Spring Blossoms at Mill Grange by Jenny Kane (a court of thorns and roses ebook free txt) 📗

She weighed them in her hands for a moment, before knocking the paperwork on the chair into a neat pile and sliding it into a waiting carrier bag. Then, ripping the last clean page from her notebook, Helen sat down and began to write.

Wednesday April 8

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The sound of a door closing woke Thea with a start.

‘Shaun?’

She looked around, expecting to see him lying in bed next to her, before remembering she wasn’t in their bed, and she hadn’t seen Shaun since he disappeared through the trees at the back of Mill Grange.

Clutching the blankets she’d borrowed from the laundry store to her chest, Thea sat up on the drawing room sofa. She thought she could hear the faint sound of a vehicle moving. Is that Shaun? Is he leaving?

Getting up, she ran on silent feet to the front door, wincing as the bruises she’d gathered from running through the woods without shoes made their presence felt. She was relieved to see the coat he’d been wearing hanging from its usual hook.

 I must have imagined the sound of someone going out.

Heading back to the sofa, Thea sank back down. Although she’d managed some sleep, her whole being ached with tiredness and her mind spun with regrets and what ifs.

I should have told him straight away.

He should have accepted you were trying to spare his feelings.

I hurt him.

You were trying not to hurt him – but he wouldn’t listen.

He can’t honestly believe I fancy Julian!

In that second, she wondered why she was the one sleeping on the sofa, when Shaun had their cosy double bed to himself. Grabbing the moment of indignation like a shield, Thea threw down her blankets. Mumbling to herself as she took the stairs two at a time, Thea made a beeline for her bedroom. ‘I’m not losing this relationship because of Julian bloody Blackwood!’

*

Helen pulled into a layby just outside Upwich and let the tears erupt.

She didn’t doubt Tom’s feelings for her. Not for a minute. But there was no way she could ask him to choose between her and his son’s future happiness, so she’d decided to make it easier for him.

Blowing her nose into a handful of tissues, Helen pushed her shoulders back as she sat behind the wheel. ‘I have a job to go to, a home and a life in Bath. I was fine before I went to Mill Grange. I will be fine again.’

Not allowing herself to look back at the village sign, Helen restarted her Land Rover’s engine and pulled out onto the silent night.

*

Thea’s hand was on the bedroom door before her indignation shrank into anxiety. What if Shaun doesn’t want me in there with him?

Knowing the longer she left it, the worse she’d build the situation in her mind, Thea twisted the handle of the door and went in.

‘You couldn’t sleep either then.’ Shaun was sat up against the bed’s headboard.

‘No.’ Thea shut the door behind her, not sure if she should come towards the bed or not. ‘I’m sorry. I really was trying to do the right thing, but I messed up.’

Shaun patted the side of the bed. ‘I know.’

A tiny flicker of hope leapt up in Thea’s chest. ‘That I was trying to do the right thing or that I messed up?’

‘Both.’

Thea limped across the room. ‘Fair enough.’

Shaun flicked on the bedside lamp. ‘You’ve hurt yourself?’

‘I wasn’t wearing shoes when I ran after you.’

‘Idiot.’

‘Pretty much.’ Thea could see his expression was drawn. She wondered if he’d been crying. ‘Where did you go?’

‘I got as far as the Tarr Steps. Sat on the grass by the water and had a think.’

‘A good place for thinking.’ Thea threw her clothes off and grabbing an oversized t-shirt from the chair next to the bed, slipped into bed. ‘Can I ask what you thought?’

‘That I was wrong when I told you that I wouldn’t mind giving up presenting Landscape Treasures. Not that I knew that at the time, but back then I wasn’t facing it as a real prospect. It certainly hadn’t occurred to me that you’d be the one who’d replace me when the time came.’

Thea groaned. ‘But I wouldn’t. No way would I do that to you. You must know that?’

Shaun’s expression caught between a half smile and a grimace. ‘Yes. I know that. You don’t even want to be a presenter at all, do you?’

‘No. I like my life here.’ Thea could feel the heat of Shaun’s thigh against her. ‘I’m not saying I’d never guest present for Landscape Treasures again; but I wouldn’t for Julian. I wish Phil had never left.’

Shaun snorted. ‘Me too.’

 As a hush feel between them, Thea asked, ‘Can I say something?’

‘Only if it isn’t about Julian. I can’t face more arguments on no sleep.’

A lump formed in Thea’s throat. So much for her brief hope that he’d forgiven her. ‘I just love you. That’s all.’

Shaun switched the light off again and snuggled under the covers. ‘I love you too.’ He rolled over, so he was facing away from Thea. ‘I’m just not sure I trust you, or know what to say to you right now.’

Thirty-eight

Wednesday April 8th

Tina sat at the kitchen table, two large pieces of paper laid out before her. One was a to-do list for the preparation of the house ready for Easter Sunday, in four days’ time. The other was covered in hastily scribbled names of everyone she and Sam intended to invite to the wedding.

Taking a sip from her coffee cup, Tina stared at both lists, not sure which to tackle first. Time seemed to be slipping through her fingers like grains of sand.

Her eyes flicked to the box of wedding invites sat to her left. Doodling a flower in the corner of the nearest piece of paper, Tina glanced at the kitchen clock.