person? And what was Lance’s definition of something nice? She began to move along the hangers, pulling the odd item out thoughtfully. Sexy nice? Girly nice? Business nice? It was tempting to phone Lance back and ask him what he meant but he’d sounded as if he had his hands full and he was already doing her a favour in setting this meeting up – she didn’t want to push her luck.
Hattie's Home for Broken Hearts: A heartwarming laugh out loud romantic comedy Page 13