LITMIR.BIZ

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Mr Bannister, Alf, said it would sell quickly and I’m sure he’s right, and I’d need to sell my own house first.’

      ‘Don’t worry about that. If you really want it, get yours on the market and we’ll sit on this for a few days.’

      ‘But you can’t …’ She frowned. ‘It’s business, you …’

      ‘It’s much better for the village if the people who live here own the houses. Especially these ones. We can’t hold on to it for ever, but if you’re serious …’

      ‘Yes.’ She looked around, and nodded. ‘I’m serious.’ There was a little flutter of anticipation deep down in her stomach. This could be her home. Her real home. Not some characterless block of bricks that was little more to her than a symbol of her achievements. ‘I am.’ She could hear the conviction ring out in her own voice. ‘I’ll ring the agent who’s letting mine out as soon as I get home, I’m sure he can give me an idea of how long it would take to sell, and confirm a price.’ Although she had a fair idea of how much the house would be worth. Hopefully she’d be able to keep the same level of mortgage and she’d have a little bit of equity to spend on the work the cottage needed.

      ‘Great, Alf will be pleased.’

      She raised an eyebrow, and Simon laughed.

      ‘He’s okay, just a bit of a grumpy git on the outside, but his heart’s in the right place. He’d far rather somebody we know buy it, and so would May’s family.’

      Lucy felt a little glow spread up through her body. Somebody we know. She hadn’t been in the village that long, less than a year, but she did feel she belonged, she did feel she knew people – which was something she’d never expected at all.

      ‘Feel free to come and collect the key if you need another look.’

      ‘I will, thanks Simon. I’ll let you know this afternoon what the agent says, although you’re closed aren’t you?’

      ‘Officially, according to Alf. Here,’ he held out a card, ‘take this, it’s got my mobile number on it.’

      The banging on the door was followed by the sound of it creaking open, and a cheery ‘hello.’ Lucy gave up on staring at the email from the estate agents, not that she’d been concentrating on it that hard – with the poorly pup on her mind – and closed the lid of her laptop with a sigh, just as Maisie flung the kitchen door open and dashed in, a small brown dog at her heels.

      ‘I’ve been to see my friend, have you got any cakes? Daddy says you’ve got cakes.’

      Lucy grinned. ‘They’re for the picnic tomorrow.’

      ‘Hi!’ Charlie, looking much more relaxed than he had earlier at the surgery, ruffled his daughter’s hair. ‘You’ve had enough cake, and what happened to “Hello Lucy, how are you?”’

      ‘I don’t need to say that, she’s got a happy face so I already know.’ Maisie rooted through the wicker basket of toys near the back door. ‘Daddy says your puppy’s a poo.’ She giggled. ‘Poo and Roo go together. Come on Roo.’ Picking out a tug toy she waved it at the dog, before making a dash for the back garden.

      ‘My puppy’s a poo?’ Lucy raised an eyebrow. Not sure about the poo, or the fact Maisie had called it her puppy.

      Charlie shook his head, trying not to smile. ‘It is indeed, well that’s my best guess, I think it’s a cockerpoo, a cocker spaniel poodle cross, and I have good news.’

      ‘About the puppy? She’s going to be okay?’

      ‘Yep. I thought I’d deliver the news in person, along with this.’ He held up a bottle of wine, then after a quick glance out of the window he leaned in and planted the softest of kisses on her lips. It was a gentle caress, the slightest brush of his dry lips against hers, but it found its way all the way down to her toes.

      ‘Oh.’ Lucy’s stomach gave a little flip, and the single syllable quivered. They’d said they wouldn’t get too involved over the summer, for Maisie’s sake. But they’d failed miserably. Not that the little girl had been affected. Charlie’s parents had been overjoyed that Josie was away. She’d always limited the time they could spend with their only granddaughter, and as soon as they’d known the coast was clear they’d been on the phone to Charlie – begging him to let them spend as much time as they could with Maisie over the summer. So Maisie had spent several weeks with her nana and grandad, and Lucy had spent rather a lot of time with Charlie.

      Now, after two weeks of him spending as much time as he could with Maisie, and her spending rather more time than she wanted to with her spreadsheets preparing for the new school year, she had a very unladylike urge to jump on him.

      He winked, as though he’d read her mind. ‘I really need to get my hands on you, think you’ll be able to cope with my animal urges once Maisie’s fast asleep tonight?’ The rough edge to his voice brought a rush of goosebumps to her arms.

      ‘I’ll do my best.’ She grinned as the heady atmosphere of anticipation lifted a bit. ‘Think you’ll be able to cope with all my demands?’

      ‘Oh, I’ll certainly do my best.’

      They grinned at each other. Then he remembered the wine. ‘Open it now, finish it later?’

      She smiled back at the question in his voice. She’d fallen in love, and she felt happier than she could ever remember being. But she also knew they had to keep this as low key as they could for Maisie’s sake, now she was back.

      Lucy knew only too well how it felt to be abandoned by somebody you loved, what the upheaval from your family home could do to you. At least Maisie’s dad loved her, both her parents loved her, and her move to Langtry Meadows was to a lovely welcoming place. Nothing like the nightmare Lucy had experienced.

      When she was not much older than Maisie, she’d been sure that nobody loved her. She’d thought her dad had abandoned her, and that her friends hated her. She’d lost her dog, her home, and her mother was working every hour she could to scrape a living. Lucy’s whole world had crumbled. Which was why, when she’d graduated, she’d buried herself in the anonymity of a city.

      But she’d learned recently that the truth was far more complicated. Wasn’t it always? That her mum had feared for their lives, and fled her domineering and brutal husband. That starting a brand new life, severing all their ties had been what had saved them. Even though for years it hadn’t seemed like that.

      Maisie’s situation was quite different. But Lucy knew that the little girl needed as much of her father’s attention as work allowed. For now, she had to be there for support, a helping hand, not her father’s lover. Which would be confusing, more than confusing as she was also going to be Maisie’s teacher.

      Tonight though was special. They’d agreed that they needed to distract Maisie from the fast approaching start of term. Charlie and his daughter would stay with Lucy in the cottage, then in the morning they’d make a picnic together, before heading off on an adventure.

      ‘Sounds nice.’ She grabbed a corkscrew. ‘Is she okay?’ Lucy kept her voice low, even though Roo was barking and Maisie was squealing excitedly.

      Charlie shrugged. ‘She’s been a bit subdued.’ The smile dropped from his face, the fan of laughter lines she loved so much faded away. ‘It’s my fault, she’s probably spent far too much time with Mum and Dad this summer and in between I’ve let her see too much of her old friends, and not got her to mix with the kids here.’

      ‘It’s not your fault.’ She chided him gently, wishing she could take the worry away from his eyes. ‘Everybody is away over the summer anyway, and she needs to know her old friends are still there for her, young kids need to feel secure, it helps them cope with change.’ She glanced down. ‘I lost all my friends when I moved.’ It had been horrible, she’d come to terms with it, discovered why it had been that way. But she could still remember how it felt. The hurt. The feeling of being

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