Page 43 of The Boathouse By the Loch

Chapter 16

Jake was offered a glass of champagne, which he refused.

‘Would you prefer a non-alcoholic beverage?’

No, I would not. I would prefer to be left alone.He smiled tightly at the member of the cabin crew, who was only doing his job, and said, ‘No, thank you,’ not bothering to point out that he’d been offered a drink countless times by several of the flight attendants during the short flight, and had turned down all of them. When were they going to get the message?

Jake knew there were countless other freebies in business class, but the young man thankfully didn’t offer Jake anything else. He would have preferred not to be sitting in one of the most expensive seats on board, but it had been the only way home on this flight. He couldn’t have cared less if he was flying back in the hold. But the fact remained that he had the money to fly business class; more money than he knew what to do with. And he would use every penny to get Natty back.

Jake looked at his watch, feeling relief as the plane descended into London City Airport. The flight had been delayed, adding to his anxiety. It crossed his mind that if he hadn’t got that call from Faye, he’d still be at Lark Lodge. He imagined that David hadarrived back at Lark Lodge after work and was wondering where his drinking buddy was.

He’d been looking forward to finding out if David knew anything about the man who had been found dead off-piste when the snow had thawed. Jake suddenly remembered the photo. He had also been going to show David the photo of the boy called Ralph and ask him if he recognised the child, who’d be the same sort of age as them now. However slight the possibility was that the boy had stayed in the area, and David had known him, it was worth a shot to ask.

Jake frowned when he recalled that he’d searched his wallet, and pockets for the photo. He was sure he had left it back at Gayle’s guest house, but even so he sat forward, checking his coat pocket before getting out his wallet. He disturbed the young woman sitting next to him when he accidentally nudged her. ‘Sorry.’

She briefly looked up from the magazine she was reading and gave him a passing glance.

Jake opened his wallet and still couldn’t find the photo. ‘Damn!’ he said under his breath. He’d definitely left the photo on the bedside table in the attic bedroom. At least nobody would be checking into that room, as Gayle was expecting him back.

Jake slowly closed his wallet. The photo wasn’t important. What was important was finding Natty. The thought of the three of them returning to Lark Lodge, all together for a family holiday – if Faye would agree to come – warmed his heart.

Family holiday? Jake raised his eyebrows at the thought that Faye and Natty weren’t his family. He knew that he wanted them to be.

He looked at his watch, desperate to get off the plane and find Natty.

It had felt like an interminable afternoon once he’d arrived at the airport – and that was before he’d discovered the flight was delayed. At first, he’d been unable to check in and go through security because he had been early, which meant being stuck in limbo, drinking copious amounts of coffee and keeping an eye on his phone for any word from Faye. He somehow resisted the urge to keep calling her. But he knew that as soon as Faye found her daughter, she’d call. That didn’t stop him picking up his phone every few minutes, willing it to ring or beep with a text.

As soon as he could, he checked in, walked through security, and arrived at the departure lounge. It was no ordinary departure lounge; it was for the privileged few who flew first class. Jake didn’t usually do that anymore.

There had been absolutely nothing he could do after that but wait. He’d paced the small, comfortable lounge, getting looks from other passengers, who were probably wishing he’d stop. He was making them uncomfortable.

Jake had sighed and sat down in one of the leather chairs. A waitress had immediately appeared. Jake had waved her away. He didn’t need any more coffee. He was hyper enough as it was. Jake had looked at his knee, which was bobbing up and down in nervous agitation. He’d slapped it, trying to keep still. It was killing him, not being with Faye, not being able to do something.

And then the news that the flight was delayed had come, and had left Jake with a huge dilemma. There was scant information about how long the flight would be delayed, which meant that after all those hours in the airport, he had to decide whether to return to his car and drive all the way back to London.

As the plane finally descended into London, he thanked god he had not decided to abandon his plan to fly back. If he’d driven,he’d still be on the road, with hours to go, and still unable to do a damn thing about finding Natty.

Jake suddenly had an idea. Perhaps there was something he could do as soon as the plane landed and he could switch on his phone. Why hadn’t he thought of it before? Aubrey had been following him around since he’d left the Ross Corporation. At least, that was what he assumed had been going on when he’d discovered Aubrey in his house after his run-in with Marcus.

Jake recalled hearing Aubrey’s voice in his hallway and realising that Aubrey had arrived at his house far too fast for someone who had been called by Marcus to help clear up the mess he’d caused.

Aubrey must have been in the vicinity, in his car, keeping an eye on Jake as he arrived home.

Jake got out his phone in readiness. The plane was now taxiing to a halt on the runway. He thought that if anyone could find Natty, it was Aubrey. Jake affectionately thought of him asthe fixer. No one really knew what his job title was at the Ross Corporation. He just seemed to deal with the difficult jobs – he very occasionally turfed people out of the Ross Corporation’s grace-and-favour apartments in the building owned by the Rosses in the heart of London. Jake had witnessed it himself, just the previous Christmas Eve. An employee had been shown the door, having lost his job. It must be a tough call, Jake knew, having to kick someone out, but somebody had to do it. And that somebody was Aubrey.

He was William’s best friend, his right-hand man. He did the jobs no one else wanted. And that seemed to include following Jake around.

The seatbelt sign switched off and the cabin occupants sprang to life, unbuckling their seatbelts and getting bags down from the luggage compartments. Jake jumped out of his seat, anxious to getoff the plane as soon as possible. He switched on his phone. While he queued in the aisle, he scrolled through his contacts, looking for Aubrey’s phone number. A question sprang to mind. Why would Aubrey have any clue where Natty was? The last thing Jake would have thought of was to ask Aubrey to keep an eye on them. Why would he? They had nothing to do with the company.

But they have everything to do with me, Jake thought.

Aubrey might well have agreed if he’d asked him. He’d always felt that of the three of them – Marcus, Eleanor, and himself – Aubrey had a soft spot for him. That had been borne out when he’d discovered something – Aubrey had been living in the penthouse apartment, the very top floor of the Ross apartment building for employees, and the very apartment that was reserved for William. Access to that top floor apartment was by a different lift, with a keypad. A code was necessary to use that lift. Jake had discovered the code was actually his own birthdate.

Jake brushed thoughts of where Aubrey had been living aside. He stared at his phone. He wished he could go back in time and ask Aubrey to keep an eye on the two people who meant the world to him. He realised belatedly that it wasn’t the job that had got him up in the mornings and had given him a purpose since the accident; although he loved his job, it was Faye and Natty who had given him a purpose and the strength to keep going despite what he’d been through.

Jake didn’t call Aubrey. He’d have no idea where Natty was. But he might want to know where Jake was. Jake did not want to get into that over the phone, or get Aubrey involved in finding Natty. As much as he wanted to make that call, and ask if he could help find her, he thought he’d have to ask Faye’s permission first. Natty was her daughter, not his.

Jake had already learned his lesson from overstepping boundaries; he had not thought there was anything wrong with buying Natty whatever toys she wanted – not until Faye had discovered he was spoiling her rotten. He’d also realised something else. He and Natty, they had a rapport. They were best buddies. And maybe there had been more to Faye being upset about the toys. After all those years as a single parent, despite a relationship here and there, it had always been just her and Natty. She’d never introduced those liaisons to Natty, or brought anyone home. Jake guessed that had been her golden rule until she’d realised too late she’d slipped up; she’d brought into Natty’s life that which she sought never to do – a man Natty had grown very fond of, but a man nonetheless who was not her father and who could walk out of her life at any time.

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