Page 36 of Sanctuary at MacLeod's Cove
‘I don’t care if it’s an original Hockney, it’s peeling off the walls.’
Sam felt uncomfortable. Kate looked as if she were trying very hard not to cry. She cleared her throat.
‘I know, Jenny. I… I can’t look at it without thinking of your father. He loved it and refused to have it replaced.’ The awkward silence was broken by Kate jumping up. ‘Sam, now, would you like a piece of cake?’
‘Love one, thanks.’
She smiled and cut a piece. ‘Courtesy of Lucy.’
Jen nudged her plate forward, appreciatively eyeing the cake. ‘Even as a kid, she was always baking.’
‘She’s like my mother. Your Nana Hope was never happier than when she was in the kitchen. Right up to the day she died. She made some biscuits, went for a lie down, and that was it. It was the burning of the biscuits that alerted people. When they found her, they reckoned she’d only been dead a few minutes. What a way to go!’
‘How long ago did she pass?’ asked Sam.
‘Must be over 30 years ago now,’ said Kate.
‘Hm,’ Jen grunted. ‘And Ngaire — she was Nana Hope’s mother, my great-grandmother,’ she said to Sam, ‘died five years ago, right around the time you stopped the work that had been scheduled on the house. Lucy mentioned you had a long list of things to be quoted on, but that never happened.’
There was a silence while Jen and Sam looked at Kate, waiting for an answer, and Kate stared at her coffee, before gulping it down and jumping up.
‘I think I heard Liam.’
Jen stayed silent as she watched her mother walk away and then listened to her climb the stairs and call out a greeting to Liam.
‘I don’t know what’s going on,’ Jen said at last, her frown lowering as she took a thoughtful sip of her coffee.
Sam thought he’d do just about anything to make that frown go away.
‘I guess it’s something to do with the house not belonging to the family.’ He took a bite of the cake.
‘She told you then.’
‘Yep. Quite a surprise, seeing as how your family has lived in it for so many generations.’
‘I know. I think Ngaire was the first McLeod to move here. So, this family trust thing must have been put in place then. But the house had been built by one of her ancestors long before that. It’s always been ours, Sam. And for the life of me, I can’t figure out why it’s not now. But I’m going to get to the bottom of it. I need to.’
Sam’s gaze rested on her for a few moments in silence. ‘Need? Are you going to make it your own personal crusade?’ He tried to make it sound light, but he could see that she wasn’t fooled. She knew he understood.
‘Yes. I think I am. I guess I feel that getting to the bottom of what happened to my Great Grandma Ngaire, will kind of help me get back on track.’ She laughed self-consciously. ‘Sounds daft, doesn’t it?’
‘No. No, it doesn’t at all. Where are you going to start?’
‘Anywhere and everywhere. Solicitors, online searches, clues in the house, whatever we find. We have to make a start. But first, I need to talk it over with Mum. But it’ll be an uphill battle because she hates discussing it.’ She sighed. ‘But on a more practical level, at least she’s changed her mind about doing some maintenance.’
‘I guess you and Liam’s arriving helped make it up for her. She’s probably worried that something might happen, that something might fall on you. Living by herself, she could ignore it. But not any longer.’
‘Yeah, Mum’s been great since we appeared with no warning. But we really need to figure out what on earth is going on with the house. Like who actually owns it and how come they’ve been letting us live rent-free for over seventy years. I mean, how likely is it that the original owner is still alive?’
‘Not very. Maybe the time involved is partly why no one knows who owns the place. Aren’t there any solicitors involved?’
Jen shrugged. ‘I don’t know, but I’m going to have to sit Mum down and have a serious talk to find out exactly what she does know and try to figure out the way forward. She can’t carry on like this. It’s not fair to her. And as we’re staying here, it will be good for all of us to feel secure.’
Sam nodded, but his thoughts lingered on her last words. Lucy was right. Jen was going to stay.
Jen glanced towards the house. ‘In fact, now is as good a time as any.’
He didn’t want a part of any family dispute. He hated confrontation and arguments — always had — and especially hated it between these two women.
