Page 31 of New Beginnings on Railway Lane

Everyone laughed. But Katy was surprised that someone like Libby, with her amazing pale blonde hair, vibrant personality and pretty face, would be single.

‘How about some more pancakes?’ asked Grams, standing up to head over to the hob once more.

‘Not for me, thanks,’ said Libby with a wicked grin. ‘I’ve got a hot date with an even hotter pilot tonight, hopefully. So I need to squeeze into that leather miniskirt.’

‘So much for swearing off men,’ said Flora, raising an eyebrow at her friend.

‘I said that they were hopeless,’ replied Libby quickly. ‘Not that they were to be completely ignored.’

‘Don’t forget gin night,’ Harriet told her.

Libby rolled her eyes. ‘When have I ever forgotten gin night?’ she said, laughing before she looked across at Katy. ‘And you must join us as you’re going to be here for a while longer.’

‘Yes, please do,’ urged Flora.

Katy hesitated, not willing to get any more involved with these women, but she couldn’t find an excuse and so found herself nodding and agreeing to head to Harriet’s cottage the following night.

When they had finished breakfast and were about to leave, Libby’s hoot of laughter drew them all to the back door to see what she was laughing at.

‘What on earth are those?’ she asked, pointing at Katy’s expensive black leather boots which were now almost completely caked in mud.

‘They’re a pair of Jimmy Choo boots that are now pretty much ruined,’ said Katy, making a face.

‘Jimmy Choo?’ Libby gingerly picked up one tiny corner of the leather to inspect them further. ‘Wow.’

‘Less wow, more ugh, I think!’ said Katy, gingerly putting them on.

‘We’ve got some spare wellies that you can borrow,’ Flora told her.

‘Thanks,’ replied Katy. ‘But I might as well keep these on as they’re already ruined.’

After saying their goodbyes, Katy joined Harriet and Paddington to head back towards the station.

‘Don’t forget gin night tomorrow!’ called out Harriet in parting as she walked over to the Lavender Spa with Paddington.

Katy nodded and smiled, although she was hoping that she would be able to get out of the commitment at a later stage. Everyone was very nice and welcoming, but it was just all a little too close for comfort for her liking. She was used to keeping people at arm’s length and they already knew way more about her than she would have liked them to. Anyway, it wasn’t as if she needed friends or companionship, was it? But for once she couldn’t quite believe what she had told herself for so many years.

17

Ryan woke up later than usual, which was hardly surprising after a particularly long and stressful day.

He had spent the afternoon racing across Italy and then England before finally reaching the hospital. He was immensely grateful that his dad had been taken care of so quickly and that the operation on his foot had been a success.

Once fully awake, he sent his dad a text and was relieved to get one back in return saying that he had had a reasonable night’s sleep in hospital.

Thank goodness he had been able to get back from Rome as quickly as he had, thought Ryan as he got dressed and headed into the kitchen for a much-needed coffee.

As he sipped his drink, he realised that it was very quiet in the apartment. He wandered across the lounge and saw that the door to Katy’s bedroom was open and that it was empty inside.

For a second, he wondered whether she had left Cranfield, after all. Then, as he headed back into the lounge, he glanced out of the window and saw Katy walking with Harriet down the lane towards Flora’s farmhouse.

He blew out a sigh of relief that she was still in the village. He felt rather stunned that she had wanted to leave so abruptly and was relieved that she had agreed to stay on for a while longer. She had told him that she blamed herself for Bob’s accident, but it wasn’t true and he hoped that he had managed to persuade her to believe him.

At least she was starting to get to know a few more people, he thought. She seemed lonely to him. No family nearby, no friends mentioned. No boyfriend? He wondered whether she did have someone special in her life and then wondered why he cared about what her answer would be.

A call on his mobile interrupted his confused thoughts and he picked up.

‘Hey,’ said Ethan. ‘How’s dad?’