We paused as we reached the path that would lead Blake into his cottage, and me onward to the farmhouse. Maple was already heading towards the door, eager for her bed.
‘Maybe we can work on that together,’ I suggested.
‘Maybe. Goodnight, Daisy.’
I lifted my hand in a wave then followed Maple inside, feeling just a tiny bit less alone in the universe now.
17
The following morning, I joined Willow, Blake and Dylan out in the pick-your-own fields to start work on making the area ready for visitors. Henry had sent me a message to tell me he’d checked into the Birchbrook Arms and wanted us to have dinner once the work day was over. As he wasn’t on our honeymoon as planned, his dad had given him work to do remotely and I had told him I’d promised to give Willow a hand so thankfully, it suited us both to stay apart for the day.
In the warming late-May sunshine, my panic last night with Henry seemed very far away and I was hoping I could push it all out of my mind and focus on helping on the farm. While Willow took charge marking out the trail we wanted visitors to walk along, and Blake and Dylan started to build an enclosure for the ponies near to the strawberries using the wood Willow had gathered, I set out to create the main photo opportunity in the strawberry fields. This would be the finale of the trail and we wanted it to look as good as possible.
Willow had really liked my idea of using the white bench we bought and then creating a floral arch behind it. She had made a metal arch for her pumpkin patch tying autumn leaves and lights around it, so she had dug that out and I positioned it behind the bench. I set about cleaning them both as I looked around to see what everyone else was doing.
Willow was pushing a wheelbarrow with the pink stones she had bought for the trail over to lay them out. My uncle was trying to take the wheelbarrow to help but she was telling him to let go. I smiled as they argued about it. I looked over to where Dylan and Blake were building an enclosure for the two ponies. Blake had taken off his T-shirt. That made me pause in my cleaning. His chest was toned and tanned.
‘I see you,’ Willow said, making me jump. She had walked away from her dad as he raked out the stones she had put down, the wheelbarrow empty as she headed towards the barn to collect more stones, having won the argument.
‘What?’ I said, feeling my cheeks brighten even more than they already had from my work and the sun.
‘It’s okay to look; you are dating, after all,’ Willow said with a teasing smile.
I shook my head. ‘I can’t believe we’re in this situation.’ I wasn’t sure who was to blame – Blake, Willow or me – for Henry and Sarah thinking we were old friends reconnecting on the farm, and now dating, but it had sent Sarah away and done the opposite with Henry; he seemed determined to prove it was nothing. And I was confused as hell about what to do about any of it. ‘I wish Henry had taken it as seriously as Sarah did.’
Maybe if he had done, I wouldn’t have wobbled about leaving him like I had. Maybe he would no longer be in Birchbrook and I could do what Blake was doing: think for myself about what I wanted. But I had been too weak to force him to leave.
I was wrong; it felt like my mess. And I had no idea how to clear it up.
‘He still might if you carry on eyeing Blake up like that,’ Willow teased.
‘I was not!’ I replied indignantly, but I knew that wasn’t convincing either of us.
‘All I’m saying is, there are worst men in the world to pretend you’re dating. I bet Henry is jealous. Blake is every woman’s type, surely.’
‘I’ll tell Dylan that, shall I?’ I teased her right back.
‘I’m the exception, obviously,’ she said. ‘It won’t do any harm if Henry has to change his ways if he wants to keep you, Daisy. You deserve to be treated like a princess, okay?’ I heard the sincerity in her voice. And I thought about the look on her face yesterday when I told her Henry was staying on in Birchbrook. She didn’t think I should go back with him, that was clear. And deep down, I knew she was right. I just wished I could tell the little voice of fear trying to persuade me otherwise to go away.
‘You have to say that, you’re family,’ I joked as I didn’t know what else to say. Then I let my smile slip. ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do.’
‘It will work out how it’s supposed to,’ Willow promised. ‘Birch Tree Farm can help anyone and anything, so let it do its magic.’
‘I’m enjoying taking my mind off it all by doing this,’ I said. I looked at the arch set up behind the bench, both clean and looking good. ‘Now, we need the flowers. Can I borrow your car and go and find some? Where would be good to try?’
‘The florist in town stocks faux flowers; the owner told me that so many people now want them, she’d rather they go there than one of the homeware shops outside of town.’ Willow hesitated then lowered her voice. ‘Are you sure about going in there, though?’
‘Of course,’ I replied breezily, although I had to admit, walking into flower shops always gave me a moment’s pause, even all these years later. Memories of my mother always came flooding through.
‘Willow, we need paint!’ Blake yelled over then. He started to walk towards us. ‘I think we should paint the pony enclosure white to match Daisy’s bench,’ he added, gesturing to my set-up.
Willow beamed at him. ‘That’s such a good idea.’
‘Dylan thought of it,’ Blake said. ‘I had to supervise building the enclosure but he knows what looks good,’ he added with a shrug.
Willow chuckled. ‘What can I say? I fell in love with a man who’s obsessed with his laptop, but he now has had to embrace farm work. I just have to keep whipping him into shape.’ She dropped me a wink before taking her keys out of her pocket and tossing them over to me. ‘Why don’t you both go into town? You can look for flowers, Daisy, and Blake – you could get white paint from the DIY shop as we don’t have any here. Kill two birds with one stone.’ She strode off before either of us had a chance to disagree.
I looked at Blake. ‘I suppose that is a good idea?’ I asked, wondering how it would be between us if we went into town. We didn’t know each other well but were connected by our relationship drama. I’d been more honest with him than I had with Henry, which made no sense, but also hadn’t felt weird. Blake was easy to be around. To bemyselfaround.
