“That would be great.”A smile and a flash of relief.
Yeah, he would definitely make time for his old friend.His childhood was long behind him now and there was nothing he needed to hide from.He’d made something of himself.
When the police car drove away, he turned to Chelsea.“Should we clean the cabins?”
She chuckled.“Absolutely.”
He took her hand, and they got back to work.
***
It was almost dark when Barry arrived from Perth.Chelsea opened the newly oiled gate and directed the middle-aged man, who was still wearing his high-vis work gear, to the barn where he could lock his car up for the night.He whistled as she took him to the freshly cleaned cottage.“This place must have been amazing when it was in its prime.”
Chelsea nodded.“It was.That’s why I want to restore it.My great aunt would have hated to see it like this.”
Barry dumped his bag inside the cottage and ran his hand through his thick dark hair.“Why don’t you take me for a tour before it gets dark?That way I can plan my shots tonight and figure out where to start.”
“Sure.”She pointed out the different pathways through the garden and the areas that had been lawn.
“Any sprinklers?”
“Probably, but I don’t know where or if they’re still working.If you break any, we’ll fix them.”
He took notes as he went, asking a few questions as Chelsea showed him where the garden beds had been.
When they were done, she asked, “How long do you think it will take?”
He pursed his lips.“If there aren’t too many tangled surprises amongst the tall grass, it should only take a day to uncover the paths.”He shrugged.“Then maybe another day to hack back the lawn.I’ve got a colleague heading down tomorrow to help out.”
She shook her head, amazed so much could be done in such a short time.The weeds and long grass felt insurmountable.“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you coming at short notice.”
He grinned.“I like a good challenge and my followers love the more difficult gardens.They’ll love this.”
Chelsea smiled.“I’d like to share your videos on my social media.I’ve only just created accounts for Lilydale, but I have a few followers.”
“Of course.I’m happy to cross-promote.”
“Thank you.”They returned to his cottage.“There aren’t many places to get dinner in Honeybrook,” she said.“You’re welcome to join us at the house.We’re making pizzas.”
Barry smiled.“Thanks.I’ll freshen up and be over in half an hour?”
“Sure.”Chelsea returned to the house where Ethan had already chopped toppings for the pizzas.He looked up as she walked in.“How did it go?”
Seeing him in her kitchen preparing food for them both sent her heart soaring.“Great.Barry thinks it will take him only a day or two to do everything.”
He raised his eyebrows.“Impressive.Is he coming for dinner?”
“Yeah, he’s cleaning up.”She appreciated that Ethan hadn’t felt the need to join her when she greeted the man and took him around the garden.She poured them both a glass of wine and her phone rang.
“Hey, Lauren.”
“Hey.I heard Josh visited you today.I wanted to make sure it was a social visit and there was nothing wrong.”
Chelsea didn’t bother asking who she’d heard it from.“As lovely as it was to see him again, it wasn’t social.Someone vandalised the cottages we’d just finished cleaning.”
Lauren gasped.“That’s awful.Do you need help with anything?”
“No.It didn’t take long to clean up, and I managed to sweet talk the glass fitter in Pinjarra to come out and replace the broken glass.”
