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‘Oh, yes!’ Kate clapped her hands. ‘It’s been a rather exciting morning,’ she said. ‘Go wash your hands and sort yourself out, then come upstairs. We’ll be waiting.’
Ron wasn’t sure whether he wanted to. It sounded ominous, despite the gleam in Kate’s eye, but he did as he was told, and dropped his rucksack in the bedroom then went to freshen up.
After splashing water on his face and washing his hands, he gave himself a stern talking to. The eyes peering back at him out of the mirror were surprisingly steady, with no hint of the inner turmoil he was feeling. He’d faced far worse than a bunch of lovely people, who may or may not have decided they’d had enough of him. He’d have a cup of coffee then he’d leave. But this time he’d say a proper goodbye to each and every one of them (although probably not Troy) and then he’d be on his way.
With renewed courage, Ron climbed the stairs to the first floor to find out what fate had in store.
The whole family were there, he saw, as he stepped into the room. Helen was sitting in one of the armchairs, her feet crossed at the ankles. She was wearing her golfing gear, and he wondered if he’d scuppered her plans for this morning. Brett and Kate were in the kitchen sorting out drinks and snacks. Beverley was in one of the other armchairs, Pepe curled up in her lap, sound asleep. Jake, Izzie and Sam were on the sofa, and all three of them looked uncomfortable and decidedly fidgety. Ellis and Portia were sitting at the dining table, mobile phones in their hands, staring at the screens, the remains of their breakfasts in front of them.
‘Coffee?’ Brett asked, holding up a mug.
‘Yes please, I’d love one.’ Ron stood near the island uncertainly, wondering whether he should sit down,
Helen made the decision for him. ‘For goodness sake, will you please sit down? Your hovering is making me nervous.’
Ron went over to the sofa and perched on it, glancing anxiously at the faces around him. The adults were looking at him expectantly, with smiles on their faces – all apart from Helen, who looked as though she’d just sucked on a lemon.
‘Here you go.’ Brett handed him a steaming mug of aromatic coffee and Ron took it gratefully.
‘Thanks,’ he said, sipping at the hot liquid and trying not to moan with delight when it hit his tastebuds, as he glanced around at everyone. There was something wrong with the picture, and it took him a moment to realise what it was. Troy was missing.
Ron craned his neck to look behind to see if the man was hiding in the kitchen, but he definitely wasn’t there, and Ron wondered where he was, but didn’t like to ask.
‘Will you tell him?’ Beverley said to Kate. ‘You were the one who spoke to her.’
Ron frowned; what was going on? Who did Kate speak to?
‘I suppose I better had,’ Kate said, and she looked him straight in the eye. ‘Ron, I don’t know how to tell you this, so I’m just going to come right out and say it. You’ve come into some money.’
Ron blinked, wondering who could possibly have died. Apart from his mother, his relatives were few and far between. And he was pretty sure that none of them would have left him any money. They all had families of their own, who were far more deserving of an inheritance.
Kate continued, ‘Louise has been in touch. She says she owes you half the proceeds from the sale of the house.’
‘What house?’ Ron didn’t have a clue what Kate was talking about.
‘The house you lived in when you two were married. Look, I’ve got her phone number, so it’s probably best if you ring her and she explains everything herself.’
Ron was speechless. Never in his wildest imagination would he have expected those words to come out of Kate’s mouth. ‘I don’t understand.’
Kate pushed her phone into his hands. ‘Just call her, will you?’
Everyone was looking at him; even Helen had a tight smile on her lips, although he did wonder if it was indigestion. He caught Annabelle’s eye and she nodded. She still didn’t look particularly pleased to see him, and he hoped his return wasn’t going to make things difficult between her and Troy.
‘Go on,’ Kate urged. ‘You don’t have to speak to her here, with an audience gawping at you.’ She glared at the sea of faces staring at him. ‘You can go to your room, if you like. Please don’t be too long, though.’
‘Eh?’ Ron was having difficulty thinking. His brain seemed to have signed off for the day.
Kate laughed and rolled her eyes. ‘Go on, shoo!’ She made flapping motions with her hands and Ron got to his feet.
‘Shoo,’ she repeated when he continued to hesitate, and he commanded his wooden legs to start moving as he headed for the stairs.
But when he got to his room, he took a moment to compose himself. Bewildered and confused, his emotions all over the place, Ron took several deep breaths, closed his eyes, then made the call that would change his life.
