Wednesday evening arrived and Josh still hadn’t called. I hated that I’d become one of those women. I’d never been the sort who’d stared at my phone, willing a man to call or text but I found myself longing to hear his voice and, more than that, to feel his touch. Argh!
‘Nearly forgot to tell you,’ Dave said, tucking into a stir-fry. ‘There were a couple of blokes at the farm this afternoon asking questions.’
‘From the council?’
‘No. Not officials. They said they were relatives of Thomas’s.’
My pulse raced and I exchanged looks with Rich.
‘What did they want?’ Rich asked.
‘They were asking what had happened to Thomas and who owned the farm now.’
‘What did you tell them?’ I asked.
Dave put his fork down and looked from me to Rich then back to me. ‘What am I missing?’
I filled him in about hate mail from Gwendoline’s family.
‘Crap,’ Dave said. ‘It was Pete who spoke to them. He said he didn’t give them any details but he thought they seemed like decent blokes.’
‘If they come back, can you make sure nobody tells them anything? I’ll give Mr Jeffreys a call in the morning.’
I jumped when my mobile rang. Josh? But it was Dad. I’d spoken to him on Monday night to find out all about his first proper day and to let him know about Lauren’s offer but I was too embarrassed to quiz him about Josh asking for my number.
‘Hi, Dad.’
‘Hi, poppet. I’ve been round to Lauren’s. I like her and the room’s great so I’m moving in on Saturday.’
‘Wow! Fast mover.’
He sighed. ‘There’s no point prolonging it.’ There was a sadness to his tone and I hated how much this was hurting him.
‘You’re doing the right thing, Dad,’ I reassured him.
‘I know. It feels like it took forever to get to this point and now everything’s happening so quickly. It’s a lot to process. Anyway, your mum and I accepted an offer on the house today. It’s a family and they want to move in over the Easter holidays, which means a speedy completion. Your mum’s house won’t be ready but she’ll stay with Louise so I might as well start my new life in the Wolds straightaway.’
‘How’s Mum doing?’
‘She’s like a different woman. She actually laughed at something I said the other day instead of growling at me.’ I could hear the smile in his voice. ‘We should have done this years ago.’
‘I’d never have moved home if I’d thought it would cause so many problems for you.’
‘Don’t start blaming yourself, Sammie. This has been coming since way before that. I just didn’t want to accept it was over. Anyway, I need to go as I’m meeting your Uncle Simon, but are you free tomorrow night for a celebratory dinner?’
‘Sounds good.’
‘Pick you up at seven. Avoid jeans if possible. We’re not going to your local this time.’
‘You mean wear a dress?’
‘Do you have one?’
‘Believe it or not, I have several, inherited from Gwendoline.’
‘Then wear one of those, if you feel comfortable in it.’
After we’d said our goodbyes, I went up to my bedroom and looked at the dresses. Fingering the fabric of the one I’d worn on Friday, a zip of electricity shot through me. I’d felt very comfortable in it and even more comfortable out of it with Josh by my side. Stop it! He hasn’t called. He’s not going to call. It was one night and one night only.
I had more important things to worry about. If Gwendoline’s horrible money-grabbing relatives had been to the farm, they’d probably heard through the grapevine that Thomas was dead. After reading their hate mail, there was no doubt in my mind that they’d contest the will. The last thing I needed right now was a legal fight but nothing and nobody was going to stop me from opening that rescue centre.