Love Heart Lane Series

‘Maybe it’s the drink talking,’ admitted Rona, pouring herself a glass of water. ‘But look at Martha, she’s still living life to the max even at her age. The stories she told us tonight …’

‘No-one can deny Martha lives every day like it’s her last,’ Felicity touched her mum’s arm tentatively. ‘But you have to do what’s right for you, and who knows who’ll walk through that teashop door when you least expect it.’

Rona gave a short smile, ‘I look at you youngsters, all flourishing in life, starting out and I still feel young inside, but I know I’m not … my knees remind me of that every morning when I climb out of bed. What I’m trying to say is, my life is trundling along so fast. One minute you are here and the next you are gone.’

‘Mum, don’t talk like this,’ said Felicity, feeling the tears well up in her eyes.

‘It’s true … one minute I’m a little girl pinching my mother’s baking whilst she wasn’t looking and now, she’s gone. In a blink of an eye everything changes.’ Rona took a breath. ‘I do know you’ll want to set up home with Fergus and Esme.’ She took her daughter’s hand and squeezed it gently. ‘I don’t want you to worry about me.’ Her voice faltered and a tiny tear slid down her cheek. ‘Don’t put your life on hold for me. You deserve your happiness … your happy ever after, and it’ll make me happy to see you happy, but there’s just one thing I ask.’

Felicity swallowed down the lump in her throat, she’d never heard her mum talk this way before. ‘This place, Bonnie’s teashop, keep it alive for Mum, me and you.’

‘Always, Mum … always. I’ll never let you down.’

Rona pulled her daughter in for a hug. ‘I don’t say it often enough, but I love you.’

Felicity nodded, ‘I love you too.’

Chapter 7

The 5 a.m. alarm sounded, and Isla woke feeling exhausted. It only felt like she’d closed her eyes five minutes ago. As usual, Drew was lying next to her in a deep sleep which she was extremely jealous of. As she shook him lightly, he began to stir. ‘Drew, it’s time to get up, the alarm went off.’

‘Already,’ he murmured, half-asleep, before gingerly pulling back the covers and slowly swinging his legs to the floor. Isla shivered as a blast of cool air hit her, she quickly pulled the duvet back up around her neck.

Drew reluctantly wandered down the stairs and Isla turned over as she heard the kitchen light switch on, followed by the sound of running water. Her head felt fuzzy, the wine hadn’t helped last night but she’d barely slept in between Angus waking up and worrying about Drew’s mood.

At 2 a.m. she’d found herself drinking a mug of tea in the kitchen while staring at Drew’s phone charging on the side. Jessica’s comment was firmly on her mind. What if Drew did have a gambling problem? What if there was something wrong with his health and he was too scared to tell her? Or could he even be having an affair? Isla couldn’t settle with all these thoughts whirling around in her mind.

Part of her was itching to check his phone, but the other part of her knew it was dishonest. But before she could stop herself, she reached over, unplugged the phone and stood at the bottom stairs and listened.

Silence.

Thankfully, she hadn’t disturbed anyone by coming downstairs.

She rolled the phone over and over in her hands. Drew’s screensaver was a photo of them all, a picture taken at the hospital when Angus was born. Isla took a deep breath and pressed the home button. She was relieved when the phone didn’t have a passcode, which she thought was a good sign. Surely if Drew had anything to hide, he would ensure his phone was locked at all times. Firstly, she scrolled through his messages, but they were just the usual texts from suppliers, and the usual banter about footie from Fergus and Rory. There was no-one in his contact list that she didn’t know and his photo albums were jam-packed with pictures of her and the boys, and she took a moment to appreciate the wonderful family they had. It made Drew’s moods even more worrying.

‘Apps … what apps does he have?’ said Isla, quickly scrolling. Her hands were sweating and her heart was thumping, but again there was nothing unusual and certainly no gambling apps.

‘What are you doing, Isla?’ she mumbled to herself.

She hadn’t got a clue what she was hoping to find but she certainly hadn’t found anything incriminating on Drew’s phone. And now she just felt bad for even looking. Riddled with guilt for thinking the worst, she plugged the phone back into the charger and took herself back off to bed.

A couple of hours after Drew had left Isla decided to make herself a strong coffee before waking Finn up for school. Thankfully Angus was still fast asleep in his cot.

She sat with her hands cupped around the mug, feeling disappointed in herself, and exhaled heavily.

‘Now that’s a sigh and a half.’

Isla looked up to see Martha ambling into the kitchen. ‘Headache tablets, I need headache tablets … you’d think I would have got the hang of this drinking lark at my age,’ she gave a small chuckle and pulled out the chair next to Isla.

‘Water?’ Isla asked as she stood up.

Martha managed a nod and gratefully accepted the glass and tablets from Isla as she swallowed down the pills.

‘Did you sleep well?’ asked Martha, picking up the paper that Isla had left on the table.

Isla hugged her mug of coffee and after a second noticed the drops of water on the table. She was crying.

‘What is it, dear? It can’t be that bad.’ Martha squeezed her hand, ‘What’s this all about?’

Isla tried to blink away her tears, but it was no use, her emotions bubbled to the surface and came spilling out. ‘Gran … I’ve done something terrible.’

Martha straightened herself up, her eyes widened.

‘Terrible … what sort of terrible?’

Isla told her gran about checking Drew’s phone, and about how awful she felt.

‘Don’t beat yourself up over it. His change in behaviour has caused you to question him. You’re just reacting to how he’s treating you. First things first, let’s get Finn ready for school. I’ll stay here with Angus and make us breakfast, you need to eat to keep your strength up, and then we’ll have a chat about what’s going on or what you think is going on.’

Isla broke eye contact and wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve. ‘Thanks, Gran.’

Martha tilted her head, ‘Sometimes things happen for a reason and come to try us … but one thing I’ve learnt in my life so far, there’s no point wasting energy on worrying. You need to ask Drew outright what’s bothering him. Otherwise it will eat away at you both. Maybe he’s just exhausted, and we can’t be happy-go-lucky all the time, can we?’

Isla attempted to hitch a smile on her face, even though she was still feeling awful. ‘You are a wise old woman …’

‘I’ve had a lot of practice,’ said Martha, giving Isla’s hand a quick squeeze.

An hour later Finn was ready for school and kissed his great-grandma on the cheek before slipping on his coat.

‘Remember your promise,’ he said, attempting to wink at Martha, but he didn’t quite get it right and over-exaggerated a blink instead.

She tapped her nose and winked back. ‘I won’t forget.’

‘What’s going on here?’ asked Isla, feeling a little out the loop as she ushered Finn towards the front door.

‘Great-Gran has promised me one of those sticky buns from Bonnie’s teashop after school,’ he said with a huge grin.

‘That sounds like a very nice treat.’ Isla cupped her hand around Finn’s as they began to walk down the path towards school. She could see Drew and Fergus shepherding the cows towards the bottom field.

‘Do you think Daddy will let me help him out on the farm when I’m bigger?’ asked Finn, noticing his dad too.

‘Of course, but it’s very hard work. Early starts, late finishes and you don’t smell very nice most of the time,’ teased Isla, taking another glance towards Drew. Finn’s question had prompted her to think. Drew was so hard-working, the hours he put in at the farm left him exhausted. Maybe he was overworked recently and was lashing out at her because she was the closest one to him? Feeling sombre, she was suddenly sorry for arguing with him lately. Maybe he just needed to vent his frustrations?

‘I think you’ll make an excellent farmer,’ said Isla, smiling down at Finn. ‘Your daddy would love it if you followed in his footsteps.’

Finn screwed up his face. ‘Followed in his footsteps … my feet would need to grow very big.’

Isla laughed, ‘You’re a funny little boy.’

Foxglove Farm had been in Drew’s family for generations and Isla knew Drew hoped his boys would become farmers too one day. She felt privileged to live in this beautiful corner of the Scottish Highlands and waking up to the spectacular scenery was just magical, and if it wasn’t for Drew following in his father’s footsteps Isla had no clue where she would have ended up.

Isla spotted Felicity at the corner of Love Heart Lane. Esme was next to her, swinging her bag and chatting away. In the past Aggie had always walked Esme to school, but since she had suffered with pneumonia at the beginning of the year Fergus wanted to take the pressure off her and now he dropped Esme off at the teashop every morning on his way to work. Isla knew that Felicity cherished the extra time with Esme.

Isla called out to Flick and waved at her as she turned round to greet them. They waited for Isla and Finn to catch up and immediately Finn and Esme were joined at the hip and skipped off up the pavement in front of them both.

‘Finn, mind that puddle,’ but it was too late – his foot landed in the puddle and muddy water splashed up his leg. ‘One day we will get to school without any dramas,’ Isla smiled at him and shook her head jokingly. ‘You can change into your socks from your PE kit.’

‘How’s your head?’ smiled Felicity, stepping towards Isla and linking her arm through hers as they began walking.

‘Another night of not much sleep and it wasn’t down to the alcohol … between feeding Angus and my boomerang of a brain keeping me awake with its to-ing and fro-ing and constant worrying about what is worrying Drew.’ Isla’s voice wobbled. ‘And …’

‘And what?’ interrupted Felicity.

‘I checked his phone.’

‘Isla!’

‘I know, I know it was wrong, but wouldn’t you do the same if Fergus’s behaviour suddenly changed?’

‘I suppose,’ admitted Felicity. ‘And did you find anything?’

Isla shook her head, ‘Absolutely nothing.’

‘Well, that’s something, at least your mind should be at rest now.’

‘But there’s still something bothering him. I know him.’

‘I did question Fergus.’

‘You didn’t say I wanted to know, did you?’ asked Isla, feeling panicky.

‘Of course not! I just said you were feeling tired with the new baby and he said Drew is exhausted too.’

‘And that was it? Nothing else?’

‘Nothing else.’

As they reached the school gates, they ushered Finn and Esme towards their line in the playground. The bell sounded and Jessica appeared and waved over towards Felicity and Isla before escorting the children into the classroom.

‘Life is so simple at that age,’ sighed Isla, blowing Finn a kiss as he disappeared through the door.

‘Isla! Isla, wait!’ a voice called out.

Isla spun round to see Julia from the local B&B hurrying towards them. Her cheeks were flushed and she had a look of panic on her face, ‘I’m glad I’ve caught up with you.’

‘Since when have you been frequenting school playgrounds?’ asked Isla, knowing Julia didn’t have any children.

‘I’m looking for you, I tried your mobile, but it went straight to voicemail.’

‘That’s the joys of living in the sticks … no signal.’ Isla was intrigued, ‘What’s up?’

‘Let’s walk and talk,’ said Julia, who attempted to get her breathing under control. ‘I’ve jogged from the B&B and I’m out of breath.’

‘I’m all ears,’ said Isla, fascinated about what was troubling Julia as all three of them headed out of the school playground.

‘I’ve messed up,’ spluttered Julia. ‘And I’m hoping you are the woman to help me out.’ Julia exhaled, ‘And I know it’s a big ask and I don’t like letting anyone down … but …’

Isla stopped walking, ‘Spit it out.’

Julia took a breath, ‘I’ve made a blunder with my bookings, and I’ve double-booked a week on Friday. One of the parties is a rambling group trekking the mountain to raise money for charity and the other one is a booking for a sixtieth birthday … I don’t want to let any of them down.’

‘And how can I help?’

‘I didn’t want to cancel either of them, if word got around it’s not good for business, and I was thinking … who do I know who has enough room to accommodate one of the parties?’

The penny dropped and Isla laughed until she realised Julia was serious, then her expression turned to one of bewilderment before smiling nervously, ‘You are joking, right?’

Julia eyed Isla warily, ‘I wasn’t, to be honest.’

‘Julia, I’ve got a new baby and my gran’s just turned up unannounced to stay. And I’m not sure Drew would want a bunch of strangers traipsing through the farmhouse, and then there’s Finn too, and what about their meals?’

‘You could direct them to the teashop for breakfast or fry up a bit of bacon,’ said Julia with hope in her voice.

As much as Isla didn’t want to let anyone down, she knew that at this moment in time she couldn’t face strangers in the house even though there was ample space and vacant bedrooms.

‘They’d pay the going rate,’ urged Julia, hoping to sway Isla. ‘Sorry … sorry … I shouldn’t have mentioned it … I know you have enough on your plate.’

‘If I could help you out, you know I would. What’s plan B?’

‘I haven’t got one,’ admitted Julia, taking a breath.

‘I’m so sorry Julia, I just can’t help you at the minute.’

‘No worries, if you don’t ask you never know.’

Julia touched Isla on her arm tentatively before sadly walking away.

‘Can you imagine strangers traipsing through my house … no thank you,’ said Isla, knowing that she wouldn’t even feel comfortable mentioning it to Drew after his reaction to Martha turning up.

‘I can see your point, you’ve got way too much going on at the moment with the baby to think about, not to mention you and Drew. Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention, a guy came into the teashop yesterday and I pointed him in your direction, Rory’s too. Did he come by the farmhouse?’

‘What guy?’

‘If I remember rightly, he went by the name David O’Sullivan.’

Isla shook her head, ‘Never heard of him. What did he want?’

‘He had a herd of alpacas that needed re-homing. Prize-winning, apparently. He was looking for a nearby farm to home them.’

‘Oh, Drew never mentioned it, I’m sure I would have known if he’d visited the farm. Alpacas, you say?’

‘Yep, those funny-looking creatures with a tuft of hair bouncing on top of their heads.’

‘Farmed for the fleeces.’ Isla began to turn the information over in her mind. ‘Did he say how much he wanted for them?’

Felicity shook her head, ‘No, but I think he gave Mum a card?’

As they turned on to Love Heart Lane Isla stopped for a second. ‘Come with me,’ she said, quickly striding towards the farm with Felicity struggling to keep up.

As they approached the driveway, Isla traipsed Felicity around the edge of the field, over the small wooden bridge and through the orchard. In the far field there were Shetland ponies grazing alongside sheep and the mountainous terrain in the background. Even when the visibility wasn’t good the view was spectacular.

They stopped to get their breath back as Isla swung her arms open.

‘I don’t get it,’ said Felicity in wonderment.

‘We have acres of space! Can you imagine seeing alpacas grazing here? The children would love it!’

‘It’s not as though you haven’t got the land …’ Flick replied.

‘Isn’t it all the rage these days … alpaca farms? You never know, it might even cheer up my miserable husband looking at the comical creatures each morning. And you know it’s his birthday next week, and what do you get a man who has everything?’ said Isla, mulling it over.

‘A herd of alpacas?’ grinned Felicity.

‘They can’t take that much looking after and I’ve read somewhere they are fabulous with children. You said he gave your mum a business card?’

Felicity nodded as her phone buzzed into life, ‘Talk of the devil.’

‘I’ll walk back to the teashop with you.’

‘Here it is,’ said Rona, pulling the card from the till. ‘David O’Sullivan. I’m not sure where he was from, I’ve never seen him around these parts before.’

Isla turned the card over in her hand. ‘You know what, I’m going to give him a call,’ she said, taking herself to the quiet sofa area in the corner of the teashop. ‘I’m intrigued to know the cost of a herd of alpacas.’

Rona and Felicity watched as she chatted away and hung up the call with a huge grin on her face.

‘Oh my,’ she said, with excitement fizzing inside her.

‘The call went well then?’ asked Felicity, leaning against the counter.

‘Apparently, he’s the son of a farmer over in Glensheil. His father has passed away and has left a herd of prize alpacas that need re-homing. He’s over from Wales tying up the legalities of the farm … Anyway, cutting a long story short, I’m buying them!’

‘Woah, really?’

‘Yes really! He assured me they are self-sufficient, easy to look after, so … I’m going to surprise Drew! As much as he’s moody at the minute, he loves his animals and what a birthday present this is going to be! I can’t wait to see his face.’

Isla had made the decision there and then. Talking to David on the phone, they’d negotiated a price for the herd, and he would deliver them on the morning of Drew’s birthday.

‘Some things are just meant to be,’ exclaimed Isla, pleased with her purchase and feeling impressed with herself. She knew Drew would be over the moon and that this extraordinary gift would definitely bring a smile to his face. Isla was elated, this was just meant to be and farming the fleeces would bring in a hefty sum. The alpacas would pay for themselves in no time at all.

‘But I want to keep this amongst ourselves … no telling Fergus or Drew. I want this birthday present to be a complete surprise!’ said Isla excitedly.

Chapter 8

One week later …

Isla’s eyes opened slowly as she focused on her surroundings. A quick glance at the clock told her she’d slept for a full eight hours. Throwing back the duvet, she saw that Angus was still fast asleep, the second night he’d slept through. Things were definitely brighter after a good night’s sleep.

Drew had already left for market with Fergus, and Isla and Martha’s plan was to decorate the kitchen with banners and balloons for his birthday. Once Drew had fallen asleep last night Isla had left his birthday card on the kitchen table along with a note asking him to be back at the farm by noon. She planned to cook him birthday lunch before the alpacas arrived at one o’clock.

Over the last few days Drew had seemed to be back on an even keel. Yes, he had still seemed tired, but he hadn’t snapped at Isla. Maybe he had just been having an off day. Isla couldn’t wait to see his face when he arrived home, she knew he was just going to love the alpacas.

Quietly, she padded past the cot and pulled back the curtains. Her mood dampened a little when she noticed there wasn’t a chink of sunshine to be seen, only dark clouds looming in the sky. The cows were already shielding themselves from the rainfall that was about to teem down at any minute. She had pictured the alpacas arriving in gleaming sunshine, their mops of hair bobbing on top of their heads as they were unleashed, running across the meadows. Torrential rain was not what she needed today.

Leaving Angus to sleep, she grabbed her dressing gown and wandered downstairs where Martha was busy in the kitchen.

‘You’ve made a start,’ chirped Isla, staring around the kitchen. Martha had already hung up the birthday banners and the colourful paperchains that Finn had secretly made draped the window and the spaces between the picture frames. Even at Drew’s age he was always like a kid on his birthday. Usually they cooked the best steak, followed by birthday cake, always chocolate, and would open a decent bottle of wine to toast another year together.

‘I caught Drew before he went, he seemed in good spirits,’ said Martha.

‘He does like birthdays and I can’t believe we’ve managed to keep his birthday present a secret. I need to pop to the bank this morning and withdraw the cash.’

‘Leave Angus with me.’

‘Thanks, Gran. I’ll drop Finn at school on my way.’

Although Isla had had her doubts when Martha arrived, she was worth her weight in gold. The children loved her, and Isla was enjoying the company around the place.

Once Finn was safely dropped at school Isla drove over to the bank in Glensheil. As the windscreen wipers frantically swished the rain continued to hammer down. The wind swept through the branches of the trees that adorned the river bank, causing them to sway violently. Luckily for Isla there was a car-park space right outside the bank which she pulled into. Tugging her hood over her head, she ran sprightly towards the revolving glass door. Isla wished she’d withdrawn the money sooner but didn’t want to alert Drew, she wanted the alpacas to be a surprise.

‘Good morning, Mrs Allaway.’

Isla pushed back her hood and smiled, ‘It’s brutal out there today.’

Lucy the bank clerk glanced towards the huge glass windows. ‘I’m glad I’m safely tucked away in here until five o’clock. What can I do for you today?’

Isla handed over her bank card, ‘I’d like to withdraw some cash. It’s quite a large amount but I rang through to check that would be okay.’

‘Perfect,’ said Lucy, tapping away at her keyboard while concentrating on the computer screen.

‘Is it for anything special … a holiday?’

‘Would you believe I’m buying my husband a herd of alpacas for his birthday?’

Lucy let out a low whistle, ‘Wow! I’d just be happy with a bunch of flowers!’ she said, counting out the cash, placing it in an envelope and sliding it under the counter.

Just as Isla was safely tucking the money away in her bag her phone pinged, a text message from David O’Sullivan. He’d set off early, the alpacas would be with them soon. She smiled to herself, happy with her purchase, and she couldn’t wait to see Drew’s face.

The second she stepped back inside the farmhouse a jovial Martha beckoned her, ‘Come and take a look at the cake.’ But hearing the crunch of tyres behind her, Isla spun round to see a truck.

‘The alpacas are here!’ Isla shouted down the hallway towards Martha. ‘Grab a coat and come and take a look.’

Isla sheltered in the doorway as a short bald stocky man jumped down from behind the wheel, thrusting his hand forward for her to shake. ‘Nice place you have here,’ he said in a gravelly Welsh accent.

‘Thanks, we like it. I’m Isla.’

‘David,’ he said. ‘The weather isn’t being kind to us today … which field am I letting them loose in?’

Isla pointed and grabbed an umbrella from the hallway before following him to the back of the truck.

‘These creatures are responsible for bearing some of the silkiest, most versatile fleece found in nature. Stronger than mohair, finer than cashmere, smoother than silk, softer than cotton, warmer than goose down … you’re on to a winner with these beauties. Shorn annually for a good price,’ said David.

Isla watched in amazement as he pulled open the door and unleashed numerous docile-looking animals. She couldn’t take her eyes away from the magnificent creatures. Isla had never seen an alpaca up close and was mesmerised by their floppy furry tufts, slender necks. They genuinely looked like they were sporting huge grins.