‘Oh, Dad, I’m so pleased.’ Vanessa was the one person in Jonny’s life who’d never tried to change him but had simply loved him the way he was. She was family too, and she’d always tried her best to take care of his three eldest children, even though they were all but grown up when she’d met Jonny. ‘What about Dana?’
‘Well, that ended in Bali. We had different ideas about life, and she’s found a nice young yoga instructor who’s a lot more flexible than I am.’
‘Eww, Dad, too much information!’ Pippa mimed sticking a finger down her throat and Jonny laughed.
‘I didn’t mean it that way, but now I come to think about it…’ He winked and she shook her head. There was no one in the world like her dad, and it wasn’t his fault, not entirely, that his fans loved him being a rock star and touring the world rather than staying home with his family. His success had brought them as much stability as it had distance, and he was never going to change. At least they were all on this ride together, as a family. Excitement was bubbling in her stomach, and she couldn’t wait to share her news with Gil.
‘I’d better go, Maud’s getting impatient to go out and she’ll pee on me if I leave her much longer.’ Pippa snuggled the puppy close for a kiss. ‘Isn’t she gorgeous?’
‘She is, something else that was just what you needed. Go on then, you go. I’ve got a meeting to get to anyway. Did you know someone’s asked if they could write my biography?’
‘No. Could be interesting, Dad, I might learn a few things.’
‘Yep, and you might learn a few things you’d rather not as well.’ He winked again and she shook her head.
‘Love you, you incorrigible old rocker.’
‘Ay, less of the old.’ Jonny grinned as he wagged a finger and stood up. ‘I’ll take incorrigible though. Love you too.’
After the enlightening conversation with Jonny, Pippa was kept busy dealing with various agents, including Miles, and solicitors, regarding the next steps with the youth hostel now that her offer of the asking price had been accepted. She’d taken Harriet to see it and had sworn her to absolute secrecy for now. Pippa wanted everything legally in place before she spoke to Gil. For all his passion and desire to keep the practice at the heart of its rural community, she didn’t imagine he’d take easily to the idea of it being a gift from her dad.
Seeing him every day made it difficult to pretend, and they’d given up trying to hide their relationship from Harriet, who was suitably disgusted if she happened upon them sharing a kiss or curled up together in the evenings. She and Harriet had talked about school and a future here before Pippa had made the offer on the youth hostel, and had decided it was worth taking a chance on the move.
The decision didn’t prevent her waking in the night sometimes and worrying, though. A life in Hartfell needed to be on terms that worked for both of them; it couldn’t hinge on Pippa’s feelings for Gil or how their own relationship might evolve. However much she’d fallen in love with him, her life couldn’t turn on simply that, not with Harriet’s own future to think about too.
So a few days later, when she’d accepted an offer for their house in London and had met with Miles to view the hostel again, an email arrived which had her rushing over to the practice for Wi-Fi to open it. She wasn’t expecting Elaine behind the counter as there were no consultations today.
‘Hi Elaine. I didn’t realise you were here. How’s your dad?’ Pippa caught sight of her face. ‘What’s the matter? He’s not had another fall?’
‘What?’ Elaine looked up, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. ‘No, he’s fine. It’s not that. Don’t mind me, I’m just upset at the news, that’s all. It’s such a shock, even though we were all kind of expecting it.’
‘What news?’ Pippa realised Elaine was packing a few belongings into a bag and alarm had her pulse spiking. ‘What’s going on?’
‘You mean you haven’t heard?’ Elaine sank down onto a chair, twisting the tissue together.
‘Nothing. Please can you tell me?’
‘It’s the practice, here. We all got an email an hour ago to say that it’s closing with immediate effect.’
‘But why?’ Pippa gripped the counter. She couldn’t find a reason in her mind, not yet. ‘Has something changed?’
‘Gil hasn’t told you?’ Elaine’s face had lost some of the upset in her surprise. ‘That he’s leaving?’
‘Leaving?’ Pippa’s stomach swooped into a dive. ‘Elaine, are you sure? I saw him this morning and he didn’t say a word.’
‘Certain, it’s all in the email. He’s accepted the offer of another job. He told the other partners first thing after the new practice requested a reference, and they didn’t waste any time. They’ve been looking for an opportunity to close this place down and now he’s given it to them. Pippa, are you all right? You’ve gone white.’
‘I’m fine,’ she muttered, trying to organise the words into ones that made sense. But none of them did, and she desperately needed to speak with Gil. ‘Elaine, can you find out exactly where he is now, please?’
She waited impatiently whilst Elaine went through the diary, thanking her blankly when Elaine passed on the details of his calls. She sprinted to the house for her car keys, and promised Maud she’d be back soon. Harriet was at Dorothy’s and then Alfie and Rose were coming for dinner tonight. Every day they seemed to have extra people in the house and Pippa loved it. She and Rose met regularly for coffee and a chat, and the younger woman had become a friend, someone else Pippa would miss if she left.
She barely noticed the drizzle as she set out in her car, forgetting to fetch a coat in her haste. Her future in Hartfell was no longer in the balance, but Gil’s was, and she couldn’t waste another minute in trying to find out why. She knew him now, she understood his character and expressions. A glance was enough for her to recognise his feelings, ones he’d tried to deny and keep hidden, just like her, afraid to make himself vulnerable again after he’d overcome so much in his life.
Out here she couldn’t rely on her phone for directions, and she’d gone wrong twice before she bumped up a rutted track to a farm high on the fell. She tore into the yard so fast that a few free-range chickens leapt for their lives, and she saw Gil’s Land Rover parked up. She shot out of her car, straight into a puddle of thick mud and couldn’t care less. All that mattered was finding him and learning the truth. Elaine had informed her that he was dehorning cattle, and a clatter joined by a low bellow had her guessing exactly where. She followed the buildings until she emerged in another yard, a young cow held securely in a metal crush as Gil prepared to inject it, a farmer holding firmly on to a rope halter to keep its head still.
She’d rehearsed what she wanted to say on the drive here and all those words flew away into the wind. ‘Why didn’t you tell me,’ she yelled, arms wrapped around her body to ward off the chill. ‘About your new job?’
‘Bloody hell, Pippa!’ Gil’s head snapped up and he swore again as he dropped the needle into a puddle. ‘I nearly anaesthetised my own hand.’
