Coffee LOVERS

She had cried bitter after Nick left her and now he was back

- Maria McAvoy,

The Mexican sun beat down T as Alina stood on the wraparound veranda of the shady farmhouse, watching the only road in.

Parrots darted and called between the dense trees. Normally she loved watching their antics, but not today. When the phone rang she dashed into the house to snatch it up... 'Hello?'

'We're about five minutes away,' said Javier, her estate manager and friend.

Thanks, Javi.' She put the Lo att state was phone down. The birds had been temporarily silenced by its ring. Now all she could hear was the slowly spinning ceiling fan and the hammering of her heart. Get a grip, she told herself. Breathe.

The coffee farm had been open to the public for months, but few dared drive the hairpin bends and crumbling roads to reach it. Alina had arranged for a minibus to pick the visitors up in town and drop them off near the base of the mountain, where Javi collected them in the truck for the bumpy final stage.

Thankfully, people seemed to think it was worth it to see a traditional organic coffee farm in action, and their numbers were increasing steadily.

But they'd never had a visitor like this... Why, oh why, hadn't she asked Javi if Nick was on the truck? After all, she might be getting wound up over nothing. But Alina had never talked to Javi about Nick. She couldn't. Not Javi.

The crunch of tyres on gravel announced their arrival. With heart pounding, Alina peeped around the door. Normally she would be out there, greeting her visitors personally. She usually led the bilingual tours, too. But as people began to pile out of the truck, stretching and chattering, her nerve failed her.

'Marcela!' She beckoned urgently to a young woman crossing the yard. 'You take this tour,' she whispered.

Marcela was a language student, on placement from a local college. 'By myself?'

'You'll be fine,' soothed Alina. 'You know the drill. It's easy.'

 'But...' Marcela looked close to panic.