Chapter Twenty-three

REMINGTON'S POV

I parked at the back of the Manor and walked across the neat lawns that stretched out in manicured perfection. There was a kitchen over to the right, a walled garden filled with roses beyond that, and then the expanse of fields. Green, velvety, rolling fields.

I had loved coming here as a kid, Sean and I rambling through the fields for hours until it was time to head back home before our parents sent out a search party for us. I smiled, spying him about two fields away hugging a horse. They’d never kept horses here when we were young, but once Sean took over running the farm, he had bought three beautiful bay horses. He had always dreamed of having gleaming gold horses running in the morning sun. The fact that he’d never learnt to ride was only a small hitch. He loved horses, and these were kept purely for his pleasure.

I stomped across the field, clambering over the first iron gate that led into the second field. Running the farm was a huge job. Sean had a small staff: a couple of farm hands, a vet on call for the lambing season, and a contractor that arrived each harvest with a convoy of tractors and combines. When we were young, it used to seem idyllic, but now, as adults, it was clear it was a job that took every moment of your day and gave you little in return.

The farm was barely managing to stay financially afloat, which was one of the reasons Sean had decided to renovate the old stables and rent them out to artisan businesses.

The yurts had been his son’s idea, and so far, it was the one that was really bringing in the money. When I first saw the large tent-like structures I had laughed out loud. Why would people want to stay in them? But Sean had made us all camp out one night and it had been so much fun.

He had bought four yurts and since they had arrived, they’d been booked out almost every weekend. Though mostly from stag and hen parties and team building weekends. But the money was good, and Sean didn’t have to rent out the Manor. That was the real fear, and he’d spoken to me about it a few times.

He loved that house, the stillness, the way the walls carried the memories of his family for generations. That house seemed to breathe, and he didn’t want to have to rent it out. But if the farm couldn’t be sustained with the additional incomes, then he wouldn’t be left with much choice.

“What are you doing here at this hour?” Sean called to me, letting go of his horse and giving it a few solid pats on the neck.

“I thought I’d see if you wanted a cup of tea. And a chat.”

“Hmm. About your new houseguest?” He grinned and walked closer, lifting the black empty bucket from the ground and locking the gate tight. He stood gazing at the horses for a moment, and I wondered whether he was okay. He lived all alone, working hard everyday, but just as alone as he had been since his divorce twenty years earlier.

“Yeah, I’m not sure what to do now. Things feel awkward, and we haven’t picked up where we left off. I think I might be crazy for bringing him to stay with me. We don’t know each other. It’s nuts.”

Sean turned and smiled. “And yet, you fell for Matthew the first time you met him. Remember how you described him to me? Familiar. Like you knew him. And you do. Your intuition and probably the part of you in your pants know he’s right for you. It’s that stupid overthinking brain of yours that’s causing the problem.”

“You know, you really shouldn’t hold back. Tell me what you really think, Sean.” I smirked, and he winked at me. He’d been my best friend for so long I sometimes thought he knew me better than I did myself.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll be really honest if you want. Come on, I’ll cook us a fry up.”

The kitchen smelt of bacon and coffee, and I set two places at the kitchen island while Sean cooked up a full Irish breakfast.

“How was Matthew this morning? Did you talk to him about where you two are at relationship-wise?”

I grimaced. “I don’t know how he is. I left before he woke.”

Sean swung around and shook his head at me. “Oh, Remington. What the fuck are you thinking? You invited him to stay, and you’re sneaking off?”

“Not sneaking! I just left him sleeping, because I didn’t want to wake him up. Anyway, it was awkward last night. I think my ignoring him at first sort of damaged the niceness between us.” It was true. When I’d collected Matthew from the hospital, there had been a strange distance. Something wedged between us. I was certain he was only coming to stay with me because he had nowhere else to go.

“Look, it’s only going to be as strange as you make it. Just act normal. I know you like him, and he likes you. But this is now a different situation, so you need to try and make him comfortable. He’s landed in your home, incapacitated, and he’s probably not sure whether he’s actually welcome. You need to make that very clear to him. You know?”

Sean was right. I wasn’t even thinking about how Matthew must be feeling, in a village he didn’t know, living with a man he’d only known a couple of weeks. I was too busy worrying about how I was feeling. Damn. I needed to go back and make sure he was alright.

“You’re right.”

“I know. I usually am.” Sean winked and set a large plate of bacon, eggs, brown bread, fried tomatoes, and mushrooms before me. “Eat up and then go back and, I don’t know, bring him a coffee or something. Pretend you didn’t bolt this morning, and just make it out like you went to the bakery or something. You need to make him comfortable. Let him know you want him there.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“Mm. Again, I’m full of them.”

I laughed and decided that I’d do exactly as Sean had suggested. I didn’t want to have the next six weeks feel uncomfortable. And I wanted there to be more between me and Matthew, but right now, I had to repair the relationship, or we’d have zero chance.

“I’ll go there after breakfast, grab some scones and two coffees.”

“Good idea. Now, eat up.”

There was a bang as the front door slammed, echoing through the large halls of the Manor.

“Dad, we’re back!”

Sean glanced at me quickly and smiled, slightly nervous as he called out, “I’m in here, son!”

Moments later, Quinn walked in with his friend, the one I’d met at Sean’s party the other night.

“Hey, Remington. How are you?”

“I’m good, Quinn. Thanks. I didn’t know you were still here. I thought you were going back the day after the party.”

He looked at his dad and then back to me. “Uh, yeah. Well... I thought I’d hang around a little longer and help dad out for a bit. And Mikey wanted to experience country life a while longer.”

I nodded and couldn’t help but notice how odd Sean was behaving. He was staring at his plate of food as though it held the secret to life or something. I watched as Quinn’s friend, Mikey, wandered over to the counter and put the kettle on. He still hadn’t said anything, but the tension was palpable. What the hell was going on here?

Sean sat upright and pointed towards the cooker. “There’s some bacon left in the oven. And some fresh eggs there if you want them.”

“I’m alright, Dad. I’ll just grab a coffee.”

“Maybe Mikey might like some?” Sean mumbled, his voice strained.

Mikey turned around, glancing sheepishly at him and then looked away. “Thanks. That would be nice.”

I tried not to choke on my food as Sean leapt off the stool and started racing around the kitchen, plating up food for his son’s friend and cracking two eggs to fry them up in a pan. I couldn’t believe what I was watching. This young man was in his twenties. He didn’t need Sean to plate up his food. I mean, why on earth would he... Ohhhh.

A cough escaped me as I tried to stifle a laugh. Well, well, well. I would be making sure to bring this up next time I was alone with Sean. We all sat and ate in silence, Quinn slurping his coffee and tapping away on his phone while Sean and Mikey exchanged awkward glances across the island.

“Right, I better head back to Matthew. Thanks for breakfast, Sean. Enjoy the rest of your day.” I stood up and stretched, full after the hearty breakfast.

He got up and started grabbing plates and cutlery from the island. “You’re welcome. Make sure you do what I said, okay? Make it clear to him.”

“I will. What are you doing for the rest of the day?”

He scratched his head. “I have a mountain of things to do. I need to go and sort out those bees. They arrived yesterday, and I still have to set up the hives properly and check on the queen. They told me to keep an eye on her to make sure she wasn’t aggressive.”

“Good idea. Nobody likes an aggressive queen,” I quipped, and he laughed.

“Bees?” Mikey questioned, his big brown eyes widening.

“Uh, yeah. I bought some beehives. I’m going to see if I can sell some honey from the farm.” Sean looked away, and I could have sworn he was blushing.

I smirked, knowing he’d kill me for what I was about to do. “You could probably do with a hand, Sean. I mean, you don’t want to be trying to move them on your own. Why don’t you get Mikey to help you? He seems interested. You’d give Sean a hand, right Mikey?”

As I’d suspected, young Mikey was very eager to help.

“Oh god, yeah! I’d love to help out. I’m a bit afraid of bees, but I really want to help.”

Very eager indeed.

If looks could kill, I’d be dead. Sean stared at me, throwing daggers, and I winked. “I better be off then. Bye.”

“Yes, you should leave, Remington,” he called after me before he gave me a wicked grin. “It’s safer for you!”