Beyond the barns, fields bordered by mature trees sloped up to a fell, shaded by moorland and dotted with grazing sheep. Her long-ago visits to Yorkshire had been to the small town where her mum had grown up. That last time, staying with family after Stella’s death, Pippa had been too blurred by grief to notice anything other than the people around her. But this view was exceptional, and her artist’s eye was noting details she was surprised to realise she’d love to capture later if time allowed.
Behind her, the kettle was making a very strange noise, and she hastily switched it off before it exploded; she didn’t want to knock out what power they had. No Wi-Fi for Harriet was one thing, no phone at all quite another. Pippa made herself a cup of coffee from the jar of instant and returned to the window to ponder some more, cradling the warm mug between her hands.
‘I see you’ve found my coffee.’
Chapter Three
Pippa spun around to face Gil, dressed now in the clothes she’d seen on his bedroom floor. Lola wandered over to the bowls by the back door and sat down, staring up at him expectantly.
His coffee? ‘Whoever was preparing the house for us was meant to be leaving some basics as well,’ she said stiffly. She was so far on the back foot with him now she might as well be in the yard.
‘Preparing the house?’ He laughed as he shook out some dog food from a biscuit barrel on the worktop and Lola had inhaled it before Pippa had barely even blinked. ‘I made the beds, I’m afraid I don’t have time to run around with a duster or go shopping for a couple of vegetarians as well. Sorry, Lola, that’s your lot.’ He patted the dog gently before replacing the lid on the barrel. Lola sighed as he opened the backdoor and she trotted through it. Gil leaned outside, bending to pick something up and when he turned back, Pippa saw that it was milk. ‘You’re not bloody vegans as well, are you?’
‘I don’t see that it would matter to you either way seeing as you haven’t been shopping for us. The solicitor said…’
‘I’m not interested in what the solicitor said.’ He was in her space now, reaching past her to stand the two bottles on the worktop. He refilled the kettle and set it back down with a clatter.
‘You should be,’ Pippa told him coolly. She’d taken a step out of his way but that was all. She wasn’t going to be cowed by his antagonism; until an hour ago she hadn’t even known he existed, much less lived in this house. But not for much longer, thankfully. She wouldn’t be pushing the point about the solicitor though, seeing as she’d only skimmed the email she’d received about the house. ‘I’ll replace your coffee when I go shopping.’
‘I’m not that mean. I can run to a cup of coffee.’ Gil flashed her a glance and her pulse caught at that same awareness from before. ‘But yeah, if you don’t mind. I’m not great without coffee first thing so I’d appreciate not running out. Not that you look like the kind of person who drinks instant.’
‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’ Pippa banged her empty mug onto the worktop. ‘You don’t seem like the kind of person who’d be any nicer when they’ve had coffee.’
‘I guess I deserved that. Sorry.’
This time she couldn’t read anything more than indifference in his look. She straightened up and he yawned as he turned away. She’d have thought he’d done it on purpose if he didn’t look so wiped out. She must have been more exhausted than she’d realised seeing as she’d missed his arrival in the early hours.
‘So you’ve noticed the kettle doesn’t turn off by itself. You need to listen for it boiling and then do it.’
‘Is there anything else dangerous you ought to warn me about before you leave?’ She wanted to make certain he knew she hadn’t forgotten.
‘I think that’s it.’ Lola returned, helping herself to a noisy drink and sloshing water onto the worn lino before flopping into a cosy bed. Pippa pulled a face. Another good reason why she’d never wanted pets. Mess everywhere.
Gil’s phone was ringing again, and he propped himself against the blue range with his coffee, listening to what she presumed was a voicemail when he didn’t pick up in time. He swiped the message away and looked up. ‘I’ve got to go to work. Would it inconvenience you terribly if I moved out when I get back?’
He raised that brow again and the politeness he was pretending made her decide to retaliate in kind. She just needed him gone and quickly, suspecting that the more impatient she appeared, the longer he’d draw out the process. She was quite certain he didn’t want to share the house with her either and it was likely to be that which got him through the door. ‘Not at all. I have to find an estate agent and go shopping so I won’t be here all day anyway.’
He scowled again and a glimmer of triumph followed. She’d meant that comment to hit home. So, he wasn’t happy about her plans to sell the house. Why? How long had he been living here and how was he connected to her dad? Or was he? These were questions Pippa wasn’t prepared to ask him directly, imagining his scorn if she tried, so she’d have to find answers another way.
‘Where do you work?’ She could at least ask that; praying it wasn’t from home and he was planning to perch at that rickety kitchen table all day. Surely not, not without Wi-Fi?
‘There.’ He jerked his head towards the yard and her startled gaze followed his to the window.
‘You’re a farmer?’ That would at least take him outside and away from her.
‘No. I’m a vet.’
‘A vet? Oh, that’s so cool.’ Harriet had wandered barefoot into the kitchen, still in her pyjamas, and Lola jumped up to greet her. She bent down, giving the dog the kind of smile that made Pippa wish her daughter was still a toddler. She used to get those cuddles, too, and a wave of sadness rushed through her. ‘Is Lola a Labrador? I love her colour.’
‘She is a Labrador, a very hungry one, so I wouldn’t leave anything around that you don’t want her to eat. Making food disappear without me noticing is her superpower, one I’m still trying to train her out of.’
‘How old is she?’ Harriet was still cuddling, and Lola’s tail was thumping happily against her thigh in response to all this attention.
‘She’s eighteen months, still a baby, really.’
‘So you’ve had her since she was a puppy then?’ Harriet shot Pippa another glare; the lack of their own dog something else that was Pippa’s fault. She opened her mouth to repeat her objections to pets and why they couldn’t have a puppy at home, but Gil was quicker.
‘Not quite, she was five months old when I got her, so still very young.’
