Never Too Late (8 page)

Jake’s gaze remained fixed on Molly’s hot face. “We’ll be sure to do that.”

“Nan,” she said quickly. “Don’t you need a hand with the baking for the women’s committee meeting tomorrow?”

Nan waved that off. “I can manage. It’s only a couple of cakes.” She turned to Jake. “We have it every Friday evening down at the church hall. We all make something for it.”

Molly’s mind churned wildly. “Francine may need you tomorrow,” she said to him. “You must have lots to discuss about Barrowdene.”

“Nothing I can’t discuss with you.” His amber eyes sparkled merrily, and her face heated up on cue. “Besides, Francine is leaving Appleby tomorrow morning.”

They both stared at him in surprise.

“Is she? She didn’t mention,” Nan said. “Though, she never does stay long. I suppose she’ll head back to London?”

He shrugged. “I got the impression she’s looking for a change, a holiday maybe. She was talking about getting away.”

Nan beamed. “Well then, there’s no need for you to waste a sunny day cooped up in Barrowdene. Molly will be with you tomorrow morning, bright and early.”

“Sounds good.” And shooting Molly a wicked grin that sent hot sparks exploding in her, he stood up from the table.

Nan began clearing away the plates, and seething, Molly followed him out into the hallway. She’d been neatly gift-wrapped and presented for his use. Nan was being hospitable, but really, couldn’t he just spend his day cooped up in Barrowdene? Wasn’t that what he’d come here for in the first place?

He opened the front door. “I’ll be seeing you
bright and early
tomorrow.”

She couldn’t resist. “Yes, Sir.” And completed it with a smart salute.

He laughed, his lion eyes twinkling, and she could only stare back, trapped in the power of him.

But then his laughter died, and his gaze narrowed on her, falling to her lips. 

With a gulp, she stood still, staring at him like a deer in headlights, barely breathing.

Cripes! Was he going to… kiss her?

Nervously, she licked her lips with the tip of her tongue and his eyes flared on that small move. Then all of a sudden he stepped back, and without another word, turned and strode out of the cottage.

Her trapped breath rushed out, and she sagged against the door.

Of course he hadn’t been about to kiss her. What sort of naive idiot was she being?

His flirting confused her, but it was her body’s electric reaction to him that petrified her. If she didn’t reign herself in, and fast, how was she going to survive tomorrow?

Bright and early, Friday morning, Molly loitered outside Rose Cottage.

Perhaps too early.

It was just before eight o’clock and Jake was nowhere to be seen. She checked her watch again. She’d wanted to make a point, but the only person bothered seemed to be herself.

Nan was busy inside the big house, and miffed, Molly headed off to talk to the stable girls. They always arrived at the crack of dawn to care for their horses.

The morning sun smiled hot on her bare shoulders. She’d opted for simple. A sky-blue strappy dress that traced her curves and flowed out from her hips to just above her knees. Her unrestrained hair spread around her shoulders and down her back like a curly golden cloud, and a touch of mascara and pink lipgloss and blue flats completed the look. She’d aimed for comfortable rather than alluring, and pleased with her effort, she planned the day as she walked.

She’d take him in a wide circle around the village, passing the large orchards and the church, then down Main Street, ending at the pub by lunchtime. By then, he’d be ready to drop and begging to finish the day. A filling lunch and job done.

All she had to do was keep her distance, keep it polite, and keep her crazy hormones on ice. 

She passed the garage. Francine’s red Mercedes was gone, and the conservatory door further on in the main house opened and two giggling girls ran out.

They were two of Nan’s regular helpers, both sixteen years old and forever prattling about boys. They squealed on seeing her and rushed over.

“Molly!”

With a sigh, she steeled herself to hear the latest instalment of teen angst and love in the village.

“Have you seen him?” Carly, the dark haired one, jigged up and down in excitement.

Molly stared at her, nonplussed. “Who?”

“The new Lord of Barrowdene!” Daisy, the shorter blonde, enthused. “God, he’s hot!”

Carly giggled. “We were changing the bedsheets and he came out of the shower.”

Molly’s eyes rounded.

Daisy jumped in. “We were like ‘Oh. My. God’. And Carly’s mouth was open so wide.”

“Yours too!” Carly snapped. “You were gawking at him like he was the last guy on earth.”

“I wouldn’t mind if he was,” Daisy said, preening the end of her fair plait. “Did you see that body?”

“Wait.” Molly squeezed into the conversation. “When he came out of the shower, was he…?”

Carly rolled her eyes. “Oh, he had a towel around his important bits.”

Daisy sniggered. “Shame.”

And both girls looked at each other and cackled with laughter.

Molly breathed out in relief.

The village would waste no time in labelling Jake a lecherous pervert of the worst kind if this had happened any other way.

Daisy regarded her, envy in her narrowed gaze. “I bet you’ve spoken to him. All he said to us was ‘sorry’ and then he locked himself in the bathroom.”

“What’s his name?” Carly asked eagerly.

“Jake Hennessy.” Molly glanced skyward, praying for patience. “And yes… yes, I’ve spoken to him.”

“Do you like him?” Daisy’s eyes were sly.

Molly’s face heated up. “I hardly know him to like him.”

“Oh, she does!” Carly yelped.

Molly choked out a protest but they weren’t listening.

“Come on. We’ve got to tell the others.” Daisy pulled at her friend. “See ya, Molly, and don’t hog him.” And off they ran, whispering and giggling to each other.

Molly groaned. Within the hour it would be all over Appleby that she was madly in love with the new ‘Lord of Barrowdene’. Storm clouds gathered over her mood as she stalked to the stables.

Kitty the youngest of the three Harrington girls, was outside the stables, brushing down a calm bay mare. “She was a tad skittish yesterday, so I thought a morning massage might soothe her,” Kitty said, patting the mare’s flank.

Unlike her taller, slimmer sisters, Kitty was short, around Molly’s height, but voluptuous. Her long golden hair fell in a straight shiny sheet down her back when she didn’t have it scraped back in her usual ponytail, and her cornflower-blue eyes shone with the self-assurance of someone used to being judged the prettiest.

Her perfect hair wasn’t the only thing Molly envied about Kitty. She’d often wished she had the confidence to talk charming rings around people the way Kitty did. Nearly all the eligible young men in Appleby were in thrall to Kitty, and a fair number of ineligible ones too. Kitty would never show herself up as a gauche idiot in front of Jake the way Molly had.

“We’re all rather relieved to be staying on here,” Kitty said as Molly offered the mare the flat of her palm to nuzzle. “We thought we’d have to move when we heard Francine was selling up.”

The mare nudged Molly’s palm and she stroked the animal’s forelock absently. “None of us really know what Jake’s plans are for Barrowdene, or how long he’s going to be here.”

“He’s here for the time being.” Kitty’s voice brimmed with satisfaction. “We have a backup plan to move to Ayers Farm if we need to, but I’d much rather stay here. That Tom Ayers is such a caveman.”

Molly’s ears pricked up. Tom Ayers. The dark-haired, bearded young farmer who co-owned and managed the huge and successful Ayers Farm with his father. He was plain spoken and straight to the point, and it sounded like he was one of the few men who hadn’t succumbed to Kitty’s charms.

“This Jake,” Kitty mused. “He’s single, isn’t he? And word is he offered Francine full cash, several million, I heard. We’re all hoping he’ll marry someone in Appleby and settle here.”

“He has a girlfriend.”

“Oh, does he? But… that’s girlfriend, right? Not wife?”

Molly shook her head in amused disbelief. “Girlfriend. He’s not wearing a ring.”

Kitty grinned. “Good.” She picked up an apple from a nearby basket and taking a small penknife from her gilet pocket, quartered it. “Here, give her these.”

Molly held out a quarter apple piece on the flat of her palm and the mare chomped greedily into it, flicking it’s ears and snickering for more.

“I’m really sorry about what happened between you and Brian.”

Molly froze in the act of feeding the mare a second apple quarter. 

Had someone overheard what Brian said to her yesterday? No, there had been no one else by the church. Kitty must mean his engagement to Abby. She relaxed. “It’s fine. I’d much rather he was happy with someone else than unhappy with me.”

Kitty grimaced. “Don’t know if I’d call it happy… They’re always—” Her lips formed a small ‘ooh’ of appreciation as she looked past Molly’s shoulder.

Lord of Barrowdene, Molly guessed wearily, and turned to see Jake coming around the corner.

In dark jeans and a black t-shirt that showcased a wide, solid chest, he was temptation enough to make a nun swoon.

All of a sudden, she couldn’t bring herself to stand by and watch Kitty flirt with Jake, and see his inevitable interest. With a hasty goodbye, she left Kitty and hurried over to him. 

Kitty wouldn’t forgive her this, but she’d deal with that later.

“You’re early.” Jake’s appreciative gaze skimmed over her when she reached him. “I admit I’m not used to that with women.”

“As I said I would be.” Her words came out a tad too defensive.

He oozed a sophisticated gorgeousness that made her want to reach out and touch him. Why, oh why hadn’t she taken more time with her appearance, like the women he knew?

She stopped herself. 

For goodness sake, so what if she looked boring? The only reason she was here with him was because he needed someone to show him around Appleby.

Clasping her hands behind her back to keep them in check, she shot him her best professional smile. “Shall we get going?”

“Lead the way.”

They passed Rose Cottage on their way to the south orchard, Jake asking enough questions about the estate that their conversation stayed thankfully neutral.

The trees in the orchard hung heavy with green apples, shiny purple cherries, and yellow-green pears. The sweet scent of ripe fruit filled the air and a few crushed cherries littered the grass around them.

“Most of this looks ready.” He glanced up at the weighted branches above them.

“The cherries are. Nate and a few men from Ayers farm will be harvesting them this weekend. They’ll pick the pears too because those don’t taste the best if left to ripen on the tree. The apples need another month.”

Reaching up, he plucked two plump cherries and handed one to her. He popped one in his mouth. “That tastes good.”

She bit the dark fruit, relishing the instant pop of sweet juice that flowed over her tongue.

They reached the outer edge of the orchard and he glanced back at the forest of fruit-laden trees. “That’s a lot of fruit. Your grandfather sure didn’t skimp. What happens to it all?”

“We sell in bulk to Ayers Farm, like all the other orchards in Appleby. Martin deals with Barrowdene’s accounts for that.”

He frowned. “Francine mentioned him, but he’s not an accountant, is he?”

They turned to walk down the open green field and she couldn’t decipher his shuttered expression. “No, but he’s always looked after Barrowdene for Francine, and done it well.”

“You like working for him, Molly?”

“He’s an excellent boss, a good friend really.” She glanced at him. “Why are you asking about Martin?”

He smiled. “I’m just curious about anyone who has dealings with Barrowdene.”

That made sense. Of course, he’d want to know more about the people here.

Ahead of them, a little stream burbled noisily in a shallow valley, and with sudden concern she remembered the excited duo of earlier. “I’m really sorry about the girls this morning. I’ll make sure they don’t disturb you in your room again.”

He burst out laughing. “Francine warned me the grapevine around here was scorching. The gilded version’s probably done the rounds by now, so I guess I’d better ready myself for a whole lot of damning looks today.”

“No, I know them. They’re young and silly, but they won’t exaggerate.”

“You’ve been suffering with the rumour mill too, haven’t you, Molly?” He studied her.

“Wh–what do you mean?”

“Just that you’re fresh out of a relationship, and the guy’s back here flaunting his new fiancée.”

She gasped. “How do you…?” Then realization hit. “Nan! What else did she tell you?”

His eyes narrowed. “Your one and only relationship and apparently, it should never have happened.”

Mortification sent dull heat scorching to her cheeks. For some reason, Jake knowing about her failed relationship made her want to jump in the shallow stream and drown. 

“Brian didn’t do this on purpose. You can’t help who you fall in love with.” She bit her lip at the lie. Brian may be with Abby, but was it really about love?

He gave a derisive bark of laughter. “Love! Only a woman would cling to that old trope. Didn’t he love
you
once? What was it about this woman that had him loving her all of a sudden?”

“Just because you don’t know what love is…” she snapped. “Brian didn’t do this to hurt me. I wasn’t what he needed and I’ve made my peace with that, and frankly, it’s none of your business.”

He stopped and looked at her, his head back and proud, his glittering gaze hard, and she gulped as her anger drained. She’d stirred the lion, and from the looks of it, he wasn’t used to being crossed. 

Then a throbbing awareness uncurled in the pit of her stomach, tightening her tingling nipples until they poked at the thin cotton of her dress. She couldn’t tear her gaze from his strikingly handsome face. Her lips parted slightly, and his gaze dropped to them, darkening, and as if accepting an invitation he took a step closer.