“I’ll email over copies of everything. Please contact me with any questions,” Henderson prompted, as she guided him back to the reception area.
Jackson called Oliver, his PA, from the car and gave him a rundown of the situation. “Can you use my spare key and grab everything I need to stay in Pine Springs for a bit longer? Pack me some warm clothes—enough for a month—because this house is fucking freezing.” He caught the surprise in Ollie’s inbreath. “I know—it’s not my choice, believe me. The whole thing is out of my hands. Shift my meetings to online and tell me if anyone has a problem with that. I’ll figure something out.”
“Your father won’t like this!” Oliver gave a dark chuckle.
“Well, he’s not the one stuck here, so he doesn’t get to have a say.”
“Yeah, I can’t imagine you’re thrilled. It’s a bit unexpected.”
Jackson scowled at the road. “You have no idea.”
“I’ll get your stuff packed up tonight. What’s the house like?” Ollie asked curiously.
“Could be gorgeous but it isn’t. Everything’s old or broken. There’s hardly any hot water. And I have a tenant from hell who’s living rent-free—I’m just supposed to put up with her.” He could hear the frustration bleeding through his words.
So, it seemed, could Ollie. “You’ll work it out. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do.” There was sympathy in the offer before he hung up, promising to get one of the site guys to deliver everything Jackson needed.
At Amity Court, he set himself up in a small room downstairs, at the opposite end of the corridor to where Leah was working in the study. He closed the door, to add another barrier to the multiple walls between them. Almost immediately, he was forced to open it again as his laptop refused to connect to the Wi-Fi. Less than an hour later, he’d decamped with a string of curses to the dining table in search of a more reliable signal. How the hell was he supposed to work for a month like this?
When Leah passed through, heading for the kitchen, Jackson was standing in the bay window, looking out at the front yard, his cell pressed to his ear. He’d made valuation appointments with three local realtors, trying to ignore the sounds of her moving around quietly in the room next door, enraged by the situation, her presence, herexistence. Only after she’d returned to the study did he turn to find that Leah had slid a fresh cup of coffee and the sugar bowl onto the table behind him. Her charm tactics wouldn’t work on him, he thought, even as his fingers closed around the mug with gratitude.
Having skipped lunch and breakfast, Jackson was ready to chew off his own arm by six o’clock. He whisked up a ham and cheese omelet, and ate it at the breakfast bar in less time than it took to cook. The evening stretched ahead and the temperature inside the house began to plummet. Gathering up his work from the dining table, he headed upstairs, dialing Niamh’s number as he went.
“Hi, babe—we were just talking about you.” Her voice had the backing track of tinkling glasses and hushed conversations.
“We?” he asked.
“Your parents invited my mother and I to join them for dinner. We’re at Gigliano’s.” She named one of his father’s favorite places to eat.
Jackson grunted. There was irony in Niamh having his parents’ approval to this extent. God knew he rarely secured it forhimself. Under immense pressure from both families to hit it off, they’d dated for a while a year ago but agreed there was no spark. However, he found her company undemanding, so they often acted as each other’s plus-one. It was like having a girlfriend without the hassle or time commitment. His parents didn’t try to hide their displeasure at his refusal to fall in line. He could tell they still hoped to wear him down.
“I really can’t chat now. I don’t want to be rude.” Niamh sounded distracted. “When will you be back?”
“That’s what I was calling about. I’m not going to make it to the MCA exhibition next weekend. I have to stay here for now.”
“No problem. I’ll find someone else to go with.” She was unperturbed.
“When I’ve met with some realtors and worked out a plan, I’ll call again.” He asked her to pass on a general greeting to his parents and her mother, and by the time he hung up, his mind was already back on work.
Flicking through his calendar, Jackson slid inexorably into the blackhole of his inbox and another couple of hours went by. When he next looked up, it was completely dark and he was desperate for a drink. Heading downstairs, he rubbed his hands together for warmth.
Fuck, it was cold. No wonder the house smelled so damp and musty. What the hell had it been like over the worst of the winter?
He paused in the doorway to the living room.
Obviously used to the arctic conditions, Leah was watching television from beneath the feathery nest of her comforter on the floral couch. He scowled at the huge fireplace. “Don’t you ever light that?”
Leah pressed pause on the remote. “We’ve run out of logs.”
Not for the first time, Jackson wondered why his grandmother hadn’t asked for help from any of his family. A twinge of guilt curdled in his stomach that they hadn’t been in touch to offer it.
He eyed the grate. “Has it been swept?”
“Esther had it done every year at the end of summer.”
Jackson found himself distracted by the frozen image on the screen. “You’re watchingSharknado?”
Leah pushed herself more upright, a wary lift to her lips. “I’m a sucker for a disaster movie. The cheesier the better.”
