His face darkened for a fraction of a second before he was all charm again. ‘Yes, but I never really got the opportunity to paint professionally until my father died.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ Juliette gave out a sigh.
‘Please don’t be. We didn’t get on that well. He had a farm which was passed on to me. I was working on it until then, but after his death I sold it and bought this place. It was then I decided to try and sell some of my earlier work, and I’ve never looked back.’
‘Gosh, every cloud and all that.’
He smiled. ‘Indeed.’ From behind him, he pulled out a bottle of whisky. ‘Join me?’
‘I’d better be getting back soon.’ She paused. ‘Just a little one.’
He poured her a finger, himself two. They clinked glasses and looked out at the sunset.
‘I love it here,’ he said.
‘I think I’m getting there,’ she replied.
‘We were worried when we heard the house had been sold. It had been empty for so long and we’d got used to having no neighbours close by.’
‘Well, I hope we won’t be too noisy for you. Do you and Sarah plan on having children?’
He shook his head. ‘I’m not sure that would be a good idea.’
Juliette grimaced, wondering if she’d put her foot in it again.
‘Sarah has a mild form of ME. She doesn’t like to talk about it, but she struggles with day-to-day tasks and she’s forever tired. That’s why you don’t see her out much.’
‘That’s a shame.’
‘I’m hoping she won’t be too tired once she getsback this evening. I offered to drive her into the village, but she insisted on walking. I know it isn’t far for us, but for her, she will probably be in pain tomorrow.’
‘Has she tried cognitive behaviour therapy? A friend of mine in London said it practically transformed her life. She’d tried over-the-counter medicine, even antidepressants but she said CBT made her more aware, therefore more in control of the symptoms. Perhaps Sarah could look into it.’
‘I’ll mention it to her, thanks.’
Juliette glanced at her watch and knocked back the rest of her drink. ‘I have to go. Danny is ringing me in a few minutes.’
Richard nodded, taking the empty glass from her. ‘It’s been nice to have some company this evening, Juliette.’
She smiled and made her way downstairs. She said her goodbyes and wandered back to her home, feeling his eyes on her. At the gate, she turned back and Richard was still watching her. He waved to her and she returned it before going inside.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The next morning, Juliette decided to tackle emptying some of the remaining boxes still piled up in the garage. Over the course of an hour, she emptied several, scattering contents throughout the house as she went through the different rooms. By the time she finished, there were only a few containers left to pop up in the loft, so she pulled down the ladder and took them up.
After pushing them to the back of the loft space under the eaves, she spotted Emily’s box and her heart sank. She’d stored it out of the way purposely but now she’d seen it, she would have to look through its contents. It was full of her keepsakes. She pulled it towards her and sat cross-legged while she dived inside.
It was therapeutic as much as it was upsetting to see her things. Juliette’s hand fell on Emily’s favourite toy, a cuddly bear with jeans and a T-shirt that Emily had loved to dance around the kitchen with.
Tears stung her eyes as she pressed it to her nose, trying to find the scent of her daughter. But there was nothing there.
She flicked through a pile of books. For as long as she could remember, Emily had been a bookworm, much to her delight. She’d wanted a story read to her most evenings. Sometimes Danny had been home to do the honours, but a lot of the time it was down to her. Often she’d complained she was tired. How she’d love to be able to read to her one more time.
With a heavy heart, she closed the box and went downstairs. It had been put up there for a reason. She wasn’t strong enough to look at it yet, but she would be in time.
Out in the garden again, she noticed Sarah standing beside a flower border. She stepped across to greet her, standing above the hedge that separated the gardens.
‘Morning,’ she said, looking down at Sarah. ‘And another good one. I don’t know how long this weather snap will last but I’m going to make the most of it. How are you?’
