Page 45 of Sunrise over Strawberry Hill Farm

‘You can always help,’ said Harriet in a hopeful tone.

Nico laughed. ‘These hands are made for hammering in nails, not sewing, I’m afraid,’ he said, leaving the kitchen.

‘Shame,’ said Libby, after he had gone. ‘I can think of a couple of other things that his hands might be good for.’

‘Libby!’ hissed Katy, flicking a glance at Flora.

‘Don’t mind me,’ said Flora, even though she could feel a blush spreading across her cheeks. ‘I don’t think of him in that way at all.’

‘She’s still protesting too much,’ muttered Harriet.

‘Definitely,’ added Katy, nodding in agreement.

‘So why am I wasting good gin-drinking time by cutting up triangles of material?’ asked Libby, with a groan.

‘Because I haven’t got the time to make all the bunting by myself and I thought you could help,’ replied Flora.

‘Not sure how much help I can be, to be honest,’ said Katy, making a face. ‘I can’t sew to save my life.’

‘Then you can be in charge of cutting up the triangles,’ Harriet told her.

‘What about me?’ asked Libby. ‘I can’t sew either.’

‘Well, you can be responsible for making sure our gin glasses never run dry,’ said Katy.

Libby shot her a grin. ‘That is definitely my kind of job.’

‘But I can’t drink too much tonight,’ said Flora in a warning tone. ‘I’ve got so much to do tomorrow. The bed needs making, the outdoor furniture is arriving and I still want to set the scene for the photographs.’

‘Definitely,’ said Katy with a grin.

‘So I’ll need that bunting tomorrow as we want to take the photos when the sun’s out in the morning.’

‘Yes, ma’am,’ said Libby, with a grin as she held up her scissors snapping the blades together. ‘We’re on it.’

‘Can’t Nico help?’ asked Harriet.

‘He’s already got a long list of stuff to do,’ Flora told her.

It was all getting close enough to be able to open up to the public. However, the decorating part was her favourite bit. She and Grams had gone through a whole load of leftover unwanted material and decided to use it for proper bunting that could be machine washed if it got too grubby over the summer season. Flora was hoping the only thing that would happen would be that the pretty material would fade in the hot summer sun. Although she could hear the rain hammering against the window that evening. It had been on and off all week, making working outside difficult. But at least it highlighted which paths could get a bit slippery and she and Nico had decided to put down some stone chips to stop people falling over when it got a bit wet.

‘The weather’s terrible at the moment,’ said Katy, with a frown as she too heard the rain against the window.

‘Good for the lavender plants,’ replied Harriet, smiling. ‘They need watering before all those lovely hot summer months. Hopefully.’

‘Not sure how much water you want them to get,’ said Libby, making a face. ‘I read that this unsettled weather is here to stay for the foreseeable future.’

‘Let’s hope not,’ said Katy quickly, flicking a concerned look at Flora.

Flora had read the same thing but stayed quiet, merely sending up a prayer that as soon as the campsite opened at the end of May the weather would change and summer could truly begin. And that if they managed to get open in time, people would actually want to stay at Strawberry Hill Farm campsite. All she could do was keep everything crossed that all their hard work would be worth it to help save the farm.

27

Nico stood back to look at the photographs that he had just taken on his mobile.

‘What do you think?’ he asked Joe who was standing next to him.

Joe peered at his phone and nodding approvingly. ‘Looks great,’ he said.