Green Hills and Daffodils by Celyn Kendrick

Author:Celyn Kendrick [Kendrick, Celyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-09-08T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

(o)

Rhys crossed his arms as he heard the verdict from the central stair’s toxins test. Jane had been right. And it galled him to admit it.

But why?

As he watched the inspector’s truck pull away, Rhys walked to his back door, noting Jane was sitting in her sunroom on the wicker loveseat drinking tea. She had her ugly tartan blanket wrapped around her and reading glasses that slipped down her nose as she worked on her laptop.

Inside, he put his kettle on as he silently acknowledged she’d been right. About the arsenic. About her silly sheep tunnel. About his unaddressed issues. He could tell himself he was better off without her, but she challenged him. Dusting cobwebs from his life that he hadn’t known were there, she opened windows to let fresh air into stagnant rooms he’d forgotten about.

Pouring tea into his mug and steeling his pride to tell her she was right, he knocked on the blue door and was answered by some impressively ferocious barks from the hairy mutt.

“Yeah?” she called out from the other side.

He cracked the door open to Moss’s nose, trying to see who was there.

“Hauld yer weesht!” he commanded the dog, pushing the door open so he could stick his head out. “May I talk to you?”

“If you can act civilized, sure.” She set her computer down and scooted over, patting the seat.

Rhys pushed his leg and mug out the door to hold Moss back and stupidly closed it behind him. When he turned around, he noted Jane’s amused expression, as she’d figured out what he’d done before he did—again.

“Don’t say it, woman,” he glowered.

She gave him a smug grin. “I didn’t.”

He padded over the brick barefoot and sat beside her, acutely aware of her proximity. “It’s brass monkeys in here!” he complained.

“Yeah. I’m thinking of putting down some artificial grass over some heating mats or something,” she shrugged. “I like the space, but all this brick is a bit… boring.”

“Aye, well, I was going to fill it with little coloured plastic balls and hang a sex-swing, but I didn’t think me mother-in-law would approve of me decorating choices.”

A grin widened over Jane’s face as he thought she’d chuckle at the joke. Instead, she exclaimed, “That would be so awesome! Alright, I like your idea better. Or maybe heated artificial turf with a ball-pit on top. But definitely yes to the sex-swing. Maybe gym matting would be better, in case someone falls on their head.”

“Out here? Everyone could see,” he smirked.

“Yeah, I guess suspended sex in a glass room takes a certain level of commitment.”

“Speaking of commitment,” he prompted.

She gave him a dry look. “Is this about your proposal again?”

“I guess I’m tryin’ to understand why it’s such a horrifying prospect to be married to me,” he grumbled.

“Aside from the fact that you’re throwing the idea of a life-long commitment around so casually, there’s the ownership angle that doesn’t sit well with me.”

“If yer me wife, you’d be half owner,” he frowned, wondering if perhaps he’d misjudged her intentions.

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