A Winter Wedding at Primrose Hall (Primrose Woods #6)

Chapter 7

7

‘What’s the matter?’

Pia had been preparing a mushroom risotto when Jackson wandered into the kitchen from the office. The dogs, curled up in their basket beside the Aga, gave small wags of their tails to acknowledge his arrival, but they were far too snuggly to leave their beds at this time of day. Jackson made himself a gin and tonic and poured Pia a glass of white wine, but she’d known instinctively that something was troubling him. Jackson’s moods preceded him. It was always a bit of a joke between the others at the hall that they knew how Jackson was feeling before he’d even entered a room or uttered a word. Right now, Pia could tell from the set of his jaw and the heavy sighs coming from his direction that he wasn’t in the best frame of mind.

‘It’s Tom. He’s only gone and found himself a full-time job. Pharmaceutical sales apparently.’ Jackson shook his head as though it was a complete mystery to him. ‘We won’t be able to rely on his help at the hall next year.’

‘Really?’ Pia’s brow furrowed as she turned to look at Jackson. ‘He didn’t mention anything to me. He’ll still be looking after the stables, though?’

‘No. He’ll carry on for the rest of the season, but he thinks it’s for the best’ – those words were emphasised by air quotes from Jackson – ‘that he steps down from his role so that he doesn’t have to let us down further along the line.’

‘That’s a shame. I can see why you’re so disappointed.’ Although Pia suspected Jackson had taken Tom’s news as a personal snub. ‘We’ve come to depend on him up at the stables and the changes he’s implemented, setting up the workshops, well, he’s kind of made it his own. The traders will miss him, that’s for sure, and then there’s Sophie as well. I wonder what she thinks about all this.’ Pia was thinking aloud. ‘I don’t suppose it was an easy decision for him, but he must have good reasons for finding something more permanent.’

Now it was Pia’s turn to give a shake of her head. To be honest, she was struggling to understand his decision too. Tom was a key member of the team, especially so in recent months and she’d thought, or rather hoped, that he might stay on as a permanent member of staff.

‘Who knows? I can’t see why he would want to rejoin the corporate rat race. It doesn’t make sense to me. I just wish he’d come and told me when he was thinking about it rather than presenting it as a done deal.’

Pia wandered over to Jackson and rubbed a consoling hand over his back.

‘I’m guessing he wasn’t interested in your offer then? Of bringing him on board on a full-time basis?’

‘Well, I never asked him. Not when he told me about the new job. There didn’t seem any point.’

Pia went back across to the stove and added some more stock to the pan, stirring all the while, a waft of delicious aromas meeting her nostrils.

Jackson’s disappointment was palpable. She knew how much he’d come to rely on Tom’s help over recent months, but it was more than just practical and physical help Tom provided. He’d also been a sounding board for Jackson’s ideas, someone he’d been able to confide in. Jackson was an intensely private person who rarely opened up to anyone other than Pia. When Rex had suffered his heart attack earlier in the year, it was Tom who had instinctively rushed out to France to be with their dad and Ronnie, to help support them through Rex’s treatment and to take care of their travel arrangements home. Jackson had wanted to jump on the first flight out there himself, but he was confined to a hospital bed with a broken pelvis at the time, and although he didn’t seem to think that should thwart him in any way, Pia managed to persuade him that he needed to concentrate his energies on his own recovery. Knowing that Tom was there to step into his shoes had been such a relief to Jackson.

‘Maybe it’s just a financial decision,’ said Pia, trying to placate Jackson. ‘I guess working all those casual jobs doesn’t add up to the same as a proper full-time job.’

‘No,’ said Jackson, dismissing that idea out of hand immediately. ‘If it had been about the money, he would have said something. Jeez…’ He ran a hand through his wayward chestnut hair, making it even messier, if that was possible. ‘I suppose I should have expected something like this.’

‘Something like what?’ Pia asked, looking up from where she was serving spoonfuls of creamy risotto into bowls. She took them over and placed them down on the table.

‘Family. Letting you down.’

‘Don’t be like that. It’s not personal, I’m sure.’ She grated fresh parmesan onto the top of the bowls, followed by a twist of black pepper. ‘It’s the best thing to have ever happened around here, you reconnecting with your dad and finding out you have a brother in Tom, but I suppose it’s only natural that he has his own life to lead.’ Her mouth twisted and her brow furrowed as she shook her head at him, reading his expression. ‘You’re lucky, Jackson. What I wouldn’t do to have my mum and dad still here, sharing meals around the kitchen table, chatting and laughing together.’

Jackson gave her a sideways glance, widening his eyes, before turning his attention to the food in front of him.

‘Especially after the year we’ve had,’ Pia went on. ‘Almost losing your dad and your terrible accident too. It could so easily have been a different outcome for you both. You have to make the most of the time you do have with your family because you can’t take any of it for granted. Having Tom in your life is a bonus. The brother you never knew about. You should do everything to hang on to that.’

Jackson fixed her with an expression that she was familiar with, one that told her he wasn’t really listening to what she had to say. He’d already made his mind up on the matter.

‘Okay, I get all that,’ he said dismissively, and she chastised him with a look. ‘But my experience of family is very different to yours, as you well know. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful that we’re all back together, I’m not a completely heartless bastard, but they’re my family. I’m allowed to moan about them. And sorry, but I do feel as though Tom has let me down. I went out of my way to find work for him and to try and make him feel part of the family and now he just throws it back in my face.’

Pia suppressed a heavy sigh, taking a moment to think so that she didn’t snap at Jackson or say something she might regret. He’d had a troubled relationship with his parents and still bore the scars from his teenage years when both his mum and dad separately abandoned him, his dad absent from his life for years and Ronnie for months at a time when they both went off to pursue their own needs and desires. Free spirits, that’s how Ronnie always described herself and Rex, but there had definitely been a fall-out as far as Jackson was concerned. Even though he’d gone on to make a big success of his life professionally, obtaining huge material rewards, he still struggled with his emotions when it came to dealing with Rex and Ronnie. There was a part of him, Pia suspected, that was vulnerable to the idea that he might still be abandoned by his own parents, even at his advanced age. Tom arriving on the scene had stirred all sorts of feelings for Jackson: antipathy initially, followed by suspicion and then begrudging acceptance before a growing bond had developed that neither of the brothers had really expected.

‘You’re taking this personally when I’m sure Tom would never have intended it that way. He’s got his own life to lead, his own career path to follow, but that doesn’t mean it has to impact on your personal relationship.’

‘We’ll see.’ Jackson didn’t sound convinced and Pia hoped that this wouldn’t drive a wedge between the brothers. You didn’t get to achieve Jackson’s level of success without being single-minded, making things happen by sheer determination and will. While those traits were admirable in a business setting, they didn’t transfer so readily into his personal relationships. However much he might think he knew what was best for other people, Jackson couldn’t always influence his friends and family to act in the way he might want them to.

‘Trust me.’ Pia pushed her bowl to one side and reached out a hand to Jackson’s arm. ‘It will all work out for the best. And it’s not as though you’re going to lose touch with Tom. He’ll be around just as much as he is now.’ She paused for a moment, looking into his dark eyes. ‘Sometimes I think you expect too much of people.’

‘And what’s wrong with that?’

‘Only that it leaves you open to disappointment. You have to accept other people’s foibles, their decisions and choices. We all have our funny ways, some more than others,’ she said, with a pointed look in his direction.

Jackson scrunched his mouth and shook his head, a smile reaching the corners of his lips.

‘When did you get to be so wise?’

Pia smiled and shrugged.

Wise , probably not, but sensible, yes. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d been described that way and she was never certain it was intended as a compliment.

‘And I can always look after the stables again,’ she added. ‘You know how much I enjoyed doing it before. I’m down there most Sundays anyway.’

‘Yes, but it’s one thing popping down as and when, because you want to catch up with everyone, but it’s another proposition having the responsibility of doing that job every fortnight. Especially as we’ll be married by then.’ He ran a finger along her jawline. ‘We’ll be wanting to do old married couple stuff on a Sunday afternoon.’

Pia’s laughter rang out.

‘Like what?’

‘Like having a sumptuous roast dinner with…’

‘With the family?’

‘If we have to,’ said Jackson, with a roll of his eyes. ‘But I was thinking just the two of us, Sunday lunch, a couple of glasses of red wine, an old film on the telly and an afternoon nap on the sofas with the dogs.’

‘Just like we do pretty much every Sunday now then?’ she teased him.

‘Yeah, but obviously as a married couple it will take on much more significance.’

‘Well, I hope you haven’t got plans to turn into a pipe and slippers type as soon as we’re married.’ Pia giggled, but it wouldn’t be the first time that she’d wondered how things might change once they were wed. Theirs had been the definition of a whirlwind romance. In the space of eighteen months, she’d taken on a job at Primrose Hall, moved into the guest accommodation, rekindled her romance with Jackson, been upgraded to the master suite, set up several new events at the hall, adopted another fur baby, navigated the interesting family dynamics at the hall, nursed Jackson after his accident, and got engaged. Their wedding at the end of the year was the culmination of a hectic and busy period. Neither of them had had time to draw breath and sometimes it seemed as though events had run away with them.

Life with Jackson was anything but dull, but then it had always been that way. It was one of the things that had first attracted her to him when she was a young girl. Jackson had a reputation for being a wild child, for burning up the local country lanes on his motorbike, for rarely turning up at school and for setting teenage girls’ hearts alight. She’d been swept away by his charisma and swagger, relishing those moments sitting astride the back of his bike, the wind lifting her hair, making her feel vibrant and alive, and so entirely in love with her bad boy. She wasn’t to know then that he would suddenly leave the village, following a motorcycle accident which resulted in the death of one of his best friends. He told none of this to Pia, gave no explanation as to why he left without so much as a goodbye. She was heartbroken and carried that hurt and anger for years, not realising when she turned up for the job at Primrose Hall that the new owner was none other than her teenage boyfriend. A smile spread across her lips. It was funny to think how far they’d come. She’d been reluctant to have anything to do with Jackson again, but she was right out of options, needing a job and a place to live urgently, and when he offered her both of those things, she’d been in no position to say no. Now, they were on the cusp of making a lifelong commitment to each other and Pia only hoped that there would be no further big surprises along the way.

In many ways, he was still that same wayward teenager, doing his own thing, carving his own path, and while he had let down some of his defences, certainly for her, that vulnerable, misunderstood young man wasn’t far beneath the surface. His sensitivity was palpable even if she suspected that others might not view him in the same light, and that fact tugged on her heart.

‘See, you’ve done it again.’ Jackson interrupted her musings. ‘You’ve made me feel better without even trying to. As long as we’ve got each other, then all the other stuff, well, it doesn’t really matter.’ He tipped up her chin and she leant forward, his mouth a magnetic draw, placing a kiss there.

Accepting Jackson’s marriage proposal had been the easiest decision she’d ever made; in fact, she hadn’t thought twice. She’d answered instinctively, joyfully, and only afterwards wondered if it was the right decision, for them both. She was under no illusions that being married to her mercurial, maverick husband-to-be would be easy. It would be an adventure, filled with challenges, but it was one, she hoped, she was more than ready for.