RIDE THE TIDE

Chapter 23-New Life:

It was a quiet ride back to Knaresborough.  The two occupants of the little Triumph had much to think about. Davey turned on the radio to comfort his thoughts which were on the pretty girl in the seat next to him. He couldn’t discount the feeling he experienced when he looked into her eyes. There was something there for him, he could feel it. He thought she might have put up a barrier he couldn’t cross.  He couldn’t reach inside and touch her. Something must have happened with his Mum since Lynne was different on the way back.

Lynne was trying to come to terms with who she was. The façade she had so carefully erected had crumbled in the face of Penny’s wrath. The words had hurt, but then truth usually did when you don’t want to face it. Anna told her she had to be honest with Davey but she had no idea where to begin.  Her whole life had been a lie since college. Her feelings for Davey were honest...the connection was there. Could she stop trying to control the situation and just let it happen? Could they start again?

Instead of going directly back to The Black Bull, Davey turned down a hill toward the River Nidd. He parked the car, offered his hand to Lynne, and they walked along the river toward the bridge. Finding a grassy spot, he sat down and Lynne sat by him, not worrying about the damp on her silk slacks.

“I think we need to talk, Lynne. It’s just you and me here and you don’t have to try and impress me. I’m just a simple Yorkshire lad, nothing more. A bloke with feelings I don’t always express very well. There’s something between us; I can’t put a name to it yet.  I thought you might help me and you don’t have to sugar coat it.”

When she began to speak, Davey had to look at her to see if it was the same woman. Gone was the posh talk and clipped accent. “You may not like the center of it after the sugar coating is gone, Davey. I'm afraid I have done you a great injustice. I was only concerned with changing my own life and not what that would do to you. I talked with your mother today and told her of my life. I won’t go into it now; it’s not a pretty story. You see, I haven’t been Lynne Manning for a long time. I’ve been whatever I needed to be to get what I wanted. I wanted you for the wrong reasons.  It would be best if I go back to Putney and try to figure who Lynne really is now.  I believe we have a connection, too, Davey and I don’t want to lose that.”

“You take all the time you need, Lynne. I’ll still be here. I know what you mean about being what you need to be to get what you want; I’ve been down that road. I want you to know I would have noticed you if you never spoke a word. If you had come into The Black Bull in sack cloth, I would have wanted to know you. Just follow your feelings. I hope they will lead you back to me.”

Davey reached over and wiped the tears from her eyes with his hand, then held her close.

It was a gray gusty morning and Penny was helping Anna carry buckets of water down to the pigs' trough. The pump was broken and Johnny had gone to Ripon to try and find a part.

“I had a call this morning from Davey," Anna said. "Lynne has gone back to London a day early. I told him I thought it best, at least until she can get her head on straight. If she is a friend of our Nancy there must be more to her than what she presented to us.”

“I hope so, Anna. I feel for Davey. I think he's very lonely underneath that blond head of his. I hope I didn’t upset you yesterday with my tirade.  I just couldn’t let her go on any longer with her masquerade.”

“No, Penny, it was something that she needed to hear. I’m sorry you had to say it, but I must say you did a nice job.”

Penny laughed, “It’s a southern thing, Anna.”

As they began walking back to the house, Penny pulled her anorak closer around her neck. The weather was changing in early September.  Only a few more weeks and she and Tom would be gone. She stopped and picked an armful of Michaelmas daisies to fill the jug in the living room of the bungalow, thinking about the Hole In The Wall cabin in the mountains. The trees would changing now, with yellow, orange and reds surrounding the meadow. Soon Terry would be pulling his tractor up there to mow down the remains of the wildflowers and make sure the cabin was secure for the winter. Once the snows began, it would be isolated.

"Does it snow here?" she asked Anna, seemingly out of the blue.

"Yes," Anna nodded, "but not much. It's mostly cold and damp, with freezing fogs."

Tom was on the phone making arrangements for their trip.  He wanted to make sure Penny was on the same flights and they could get their seats together.  His agent booked them into a hotel in London for September 27-30. Tom would be able to show Penny a bit of London before they left. She would probably want to do some shopping for the trip and he thought he'd ask her if she would like to shop in London or local. He returned a phone call to the solicitor in Ripon. The surveyors report was in and they could go ahead and finalize the papers. Davey would need to be there since a small parcel of his land was now planted in trees by Peter. Now he had to get Peter and Davey to Ripon.

“Hi ya, Davey. How about a trip to Ripon on Wednesday? Does that look good for you?”

“Ripon? Why do I want to go to Ripon?”

“Well, it seems a bit of your inherited land sits in the meadow where Peter has his trees. I didn’t think it would be a problem for you, but if it is then we need to talk about it. The surveyors have been out and filed their report and the solicitor says we can finalize the deed for Peter this week. Wednesday afternoon was good for him, about 1:00.”

“Sure, Tom, I can get Jamey to come in a bit early. How much of my land are we talking about here?”

“About fifteen head of cattle’s worth. Why don’t you come on out and we’ll ride out there and you can have a look? Are you busy today? Still got company?”

“No, the company has returned to the smoke.  I can come out in the morning if that suits, around 10:00.”

Tom made a note of it and to remind himself to tell Penny so she would let him in. He would have to adjust his hours tomorrow. Her little trick was working well. He only had a few more pages and then he could send the book back to his publisher. Hopefully there would be time to play with Penny before the trip.

Anna and Penny came in through the scullery door. Janey was in the kitchen with Akkers, having a cup of tea.

“Good morning, Janey. What brings you over this morning?” asked Anna.

“Hi, Mum, Penny. I wanted to let you know Shane had her puppies last night. She had four males and three females. Well, maybe only three males. Peter is going to put one down because of a misshapen leg. It wouldn’t be able to work, you know.”

“How bad is the leg, Janey?” asked Penny.

“I don’t think it’s that bad, but you know Peter. One of its back legs is shorter. These are pure bred Australian sheep dogs, Penny, and if they aren’t perfect, they go.”

“Oh, Janey, could I have a look? Do you think Peter might let me have it? I’m sorry, Anna, I should have asked first. I know there are no dogs here at the house.”

Anna told her there used to be dogs, not sheep herders, but pets. When the last one died, John had said no more. The boys were gone and he didn’t want to have to bury another dog. Janey pulled out her phone and called Peter. "Is the lame pup still there? Penny might want it."

"Yes," he replied reluctantly. "What would Penny want it for?"

"A pet," Janey said.

"Well, she'll have to keep it away from the rest of the dogs," he sighed.

And so Janey took Penny home with her to see the pup.

The wind was really blowing around Janey’s hilltop home.  She led Penny back to the dog pens where Shane was in an enclosure with her litter. Penny picked the tiny puppy up, cuddling it.

“How could you put down a baby like this, Janey?”

“You don’t want to breed in an imperfection. He is cute, has his mother’s coloring. When are you and Tom leaving?”

“I think in about three weeks and it will be the end of October before we’re back. Can you keep him here until then? His name is Shorty.”

“Yeah, he should be ready to wean by then. What will you do for a month, Penny?”

Penny gave the baby back to its mother and they walked to the greenhouse. “I'll be with Tom in New York and Boston and then I’m going to my brother’s for three weeks. After that I'll meet Tom in Atlanta.”

“It sounds exciting. What about clothes? Won’t you need something else?”

“I really hadn’t thought about it, but I guess I'll have to talk to Tom and see what I will need. I’m not sure Yorkshire farm fashion would fly in New York. Janey, did you start all these plants? What do you do with them?”

“I sell them to a garden center in Pateley Bridge. Probably all the potted up plants you see along the streets came from here. I went to agricultural college, you know, and didn’t do anything for a while but have babies and dogs. Then about five years ago Peter suggested if I wanted to do something he'd build me a greenhouse. It’s rewarding to me to plant a seed and grow a plant.”

“You do all this by yourself? It’s quite an undertaking.”

“Mostly by myself, but I get help when I need it. Lucy Akkers helps me some.”

“How many Akkers are there, Janey?”

“Peter says nobody knows, but I think she has four daughters and Johnny.”

Penny thought for a moment then said, “Janey, is there any way you could produce blooming white roses around Christmas?”

“Sure, ah, your wedding, is it? Looking for decorations or bouquets?”

“A white bouquet of roses with trailing ivy and holly. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?”

“I’m so happy for you and Tommy. Will you be married in the church or at the farm?”

“I had a church wedding and all the trimmings a long time ago.  I think I would like to be married at the farm. Do you think your Mum would mind?”

“Mum would be in her element, Penny, you have no idea.” Then she added, "Well, I'd better get you back to the house so I can go and collect the children from school."

Penny looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'll have to tell Tom about the puppy."

ON TO PART 24

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