Beth's POV

Harry is bouncing the soccer ball from knee to knee before handing it to Jamie to try.  Nick and Chloe have already tried it but Nick has lost interest in it, soccer not really his thing.

Tennis is his chosen sport.

Chloe is still keen to try but I can see she knows it's Jamie's gift and that she should give Harry the time to teach him.

Even though she is the sportiest kid out of all of them and is one of those ones that can play any sport she tries.

I'm lucky if I can enter a room without walking into something.

I'm taking pictures of them all on my phone, especially Jamie and Harry and I'm not sure who's having more fun at the minute.

I'm just thrilled that Jamie is able to spend time with an older male who is willing to teach him something, especially since his dad isn't around anymore.

They've been kicking the ball to each other and now Harry is shadowing Jamie, trying to take it off him.  Jamie suddenly falls over and Harry is pulling him up onto his feet, his hand on his shoulder as he bends down to check that Jamie's okay, until he kicks the ball away, running with it and leaving Harry momentarily wondering what just happened before he realises and takes off after him.

I'm laughing at the two of them as I suddenly realise that I don't see Nick and Chloe and my heart speeds up as I look around, searching for them.

I spot them way over on the path, looking at something in the water.

I hop off the park bench and start walking over towards them until a soccer ball comes heading my way followed by two giggling boys running behind it.

Smirking, I kick the ball away, running with it towards Nick and Chloe but it's not long though before a pair of arms wrap around me and lift me into the air, swinging me around.

"Grab it Jamie!" Harry yells as Jamie bolts past me and I'm finally on the ground again.

I wobble slightly, regaining my balance as Harry chuckles at me.

"Shut up," I say as I push his arm and leave him as I jog over to where Nick and Chloe are.

Harry walks up behind me and when I look at him he has a quizzical look on his face, like he's trying to figure something out.

He opens his mouth as though he's going to say something but stops himself.

Okay.

"Look mummy!" Chloe says, "there's ducks over there and swans and look at all the fish!  You can see the bubbles...can we feed them some bread?"

"Fish don't eat bread Chloe," Nick scoffs at her.

"I was talking about the ducks Nicholas," she glares at him.

Harry and I stand there smirking at the two of them.

"I can go up to the car and get some," I offer, "if you're happy to stay with them?"

"Sure," he smiles and pulls his car keys out of his pocket and hands them to me.  I notice they have a letter 'H' hanging from it and I hold it up to him.

"Pink?" I smirk.

"It was from Gemma," he replies shrugging his shoulders.

"Nice," I giggle as I start walking across the grass to Harry's rover.

I'm halfway across when I turn back to see how Harry and the kids are getting on.

The boys are looking further down the lake, pointing at something that I can't quite see from here.  Harry and Chloe are looking at something in the water in front of them and I'm assuming it's the fish.  I watch as she reaches up and grabs hold of his hand with hers.

My heart leaps into my throat as I'm not sure what his reaction might be.

I mean, I know he's not going to push her away or anything like that.

Just some men don't always know how to act around kids, they can get a bit awkward.

But he simply keeps hold of her hand and moves closer to her as he points something out to her.

Now I feel my heart constricting but it's in an overwhelmingly good way.

I turn around and keep walking to the car park before I become reduced to a blubbering idiot.

It's not until I reach Harry's rover that I notice a young woman standing next to it, trying to look inside.

"Can I help you?" I ask.

She jumps back, clearly not hearing me approach.

I walk to the back of it, pushing the button on Harry's keys so it unlocks and I can take out a few slices of bread before shutting the door and locking it.

She continues to look at me, eyeing me up and down, almost like she can't believe I'm standing in front of her.

She takes a step towards me and even though I'm only holding bread I won't hesitate to smack her in the face with it.

Her gaze falls onto the keys in my hand and her eyes widen.

"H..." she mumbles to herself.

"Hello?" I say, suddenly starting to feel a bit pissed with this person.

"No," she replies, her eyes narrowing at me, "I thought this was a friend's car," and I watch as her eyes flick back to the keys in my hand before her mouth sets itself into a thin line and she turns and flounces off.

She knows it's Harry's.

She knows Harry.

I turn and make my way back to where Harry and the kids are and I give the bread to Chloe and Harry his keys.

I debate whether or not to tell Harry about the woman but really, what am I going to say and what can he do?

In the end I decide not to bother saying anything as I see nothing to gain from it.

I hand Chloe the bread and she eagerly takes it and runs up to where her brothers are, sharing it with them and they begin pulling pieces and throwing them into the water.

"Are we going to walk this way Harry?" Jamie calls out from further up along the path.

"Absolutely," he replies before turning his attention back to me, "shall we walk?"

Harry and I fall into step with each other as the kids walk ahead of us.

"Can I ask you something?" Harry suddenly breaks the silence.

"Of course," I raise my eyebrow and smirk at him, "whether I answer it is another thing."

"Funny," he smirks before pausing, "is it me, or do...' he pauses again, "you kind of move...you ran...like your leg..." he trails off.

Well how very astute of you Harry.

"Whatever do you mean?" I question, a blank look on my face.

"You just seem to..." I can see him searching for the right words, "your left leg seems slower..."

"Are you saying I'm slow?" I bite my lip to keep a straight face.

"What?  No!" he runs his hand through his hair as we walk, "it just looked like you had a slight limp?"

"So you're saying I'm limp now?" I raise my voice slightly, pretending to be annoyed with him.

"No, shit..." he's starting to redden and it's all I can do not to laugh at him, "not at all Beth."

I can see him inwardly cursing himself the poor bugger.

"It's just..." he gently touches my elbow, "you nearly fell over after I lifted you up before and it wasn't that high and you wobbled a bit like you were drunk..."

"So what I'm hearing is that I'm slow, limp and a drunk?" I say deadpanned and if poor Harry's eyes could pop out of their sockets any further they'd be on the ground.

"What?  Jesus, no...Beth..." he splutters.

"Why don't you just call me a fucking Gumby?" I say.

He stops walking and looks absolutely mortified.

I can't hold it in any longer and I start laughing uncontrollably until I'm wiping away tears.

"Oh Harry," I sigh as I wipe my eyes, "you're very observant aren't you?  People don't usually notice unless they know."

He blushes and looks down at his feet.

"Maybe I observe you too much," he chuckles as he looks back up at me before his eyes narrow as he regards me.

"So there is something?" he says and I nod, "yet you thought you'd have a bit of fun at my expense?"

"Poor Harry," I pout as I reach up and poke his cheek.

"So why?" he asks, looking down at me.

"Long story short, I pinched a nerve in my back," I reply, "happened just after Chloe was born."

"That was years ago, is it still not better?" he asks.

"It will never be better," I tell him, "I had three months of physiotherapy to learn to walk properly again.  I had no strength in my left leg, I walked with a really bad limp, hunched forward almost like I had a stick shoved up my arse."

"Beth!" he says horrified.

"Oh Harry if I can laugh about it so can you!" I scoff.

"So why the slight limp still," he asks, "and the wobbling?"

"The outer side of my left leg is numb, always will be.  It just doesn't have its full strength so it will always be a fraction slow now," I explain.

"Shit Beth, that's..." he starts but I cut him off.

"Harry," I say firmly, "a person in a wheelchair would perhaps be quite happy with a numb leg if it meant they could walk again don't you think?" I ask.

"I suppose you're right," he says.

"Course I am," I smile and he returns it.

"It's' just another thing to learn about you I guess," he says.

"Yes, cause I'm a wondrous thing to discover," I say, a touch of sarcasm in my voice.

"Yes you are," Harry says in all seriousness, "I really want to hold your hand right now," he suddenly says.

"Right..." I trail off, not quite sure what he's getting at.

"I just...I'm not quite ready to drag you into my other world yet," he says, "I mean, I want you to be ready," he tries to explain, "I'm not very good at this...I know what people can be like and I don't want them to do it to you and push you away."

Yes, I'm well aware of what his fans can be like.

But it's not like I'm going to marry Harry and have his baby or anything like that.

"Harry," I put my hand on his arm so I have his attention, "you do what you feel is right okay?  But remember I'm not some young girl who's going to cry because someone decides to comment on how big her arse is."

"But your arse isn't big," Harry replies and I laugh.

"But I'm not a size zero model either Harry, let's be honest," he nods reluctantly at me, like he knows I'm right but he doesn't want to agree with me, "thank you for trying to protect me," I smile, "look, I'm happy to go with what you think is best okay?"

"Okay," he quickly looks around before he pinches my bottom, "I still don't think your arse is big," he smirks, "your tits on the other hand..."

He jumps out of reach and laughs as I reach out to smack him on the arm.

"So how did you come to end up here in Holmes Chapel anyway?" Harry asks as we continue to walk.

"Well, you live here," I keep looking straight ahead, a faint smirk on my face.

"You're yanking my chain again aren't you?" he says after a moment.

"Yep," I smile, "well, I always wanted to come to London, but it was just one of those things that I kind of knew would never happen...wishful thinking on my part."

"Why wouldn't you come here?" Harry asks.

"Heath would never travel overseas so it was always just a dream," I sigh wistfully.

"And then he passed..." Harry let his sentence trail off.

"Yeah, well after he died and it was coming up to Christmas, I thought I'd do something I'd always wanted to do, well a couple of things actually," I explain.

Harry doesn't say anything; he simply waits patiently for me to continue.

"I wanted to travel over here, have a white Christmas and take the kids away for a while," I say.

"And they were happy to?" he asks.

"Most definitely," I reply, "I started researching where we might stay for a few weeks, even months, in London and honestly, even though I have the money, I wanted to put it to better use, rather than just where we were staying."

Harry nods in agreement as we continue walking.

"Anyway, I was talking to a colleague at work who happened to mention he had a friend who owned a B&B that was kind of near London but that they might rent out accommodation long term if he put in a good word for me."

"Bridge Farm?" Harry confirms.

"Yep," I reply, "and Mrs. Watkins has been so gracious about it, considering I'm a stranger from halfway around the world," I pause, "I just can't imagine someone as lovely as her having such a knob head for a son though."

Harry rolls his eyes and scoffs.

"Do you think she knows he's a dickhead?" I ask.

"Who knows?" Harry says, "she probably wouldn't think any less of him being her son and all."

"The struggles of being a parent...what to do when your kid is a dick," I muse.

"Enough about that cockhead," Harry says, "so your work colleague helped you to secure your stay at Bridge Farm?"

I nod in agreement.

"So what do you actually do?" he asks.

I realise we really haven't had a proper getting to know each other talk but then not a lot about this chance encounter has been normal to some degree.

"I work in research," I reply, "for the university I graduated from."

"Wow," Harry says, looking down at me, "I had no idea.  So you have a degree?  In what?"

"Early childhood teaching," I reply, "it's an honours degree which is how I was offered the position.  I really enjoy it but I think I'd really like to get into lecturing when I go home."

"Oh," Harry says and he suddenly seems to go a little bit quiet.

I'm not sure why but I don't want to ask just yet, I want to enjoy the day together.

"So what about you?" I say to him.

"Me?" he asks.

"Yes, what do you do for a living Harry?" I say with a blank look.

"Not much really," he says, "I sing a little bit with three other mates."

"Oh that's cute," I smile, "did you ever release any songs?"

"A couple...they did okay," he shrugs his shoulders.

"Well as long as you keep trying I'm sure you'll make it big one day," I tell him, "so how long have you been doing this for?" I ask.

"About five years," he replies.

"Wow, five years is long time," I say with amazement, "you should maybe think about taking a little break."

Harry starts to laugh and our conversation is stopped when a group of four young girls come up to Harry.

They're giggling and holding onto each other for dear life nervously as Harry obliges each of them with a hug and a picture together with him.

One of the young girls comes over to me, a shy smile on her face.

"Are you friends with Harry?" she asks.

An image of a naked Harry instantly flashes through my mind.

"You could say that, yes," I reply, "he's a very sweet person."

"Wow, I can't believe you know him!" she gushes.

Shit I hope she doesn't pass out.

"Would you like me to take a photo of all of you with Harry?" I offer, trying to distract her from the rapid breathing she's starting to do.

"Oh would you?" she asks, her hands clasp together as she jumps up and down.

I walk over with her and she hands me her phone before she goes over and ushers her friends in for the group photo.

"I'll take a few just to be sure," I say and when I'm done, I hand her phone back to her.

"Thank you so much," she says breathlessly.

"You're most welcome," I smile at the young girl and begin to slowly walk down the path, leaving Harry to say goodbye to them.

"That was very nice of you,' Harry says to me, moments later as he catches up.

"Not at all," I reply, "those girls met their crush you know."

I watch as Harry blushes and I can't help but reach up and poke his dimple.

"Lay off the dimple Gumby," he growls.

"Really?" I say in disbelief.

"Yep," he smirks, "Gumby is pretty flexible though right?" he asks me.

"He's made out of clay so I guess so," I reply.

"So does that mean you're flexible in the bedroom then?" he smirks.

"Clay only works well in your hands if you keep it wet enough," I smirk back.

Harry shakes his head and chuckles.

"I forget who I'm talking to sometimes," he says.

"And don't you forget it Pokey," I reply.

"Pokey?" he looks confused.

"Gumby had a horse called Pokey, so I'm assuming you're my Pokey?" I start to laugh causing Harry to glare at me.

"You don't want to be my Pokey?" I ask, smirking.

"Do I get to poke you?" he asks.

"Possibly," I reply, realising how this conversation took such a turn.

"Then I'm your Pokey," he says as he wraps his arms around me from behind and plants a couple of kisses on my neck before letting go.

I notice the kids suddenly take off running and it catches my attention so I walk a little faster to see where they're going to.

I feel Harry wrap his hand around my wrist to slow me down.

"There's a playground around there, that's where they'll be going to," he says before he lets go.

"Oh, okay," I relax a little.

Sure enough, we round the small cluster of trees to see a large playground and the kids already on it.

There's plenty of benches nearby and we take a seat on one which allows me to see the kids at all times.

We aren't sitting close together, but Harry's hand sits next to mine, his pinkie curled over mine and it makes me smile.

"So do you like it here so far?" Harry asks, "I mean the farm, Holmes Chapel?"

"To be honest, the farm is just like home," I reply, "we live on a farm Harry so it hasn't been a massive change."

"You live on a farm?" he repeats.

"Yeah, does that surprise you?" I ask.

"Kind of," he says, "I just didn't expect that."

"Well, Heath wanted it, he always wanted to run livestock," I explain, "and he was one of those people who grew up in the country, lived and breathed it and would never leave it.  I just adapted."

"That's a bit unfair though," Harry says.

"Yeah, but if you love someone enough you have to learn to compromise," I reply.

"It's a pretty big compromise though," he counters.

"Love does that to you though," I remind him, "and even if I wanted to leave the farm now and live in the city, I can't take the kids away from all they know.  I don't even think they'd cope living in the city anyway."

I sigh and look down at my boots.

"So for now, it's the farm life for us until we think it no longer works for us," I say.

"Would you miss it though?" Harry asks.

"To be honest, I don't know," I reply, "I mean, yes I love where we live, but at the end of the day, I just want to be where makes the kids happiest, and at the moment, I think it's where we are."

We sit in a comfortable silence as we watch the kids play, occasionally talking to other kids as they try out the different pieces of equipment.

"Do you think you'll ever get married again?" Harry breaks the silence.

It's a question I've asked myself numerous times.

"Honestly, probably not," I admit, "I mean, who would want to take on a 41-year-old with three kids that aren't their own?  Not many I would imagine..." I try not to sound too bitter about it.

I think I'm entitled to feel a little angry about being left alone, I just try not to dwell on it too much.

I need to be positive for the kids.

Harry doesn't say anything and that's okay.

I mean, what can you say?

I feel Harry's finger uncurl from mine and his hand grasps mine in his as we sit together and in that moment I feel very fortunate for having met such a wonderful soul.