Blackberry Picking at Jasmine Cottage

‘Can’t she?’

When Lucy had first met Charlie, he’d spent months struggling to put his life back together. He’d always been prepared to fight for his right to see Maisie – whether she was his or not – but then when Josie had unexpectedly offered an olive branch, his life had picked up. ‘But surely any court would see you’ve been a father to her? That you’re looking after her now? She can’t just stop you seeing her.’ The unspoken question that neither of them knew the answer to hung in the air between them, can she?

He shrugged, looking defeated. ‘But what if I’m not her father? Do I have any say at all? What if her …’

‘I don’t know.’ She squeezed his hand, looked into his eyes and knew they were having the same thought. What if he really wasn’t Maisie’s dad, what if her real father came back? ‘But we can find out what rights you’ve got, can’t we? You do want her here with you don’t you?’ She knew he did, but he needed to say it.

‘Of course I do.’ His eyes were shadowed. ‘I really thought Josie was planning on coming back, settling locally so that Maisie had both of us. That’s what she said, we agreed. But now …’ He shrugged despondently, the droop of his shoulders saying it all.

‘Oh Charlie.’ She wrapped her arms round him, and after a moment he put his arm round her shoulders and pulled her in tighter against him. ‘We can’t think about the worst case right now. We’ve got to assume the best, make it look like you’re expecting her to stay.’ She could feel the burn of tears in her eyes. Josie couldn’t be allowed to do this again. She wouldn’t let her. Swallowing away her upset she forced the tremor out of her voice. ‘You’re right though, you need a proper home and you need child care.’

‘But the surgery needs somebody there all the time. It works, me being in the flat, on hand.’

‘But it doesn’t work for Maisie.’ Lucy pulled away and straightened up. ‘Eric didn’t live there before, did he?’

‘No, it was just used if Sal needed to stay overnight, if we had a dog in.’

‘Right, well it sounds like it’s time you moved out, and went back to that arrangement. It was fine for just you, Charlie when you were a locum and weren’t even expecting to stay long.’

‘True.’ Charlie nodded, ran his fingers through his hair in a gesture she knew so well. When he’d moved back to Langtry Meadows, it had been to help Eric out. A temporary position. Eric was now on the road to recovery, and soon he’d be back in the surgery helping out, but he’d already told Charlie he wanted him to stay. That he needed help for the foreseeable future.

‘But it’s different now, isn’t it? In fact,’ she paused as a sudden idea popped into her head, ‘why not ask Eric if Sal can move in permanently? I know on the wage you pay her,’ he raised an eyebrow but she carried on, ‘she can’t afford anywhere big, and there are hardly any small places up for sale or rent in Langtry Meadows. Oh come on, Charlie, it makes sense, I know she’s dying to get away from her parents.’

‘Sounds like we need one of your spreadsheets.’ There was a glimmer of the old Charlie there, a hint of smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

‘It does. And an estate agent.’

‘You’re right, it might make Maisie feel more settled as well if I get a place that reminds her of home.’ He put a hand on her knee, the warmth seeping in, and she leaned in against him. She couldn’t help it. ‘Thanks.’ He dropped the lightest of kisses on her hair. ‘You’ve got to show me this house that you’re after as well, over the weekend. I am interested you know, sorry we’ve not had time—’

‘Neither of us have had a spare moment. I’ll show you round, but don’t expect much, it needs a lot of work.’

‘But you’ve got time, before Annie comes back?’

‘True. But first let’s sort your stuff out, that’s far more urgent.’

‘I’ll get Becky’s number off Sally tomorrow, she’s bound to have it.’

‘She is, or I can ask at school. Jill will probably know.’

‘Talking of Sal, your little Piper is ready to go home. Shall I bring her round in the morning?’

‘Sure.’ Lucy frowned. She really wanted the little dog, she’d been thinking about her ever since she’d found her by the garden gate – and she’d popped into the surgery regularly after school to check up on how she was doing. But the thought of taking responsibility for her was a bit daunting, even though she’d been caring for all of Annie’s animals. This was different, this was a dog of her own.

‘What’s up?’ Charlie nudged her.

‘How can I look after her? I don’t often get a chance to pop home at lunch time, and she can’t spend all day on her own.’ And soon she might have a house-renovation project on her hands as well.

‘Well I can soon sort that.’

Lucy jumped at the gruff country burr behind her, then twisted round to find Jim had sneaked up unnoticed. ‘Jim!’ The school governor, and Annie’s brother, had been looking after her since she’d arrived in Langtry Meadows. It was Jim who had introduced her to Annie, found her a place to stay, he kept an eye on things and checked she was coping with the gorgeous but overgrown cottage garden, and now it seemed he was jumping into the breach again.

‘Evening!’ He grinned, showing a chipped tooth.

‘But how …’

‘You’ve no need to go worrying about that pup while you’re in school, I can quite easily take the young ’un a walk for you when I take Molly.’

‘You walk Molly?’ Lucy was surprised, she’d never realised that Jim helped Elsie out with her dog, and she hadn’t realised that her discovering Piper was common knowledge either. But in Langtry Meadows it was hard to keep anything under wraps.

‘Oh aye. I offered a while ago, when Elsie was finding she was too,’ he paused diplomatically, looking for the right word. Nobody would dare call Elsie old, or suggest she couldn’t cope, ‘busy. Not been feeling quite herself lately, and she has a lot on some days so I said it was no trouble.’

Lucy frowned. ‘Is she okay?’ She’d not seen quite as much of Elsie Harrington as she should since she’d been caught up in the new term, and the old lady had been so kind to her.

‘Just old age and a bit of a summer cold, but you know she doesn’t like a fuss young Lucy. I’m sure she’d welcome a visit though if you’re passing. Aye well, official dog walker, me.’ He chuckled. ‘It would be good for Molly to have a youngster come along with us, she doesn’t run around that much since her own pups went, the lazy old thing.’

‘So that’s settled then.’ Charlie stood up. ‘Can I get you a drink, Jim? Lucy?’

Lucy grinned. ‘Definitely. Sit down Jim. I reckon you’re better than any estate agent, aren’t you? Do you know if there are any houses up for rent in the village?’

Chapter 6

‘Oh God, no.’ Lucy clutched her head. It wasn’t how she liked Saturdays to start. Piper was barking a high pitched ‘I didn’t know I could do it’ kind of bark, and a hen was squawking indignantly.

A hen.

She sat up abruptly. The hens should be in the garden, not in the house. Not even stopping to put her slippers on, she scrambled down the narrow staircase.

‘I didn’t know you could bark.’ Piper flapped her tatty tail sheepishly, but didn’t look up. Her chin was on the floor, her gaze fixed on the bottom of the bureau. She wriggled forward a few inches on her tummy, commando style and Lucy tried not to laugh. The hen that she’d nicknamed Squeak wasn’t squeaking, for the first time since Lucy had set eyes on her she was flapping her wings and squawking out what sounded like a warning.

The puppy was unperturbed.

Lucy knelt down so that she was at her level, and peered. Peeping out from the darkness under the bureau was something yellowy-brown and fluffy. A chick. She put her head on the floor so that she could see right under, and another three pairs of eyes stared out from the gloom.

‘Oh.’ She stood up and frowned at Squeak. ‘You’re supposed to lay eggs for breakfast, not hide them until they hatch. Now what are we going to do?’ What on earth was she supposed to do? Leave the chicks there? Put them somewhere warm? Put them back outside with Squeak and the other hens? ‘How did you get in the house anyway?’ Squeak ruffled her feathers, deciding that now Lucy was there to protect her she didn’t need to scream, and settled down.

Piper sat up, whined then lay down again, nudging her nose in the direction of a fluffy chick.

‘I think we’re going to have to ring for assistance, aren’t we?’

When Sally arrived at the cottage ten minutes later Lucy had made a pot of coffee, but Piper hadn’t budged from her position.

‘You’re lucky that we’re quiet in the surgery, can’t stay long though, Charlie said he’d call me if the phones got busy. He hates answering calls because he ends up saying yes to everything.’ She paused. ‘Is he okay, Charlie? I mean, I know it’s none of my business, but when he asked me to babysit last night he looked uptight. Though he does seem more cheerful this morning, and Maisie made him laugh because she dressed Roo up in a Batman outfit.’

‘He had an email from Josie.’ Lucy didn’t want to gossip, but Sally knew all about how Josie had ambushed Charlie on May Day and asked him to look after Maisie. Lucy was pretty sure that she didn’t know about the fact that Charlie might not be Maisie’s biological father. That piece of information hadn’t got any further than the staff at the school – she hoped. ‘It looks like things might get nasty, and,’ she shrugged as she handed Sally a mug of coffee and sat down, ‘Maisie’s not very settled. I think he’s worried, that’s all.’

‘Hmm.’ Sally frowned. ‘She’s more up and down than she was at the start of the summer. She seems a bit, well …’

‘Sensitive?’

‘She’s touchy, and she actually refused to do what he asked her to the other day which was a bit out of character. They had a mini stand-off,’ she smiled, ‘I could see he was itching to tell her to behave, but scared stiff she’d burst into tears and run back to her bedroom. Then her cute little bottom lip wobbled and he was putty. Not that I’d have a clue what to do, I don’t know anything about kids.’ Sally gave a little shudder. ‘Give me a hen any day!’

Lucy smiled. ‘All hens get to worry about is an egg getting stuck. Maisie’s lost her mother. I know Josie will be heading back soon, but to a six year old a week can seem like a lifetime. Six months, well, she probably feels abandoned, unwanted.’ Lucy swallowed the lump in her throat down, this wasn’t personal, it wasn’t about her. ‘Even though Charlie’s doing his best to make it up, having your dad isn’t always good enough, when you want your mum is it? Especially if you’re scared she doesn’t want you.’

‘I can remember when I was little, I always wanted Mum if I fell over or anything went wrong.’ Sally smiled. ‘Though my dad is pants at hugs and sticking plasters so it’s no wonder, is it?’

‘No, dads can be pants.’ Major pants, well hers was. Although Charlie definitely wasn’t. ‘And on top of that she’s moved schools, been torn from her friendship group and been dropped into what has to feel like an alien world.’

‘You can say that again, Langtry Meadows can definitely have a touch of the alien.’

‘And,’ Lucy fought the laugh and tried to be serious, ‘living in the flat at the surgery can’t be good, and Charlie whizzing in and out sorting out emergency calls when he should be sitting down practising spellings. I mean, I know you’re there, but—’

‘Believe me, I’m no mother substitute, I’ve told you – give me a puppy any day.’

Lucy shook her head and battled on. ‘She’s just not got a routine. Kids like routine, knowing what to expect, it gives them something solid.’

Sally nudged her. ‘Which is why you told him to ring Becky?’

‘He’s done that already? I’m impressed, Mr Efficiency.’ Charlie was obviously worried sick about the email he’d had from Josie, about the threats, or he wouldn’t have been making phone calls the moment he got up on a Saturday morning.

‘It was a brill idea. Becky’s jumped at the chance, I think she misses the kids at school, but her husband’s already talking about baby number two so she knows she won’t be going back. She’ll get a chance to natter to the teachers if she’s picking Maisie up as well, she told me she’s feeling a bit stranded, left out at the moment. It must be strange.’ Sally pulled a face. ‘I can’t imagine being at home all day with a baby. Oh God, puke and nappies and gaga noises all day.’

Lucy laughed. ‘Me neither, but I suppose some people love it.’

‘She says she can’t wait for hers to grow up a bit and start doing things. I told her it was your suggestion and she says the moment she’s not on 24/7 feeding duties she’ll escape and buy you a drink.’ Sally grinned. ‘Do I owe you a drink too? Was it you told Charlie to offer me the flat above the surgery?’

‘Has he?’ Lucy grinned. ‘Brilliant,’ she paused, ‘if you want it that is?’

‘Want it? You’ve got to be kidding me. I knew you would have had something to do with it. I do love you Lucy Jacobs! And he said he’s talked to Eric and I can stay for practically free, which is amazing, it means I can still save some money towards, well,’ Lucy could swear she saw a blush, ‘save a deposit for a house with Jamie.’ She changed the conversation before Lucy had a chance to comment. ‘So, Charlie’s moving in …’ She glanced around.

‘No. Oh no, he’s not moving in here. And don’t thank me, he needs to move out for Maisie’s sake, but I did think maybe it would be handy for you.’

‘It’s fab, and I am thanking you. But, where’s he going if …’

‘He can’t move in here, Sal. For a start we’re not that involved,’ Sally raised an eyebrow, which Lucy ignored, ‘and he’s got to think about Maisie. She needs to know she’s the most important person in his life. Being here would complicate things,’ and would give Josie all kinds of ammunition for the battle she was sure lay ahead, ‘and let’s face it what kind of a mother figure would I make?’

‘A good one. She loves you. Okay, okay, don’t give me the evil eye. It’s true, but I get the fact it might not be perfect timing. I suppose if her mum gets back to find you two shacked up she might go off bang.’

Go off bang was probably an understatement. Lucy felt herself go red as she remembered the embarrassment of the last time Josie had knocked on her door to find Charlie there. And that was before Maisie was living with him.

‘But where are they going to live?’

‘Jim seemed to think he might know a place.’ Jim, it seemed, had the answers to everything. He’d sorted out Annie’s cottage for her to stay in, and now he’d assured Charlie he’d ‘sort something’. His quiet confidence had helped though. Charlie had cheered up knowing he had a plan in place, a way forward.

‘Oh?’

‘Well apparently Elsie Harrington owns some of the cottages in the village, they’ve been in her family for years. Jim said he’d check with her, he thought one was coming vacant soon. It’ll mean Charlie’s got a proper garden for Maisie and Roo.’

Sally giggled. ‘I don’t know who’s worse, Jim or Elsie Harrington, they both seem to have fingers in every pie. So, we’re all on the move then.’ She studied her feet. ‘You don’t think me and Jamie are rushing things do you? You know, thinking about a house?’

‘Rushing?’ Lucy laughed. ‘You’ve got to be kidding, from what I’ve heard everybody expected you to start dating ten years ago.’

‘Hang on, I’m not that old! But, well, we’ve only been seeing each other a few months.’

‘But you love each other don’t you?’ Lucy spoke softly. ‘You know he’s right for you, and you know each other inside out, don’t you?’

Sally nodded. Then suddenly smiled. ‘Shall we drink to us all moving then?’

Lucy shook her head. ‘You’ll drink to anything. But first,’ she nodded her head in the direction of the bureau, and Squeak who had settled down but was keeping a beady eye on proceedings. ‘I did think about just moving them, but I didn’t quite know if they’d be okay in the coop with the others.’

‘Are you on guard duty Piper?’ Sally stroked the puppy, who flapped her tail and cocked an ear in her direction. ‘I thought you were picking her up this morning, Lucy?’

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