Читать книгу Love Heart Lane - Christie Barlow - Страница 10

After stamping her snowy boots on the mat outside, Felicity’s nervousness peaked the second she walked through the door of The Grouse and Haggis, the pub owned by Meredith and Fraser, Allie’s parents. This was the first time she’d stepped inside the pub for a very long time but it was exactly how she remembered it. The oak beams ran right across the low ceiling, the private alcoves were still plumped with bright-coloured cushions and the log fire roared.

Huge aluminium pots of chilli and baskets of crusty bread lay on a long trestle table stretched out at the side of the bar ready to feed the hungry villagers.

‘How’re you feeling?’ Rona whispered under her breath.

‘Nervous,’ mumbled Felicity locking eyes with Meredith who was serving Heather the postmistress with a drink.

Immediately, Meredith hitched a smile on her face and scuttled around the bar with her arms flung open wide, hugging Felicity like she was a long lost relative. ‘Felicity … Felicity, my dear girl, it’s great to have you home. It’s been too long.’ If anyone hadn’t spotted Felicity walking into the pub, they certainly knew of her arrival now – she felt like the whole pub was looking her way. Felicity was very fond of Meredith and Fraser; in fact, they used to call her their second daughter. As children, Felicity and Allie had been inseparable and even through their teenage years they had been as thick as thieves.

Felicity pulled gently away from Meredith’s hug to find Fraser now standing next to his wife. ‘Welcome home, Felicity, let me get you a drink. What would you like?’ he asked.

‘Thanks Fraser, a gin and tonic please, and for you, Mum?’ Felicity turned towards her mum.

Meredith touched Rona’s arm. ‘The usual?’ She smiled and Rona simply nodded.

‘Wait until Allie sees you, she’s just collecting the wood from the shed to keep these fires going. She’ll be back in in a minute.’

Felicity felt a little uneasy watching Meredith and Fraser disappear back behind the bar. Meredith seemed unaware of the possible friction between Allie and herself or maybe she’d just forgotten over time.

‘Why don’t you go out the back and catch up with her?’ Meredith suggested, passing the drinks over the bar.

Felicity hesitated and looked towards her mum. She’d no clue how Allie was going to react to her homecoming but she knew she was going to have to face her at some point. Maybe it would be better to slip out the back to see Allie for the first time without a group of lookers watching their every move. ‘Are you going to be okay?’ Felicity asked her mum.

‘Why wouldn’t I be okay? I’ve been drinking in this pub on my own for as long as I can remember,’ she said, with a small chuckle. ‘You go and see Allie, see how the land lies … try and put things right.’

Fraser nodded towards the oak door at the far end of the pub. ‘You know the way.’

Feeling apprehensive, Felicity clutched her drink and weaved her way through the villagers. The pub was full to the brim and despite the bad snowfall everyone seemed in good spirits. Felicity spotted Hamish from the village shop who tilted his flat cap and gave her a wave, and then she noticed Rory slipping in through the side door. As soon as he spotted her he stopped dead in his tracks. ‘Hey, Flick!’ He flashed her a grin. ‘You’re home! Welcome back.’

Rory hadn’t changed a bit. He was slim, clean shaven and his dark hair with a hint of auburn was still styled in the same way. His pale blue eyes glinted back at her.

‘I am indeed! How are you?’

‘Me … I’m good, same old, same old … working hard as usual. I’m sorry to hear about Bonnie.’ He quickly gave his condolences before carrying on, telling Felicity that all was good in the land of animals except for the snowy weather that was forecast for the next few days.

‘Have you seen Allie yet?’ he asked.

‘I’m just going through to the back now,’ Felicity answered, feeling her heart thump a little faster.

Rory must have noticed the uneasy look on Felicity’s face. ‘Don’t worry … we both know her bark’s worse than her bite. She’s actually missed you, you know.’

‘How would you know?’ Felicity narrowed her eyes at him.

‘Because we’ve talked about it … and she still talks about you a lot.’

‘We?’

Rory gave Felicity a grin.

‘You and Allie are together?’

He nodded. ‘Yes, just under twelve months now.’

Elated by the thought of them being together, Felicity couldn’t help but give Rory a quick hug. As teenagers, Felicity had teased Allie that they would make the perfect couple, but Rory had gone off to university while Allie had stayed in Heartcross working alongside her parents in the pub.

‘I always said you were made for each other.’ She grinned.

‘You did, that.’ Rory touched Felicity’s arm tentatively before spotting his parents at the bar.

Taking a deep breath, Felicity turned the wrought iron ring of the pub’s oak back door and stooped her head under the low frame, stepping down the stone steps into the pub’s living quarters. She could hear footsteps from the backyard and spotted Allie lugging wood in from the shed, placing the logs in large wicker baskets. The last time she’d seen Allie was the night she’d left Heartcross. Felicity truly regretted cutting out everyone from her life, but it had been the only way she could cope at the time. Standing there, she suddenly yearned for her old friendship. A friendship that had stood the test of time until she’d taken herself off to London.

Felicity took a deep breath before speaking. ‘Hey,’ she said softly, causing Allie to jump and spin round. ‘I didn’t mean to startle you.’

For a brief moment, Allie just stared at her which left Felicity unsure of what to say next.

‘You okay?’ added Felicity quickly.

‘I didn’t expect to see you … it’s been a while,’ Allie answered as she carried on throwing logs in to the basket and looked away.

Felicity walked towards her and leant against the door frame.

‘I’m back to see Mum after Grandma…’ Felicity’s voice faltered.

‘I’m sorry about Bonnie, we all are. Everyone really misses her.’ Allie’s tone was sincere and she softened for a moment.

‘Thanks, it’s a difficult time, especially for Mum.’

Feeling emotional, tears welled up in Felicity’s eyes and there was a distinctive wobble in her voice. They both stared at each other for a moment in an awkward silence.

Felicity was hoping that Allie would step forward with her arms open wide, but it wasn’t forthcoming. She knew she’d treated her friend appallingly in the past but she hadn’t been thinking about anyone else when she’d left Heartcross. Only about protecting herself.

‘Allie…’ Felicity took a breath. ‘I’m—’

‘Let’s not do this now,’ Allie interrupted. ‘There’s a pub full of hungry people, and I really need to help Mum behind the bar.’

Felicity nodded. ‘Soon?’

‘Soon.’

Allie carried one of the baskets of logs and Felicity grabbed the other before following Allie back through the oak door and into the pub. ‘Rory just told me you’re together. I always said you were a match made in heaven,’ said Felicity, trying to lighten the mood and make conversation.

Allie hitched a small smile on her face but didn’t say a word. Felicity could still feel a frosty tension between them. Allie wasn’t as forgiving as Isla.

‘You do make the perfect couple,’ Felicity continued.

They placed the wicker baskets on each side of the log fire. ‘Yes, we do. We all used to say the same about you and Fergus.’ Allie’s tone was curt.

Felicity did her best not to let it upset her, but she knew Allie was never going to be a pushover and let her back in like Isla.

‘I’ve seen Isla too … I didn’t realise she had another baby on the way.’ Felicity tried to soften the conversation.

‘Well and truly on the way, in fact it could arrive at any time,’ answered Allie, swooping up the empty glasses from the nearby table but not catching her eye.

Felicity swallowed and took a deep breath. ‘Isla’s suggested maybe we have a proper catch up … that’s if you’re free?’

Allie thought for a second. ‘We’ll see… tomorrow is my night off,’ she replied, giving Felicity a glimmer of hope.

Felicity watched as Allie spotted Rory and smiled before disappearing back behind the bar to serve the customers.

‘So, how is life in the big city? Single, married…?’ probed Rory as Felicity stood next to him at the bar.

Felicity let out a breath. ‘Very much single.’

‘Really?’ His eyes widened.

‘I know it’s hard to believe,’ joked Felicity, ‘but really.’

‘How’s the job?’ Rory perched on the stool and Felicity sat next to him.

‘That’s not going brilliant either,’ she admitted. ‘It’s all doom and gloom in the life of Felicity Simons.’

‘Really? Your mum seems to think everything is hunky dory, working so hard that you couldn’t even have time off over Christmas.’

Instantly Felicity felt guilty once more. ‘That’s what I’d like her to think.’ She took a swooping glance over towards her mum who was chatting away to Rory’s parents, Stuart and Alana, at the other end of the bar.

‘The department store where I work has been sold to a company that has new ideas and seems more interested in making money than any sort of decent customer service. Let’s just say I don’t exactly gel with the new boss.’

‘One of those “let’s stamp my mark and change everything” types?’ asked Rory. ‘What do you think you are going to do about it?’

‘I’ve absolutely no idea,’ she sighed. ‘Going into work these days has had all the fun squeezed out of it. Time for a change I suppose … but I need to work out what that change is. How’s life at the practice?’ asked Felicity, taking a swig of her drink.

‘Good, really good. How long are you around for?’

‘A couple of weeks.’

‘Plenty of time to catch up then,’ he said, touching her gently on the shoulder.

Felicity had always liked Rory. He was such a kind-hearted person, always there with a smile on his face – someone who would do anything for anyone. She took a moment to think about Fergus. Allie had a good man in Rory and she knew that she’d always had a good man in Fergus. If only…

Starting to feel peckish, Felicity glanced over her shoulder and noticed a queue forming at the end of the long trestle table. At that very moment, Allie rang the bell behind the bar and shouted, ‘Help yourself to food!’

Within seconds, the lids of the aluminium pots were removed and the villagers began to spoon vast amounts of good wholesome food into their bowls.

Rona was near the front of queue. She made her way over to Felicity, offering her a bowl of chilli that Felicity gladly took from her mum’s hand.

By now, Rory had joined Allie and they were chatting with some of the other locals who were staring out of the window to the white street. The snow was still falling thick and fast. Felicity sat by the window and watched the flakes as she ate the delicious food. There was something very romantic about the first fall of snow.

She remembered a time when she had been woken up by the sound of a thud on her window pane. Thinking that a bird had flown into her window, she’d jumped out of bed only to find that snow had fallen through the night, and there standing in her garden was Fergus grinning up at her. He’d built the biggest snowman she’d ever set eyes on and was throwing snowballs at her window. They’d spent the day sledging on Heartcross Hill along with the rest of the villagers. It had been such fun and that was when she’d realised how strongly she was attracted to him. He was her ideal man and she’d fallen hook, line and sinker for Fergus Campbell.

‘Penny for them?’ asked Rona, who sat down next to Felicity and took a fleeting glance outside at the freshly fallen snow.

‘Ah, it’s nothing,’ Felicity replied, although she didn’t sound convincing. She didn’t want to admit how she’d messed up her life by running away to the big smoke, but sitting in the pub for the first time in a long time she realised she missed the familiarity of this place and the people who lived here.

She knew her time in London was nearly up and that she was falling out of love with the place. It had served a purpose at a time she needed it most but now she needed to make some tough decisions about her job and her life.

Rona didn’t press her daughter. She took the hint and changed the subject, but not before saying, ‘You know where I am if you want to talk.’

‘Thanks Mum,’ Felicity said, taking a sip of her drink.

Considering the number of villagers standing around, they were all relatively quiet while eating their food.

Felicity felt a slight draught as the pub door swung open. She didn’t realise she’d let out a long shuddering sigh, until Rona looked up. ‘You okay?’

Felicity didn’t answer and Rona followed her daughter’s gaze. Aggie Campbell had just walked into the pub.

Aggie hadn’t changed a bit over the years. A thin woman, around five foot five, she had a slim build and long dark hair. She was dressed casually in jeans, a tweed jacket with a neck scarf, and she stamped her snow boots on the mat and took off her gloves before rubbing her hands together. Both Fraser and Meredith shouted a warm welcome over the bar to her.

Felicity knew her mum’s relationship had suffered with Aggie when she’d ran from the village. Before that, they’d been good friends and often enjoyed nights out with each other. Aggie had even worked at the teashop when Rona and Bonnie had been short staffed. But then Felicity had broken her son’s heart and everything had changed. Afterwards, their friendship had become very strained knowing the pain each of their offspring was suffering.

The second Aggie’s eyes met Felicity’s, they narrowed, and she stopped dead in her tracks. This was a moment Felicity hadn’t been looking forward to and, feeling anxious, she shifted her bowl to make room for her elbows on the table and waited to see what would happen next. Her heart was thumping fast and she wondered frantically how she could make herself invisible, but it was too late. She could see Aggie walking over in their direction.

‘Well, you’re back then?’ Aggie coughed, bringing her hand to her chest. She tried to compose herself and wiped her mouth with a tissue.

Felicity looked up at Aggie who was now standing at the side of the table, her expression revealing exactly how she was feeling.

‘Aggie, we don’t want any trouble. We are just grabbing some food like everyone else in the village.’ Rona’s tone was firm.

Felicity shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

Aggie coughed some more before attempting to speak again. ‘I hope you have the good grace to stay away from Fergus while you’re here.’

There was no sign of the friendly woman Felicity had once known. There’d been a time when Felicity would have considered Aggie a good friend, another mother figure in her life. Whilst Felicity had been with Fergus, she’d spent many a Sunday afternoon curled up on Aggie’s sofa watching films after enjoying a huge roast dinner cooked by Aggie alongside a mouth-watering dessert. But once they’d split, Aggie had changed towards Felicity in a heartbeat, the relationship they once had completely evaporated. The last time Felicity had seen Aggie had been the night she’d left Heartcross, Fergus sobbing in her arms, screaming at the taxi for Felicity to stay. But Felicity had left, leaving a devastated Fergus standing on Love Heart Lane, his heart breaking and hers too.

Felicity knew Aggie had good reason to be cold and was obviously determined that Felicity should still suffer for her actions all those years ago.

Thankfully, Felicity and Rona didn’t have a chance to respond.

‘Grandma, Grandma,’ an excited voice squealed. ‘Have you seen the snow?’ Esme appeared in the pub with a woman that Felicity had never seen before.

Aggie coughed again before she spun round to see her granddaughter running towards her. She opened her arms wide before the little girl launched herself at Aggie who spun her around a couple of times while she giggled. Placing her feet firmly back on the floor Aggie kissed the girl on both cheeks then grasped her hands.

‘Let’s get you something to eat and you know what, with all this snow still falling there will be no school tomorrow which means…’

‘We can build the biggest snowman ever!’ the girl shrieked.

Felicity watched Aggie wander over towards the food table still chatting away to her granddaughter and felt a tug at her heart. The little girl standing in front of her with a string of russet freckles scattered across her nose and those big brown eyes must be Fergus’s daughter.

‘Is that…’

‘Yes, that’s Esme,’ said Rona, squeezing her daughter’s hand.

All Felicity could do was stare at the beautiful little girl. Of course, she knew Esme existed and that Fergus was now a proud dad, but over the years she’d tried not to think about it. Esme must be around six years old now, and Felicity could still remember the night her mum had telephoned her in London to tell her the news that Fergus was expecting a child. Her heart felt as though it had been stabbed, it hurt that much. And although it had been her choice to leave Heartcross, she’d never thought that Fergus would move on so quickly. For her it had still been way too soon.

Felicity hadn’t asked her mum for details. In fact, she told her mum that she didn’t want any more updates from Heartcross, and that was when she’d cut herself off from everyone here.

She knew it wasn’t going to be easy coming back. As she finished her drink she spotted Isla and Drew who’d slipped in through the back door and tried to fix a smile on her face. Isla was clutching the hand of a handsome little boy, similar in age to Esme. The second he saw Esme he ran off towards her. Drew weaved his way to the bar leaving Isla to have a look around, and when she spotted Felicity and Rona sitting at the table in the window, she smiled and made her way over.

‘Drew said you’d be here … do you mind if we join you?’

‘Be my guest,’ answered Felicity, gesturing to the empty chair. She watched Isla slump into it.

‘I’ll be glad to get this little mite out, I feel like a barrel.’

Rona smiled. ‘Then the fun really begins.’

‘How’s things?’ Isla tactfully nodded her head towards Allie.

‘A little frosty but I did mention about getting together very soon.’

‘And…’

‘And she didn’t say no.’

‘That’s a start. I’ll catch up with her in a minute and see when she’s free, but with this weather I’m not sure I’m up to waddling very far. Maybe you could both come over to the farm? I’ll get Finn into bed early and cook us something nice to eat.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Absolutely.’

‘Sounds like a plan,’ said Felicity who also didn’t want to venture out too far in this weather.

Drew appeared back at the table with a smile and handed a drink to Isla. ‘Shall I get us some food?’

‘That would be lovely.’ Isla smiled up at him, not wanting to put any more weight on her feet just yet. Drew gave his wife a quick peck on the top of her head then disappeared off towards the table of food.

There was some sort of commotion going on in the far corner of the pub and raised voices could be heard. Rona strained her neck to see what was going on, before standing up and making her way over to the group of villagers that were huddled in the corner. Hamish was trying to calm things down and looked very official standing there with his pen poised against a clipboard.

‘That all looks very serious,’ commented Felicity to Isla. ‘What’s going on?’

‘Urgent meeting, because of the snow. There’s no deliveries scheduled now for a few more days and the bad weather has come early, taking everyone by surprise.’

Felicity knew the delivery trucks into Heartcross ran like clockwork, and everyone relied on them. Usually even in the bleakest mid-winters everything ran smoothly but for a meeting to be held, there must be real concerns.

‘But Heartcross is used to this kind of weather and is usually prepared,’ said Felicity, still looking in the direction of Hamish.

‘Usually, but we all thought we had a couple more days until the weather turned. Hamish had upped the grocery delivery to the shop but with this severe snowfall no more trucks will be able to get through until the snow thaws,’ said Isla with concern.

Drew appeared by Isla’s side and handed her a bowl. ‘Here, eat this.’

‘Thanks. How’s Hamish getting on over there? Have you listened in?’ asked Isla, seeing even more villagers gathering around.

‘Hamish is making it pretty clear he can’t just sell the produce on the shelves to one person, and that it needs to be distributed fairly to each household until the delivery trucks can get through. But people are concerned and they’re arguing amongst themselves, that’s why I’ve escaped for a second … taking a breather.’

‘Any news on the school?’ asked Isla, noticing Jessica, Finn’s teacher, chatting to Rory.

Felicity looked up, Jessica was the woman who’d brought Esme into the pub.

‘Not only is Jessica stranded in the village due to the weather, she’s just announced the school is closed until further notice. She’s had to rent a room with Julia at the B&B. There’s no way she can drive her car down the track and over the bridge.’ Drew placed his hand in the small of his wife’s back. ‘Which means Finn is going to be home from tomorrow but I promise I’ll help out as much as I can.’

There was no hiding Isla’s sigh, she barely had the energy to put on her own socks never mind entertain a six-year-old.

‘Normally, I wouldn’t mind. I enjoy him being home but it’s just a little tiring at the moment waiting for this one to make an appearance.’ She patted her stomach and felt a kick. ‘He’s being a little live wire tonight.’

‘I can help out while I’m here. I had visions of me working in the teashop to pass some time but…’

‘Give your mum some time, it’s been difficult,’ interrupted Isla. ‘And thank you, I’d love to see as much of you as possible whilst your back.’ Isla smiled at Felicity, meaning every word.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of Hamish raising his voice, ‘If anyone would like to volunteer…’ He looked hopefully at the crowd of people.

No one answered.

‘You can’t all stand here demanding to know how I’ll allocate my produce when no one is willing to help.’ He sounded exasperated.

Felicity stood up and wandered over to the crowd. ‘What is it you need Hamish?’

‘I need another pair of hands. Firstly, we need to concentrate on the perishable goods and make sure it doesn’t go to waste and then we need to come up with a plan for the rest of the stock.’

Felicity determinedly stepped forward. ‘I’ll help you with that, no problem.’ Felicity knew that with her own experience at work, she could easily scan through the stock lists and share out the food as fairly as possible. ‘I’ve got time on my hands while I’m home.’

Hamish’s face lit up. ‘Felicity Simons, are you serious?’

‘Deadly serious.’

‘You are a gem.’ He beamed, looking like a huge weight had lifted from his shoulders.

‘What time do you want me in the morning?’

‘Eight o’clock?’

‘Eight o’clock it is.’ She smiled at Hamish before noticing the proud smile on her mum’s face. ‘Can I make a small suggestion?’

‘Of course,’ answered Hamish, waiting to hear what Felicity had to say.

‘Priority food maybe needs to go to the care home first, the elderly.’

‘Indeed, we can draw up a list and hopefully the next truck will be able to get through as soon as the snow thaws.’

Everyone agreed, and Felicity joined Isla back at the table.

‘Look at you,’ grinned Isla as Felicity sat back down opposite her. ‘Back in Heartcross two minutes and taking control. Hamish will never want to let you go if you can keep that lot in order.’

‘Well, someone had to step in. Otherwise those perishable goods would be even more perishable by the time they sorted themselves out.’

Isla tried to laugh but her face paled. She clutched her stomach before letting out a tiny groan.

‘What is it?’

‘How are you at delivering babies?’ She sucked in a breath and grimaced.

Instantly, Felicity felt her eyes well up with tears and swallowed down the lump in her throat. Her body surged with emotions she’d managed to keep locked away for a very long time, taking her by complete surprise. The guilt always hit first, wondering if she could have done something different – was the miscarriage down to her, could she have done anything else? The sense of loss never left her.

Isla noticed the colour had drained from Felicity’s face.

‘Oh my gosh, Flick, I’m so sorry, I really wasn’t thinking,’ said Isla, immediately reaching over the table and squeezing her hand.

‘It’s okay, really it is,’ Felicity replied, her voice shaky. ‘Shall I get Drew or even Rory?’

‘Rory … he’s a vet!’ Isla laughed, trying to lighten the mood but still clutching her stomach tightly.

‘It’s got to be the same difference, delivery of a baby or a lamb,’ smiled Felicity.

‘Luckily for everyone it’s those Braxton Hicks, nothing to worry about. I’m sorry Flick, I really didn’t mean to upset you.’

‘I know you didn’t. And I can’t hide myself away from every pregnant woman I see,’ said Felicity, even though she knew for a very long time she hadn’t been able to even look at a pregnant woman.

‘Are you going to try and talk to Fergus while you’re back?’

‘Aggie’s already warned me off him.’

Isla rolled her eyes, ‘She’s been under the weather recently; she’s got this cough that she can’t shift so her mood is probably not the best, but you know Aggie from old … her bark’s worse than her bite. Your reasons for leaving were about you. You were grieving and had to do what you needed to do. No one should judge you for it.’

Felicity was grateful that Isla understood.

‘Aggie doesn’t see it like that.’

‘She didn’t like to see her boy hurt but it still doesn’t give her the right to treat you with a lack of respect. You both went through a difficult time. Time moves on, people move on.’

‘Fergus has moved on,’ added Felicity, glancing in Esme’s direction.

Isla followed her gaze. ‘She’s a wonderful little girl, beautiful inside and out. You’ll like her.’

‘Fergus can’t even bear to look at me.’

‘He will, give it time. It’s the first time he’s set eyes on you since then. Even though I do know you’ve sneaked back a few times without seeing any of us.’ Isla tutted playfully.

‘I am sorry about that,’ said Felicity regretfully.

‘It’s okay, honestly it is. There were a few people that were hurt when you upped and left including me and Allie but we knew why. We knew you needed space, we just didn’t think it would be eight years of space.’

‘Time drifted on but I don’t think Allie will be as forgiving as you.’ Felicity blew out a breath and glanced in her direction. She was standing by the bar laughing with Rory but caught her eye for a split second.

‘We both know Allie from old, strong willed, stubborn but whatever she says, she’s missed you like crazy. We all have. Grief is real and however long you needed, your crazy friends are still here. She’ll come round …we haven’t gone anywhere.’

For a time, Felicity’s life had descended into complete darkness. It had taken awhile but she had come a long way over the last eight years. Felicity’s eyes glistened with tears as she felt an overwhelming feeling of love and belonging for her old village. She smiled across the table at her friend knowing that she had missed this place more than she wanted to admit. Everything felt right and familiar.

‘Promise me one thing, Isla.’

‘Go on,’ Isla met her gaze.

‘Just try and hold that baby in until we can get across the bridge and drive you to the hospital.’

‘I’ll try my very best for you. And I’m glad you’ve come home, I for one have really missed you.’

Felicity squeezed Isla’s hand. She knew she had a few bridges to mend but having Isla back on her side gave her an overwhelming feeling of warmth. She’d missed Isla too.