The Secrets of Hawthorn Place by Jenni Keer

Author:Jenni Keer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hachette Headline Accent
Published: 2021-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 34

Present Day

In less than a nanosecond, my super quick appraising gaze took in a surprisingly fit and youthful-looking body. It was sturdier than Harrison’s – the shoulders were broader – but he was still a slim build. His muscles were more defined, from all that time spent in his home gym, and there was a generous sprinkling of auburn (and I’m being polite) hair over various parts of his anatomy. And then I felt embarrassed for thinking slightly sexual thoughts about someone his age. I cast my eyes downwards and Rory’s hands went straight to his ginger dangly bits, but a fraction too late for me to unsee what had been seen.

‘What the . . .? You should have left half an hour ago. Why are you still here?’ He inched sideways towards the cupboard.

‘Sorry. I lost track of time. Here – let me.’ We went for the cupboard door at the same time and bumped heads. A flurry of ‘sorry’s ensued. I reached for a clean towel, handed it to him and spun around to preserve what little was left of his dignity.

‘I thought you’d gone,’ he muttered. ‘The shower’s been playing up recently – boiling hot then freezing cold. I leapt out but the damn towels had disappeared.’

‘My fault. Sorry.’

‘No, I’m sorry for my foul language and the X-rated strip show. Oh God, please don’t tell your mother. She’ll tell the vicar, or worse, my mother, and then I’ll be in hot water.’ His eyes expanded at the thought.

‘Better than the cold water you’ve just leapt from.’

‘I’m not laughing, Molly.’

He looked awful: pale and worried. We were both adults, but he didn’t know that.

‘Honestly, it’s no biggie.’ My mind flashed to my earlier view, and my head tipped slightly to one side. Actually, it was a biggie but he clearly wasn’t in the mood for jokes, so I bit my lip and tried not to laugh at the situation.

Two naked men within a fortnight. I’d definitely had my quota for the month.

‘I’m off to Dorchester this morning if you want to catch a lift. I want to visit the garden centre,’ Granddad said, finishing the last of his scrambled eggs with mashed avocado.

Garden centre? I did a slightly clumsy but very exuberant victory dance in my head. The old Granddad I knew and loved was back, which meant I had succeeded where Brian and Mum had failed.

‘I’d love to come along. Maybe we can pick up some seedlings rather than trying to start from scratch. And it’s not too late for runners and salad crops.’

Goodness – I almost sounded as if I knew what I was talking about. ‘If we go via the main road into Summerton, I know where there might be courgette plants. Just don’t mention the tomatoes . . .’ I said, remembering Floaty Jean.

Ten minutes later, we pulled into a lay-by near her bungalow. There was a fresh assortment of pots and trays for sale. Granddad wandered over to the table and began looking through the plants.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.