Page 35 of Sanctuary at MacLeod's Cove
Kate frowned and looked away.
‘I’m sorry, but you wanted to know.’
She forced a smile, but he could see she was upset. ‘Of course, and thanks for your honesty.’
He scratched his head as he checked out all the work that needed to be done. It was clear that no maintenance had been carried out in years. He couldn’t understand why any of her children hadn’t stepped in to help.
‘I’d have thought Dan would have been on to it.’
‘He wanted to. My son is always nagging me about it. But, to be honest, I haven’t been interested.’
Now he was really confused.
‘I know it’s hard for anyone else to understand,’ she continued. ‘But it’s amazing what one can deny and ignore when one feels angry.’
‘Angry?’ This confused him further. ‘About what?’
She sighed and looked at him with resignation. ’The house. It’s not mine, you see. None of it. And I’d always thought it was.’
‘What?’ How could the MacLeod’s Cottage not belong to Kate MacLeod? It didn’t compute.
‘It doesn’t belong to me. Only the family knows, so I’d prefer if you kept it to yourself.’
Kate turned away from him to inspect an early rose, dipping her head to inhale its scent.
‘Of course, but I don’t understand,’ he said.
‘I’m not surprised. I don’t either.’ She breathed in the flower’s fragrance one more time, as if she needed its reassuring scent to calm her. Then she turned to him again, and her warm smile was back in place. ‘Not all of it, anyway. I only understand the bottom line, so to speak.’
Sam frowned as he tried to make sense of her words. ‘The bottom line?’
‘The bit which tells me’ — she sucked in a hard breath — ’in no uncertain terms, that the house is not mine, has never been mine, nor my mother’s, nor my grandmother’s before her.’
‘So… who does it belong to?’
She shot him a quizzical glance. ‘Now, that Sam, is the million-dollar question.’
‘Mum?’ Jen called, before poking her head out the French doors. ‘Oh, there you are.’ She stepped outside with a tray of coffee and what looked like a professionally decorated cake and set the tray on the verandah table.
‘Thank you, darling,’ said Kate, as she walked up the steps to the verandah.
‘It’s so lovely to have you home again. I don’t think I’ll ever not appreciate it.’
‘You make me feel guilty.’
‘It was hardly your fault.’
Jen looked uncomfortably at Sam, and Kate followed her gaze.
‘Sam has been telling me there’s a lot more work to be done than just the downpipe.’
Jen focused on pouring the coffee. ‘I thought there would be. Both inside and out.’
‘Inside?’ Kate repeated.
‘Mum! You must have noticed the wallpaper! It was ancient when I was growing up.’
‘It’s a William Morris design.’
