‘How did it go?’ Rich asked when I finally made it home on Monday after an open evening at the TEC.
‘I feel like I’ve talked non-stop for two hours but it was good.’
‘Dave made lasagne and there’s a plate with your name on it,’ he said after I’d told him about a few of the students I’d met and some of the funny questions I’d been asked.
‘What am I going to do without you two? Do you want to move into the farm with me?’
Rich laughed. ‘Don’t go making offers like that because we might just take you up on it. Let me go and heat your food up.’
He returned a few minutes later with a plate of lasagne and salad. ‘Tuck in.’
‘You’re a star. How’s your day been?’
‘High body count today. We lost three.’
‘No! That’s tough. How are you holding up?’
Rich talked to me while I ate and I’d almost finished my meal when my mobile rang. Unknown number again. I shovelled in the last mouthful. ‘Hello?’
Silence. Again.
‘Look, Chloe, if that’s you and you want to speak, just speak because this is completely pointless.’
There was a definite sob.
‘I’m hanging up now…’
‘No, don’t,’ she said. ‘I need to see you.’ Her voice was weak and shaky. ‘There’s something I need to ask you but not over the phone.’
‘You saw me on Saturday. Why didn’t you speak to me then?’
‘I wasn’t expecting to see you. Mum didn’t tell us where we were going until we’d pulled onto the farm track.’
That would certainly explain the few minutes that passed before they exited the car. They’d probably both been having a go at Auntie Louise.
‘Are you free on Thursday night at about half six?’ she asked.
I was tempted to be churlish and put her off but my curiosity was piqued. ‘I can be.’
‘Can I meet you at the farm? I should be able to find it again.’
‘I thought you were meant to be resting.’
‘Like you care.’
‘Chloe! That’s ridiculous and you know it.’
‘Can you do Thursday at the farm or not?’ she snapped.
I sighed ‘Yes. See you then.’
‘What does she want?’ Rich asked after the call ended.
‘Not a clue.’ I really wasn’t in the mood for another confrontation with Chloe. But she hadn’t said she wanted to talk; she’d specifically said she wanted to ask me something. What could that be? It certainly wasn’t going to be asking me to be a birthing partner or a godmother to their baby.
As I lay in bed that night, I couldn’t stop thinking about Chloe. Our angry exchange of words from Saturday raced through my mind, particularly the part where I’d said I wasn’t in love with James anymore. As the words came out, I’d realised they were true. The first couple of months after the wedding had been hard but I’d soon realised I missed Chloe way more than I missed James. That ache had gone. I’d barely spared him a second thought for months. He’d stopped being the man I loved and he’d started being the cause of a huge family rift and I resented him for it.
I smiled to myself. It was completely over. I definitely didn’t love him but I definitely wasn’t looking for a new relationship, no matter how much Lauren kept nagging me about setting me up. Romantic attachments brought hurt and complications and I didn’t have the time or energy for them. My one and only priority was getting Hedgehog Hollow Rescue Centre up and running, fulfilling Thomas and Gwendoline’s dreams.