Still blinking back tears, she crouched down slowly next to the dogs, and she reached out her hand. Ruby stretched her neck forward, giving Bex a long, loving lick across her knuckles.
‘You’re a beautiful mummy,’ Bex whispered, her voice thick with emotion. She looked at the three fox-red puppies nursing at Ruby’s side. ‘You’ve done such a good job, haven’t you? You’re incredible.’
A thought struck, causing her chest to sear with pain.
‘When she came and found me. She was already pregnant.’
‘She is one pretty incredible dog,’ Duncan said softly, crouching beside her.
Bex’s tears spilled freely now. ‘She’s amazing,’ she said.
‘It’s kind of nice having a small litter too,’ Keith commented, standing in the background, watching everything unfurl. ‘They’ll get so much care.’
‘Well, as long as they continue to listen to their parents when they get older,’ Carrie agreed.
The group laughed, but Bex didn’t.
The comment, though clearly meant as a joke, struck something deeper. It wasn’t just about Ruby and her puppies. She thought about her own relationships, how much she relied on her parents, always deferring to them when she needed something. The moment she managed to gather herself, she was going to ring them and get Fi to drop them here, so they could meet the new arrivals too.
Duncan’s relationship with his parents was different. The independence he’d had from such a young age had been fostered by Fergus, possibly because he’d envisioned this day would one day come. Not the day when Duncan’s dog had puppies, but the day he found out he had an entire estate. Still, Duncan adored his father and stepmum, and they loved him back. But not everyone had that. Some relationships between children and their parents were estranged or difficult for reasons beyond anyone’s control. Yet they all helped shape the person you became. The way they had for her and Duncan and Lorna. The way they had with Kieron too.
Fergus had loved his sister, and the way he’d always said it was his father’s traits that Kieron had inherited hadn’t been mentioned as a compliment. But Bex had heard Kieron on the phone with his mother. He had sounded like a petulant child. That had been what she’d first thought, but on reflection maybe it wasn’t that at all. Maybe it had been more a child seeking their parents’ approval. Yes, that was exactly what it sounded like.
A spark of excitement flickered within her.
‘Guys.’ Bex straightened up. There was a quickening in her pulse that felt nothing like a panic attack. ‘I think I have a plan. A plan to get Kieron out of our lives, or at least out of the castle. For good.’
40
There was a definite tension in the air. A nervousness, trepidation. A static buzzing even. Bex paced from one side of the lodge to the other.
‘If this is going to put you under stress, then maybe we should think of a different approach,’ Duncan said, a deep crevice between his brows as he studied her. ‘We can find another way.’
‘I’m going to be fine,’ Bex said, momentarily stopping her pacing before continuing it again. ‘I’m okay, I promise you.’
She knew when she had initially told Duncan her plan that he was only half listening. Instead, he was focused solely on her. On what Carrie had said about the panic attacks. Even when everyone else had agreed, he’d remained silent, saying he needed to speak to Bex alone first. As she should have expected, he’d not even mentioned the will and inheritance.
‘Panic attacks. Because you quit your job?’ he’d said. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘No, that wasn’t why it happened. It’s just been a lot. The stress. The work. The will…’
‘Me?’ he’d questioned. She’d shaken her head and lifted his hand to her cheek.
‘No, not any more.’
It was true. The pictures Kieron had of him no longer mattered. Nothing he had done before, when they were broken up, mattered, because she wasn’t thinking about her past any more. She was thinking about their future, and how much there was to look forward to.
Still, he had been the least keen of the group to agree to this plan of hers, but she’d known he’d come around, eventually. Now though, his only real concern was her. The effect things might have on her.
‘You’re sure we shouldn’t have Gordon with us?’ Duncan questioned for the hundredth time. ‘I feel like he should be here.’
‘This isn’t about legal stuff, Duncan,’ Bex said, pausing mid-step. ‘Legally, you’re the heir. The castle is yours. The estate, the village. It’s all yours. We know that. This is about family, and Kieron needs to understand that.’
Duncan sighed, leaning back. ‘I don’t know. Maybe I should’ve gone to pick them up.’
‘No,’ Bex said firmly. ‘Your dad doing it is the best idea. They’ve got things to discuss.’
‘You’re right.’
