‘No, you saw Dad’s face. He wants you there. You’re like family now. We’ll have to wait until afterwards.’

‘Cool,’ said Cameron, instantly brightening up. ‘Because I’d hate to miss it.’

‘And I might be able to get some leads for my new business from whoever owns the boat,’ said Darla and she put up her hand for a high five, but there were no takers.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Darla stood back to admire her handiwork. Ever since she’d brought the escapee hen back from Elliott’s farm in a string bag, she’d been toying with an idea and thanks to a few spare bits of timber, some dowelling and a length of rope it was now a reality.

‘What is that exactly?’ asked Elliott, surprising her by wrapping her in a hug.

‘It’s a swing,’ she said proudly, leaning back against him.

‘For the chickens?’

‘Duh! It’s in the chicken coop.’

‘But they’re poultry. There’s a reason for the phrase “bird brain” you know. How will they ever work out how to— Well knock me down with a feather.’

They both watched as the most dominant of the hens flapped her wings and hopped onto the swing. Admittedly it only swung once before she came straight off looking more than a little startled by the experience. But she had definitely been interested enough to give it a go.

‘I figured it’s not the most exciting life being a chicken so I made them a swing. Ooh look – The Captain is having a go.’ The cockerel pecked at the bar of the swing until it swung back and bumped him on the head, making him squawk his frustration and stalk off.

‘It’s inspired.’

‘I know,’ said Darla happily. ‘I’m making a slide for the goats next. She held her cordless screwdriver aloft and revved it while pretending to roar like a lion.

‘Steady on, you’ll be taking over from Nick Knowles on DIY SOS.’

Darla stuck her tongue out. ‘How’s little Darla?’

‘She’s thriving but she still races to the gate when she sees me just in case I’ve got a bottle for her.’

‘Aww I think she likes to snuggle with you. I mean who wouldn’t?’ She leaned back into his embrace as they watched the chickens stalking cautiously around their new swing. ‘How’s everything else?’

That was the moment it looked like a barn had landed on his shoulders and his whole demeanour changed. ‘Manic. I don’t really have time to come up here, but you, Big Darla, are irresistible.’

Darla pouted. ‘Not sure about the Big Darla thing.’

He shook his head. ‘No, me neither. Sorry.’ He kissed her and she had hopes of some afternoon delight. She was about to lead him off to the bedroom when he pulled away. ‘Sorry, I need to get back to work.’

‘What if I come and help with whatever it is that needs doing? I’m pretty handy, you know.’ She held the screwdriver aloft but this time she almost dropped it.

‘This afternoon I plan to be scraping rot out of sheep hooves,’ he said with a wince.

That didn’t sound like fun at all. She pulled a face. ‘Err, is there blood involved?’

‘Sometimes.’

‘That’s a no from me,’ she said.

‘I suspected it would be. I might catch you later?’ He looked forlorn as he turned to leave.

‘There’s a gammon and veg in the slow cooker, so come up here when you’re finished.’

Elliott puffed out a defeated sigh. ‘It’ll probably be late.’

‘That’s okay. I want to talk to you about my plans to dominate the cleaning world. Well, Southampton anyway.’

‘Sounds good.’

‘You know, you don’t have to be a farmer. You have one life but you’ll not get the most out of it if you don’t live it the way you want to. It’s your life, not your parents’.’

‘That’s deep for a Tuesday,’ he said.

‘I’m serious. If it’s not making you happy, it’s a whole lot of hours over a lifetime to be doing something you don’t enjoy.’

‘And you like cleaning, do you?’ he asked with a chuckle.

‘I blooming love it,’ she said.

He raised an eyebrow.

‘I’m serious. There’s a real satisfaction of taking something grubby and making it pristine. I love my job. Jobs,’ she corrected. ‘And I’m excited about the new business.’

He frowned a little. ‘I guess you’ve found your thing.’

‘I think I have.’ She gave him a kiss. ‘See you later, when I’ll bore you silly about it.’

‘Can’t wait,’ he said at last, raising a smile before trudging off.

***

Ros had an enjoyable lunch with Alastair’s business associate from the golf club. The gentleman had a refreshing attitude to risk management in that he valued it highly. They discussed the role he was trying to fill in detail including the necessity for extensive travel as he wanted his risk director to be hands-on with all the global offices. They chatted about Ros’s CV and previous roles and also about sailing as he was in the process of upgrading his yacht, so Ros may have secured another client for Darla. Ros had no idea if she’d be called in for a formal interview but she was definitely interested in the role he’d described. It was quite a jump in terms of responsibility and salary, but she thrived on a challenge so she very much hoped she would hear from him in due course.

She got home to find Barry had messaged to say that as the party was on a fancy superyacht he thought it might be nice if people dressed up to make it extra special. Ros appreciated the sentiment but her wardrobe didn’t. She and Cameron stared at the mass of black and grey.

‘I see what you mean,’ said Cameron, rubbing his chin. ‘I always thought it was a cliché when women said, “I’ve got nothing to wear,” but you definitely don’t have anything to wear that fits Barry’s brief.’

‘I thought maybe I could wear this,’ she said, pulling out a classic little black dress.

‘When did you wear it last?’ he asked.

‘A funeral.’

‘I rest my case,’ said Cameron, shutting the wardrobe door. ‘This is the best excuse ever for a shopping trip.’

‘I’m not a big shopper,’ said Ros. The truth was more that she actively avoided it.