As she lay in her bed, her curtains open and room flooded by moonlight, a wave of hopelessness washed over her. Who was she kidding thinking she had the tenacity to run this place? She had only worked for nearly eight weeks here, one month with her father and the rest alone, and it had nearly finished her. She was determined to see things through to the end. There was no way she could ever allow herself to let him or her mother down, but it was going to take more energy than she thought she had to keep going until they returned from their trip.
Lettie’s eyes welled up and she cleared her throat, not wanting to give in to tears. ‘You’ve got this, Lettie,’ she murmured, wondering if hearing her voice saying the words might persuade her brain that it was possible to keep going. He uncle said she could always call on him but already he was checking up on his farm workers and making sure they were harvesting the potatoes properly and getting them to the harbour on time each day. She seemed to be doing so little, yet the physical work that she was carrying out was exhausting. How on earth had her father done this fordecades? She felt a new respect for him and all that he had achieved.
Her eyes began to close and as she drifted off to sleep, her thoughts wandered off to her walk with Brodie and their dogs on the beach the following evening. She closed her eyes and turned on her side. She was going to need as much sleep as possible if she was to have the energy to do anything after finishing her work on the farm.
33
BRODIE
As Brodie drove up to his cottage he saw his sister get out of her car and stand, arms crossed, a large notebook in one hand, her right foot tapping impatiently for him to join her.
‘You took your time,’ she grumbled.
‘Sorry,’ he said curtly.
‘Just unlock the flippin’ door and let’s get inside. It might be warm during the day but I’d forgotten it can get cold at night.’
He noticed she wasn’t wearing a jacket and immediately felt bad for being so ungracious. It wasn’t as if Maddie knew he was still smarting from Joe being the one to go out with Lettie rather than him.
‘Er, Brodie?’
His thoughts disappeared as he heard his sister’s sharp tone. ‘Sorry.’ He pulled his key from his pocket and let her and Derek into the cottage. Switching on the hall light, he followed them through to the living room.
‘Er, since when did you have a dog?’
‘He’s a rescue. I’ve taken him on because the old lady who was looking after him couldn’t cope with him any longer.’
‘I didn’t think there was enough space here for you, let alone any pets.’
‘It’s one dog and yes, there’s enough room for him.’ Deciding to divert her attention away from Derek, Brodie said, ‘Look, you put on the kettle while I light the fire. The room will soon warm up.’ He switched on the table lamps on either side of the sofa and plumped up the cushions, aware that his sister would probably return to their parents and tell their mother if the place was too untidy. Closing the curtains, Brodie surveyed the scene. Passable. He followed her to the kitchen and stood in the doorway. The room was too small to give two of them much room.
‘You’ve had some ideas about this place then?’
She nodded as she took two cups from the cupboard. ‘I have and I think you’ll like them.’
He hoped so. He knew from experience that once Maddie had an idea fixed in her head it was almost impossible to persuade her she might be wrong, or that maybe there was a better alternative. ‘I only want something simple,’ he reminded her. ‘Nothing flowery, or too, um…’
She turned, teaspoon in one hand. ‘Too what?’
‘Well, you know.’
‘How could I know if you haven’t told me?’ The kettle finished boiling and she turned back to carry on making their drinks.
He saw the notepad on the worktop next to her and reached to take it.
‘Leave that right there. I’ll show everything to you when I’m good and ready.’
Brodie groaned. ‘I’m not one of your fancy clients, Maddie,’ he reminded her. ‘All I want is to modernise this place a bit and brighten it up with a lick of paint and a few other bits.’
‘A few other bits,’ she repeated sarcastically adding a little milk to both their drinks and stirring. She turned and handed him oneof the cups of tea and motioned for him to go to the living room before picking up what he now realised was a folder and not a notebook. ‘Go. Sit and listen. I promise you’re going to love what I’ve come up with.’
Brodie did as she instructed. He knew his sister well enough to understand that the sooner he heard what she had to say and hopefully agreed with it the sooner she would bugger off and leave him and Derek in peace. Derek? He looked around and saw the dog snoozing on the worn armchair underneath the window.
His sister must have followed his gaze. ‘You know you shouldn’t let that dog get too comfortable here, Brodie, and it shouldn’t be allowed on the furniture when I can see it has a perfectly suitable bed on the floor.’
Here we go, he thought, swallowing a snappy retort that this was his house and his dog. Then he remembered she wouldn’t know about Derek yet, so he explained exactly what had happened with the older lady.
Instead of his sister criticising his decision to take on the dog, she seemed delighted.
