Page 58 of The Inn on Bluebell Lane

“You’ve got a very good system here, Josh.”

Perhaps that was her problem, she reflected as she slotted a few pieces together, feeling a surprising satisfaction at being able to do it. Her life was a jumble, like the pieces in the box before they’d been sorted. It all felt so overwhelming. But if she simply took one challenge at a time—the bed and breakfast, her diagnosis, her daughter—then they would be more manageable. She’d find their place; she’d fit them in.

Impulsively, she reached over and gave Josh’s thin shoulder a quick squeeze. “Thank you for including me in this. I’ve really enjoyed it, Josh.”

“Josh?” Ellie’s voice sounded a bit strained as she came into the kitchen. “There you are. Didn’t I tell you not to bother Granny?”

“It’s fine,” Gwen assured her. “Actually, it’s been rather nice. We’ve been doing a puzzle.”

“Oh, but, Josh—”

“I wanted to,” Gwen said quickly. “Honestly, Ellie, it’s been lovely. Just what I needed.” She gave Josh a warm smile, and he beamed back.

“Well…” Ellie still looked somewhat unconvinced, her gaze darting around the kitchen as if she expected Sarah to be hiding in a cupboard.

“Sarah went home,” Gwen said.

“Yes, I saw her leaving in her car.” Ellie hesitated, and Gwen suspected she both did and didn’t want to ask what had happened.

“I’m afraid things got a bit out of hand,” Gwen admitted on a sigh.

“Granny’s tired,” Josh supplied. “And when she’s tired, she gets cross. Just like you, Mom.”

“Oh, really?” Ellie looked amused, and she and Gwen shared a laughing look before she ruffled her son’s hair. “Come on, you. You’ve got Lego club tonight. Did you remember?”

“Oh, yeah!” Josh brightened as he clambered off his chair. “It’s a new club at the village hall,” he explained to Gwen. “And Lego is my favorite!”

“Not puzzles?” Gwen teased and Josh paused, a frown on his face as he considered the matter seriously.

“Puzzles are second,” he told her, and Gwen nodded in understanding.

As he and Ellie went off to get ready for his club, she realized she felt better already, thanks to her grandson.

And she resolved to ring Sarah tonight. She would find a way to mend the rift that had opened up between her and her daughter, no matter what it took.

CHAPTER 30

ELLIE

A headache was starting to band Ellie’s temples as she walked briskly to the village hall with Josh skipping by her side. They were already five minutes late, thanks to Ava having a tantrum about being left at home, although Gwen had managed to distract her with the promise of a baking session with Granny, even though Ellie feared her mother-in-law wasn’t really up for it, after her chemo; Matthew had gone out for the afternoon, Ellie didn’t know where.

She’d had a text from Sarah, fired off in anger, it would seem, for it simply said that Ellie could handle all of Gwen’s chemo appointments from now on, and good luck to her. Ellie didn’t know what that meant for Gwen and Sarah’s relationship, but it couldn’t be anything good. It wasn’t anything good for her fledgling relationship with Sarah, either, and meanwhile she would have to take on a lot more than ever before, in addition to working on the bed and breakfast plans and managing her family. She wanted to help Gwen, of course she did, and she would, but her head throbbed just thinking about it all.

Her mother-in-law had cancer, she reminded herself sternly. Of course she was going to do whatever she could to help and support her. But why did it have to feel so hard? It didn’t help that Matthew was still being fairly monosyllabic; or that Jess was seriously sporting some teenaged attitude, seeming to fly in a rage when Ellie so much as suggested she check if she had any homework—not even do it, just check, and yet somehow such a mild request seemed to infuriate her daughter. She’d thought things had been getting better, but just when she started to hope, it was all several steps back and things seemed to be getting worse, instead.

Sudden tears stung Ellie’s eyes and she blinked them away impatiently. All right, so life was a tiny bit challenging right now. And she was homesick. She wanted her circle of friends and a caramel macchiato from Starbucks—there was one on the way to Cardiff, she’d learned, so that, at least wasn’t impossible—and the New England sunshine streaming down. Never mind. This too would pass… she hoped. She had meant what she’d said to Matthew, about not wanting to move back to Connecticut. You couldn’t go back, no matter how much you might want to. Ahead was the only option.

Her gloomy, grumpy mood stubbornly remained, however, as she dropped Josh off at the village hall and headed home again. Gwen had got Ava involved in a big baking project, which was wonderful, but the kitchen was now a mess and Ellie had to both tidy up and sort out dinner, and Matthew was still out.

Ben and Jess had got into a heated argument about something to do with some noticeboard on the way home, and Ben was now flinging his stuff all around the kitchen—his blazer was dusted in flour before Ellie managed to open her mouth—and Jess had stomped upstairs, slamming her door so hard it felt as if the whole house rattled. Ellie’s headache got that much worse.

“I’m sorry, I’ll tidy up,” Gwen said, wiping her hands on her apron. She looked knackered, and Ellie felt guilty for her sour mood, which her mother-in-law must have clocked.

“No, no it’s fine, I’ll do it. Ava will help. Can you switch the kettle on, love?” She smiled at her daughter, who hopped off her stool, eager as ever to help. “Go have a sit down in the living room, Gwen. I’ll bring you a cup of tea.”

Gwen went off gratefully, and Ellie set about tidying the kitchen before she decided what she was going to do with a kilo of mince that was on its sell-by date.

“Ben, don’t get out those crisps,” she instructed, spying her son hunting through a cupboard from the corner of her eye. “Dinner will be in just a little while.”