On the side of the road, a car was on the verge, the bonnet open and a figure ducked under it.
‘Shall we pull over?’ I asked.
Henry tutted, clearly not wanting to.
‘Henry, we can’t just drive by.’
‘Fine, fine.’ He pulled in behind the car and we both climbed out.
‘Need some help?’ Henry called over as I realised I recognised the car.
Blake ducked out from under the bonnet and glanced at me then Henry then me again. ‘Oh, hi.’
‘Jesus,’ Henry muttered, shooting me a glare.
‘What’s happened?’ I asked Blake, ignoring Henry.
‘Dylan warned me my car might be useless on these country roads. He won’t give his up but rarely drives it any more, he said. Look at that mud…’ He gestured to the mud we hadn’t yet reached. ‘I swerved to miss it and then bumped against this hedge, and everything spluttered and stopped. There may have been some smoke too…’ He grimaced. ‘I have no signal to call anyone out here.’
‘Bloody countryside,’ Henry said, looking at me with awhat have you got me intoexpression.
I pulled my phone out. ‘No signal for me either.’ I looked at Henry, who put his hands in his pockets, not bothering to check his phone. ‘We can drive you back to the farm and then you can call someone to get your car from there,’ I suggested, ignoring Henry, my heart undeniably lifting at the thought of having to change our plans to help Blake.
Blake raised an eyebrow. ‘Aren’t you going out?’ His eyes flicked over my dress briefly.
‘Yes, we are,’ Henry said, taking hold of my arm. ‘Let’s go before we lose our reservation.’
‘We can’t just leave Blake here. There’s no other option. Let’s all head back to the farm,’ I said. ‘My uncle always makes loads of food so we can just all eat there together.’
‘For fuck’s sake,’ Henry said, turning around and stalking back to his car.
‘Are you sure about this?’ Blake asked under his breath.
‘I’m not going to just leave you here. Where were you heading anyway?’
‘Sarah wanted me to get us some food so we can carry on talking about the app but I’ll tell her to meet us at the farm too then. I appreciate this, Daisy. You saved me,’ he said as we followed Henry back to his car.
‘I think you might have saved me instead,’ I muttered.
He looked across at me in surprise and I couldn’t meet his gaze. But my lack of belief in signs was starting to wobble. I had felt stuck in that car with Henry as he planned our life out for us, and the universe had found a way for me to avoid it all, and I was so relieved.
Climbing into the passenger seat, Henry avoiding my gaze, I leaned back in the seat and let out a long exhale. Blake jumped in too and we turned around and went back to Birch Tree Farm.
* * *
‘This time last year, it was just you and me rolling around this place on our own,’ Uncle Adam joked as he passed Willow the jug of homemade lemonade.
Once we got back, Blake arranged for a local garage to tow his car and fix it. My uncle had made plenty of food as I’d predicated so once Sarah arrived from the pub, we all sat down together: Willow, Dylan and my uncle, Henry, Sarah, Blake and me. Maple was curled up in her bed in the corner keeping an eye on us. Adam had made a delicious chicken and courgette lemon pasta, and there was plenty for us all. He was smiling, happy to have a houseful even if not everyone around the table was enjoying the impromptu meal like he was.
‘Now we’re full to the brim,’ Willow said, shaking her head. ‘Is what happened to Blake making you think twice about keeping your car?’ she joked to Dylan.
‘I have to admit, I use it less and less,’ he said. ‘But the thought of giving it up…’
‘You’re not going anywhere though, right?’ she asked, tilting her head.
Dylan reached for her arm and stroked it. ‘You’re stuck with me, baby.’
‘Oh, what a shame.’
