Page 53 of A Summer Wedding at Pennycress Inn
‘Please come by the inn. I only need five minutes.’
Ellie gripped the steering wheel. She supposed she could check Murray’s workshop and then pop by the inn. It could simply be that he’d got held up there anyway. Maybe he was close to finishing a section of the decking and hadn’t wanted to leave it until tomorrow, or perhaps Laura and Jackson had roped him into having dinner with them. His phone battery might have died, which was why he hadn’t contacted her to let her know he was running late. Either way, if he wasn’t at his workshop, then he was likely to be at Pennycress. ‘Okay, I’ll pop by. Give me fifteen minutes and I’ll be there.’
‘Thank you, love. I appreciate it.’
The car was once again filled with silence as Kathy ended the call.
That was weird. Ellie turned down onto the road leading out of Meadowfield, the road Murray’s workshop was off. Her mum wasn’t usually one to change her mind so quickly, so why she’d just now decided not to have an early night and wanted to spend some time with her daughter was strange. She rolled her shoulders back. It didn’t matter. She’d soon find out.
Ellie grimaced. She could just imagine what might be crossing her mum’s mind now Ellie had told her about Rick’s affair. And just when she’d thought she’d perhaps convinced her mum she was okay and actually better off without Rick. She could only guess what would lie ahead of her when she got to the inn. In-depth talk about the circumstances that had led to the said affair, how Ellie was coping and likely a whole heap of questions to boot.
She shuddered before pushing all thoughts of the conversation she wouldn’t be able to get out of away. Turning into the gateway leading to Murray’s workshop, she pulled the handbrake up and jumped out of her car. Letting herself in through the gate, she headed towards the workshop. There was no sign of his van, so it looked as though she would be heading to Pennycress next to look for him anyway.
She’d just check inside, though, in case he’d got his van clamped again or something and had got a lift back. As she raised her hand to knock on the door, she realised it was ajar, so instead pushed it open. ‘Murray, it’s Ellie. Are you here?’
No answer. Walking further inside, she paused and looked around. Something had changed. A lot of things had changed, and it looked a lot emptier. Besides a few bits of wood stacked up here and there, the majority of it was gone – the tools, the piles of clothes, the kitchen paraphernalia. The kitchen unit and battered sofa still stood where they had been, but the rest was gone.
What was going on? Had Murray moved workshops? He’d been worried about his landlord discovering he was living here. Had they been tipped off and evicted him? Or had he found somewhere to rent? Somewhere that had space for all his work stuff as well as his.
Walking through to the back of the workshop, she opened the kitchen cupboard. Even the food had gone. He must have moved out, there was no other explanation. None.
Perching on the edge of the sofa, Ellie pulled her mobile from her pocket and rang his number.
‘Come on, pick up, Murray. Pick up,’ she muttered under her breath as the empty rings echoed through the workshop.
As Murray’s voicemail clicked in, Ellie took a deep breath and left a message. ‘Hey, it’s me. Ellie. I’m currently sitting in your workshop as I was worried when you didn’t show up at mine and all your stuff’s gone. Have you found somewhere better to rent now? Anyway, if that’s the case, I’m guessing you’re busy sorting things out.’ She scratched at a stain on the sofa cushion. ‘Let me know if you need any help and give me a call when you’re finished.’
Lowering her mobile to her knee, she pinched the bridge of her nose. This wasn’t like Murray. He was normally one to keep her in the loop. Or he had been. She supposed she was attributing the same qualities he’d had all those years ago to the person he was today.
Pushing herself to standing, she walked back through the workshop towards the door. She might as well go and see her mum, get that conversation over and done with. Plus, Murray might have mentioned his moving plans to Laura, Jackson or Nicola. They might be helping him move right now.
29
As she closed the wrought-iron gate into Pennycress’s front garden behind her, Ellie checked her mobile again. Still nothing. Tucking it back into her pocket, she rolled her shoulders back, hoping her mum wouldn’t be able to pick up on the fact she was still worried about Murray. Now, that wouldn’t be a fun conversation if she even gleaned a little of what was going on between her and Murray.
After making her way up the steps to the decking, Ellie let herself through the front door and paused. The aroma of coffee and freshly baked cakes filled the large hallway, music and laughter escaped from the sitting room, and the chatter of a family heading upstairs filtered down. She smiled. This is what she’d so loved about working out of Pennycress, the feeling of being a part of something bigger, the feeling of community, of warmth and friendship. She’d miss it when she was finished with planning Laura and Jackson’s wedding. Still, she had a while to go yet, and perhaps after that she’d find herself somewhere to work from, somewhere other than her cottage. Whether it was a shared office space, or just taking her laptop to the local cafe or the bakery, she’d do something.
Walking towards the kitchen, she began pushing the door open, pausing as she heard voices inside. Laura and Jackson were talking, worry creeping into Laura’s tone.
‘…and with the wedding only a few weeks away, what if we can’t get someone else in before then? What if it’s never finished? Summer is our busiest time, and we need people to be able to enjoy the garden.’
‘We’ll get someone else. I’ll ring round first thing in the morning.’ Jackson’s voice was practical, matter-of-fact as he answered.
Clearing her throat, Ellie stepped through. ‘Sorry, I don’t want to intrude. My mum asked me to pop by, and I just wondered if you could tell me what room she’s in.’
Looking over from the table they were sitting at, Laura jumped to her feet, wringing her hands in front of her. ‘Ellie. I?—’
‘She’s in Room Two.’ Jackson gave her a brief smile.
‘Thanks.’ Turning back down the hallway, Ellie frowned. There was definitely something wrong. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Laura acting so jumpy. Pausing, she spun on her feet to face them again. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but is everything okay?’
Laura sighed. ‘It will be. We’ll figure it out. It’s just, what with the decking being half-done and the wedding around the corner…’ She shrugged.
‘The decking?’ Now she was confused. The decking should be replaced well before the wedding. In plenty of time. Murray had already begun the last of the sections that needed to be replaced.
‘Well, yes. If it’s not completely finished in time, then we’ll have to think about moving the ceremony and the reception elsewhere. It’s one thing expecting our six or eight or so inn guests to avoid the part of the decking being worked on, but it’s another expecting all our wedding guests to.’ Laura picked up the tea towel draped over the back of the chair next to her and began folding it. ‘Especially since there’ll be little children there.’
‘But I thought Murray was on track to get the decking completed before the wedding?’
