Page 34 of Someone For Everyone

‘I’m not as hungry as I thought.’

‘That’s my fault – I shouldn’t have been so nosey.’ She pulled on her cardigan.

‘It’s fine, really. It’s better you know.’

She caught his arm when he went to walk away. ‘I really am sorry, Calvin. Let me know if I can help in any way.’

He forced himself to adopt a neutral expression. ‘You’re already helping. That’s why I hired you. I can’t deal with the estate on my own, and the sooner I get everything resolved, the sooner I can go home to Leeds and rebuild my life.’

‘Right. Understood.’ She let go of his arm. ‘I’ll do everything I can to make that happen.’

‘Thanks.’ Although, right at that moment, heading home no longer felt like the quick fix he’d hoped it would be.

The weight in his stomach seemed to be getting worse, not better.

Chapter Nine

Monday, 6thDecember

Kate stared at the spreadsheet on her laptop, trying to absorb the enormity of the information she’d collated. It was definitely a case of two steps forwards, one step back. On a positive note, she was making good headway in listing the estate’s assets. On the negative side, she’d spent the last three days buried deep in paperwork, which had revealed a number of issues – mainly a significant gap between the care home’s income and the care home’s expenditure.

Still, it wasn’t all bad. She’d heard back from the Land Registry about the leasehold properties in London, and thanks to Alex’s help, she had a better understanding of the care home’s overall finances. Baby steps, and all that.

The library door opened and a flustered-looking Alex appeared. ‘Well, that was fun,’ he said, flopping onto the window seat, his long skinny frame too big for the narrow space.

Kate swivelled the office chair, so she was facing him. ‘It didn’t go well?’

‘It couldn’t have gone worse,’ he said, shuffling into a sitting position. ‘That woman is completely unreasonable. Not to mention illogical. And… really, really annoying.’

‘I take it you’re referring to Hanna, not Natalie?’

‘Natalie was fine. She understood exactly where I was coming from. But Hanna reacted as though I was accusing her of grand larceny. All I said was that if you added up the rent costs for staying in a place like this, including utilities, food and Council Tax, then it came to more than her monthly salary. So eventhough she isn’t getting paid, she is getting a good deal by staying here rent-free.’

‘She didn’t see it that way?’

Alex pointed to his forehead. ‘She threw a bedpan at me.’

Kate flinched.

‘I ducked… but it was a close call. I thought if I explained that she wasn’t being ripped off, she might calm down and see reason. Like Natalie, who totally got it. She said she was grateful Calvin was letting her stay and understood why he couldn’t pay her at the moment. But not Hanna – she accused me of being a money-grabbing accountant, who dresses like a scarecrow and needs a haircut. Rude.’

Kate felt for her cousin. Alex had never been blessed with an abundance of confidence, and she couldn’t imagine that a feisty woman like Hanna laying into him would help.

Alex had dropped out of university after the first year, claiming that accountancy wasn’t for him. His family had a different take on things. They felt his unfocused attitude, regular drug use and heavy drinking were probably bigger factors behind his struggle with his course, rather than a lack of ability to cope with fiscal percentages.

What followed were a tricky few years, when Alex spiralled into depression and addiction, and his parents became more frustrated by his lack of drive and ambition. It didn’t help that his sisters were hugely successful in their careers. In fact, the more successful they became, the more Alex seemed to disappear into his shell… until two years ago, when something happened at Megan’s wedding that seemed to ignite a change.

To this day, no one knew exactly what happened that weekend. Maybe it was watching his mother recover from an acrimonious divorce to become a successful personal trainer. Or perhaps it was watching Megan and Zac tie the knot in search of a ‘happy ever after’. Or maybe Beth was right, and it wassomething do to with her partner, Matt, intervening and giving Alex a good talking-to. Whatever the reason, Alex came off the weed, stopped drinking, joined AA and enrolled in college to finish his accountancy course. And no one had been more shocked or surprised than his family.

Consequently, Alex was a changed man. Well, sort of. Despite being thirty-two, he still looked like a floppy-haired teenager, whose clothes never quite fitted his lithe frame, but at least now he was sober, and making an effort to turn things around. Kate just hoped that dealing with the estate accounts wouldn’t dent his fragile self-esteem.

‘I need some air,’ he said, getting up from the window seat. ‘I’ll walk into the village.’ He grabbed his padded parka from the coat stand. ‘I won’t be long.’

Kate held her breath, praying he wasn’t heading for The Black Horse Inn to drown his sorrows. She couldn’t bear to be the cause of a relapse.

‘I’ll visit the butcher’s while I’m there and see if I can persuade the owner to extend the care home’s credit. He might be more amicable if I ask in person.’

Kate inwardly sighed. ‘Good plan. Hope it works.’

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