‘We found him,’ he said, panting at having run all the way. ‘He was trapped upstairs. Place is flooded downstairs. Josh is getting the boat and we’ll get him out of there.’
‘He’s not hurt, is he?’ asked Amber.
‘Just a bit shaken. Josh wanted you to know,’ carried on Del. ‘I’d best get back.’
Amber had a little cry of relief after he’d gone, then pulled herself together as the next person came into the shop.
‘Hi,’ said a woman, coming up to the counter and holding a bag. ‘I’m Lesley and I live locally. Look, I’ve been doing all this baking for a fair that’s got cancelled. Anyway, that doesn’t matter. I heard that everyone’s been coming in here, so I thought you could give them away to some of the families.’
‘How kind,’ said Amber, looking inside the bag. There were many decorated cupcakes and fruit cakes, all beautifully packaged. ‘These look amazing.’
‘It’s the least I can do.’
As the woman left, Grandma Tilly came back downstairs. ‘How’s it all going?’
‘Look at this,’ said Amber, laying out the cakes and telling Grandma Tilly about the stranger’s kindness.
‘Everyone just wants to help,’ said Grandma Tilly.
Amber looked up as Josh came into the shop.
‘How is Stanley?’ she asked.
Josh sank down onto the crate by the fire. ‘Cold. A little bit frightened, I think. He got a bit confused in the dark and couldn’t find his phone to call anyone. He’s going to stay in the pub until we get his place sorted.’
But as Josh went to stand up, he almost immediately sat back down again, looking pale.
‘You look exhausted,’ Amber told him.
‘Here, have something to eat,’ said Grandma Tilly. ‘I’ll make you a cup of tea.’
He looked down at the sandwich she had just handed him in a sort of daze.
‘Eat,’ she told him gently. ‘You’ll feel better for it.’
The sandwich and the tea appeared to bring him back to life a bit.
‘Thanks,’ he said, once he’d drunk the last drop of tea out of the mug. ‘I needed that.’
‘I’m sure you did,’ she said. ‘You must be exhausted.’
In the warm light of the fire, Amber could see he was unshaven and weary.
Josh looked around the shop. ‘We seem to have been cleared out of quite a bit of stock.’
Amber nodded. ‘They all needed to buy cleaning stuff. And a lot of people were promising to come back in, as well.’
He nodded thoughtfully. ‘Well, maybe that will be good. If they come back.’ He stood up and stretched whilst he yawned. ‘I’d better grab some plywood. Somebody needs their back door boarding up.’
Grandma Tilly took his mug into the storeroom to rinse it out.
As Josh went to head into the back room, he stopped and turned around. ‘You did really well today. Amazing, in fact. The coffee and sandwiches was a great idea. It really helped. You’re a good person.’
She blushed and looked away. But she found that he suddenly held her chin with his fingers and gently drew it up so she had to look back at him.
‘I mean it,’ he said, suddenly searching her face more intently. ‘You’re amazing.’
There was a long silence as they locked eyes. Amber found she couldn’t look away and had a sudden urge to kiss him.
Then he gave a little shake of the head as if to wake himself up, before letting go of her chin. With a smile, he left her standing in the shop alone and the moment had passed all too soon.
‘Whatever’s the matter?’ asked Grandma Tilly, as she came back into the shop.
‘I’m fine,’ said Amber quickly. ‘I’m just a bit overwhelmed, I think.’
‘You know why?’ asked Grandma Tilly, reaching out to squeeze Amber’s hand.
Amber shook her head in reply.
‘Because you’re a villager too now,’ she said.
Amber smiled and found herself nodding, knowing it to be true. Perhaps she had finally found a place to call home.
35
Once Stanley had been checked out, Josh left him in the pub to head back to the shop.
‘How’s Stanley?’ asked Amber.
Josh sank down onto the chair by the fire. ‘He’s OK. More shocked than anything.’
‘Poor Stanley,’ said Grandma Tilly. ‘But that house was getting too much for him. I told him that the bungalow’s so much easier. I shall be heading back there myself later.’
‘Are you sure?’ asked Josh.
Grandma Tilly smiled at him. ‘It won’t flood now,’ she said, reaching out to pat him on the shoulder. ‘If anything, I think those stairs have made me realise that my little bungalow is just right for me. I shall go and pack up my bag.’
‘I’ll walk you home,’ said Josh.
But as Grandma Tilly headed upstairs, Josh went to stand up and found that his legs were like jelly.
‘You look exhausted,’ Amber told him. ‘I’ll make you another cup of tea. And then I’ll walk Grandma Tilly home.’
The tea brought him back to life a bit.
In the warm light of the fire, he could see that she was also looking weary. But he was seriously impressed as to how well she had handled the crisis.
There was a long silence as they locked eyes again.
Josh found he couldn’t look away and had a sudden urge to kiss her, just like he had the previous night.
He was just about to lean forward when his phone rang. He brought out his mobile from his pocket and smiled. ‘It’s Mum,’ he told Amber, heading through the shop and outside to get a better mobile reception.
‘Hi,’ he said, as he went across the veranda and out onto Riverside Lane. ‘Sorry, Mum. I meant to call you earlier.’
‘That’s OK,’ she replied. ‘Denise heard from Amber, so we know that you’re all OK.’
‘The village is a mess, Mum.’ His voice caught on the words and he realised just how hard he had suppressed his distress until that moment.
‘I heard, love.’ She sighed heavily down the line. ‘Those poor people.’
‘We’re doing what we can,’ he told her, looking around at the mud and debris strewn across the lane.
‘Of course you are,’ she said. ‘You’re a good person, Josh. Listen, I’ve been thinking and worrying about you all day. I’d have hated for anything to happen to you, knowing how unhappy you are.’
‘Mum,’ he began, but she wasn’t listening.
‘Look,’ she carried on, talking over him. ‘It was my parents’ shop and then it was ours. But it was never your dream. That was elsewhere.’ He heard her take a deep breath. ‘Perhaps it’s time to let it go. To leave the shop behind, I mean. I promise I won’t be upset. I just want you to be happy.’
‘OK, but now you need to listen to me,’ said Josh. ‘I know I’ve been unhappy and have wanted to leave. But something’s changed. I think I could do some good here. Make a life for myself here in Cranbridge.’
As he said the words out loud for the first time, he knew in his heart how much he wanted to stay. He wanted to belong to a community that helped each other out during the worst of times. If any good could have come out of the village being flooded, it was that he liked feeling part of a team. That they were all in this together.