When I realised I recognised the person, I stopped right in the middle of the strawberries, unsure what to do. I had no time to gather my thoughts before he was in front of me.
‘Daisy,’ Blake greeted me in a soft tone.
Confused, I lifted my eyes and met his. ‘Blake?’ It came out as a question as I was so stunned to see him back here. I had told myself he wasn’t coming back. Why was he standing in front of me now?
He smiled and flashed those cute dimples at me. Damn it. He wore city shorts with a polo shirt and had faint stubble on his chin. He looked relaxed, which was annoying when I could hear my heart thumping. ‘I couldn’t miss opening day. It all looks great.’ He scanned the strawberry fields. ‘Thank God you managed to clear the mess the ponies made. I texted Dylan and he kept me updated. I love the new swing and tractor. But the highlight is still your flower arch,’ he added, looking back at me.
He had texted Dylan, not me. Was he going to mention my message to him, or just pretend it hadn’t happened?
I raised an eyebrow. ‘I thought you were gone for good,’ I replied, unsure how he could be acting as if this was a perfectly normal development. He’d been away for a week with no contact. Half the time I’d known him, which seemed crazy when he felt so familiar to me. ‘Why aren’t you in the city with Sarah?’ I tried to ask without any bitterness but I wasn’t sure if I fully managed it.
‘I have a lot to catch you up on, but I was thinking maybe I could do that at the same time I talk to my dad and sister. Do you think Willow could spare you for a couple of hours at some point today and we could go home together?’
Home together.
Why did those two words give me a jolt in the pit of my stomach?
‘You want me to come with you? Is Sarah not here?’ I was so confused.
‘I’ll explain everything later, I promise. Will you come, Daisy? Please?’ he pleaded. He looked so hopeful, I wasn’t sure how to say no but I didn’t understand why I’d be involved in anything to do with him any more.
‘I guess, if you need me to. I could come on my lunch break. I need to be back this afternoon to see Bronte.’
‘Bronte?’ It was his turn to look surprised.
‘Your sister is going to be running the pony rides every afternoon. We had to think of something once you’d left, and it will help out the riding school too. A win-win situation,’ I explained.
Blake watched me for a moment. ‘You came up with the idea?’
‘Yeah.’ I shrugged. ‘I thought Bronte was the perfect person to help with Blossom and Jasmine.’
‘That’s such a great idea. I should have thought of it…’ He trailed off. ‘I better go and say hi to Dylan. Thanks for agreeing to come with me, Daisy. Find me when you’re ready to go.’ He started to walk away as suddenly as he had appeared but he paused. ‘It’s good to see you again.’
Then he strode off, leaving me staring after him, wondering what was going on in his head.
38
‘Did I just see Blake?!’ Willow rushed over to me. ‘What’s he doing back?’
I filled her in on our brief interaction. ‘God knows what it’s all about.’
‘Well, I’m glad he came to his senses and is back in Birchbrook. This is turning out to be a great first day!’ She winked as she went over to speak to a couple picking strawberries, offering to take a photo of them. I rolled my eyes. She was confident this was a good sign but I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t able to brood for the next hour though as Adam asked me to help him at the till table. We had an influx of people wanting to pick over lunch as they knew Paul’s café van was on site so there was a rush of checking tickets, taking payments and handing out punnets.
Dylan then came to relieve me from my post, and also hand me and Adam a sandwich and orange juice each. When I was ready, I found Blake greeting the ponies.
‘Let’s go,’ was all he said so we strolled over to his car and set off.
I eyed him as we drove out of the farm, wanting to see if our week apart had changed anything. He hummed as he drove, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. It was pretty annoying.
‘The farm looks great,’ Blake said when he caught me glancing across at him. ‘I’m so glad the ponies didn’t ruin things. I’ve been so annoyed at myself for leaving the gate unlocked. Things were so chaotic that day. I wish I’d done a lot of things differently.’
‘Is this why we’re doing this?’ I asked curiously, wondering exactly which things he would have changed. It was all so cryptic.
Blake nodded. ‘I want to put right what I can. Will you trust me, Daisy? I’ll explain everything when we get there, okay?’
I sighed but I leaned back in the seat and decided not to ask anything more. He clearly wanted me to find out along with his dad and sister. It was frustrating to have to wait. I wasn’t sure why I was even involved but a small part of me did wonder whether my message to him might have sparked something, and that’s why he wanted me here too. I hoped he was doing something that would make him happy. I was sure it wouldn’t include me, and I told myself not to have any hopes related to that. But my heart wouldn’t listen; it had been beating faster ever since Blake came back to the farm.
The now-familiar sight of Blake’s hometown came into view and we drove through the High Street, passing by his dad’s antiques shop, before heading out to his family home. Blake said he’d messaged ahead so his father and Bronte were expecting us. When he pulled into the driveway, the two of them came outside and I could tell they were just as confused as I was. Blake jumped out and hugged them both and I did the same, then we walked out into the garden and sat at the patio table with a pitcher of iced lemonade.
