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‘No, I’m saying that because it’s true. Do not listen to Katie. You’re thoughtful, caring, and good-looking, and don’t you forget it. Someday a special girl is going to walk into your life.’
‘But what if that girl is Caitlin?’
After Thea’s disastrous relationships, she really had no business giving her young nephew relationship advice, but she didn’t want Katie to knock his self-image.
‘Katie is going to drama club with her, but I know she’ll never introduce me.’
‘Is that why you don’t want to tell her it was Caitlin you were fighting over?’
Toby nodded.
‘Why don’t you try talking to Caitlin? Tell her how you feel.’
Toby shook his head furiously.
Thea understood; he didn’t want to risk rejection.
Thea had an idea. ‘Perhaps Katie will bring her home for a play date …’ Thea quickly rephrased. ‘I meant, er … well, you know.’ They were too old for play dates. ‘Then you’d have a chance to strike up a conversation with her.’
Toby considered this.
‘In the meantime,’ said Thea, ‘Let’s not get into any more fights, eh? There are better ways to deal with things, like steering clear of her boyfriend.’
‘I don’t think he is her boyfriend, but I get that he’d like to be.’
Thea smiled. ‘Well, there you go. You’ve got a chance, then.’
Toby smiled at his aunt. ‘So, is the plan still on for tomorrow?’
‘Huh?’
‘You know, I get ready for school like normal, and you drop us both at the school gate … I did tell Katie I was only suspended for one day.’
Thea grinned. ‘That was quick thinking.’
‘I know.’
‘Now, if you don’t make it as a writer, you could turn your creative abilities to becoming a master criminal,’ Thea joked. Of all the things he could choose, Toby wanted to be a writer. It was obvious why spending time in the bookshop appealed to him. Thea had once thought that she wanted to be a writer too. Her niece reminded her of her sister, but it was Toby who reminded her of herself at that age.
Her smile faded when something suddenly came to mind; that odd phone call she’d taken, and the huge amount of money that might change hands regarding a book, and how shady it all seemed. Thea still hadn’t located the book. It wasn’t in their house or the garage. Which meant Jenna had left it somewhere else for safekeeping. Thea knew where thatsomewherewas – the bookshop.
She decided that when she arrived at the bookshop the next morning, the first thing she was going to do was hunt for that book. She’d know it when she found it. A book with that price tag was what the industry called ‘a lost book’ – something very precious that hadn’t seen the light of day for years.
Thea thought of the old bookshop that had been closed for decades, and imagined what treasures she might find inside. She wondered what treasures Jenna had found; Thea was convinced that was where she’d discovered the book worth thousands of pounds.
The only thing she didn’t understand was how her sister would know a rare book when she found one. She was no archivist with a knowledge of rare books and artefacts. Thea thought of the person Jenna had met late at night at the bookshop. Who was that? Didtheyknow a rare book when they found one?
‘So, we’re going to the bookshop tomorrow after you drop Katie at school?’ Toby asked, interrupting her thoughts.
Thea looked at her nephew. ‘Oh, yes.’ She couldn’t wait to find out what surprises lay in store, and what discoveries she might happen upon.
Chapter 43
Callum was woken up again by the cat. He rolled out of bed, his back aching from the hard mattress, the same thought running through his head as the previous morning – that his dad must have stayed overnight in hotels on his travels for his book business, not in the campervan.
Or with his other family.
Callum grimaced at the thought of that old wallet and the photo of the two girls inside. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked down at Dickens, who was meowing for his breakfast. ‘Can you have a bit of patience? I’ve just woken up!’
