Taking care of his pet was the reason Jack went out each day. Graham would go with him on long walks around the lake, or on a run through the woods. They’d visit the hotel together when Jack was needed, which was as often as his mum could get him there. She was always coming up with something.
Jack yawned, then patted Graham’s head before standing up and stretching. Graham stayed where he was, determined to eke out a few more minutes, so Jack gazed into the night again,enjoying the isolation despite the loneliness. He wished his mind would still, like the water he could see before him.
He turned back to Graham and picked up his mug. ‘Come on, fella. It’s time we should be going.’
With a groan of annoyance at being moved from his comfortable position, the dog jumped down and followed him inside.
Jack’s Virgo habits were good for the most part, except for the ones where he was his biggest critic. It made his work particularly stressful at times. Worse, he could come across as aloof because of it.
Tomorrow he would need to keep that under control. He was looking forward to seeing Ava Summer, or Ava Wilton as he’d known her back then as a gangly teenager, but he didn’t want to mess anything up with his meticulous ways and petty pickiness.
The revamp was important for his family. A lot depended on it for the future. It was imperative he made a good first impression, too.
Or a second one.
CHAPTER FIVE
Ava woke with a start. Thick velvet curtains at the window ensured she couldn’t see a thing, and for a moment she sat up in a panic. Then she flopped back down again, realising where she was. Once her heart had slowed, she switched on the bedside lamp, automatically reaching for her phone. It was only half past five.
She snuggled under the covers, even though the heat in the room was a tad stifling. She couldn’t believe she’d slept so well. In London, the noise of the city often woke her, but it was as calming to her as she assumed the quiet must be for the villagers. Familiar sounds all around them, whether that be silence or noise from the wildlife.
She managed to fall asleep again. An hour later, she hauled herself out of bed. After a quick shower, followed by a coffee from the machine in her room, she pulled on her trainers and coat. Fresh air would do her good, and she was dying to explore the village while it was still early.
Walking downstairs to the ground floor, Ava spotted another young woman behind the reception desk.
‘You’re up bright and early,’ she greeted Ava. ‘Did you sleep well?’
‘I did,’ she replied. ‘Thought I’d have a walk before breakfast.’
‘Rather you than me. It’s really cold!’
Ava opened the main door and set off up the driveway. The hotel was about a quarter of a mile from the visitors’ entrance to Sapphire Lake. She turned right, instantly recalling summer months when hordes of traffic would get stuck in the narrow road.
The lake was two miles long, but the entrance to it was tiny and not equipped for the many cars that tried to get onto the car park. When they’d visited, Ava’s dad would put out cones on the pavement, so they’d have somewhere to park the car on their return. Most of the time, though, they came by train, hardly leaving the village.
It had been a home from home for many years, until the accident which had robbed her of the man she’d adored and eventually sent her mum off to live in Spain with a new husband. Ava didn’t much care for Ray, but he made her mum happy and that was all that mattered.
A burst of angry wind almost knocked her over as she pushed through it. What on earth was up with the weather? It was spring, not winter, and darker still because of the grey-black clouds above.
She pulled in the collar of her coat, the cold still getting in wherever it could. Several lights shone in windows, the peaceful silence enveloping her the further she went.
A few minutes along the road, Ava stopped when she approached the cottage where she used to stay with her parents. To her utter joy, it had been completely renovated, and in place of the tiny two-up, two-down she remembered, it had been extended, doubling its original size. An oak-build room had also been attached to the end.
A light went on at the window, and she couldn’t help stopping to glance in. It was still a kitchen, and she could see it had been opened up through to the back of the house.
She pictured herself sitting around the table with her mum and dad, eating freshly caught fish from the lake and ice cream from the farm shop. It brought a lump to her throat. Even after all these years, she missed the memories she could have made with her dad; his comforting presence.
How her life had changed since that teenage girl played around the area without a care in the word, having her greatest adventures.
She set off again, until she came to the fork in the road. Turning left would lead her to Somerley, the road to the right nearer to the lake.
She continued past the winding entrance down to the visitors’ car park. The large welcome sign promised a coffee shop, farm goods, freshly baked cakes, and locally grown honey. There was even a gin shack. She hoped to get a chance to check that out while she was here.
The road narrowed into a single lane and, after she passed a few homes on her left, more thick woodlands came up. Ava wondered if there were any homes this way.
Her stomach gave a loud growl. A few more minutes and she’d turn back for breakfast. She was definitely ordering a full English today, having worked up an appetite for it.
Up ahead, a dog barked. Moments later, a chocolate Labrador bounded towards her. She moved out of its way but lost her footing and fell. The dog came to investigate, licking her hand.
