‘When are they ever anything but good? Will you have a cuppa?’
‘Please.’ He put his hand in his pocket and produced a packet of biscuits. ‘I bought you these. Cornish Fairings. A local speciality.’
‘You didn’t need to do that!’ she said, taking them. ‘Let’s go and sit in the sunshine.’
It wasn’t long before the two of them were looking over the fields and hills. ‘I’m going to miss this view,’ Hattie said. ‘So many houses are on the wrong side of the hill and you don’t get the vistas.’
‘How much longer will you be here?’
‘Another three months. I must start looking for somewhere.’
‘Somewhere more permanent? It’s ridiculous, a property hunter without a home of her own.’
‘That’s what my parents always say. And my sister.’
‘I know you struggle with them, but your family are right about this. Moving from house-sitting jobto house-sitting job every few months must be very unsettling.’
Luke was a good friend, and she knew he was talking sense because everyone – including the postman – said the same thing. But it had to be the right home. And although she’d saved as hard as she could, she didn’t have a huge deposit and had recently spent a lot of it on a new car: a tough four-wheel drive that could cope with any road conditions, and if necessary pull a client’s car out of trouble. She’d since regretted not just leasing a car, but she’d been offered such a good deal she hadn’t been able to resist.
‘I quite like the variety. I promise I’ll never live anywhere who won’t let Frank and Fearless come when they need to.’
‘You know it’s not—’
‘I know,’ she interrupted. Luke wasn’t one for chatting and Hattie felt it was a kindness to spare him sometimes.
Luke got up. ‘I’d better be going.’
Frank and Fearless heard the words and were at his side in an instant. Hattie and Luke walked round to the front and, as always, Hattie looked on in admiration as Frank and Fearless leapt into the car the moment it was open, and waited, panting, for their master to join them.
‘They’re so good,’ said Hattie, not for the first time.
‘And they know they’re not allowed on the sofa in my house,’ said Luke.
‘I like having something to cuddle.’
There was a moment’s silence between them before Hattie went back to her doorstep. It was a very full silence, one she didn’t know how to handle.
She decided to ignore it, waved goodbye and went back inside to have supper. Her sister called just as Hattie’s omelette was ready to put on the plate. She tucked her phone under her ear and slid it out of the pan anyway. She didn’t want it to burn.
‘I’ve got something I need to ask you,’ said Leonie.
As her sister never wasted time with pleasantries, Hattie wasn’t offended. Leonie probably wanted to know if Hattie thought the value of her house had gone up since she last asked. But being her elder, she still thought of Hattie as the baby sister, who couldn’t quite be trusted and needed to be guided. It was a role that had been enhanced when Hattie was little, and had failed to realise not everyone saw things that weren’t in the room, and that it was best not to mention it if you did. She soon learnt never to talk about her visions to her family. She didn’t really understand them herself. Her pragmatic relations wouldn’t have a chance. Telling them would just make them worry.
‘Ask away, I’m here.’
‘I might need to come down and ask you.’
‘From London? I’m sure you don’t need to do that!’ Hattie was horrified at the idea. She was tired and had a lot to do; just the thought of a visit from her sister would take what remained of her emotional energy.
‘All right, I’ll just ask you.’ Leonie obviously didn’t want to drive down to see her any more than Hattie wanted to see her. ‘Can you take Xander for a couple of months?’
Hattie put her fork down. ‘What do you mean, take him?’
‘There’s a college near you that’s perfect for him.’ She took a deep breath before she continued; Hattie couldalmost see her reading from a list she’d put together before picking up the phone. ‘He hasn’t been happy at school. This place has a reputation for helping kids recover from difficult phases ahead of big exams. He’s got a place, it’s mid-term, which is not ideal, but he’ll have GCSEs next year so I don’t want to miss the chance to get him in there.’
Hattie’s sister had been a single mother for a long time but she’d never asked Hattie for help before.
When Hattie, dumbfounded, said nothing in reply, Leonie continued. ‘I’ve got to work abroad for a few months – it’s a temporary thing in Switzerland and they’ve made it very clear they’ll find a way to fire me if I don’t go. You know I can’t lose this job, not with Xander to look after.’
