Meet Me at Wisteria Cottage

***

When he returned, Harry found Maddy in her back garden, her strawberry-blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, swishing as her head moved. She stood in the sunshine, an easel before her, with a metal plate in one hand covered with blobs of different shades of blue paints, staring at a canvas.

‘Everything okay?’ he said, standing beside her and admiring her preliminary sketch for a new painting – the ocean and waves crashing against rocks. He recognised the beach as Tinners Bay.

Maddy nodded, chewing on the end of the paintbrush. Once she’d removed it, she said, ‘As I wasn’t allowed in the house this morning, I thought I’d come out here and start on this painting. I don’t feel so bad not being at the gallery and at least I feel like I’m doing some work.’

‘It looks like they’ve gone now.’ There were no more vehicles parked in Annadale Close outside Maddy’s house.

‘Yes, yes, they handed my keys back about half an hour ago and said I’m allowed back in now. The first thing I did was grab some more washing.’ Maddy laughed. ‘Sad, aren’t I?’

‘Not at all, more like practical. What did the insurance company say?’

‘They can’t send a Loss Adjuster out until they’ve received the reports, but they can put me up in rented accommodation in Bodmin.’

‘Nonsense, you can still stay at mine,’ Harry said, before thinking through the implications. It would mean a few more nights on the sofa. But he knew it made sense. Maddy could keep an eye on her house this way. The sofa wouldn’t kill him.

And he could keep an eye on Maddy.

Where did that thought come from?

‘Are you sure?’ She looked up at him, squinting as the sun shone behind him. She raised her hand holding the brush to block the sun, but it didn’t stop the light brightening her green eyes, drawing Harry to her gaze. Their eyes locked briefly until suddenly, a scratching sound came from the fence and they both looked in the direction of the scrambling noise. Sookie’s head appeared, then she swiftly jumped over the garden fence and trotted over, weaving around their legs, purring. Maddy stroked her. ‘It would make it easier for Sookie, too. Less of an upheaval.’

Harry hadn’t thought about the cat. But however much he didn’t like cats, it did make sense. This was about making life easier for his neighbour – who he’d developed a soft spot for. Nonsense. He was even, ever so slightly, becoming fond of the cat, too. I’ll never admit that. ‘Yes, I’m sure. This way you can pop back and forth, and when the insurance guy comes you can tell him to call for you at my house.’

‘The insurance company said something about paying for my accommodation, so I could always pay you.’

‘I don’t need paying.’

While Harry waited for Maddy to finish up and put her easel back in the garage, he took a closer look at her back gate to see if he would need any extra materials to repair it. Maddy stepped out of her garage laden down with a laundry basket piled high with damp clothes and a peg bag. He went to her aid, taking the basket off her, and helped peg out her washing. He grabbed the larger items like T-shirts and let Maddy hang out her underwear. Because that would just be weird.

‘I’ll fix the back gate tomorrow for you,’ he said, focussing back on the job. He would pick up some hinges and better locks in Truro.

‘Thank you. I can definitely pay you for replacing the back gate. It will come out of the insurance payment, so tell me what I owe you. I don’t expect you to do it for free.’

‘I’ll keep the receipts.’ Anything to keep the woman happy.

***

While Harry drove, Maddy enjoyed the views of the Cornish countryside and tried to forget about her scorched kitchen. Once the police had left her house, and she’d gone in to retrieve some washing, she couldn’t help taking another look at her devastated kitchen. Tears had fallen but, giving herself a pep talk, she’d wiped her eyes and ran upstairs. Valerie was right, she couldn’t change the situation, she couldn’t go back in time – time machines hadn’t been invented! – so she needed to get on with life and everything it threw at her. She could do nothing about her kitchen until her insurance company contacted her, but she could at least tidy and clean the upstairs.

Sitting up higher than she was used to in the cab of Harry’s pickup truck, and not having to concentrate on the road as a driver, Maddy was able to see so much more of the lush Cornish landscape. She watched the wind farms on the horizon, how some turned faster than others – what was all the fuss about those things? Surely people would prefer a windmill outside their house rather than a nuclear power station.

‘Your phone’s ringing,’ Harry said, pointing towards Maddy’s handbag where a muffled Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk could be heard.

‘Oh, yes.’ Maddy scrabbled for her phone. Would she get to it in time? When she saw the caller, she wished she’d let the call go to voicemail. I must designate her a different ring tone.

‘Hi, Mum,’ she said as cheerily as she could. Maddy had avoided calling her mother until she had everything organized her end. Plus, she didn’t need Harry seeing her turn into another blubbering mess. She’d hoped to call her mother as soon as she believed she wouldn’t break down.

‘Are you all right? Gosh, I phoned the gallery, and Val told me everything … why didn’t you call me?’ Sandra Hart said with exasperation. She’d spoken so fast she sounded out of breath. Her mother was possibly more put out that Val knew more than she did. Although Valerie and Sandra were the best of friends, Maddy always wondered if there was a hint of jealousy in her mum over Maddy and Valerie’s closeness.

‘Mum, calm down. I’m fine. I haven’t had a chance to call you.’

‘Not a chance to call your own mother!’ Sandra shrieked. Maddy winced, taking the phone away from her ear briefly. ‘Where are you now?’

‘I’m heading into Truro.’

‘Are you driving? Should I call you back? You know you shouldn’t answer the phone while you’re driving.’

‘No, I’m not driving.’

‘Who is then?’

‘Oh, Mum, enough with the questions.’ She stared at the roof lining of the cab, biting her tongue and trying to remain cool, especially with Harry right beside her. He glanced at her but then returned his attention to the road.

‘Maddison, dear, why don’t you come home for a bit?’ This was another of the reasons why Maddy had postponed calling her mother. She knew her dad would worry unnecessarily and Sandra would urge her to come home. ‘It must be awfully scary there. And with so much work needing to be done to the house.’

‘Mum, it’s not scary, and there’s not that much work,’ lie mode cancelled, ‘but what work there is will need to be overseen.’

‘The insurance company will sort that—’

‘And then there’s the gallery.’

‘Valerie can manage there—’

‘And besides,’ Maddy wasn’t going to let her mother bully her into anything if she could help it, ‘Harry has said I can stay with him.’

‘Who’s Harry?’

‘My neighbour.’

‘Not the one you moan about all the time?’

Maddy gulped. She hoped Harry couldn’t hear her mother on the other end of the phone. She switched the phone to her left ear, just in case.

‘Yes, him,’ she hissed.

‘Pardon? I can’t hear you … You said you disliked the man.’ Is it me or is she shouting down the phone?

Maddy’s cheeks flushed. The cab was getting hotter. Had Harry turned off the air-con? ‘Mum, I can’t talk about this right now,’ she glanced at Harry, who appeared to be concentrating on driving and not listening to Maddy’s conversation – Thank God – ‘but Harry has been a tremendous help.’

‘Nothing any neighbour wouldn’t do.’ Harry winked at Maddy. The creases around his eyes, the dimple in his cheek sent heat rushing to Maddy’s inner thighs. What with Sandra’s embarrassing nagging combined with Harry’s good looks — Maddy’s body was suddenly on fire!

‘Connor would take you back.’ As Sandra blurted out the words, a chill coursed through Maddy, as if she’d had a bucket of icy water thrown over her. Her hackles rose.

‘Mum!’

‘Don’t bite my head off,’ Sandra said. ‘Only I saw him this morning, and he asked how you were, and said how sorry he was it hadn’t worked out with you, how much you meant to him. So I called the gallery, and here we are talking about him.’

‘I would not go back to Connor if my life depended on it,’ Maddy muttered, cupping her mouth over the mouthpiece as if it would help keep her conversation private. Fat chance. She knew Harry had heard what she’d said, but her mother needed putting straight. Connor did not bring out the best in Maddy, and now, having realised this, the better off she was without him. Until her kitchen fire, her single lifestyle had been treating her well. Yes, deep down she really wished she had someone to share this burden with, give her a hug, but she had to deal with it – on her own. Harry was helping, actually, keeping her strong, but she had to stand on her own two feet.

‘Okay, okay, I’m sorry I mentioned Connor. I thought he was a nice enough chap.’ Maddy bit her tongue. He was a control freak. And was her mother forgetting how he called her Sandy and she hated being called Sandy? ‘Please be careful, though, darling, you don’t know this Harry. He’s only a neighbour and you hear terrible things in the news. You don’t know what your neighbours get up to behind closed doors. You said you two didn’t see eye to eye, so for all you know he could have started the fire.’

‘Don’t be silly.’ Maddy glanced at Harry as a momentary coldness ran down her spine. He was an ex-fireman. He would know how to make a fire look like an accident. Even the firemen had hinted it was suspicious.

It was suspicious! The police were looking into it as arson.

Maddy had seen the evidence with her own eyes – it had to be arson.

But then he was the one who had alerted the fire service.

He could have started it and then felt guilty.

And why would he let you stay at his house?

Maddy’s mother continued to warble on while Maddy had this ridiculous internal argument.

‘Well, I’d best let you go. You know where I am. Let me know how you get on, and if you need to escape, then there is still plenty of room for you here. Maybe Dad and I will pop down to see you.’

‘No. Don’t.’ Maddy snapped back to the reality of the conversation.

‘Why not? We’re worried about you.’

‘I can’t put you up.’

‘We can stay in a hotel.’

‘It’ll be very expensive this time of year.’ Maddy tried to think of a million excuses why her mum shouldn’t visit.

‘Nonsense, that doesn’t matter—’

‘And probably everywhere will be booked up already.’

‘I’m sure somewhere will have availability. Think about it, dear.’

‘I will.’ Maddy winced. ‘Bye, Mum.’

‘Love you, dear.’

‘Love you, too.’ Maddy returned her phone to her handbag and looked at Harry, who smiled. Did she look flushed scarlet, riled by her mother? Probably. Oh, the joys of having a pale complexion that gives you away immediately. She could never play poker.

‘All okay?’ he asked.

Maddy sighed. ‘What do you think?’

He chuckled, emitting such a calming warmth. The side she’d never seen because she’d been too busy arguing with him about his monstrosity of a truck – which she was currently comfortably sitting in. Oh, the irony …

Of course Harry hadn’t started the fire. Had he?

Chapter 7

Maddy waited for Harry at the place where they’d agreed, on a bench in the cobbled area at the front of the cathedral. Sunglasses perched over her eyes, she relaxed in the sunshine, soaking up the warmth and the busy atmosphere, listening and watching. They’d arrived in Truro soon after midday, and although she’d only been shopping for a couple of hours, her feet were sore and her legs ached. Knowing there were seats, she’d decided to head to their meeting place early. To fill the time, she took a photo of the cathedral, the cloudless blue sky as a backdrop and posted it to her Instagram account.

Truro reminded Maddy a little of Bath, only smaller, with the Georgian architecture and mellow stone buildings. Cobbled streets ran through most of the original parts of the city. The cathedral, grand and impressive, stood tall, prominent on Truro’s skyline. The cathedral could be seen from most of the streets, and heard as well when the bells chimed, as if to ensure you hadn’t forgotten its presence. The seagulls gave occasional cries, a reminder you were in Cornwall, albeit inland, and the coast wasn’t too far away. She wondered if they were as cheeky and aggressive here as in Padstow or Tinners Bay, and would have the audacity to steal a pasty right out of your hand. Probably. Maddy wasn’t prepared to find out.

She spotted Harry approaching before he saw her – over six foot and with broad shoulders, the man stood out from the crowd. She gathered up her shopping and walked towards him.

‘Get everything you need?’ he asked.

‘I think so, I lost interest after a while,’ Maddy said, shrugging her shoulders. ‘I’m not really in the mood.’

She wasn’t a huge shopper at the best of times. It was always when you fancied a spending spree you could never find anything, and when you didn’t have the money, all sorts of lovely things jumped off the rails at you. This apparently was true for everyone, not just Maddy, so her friends assured her.

Today, she’d strolled around her usual favourites, Next, Topshop, and even TK Maxx hoping for some inspiration. She’d bought some essentials, like underwear and toiletries, to tide her over and a couple of pairs of shorts and some summery vest tops on offer – good job the weather was holding. But to be honest, her heart wasn’t in it. She was stressed at the mound of things to sort out at home, and although it had taken her mind off it for a while, she now needed to return and get things in motion. At least do the chores she could be getting on with before the Loss Adjuster arrived, like stripping the beds. Oh, the high life. Whether the insurance paid out or not, these things would need doing.

What was she going to do if the insurance didn’t pay out?

Maddy pushed the chilling thought aside. She had no more savings. They’d been used up buying the house and setting up the gallery.

Thoughtfully, Harry had left her to her own devices, realising she needed privacy to shop. He was only her neighbour after all. The poor man didn’t want to traipse around a load of women’s stores. He was hardly her boyfriend. Even Connor had hated shopping with her.

‘Shall we find somewhere to have a coffee? Then I’ll drive us home.’ Catching Maddy off guard, Harry took her shopping bags from her, adding them to his own, like the perfect gentleman. Connor never offered to hold her bags; she’d always had to ask him to carry them. She certainly hadn’t expected Harry to insist on it.

‘Yes, that sounds like a good idea.’

Harry led the way and found a quaint coffee shop down one of the narrow lanes. As it was so warm, Maddy opted for an iced skinny latte feeling the need for caffeine but not fancying something hot, while Harry asked for a normal latte.

‘Do you want anything else? Cake or a sandwich?’ he asked.

Even though the cakes did look delicious, Maddy shook her head. She’d lost her appetite, which usually happened when she was stressed. ‘No thanks. Better not.’

The woman behind the counter patiently held her hand out for payment as Harry opened his wallet. ‘I’ll pay,’ Maddy said, purse in hand, taking a five-pound note out.

‘No, I’ll get these.’

‘No, it’s the least I can do. I insist. You’ve done so much for me since Wednesday evening.’ Harry frowned as Maddy handed over the money. With a playful nudge, she said, ‘I’ll let you carry the tray.’

With the sun shining, Maddy and Harry opted to sit outside at one of the small bistro tables. Maddy stared in horror while Harry emptied four sachets of sugar into his coffee.

‘You’ll never stay fit if you keep putting sugar in like that.’

‘I burn it off,’ Harry said, grinning. ‘I have a high metabolism.’

‘Can you actually taste the coffee?’ Maddy sipped her iced latte, not having to wait for it to cool down.

‘I like sweet coffee.’

‘It’ll catch up with you one day. You’ll wake up and wonder where all your muscle went.’

‘I don’t take sugar in my tea, though – and I drink that mainly when I’m at work.’

‘I drink too much coffee. I’d be the size of a house if I put four sugars in every cup. I barely make time for the gym as it is.’ Just looking at Harry’s tanned arms, his biceps bulging under the light blue T-shirt he was wearing made Maddy feel flabby. Now the weather was getting warmer, she’d have to make sure she took more dips in the sea after work. She enjoyed body-boarding and the exhilaration of catching a wave, even though she wasn’t as good as those who did it regularly, those who had been born surfing, living in Cornwall all their lives.

A silence fell between them. The cathedral bells chimed three o’clock. Shoppers and holidaymakers passed them by, seagulls squawked from rooftops, and for a while, they people-watched and drank their coffee without talking. Two people who barely knew one another and thrown together under unusual circumstances, Maddy thought to herself. If this were a date, they’d be trying to get to know one another better rather than sit in silence. It was an odd situation. Would there be any harm in finding out more about her neighbour?

‘So … you know the fire crew then?’ Maddy asked, wanting to break the now awkward silence developing between them.

‘Yes,’ Harry said, nodding. ‘I used to be a fireman. I transferred from Exeter, but I was only with them six months.’

‘Oh, why did you leave?’

Harry grimaced for a split second, and he looked at his half-full latte glass. Without meeting Maddy’s gaze, he said, ‘I’d rather not talk about it.’

‘Oh, okay, sorry …’ Maddy found herself fumbling with the straw in her iced latte. Change the subject. Quick. ‘So, can you tell me why one is called Shep?’ She’d heard one of the firemen call another by this name, and had thought it unusual.

Harry’s expression softened. ‘His real name is Shaun.’ Maddy frowned at him in confusion. ‘As in Shaun the Sheep? At first he was Sheepy, but it got shortened to Shep.’

‘Oh, I get it, as in a sheepdog.’ She smiled her understanding. ‘And Barrows?’

‘That’s his surname.’ Harry chuckled.

‘That’s not very exciting. Why do they call you Roses?’

‘Tudor … War of the Roses …’

Maddy laughed. ‘I get it! Firemen are odd. Why don’t you all call each other by your real names?’

‘Where’s the fun in that?’

‘And Dixons … because he likes spicy curries? Get it – Curry’s – Dixons?’

Harry chuckled. ‘Not quite, but I like your line of thinking. It is actually because he has to have every latest top of the range gadget going. 3D HD TVs whatever they are … surround sound, you name it the man’s got it. He was named Dixons before they merged with Carphone Warehouse – obviously.’

‘Obviously.’ Maddy nodded, finishing her drink and feeling more relaxed in Harry’s company. Harry emptied his glass.

‘Shall we head back? Have you got all you need?’ Harry crumpled his paper napkin and poked it inside the empty glass so it wouldn’t blow away.

‘Yes, I have so much to do, it doesn’t bear thinking about.’ However, she wasn’t sure she’d get much done by the time they returned. Maddy stood, gathering her shopping bags. Harry took them off her as if it was the most natural gesture in the world – that a man should carry a woman’s bags. To remove the temptation to link her arm through Harry’s, like she would have with a close friend or Connor, and cause herself more embarrassment, Maddy pushed her hands into her pockets, unsure what to do with them. They started walking, weaving their way through the crowds, towards Lemon Quay where Harry’s truck was parked.

‘Oh, cat food!’ Maddy said, spying a Tesco supermarket by the car park. All of her food had been destroyed in the kitchen.

‘Good idea,’ Harry said. ‘I only had the one can of tuna.’

‘What did you feed her this morning?’ Maddy asked. Her brain was all over the place, and she was even forgetting to feed the cat.

‘I nipped round to number twenty-two – I know she has a cat, too. She gave me a can.’

‘Oh, it’s all right that she owns a cat,’ Maddy said, smirking. ‘I bet you haven’t fallen out with her over her cat.’

‘Funnily enough she’s never moaned about where I park my truck.’ His eyes narrowed on Maddy, but there was mischief behind them.

‘You know, she has two cats, don’t you? So there are plenty of cats in the close that could be crapping in your garden.’ Maddy pouted. Her ponytail swished as she picked up her step more confidently next to Harry.

‘I know, I know, I take it all back – about your cat! She’s living with me isn’t she?’

‘I bet you twinkled those blue eyes of yours and made the poor old woman at number twenty-two weak at the knees. She didn’t stand a chance.’

‘Nothing wrong with using the charm. If you’ve got it, flaunt it.’

Maddy gently elbowed him, chuckling. The touch of his hot skin against hers sent a shot of electricity through her. He had it all right.

Between them, they picked up some groceries and food for Sookie, Harry pushing the shopping trolley around the store. Then, laden with heavy shopping – Harry carrying most of it – they made their way back towards the car park.

‘So why’s she called Sookie?’ Harry loaded the shopping into the back of the flatbed then closed the tailgate and pinned the cover back down. ‘Anything to do with socks?’

Maddy laughed, shaking her head. ‘No, at the time I adopted her, I was reading the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. Because Sooty is a common name to call a black cat, but it’s more a name for a tom, I thought, being a girl, Sookie would suit her better.’

‘Oh, so it’s nothing to do with her having one white paw then. I keep calling her Socks.’

‘If you feed her, she’ll answer to anything.’

Twenty minutes into their journey, the traffic had come to a standstill on the A39 northbound, while traffic whizzed by on the other side. Unlike the A30, this road was single carriageway for most parts.

‘All we need – there’s been an accident,’ Maddy said, presuming that was the cause of the delay. She huffed out a breath, anxious to get home.

Momentarily, Harry’s eyes widened, then he breathed as if trying to calm himself down.

‘No, no, it looks like they’ve just broken down,’ he said, pointing out the windscreen.

He sounded relieved. Maddy was pleased too. It might mean the traffic would get moving quicker. She’d been deep in thought, her head heavily clouded with stress, processing the amount of jobs stacking up, from the small menial tasks of the washing coming off the line, to where to start on the house so she could move back into her home. Plus, when she could go back to work at the gallery.

‘Let me see if they need a hand.’ Harry pushed the button on the dash and his truck’s hazard lights flashed. Before opening his car door, he said, ‘Stay here, Maddy, please.’

As Maddy watched Harry jog up to the vehicle three cars ahead, she wondered if she’d imagined his expression of panic when she’d assumed it was an accident in front. It was as if he’d physically relaxed as soon as he’d realised it was only a broken down car.

She waited patiently in the truck as Harry spoke to the driver of the car – a distressed looking man in his forties, who had his young family out on the side of the road, up on the bank for safety. The mother carried a crying toddler, while an older child held her hand. Maddy watched Harry take control of the situation. With the window down, she could hear some of his instructions. He gathered a couple more helpers from the cars in front and sent an older man in his sixties back along the traffic, to keep any cars from passing. The last thing anyone needed was an accident. With the help of the other men, Harry pushed the car along to a safer position on the road. There was a lay-by not far ahead.