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The woman was nodding, vindicated, he guessed.
‘Mac, we’re mates. That’s a low blow…’ He hung his head, unable to look at the trio.
It was suddenly hot. Noah felt the prickle on his bare neck where the rays of sun hit, heard the birds too loud in the treetops and his dreams dropping into a puddle at his feet. Looking at the old house, it wasn’t much, but he’d imagined how it could be renovated into the perfect family home. The home that might have saved his marriage; instead, now, a home for him and his daughter, for their future. Except those dreams were being trodden on, squashed by a city slicker, no less.
‘Good luck fixing the fence.’ He strode back to the driver’s door, slammed it shut and revved the engine before driving away and leaving dust in his wake.
Chapter Two
‘I’ll have two punnets of strawberries please.’
‘Oh, hello. Are you visiting for the weekend?’
Ava smiled in reply as the lady wearing a bright pink tee bagged up her goodies. ‘No, we’ve just moved here.’
The lady’s face lit up. ‘Well, that’s fabulous. Welcome to Bellethorpe. I’m Bridie Finch of Finch Berry Farm. I hope you love the strawberries. We’re here at the markets every Saturday morning along with the other locals selling their fruit and veg.’
A flash of déjà vu hit Ava with a memory of country markets and fresh fruit. Of spitting watermelon seeds with her brother, Charlie and seeing how far they’d land.
She took the bag and placed it into her canvas tote. ‘Ava Montgomery,’ she offered. The name sounded strange on her tongue. ‘These markets have been running for a long time.’
Bridie squinted, titled her head to the left with unasked questions. ‘As long as I’ve been in Bellethorpe. Whereabouts are you living?’
Ava had forgotten about country life; everything was everyone’s business. A timely reminder to keep her comments to herself.
‘The house out on Kinross Road.’
Bridie’s face screwed up in concentration. ‘What, surely not the old place? Isn’t it in a state after being empty all these years?’
Ava’s laugh was nervous. ‘It isn’t so bad. A little reno project; I’m going to fix her up.’
‘Admirable. Big job ahead.’
‘Actually, I might ask your advice about that. I need help with renovations. Can you recommend someone?’
Bridie offered another broad, all-teeth smile and clapped her hands together; her luminous pink fingernails matched her shirt perfectly.
‘Yes, there’s only one. He’s the best builder in the entire region. In fact, he’s working at the far end of the street at my partner’s restaurant this morning. We’re building an extension, more seating space. Why don’t you go and catch up with him? If you head straight down this road,’ Bridie pointed. ‘You’ll see it on your left. I’d escort you but I need to man the stall.’
‘Oh, no, that’s fine, no need, thank you. I’ll go and have a chat to him.’
Ava went to move away but Bridie stalled her by touching her arm. ‘And I’ll give you my phone number. If you ever need anything, honestly, please get in touch. We’re family out here.’ Bridie ripped out a sheet of paper from a notebook and scribbled her number before handing it over.
‘That’s really kind, thank you.’ Ava accepted the number and turned to leave.
‘Oh, and where have you moved from?’ Bridie continued.
With her back to Bridie, Ava froze. Beside her, Ismail not similarly inhibited, piped up. ‘London! And did you know it’s winter over there and summer here right now?’
‘Well, hello young man. Nice to meet you. From London, wow,’ Bridie flitted a glance back to Ava who’d turned around. ‘That sure is a long way. I’ve never been and fancy it being cold there and hot here at the same time. That’s strange, isn’t it? What’s your name?’
‘Ism…’
‘Duke. His name is Duke. And we’d best be getting along. Thank you for the strawberries and the recommendation.’
Ava weaved in and out of the crowds, past the long coffee queue and people surrounding stalls filled with colourful produce. At the far end of the street, she followed the noise of grinding and hammering until she found L’Amour that had a front visage of romantic reds and deep maroons. With the door wide open, Ava observed a team of men wearing hardhats and earplugs and matching green collared shirts. A man passed by the entrance and paused. ‘Hi. I’m sorry we’re closed. Just doing some minor extension work this morning, apologies for the noise. I’ll be operating take-out tonight if you’d like to come back?’
‘I’ll be sure to come back, thank you, but Bridie at the strawberry stall recommended your builder to me and I thought I’d chat to him whilst I’m in town. But if he’s busy, I’ll contact him another time.’
