‘Yeah, she really was.’ She paused. ‘When I saw it was gone, it just threw me, and I’m sorry I reacted that way, made you feel so terrible.’
‘Don’t be; I get it.’ The way he was looking at her, she knew he really did. And unless you’d been through a similar loss yourself, it was hard to understand how well-meaning remarks or actions could absolutely floor you.
‘If Mum had been here last week when you made the sale, she’d have thrown her arms around you and congratulated you on being salesman of the year. Because much as she said she didn’t want to part with it, she knew it was old and well past its use-by date.’
‘It sounds like I missed out on meeting her.’
Morgan simply smiled and soon enough, trading got underway with a steady flow of customers throughout the morning. When there was a lull, Morgan grabbed both of them a cup of tea and settled in her chair to read the book about Scotland. She’d brought it with her for the quiet moments, so she could honestly tell Ronan that yes, she was reading it, enjoying it and more importantly, learning all about the place they’d agreed to make their future. But she’d no sooner opened it than a customer appeared and she was up again.Always the way, her mother would’ve said, not minding one bit.
When she’d finished serving, Nate had just said goodbye to a customer who, between him and his wife, took the coffee table. Morgan looked across at him. ‘Everything all right?’ He was frowning.
He told her about the chessboard he’d made for the gentleman who came to the markets last week. ‘He’s not going to show, is he?’
‘You made a chessboard, as in from scratch? I knew you made things, but I thought that was past tense.’
‘I thought so too. But I’m back in the workshop.’ He sounded proud of it too.
‘So where is it?’ She looked around the stall, but there was nothing that looked remotely like it could be used in a game of chess.
‘I couldn’t lay it out in case it was snapped up.’
‘Good point. But show me, please.’
‘You really want to see it?’
‘Of course.’ She pointed to the black bin liner lurking beneath the table at the back on his side. ‘Is it in there?’
He nodded.
‘Be careful, Jasper could take it away as rubbish; he likes a clean market place, has high standards.’
‘I’ll try to remember that.’
‘May I?’ she asked before taking out the beautifully crafted piece that had last been touched and formed by Nate with the same attention and care that obviously came naturally to him. ‘You’re really talented. What will you do if the guy doesn’t come back for it?’
‘Put it on the stall next week, I guess.’
Morgan sensed if the man didn’t turn up, he might be a bit more peeved than he was letting on. ‘Well, if he doesn’t show, it’s his loss.’
They took turns to man the stall while the other grabbed lunch, eating on the move as so often happened when you were a market trader, and Morgan snatched some time to read her book when she could.
‘I hear you’re heading up to Scotland.’ Nate nodded to the book in her hands after he thanked a customer who had only browsed rather than bought anything.
‘Ronan, my fiancé, is already there. Working.’
‘It’s an exciting step for you.’
‘Yeah.’ Although the longing for a new adventure and enthusiasm for their long thought-out plan had dampened down over the months she’d been here. She’d been hoping the book and its content would reignite the flame of excitement.
‘So you’re leaving Little Woodville again. Off to see the big wide world.’
She closed the book. ‘I never thought I’d settle here; it was never a factor, never in the mix. At least, not until I came back. I don’t remember it being hard to leave the first time.’
‘It’s hard now?’
‘Harder, yes.’ She was reluctant to say any more. ‘What about you, how did you end up working in Wales?’
‘When Mum died, I was keen to get away from everything: the memories, the familiarity. A job opportunity came up in Wales and I just went for it. I felt bad leaving Dad, but I think he was better when I wasn’t here moping around. He kind of found his feet.’
