This wasn’t about the memory of his mum or about his dad and whether he worried about him being so far away. It wasn’t about Morgan either because she’d left.
This was about him and what he wanted. And he knew at long last that what he wanted was to be here. In Little Woodville.
19
THREE WEEKS LATER
Morgan rubbed her eyes. She’d slept most of the day away and the sun shone in through the curtains as though nodding its approval at the major decision she’d made about her life.
Last month, she’d had a Zoom interview with the media company who were interested in her even though she’d told them that she no longer wanted to move to Edinburgh. She’d kept that little detail to herself; she hadn’t wanted to tell anyone, especially Nate, in much the same way she’d wanted to keep her engagement ring on her finger to avoid having to explain. The company had then set up an in-person interview for a position in Cheltenham and had flown her up to Edinburgh to their head office to meet the management team. And not only had they offered her the position there and then, one with a full-time salary that would allow her to commute from Forget-Me-Not Cottage three days a week with two days working from home; they’d put her up for two nights in a luxury hotel and she’d joined them the next day for a team-building exercise.
Morgan had met up with Ronan before she left Edinburgh. She’d given him back the engagement ring over a dinner he’d booked and rather than look like a jilted party, she could tell he was doing really well. And that made her happier than ever.
Morgan hadn’t returned to Little Woodville immediately following the interview, however. She’d taken the chance to go and stay with Tegan, take some time away which she very much needed.
Northumberland was everything Morgan expected it to be. Full of family banter, farmyard sounds and smells, unique experiences – never before had she woken to find a snout poking through her open bedroom window, which had scared the life out of her. Seeing Henry handle the pig and try to coax it back to where it had escaped from, Morgan realised the animal was scarily strong and after her extended stay, she got to see first-hand why there was the well-known phrasehappy as a pig in mud.Her niece and nephew didn’t mind the mud one bit, but Morgan had favoured climbing trees with Jaimie rather than helping out with the pigs, or giving Lily cuddles when she woke from her afternoon nap.
It had been quality time they’d all needed; it had been fun. Henry had given Morgan and Tegan every evening together to talk and that’s exactly what they’d done, making the most of the days that might be shortening but were still a decent enough length. They talked about everything: their childhood, their parents, their losses, what they had left. But more than anything, Morgan had finally stepped away from her own life, her own goals and issues, and got to see and appreciate what Tegan had up here – her young family, the in-laws close by, the meals together that were chaotic, with voices tumbling over one another, yet comforting. The sisters had also discussed donating the profits they’d made from Elaina’s market stall to charity in the same way Nate had. And they’d agreed that supporting an osteoporosis charity would be a fine way to honour their mum.
Marley leapt up onto the bed in Forget-Me-Not Cottage now as Morgan looked out of the window. She’d purposely left the curtains open because she intended to have a quick nap after driving back from Northumberland this morning. But embraced in the cottage’s welcome, she’d slept for longer than she’d intended.
Now she needed to get organised. She had a quick shower – the unpacking could wait – and as soon as she was ready, she headed to the pizzeria. She’d called Nel from Northumberland and given her an estimate of when she’d return to the village – luckily she hadn’t had to say where she was because she’d had to leave a voicemail – and she wanted to thank her for seeing to Marley for so long. Once she’d done that, she wanted to head over to the Snowdrop Lane markets and see Jasper, apologise to him for being so vague. But today, she’d be there as a customer rather than a trader. She still had items she needed to sell but the stock was dwindling enough that the cottage was no longer overrun and Tegan was coming again soon to help deal with the rest. Her next few weeks were set to be busy finishing the last of her freelance pieces and shopping for office clothes because she doubted the casual attire she wore around the house would work in a professional setting. She thought she might even make a start on sprucing up the cottage or thinking about how to redecorate when she got the opportunity, once the ownership was transferred to her name only.
Nel had been a good friend to Elaina and always kind to Morgan since her arrival back in the village. As soon as Nel saw Morgan come into the pizzeria, she came out from behind the counter, arms wide open for a hug that had Morgan feeling as though Elaina had had a word in her ear to look out for her daughter when she was gone.
Nel shunted them both towards the open doorway so they could stand outside but keep an eye on whether Nel needed to leap in and help André out.
‘It’s good to see you back… are you, back, I mean?’
Morgan grinned. ‘I am.’
‘For how long?’
‘For good.’
Nel tilted her head in approval. ‘Your mother would be made up to know you’ve settled here.’
‘I think you’re right.’
‘Thank you for the flowers; they’re gorgeous and filling our lounge with the most beautiful scents and colours.’
‘I’m glad you like them. Thank you again; I mean it. I know I just upped and left but thank you for jumping in with the cottage and Marley.’
Nel squinted in the sunshine as they stood outside to appreciate the warm days that would soon be coming to an end with summer over. ‘Coming to your place was an escape from the busyness of my own life, to be honest. André always fusses that I don’t rest as much as I should.’
‘I’ll buy you dinner at the pub one evening to say a proper thank you.’
‘Not going to say no to that… any time.’ Summer always brought out positivity but Morgan sensed that even if it had been pouring with rain today, she’d still feel as upbeat as she did right now. She was back. Really back.
‘I bumped into someone else at your place when I was looking after everything.’ Nel held the door to the pizzeria open for a customer as they came out, box resting on their arms. ‘Nate.’
‘He’d have been expecting me to be at the final market session the week after. He was probably disappointed.’
Nel quirked a brow. ‘He didn’t look disappointed. He looked devastated. But I know you must have had your reasons for going and for doing it so quickly.’
She recapped on what had happened – the job interview and the position in Cheltenham.
‘I’m so pleased for you.’ But with customers milling, Morgan could see her attention was torn.
