Page 57 of One Snowy Day
‘Because six weeks after my fiancée and I split, he swept in and now they’re married.’
Ginny gasped. ‘No way! Lyss, if you do that to me and Caden I’ll never forgive you.’
Alyssa ignored her and spoke to him. ‘I’m sorry. That’s a shitty thing to go through.’
He shrugged, desperate to get off the subject of his private life. ‘It is what it is. Anyway, I just wanted to give you the bottom line. The building is worth £360K. He reckons he has a buyer who will offer that for it next week and turn it into flats. The only way to avoid this is to buy it before then. It’s the only option.’
‘Unless I won the lottery tonight, I don’t have that kind of money. And I’d only get a mortgage for a fraction of that.’ Alyssa slumped back in her chair. ‘There must be a way to fight this.’
Lachlan felt awful for her, but there was no point fudging the truth. ‘I wish it were different, but if you fight it, the reality is that it’ll cost you money, time and so much stress and you’ll lose anyway, because he has the resources and he’s ruthless. I’m so sorry. I swear if there was anything I could do, I would.’
Silence. More silence. Before either of them could find the words to respond, a woman in a tight red dress came to the doorway.
‘There’s no wine left, and I’m getting ready to riot.’ Even to the untrained eye, the slur and the animated mannerisms would indicate that she’d imbibed a considerable amount of the missing wine.
Alyssa sighed and spoke to him as she stood up. ‘Okay, Mum. Lachlan, give us two minutes. Ginny, you grab the cake, and I’ll get the wine.’
While they were gone, he had a quick glance around and saw how much work and care had gone into this kitchen. It was spotlessly clean, and the yellow walls looked as if they were freshlypainted, while the pale wood floor was either new or just scrupulously maintained. The cupboard style was dated, and the appliances weren’t top of the range, like the kind of high-end brands that he’d installed in Dax Price’s house. Dax hadn’t fried an egg or switched on an oven in his life, yet apparently it was essential that he had a La Cornue range, a snip at just under £10K. However, what this kitchen had was lots of personal touches and it was obvious that the people who worked here took pride in it, which made him feel yet another level of crap over what was happening to them.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time – almost 9.30p.m. He had just over an hour to get to the airport before his gate closed. It was a twenty-minute drive, and the car hire drop off was a two-minute walk from the terminal building, so as long as the snow had been cleared from the roads, he would still make it if he left in the next ten minutes.
He was about to put his phone back in his pocket when he noticed a voice message notification. He clicked on it and saw it was from Dax Price. There was still no sign of Alyssa, so he pressed PLAY.
‘Mate, got your message. Need to postpone the job this week. Looks like the fuckers might be selling me to Milan. Flying there tomorrow morning for talks, back Friday. Will buzz you when I’m sorted and I know the score. Cheers, bro.’
He’d just locked his phone again when Alyssa and Ginny came back in.
‘Sorry about that,’ Alyssa apologised, and he wanted to say that she was the last person that should be saying sorry to him.
‘That’s okay.’ He stood up, ready to get out of there and fairly convinced they’d be happy to see the back of him too. ‘I’m going to go. I’m sorry again about all of this. I wish it wasn’t happening, honestly.’
‘Makes two of us,’ Alyssa replied, but there was no aggression or reprimand in her tone, just sadness.
‘I’ve left my mobile number on the napkin there. If you get a lawyer, and you need any more information, or if there’s anything else I can do, just call me.’
He couldn’t think what help he could give, but it didn’t feel right leaving without offering.
Alyssa somehow managed to be gracious. He wasn’t sure he’d do the same if the roles were reversed. ‘Thank you. I’m sorry I shouted at you earlier. And, you know, about the “piss off” comment. It’s been a long day.’
She looked as exhausted as he felt, and he hated that his family had caused that.
‘I get it. I’d have told me to piss off too.’ He took a step towards the door but was immediately blocked by the arrival of the older man who’d been at the microphone singing ‘Happy Birthday’ earlier.
The gent staggered a little as he crossed to the table, clasped onto the back of one of the chairs, supporting his weight before he dropped down onto the seat. His breathing was laboured and there was no mistaking the sheen of sweat on his face, or the hand that was circling his chest.
Alyssa jumped up, her face a mask of panic. ‘Grandad! Are you okay? You’re sweating! Were you dancing?’
The man managed to shake his head but still struggled to catch his breath.
‘Oh God, Grandad, are you having a heart attack? Are you having chest pains? Ginny, run out to the square and get the defib from the front of the community centre while I call an ambulance.’
‘Alyssa!’
For someone who was having a heart attack, Lachlan decidedthe grandad’s voice was pretty strong. ‘I’m fine, pet. Just give me a minute to get my breath back. I’m not having a heart attack.’ He took a couple of deep breaths before going on. ‘I’ve just been chasing the Nesbit triplets. I spotted them outside at some big Range Rover and the wee buggers have let down the tyres of every car in the street.’
Lachlan took in this information, glanced at his watch and then sat back down.
A minute ago, he’d calculated that he only had an hour to get to the airport.
