‘Still working hard?’ Jenny said.
‘Nope. Lounging on my new sofa. I was planning to have a bath but there’s been a slight hitch. Need to wait for the water to warm up. And I’ve just been scared half to death by a cat. It’s in my kitchen, or it was. I’ve left the back door open in the hope it’ll make its way home. But this has been a wonderful day, all in all.’
‘I’m glad to hear it. How did a cat get into your kitchen? Is there a cat flap?’
‘Not that I’ve seen, no. But there are a few holes it might’ve sneaked in through.’
‘Holes? What sort of holes?’
Lara chuckled although she wasn’t sure why.
‘Well there’s one in the roof, and a couple of gaps in some of the floorboards here and there. The cottage has been empty for years, according to the tradesmen I met today, and parts of it look as if they haven’t been touched since the place was built. Which I believe the auction details stated was around the 1800s. It needs far more work than I thought.’
‘Oh dear. I was worried that might be the case. Are you still pleased you bought the place?’
‘Yes,’ Lara said with emphasis. ‘I will admit though that when I first arrived, I wasn’t quite so sure. But now I’m positive it was the right thing to do.’
‘I’m so relieved to hear that. Tell me everything.’
Lara proceeded to tell Jenny about Tom, about the tradesmen, and the lovely Polish cleaner, Ula. She even told her about the sheep, and the views.
‘I’ll send you some photos tomorrow. You won’t believe how amazing the view is from here. I should’ve taken photos of the cottage the moment I arrived and before Ula worked her magic, but I completely forgot. I’ll take a few before I go to bed so at least you’ll have some idea.’
Lara couldn’t believe the phone call lasted for more than forty minutes but at least the water would now be hot. After saying goodbye to Jenny, she forced herself to get up from the sofa despite the protests every muscle in her body made. She hadn’t ached this much in her life. Or not since she’d refurbished her two flats.
Sitting at a desk all day every day meant she didn’t take as much exercise as she should. She would need to make some changes in her life if she wanted to be fit and healthy in her old age. Assuming she made it that far. Not everyone was that lucky.
‘No. Don’t go there, Lara.’
A chill encircled her as she walked into the hall and for one brief moment, she thought again that the cottage might be haunted. She laughed at her foolishness as she remembered she had left the back door open for the cat. She scanned the tops of all the cupboards as she made her way to the sink and washed up her glass. She dried it with a tea towel she had hung on an old, but now clean, hook and put the glass away in one of the cupboards.
Whilst locking the back door, Lara glanced in the direction of Tom’s cottage. It was in darkness. She looked at her watch. It wasn’t even eight o’clock. But then he had had a busy day. Perhaps he was also exhausted. Lara was tempted to skip the bath and go directly to bed, and she was only half his age, or less.
The fact that the bed was new, as were the sheets, duvet cover, and pillow cases, and she was filthy from all the cleaning, made her decide a bath was necessary. She had been yearning for one earlier but the wine and the crisps, not to mention the comfort of the sofa, had lessened her need for a luxurious soak. Yet it might be just the thing for her aching muscles.
This time when she turned on the tap, a stream of piping hot water filled the bathtub. She adjusted the taps to ensure the perfect temperature, and added a splash of bubble bath before climbing into the warm water.
This was the life. She counted her blessings as she soaked away some of the aches and pains. The cottage might be a bit of a wreck right now but it had true potential. And Fortune had smiled on her when she’d met Tom.
It was strange how life did that sometimes. Turned what had been a problem, like her being unable to find Old Oak Lane, into something good, like meeting Tom, who had not only made her smile, but had also saved her a considerable amount of money.
Not that money was an issue. Her parents had left her well provided for, and the inheritance from them had included the money her dad had received from his mum, Lara’s paternal grandmother, who had passed away the year before her parents. Even taking into account the sums her awful aunt and uncle and cousins had managed to wheedle out of her and her solicitor, she would have enough to live on for life.
Provided she didn’t go overboard and squander it on unnecessary status symbols and flashy items, like first class travel, high-end holidays, luxury cars, designer labels and such. The things her relatives splashed out on almost daily. Or had done when she had lived with them.
Lara hadn’t benefitted from their spending extravaganzas. She had remained at the new house (which she had never called home) when they went on their various holidays. And theirshopping sprees never included her. They bought lavish gifts for each other for Christmas and birthdays, but Lara was lucky if she received any gift at all with her cards. Not that she had celebrated her two birthdays in the new house. Or Christmas for that matter. And her aunt and uncle had been grateful for an excuse not to throw her one of the blowout bashes they held for all of their special days.
When her cousins had both married not that long ago – one to a local footballer, the other to a luxury car salesman – Lara’s invitations had informed her that her family understood she would not be attending, bearing in mind she hated any form of celebration – which was news to her. She was happy to celebrate other people’s special events. It was only her own birthday she wanted to ignore. However, the note went on, gifts would be expected and money would be preferred.
How had her rotten relatives invaded her relaxation? She had been counting her blessings, not her sorrows. Now the bath water was growing cold. Time to get out and go to bed. Tomorrow was a new day and this was a fresh start for her. And a distraction from her upcoming thirtieth birthday that was creeping ever closer.
Lara wrapped herself in one of the soft, plump and fluffy new towels she had bought. She didn’t totally deprive herself of luxuries. She walked into her bedroom but stopped in her tracks just inside the door when she got the fright of her life. Sprawled across her crisp new white duvet cover was the black cat that had been in her kitchen earlier.
‘Oh no you don’t,’ she shrieked, making the cat jump and arch its back at her. ‘You were meant to go home, not ruin my new bedding. Shoo.’ She waved her hands at the cat, who hissed and growled and snarled but stood its ground. ‘I’m not kidding. Get out of my cottage.’
She took a step closer although she had no idea what to do next. She wasn’t going to try to pick it up. It might claw her to shreds. But neither was she going to let it stay put.
Thankfully, with one final hiss, the cat leapt from the bed and scampered past Lara as it dashed towards the stairs. She had locked the back door so she would have to go downstairs and unlock it again. This time she would close the kitchen door leading into the hall so the cat had no choice but to go outside.
Reluctantly, she followed it and found it squatting on top of another cupboard. After waiting in the kitchen doorway for at least ten minutes, shivering now in just her towel, it was clear the cat had no intention of moving. Lara would have to encourage it out. She took one of the new brooms from a cupboard and held it up towards the cat. She didn’t want to hurt it, obviously, so she wouldn’t let the broom touch the cat, but she hoped that waving it in front of the cat would frighten it away.
All that did was made the cat retreat further back, and made her towel fall off. Thank heavens she wasn’t overlooked. She secured the towel and tried again, but to no avail.
‘Fine,’ she eventually said. ‘You got in here somehow so you must be able to get out.’ She locked the back door once more and threw the cat a final glare. ‘Don’t you dare pee or poo in here, you hear me? And don’t break anything. You’d better not be here in the morning or I’ll set Ula on you. Good night.’
The cat hissed in reply.
Lara closed the kitchen door leading into the hall so the cat couldn’t get upstairs again, and she trudged up the stairs to her bed, collapsing into the comfy bedding and falling asleep within seconds.
