Danny didn’t hear what Brooke’s reply was as he was too focused on Rory. ‘Do you mind if I go with him?’ he asked her, finally looking round. Brooke, he noticed suddenly, looked a bit tense. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked, concerned.
She nodded. ‘I’m fine. I’ll hang out with Polly for a bit. You go and see your brother.’
Danny hesitated, then he dropped a kiss on her cheek. ‘Thanks, Brooke. I’ll see you back at the flat.’
Brooke grabbed his hand. ‘Danny, why don’t you take Rory back to the flat? Show him where you live? I’m okay going back to Polly’s, aren’t I, Poll?’
Polly nodded. ‘Of course. We’ll have a good old chinwag.’
‘Are you sure?’ Danny asked, surprised.
‘I’m sure,’ she said.
Danny squeezed her hand and hurried over to Rory, who smiled and said, ‘Good session?’
‘Really good. It was the first time we’ve managed to do everything right. And we’ve got a name now. High Spirits.’
Rory laughed. ‘I like it. Very appropriate. Do you fancy a walk?’
‘Would you like to come back to my flat? Brooke’s gone to meet a friend so we can have a good catch-up and you can see where I spend my time when I’m not being a local rock star.’
Rory smiled. ‘I’d like that. Thank you.’
Danny led the way to Churchside and Rory admired the Swinging Sixties shops.
‘This is so cool! This really is an amazing village, Danny.’
Danny beamed. ‘It’s not bad, is it?’
‘You always wanted to live in a country village,’ Rory reminded him. ‘And now you are.’
‘Well, sort of.’ Danny raised his eyebrows. ‘I wouldn’t say I’m exactlylivinghere, though. Oh, it’s okay! I was only joking,’ he added hastily, seeing the happiness dim in Rory’s eyes. ‘Honestly, you’re right. This village is the sort of place I dreamed of. There are certainly worse places to be a ghost, I’m sure of that.’
They reached the hairdressing salon and Danny said, ‘I’ll go through. Just tell one of the stylists who you are so they know you’re not a burglar.’
He walked through the door and Rory opened it and followed him into the salon, where four women were in various stages of having their hair done.
Danny waited by the door that was for staff members only while Rory briefly explained who he was. The woman, who’d switched off her hairdryer to listen nodded, clearly distracted. ‘Yes, no worries. Go on up, my lovely.’
‘They really do take all this in their stride, don’t they?’ Rory asked, amazed, as he followed Danny up the stairs.
‘It’s a very strange place.’
‘I wonder why it’s the way it is?’ Rory mused. ‘Does anyone have any theories?’
‘Like I said, there’s some speculation that it’s to do with the standing stones, or being on ley lines. There’s also a stone age barrow, so… But the stones and the barrow might have been put therebecausethis area was special. Truth is, no one really knows.’ He gestured to the front door of his flat. ‘After you.’
Rory opened the door and walked in. Danny followed, then Rory shut the door after them. He looked around, curious.
‘So this is where you live.’
‘Yes. Home for the last eighteen years.’ Danny sighed. ‘It’s not very homely, is it? But we can’t complain. They’re very good to us.’
Rory gazed around him, clearly taking in the details.
‘The living room’s a good size,’ he said. ‘And you have a great view over the Swinging Sixties Street.’
‘Yes, that’s something,’ Danny agreed. ‘It’s nice to see people coming and going. From the bedroom windows it’s views over the fields, which is a nice contrast. You can have a look round if you like. Not that there’s much to see – just two bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen. Very basic.’
