Chapter 14
Feeling a bit guilty that she might have pressured Alex to keep Tiny, Hannah decided to show him the apartment in the boathouse to at least see if he continued to agree with her. Ben came along for moral support and seemed pleased with her idea.
She found herself hoping that Alex stayed for the summer as the tentative plan was, at that moment.
It would be lovely to have him around for a while longer.
She had not been surprised when he had insisted on paying rent for the apartment.
Alex was good and true, one of the few men she had met in her life that were.
‘I think this might just be a cracking idea,’ said Ben.
Alex still looked unsure and kept his eyes on the path as he manoeuvred his way along on crutches.
They’d left Tiny fast asleep with the rest of the family keeping an eye on the dog in the kitchen.
Once in the boathouse, Hannah led them up the staircase. Thankfully the stairs were wide and Alex was able to navigate them on his crutches with relative ease.
To her surprise, having not been up there before, it was a very large room, despite being in the eaves. The ceiling pointed up high into the roof, giving the illusion of an airy space and a huge porthole window brought in much-needed light as well as a great view of the lake.
‘All you need is a bed and a few bits of furniture,’ she said, slowly turning around and spotting a door. She opened it up and found a small bathroom with a walk-in shower. ‘This is great. Perfect for you.’
They both looked at Alex, who was nodding thoughtfully. ‘It is,’ he agreed. ‘Are you sure that the family won’t mind me being up here for a while?’
‘Of course not,’ said Ben. ‘We can get some furniture delivered here in a couple of days, I reckon.’
‘I think it’s a lovely idea you staying here.’ Hannah spun around once more. ‘And there’s room for Tiny too.’
‘Well, it seems as if I can’t exactly say no, can I?’ said Alex.
But his eyes were twinkling as he smiled at her.
She grinned back at him. ‘I don’t think you can actually,’ she told him.
‘Agreed,’ said Ben, with a nod. ‘Well, once the furniture is in, you and Tiny can move straight in.’
They went downstairs once more, Alex carefully on his crutches until they were in the large room that would be turned into a café.
Hannah wandered over to open up the large patio doors onto the veranda that ran the length of the boathouse to let in some cooler air.
‘That’s better,’ she said, stifling a yawn. ‘It’s so lovely and warm in here it’s making me feel sleepy.’
‘You’ve got work tonight, haven’t you?’ asked Alex.
Hannah grimaced. She had been dreading telling anyone about her job, particularly Ben, but she found she couldn’t lie to her family. After lying to her family about Sean, she had no more room for any other falsehoods.
‘No,’ she said slowly. ‘There might be a problem with that.’
‘Is it your bolshie boss?’ asked Ben, looking concerned. ‘Is he messing around with your hours again?’
‘We should go down there and have a word with him,’ added Alex, looking stern.
Despite his crutches, the size and width of Alex meant that he would be particularly threatening if he wanted to be.
She wasn’t surprised to find Ben nodding in agreement, always ready to defend his younger sister.
She quickly shook her head. ‘Please don’t,’ Hannah urged them. She hated the thought of a scene. ‘Besides, you don’t need to because the pub shut down. I’m out of a job.’
Ben stared at her and even Alex looked shocked.
‘You are?’ asked Alex.
Hannah nodded. ‘So there’s no need to go down there. Anyway, like everyone kept reminding me many times, it wasn’t a great job.’
It was true, she thought. She was tired of the late hours and the manager who never seemed to appreciate how hard she worked.
There had to be better places to work at in the area, although she still didn’t relish the thought of working each evening.
She’d have to find something that fitted in more with her helping out at the hotel.
Ben was still studying her. ‘When did you intend to tell me?’ he asked.
‘I meant to say something over the past couple of days but it’s been so busy.’ She looked away so that she didn’t make eye contact, despite feeling both Ben and Alex’s eyes boring into the top of her head. Instead, she looked back around the room, enjoying the natural light flooding in.
But she couldn’t put off Ben’s reaction any longer. She stole a glance at her brother but instead of him looking upset and concerned for her, he was breaking into a smile.
She straightened up. ‘Well, I’m glad to see that you’re taking my unemployment so well,’ she told him, feeling a little hurt. ‘Embracing poverty and all that.’
‘I’m all for new starts,’ he replied, still smiling. ‘As the past twelve months has testified. They haven’t done me any harm.’
‘Is that why you’re smiling at my misfortune?’ she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
‘First, I would never enjoy you being upset,’ he told her, his face becoming more serious. ‘And second, I reckon that I have just the thing for all that free time you’ve got on your hands.’
‘You mean helping Mum out for the breakfast rush? Way ahead of you, bro,’ she replied. ‘You know I’m happy to help wherever I can. And with Tiny too,’ she added, with a smile at Alex.
But Ben was shaking his head. ‘I’m talking about this place,’ he said, gesturing at their surroundings. ‘I still can’t find anyone to run the Boathouse Café. Certainly not someone with your spectacular baking skills.’
‘But…’ she immediately began to protest.
‘Listen,’ he said, interrupting her to walk over to stand in front of her.
‘I know you’re worried. I’m worried too but not about your ability to bake.
My worries are about how to keep our home from going under financially.
We need some more income streams and I really think this could be a success.
If we could get some outside customers, as well as the hotel guests to use the café, then it would all help towards keeping a roof over our family’s heads.
Do you really want our grandparents to be homeless at their age? ’
The twinkle in his eye told her that he was joking but still, she knew that things weren’t exactly secure for them all.
She glanced over to Alex. He gave her a sad smile. ‘I think it’s a great idea,’ he told her. ‘And at least you won’t fail as spectacularly as I did,’ he added before glancing down at his foot in its protective boot.
‘I still might,’ she told him.
But as she saw him wince in pain as he continued to stand nearby, she couldn’t stop herself from trying to reassure him.
‘You didn’t fail,’ she told him. ‘You had an accident. Big difference.’
‘So?’ Ben let his question hang in the air.
She glanced once more at Alex, who gave her a reassuring nod. Surely if Alex thought it a good decision then perhaps it might just work out?
She still wasn’t sure about any of the business side of things but felt trapped into a corner. And without a job to call her own, she was all out of excuses.
‘Fine,’ she muttered. ‘I’ll open the café for you.’
‘Excellent!’ said Ben, stepping forward to give her a hug.
But as she moved back, she told her brother, ‘Just don’t blame me when it all goes wrong.’
‘That’s the spirit,’ said Ben, with a grin.