Page 54 of The Boathouse By the Loch

Jake knew Faye didn’t keep alcohol in the house – not even wine vinegar for cooking. It made sense.

‘She got over the addiction, but she never got over her fear that someone would come and take her daughter away.’

Jake stared at Patrick. Was it possible that Faye had got it wrong, and that Yousaf wasn’t trying to take her daughter away from her? Had Patrick had been right all along, and she was just being paranoid? Jake didn’t want to believe him, but everything he’d said so far made sense; although she’d sworn she’d seen two one-way tickets back to Yousaf’s home country – one for him, and one for Natty.

Patrick stopped shuffling cards. He looked up at Jake. ‘Have you ever said something, done something in the heat of the moment that …’ He shook his head. ‘Oh never mind, you’d wouldn’t understand.’

Jake understood perfectly. ‘That you wish you could take back?’

Patrick regarded him thoughtfully. ‘I don’t think Faye will ever forgive me for telling her she was just paranoid, and for taking Yousaf’s side. She’s my daughter. I should have listened.’ He cast the playing cards aside. ‘I miss them like you couldn’t even begin to imagine.’

You wanna bet, Jake felt like saying, but he kept his mouth shut. Instead he walked over to the table and looked the old man in the eye. ‘Can you assure me that you have had no contact with Natty’s father since he left the country?’

Patrick studied the pack of cards in his hands intently.

Jake raised his eyebrows when he realised why Patrick wasn’t responding to his question. ‘You have got to be kidding me! After all you’ve just said …’

Patrick shot him a look. ‘It’s not what you think. He owes Faye money – child support for his first-born.’

‘First-born?’

‘He married. His new family knows nothing about Natasha’s existence, and he wants to keep it that way.’

‘How do you know all this?’ said Jake, surprised by this revelation.

‘I told you – child support. We were coming to an arrangement of sorts; he pays up and …’

‘… and you don’t let his new family into his past,’ Jake concluded. ‘What does Faye think about this arrangement?’

Patrick hesitated. ‘I have the cheques right here.’ He pointedat a kitchen drawer. ‘I’ve left her messages. She won’t take the money, even though I’m sure she could do with it.’ He lowered his head. ‘I think I’ve made things worse between us, if that’s possible.’

‘Because you’ve been in contact with him.’

‘Yes.’

Jake could understand that. ‘How did it come about that you got in contact with him after all these years?’

‘I saw him in London.’

‘He’s here?’ Jake said in alarm.

‘No, he’s not. He was on holiday with his family. I spotted a familiar face at a museum on a Sunday afternoon. Of course I wanted to talk to him, find out why he was back. Was he in London to see my granddaughter? That’s when I found out the truth, and asked him for child support, backdated too, for Natty.’

‘I thought I was doing the right thing. All I want to do is help my daughter out. I’ve seen the cheques. They are very, very generous.’

Jake bet they were. Yousaf was from a wealthy family.

‘After I messaged her about it, she actually phoned me.’

Jake wasn’t surprised.

‘She thinks he is just doing it to make her feel guilty about not letting him see his child. But she didn’t give me a chance to explain the situation. She didn’t question why, after all these years, he’d suddenly offered to pay child support. Unfortunately, it’s not what she thinks.’ His voice faltered.

‘You’re telling me she doesn’t know he married?’

Patrick started to pace. ‘She believed the money was just the start; she was expecting him to walk back into Natasha’s life and demand his parental rights, afraid he might even attempt to take her away. I think that’s why she wouldn’t have me come round withthose cheques, let alone cash them.’

Jake knew why Natty’s father couldn’t send the cheques direct to Faye. She’d moved house and put Natty in a different school.

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