Page 36 of The Inn on Bluebell Lane
Bored with baking now, Ava scrambled off her chair and ran after Toby, who had lumbered up from his position in front of the Aga when the baking had started. The poor dog looked alarmed to see Ava bearing down on him with so much enthusiasm, and Gwen suppressed a smile. Ava loved Toby very, very much, and generally he was incredibly patient with her, but he was in his dotage and tired—much like she was!
“Why don’t you let Toby out into the garden,” she suggested to Ava, “and you can check on the chickens, as well.”
With a smile, she watched Ava race outside, Toby trotting in her wake.
As she slid the Welsh cakes out of the pan and onto a baking rack to cool, Gwen glanced up at Sarah, who had a slight frown on her face. “Is everything all right, Sarah?” she asked.
“What?” Sarah came to herself with a jolt and then another little shrug. “Oh. Yes. Fine.”
Gwen thought her daughter still looked discomfited, a bit… sad, even. “Why don’t you bring Mairi and Owen over this weekend?” she suggested suddenly, warming to the idea as she spoke it. “We could have a movie night. I’ll make popcorn, buy some fizzy drinks, the works. I’m sure all the children would like to spend time together, and it would be good for them. Fun, I mean.”
“Perhaps…” Sarah sounded dubious, and Gwen wondered what was really going on. Something was clearly bothering her daughter, but she wasn’t sure what it was, and she had a sense that Sarah might go all prickly if she tried to press. Before she could even think to, however, the front door was flung open, and Ben and Jess burst into the kitchen.
“I’m starving!” Ben groaned dramatically, flinging his bag and coat to the floor, before his gaze alighted on the cooling cakes. “Ooh, can I have one of those?”
“They’ve got raisins in—” Gwen began, a warning, but Ben shrugged, already reaching for one.
“I don’t mind raisins, actually.”
Oh, don’t you? she thought, smiling, and then nodded at the cakes. “Go on, then. You can both have one.” She turned to Ava who had come back into the kitchen at the sound of her siblings. “You too, Ava, since you helped to make them.”
“I flipped them,” Ava announced proudly, and somewhat to Gwen’s surprise, Jess smiled at her younger sister.
“Good job, Ava,” she said, and for once she didn’t sound surly or bored.
“Cup of tea, everyone?” Gwen asked as she went to fill the kettle, a smile spreading over her face like butter on toast. This was how she’d always imagined it—a full kitchen, a full heart. “How was school, you two?”
“It was okay,” Jess said, and she sounded as if she meant it. Okay was a lot better than what it had been, Gwen knew, when Jess had come into the house like a whirling dervish, stomping through the kitchen and slamming the door upstairs, all with a face like thunder.
“I’ve joined the Minecraft Club,” Ben announced. “It’s pretty cool.”
“Granny, these cakes are delicious,” Ava pronounced solemnly. “I really do like raisins. I never knew I did, but I do!”
“It’s always good to try new things, isn’t it?” Gwen said in agreement. She plonked the kettle on the stove before turning to her daughter, who was still standing in the doorway. “Sarah? Cup of tea?”
Sarah was regarding the whole happy scene—the cooling cakes, the scattering of flour on the worktop, the heap of rucksacks and lunch bags piled on the floor and the children all sprawled around the table—with a slightly strange look on her face. Gwen could not interpret it at all. Then she turned to Gwen with a quick, bright smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“No, no, I really must be off. I’ve got to collect Mairi from her swimming lesson and Owen has a science project… there’s always so much to do and it’s such a busy time of year, isn’t it?” She directed another one of her bright smiles to the children. “See you lot later, all right? We’ll have to do something together soon.”
“All right, Aunt Sarah,” they answered dutifully, and, Gwen thought, without much enthusiasm.
“What about that movie night?” Gwen pressed as she followed Sarah to the front door. “Get all the children together…?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Sarah said as she buttoned her coat. It had started tipping it down, the golden autumn sunshine replaced by classic Welsh rain. “It’s a nice thought, but…”
She let that sentence trail away and Gwen put her hands on her hips. “But what?” she asked, deciding her daughter needed to be challenged, and Sarah shrugged.
“We’ll see,” she replied, and then she was out the door, heading through the rain toward her car before she reversed down the lane.
Gwen watched her daughter drive away with a troubled frown. What exactly was bothering Sarah? Something was troubling her clearly, and Gwen knew she’d have to try to get to the bottom of it eventually.
She headed back to the children with a determined smile. It was so lovely to think of something other than her own health, or lack of it. To have children to care for, a busy life to lead, a kitchen full of baking and laughter. Maybe all they’d needed was a little time to get used to each other. The thought was incredibly encouraging, and it buoyed her heart.
“Right,” she said briskly as she began to spoon tea into the pot. “Who wants sugar in their tea?” she asked, and smiled as everyone sang out, “Me!”
CHAPTER 20
ELLIE