Chapter 11
CALLUM
He couldn’t believe today was the day the family all arrived from their homes in England, Spain and France.
He had already welcomed his mother and Barry and settled them into his cottage and was now on his way to Beauvoir Manor to meet Erin and prepare for the rest of them to arrive.
His car was packed with gifts for his grandfather and the large poster they had of him to display on the stand Erin was taking, together with his bag with enough clothes to last the week everyone would be staying there.
He wished they were all staying for longer but it had been exhausting enough arranging everyone to come for this one week.
They all loved his grandad, Keith, and Callum hated to think how impossible it might have been if his relations hadn’t all wanted so desperately to make this birthday celebration a huge success.
He carried the last of the things into the hallway, deciding to let the others choose which rooms they wanted to sleep in. Whatever it took to keep everyone happy so that his grandfather had the best birthday, that’s what he intended to do.
Hearing a car pull up outside, Callum rushed outside to find his friends Brodie and Joe getting out of Brodie’s ancient Land Rover, and he hurried over to greet them.
‘Don’t look so worried,’ Brodie said, opening the back door of the vehicle. ‘Lettie’s mum, Lindy, has packed home-made cakes and scones, and your sister will be bringing the cake with her.’
He stepped back to let Callum look into the vehicle. ‘It’s packed in there,’ Callum said, delighted to see so many cool boxes and bags of food. ‘I’ll message her too, of course, but please tell Lindy how grateful I am that she’s doing so much of the baking.’
‘We all love Keith,’ Brodie said. ‘And Lindy said she was thrilled to have her offer to help out accepted by your family.’
‘Joe’s a legend in his own lifetime,’ Callum said, thinking of a recent sea rescue Joe had carried out with other firefighters. ‘It’s hot out here so I think we should take all this food into the house as soon as possible. We don’t want it to start spoiling.’
‘Good point.’ Brodie lifted out the first three bags. ‘I don’t want to have to be the one to admit to Lettie and Lindy how we messed up all their hard work with all this baking.’
Callum picked up the two nearest cool bags. ‘Neither do I.’ He followed Brodie into the hallway then led the way through to the vast kitchen.
‘This place is incredible,’ Joe said, giving a whistle of approval. ‘Your grandad will love all this. Will he be staying here tonight with the rest of you?’
Callum left what he was carrying on the kitchen table.
‘No. He’s at home tonight to give us a chance to finalise everything.
He knows we’ve planned something, but he thinks it’s a meal at one of the restaurants in town.
The rest of the family will come here tonight and help me set up the orangery where we’ll be holding the party, and it needs to be ready for when Dad brings him here with Betsy tomorrow evening. ’
‘Does Keith know he’s staying somewhere other than his own place?’ Joe asked.
Callum shook his head. ‘No, but Dad and Betsy will pack up a few things for him and discreetly bring them. Knowing Grandad, he’ll want to be partying until the very end.’
Joe laughed. ‘And knowing Keith, he’ll probably be the last one standing.’
Callum didn’t doubt it. His grandfather might almost be eighty but he had the stamina of someone half his age when it came to socialising.
‘Orangery?’ Brodie laughed. ‘This place is even bigger than I thought.’
‘Is someone going to come and help me carry this lot inside?’ Erin bellowed from somewhere in the hallway.
Callum exchanged amused glances with Joe. ‘I suppose we’d better go and help her.’
It only took a few minutes to unload Erin’s car and another twenty to unpack everything and store it safely away in the fridge and walk-in pantry.
Callum stood admiring the filled room before closing the door. ‘You guys are amazing. Thanks so much for doing all this. I just wouldn’t have had the time to do it by myself.’
‘Or done it as well as we have,’ Erin teased, slapping him on the back of his shoulder. ‘Seriously though, big brother, I think you’ve done well finding this place and arranging all this for Grandad. He’s going to be bowled over.’
‘Can I get you all a drink to say thank you before the others arrive?’ he offered.
‘Not for me,’ Erin said. ‘I’m going to park the car out of the way and bring in my stuff. I want to bags a room before the rest of them descend on us and hang up my dress for tomorrow night.’
Brodie shook his head. ‘I need to get back to Lettie and the baby. I promised to help feed the animals tonight.’
Joe shrugged. ‘And I have to go with him because he brought me here.’
‘I’ll show you both out.’ Callum walked with them to the front door and just as both his friends stepped outside they saw a shiny black car with tinted windows slowly passing the house along the driveway.
Callum watched in silence as it passed, wishing he could see whether Tasha was inside but presumed she must be.
‘Who’s that, do you think?’ Joe asked.
‘That will be Riley Sharp and his assistant Tasha. They’re staying in the cottage down the drive while he’s here filming.’ Both his friends immediately turned to stare at him but before they could speak, Erin shrieked.
The three of them turned to her to see what was wrong. ‘Sorry, I’m just excited to be staying this close to my crush.’
Callum withheld a groan. ‘But he’s here because he wants privacy, so you’re not to venture down there. Understood?’
She gave him an angelic, wide-eyed look. ‘Totally.’
Callum wished he believed her but right now he had to hope his sister behaved herself and was too busy with Grandad’s birthday celebrations to go and bother the annoying actor.
‘However, there is something I’ve just thought of.’
Erin had that self-satisfied look on her face that he knew meant she had come up with an idea she really liked.
Callum sighed. ‘Go on, what is it?’
‘I think it’s all very well us having to keep away from them physically, but our family can get rather overexcited when they’re all together, and not a little noisy.’
‘And you’re worried the noise will carry to Riley’s cottage, I suppose. I’ve been worried about that too.’
‘Exactly.’ He went to respond but Erin raised her hand, holding it in front of his face briefly before lowering it. ‘I do have a solution though.’
‘Which is?’
‘Isn’t it obvious?’
He frowned and gave her question some thought. ‘You think we should invite Riley and Tasha to Grandad’s party, don’t you?’ he asked, dreading her agreeing.
‘It does make good sense,’ Joe said.
‘You see?’ Erin gave Callum a pointed look. ‘I’m not the only one to think this is a good idea. That way if they do come, they’ll not mind the noise because they’ll probably be making some of it.’
‘And if they don’t want to come to the party?’
She shrugged. ‘Then how can they complain about a party they were invited to attend, if it’s their choice not to bother going?’
Callum was pretty sure that Riley would complain if he felt like it whether he had been invited or not but wasn’t in the mood to argue with his sister.
‘Fine, then I might pop down there later and invite the pair of them.’
He saw the mischievous twinkle in his sister’s eyes.
‘What now?’
‘Nothing,’ she said, grinning, clearly amused.
‘What, Erin?’
‘I suspect you were hoping for a reason to go down there all along.’ When he didn’t respond, she added, ‘You know? To visit Tasha?’
‘Erin?’
‘Yes?’
‘Go and find something useful to do and stop bugging me, will you?’
He watched his sister laugh and saunter away, aware that he was only irritated because she had been right. He was only too happy to chat to Tasha again.