Return to Embthwaite Farm by Kate Hewitt

Author:Kate Hewitt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9781959988793
Publisher: Tule Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2023-05-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

“What about him?” Ben asked, his voice sounding mild—deceptively so, Rachel thought. She thought she detected a slight edge underneath the smooth tone, the easy manner, as he moved into the sitting room where a log fire was already burning comfortably, the room warm and welcoming and so very familiar.

She couldn’t count the number of times she’d snuggled up on the sofa with Harriet and Ben to watch movies, a big bowl of buttery popcorn between them, Diana coming in to make sure they weren’t too scared by Ghostbusters or The Goonies, classics from their own parents’ childhoods. They’d taken off all the cushions and pillows more than once to make a huge den that had collapsed on top of them while they’d been helpless with giggles; Diana had never seemed to mind the mess. They’d had sleepovers, the three of them lined up like sausages in sleeping bags in front of the fire, passing out around midnight after declaring they wouldn’t sleep all night.

The memories bombarded her, one after the other, sweet and poignant and yet somehow painful, too. She’d forgotten about it all, or at least buried it too deep to let herself recall it in any detail. Worse than that, Rachel realised, she’d as good as thrown it all away. The friendship, the wonderful certainty of feeling known by another human being. Known and accepted.

“Rachel?” Ben prompted as he settled himself in the armchair by the fire. “What about your dad?”

But suddenly she didn’t want to talk about her dad, not like that, anyway. She didn’t want this to be about business. They’d been friends, once. Good friends. The years of ignoring each other in secondary school, the abortive romance that came after didn’t change that; it added complexity to their history but it didn’t alter it completely.

“Never mind that for now,” she said as she sat in the sofa opposite him, letting the fire warm her right through. “Tell me what’s going on with you.”

Ben raised his eyebrows, but beyond that his expression didn’t change. Rachel knew he had to be surprised, even if he didn’t show it. When had she last asked him about his life? When had she last talked to him at all, properly? The years stretched behind her, endless and empty.

It wasn’t as if she had no friends in London, she reminded herself; she had some old uni friends and work acquaintances she did things with—went to wine bars or Pilates classes, the occasional spa day or birthday party, but there was a certain expediency about it, a transactional nature to each and every of those relationships. It certainly wasn’t like this, sitting in front of a fire with a glass of wine, being okay with the silence.

Well, sort of okay with it. Why hadn’t Ben said anything?

“What’s going on with me,” he repeated neutrally, his tone naturally giving nothing away. “Not much, besides the obvious. The farm keeps me busy, but you know that already.”

“Yes, I suppose.” Although she felt like she didn’t know much about anything anymore, and certainly not about Ben.

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