Page 101 of The Key to the Last House Before the Sea

‘But she is worth it,’ said Gabriel. ‘She has more integrity than anyone I’ve ever known, and more determination. But I’m not doing this for her, not completely. I’m doing this for me.’

‘Don’t tell me,’ Billy snorted, ‘you’re going to…’ He formed air quotes with his fingers. ‘… “find yourself”.’

‘If you like,’ said Gabriel, surprised by the calm that had crept over him. This was hard but it was the right thing to do. He knew that down to his bones. ‘I’ve never wanted to disappoint you, Dad, but I have and I’ll continue to do so because I’m not cut out for your world. But James is. He’s your successor, not me. Deep down, surely you must know that?’

Billy stared at his son for a moment, then he sat with a whump on the window ledge, all of the fight gone out of him.

‘So you’re leaving. It looks like you’ve won, after all.’

‘It’s not about winning and losing. But if I stay with the family firm, we both lose anyway. I’ll be discontented and you’ll be disappointed. But if I go, I hope I can carve out a happier life for myself doing something that I’m better at and maybe one day you won’t be disappointed in me any longer.’

‘Good grief.’ Billy’s face suddenly crumpled and he wiped a hand across his eyes. ‘Have I been such a terrible father to you?’

‘God, no.’ Gabriel went to his side and awkwardly put his hand on his father’s shoulder. ‘You brought me up after Mum left and gave me the chance of a life like yours – a comfortable and privileged life. But I’m a different person from you and it’s not the kind of life I want.’

‘You were all right before you came to this godforsaken place and met that woman.’

‘No, I wasn’t. I was trying hard to fit in and hating myself for being discontented when I had so much. But being here in this beautiful place and seeing how Nessa lives her life made me realise why I was so unhappy. It made me believe that maybe I can have something different. Be someone different.’ He raked a hand through his hair. ‘Can you understand that? This isn’t about you. This is about me.’

That was the kind of crass thing people said when they broke up, and Gabriel steeled himself for his father’s derision. But Billy merely nodded and sniffed. He pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket and rubbed it across his nose.

‘So you’re going, then,’ he said gruffly. ‘Will you stay in London?’

Gabriel shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. I’ll sell up and move away. I need to make a fresh start.’

‘A fresh start away from your family.’

‘Away from my family business, not away from my family. We can still see each other. If that’s what you’d like.’

‘Will you stay in Heaven’s Cove?’

‘No, I don’t think so. It would be too hard… I mean, with Nessa… She doesn’t care…’ Gabriel stopped speaking and pulled himself together before carrying on. ‘Anyway, I hope you’ll come and see me wherever I end up.’

Billy swung round and looked out of the window, at the piles of stone where people’s homes had once stood, before the sea had ripped away their dreams.

‘She does care,’ he said quietly.

‘What did you say?’ Gabriel stepped closer.

His father turned back to him. ‘I said, that girl does care about you. I might not be in touch with my emotions, or whatever people say these days, but I’ve seen the way she looks at you. There was a time when your mother looked at me like that.’

Gabriel swallowed, his head fizzing with more emotion than he could handle. Could his father be right? His distant, emotionless father – who was showing a side of himself right now that Gabriel had never seen before.

‘Will you build here?’ asked Gabriel, changing the subject because he wasn’t sure what else to say.

Billy shook his head. ‘I doubt it. Your archaeology woman will put a delay on everything, and my heart has rather gone out of the project. I’ll move on and build somewhere else.’

‘I’ve spotted a new site that’s perfect, a few miles along the coast. It’s got views to die for and no sitting tenants to complicate matters,’ said Gabriel, twisting his mouth into a grin.

‘Is that right? Perhaps you should stay and see that project through?’

Gabriel shook his head. ‘No, I don’t think so. But I’ll email you all the particulars so you and James can swoop in and make a killing.’

Billy stared at his feet. ‘Things won’t be the same without you, Gabriel. I’ve only ever wanted the best for you.’

‘I know. But it’ll be better in the long run for both of us, you’ll see.’

He put out his hand for his father to shake. For a fleeting moment, he thought his dad might pull him in for a hug. But some things never changed. Billy curled his fingers around his son’s and shook his hand.

‘Well,’ he said gruffly. ‘You’d better go and see that girl and then tell the lorry drivers to return to base with the diggers. I’ll stay in here for a bit longer.’

Gabriel hesitated. Should he say anything more? But his father had turned his back and was staring out of the window at the flotsam being pushed by grey waves towards the shore.

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