Page 47 of Sunrise over Strawberry Hill Farm

Nico grimaced. ‘Pretty low considering how much all the wood for the decking cost,’ he said. ‘Sorry.’

He was concerned how quickly they were going through his savings account. The campsite bookings were going to be much-needed by them all.

‘That’s okay,’ said Flora. ‘I’ll have a look and see if we can upcycle a lot of it. Apart from the mattresses and bedding, of course.’

‘Thanks,’ said Nico.

‘I don’t know why you’re thanking me,’ said Flora. ‘This is all on you,’ she said, looking around. ‘I guess I owe you a drink or two when all this is over,’ she told him.

He looked pleased. ‘Sounds good to me,’ he said.

‘I might even be able to stretch funds to a piece of cake as well,’ she told him.

She gave him a winning smile and Nico’s heart missed a beat. She really was quite beautiful, he decided. Even more so when she relaxed and smiled.

‘Of course, that might have to wait a while,’ said Flora, her smile dropping into a frown. ‘There’s still so much more to do.’

‘And to decide on,’ said Nico, looking at his to-do list. ‘Most importantly, once we get all the licences, then there’s the website and marketing to get on top of.’

‘As well as the promised Portaloos from Dodgy Del,’ said Flora with a grimace.

‘I’m trying not to think about those,’ replied Nico.

‘Also, I was thinking that perhaps we should have a trial run,’ Flora told him. ‘After all, neither of us has ever run a campsite before and there’s probably loads of little things that we haven’t thought of. I was thinking that perhaps someone could spend the night here and give us some feedback.’

‘Good idea,’ he replied. ‘Do you have anyone in mind?’

Flora nodded before breaking into a wide smile. ‘The most unlikely person to ever use a campsite!’ she said.

28

‘Me?’ Katy looked at Flora wide-eyed with shock. ‘Camping?’

‘Think of it more as a research trip,’ Flora told her quickly. ‘And it would only be for one night.’

She knew that Katy had no love for the countryside, despite falling in love with both Ryan and Cranfield.

Katy sank back against the wall in the courtyard and looked across at Ryan. ‘I don’t know why you’re smiling,’ she told him. ‘If I’m camping, there’s no way I’m being out in all this fresh air on my own.’

‘Just think,’ he told her, slipping an arm around her shoulders. ‘The night sky, you and I tucked up in what I hope would be a large double bed.’ He looked at Flora, who nodded, despite there being absolutely no furniture yet in most of the tents.

‘I could be persuaded,’ murmured Katy, leaning forward to brush her lips against his.

Ryan turned to look at Flora. ‘You might need to include a bottle of wine with that tent,’ he told her, with a grin. ‘I’m not sure my girlfriend will be able to face a night in the fresh air sober!’

‘Hey!’ said Katy, pretending to look affronted. ‘I’ve made huge strides forward in my, er, love of the countryside. I even own my own wellies now, although they’re bright pink! And I know the difference between an oak tree and a holly tree.’

‘That’s really not saying much,’ said Ryan, laughing.

‘Well, as long as you think it’ll be all right,’ said Katy, biting her bottom lip in a nervous gesture.

‘You know, this was all your crazy idea anyway,’ Flora told her.

‘But a good one, right?’ said Katy, with a grin.

‘It would be great to get your feedback,’ replied Flora.

Katy nodded. ‘I understand.’