A Taste of Home by Heidi Swain (the beginning after the end read novel TXT) 📕

Eliot nodded his approval but Louise waved my concerns away.

‘Bill’s so out of it, he won’t remember that,’ she airily said.

‘Well, that’s good then,’ I readily agreed. ‘And while we’re waiting for his meds to kick in, I’ll bide my time in town and come back again when Eliot says he’s all better. That way it’ll be like starting from scratch. We can pretend that my arrival at the farm then, is my first.’

There was so much of this ill-fated day that I already wanted to forget and I hoped that some time on neutral territory would help me do that. The town had looked warm and welcoming so I’d take on the role of tourist and hang out in the pretty café and shops and explore the market. Wynbridge had reminded me of the town I knew in Puglia the second I stepped off the bus, so the familiarity would be bound to settle my nerves and make me feel more at home. I wouldn’t need to tell anyone who I was. I could take a leaf out of my mum’s book and play the part of the mysterious traveller. Only she genuinely had been that person.

‘Sounds good to me,’ said Eliot, coming to stand next to me in a show of solidarity and treating me to a waft of his wonderful aftershave.

I flashed him a grateful smile. For taking my side, not for his heady scent. I didn’t want him getting wind that I appreciated that.

Unfortunately, Louise was far from convinced of the merits of my plan.

‘Can I have a word please, Eliot?’ she said to her son. ‘Excuse us for a minute, will you, love?’

She led Eliot outside and even though I couldn’t hear what was being said, their body language suggested if not an argument, then a heated discussion was taking place. It didn’t look as flamboyant as the arm raising Marco and Alessandro sometimes went in for, or sound as dramatic as their rapid-fire Italian, but it wasn’t far off.

I dodged out of sight of the door when they turned to come back in, hoping Louise hadn’t somehow got her son on her side again but he’d already come around to her way of thinking once.

‘I’ve changed my mind,’ Eliot sheepishly said, rubbing a hand around the back of his neck. The gesture told me immediately that he’d been coerced and cajoled. ‘I think you should stay here. Get to know the place, like Mum said. Settle in a bit while Bill gets better.’

His face was bright red by this point and I wondered what Louise had said to make him change his mind. There was very little conviction behind his words. He clearly wasn’t convinced his mother’s idea was the right one and neither was I.

‘If you’re all the way back in town, it’ll be awkward fetching you in and out,’ said Louise, adding weight to Eliot’s poor performance, but I could tell that wasn’t anything to do with her real desire to keep me on site.

I didn’t know what her real desire was, but it wasn’t the inconvenience of having to drive me about.

‘I’ll be working,’ she further said, ‘and Eliot only has the bike so it won’t be easy for either of us.’

‘That’s no problem, I can use the taxi,’ I shrugged. ‘That was how I got here and it was cheap enough. I wouldn’t want to put you out, although I wouldn’t mind riding pillion if push came to shove.’

Marco would be green with envy and Eliot looked momentarily thrilled but then caught sight of Louise’s arched eyebrows.

‘I won’t be able to leave Bill,’ he muttered, avoiding my eye.

Credit where it was due, Louise had done an extremely good job convincing him to agree with her mad plan.

‘But where will I sleep?’ I said, clutching at the very last straw I could think of. ‘I’m not taking my grandparents’ bed and I certainly wouldn’t sleep in Mum’s old room.’

‘There’s a spare,’ Eliot huskily said.

‘But you’ll want that.’

‘No, I won’t,’ he said, his tone apologetic. ‘I’m going to sleep in the room with Bill. I can’t risk being anywhere else in case he decides to go for a wander and falls. Doctor Clarke will zip him straight back into hospital if there’s even the slightest hiccup and I’m not going to be the one responsible for putting him, or the nursing staff, through that trauma again.’

‘That’s settled then,’ said Louise, bringing the conversation to a close that satisfied her but no one else. ‘You’re staying here. Eliot can go on the floor in the room where Bill is and you’ll be in the spare room. Oh, and here’s Rebecca,’ she added, looking to the door as a car pulled into the yard.

‘Who’s Rebecca?’ I asked Eliot as she rushed outside.

‘My little sister.’

Not another one! I didn’t think I could cope with more of the Randall clan and the sigh which spontaneously escaped my lips let him know it.

‘Don’t worry,’ Eliot smiled, picking up on my reluctance to become acquainted with more of his relatives. ‘You’ll like her. She’s fun.’

Thankfully, he was right.

Rebecca was a sparky young woman, with her mother’s head full of curls, only hers were dark blonde and long, rather than greying and she was dressed in bright, floaty clothes. She was only a year younger than Eliot, but she had a kind of youthful exuberance whereas her brother and I perhaps came across as a bit more world weary. He was right about her being fun. The atmosphere in the kitchen had become rather oppressive but it lifted and lit up the moment she walked in.

‘I’m really sorry about your mum,’ she sincerely said, after Louise had introduced us and explained who I was but how, for now, my identity had to be kept a secret. ‘But how amazing is it that you’ve found your way here?’

I wasn’t sure it was amazing yet, but her bright