“Glad to know I’m good for something, then.” Pastor Jack laughed.
“Good for a lot of things.” Aaron slid his free hand into his pocket. “So, what can I do for you?”
“Meggie told me about the field and set up you have planned. It sounds good.”
“Thank you. Miss Knight was telling me about the fireworks you wanted. I assume you’ve ordered them. Where are they being delivered?”
“One minute, let me check.” The phone clunked as Pastor Jack laid it down.
Just at the mention of Meggie’s name, Aaron was struck once again by the light and warmth that had sprung from every part of her. So different to the dark, evil that emanated from his stepmother. Sometimes he believed Tanis had something to do with the death of his father. And his wife. There was no way Nancy would have done what she did—not on the day she did it. They were happy, or at least he’d thought they were. Sure, she’d battled some occasional depression, but didn’t everyone at times? He’d thought she was content with what they had. And he loved her. They were starting a family. There was no way…Or was there? Maybe Tanis was right, and it was all his fault.
“Yes, we have ordered them. They are being delivered to the manse on Wednesday.” Jack’s voice dragged Aaron’s mind back to the present.
Aaron shook his head. “Are you keeping them at the manse?”
“I figured the garage would do. Why?”
“They’d be safer here. If you wanted, that is.”
“How do you work that out?” Jack sounded more curious than anything else.
“We’re not talking a couple of those budget boxes, are we?”
“No. I ordered six hundred quids worth of professional fireworks.”
“Then the manse isn’t the place to keep them. If they go up accidentally, you’ll lose everything. I can store them here in a locked barn.” He paused. “Besides, can you guarantee Lara won’t wander into the garage, find them and want to look at them?”
“No, I can’t. OK, thank you. I’ll get onto the firm and have the delivery made to you instead of here. Will someone be around to sign for them?”
“Yeah.” Aaron took a deep breath, a shiver running down his spine. He turned and caught a glimpse of Tanis standing in the doorway. “So was that the only reason you rang?”
“No, I’m worried about you.”
“There’s no need. I’m fine.” It wasn’t exactly a lie.
“Hmmmm. Aaron, would you mind if I prayed for you?”
“Not at all.” The answer came without hesitation. Jack had enough faith for the both of them, besides praying was what Jack did—it came with his job, and Aaron wasn’t about to dissuade him otherwise. He headed across to the other side of the farmyard, and fiddled with the fence. He’d need to replace it before the weekend.
“And you know you’re always welcome here on a Sunday at the services.”
“I know, but—”
“No one blames you for Nancy’s death.”
“But—”
“Really, they’ll just be glad to see you back.”
A longing stirred in the depths of Aaron’s soul. By leaving the church, he’d left a lot of friends and people he considered family. But too much had happened, and no matter what Jack said, he held himself responsible, and others would blame him, too. “I’m not going to make promises I can’t keep, Jack. I’m not ready to just…” Aaron broke off, blinking hard.
“It wasn’t your fault.”
Was the bloke psychic? Or did pastors just have a sixth sense when it came to people. “Maybe I should have been around more, loved her more.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Jack insisted. “We’ll never know why. Would knowing why actually help? Would it make things any easier for you?”
Aaron glanced at the farmhouse, his mind full of images. He’d come in from doing the milking to find the kettle boiling dry on the stove. Nancy hadn’t answered when he’d called. He’d gone looking for her...
The rope had creaked against the attic beam, footprints led through the dust to a fallen chair, moonlight filtering through from the skylight.
He pulled his emotions tightly under control. “No,” he whispered. He took a deep breath and changed the subject. “So, these health and safety forms that Miss Knight brought over. I’ll bring them in tomorrow if that’s OK. I’m in town anyway.”
“Sounds good. If I’m not in the church office, Meggie will be.”
Aaron smiled. “Isn’t Miss Knight a little young to be working in the church?”
Jack laughed. “Don’t let her youthful appearance and bunches and plaits fool you. She’s older than she looks.”
“Even so…She shouldn’t come out here alone, Jack. It’s not safe.”
3
Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel. Psalm 22:3
Aaron opened the door to the church office, hoping to find Jack there. He needed to talk to someone, and Jack would probably be the best person. He hadn’t got into the habit of calling him Pastor Jack…wasn’t really any point as they’d known each other since childhood, never mind the fact that Jack wasn’t his pastor. He glanced around the empty office and crossed to the desk. He’d leave the papers here and hope for the best.
A groan came from the closet at the back of the office. He put down the file and headed across the room. “Hello?”
Meggie stuck her head around the door. “Oh, hello. How are you?”
“I’m fine. Is everything OK?”
“The light bulb blew, and I can’t reach to put the new one in.”
“Try standing on a chair.” He winked.
“I
was
standing on a chair. Still can’t reach. I don’t suppose you could do it for me please, could you?”
He smiled. “Sure.” He moved the chair out of the way and took the light bulb.
“It’s really not fair,” Meggie complained halfheartedly. “You did that so easily.”
He grinned. “That’s the one advantage of being over six foot.”
She looked up at him. “How tall are you?”
“Six foot three.” He looked down at her, realizing how short she was. “You?”
“Five foot two…but the way I look at it is: great things always come in small packages.”
Aaron laughed. “Leah, my sister, insists that we only grow until God says we’re perfect. Therefore some reach perfection quicker than others.”
Meggie’s laughter was like a silver bell. “That’s brilliant. I shall have to remember that.”
“I came to return the health and safety paperwork. I put it on the desk.”
“Thank you. I’ll file it. Jack said you’d offered to have the fireworks delivered to the farm. He spoke with the firm last night, and they’re going to deliver on Wednesday. Let me check the time for you.” She crossed to the desk and rifled through the chaos for a sheet of paper. “Here it is. Delivery between one and six Wednesday afternoon.”
He took the sheet and folded it, before sliding it into his inside jacket pocket. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Can I buy you a coffee or are you busy?” The words were out before Aaron realized. Why had he done that? There was something about her, but he didn’t have time to get involved, or want to.
She hesitated for a moment. Something he couldn’t identify flickered in her eyes before she answered. “I’d like that. Thank you.” She grabbed her bag and the keys and was at the door before he could stop her.
****
The café on the Riverside was near some rebuilding work. The outside of the building shone with new paint to cover over the scorches from the massive fire and explosion that had ripped through the area several months previously. Some of the business hadn’t returned, whilst others, like a phoenix, were rising from the ashes, determined to be better than before.
They carried their drinks to a small table in the late autumn sunshine and sat. Aaron sipped his coffee, watching Meggie as she studied the swans swimming regally down the canal. A narrow boat slowly made its way towards the lock.
“I’ve always wanted to do that,” she said nodding towards the boat. She unzipped her jacket, revealing her shiny silver sequined top. “Go all the way from Bristol to Reading on the Kennet and Avon Canal. Did you know there are over one hundred locks along that stretch?”
He smiled at her enthusiasm. “No, I didn’t.”
“I just think it’d be a great thing to do.”
“Does sound fun.” He sipped his coffee. “Did you grow up on a farm? You said yesterday that your Dad runs one.”
She nodded. “Yeah, a small hill farm in the Welsh mountains. Da never could decide whether to go dairy, crops, or sheep, so we have the whole shebang. Even got a few pigs, though I never got used to the way they smell. Growing up on the land, I could see God everywhere. It was just big, you know, like Him. We’re so dependent on Him for everything—rain to make the crops grow, sunshine to ripen them—and through everything He’s right there.”
“Is that why you want to work in the church?”
She sipped the coffee, her intense brown eyes watching him over the rim of the cup. “Yeah. I love going to church, being in God’s house. And the apprentice program at Headley Baptist is second to none. I’m learning so much I can take back to our small mountain church.”
“I can’t ever imagine leaving my farm, even now,” he shrugged. “I have no idea what I’ll do.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Present tense? Do you have to leave it?”
“It’s making a loss, little more each year. Besides, Tanis is—” He broke off.
“Go on. It sounds like you need to talk. No one’s listening, and I’m not going to tell anyone.”
“Did Jack make you church counselor as well as the apprentice?” he asked wryly.
“No,” she smiled. “And I wouldn’t want that job either. I’m a friend, but you don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.”
Aaron sighed. It would be good to get at least some of it off his chest. “Dad died three years ago. The farm in its entirety was left to me. My brother, Isaac, and sister, Leah, didn’t want anything to do with the place, and had already moved out, so I ended up running it alone. About a year ago, Tanis produced a newer version of Dad’s will. She found it in some papers in his filing cabinet. It had a codicil the original never had. She claimed the new will left the farm to the four of us. All she said about the codicil was that it gave her controlling options over the farm if it wasn’t making a profit by the end of March next year.”
“Wasn’t this will lodged with a lawyer?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. She waved it in my face, told me that Isaac and Leah had already sold her their interest in the farm. As she owned three quarters of it, she could force the sale. She’s planning on selling it to a development company—hers, actually. She wants to build houses or something.”
He pushed a hand through his hair. “The only way to avoid it is to buy her out. She wants two hundred and fifty grand. I don’t have that kind of money. This farm meant everything to Dad, same as it does to me.”
“Have you contested the will to make sure it’s genuine? Why would your dad leave one with a lawyer and a newer one at home? And why, if the farm meant everything to him, would he ensure its demise?”
“I wish I knew. I can’t afford a lawyer either.”
“One of my brothers, Gareth, is a lawyer. He does family law and probate in Cardiff. I can get him to look into it.”
“He’s not a farmer like your Dad?”
She laughed, seeming a lot more relaxed around him now. “No. Iestyn, Ivor, and Llew help Da on the farm.”
Amazement filled him. “How many brothers do you have?”
“Seven.” She giggled. “All older than me.”
“Seven?” He looked at her stunned.
“Yeah, seven. Iestyn, Ivor, Gareth, Cadfael, Llew, Idris, and Evan.”
“Wow.”
Meggie put down the cup. She untied her left braid and replaited it. “And then there’s me. The baby of the family.” She laughed. “They are all very protective.”
“I bet. It must make dating hard.”
“I only ever had one boyfriend, but yeah it did.” Her face fell slightly. “They hardly let me out of their sight when I’m home.”
Figuring boyfriends was a touchy subject, he changed it. “You really have a brother called Cadfael? Wasn’t he a monk in a book?”
“That’s where Mam got the name from.”
“That’s kind of cool.” He smiled. “I’m actually surprised they let you leave the farm, never mind the country.”
Her eyes twinkled and something about her smile made his stomach lurch.
“I have to text twice daily, and ring a couple of times a week. Cadfael is a pastor. He wants me in his church when I get back. Idris is in the RAF, and Evan is a doctor.” She glanced over at the canal. “As pretty as Headley Cross is, I couldn’t stay in the town. I’m a country girl. Always will be. Part of me can’t wait to get back and be a country girl again.”
Aaron grinned, unable to help himself as he burst into song. “
With a big front porch and an old brown dog…
”
Meggie giggled. “And yes we did have rabbits in a pen. Although Da’s farm is slightly bigger than an acre of green.” She took a sip of the coffee then gazed at him over the rim of the cup. “If you had the money, would you buy your stepmother out?”
“In a heartbeat, but I don’t have that kind of money. If I did, the farm wouldn’t be making a loss. To raise that amount of capital I’d have to sell the farm, which somewhat defeats the object of the exercise.”
Meggie nodded in agreement and swirled the liquid in her cup. A thoughtful expression creased her brow.
“What are you thinking?” he asked. He found it so easy to talk to her and she took such a genuine interest in what he had to say.
“Honestly? I was wondering if what Da did would work for you.” She set down her cup and pressed her finger tips together looking over them at him. Pressing them to her lips she seemed deep in thought for a moment. “He converted one of the top fields into a convention center. For a while, it was tents and caravans, but now we have purpose built cabins. We have church groups stay and camp. At first, it was only in the summer, but now it opens most of the year. We have an indoor sports hall as part of a conference center. It doesn’t impact the working of the farm and brings in a fair amount of revenue. We also have church youth groups for the weekend and school trips, too.”