‘It’s Mac, by the way,’ he said.
Evan frowned. ‘What is?’
‘My name. I don’t answer to Ian any longer. I’ve left him behind with everything else.’
Evan nodded. ‘Understood. Well, Mac it is then. Any other problems that I should know about? All the rest of your animal family okay?’
‘I think so. The Fosters at Carr Farm have been brilliant, and I’m pretty sure that if there was anything wrong with any of them, they’d have told me.’
‘I don’t mind taking a look at them if you want to be really sure.’
Mac wasn’t sure how to phrase his response, so he simply shook his head and said it was fine.
‘I wouldn’t charge,’ Evan said quickly, obviously guessing what he’d been thinking. ‘I meant as a favour to your mother really. I promised her, you see. I promised that I’d always keep an eye on things.’
Mac sighed. ‘So, deep down she didn’t really trust me with them?’
Evan frowned. ‘That’s not what I meant at all. Look, I won’t lie to you. Your mother and I had a few long talks about the future: what would happen to the animals when she passed away. She knew Stella wouldn’t keep them. Stella’s got a good heart, but your mother was all too aware the lines your sister’s thoughts would run along, and she couldn’t take the risk. Stella would justify getting rid of the animals to herself. She’d tell herself it was for the best and she might even believe it. Your mother didn’t want that. She wanted them to stay here at Watersmeet. The first place they’d ever had a secure, loving home. No more upheaval for them, that’s what she said, and I agreed.’
‘I get that,’ Mac said heavily. ‘But what do I know about animals? I mean, Highland cattle! Ponies. Ex-battery hens. Bloody ducks, for God’s sake! I’ve enough on just with a cat and a dog.’
‘Be grateful old Ma Larkin’s gone to the great pigsty in the sky,’ Evan said with a chuckle. ‘Now,shewas a handful! She’d have run rings round you.’
Mac grinned. ‘So I heard. Mum used to write to me, telling me all about her.’ His smile faded as he realised he wouldn’t get any more letters from his mother. Even when he’d thought she’d never find him, somehow a letter would wing its way to him sooner or later, having bounced from one address to another. She never gave up. Good old-fashioned letters that had kept him anchored to home, somehow, more than any text or email ever could, all written on thick notepaper with a proper fountain pen.
He’d found the pen in her desk drawer last week. He’d sat and stared at it for ages.
‘Bloody Ma Larkin,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Where did she get these crazy names?’
‘Literature! Your mother loved a good book, didn’t she?’ Evan said, laughing. ‘Every single animal is named after a fictional character. Oh, she was one in a million, your mother, she really was.’
‘I know,’ Mac said quietly. ‘She deserved a better son than me. Stella was so good to her. She’s right to be angry. She should have Watersmeet really.’
‘Like I said, your mother couldn’t trust Stella with the animals. And the last thing she wanted was for her precious land to be sold off as an extension to that bloody caravan park. You know as well as I do that’s what would have happened if she’d left it to Stella. Not because your sister’s greedy or uncaring, but because of Gavin. Your mother said, divorce or no divorce, Stella would do what Gavin wanted, and he needs more land. He’s losing bits of Tide’s Reach to the sea every year. Sooner or later, he’s going to run out of space for his caravans, and this place is as far away from the sea as it’s possible to get in Kelsea Sands.’
He gave a contented sigh. ‘By, you’re a lucky man owning this place. Not the way you came to own it, obviously. That’s a crying shame. But the fact that Watersmeet is yours. This lovely house. The land. The views across the Humber, and the curve of Kels Point straight ahead and beyond it the sea… I’d wake up every morning saying a prayer of thanks if I lived here.’
‘Where doyoulive?’ Mac asked, curious.
‘Millensea,’ Evan explained. ‘Our practice is there so it makes sense. Nice house. Nice town. But very peopley, if you know what I mean. Holidaymakers. Day trippers. Not like here. Here you can hear yourself think.’
‘Maybe we should swap houses,’ Mac said, only half joking. ‘I think it would be good to be in a place where you can’t hear your own thoughts.’
Evan studied him for a moment, as if trying to decide how serious he was. ‘Your mother loved you so much,’ he said at last. ‘She trusted you. She knew you’d do the right thing.’
‘Of course she didn’t trust me! How could she?’ Mac asked brokenly. ‘After everything I did! Everything that happened!’
‘She never blamed you for that.’
‘Well, she’s the only one then,’ Mac said bitterly. ‘Everyone else did, me most of all. I don’t blame our Stella for hating me.’
‘Er, Stella didn’t do too badly out of it,’ Evan reminded him. ‘She may not have got the house, but she got plenty of financial compensation.’ As Mac raised an eyebrow, he nodded. ‘Oh yes, I know. I was a witness to the will. Stella did all right, and it’s not as if she was destitute in the first place, was it? Her divorce settlement was substantial, from what your mother told me. I mean, she’s not a billionaire but she’ll never have to work for a living, will she? Not that it’s any of my business,’ he added hastily, ‘and I certainly wouldn’t be saying any of this to anyone but you, but my point is, you mustn’t feel too guilty about all this. Guilt can lead you on a downward spiral, and that’s the last thing you need.’
‘So you know about my monthly allowance, and the trust, too?’ Mac asked wearily.
Evan nodded and took another sip of his tea. ‘I’m aware that you got the house, but all the money you’ll need to keep it running and to provide for the animals is locked away, with Stella holding the purse strings. She can’t refuse you, though. If you need repairs doing to the house or outbuildings, if you need food for the animals or’ – he nudged Mac with a grin – ‘vet’s bills paying, she’s got to pay it. You needn’t worry about that.’
‘Like I said, Mum knew she couldn’t trust me.’
