Roses For Katie (31 page)

As she climbed into his car, Tom smiled, obviously delighted to have her join him for the day at his farm.

‘Everything all right, Katie?’ he asked, politely.

‘Oh… yes,’ she answered, determined to set aside all her miserable thoughts about Pat’s recent phone message. ‘So, what’s the problem?’ she asked, taking the conversation in a different direction.

‘Just a décor dilemma for the second guest bedroom,’ he said, with a chuckle. ‘but something I’m sure you’ll sort out in a very short time.’

Katie took a sly look at the handsome man at her side, and realised how fortunate she was to have the attention of such a person. It was time she reassessed her situation, and stopped wishing for the moon. ‘Right; that’s no problem,’ she said, quickly.

‘Knowing you wouldn’t take all day to solve this, I’ve booked lunch at the Park Hotel in town.’ He shot a quick glance at her, then he added, ‘After you’ve looked at the bedroom, maybe we could take a little canter on the horses, then have lunch, and follow that by a relaxed afternoon, before going out for dinner tonight?’

Katie laughed; this was typical of Tom, but she didn’t mind. ‘Got it all worked out, haven’t you,’ she said, feeling grateful that he had planned such a full day for her. For the rest of the day, her mind was full of what she was doing. The bedroom décor was sorted, the lunch was superb, and the ride on the horses was short, but invigorating. After the promised afternoon rest, which was accompanied by light classical music, she decided she should go home to change for the dinner that Tom had planned. It was only when she arrived back at Priory Farm, and realized that Pat was no longer in the annex, that a little pang of loss hit her in the pit of her stomach again. She took a deep breath; it was no good behaving like this. She hurried upstairs, showered, and dressed for the evening, and was soon ready for Tom to pick her up again.

She shrugged as she thought about him. He was good, kind, reliable… and lonely, like she was. Here was an opportunity for them both to have a more enjoyable way of life. She decided to think seriously about developing a happy relationship somehow with Tom; companionship, without the need to commit to marriage. Then, there was always Rex. She smiled as she thought of him; happy go-lucky Rex. He was a fine companion, and even if Tom did not like it, she would go out with the professor as well, when he asked.

Chapter Fifteen

A few days later a letter arrived postmarked Cork. Katie knew it was from Pat, and with a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, she tore open the envelope with her trembling fingers. She knew in her heart what it would say before she read it.

‘
Dear
Katie
,

Tears blurred her vision immediately, and she dabbed at her eyes before she even began to read it.

‘
I
find
it
easier
to
write
this
than
say
it
to
you
on
the
phone
.
With
the
passing
of
Uncle
Ruairi
,
I
have
inherited
his
farm
,
as
I
expected
.

It’s
been
in
the
family
for
so
many
generations
,
so
I
think
it
would
be
wrong
to
sell
it
.
I
feel
the
same
as
you
do
about
Avondale
Manor
.
Having
been
given
such
a
great
opportunity
,
I
have
decided
to
live
here
.
I
would
have
to
,
anyway
,
to
control
the
farm
.
On
top
of
that
,
it
will
provide
me
with
a
good
and
regular
income
.

As
you
know
,
I’ve
always
wanted
to
return
to
Ireland
,
and
now
it
looks
as
though
this
is
what
I
will
do
.
I
have
a
home
of
my
own
and
a
thriving
farm
to
run
now
…
in
the
land
of
my
choice
.
I
could
not
have
wished
for
more
,
and
I
am
totally
delighted
with
my
good
fortune
.

I’m
so
sorry
about
your
garden
,
Katie
,
and
,
had
I
been
given
the
choice
,
I
would
not
have
left
as
hurriedly
as
this
.
I
will
return
to
settle
things
and
remove
my
belongings
from
your
annex
one
day
,
but
at
this
point
I
have
no
idea
when
that
will
be
.
However
,
I
will
let
you
know
in
plenty
of
time
before
I
appear
to
collect
my
things
.

In
the
meantime
,
take
good
care
of
yourself
,
and
please
give
my
kindest
regards
to
the
girls
and
to
Richard
.

Yours
,
Pat
.
’

Sheer desolation washed over her and the tears that had welled up in her eyes began to slide down her cheeks. She began to sob, feeling as though her heart had been wrenched away. Without her cheerful Irishman around, everything seemed so empty. Thunder crept close and gently nuzzled her hand as though trying to comfort her in his own doggy way. She fell to her knees at his side and threw her arms around his huge neck, burying her tears in his soft coat.

‘I’ve still got you, Thunder, my love. I’ve still got you,’ she sobbed.

***

The last thing Katie was thinking of was her garden, but Sam insisted she find another man to help out, and within a week there was someone else taking care of her roses. Although Fred proved to be in no way as efficient as Pat, he was cheerful and pleasant. At least, it spared Katie a considerable amount of work, but she missed Pat so much; missed sharing her thoughts and stories with him, and the morning coffee together. She didn’t have the safe, cared-for feeling any more either, although Thunder stayed close to her side, and she was grateful for his devotion, but he was only a dog, after all.

She began to spend more and more time with Tom at his new home, sorting out his belongings and putting things away, and doing little jobs like arranging his pretty dinner service on the antique Welsh dresser. Each day seemed to improve their friendship, and she had to admit she was beginning to enjoy life a bit more, especially since he was careful not to dictate to her again. It was working out well between them, and he was no longer pressing her to marry him, which was a relief.

Many a time her thoughts strayed to Pat, and she wondered how he was doing. There had been no contact since his letter — no phone call — nothing. On several occasions, she had reached out for the phone — so strong was her desire to speak to him. But each time she pulled back, telling herself that if he wanted to speak to her, he would ring.

As the weeks went by, she hoped that she would stop missing him, but every time she looked out at the garden, or strolled through it, she half-expected his head to pop up over a hedge. His name kept popping into her mind, his face before her eyes, and his Irish lilt still rang in her ears. She determined to be sensible and stop thinking about him. It was for the best. Pat was where he had always wanted to be. There was nothing for him here, no home, no decent income, no future, and she reproached herself for even considering such selfish thoughts. What man, in his right mind, could be expected to swap Priory Farm gardens for a whole estate of his own in Ireland? ‘For goodness’ sake, get a life, Katie Turner,’ she muttered, feeling quite annoyed with herself.

Dylan had invited family and several of his colleagues from the hospital, as well as his new neighbours to his house-warming party. When Katie arrived there, she found Dylan and Margie full of talk about their impending wedding. She watched the two of them, and felt a great deal of relief that Margie had found such a delightful man at last.

Katie had done a great deal of baking, and so had the girls, so there was more than enough food to hand around. Most of them had anticipated they might imbibe a fair amount of alcohol, but had made allowances for that by wisely using a taxi service for the event. The whole evening was a buzz of excitement, and Katie watched everyone making merry. To her, the evening seemed never-ending, but she decided to stay to the end. She felt some relief when the taxis began to arrive to collect the guests, and eventually the number diminished, leaving just the family members.

Margie literally rolled up to her mother, smiling far more widely than she normally did. ‘Come on, Mum,’ she drawled, ‘make it a double.’

‘No thanks, I’ve had all I want to drink,’ Katie said firmly, lifting her hand in protest.

‘I didn’t mean that,’ Margie said, giggling. ‘I meant a double… wedding. A wedding — understand?’

Here was Margie pushing her towards Tom, just like Sam had tried to do. But Katie knew the girl had drunk a fair amount, so she replied flippantly. ‘I’ve seen plenty of Tom, but he hasn’t asked me lately, so maybe he’s gone off me.’

Margie wagged a finger back and forth in front of her mother’s face. ‘Aha, but you know he’s longing to marry you, don’t you, Mum? He’s just biding his time ‘til the right moment.’

Katie knew the effect of the alcohol was making Margie talk like this, but what she had said stuck in her mind. She put her arms around her eldest daughter, and hugged her. ‘I’ll talk to you tomorrow when you’re sober, Margie.’

She gave more hugs all round when her taxi arrived, and left, feeling glad to be going home to her own place and her best friend… Thunder.

As she walked into the hall, she noticed the little red light blinking on her answering machine. Curious, she lifted the phone; it was a message from Tom, asking if she would return his call. She replaced the receiver; she would phone him first thing in the morning. Her new pet was patiently waiting the other side of the kitchen door, and went almost wild with joy when she let him through to the hall.

It seemed no time at all before Thunder was licking her hand the next morning, and she knew he was asking to go out into the garden, so she opened the door and let him run. Katie made some strong coffee and drank it down before going to the phone to dial Tom’s number.

‘Ah, so good of you to call back, Katie’ she heard him say. ‘I’ve got a suggestion. How about you bring Margie and Dylan out today. I’d like Dylan to come riding with me. These two horses are sorely in need of some exercise.’ There was a pause, then, ‘Any chance you can come? Thunder as well, of course.’

She smiled at his ready willingness to allow Thunder to go with her. If Dylan was free, and had no big hangover, maybe it would be good for them all to get out in the fresh air. ‘All right, I’ll ask them, and ring you straight away to let you know the answer.’

Katie waited until a little later in the morning before disturbing Margie and Dylan, but Dylan answered, and sounded brighter than she felt herself.

‘Tom wonders if you’d like to join him at exercising the horses today. Can you make it?’ She smiled as Dylan accepted readily.