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‘Amazing. I’ll get Tasha to bring a sample pack with her this evening, but they’ve come out really well. Amelia’s artwork looks fantastic.’
‘Hey, do me a favour and make sure you tell her that tonight, will you?’
‘Of course.’ Rhys hesitated. ‘Is there a problem?’
Ben sighed. ‘Just a bit of a crisis of confidence. After a great start she’s had a couple of tough weeks at college and nothing I say seems to make any difference.’
‘Why not get Ro to talk to her?’ Zap suggested. ‘She was delighted with the contribution you both made to her art residency and I know she’s planning on asking you both to help out with the next one.’
Rhys nodded. ‘Mum will be able to find the right words. I mean, I’ll tell Amelia what I told you just now, but if she needs someone to talk about it who will understand then Mum is definitely the one for that.’
Leaving his cousin and father plotting the best way for Rowena to approach Amelia, Rhys hurried back to his car and drove to the farmhouse. The large cobbled yard was already a hive of activity with tables being set up and fairy lights being strung along the walls. As Rhys pulled up, a tall blonde man glanced his way, his face breaking out into a smile as he shoved his glasses back up his nose with one finger. ‘Hello, mate!’
Rhys climbed out and gave Cam a bear hug. ‘You made good time!’
Cam laughed as he waved an arm to encompass the group of volunteers behind him. ‘I couldn’t keep this lot away, especially not when a famous Travers family barbeque was promised.’
‘Can you round up a few people to help me unload the car? It’s all stuff for tonight.’
‘Of course. Hey, Scott, Adam, come and give us a hand, will you?’
A young man with a shy but eager smile jogged over, followed by the slightly older Asian man. Rhys remembered them from the previous summer and shook them both by the hand. ‘Welcome back. How’s the studies?’ he asked Scott.
Scott’s smile grew even wider. ‘Brilliant! Dr Ferguson makes it all so easy and when he said I could come and join the team here again this year, I couldn’t believe my luck.’
‘Hopefully you’ll get to the bottom of everything this time,’ Rhys replied, making sure to keep his amusement to himself. Scott had struggled in his first year and almost been sent down. The fear of failing a course his father had been dead set against him taking had resulted in him using plagiarised material in his final essay. Luckily for him, the only thing his father hated more than Scott wasting his time on a degree he felt was of no value was the public humiliation of having his son branded a cheat. Thanks to an outrageously large donation, the university administrators had been persuaded to give Scott a second chance.
Cam had refused to teach him, but his friend and colleague Barnie had stepped in and smoothed the way. A deeply contrite Scott had knuckled down and gradually proven his worth to both Barnie and Cam. Their relationship had slowly repaired over the summer working at Juniper Meadows and, following an intervention by Cam, Scott had found the courage to stand up to his father after years of bullying and humiliation. It was clear the boy had a serious case of hero-worship, which Rhys didn’t think would do him any harm at all. Cam was one of the nicest men he knew, and Scott couldn’t do much better than to look to him as a role model.
‘We’re looking at the chapel ruins, so I think it’ll mostly be survey and measuring work.’ Scott cast a worried glance towards Cam. ‘Not that I’m complaining, because it’s one of the most important aspects of any archaeological work.’
Adam laughed as he nudged Scott out of the way and picked up one of the boxes in the back of the car. ‘You can see how we brainwash the undergrads because that’s the only way we get the boring stuff done.’
Scott joined in with their laughter. ‘I don’t care what I do. I’m just happy to be back here.’
‘I’ll bear that in mind over the next two weeks,’ Cam said as he grabbed several carrier bags and hauled them off towards the kitchen.
Rhys and Scott managed the rest between them, and they entered the kitchen to find the kind of organised chaos that only happened when his family decided to throw a party. His mum was standing by the open fridge door, trying to fit the food onto shelves that were already full. Somehow the pots and packets Cam was handing to her were disappearing inside. Rhys set the bags he’d carried in next to them and left them to it. Ziggy was presiding over a group that were chopping and dicing ingredients for salads and dips, included Cam’s colleague, Barnie. ‘Well, if it isn’t the renowned Dr Lysander Barnard in all his glory!’ Rhys declared with a grin.
Barnie extended his middle finger without looking up, earning himself a gentle smack on the shoulder from Daisy, who was working next to him. ‘Ow. He started it.’
‘Foolish boys,’ she grumbled, but she was laughing.
‘You love us,’ Rhys said, leaning over to kiss her cheek.
‘You adore us,’ Barnie added, resting his head on her shoulder and fluttering his eyelashes up at her. ‘When are you going to adopt me, Daisy, so I can come and live at Juniper Meadows forever?’
She patted his cheek. ‘I’m sure your mother would miss you too much if I did that. How about I borrow you for the occasional weekend, instead?’
‘Done!’ Barnie straightened up, looking as though he’d won a great victory.
‘Right, I’ll be back in a bit,’ Rhys said.
‘Can you take the dogs with you?’ Ziggy asked, pointing towards the closed door that led to the hallway. ‘Hope left the puppies here this morning and they are very unhappy about missing out on all the fun.’ As if on cue, a mournful howl could be heard above the noise of the radio and the half-dozen conversations going on.
‘Yes, of course. I’m heading over to see Tasha, so I’ll give them all a good run out in the woods.’ He looked at the food everywhere, the people crowding around, and made a strategic decision. ‘I’ll take them out via the front door.’
The front door was technically the back door since everyone came and went via the kitchen. Rhys walked around the farmhouse and braced himself as he opened the door a few inches. A black furry bullet threw itself at him and he managed to grab Sweep’s collar as the Labrador tried to muscle his way between Rhys’s legs and escape. ‘Not so fast, pal.’ Nudging him back inside, Rhys wrangled leads on the two puppies. Delilah had barely bothered to raise her head from the cushion, so he bent and scooped her up under one arm, while Samson waited patiently beside the door. ‘Come on, let’s get some fresh air.’
