‘For goodness’ sake, just go!’ Sam’s dad roared.
We didn’t need telling again.
By the time we’d found our way back home, the air was cool and twilight hung over the treetops. Nesbit happily scampered through the back gate and over to my door, waiting to be let in.
‘Will your mum be worried?’ I asked Joan, pausing to say goodnight.
‘Nah. I messaged her that I’d broken into a strange man’s house in the middle of the woods, stolen his chicken and gatecrashed a birthday party, so not to expect me home until late.’
I blew out a long sigh.
‘Too soon for jokes?’
‘Waaaaay too soon. Try me again after I’ve spent the night replaying the horror over and over a squillion times, and failing to sleep a wink due to drowning in my own shame.’
‘It was just a chicken!’
‘Yeah.’
It was just me, trying to survive out here in the big wide world alone, handling adult responsibilities and navigating each day without starting wars with librarians, annoying my neighbours or ruining birthday parties.
Sunday, I left the Dream List well alone.
9
Thanks to now being a dog owner, I couldn’t, however, spend the day hiding under my duvet as hoped. Nesbit allowed me the luxury of a seven a.m. Sunday lie-in before sniffing me awake. A strong coffee, a red and blue sticker and a very cute gambol around the garden later, I was ready to start working on my atonement. I spent the latter half of the morning in the farm shop at Hatherstone Hall, where Leanne worked on Saturdays, and most of the afternoon chopping, mixing, baking and roasting.
I then showered and changed into my most respectable-yet-flattering summer dress, because despite the No-Man Mandate, I still couldn’t help wanting Sam to think well of me. I twisted my red hair into a bun and did my best to apply some natural-look make-up. I then spent quite a while online trying to figure out how to get to Sam’s house via car. Once I was reasonably convinced I’d sussed it, I loaded up and went to see if I could earn my redemption.
Only a handful of wrong turns later, I reached the end of a single-lane track, opened a wide wooden gate and pulled up onto a circular gravel driveway on the opposite side of Sam’s house to where I’d approached from the day before.
The front of the house was equally as stunning as the back. The windows were smaller, but there was an impressive set of wooden steps leading up to a double-wide front door, an extensive vegetable plot on one side and what appeared to be a workshop and log store on the other.
The overall impression was tranquil, organised, nature-friendly living. It looked amazing.
As I approached the house, lugging a cool bag crammed with foil cartons, there was a soft woof behind me, and I turned to see the collies sitting calmly on the gravel by the workshop. A couple of seconds later, Sam emerged from its open roll-top door, wiping his hands on a towel. He was wearing a chequered shirt again, over dark green shorts, and I had to redirect my brain away from the memory of what he looked like underneath it.
‘Hey!’ He broke out into a smile that was far from warranted, given previous events. I was starting to realise that Sam’s default mood was happy.
‘Hi.’ I managed a nod, but not quite a smile, in return. For now I was relieved not to have imploded into a gibbering heap of humiliation.
‘No Nesbit?’ He grinned, walking over to join me at the bottom of the steps.
I shook my head firmly. ‘He’s enjoying the confinement of my garden.’
‘So my chickens are safe for now?’ he asked, eyes sparkling in a way that lit up my rebellious heart. ‘I think they were fearing for their lives after last night’s invasion. Tom would have readily singled one out for sacrifice if he could have persuaded someone else to be executioner.’
‘You have live chickens?’
‘Six, out the back. Purely for the eggs, though.’
‘Lovely!’ I nodded, before finding that my ability to converse had absconded, replaced by an inexplicable compulsion to keep nodding.
‘Can I help you with that? It looks heavy,’ Sam said, thankfully breaking the nodding loop by gesturing to the cool bag.
‘Actually, it’s for you. Well, you and your family. I didn’t get a chance to count heads yesterday, but I’ve gone for a generous ten.’
‘Eleven.’ He gave me a hopeful look. ‘Is it edible?’
‘I sincerely hope so.’ I tried to hold out the bag, but it was too heavy so I ended up dropping it at his feet.
‘Tell me more.’ Sam smiled so wide that a dimple appeared on one cheek. I tried not to stare.