Page 63 of New Beginnings on Railway Lane

His brother would never change, Ryan knew. But it would be nice if he stayed longer than one or two nights at a time.

Thankfully, having Katy with them seemed to enable a more cheery atmosphere. Perhaps it was having a female presence, thought Ryan, watching as she smiled and nodded as Eddie chatted away about Cranbridge’s renovation.

Ryan wandered if the magic sprinkled over this village could spread one mile down the road to Cranfield. He thought that the coffee shop was a great idea, but would it bring in enough of an income to pay off the mortgage on the station?

He said as much to Katy when they returned home later that evening. Ethan had offered to ensure Bob and Eddie got home to the cottage safely, so it was just the two of them heading back to the apartment.

‘I thought the lavender field had been successful this past summer,’ she replied.

‘It was, but that was only for six weeks,’ he told her when they reached the top of the stairs.

‘What about a restaurant?’ she said, turning around to face him.

Up close, he could see the blue of her eyes. Then he realised what she had just suggested and laughed in response.

But she was looking serious. ‘The Black Swan Inn was packed tonight,’ she carried on. ‘There’s obviously many potential customers already in the area.’

‘Yes and they can go to the inn,’ he told her.

He could feel the cold drip of fear washing over his skin. He would never cook for anyone other than himself and Katy again. He couldn’t.

‘Look, I know business,’ she told him, beginning to look excited. ‘And I’ve tasted your food. You’ve cooked for me every night and it’s always incredible. You’re a great chef.’

Ryan could see her business brain was off and running with another idea. He needed to close down this line of thought immediately.

‘Well, thanks for coming for Dad’s birthday tonight,’ he told her.

She put her head on one side. ‘You’re changing the subject,’ she replied. ‘And you know I’m right.’

‘As usual, you’re way off base, but anyway, I’m tired, so I’m going to call it a night. Goodnight.’

He closed the bedroom door behind him as quickly as he could and leant against it, finding that he was breathing heavily.

She didn’t understand, why would she? Yes, he could cook for Katy but that was about it. The thought of cooking for anyone else made him feel ill. What if they hated it? What if all the nasty reviews he had received after losing his job had been right? But it was his burden to carry and he was too ashamed to share it with anyone. Not even Katy, who he was beginning to suspect he had real feelings for.

34

Katy had found herself enjoying the meal out with the Connolly family.

She knew that she was still an outsider, but they had made her feel welcome and, even better, Bob had thoroughly enjoyed his evening.

‘Just think how he’ll feel when he finds out we’ve thrown him a surprise birthday party tonight,’ said Ethan, with a grin as they ate their breakfast the following morning.

Ethan was back in his small spare bedroom for the weekend and Katy was finding him amiable company. He was flirty but harmless. She realised pretty quickly that he didn’t mean anything by what he said. Everything was kept light, too light she guessed. She wondered why he was like that and why Ryan was far more serious.

‘So I’ll pick up some wine and beer from Cranbridge Stores,’ said Ethan.

‘Flora, Libby and Harriet are going to help me with the decorations,’ Katy told him, although that was just balloons and banners as the coffee shop was pretty much ready.

‘Which leaves my celebrity chef big brother doing the food,’ said Ethan with a grin as he stood up.

As Ethan turned away to take his plate into the kitchen, only Katy saw Ryan’s face fall.

‘I’m not sure I’ll have time,’ he said quickly.

‘You’ve got nothing but time,’ said Ethan, frowning as he came out of the kitchen. ‘I’d have thought you would want to show off your skills to everyone here.’

Ryan shook his head. ‘Not tonight,’ he said. ‘It should be all about Dad. We’ll pick up the rest of the food from the stores. I’ll come with you.’