Page 58 of Sunrise over Strawberry Hill Farm

They both glanced up at the sky, but Nico guessed that she was thinking exactly the same as he was.

‘I’m sure it won’t rain tomorrow,’ said Flora.

Nico nodded. ‘I agree,’ he replied.

‘We’re right on the edge of that weather system that’s going to be sweeping the country,’ she carried on. ‘I should think we’ll get a tiny bit of drizzle and that will be it.’

‘Absolutely.’ Nico glanced back at the campsite. ‘That waterproof spray we bought was top-notch, so they should stay dry inside.’

‘And warm too, if the temperature dips a little,’ said Flora. ‘There’s a nice thick duvet and numerous blankets. There’s even a hot-water bottle if they need one.’

‘You’ve kitted each tent out so well,’ he told her.

Flora blushed and shrugged her shoulders. ‘It was mainly down to Katy’s feedback. I pretty much copied her checklist for the train carriage accommodation.’

‘Yes, but the tents are better,’ he replied.

Flora laughed. ‘It’s not a competition,’ she told him.

‘I know,’ he said. ‘And I want them to succeed too. But we also need to do well.’

‘We will.’

As she headed indoors, Nico remained outside, staring up at the early evening sky. There was still the threat of heavy rain over the next few days and although they were keeping everything crossed that the weather forecasters were right and that the storms would miss them, he just wanted to make sure everything was secure.

At that moment, under a clear blue sky, he had to agree with Flora that the forecasters probably had it wrong. It wasn’t about the money, for him. He had invested pretty much all of his savings into Strawberry Hill Farm. But he hoped that one family home would remain in the same family and not be sold, unlike his own.

They had done the best they could. The tents looked phenomenal. He glanced at the portacabin that Dodgy Del had provided and smiled when he saw Flora’s artistic efforts had even covered that as well. She had placed flowerpots and bunting around the outside and it now fitted in with the overall feel of the campsite.

He headed around the corner of the farmhouse and saw a familiar bicycle leant up against the side. Further along, Tyson was crouching down and tinkering with the motorbike engine.

‘You’re here late,’ said Nico.

Tyson jumped up at the sound of the voice and looked around, a guilty look on his face. ‘I didn’t do nothing,’ he said, his words coming out in a rush. ‘I was just looking.’

Nico held his hands up. ‘Woah,’ he told him. ‘No worries. I told you that I was happy for you to look at the engine. Especially as you fixed the oil leak on the Ferrari.’

The teenager had turned up on the promised date and got on with the job, keeping himself to himself. He didn’t say much but his love of engines certainly shone through.

Tyson nodded. ‘That was easy. This is a little more complicated because it’s so old.’

‘Old doesn’t mean bad,’ said Nico.

‘I didn’t mean it like that,’ said Tyson, turning to stare at the motorbike with an appreciative stare. ‘It’s a classic.’

‘It certainly is,’ said Nico, looking down at it with a smile. ‘Do you think it’ll ever work?’

Tyson nodded. ‘One hundred per cent,’ he replied, crouching down once more.

It was then that Nico noticed the small pile of tools that were next to him. ‘We’ve got other tools up at the farm if want to borrow them.’

‘Okay.’

He leant against the wall and watched Tyson for a while, nodding in wonder as to how carefully the teenager studied each and every cog and screw.

‘I’d have thought you’d have wanted to do something else with your spare time,’ said Nico. ‘Like play a computer game or something.’

‘Nah.’ Tyson gave a shrug. ‘We don’t have the latest ones, and anyway, if I’m at home then I’ve got chores to do. No time to play games.’