Saving Willowbrook (32 page)

Brett listened to his parents chatting over lunch, not paying much attention to what they were saying till he heard the name ‘Paige'. He was suddenly on the alert.

‘John Paige was telling me Oliver and Rose are going away for a romantic weekend. He thinks they'll be getting married this time round.' Graham looked sourly at his own son. ‘Pity
you
didn't find a nice girl and settle down. It might have been the making of you.'

‘So you've said – about a million times. I do not want to lumber myself with a wife, children and mortgage, thank you very much.'

‘What do you want to do with your life? You know . . . afterwards?' his mother asked cautiously.

Brett tried to think of some soothing reply, but nothing came to him. What did he want? he wondered. Not to work at a damned petrol station. To get away from this dump of a village, maybe. Yes, he wanted that. But what to do with himself in order to achieve that was more than he'd ever been able to figure. He didn't have any particular talents or interests, never had had. What he enjoyed most was hanging out with the lads at the pub, swapping jokes and yarns. The group kept changing, depending on who was getting married or divorced. They all had unskilled jobs. In fact . . . they were all losers like him.

He hated that thought. Anger boiled up inside him. It was all right his father nagging, but the only women Brett could have married were tarts he'd not look twice at if he didn't need sex.

And now, to cap it all, his own father was locking him away, blackmailing him into going.

Well, they'd not find him an easy patient in that place.

He was suddenly unable to stand it for a moment longer. ‘I think I'll go out for a walk.'

‘Where?' his father barked at once.

‘Just – out. Walking. Unless you intend to lock me in my room all weekend?' He saw his mother lay her hand on his father's arm and shake her head. Even these two oldies had one another, he thought, with another surge of bile.

He left the house straight away, not daring to hunt for a coat in case his father changed his mind. It was warm enough, had been quite a good start to May, and if it came on to rain, who cared?

It was while he was standing near the War Memorial on the small mound in the centre of the park that what his father had said suddenly sank in. Oliver Paige was taking Rose away for the weekend.

The flat would be unoccupied.

It was a perfect time to get back at the bitch. See how she liked having her things taken away from her, as his life was about to be taken away from him.

Only he'd have to do it very carefully, wait longer this time and not go out tonight till his parents were both deeply asleep. And he'd have to call in a few favours as well to borrow a car and set up a good alibi. No, he'd not set up an alibi. That'd look suspicious. He'd just say he'd been asleep in his own bed if anyone asked.

He'd visit Willowbrook tonight as well. He smiled. Easy to know what would upset the Turner bitch.

Ella walked slowly down to Cameron's chalet, her stomach churning with apprehension. He was waiting for her outside, his expression solemn. He looked like a polite stranger, not his normal self. She nearly turned and ran back to the house, then stiffened her spine. What? Had she turned into a jelly or something? She had always prided herself on facing up to life and dealing with it.

‘We need to talk.' She was pleased her voice didn't wobble, though she felt very short of air.

He moved forward. ‘We do indeed.'

As he took her hand, she felt sure all the oxygen had been sucked from the room and she couldn't stop her fingers quivering in his. She tried to pull away from him, but he wouldn't let go.

‘Please let me finish what I was trying to tell you last night, Ella. I came to Willowbrook to do a quick check on whether the place was really old, or a fake. That's all. I was asked to come by Ray Deare, CEO of DevRaCom, who had been told it was a nineteenth-century fake. I emailed him that in my opinion parts of the farm were genuinely several centuries old. I then said that as far as I was concerned, that ended our business connection, just as I've ended things with all my old clients over the past few months.'

‘You let me think you were from the bank.'

‘I know. And I apologize for that.' He hesitated and his voice faltered. ‘You see, I'm not used to falling in love, and – well, I fell rather heavily for you, and it happened so quickly it threw me off balance.'

As she waited for him to go on, a tiny seed of hope began to blossom inside her. If he'd spoken glibly, she'd have been far less inclined to believe him, but he kept fumbling for words, gesticulating, running his free right hand through his hair – while all the time he held on tight to her hand.

‘I knew Ray was keen to buy Willowbrook and I didn't want you to think I was supporting him on that. I've made a mess of it, I know, but can't we get past that somehow? I'm not trying to help anyone cheat you out of your family home. I'd never, ever take on an assignment to do that, whether I knew the person or not. Someone else has been feeding him false information.'

He paused, watching her reaction so anxiously she didn't know what to say.

Miles, she thought. It must have been him, not Cameron.

She was as uncertain about what to do next as he'd said he was. Did she dare trust him? Could they move forward?

Then suddenly it came to her that her daughter and her dog had both trusted him instinctively. Porgy went to lean against him and be stroked. Amy chatted away to him, her face alight – and he listened to her, didn't treat her any differently from other children. Surely that meant something?

But there was one other thing to clear up, something else that her untrustworthy ex had told her. ‘What were you doing in London when Miles saw you at DevRaCom a few days ago?'

‘Tying up some loose ends in town, saying a few goodbyes, and answering an urgent message from Ray to go and see him. He helped me a lot when I was starting up, is a friend of my father's, and I owe him, so I went. He didn't believe I really was changing track, you see, wanted me to undertake a rather prestigious project for him in the Middle East. I went to see him face to face because I thought he deserved that much from me. I turned his offer down, though.'

‘Why?'

‘I'm not burnt out, but I will be if I go on as I have been doing. Or else I'll grow insensitive, like others I've seen.' He looked down at their linked hands. ‘I think you and I have both been working far too hard, trying to fit too much into our lives.'

She nodded. That was the simple truth. ‘I didn't have much choice. I was sure determination would carry me through, that I'd manage to save my home. But life doesn't offer many miracles, does it?'

‘I think me coming here, us meeting, is as near a miracle as you can expect. But . . . there's something else I need to tell you.'

She looked at him anxiously.

‘I found out that if Ray gets hold of this place, he intends to make a bigger lake, and that'll mean drowning the house. Which is why he particularly doesn't want it to be heritage listed.'

She stared at him in horror. ‘How did you find that out?'

‘From one of those two men who came to get photos of the place. I'd met Smith before at DevRaCom so he thought I was on their side and talked to me.'

She couldn't move for a moment and when she spoke, her voice came out as little more than a whisper. ‘Would Deare really do that?'

‘If he thought he could get away with it, yes. He uses heritage properties when it suits him, but only when it's good for business to flaunt his restoration work. I'd guess he's overstretched himself lately and needs this project to go ahead for all sorts of reasons, the main one being business confidence. But he's also a very stubborn man, and if he's set his heart on something, he prides himself on getting it. Don't underestimate him. And don't trust him. Your ex is involved in setting up the Willowbrook project, as you know. Parnell will have a big stake in the sale going through, probably a permanent job with DevRaCom. Ray always rewards people who deliver.'

She drew a long, shaky breath. ‘I feel like an ant facing a giant.' Then she gave him a long, slow look, and without any other reason being offered, she knew he'd told her the truth. He wasn't working for her enemy. He did love her . . . and she loved him. ‘I'm sorry I flew off the handle last night.'

‘Your emotions are bound to be up and down. You've been near to a breakdown, Ella, and . . .'

For answer she raised their linked hands to her lips and kissed his fingers. Her voice stronger and more certain, she added, ‘I do believe you and I intend not only to get better but to save my home.'

With a groan of relief he pulled her into his arms and they stood holding one another, smiling slightly, not saying anything at first. Then they moved into an embrace, not rushing, taking their time, enjoying the kiss, the closeness, the sense that something was very right between them.

It was he who pulled back after a while, because this was not the time to make love to her. When that happened, he wanted to be sure there would be no interruptions, and that their surroundings were rather more romantic. ‘If you'll let me, I'll work with you to save Willowbrook.'

‘It's a lot to ask.'

‘You didn't ask. I volunteered.'

Her smile was glorious. ‘I never thought I'd meet someone who could say that. Thank you. I'd be grateful for your help.'

‘And can I move back into the house?'

She smiled again. ‘Don't you like my chalets?'

‘They're very comfortable, you thought of so many details other places leave out, but . . . it didn't feel right leaving the house. I've not only fallen in love with a woman, but with her daughter, her house—' he paused and grinned ‘—and even her dog. I didn't realize I was searching for a home when I decided to change my life, but I was.'

‘It's the most wonderful home anyone could have and I'm happy to share it with you. Now, let's go back now and tell Stephanie and Amy that we've sorted things out between us.'

‘She's a wise woman, Stephanie. She told me to hang in there last night or I might have fled. Strange that she's working against her own son.'

‘You'd have to know Miles to understand, and know his father too. They're very alike. It must be so sad for her to be working against her own child.'

‘She's got you and Amy, though. She's a great grandmother.'

‘Talking of Amy, I told her we'd only been pretending to be in love. She was so upset.'

‘We'd better go back and tell her it was a misunderstanding and that we're never going to quarrel again. She'll understand, I'm sure.'

‘Do you really think we'll never quarrel?'

‘Sadly, no. You're no doormat and I'm used to having my own way. We're bound to disagree sometimes, but let's promise never to let the sun go down on a quarrel.'

‘My parents used to have that rule. It's old-fashioned but—'

‘It's a good one.'

They heard a sound in the barn, so turned towards it. Smiling, they stood in the doorway and watched Amy talking earnestly to someone or something, waving her magic wand, then closing her eyes as if making a wish.

‘She's at a fanciful age,' Ella murmured.

‘She's delightful.'

At the sound of their voices, Amy turned round. She said nothing, but she missed no detail of how they were standing, her eyes going to their enlaced hands then back to their smiling faces.

‘We've made up our quarrel,' Ella said. ‘So we came to tell you first of all.'

‘Does that mean Mr O'Neal is going to be my new daddy?'

Ella gulped. This was diving right into the deep end.

Cameron didn't flinch, just said gravely, ‘I hope so. But these things take time. Your mother and I have to get used to one another, see how we go on living together, see how you like having me around before we can get married.'

‘I already like you being here,' Amy said. ‘And so does the lady. She comes here to see me sometimes. She watched me making a wish today and she smiled, so I knew it'd come true.'

‘What was your wish? Or should I not ask?'

‘It's all right to tell once the wish has come true. I wanted you to live here with me and Mummy . . . and for my old daddy to go away.'

Ella gave his hand a quick squeeze. ‘We'd better go and tell Stephanie now.'

‘I'll come with you.' Amy picked up her teddy and wand, going confidently to take hold of Cameron's other hand.

He looked down and felt a lump in his throat. He knew she wasn't an angel, that she'd be naughty and troublesome at times like all children, but dammit, he liked her and enjoyed her company. Miles was a fool.

As they began walking towards the house, Stephanie came to the door, her face grave, and beckoned to them to hurry. ‘Ray Deare's secretary is on the phone. He wants to speak to you, Ella.'

The rosy glow faded abruptly from the day as she hurried into the house and picked up the phone. ‘Ella Turner here.'

A woman's voice answered, cool and impersonal. ‘One moment, please. Mr Deare is waiting to speak to you.'

‘Hello, Ms Turner. Ray Deare here, CEO of DevRaCom.'

‘I know who you are. What can I do for you?'

‘I wondered if we could meet face to face and discuss your property.'

‘I don't think there's anything to discuss, Mr Deare. Willowbrook is my home and I have no intention whatsoever of selling it, to you or to anyone else.'