Forever Love at Wildflower Lock, page 1
FOREVER LOVE AT WILDFLOWER LOCK
HANNAH LYNN
ALSO BY HANNAH LYNN
The Holly Berry Sweet Shop Series
The Sweet Shop of Second Chances
Love Blooms at the Second Chances Sweet Shop
High Hopes at the Second Chances Sweet Shop
Family Ties at the Second Chances Sweet Shop
Sunny Days at the Second Chances Sweet Shop
A Summer Wedding at the Second Chances Sweet Shop
Snowflakes Over the Second Chances Sweet Shop
The Wildflower Lock Series
New Beginnings at Wildflower Lock
Coffee and Cake at Wildflower Lock
Blue Skies Over Wildflower Lock
Forever Love at Wildflower Lock
Standalone Novels
In at the Deep End
The Side Hustle
Hannah Lynn writing as H.M Lynn
The Head Teacher
To Ruth Knight and Beverley Mulley for all their support.
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Epilogue
More from Hannah Lynn
Acknowledgements
About the Author
The Shelf Care Club
About Boldwood Books
1
Sometimes, when Daisy May looked back on the last two years, it was easy to believe that she had packed more into those twenty-four months than the entire previous twenty-five years of her life. And it was all down to the September Rose: the wide beam canal boat she had inherited from her father.
To start with, she probably wouldn’t have got back into painting, had she not found her late father’s art supplies in the boat. She certainly wouldn’t have set up her own business – a coffee shop on the canal. She wouldn’t have met her boyfriend, and love of her life, Theo, and she most definitely wouldn’t have travelled across the country in a canal boat to see him.
There were other things, which weren’t so ideal. She wouldn’t have had to deal with a temporary, but still major, fallout with her mother. She wouldn’t have known what it was like to have your windows smashed in by a tree in the middle of the night, or be broken into by someone she believed was a friend. But however significant these incidents had felt at the time, they were all minor compared to what she had gained. Particularly now Theo had moved back to Wildflower Lock.
The twelve-month separation had been hard. As much as they had hoped they would be able to spend their spare time together, spare time wasn’t something either of them had much of. And so, when a job appeared on the waterways near Chelmsford, Theo had been quick to apply. Their hopes were answered when he had been offered the placement after a single telephone interview and now he had been back on Wildflower Lock for sixth months.
Things weren’t quite as convenient as they had been. The Narrow Escape – Theo’s boat – was no longer moored up next to Daisy’s, but on the other side of the canal, where the Ariadne had been. Giving up the Ariadne had been a difficult decision for Yvonne. She had lived on Wildflower Lock for decades and had a lifetime full of memories wrapped up with the water. But after a health scare during her trip across country with Daisy, she had decided to find somewhere a little more stable to live. So she had sold up and moved to Woodham Mortimer a few miles away. She still came down to the lock several times a week though, to see Daisy and Theo, not to mention Johnny.
‘Where is Theo?’ Daisy said, as she reached down and rubbed the dog’s head. Just like Theo and Wildflower Lock, Daisy could no longer imagine her life without Johnny in it. Although he was meant to be Theo’s dog, and went out to work with him every day, the moment Theo arrived back at the canal, Johnny would bound out of the van and run straight to the September Rose – or to wherever Daisy was. At night-time, they tended to sleep on the Narrow Escape, with Johnny at the foot of the bed, and on the weekends when Theo would help Daisy run the coffee shop, Johnny would sit on the hull, wagging his tail at the customers until Daisy or Theo could take him for a walk or at least offer him a quick belly rub. Life was as close to perfect as Daisy could ever remember. But that night, it felt like something strange was going on.
It was a Friday afternoon, and the weather was stunning, so Daisy had kept the coffee shop open a little later than normal. As such, it was gone six before she finally closed the shutters and called it a day. Normally, when the weather was this great and Theo knew Daisy would be busy, he opted to work late too so he could use the accumulated hours to spend more time with her when the weather wasn’t so great. Normally, he wouldn’t come in until after seven, but Daisy was just bringing in the chalkboard from outside when Johnny appeared and Theo was hot on his heals.
‘You’re on your own?’ Theo said. He looked surprisingly confused as he spoke, although why Daisy wasn’t exactly sure. It was true, the girls did come down and spend a lot of time at the canal, particularly now there was an empty boat to sleep in most nights, but Daisy always told Theo when they were planning on coming and this weekend it was Saturday and Sunday that they had arranged to visit.
‘Just you and me tonight,’ Daisy responded with a grin.
‘Right. Yes.’ Theo didn’t look as pleased by this remark as Daisy had expected him to. Instead, a slight pout appeared on his lips before he spoke again. ‘Are you okay to go over to mine and look after Johnny for a couple of hours tonight?’
‘Okay? Where are you going?’ Daisy said. ‘I thought you wanted to watch that new Julia Roberts film tonight?’
Theo glanced down the towpath. A slight sheen of sweat coated his brow.
‘Yes, I know… It’s only, something’s come up at work.’
‘And you don’t want to take Johnny with you?’
The pair normally spent every working hour together and every person who worked or lived on the canals knew Johnny by name. Daisy even suspected that several people came to the coffee shop just to see him. Although she didn’t complain. Customers were customers.
‘It’s a… a swan situation…’ Theo said, glancing down at his watch.
‘A swan situation?’
‘I don’t want Johnny to be there with them.’
Daisy crinkled her nose. Johnny wasn’t normally an issue around swans or ducks or any animals that he had encountered at Wildflower Lock, but clearly this situation was serious. Daisy couldn’t quite remember the last time she had seen Theo looking this flustered.
‘Okay, well, sure. I’ll just lock up and go over now.’
‘I can lock up,’ Theo said. ‘I’ve got keys.’
‘I thought you needed to go?’
‘I do… but it’s… You’re right. You lock up. I’ll go.’
Still feeling confused by the whole situation, Daisy headed inside to grab her keys and phone. Despite his apparent need to leave, Theo followed her onto the stern and waited there until she reappeared.
‘Any idea how long you’re going to be?’ Daisy asked as she locked the door.
Theo shook his head. ‘I don’t think I’ll be back until it’s dark.’
‘Really?’ Daisy said. The summer months meant it didn’t get dark until nearly ten. She couldn’t imagine what kind of swan situation would require over three hours to sort out, but maybe that was why Theo was the person who worked on the canals and not her.
‘Okay, well, we’ll just be
Theo nodded, though it didn’t look like he was listening to her at all. Instead, he was staring at his phone.
‘Right, I guess I’ll see you later,’ Theo said as they stood on the towpath, although considering what a hurry he was supposed to be in, he wasn’t actually moving. Instead, he was staring at Daisy as if he were expecting her to move. And she was going to, but only across the canal to the Narrow Escape. It didn’t really seem like that far to go.
‘Can I have a kiss?’ Daisy said, given how that was the way they always parted.
‘Of course. Of course.’ It felt like it was the first time all afternoon that Theo was paying Daisy any attention, although his lips had barely touched hers, when he suddenly jerked away.
‘Oh, what a surprise,’ he said, a wide grin on his face. ‘Look who’s here.’
2
Daisy was one of those people who had had the same best friends since school. Yes, she had met other people, made other friends too, but none had ever compared to Bex and Claire. No matter what the occasion, whether it was an hour of need, or a celebration, Daisy could always guarantee they would be the first ones there with wine or tissues or sometimes both. Normally Claire’s daughter, Amelia, would be in tow too. Though she was still too young to work, she leapt at every opportunity to come to Wildflower Lock. Once there, she would spend the time drawing or throwing rocks for Johnny – his favourite game – while absorbing everything she could about the business, ready for when she was finally old enough to help. Though while Amelia couldn’t work the coffee machine, Claire and Bex would sometimes take time out from London life, just to help Daisy out. They had even dog-sat Johnny when she and Theo had gone for a weekend trip to Edinburgh. She spoke to one, if not both of them on the phone almost every single day and knew what their plans were from summer holidays to Christmas lunch, even though it was over half a year away. Which was why seeing them there caught her so much by surprise.
‘I didn’t know you were coming down,’ Daisy said, breaking away from Theo to hug her friends. ‘What are you doing? I thought you were coming down tomorrow.’
‘We were. We are,’ Bex answered. ‘But the weather’s really good—’
‘And she was complaining about being in the city—’ Claire cut over her friend.
‘And so we decided to come down here. See if you wanted to take Johnny for a walk to the pub.’
‘And not a moment too soon,’ Theo muttered.
Daisy turned to face him, not quite sure she had caught what he said properly.
‘What was that?’ she said.
‘I just meant that it’s about time Johnny had a proper walk, that was all,’ Theo replied. His gaze skirted past Daisy, and he looked at the girls instead. ‘We’ve had quite a lot of time in the van today,’ he said. ‘Quite a lot of driving. He’ll need a long walk. A very long walk.’
Daisy was about to ask where they’d gone and why Johnny had had to be in the van so much. Even when Theo did consultancy work – which would sometimes see him spending nights away – he always made sure that walking Johnny was a priority. No wonder he was looking stressed if he hadn’t managed that.
‘In that case, we should probably get going now,’ Claire said, at which point Theo nodded enthusiastically.
‘Yes, yes. Absolutely. You guys should go get Johnny and I should get to the shops.’
‘To the shops? I thought you were dealing with swans for work?’ Daisy said in confusion.
‘Yes, yes, I am. Only I’ve got to go to the hardware store. Before I get to the swans, we need some rope.’
Daisy raised her eyebrows. It made more sense why Theo didn’t want to take Johnny with him on this escapade, but he probably should have gone to the store to fetch the rope beforehand. After all, she wasn’t even sure it was still open.
‘Well, you guys go for a nice walk, have a nice drink. Take your time, but don’t drink too much?’ Theo said.
‘Sure,’ Daisy replied, not sure why everything felt so abrupt and odd about the conversation. Yet before she could even check if Theo was okay, or kiss him goodbye, he was already sprinting towards the car park.
3
‘Did Theo seem strange to you?’ Daisy said to the girls as they crossed over the gate towards the Narrow Escape.
‘I don’t think so,’ Claire replied. ‘He sounded perfectly normal to me.’
‘Did he really?’ Daisy wasn’t convinced. ‘I don’t know. Maybe he’s stressed. You know, it’s not like he gets a day off ever. If he’s not working on the canals, he’s working in the coffee shop. I try to tell him he doesn’t need to, but he always insists. Maybe he should book a weekend away so he won’t feel guilty for not working.’
‘I’m sure it’s just because it’s Friday,’ Bex said, joining in the conversation. ‘He’s fine. So, do you want to have a shower or something? I’ll have a quick search for nice restaurants in the area and book a table. I don’t mind not drinking, so I’ll drive.’
‘Drive to a restaurant?’ Daisy shook her head. ‘I need to look after Johnny, remember? He’s been cooped up too much today. And I thought you wanted to go for a walk too. We were gonna head to the pub. We spoke about this two minutes ago.’
Bex shook her head and rolled her eyes.
‘Gosh, sorry, crazy day. Can’t get my thoughts straight. It’s probably this heat.’
Daisy wasn’t going to deny it was hot, but it wasn’t like Bex not to pay attention to things and having both her and Theo acting oddly didn’t make Daisy feel great, but thankfully Claire was still her normal, practical self.
‘I had a quick look on the map,’ Claire said. ‘And there’s a lovely pub in Danbury. We could go there.’
‘Danbury?’ Holly winced a little. ‘That’s over an hour’s walk away.’
‘I know. Didn’t Theo say Johnny needed to properly stretch his legs?’
‘I know, but then that’s an hour there, an hour or so having a drink and something to eat, and another hour to walk back. We won’t be home until gone nine.’ Daisy struggled to believe that after a long week at work, the last thing her friends wanted to do was spend two hours walking. She waited for Bex to object to Claire’s suggestion, but instead, she grinned.
‘Perfect, so we’re back by ten,’ Bex said. ‘Will it be dark by then?’ she added, throwing a look at Claire with an expression Daisy couldn’t quite read.
‘Hold on a second, I’ll check,’ Claire replied before tapping away at her phone. ‘Yes, yes, it will be. It should start getting dark when we’re walking back.’
‘See, that sounds dangerous,’ Daisy said. ‘We could go somewhere a bit closer and not have to come back in the dark. Or we could take Johnny for a walk for an hour or so, then come back to Theo’s. We’ve got a few bottles of wine in.’
‘No, we don’t want to stay here,’ Bex said with an unusual amount of fervour. ‘This’ll be an adventure.’
Daisy let out a low internal groan. As much as she fancied curling up in the Narrow Escape, Johnny needed a proper walk, and she knew she wasn’t going to get out of this one.
