Chapter 4

Abby swerved around a pensioner with a tartan shopping trolley. They were lethal with those things. Nearing the estate agents, she saw James, the manager, outside.

"Your old house has sold, Abby."

"Oh, that was quick."

"It's a nice place. You'll never guess who's bought it."

Abby took a deep breath. It must be someone she knew. Responding to James with a smile and a raised eyebrow, he revealed the news.

"Rory Jackson. He is coming back to Fernborough, with his wife. Apparently, he's got a job locally."

"Oh." Abby could not manage anything else.

"Let's hope that they stay there for longer than the last two owners. I'm fed up of keep selling the same house."

Saying something along the lines of her hoping so, too, Abby walked away. This was a nightmare. The whole town would know about this soon and would be talking, gossiping, about it. Her teenage romance with Rory would be dragged up again and again.

They had dated for under a year. Most of the time was barely recalled, but there had been a wonderful summer. Rory and his best friend Grant were always at her house in Meadow Lane. The large Victorian property, at the end of a gravel drive, stood alone, with fields behind it. That had been the scene of so much fun and happiness.

Every day, during that time, seemed to be hot. Abby envisaged sunshine, glasses of coke, with ice cubes chinking in them, and riding horses around the lanes and bridle paths. They did have beer and cider sometimes, her dad, Ron didn't mind. Her mother Tracy was the strict one and would have frowned on the teenagers drinking alcohol.

The household was always slightly chaotic. Her father ran a haulage business and there was paperwork spread across the kitchen table and work surfaces. In truth, the paperwork was not confined to one room and could be found in the lounge and the study, too. Tracy had given up trying to keep order. As long as her bedroom was neat and tidy, she could put up with the mess. Just about.

The cracks in her parent's marriage were beginning to show back then. The fact that they slept in different rooms was a dead giveaway. They did their own thing with them both coming together for evening dinner. Abby enjoyed the ritual of eating together. They could all pretend that they were a happy family.

Abby wasn't too worried about the state of her parents' relationship. They were civil to each other, maybe a little too polite in hindsight. The family still went out to eat at restaurants, or attend parties as a unit. Her mum and dad just seemed to like different things. Tracey liked to shop and Ron didn't.

There was a holiday abroad in the sun each year. Abby remembered them as being happy events. Eating alfresco, watching some cheesy entertainment in the hotel and swimming in a pool. It was hard to have a bad time when they always stayed in the best hotels. The family business made life very comfortable.

At the end of that summer, her and Rory had gone their separate ways. He had gone off to university and she had gone to agricultural college. Horses were her first love and the only thing she wanted to do was work with them. Once they went off to study, they never really bothered to contact each other again. Things had just fizzled out.

Rory would be back in town. This time with his pretty, beautifully presented wife. Oh well, more opportunities to wind her up, or try to wind her up. That passive gaze that never gave anything away was beyond annoying. She was the one married to Rory, so Nina obviously felt that there was nothing to prove.

People around town would talk to her about their return. "Didn't you used to date him?" they would ask, knowing full well what the answer was. Mention would be made of how attractive Nina was and how happy they were. The gossipers would watch her closely for a reaction and she would have to adopt the same calm look that Nina employed when dealing with her.

That summer, at their old house, before everything went wrong, is what she would focus on. The memories of sunshine and laughter. The place would always be special to her. Her bedroom at Meadow Lane, so large and comfortable. The jumble of furniture in every room. Why did that summer have to end?