48
LETTIE
Although supper followed by a lovely kiss and a cuddle with Brodie was fun, as soon as she left him and was on her way home again her mind was filled with worries about what she might be able to do to save the farm.
She parked the car and went for a short walk, stopping and sitting down behind one of the dry-stone walls to call her brother.
‘Hey, sis, I gather Mum and Dad told you the latest about the farm.’
‘They have.’
‘It sucks, doesn’t it? What’s happened to Dad recently? It’s like he’s a different person with all this travel stuff and wanting to sell. I just don’t get it.’
Lettie knew it was her mum’s influence when it came to the travelling but she doubted she was as happy as her father appeared at the thought of packing up almost thirty years of stuff from a five-bedroomed farmhouse. ‘Nor do I. I’ve been chatting to Brodie trying to come up with some way of changing their minds.’
She heard him groan. ‘I’ll try to think of something too. I’d loveto help put your mind at rest. I know how hard you’ve been working and as upsetting as this is for me it must be doubly so for you.’
‘Thanks, Zac. I knew you’d understand.’
‘’Course I do, sis.’
She heard her father’s voice in the distance. ‘I’d better go. I’ll keep you updated though if anything changes.’
‘Great. And, Letts?’
‘Yes?’
‘Hang in there. This isn’t a done deal yet. Don’t lose hope.’
Lettie promised she wouldn’t and ended the call. She shivered. It was a cooler evening than she had expected. She pushed her phone into her back pocket and walked slowly back to the farmhouse. It was almost dusk and the warm glow of the kitchen lights made her breath catch in her throat. She had to think of some way to dissuade her dad from making a terrible mistake. But how?
Her father didn’t catch her eye and, happy not to speak to him about everything just yet, she went to stand by her mother who was stirring gravy in a pan on the Aga and lowered her voice. ‘Do you need any help?’
Her mother stopped stirring. ‘No, thank you, but why don’t you go and talk to your father. I know this has upset you and Zac, but it’s not an easy decision for us either, you know. And it’s especially difficult for your father because the farm has been in his family for generations.’
She wondered where he had gone to and found him in the living room trying to find something to watch on the television.
‘Dad.’
‘Yes, love?’
She took a deep breath. ‘I wanted to talk to you about agritourism.’
He settled on a programme and muted the sound beforeaddressing her. ‘I’ve heard of it obviously but why do you think it’s relevant to us here?’
‘I know you and Mum are ready to sell but while you’ve been away I’ve drawn up a plan with ideas to diversify and make more of an income in a way that I would find sustainable and easier to cope with.’
‘You mean you’re wanting to find a way to persuade me that there are other ways to raise money with this farm than selling it?’
Lettie almost held her breath. Her father had always been a private man, keeping his thoughts to himself and rarely feeling the need to explain his motives about anything he did, but she couldn’t tell if he was angry with her for taking it upon herself to do this.
‘Sorry, Dad, I know you don’t usually discuss the workings of the farm with us.’
Her father studied her face for a moment. ‘You’ve been crying?’
She wasn’t sure why he needed to ask such a question. ‘Yes. Why? Did you imagine I wouldn’t be upset?’
He patted the seat next to him. ‘I’m sorry, sweetheart. I can see by your tan that you’ve spent most of your time outside in the fields. It’s a lot for you to have coped with, especially when you had hardly any prior experience.’
