Chapter Twenty-Five
Brann
T he streetlights glowed orange as Brann and Harrison arrived outside Kristalee’s house in Kirk Lane, a quirky little street that ran along behind the village church and the manse. The houses looked cute, if a little higgledy-piggledy, but they were all small inside and always needed work done on something, from the roofs to the locks.
Brann spotted several windows already sporting Christmas trees and flashing lights. They hadn’t quite reached December yet, but Kirk Lane had a very festive feeling, like something out of a storybook.
This was the half-time changeover. Harrison was spending the weekend with his mum and Caitlin was coming back with Brann. The days of pre-arranged visits and sharing weekends were all but done. To be fair, they’d handled that bit well compared to some couples, who were constantly fighting about access rights or quibbling over drop-off times. Brann had heard it so often on jobs, bitter couples fighting over twenty minutes here and there. He and Kristalee had rarely argued about stuff like that. Once they’d stopped having to pretend to love each other, they got on well. Now Harrison and Caitlin spent their time wherever they wanted. Harrison and his girlfriend were moving into a flat after Christmas and Caitlin didn’t seem to mind whose house she was at.
Harrison marched straight into the house and Brann followed. ‘Hey,’ he said, more to announce his arrival than anything else. If one of his kids wasn’t with him, he wouldn’t have walked in without knocking.
The faint aroma of cooking lingered in the tiny hallway, and Kristalee poked her head out the kitchen door.
‘Oh, hi. How’s it going?’
‘Ok, thanks.’
‘Caitlin’s at Aria’s, but she’s on her way back.’
Brann thrust his hands into his pockets. Caitlin could walk around later herself. His house wasn’t that far from here, but he didn’t like the idea of her walking about on her own in the dark. He heard her scoff even inside his head, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t help it.
‘I’ll wait,’ he said.
‘You want a cuppa?’ Kristalee said.
‘Yeah, please. If that’s ok.’
‘Sure. Come through.’
He followed Kristalee into the cramped kitchen at the back of the house.
‘Have you been working today?’ he asked.
‘Yeah, just got back not long ago. The shop was quiet today. What about you? Are you still at Glenvorneth?’
‘Yup.’
Kristalee poured the water from the kettle into a mug with a tea bag draped over the edge, stirred it, and handed it to Brann.
She busied herself making another one, then sighed, her heavily pencilled eyes fixed on the mug between her hands. ‘I think I might have put my foot in it.’
Brann’s brows furrowed. ‘What do you mean?’
Kristalee met his gaze. ‘I talked to Ophelia Chattan-Blythe. She was in the shop today.’
Brann shifted in his seat. ‘Um… Right. What did you talk about?’
Kristalee pulled a side pout with her burgundy lips. ‘I mentioned the bullying.’
‘Seriously?’
‘Yeah. Sorry. I just want to get to the bottom of it. Caitlin really misses the club.’
‘What did she say?’
‘Who? Caitlin?’
‘Ophelia.’ Even saying the name made him too hot.
‘Nothing much. Just said she’d see if she could find anything out.’
‘She never mentioned it to me.’ But then why would she?
‘I asked her not to. I knew you wouldn’t want me to say to anyone.’
‘Well, I doubt she’ll be able to do anything much about it.’
‘She seems a nice woman. Talks posh, but she’s ok. Is she horrible to work for?’
Harrison came in and went straight to the fridge. ‘Are you talking about “the heiress”?’ he asked.
‘Is that what she calls herself?’ Kristalee raised an eyebrow.
‘That’s what she is,’ Brann said. ‘Though I don’t think she refers to herself as that.’
‘Ooh, very fancy.’ Kristalee smiled.
‘That’s definitely what Dad thinks.’
‘Harrison,’ Brann warned. ‘Don’t let’s go there.’
The main door clicked open and shut and Caitlin called, ‘Hello!’ before joining them. Brann put down his mug. This was the moment to make a very sharp getaway.
‘Go where?’ Kristalee said with an obvious smirk, not dropping the subject.
‘Dad fancies her rotten,’ Harrison said.
‘Seriously?’ Kristalee covered her mouth, but it didn’t hide her laugh.
Brann cast Harrison a disgusted look.
‘Oh yeah, totally.’ Harrison winked. ‘It’s been going on for months. And she fancies him too. It’s so frigging obvious.’
‘That’s enough.’ Brann’s eyes landed on Caitlin. Her brow was furrowed, gaze darting between him and Harrison.
‘Who are you talking about?’ she said.
‘Madam Ophelia Chattan-Blythe.’ Harrison adopted a snooty tone.
Caitlin gaped at Brann. ‘Her? You and her?’
‘No, no. Stop.’ Brann put his hands up. ‘He’s just ribbing me. It’s not…’ How could he say not true? Because it was true. He’d fancied Ophelia for months, and she felt the same. They’d shared so much, kissed, had sex, for Christ’s sake. Yet, how could he admit that? Caitlin would be horrified to discover her dad had slept with the sister of her bully. Fuck . He was horrified himself. How could he have let her down like this? Even now, her expression had fallen, and her eyes were full of uncertainty.
‘It’s not what?’ Caitlin said.
‘Not anything to worry about. You know what your brother’s like.’ Brann clapped Harrison on the shoulder. ‘Got an overactive imagination and gossips worse than the girls.’
Harrison smirked. ‘Yep, that’s me. But I’m not wrong.’ He gave Caitlin a little wink. ‘You see if I’m not.’
Kristalee put down her mug. ‘Caitlin, are you ready to go?’
‘I still need to put some stuff in my bag.’ With a brief glance around, she left.
‘Harrison, stop stuffing your face before dinner.’ Kristalee chivvied him out of the kitchen. ‘You’ve always been terrible for that.’ When she returned, she looked at Brann. ‘Is any of that true?’
He gave a little shrug. ‘I can’t help it if she fancies me.’
Kristalee snorted. ‘I wouldn’t have thought you were her type.’
‘Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. It’s not like anything can happen there, is it?’
‘Do you want something to happen?’
‘Are you crazy? And why all the questions?’
‘Who doesn’t love a bit of intrigue?’
‘Let’s close it down for now. I don’t want Caitlin to be upset. The Chattan-Blythes aren’t exactly her favourite people right now, and talking like this won’t make it any better.’
Kristalee nodded, but Brann still read the grin on her face to mean she was suspicious. He couldn’t wait to leave.
Caitlin was quiet in the van on the way home. What to say? It seemed like she was holding back from asking him about what she’d heard in the kitchen because she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the truth. And he sure as hell didn’t want to bring it up. He hated lying, especially to his kids, but how could he face the truth?
Now, if ever, he needed a cool-off period. And he’d get it because he wasn’t going back to Glenvorneth.
‘Listen, about what Harrison said.’ Brann finally got the courage to speak as they got to the front door. ‘Ophelia and I flirted a bit. But we’re not seeing each other or anything like that, and I won’t be working at Glenvorneth for some time… Maybe ever.’
‘Right.’
‘But… Well, there might be a time when I might have a relationship again. Mum might too. I know that won’t be easy for you, but I’m not sure I want to be single forever.’ Though if he couldn’t have Ophelia, he couldn’t imagine himself with anyone else. No one had ever been such a perfect fit.
‘Yeah, I know. It’s just kinda scary. What if it’s someone who doesn’t like me?’
Brann put his arm around her. ‘If it’s someone who doesn’t like my kids, then it won’t be the right person for me. Ok?’
‘Ok, Dad.’
‘You and Harrison will always be my number ones.’ He kissed the top of her head. Hopefully Caitlin would accept that, but it did nothing for his shredded heart.
February
Brann survived three months with nothing but memories of Ophelia and no chance of seeing the woman in person until he got an unexpected call one frosty February morning, when he was working on a new-build office with Harrison and a couple of other guys he’d hired to help out.
‘This is an emergency!’ Barbara said down the phone. She always had a flair for dramatics. But Brann didn’t want to go back to Glenvorneth. He’d gone this long without seeing Ophelia. He couldn’t say without thinking about her because that would have been an out and out lie. Surviving two minutes without some crazy thought about her shoving its way to the forefront was impossible.
‘There’s a leak coming through into one of the bedrooms?’ Brann asked.
‘Yes. And it’s Francesca’s room, so she’s had to move into one of the spare rooms which is very cold and dusty, so you can guess she’s not best pleased.’
Brann didn’t restrain his eye roll. Barbara couldn’t see him. So one of the princesses had to move rooms! Oh dear. Hardly an emergency. If it had been in a house like his where a child’s bedroom was the only bedroom, then fine, but in a house that had several to choose from, did it really matter? Still, Barbara was just the messenger. It wasn’t her fault if she was getting pressure from above and the fact it was her calling him and not Ophelia suggested that Ophelia wasn’t there. Perhaps she was back in Edinburgh.
‘Ok. I’ve got a lot on, and the guys are busy with other jobs, but I’ll come over and have a look.’
He returned to the half-assembled office area and told the guys he was off to check a leaking roof.
‘I need to see if it’s an emergency or not.’ He didn’t say where he was going. How could he stand the expression on Harrison’s face?
Guilty conscience.
Happened every time he even skirted the place in his mind.
Barbara met him at the main door of the house, which cemented the idea that Ophelia must be elsewhere, and that was good.
Wasn’t it?
His gaze roamed over the opulent interior in the main hall, and he caught a glimpse of a fancy seating area through a door before Barbara led him up a wide stairway.
‘There’s a large patch of damp on the ceiling,’ Barbara said. ‘I’m worried, in case it collapses.’
‘Let’s see it.’ Brann stepped into the room and looked up, spying a brownish tide mark immediately. ‘Hmm.’ He rubbed at his cheek. ‘Can I get up above it? Is there an attic?’
‘Yes. I can show you how to get in, but I don’t like going up the ladder.’
‘That’s ok, I can do that bit myself, but I might need a torch. Let me nip back to the van.’ Once he had it, he returned to Barbara, undid the trapdoor with the long hook, and a ladder folded down.
He hoisted himself in and put on the torch, scanning about until he located the source of the problem.
‘I think there are a few loose slates,’ he told Barbara when he came down again. ‘I’ll have to look outside, but it might be too high for me to see.’
‘And can you fix it?’
‘Yeah, but if it’s slates, you’ll need to hire a cherry-picker. This roof is too high for me to go up on a ladder. There’s quite a bit of damage to the woodwork inside. I can do a temporary cover inside and replace the woodwork if you want. And I’ll call up about a cherry-picker, but I can’t guarantee when one will be available. Once all that’s done, I can re-plaster the ceiling, but everything will have to come out of that room. Plastering is messy.’
‘Ah, yes, ok. Let’s do all that. Jacinta was quite insistent she wanted it done. Can you cost that out for me and hopefully you can start straight away?’
‘I’ll try and fit it in, but I’ve got everyone contracted out, so it won’t necessarily be quick.’
‘Well, ok. Just as long as it gets done.’
It threw him out of kilter and added this to his workload. But a job was a job. And he felt a bit sorry for Barbara.
Harrison sniggered when he found out where Brann would be working for the following week, but Brann shut him up by telling him he was coming too. Two of them were needed to work the cherry-picker. Luckily for the Chattan-Blythes, the hire shop had one available. Brann and Harrison worked in the drizzly rain, fixing the loose slates and ensuring everything was watertight.
Brann then had the job of working in the dusty, cobwebby attic, hacking out rotten beams and replacing them.
Every so often, he needed to come down for air; it was cold and fusty up there.
‘A little birdie told me you were here.’
Brann spun around from the bottom of the ladder, coming face to face with Ophelia.
‘I thought you were in Edinburgh.’
‘I’m halving my time between here and the boathouse.’
‘I see.’ He clenched his jaw, trying not to look at her too closely. She messed with his head. Still so beautiful, smelling of a spring garden. She was in those tight trousers and a white top again. Brann flexed his fingers; they itched to reach out and tug her close.
‘Jacinta must have arranged all this.’ She pointed at the ladder. ‘Because she didn’t mention it to me.’
‘Does that mean I won’t get paid again? I should have demanded upfront payment. Here’s me being too trusting for my own good.’
Ophelia pulled a slow shrug and an apologetic face. ‘This is all her doing. And… bollocks.’
Voices were approaching. Brann looked around.
‘I need to get out of here,’ Ophelia said. ‘She’s invited some bore of a man she was at school with to visit. I know she’s trying to get me to marry him, but he’s too old for me and I’m not interested. I told her to stop this.’
‘Go in there.’ Brann opened the door to Francesca’s room. ‘If she tries to get in, I’ll say she can’t, as it’s not safe.’
‘Thanks.’ Ophelia darted in and closed the door.
Jacinta and a handsome man of around her age came strolling along the corridor a second later.
‘We have the builders in.’ Jacinta sailed past Brann as though he was invisible. ‘Ongoing renovations with a house this size. Your room is just along here. I put you close to Ophelia’s old room. Hopefully she’ll use it while you’re here, though you could always join her at the boathouse.’
Jacinta opened a door and showed the man in. Brann wanted to disappear up the ladder out of sight but didn’t want to risk Jacinta making her way into Francesca’s room after he’d said he wouldn’t let her.
She returned a few moments later as Brann was searching around his toolbox.
‘Ophelia hasn’t passed this way, has she?’ Jacinta asked.
‘I don’t think so.’
Jacinta pulled a face. ‘You know, that girl is the bane of my life. From the day I met her father, she’s been beastly to me. I’m only a few years older than her.’
Brann didn’t react. A few? As in twenty plus, surely.
‘She didn’t require a mother figure. We could have been friends, but she sees everything from her point of view and never considers how hard it was for me.’
‘I’m sure it was hard for her too,’ Brann said. ‘It’s never easy for kids when their parents remarry.’ He recalled the look in Caitlin’s eyes when she’d thought he might be seeing someone else. The fear that nothing would ever be the same again. The sadness that someone else might steal her father’s love.
‘She wasn’t that young. And believe me, I tried for a long time, but nothing I did ever made any difference. What was the point? I wasted years of time and energy trying to include her in everything. I was always rebuffed or sniggered at behind my back, so I gave up. She has a selfish, spiteful side.’
‘She’s also hardworking and generous. She paid my wages out of her own pocket when the estate couldn’t.’ He didn’t openly name Jacinta, but the look on her face told him she understood him.
‘No doubt that’s what she told you.’
‘Yes, she did. Because that’s what happened.’
‘She always has a way of putting things that make her sound good and me sound bad. I know we need her to marry well to save this estate, but I really hope it’s to someone who already has their own children. Then she’ll discover how difficult it’s been for me over the years.’
‘I doubt it’s been a picnic for her either.’
‘Hmph,’ Jacinta muttered, stalking away. ‘You don’t know the half of it.’
True, he didn’t. But he also knew Ophelia, and no matter what Jacinta said, he knew she wasn’t as bad as all that. Maybe this time last year he’d have agreed with her, but not now.