She started sobbing again.
‘It’s all right,’ Bex said softly, sitting back down and gesturing for Fi to do the same. ‘It’s all right. Take your time.’
‘He’s just not good with money,’ Fi continued, her voice trembling. ‘I’ve tried to help, but he won’t let me. He’s embarrassed. I know he is. But I heard how you helped Fergus. It can’t be worse than that, can it?’
Bex exhaled, leaning back slightly. ‘No,’ she said carefully. ‘Probably not.’
Fi offered a watery smile. Apparently the thought that her dad’s business finances weren’t as bad as the old laird’s with a full-on castle, hundreds of properties and hectares of land was a comforting one. ‘I just thought maybe you could have a look at things. See if there’s something you can do to help him?’
Bex felt the weight of the request settle in her chest. Could she take this on? With everything else going on, from an enraged Kieron to the situation with Duncan and the looming family meeting, it was one more thing on an already overloaded plate.
And yet, maybe crunching numbers, the kind of project she loved, was exactly what she needed to focus her mind.
‘All right,’ she said after a pause. ‘Your dad’s garage, it’s nearby?’
‘Yes, just here in the village.’ Fi’s voice was laced with cautious hope. ‘Ten minutes’ walk at most.’
‘And when would be a good time to see him?’
‘Any chance you’re free now?’
Bex gave her a small smile, already suspecting she’d say that.
‘Well, I need to eat my breakfast first. And I’ll have to head up to the room to fetch someone before we go too. So probably half an hour. How does that sound?’
This time Fi’s smile was genuine and the relief that ebbed from her palpable.
‘That sounds perfect.’
8
Bex hadn’t been to the garage herself, though she had passed it dozens of times if not more on the way in and out of the village. Not only that, but she’d once needed their services to pump up a flat tyre. But given that Lorna had deliberately let the air out of said tyre, Bex had insisted that she was the one who stayed with the car and got it sorted. Unsurprisingly, her friend agreed.
That memory felt like a lifetime ago now. It had been during her first visit to Scotland when Bex’d been sent up to sort Fergus’s accounts, and against all her better judgement, she had found herself falling for Duncan. Hard. But when his ex had turned up out of the blue, pregnant and wanting to talk to him, Bex’s emotions had got the better of her. Needing to get away from the situation, she packed up her car with boxes and folders, intending to continue the work on the accounts back in London. And so as part of a ploy to keep her in the village a little longer – in the hope she and Duncan might sort things out – Lorna had let the air out of Bex’s tyres, stopping her from going anywhere. As it happened, it had worked. That extra time was all that was needed for Duncan to get back and explain the situation. The rest, as they say, was history.
When Bex finished her breakfast, she asked Fi to wait outside with the plate of eggs and bacon for Ruby, who gobbled down the food in record pace.
‘Wow. Your dog’s got some appetite,’ Fi commented.
‘She does. It’s good,’ Bex replied. ‘She went off her food not long ago, but she seems to be putting on weight now. Quite a bit of it.’
At least that was one relief. She wasn’t sure how she would have coped with Ruby being sick with everything else she had to deal with. Badly, she suspected.
As soon as Ruby was done, the three of them began the walk to the end of the village, during which Fi told Bex yet more about her father, and how the garage was a family business that he’d inherited from his own dad. Fi also told Bex how her younger sister was training to be a mechanic too and had all these plans for when she took over the place. Assuming their dad hadn’t run it to the ground, that was.
The workshop was big enough to hold four cars, with two hydraulic lifts and several shelves filled with tyres and other tools. The closer they had got to the building, the quieter Fi had become. As they stepped into the workshop, she was almost completely silent.
‘He’ll be in there.’ She pointed to an office door, just off the workspace. ‘But I’m not sure if he’ll be happy about this. Maybe I should have told him.’
Bex drew a long breath in. ‘From what you’ve said, I guess he’ll be even less happy if he loses the business. Don’t worry, I’ve got this.’ She glanced down at Ruby. ‘Is she okay to stay with you?’
Fi nodded. ‘Sure, I’m not going anywhere.’
With a quick squeeze of her shoulder, Bex handed Fi Ruby’s lead before crossing the garage and knocking on the door.
‘Mr Foster?’ she called before opening up the door and stepping inside. Her throat dried as her stomach dropped. In some ways it reminded her of Fergus’s study, when she’d first arrived, with endless paper files, lever-arch folders and a couple of metal filing cabinets. Only this space was a tenth of the size of Fergus’s room, and the paper was floor to ceiling. It was a miracle none of the towers had toppled over, and Bex could only imagine what a fire officer would say if they saw the place.
Still, she could see plenty of flyers and newspapers among the clutter. So hopefully, a fair bit could be binned.
