Chapter 3
Kasia pulled the covers up around her shoulders as Melissa swung the window wide and leaned out to light her cigarette. She was wearing a fleece jacket and nothing else. Kasia idly admired the curve of her exposed ass cheek as she stretched outside. Their mainland meet-ups on a Sunday night could become a regular occurrence now. The hotel rarely had visitors beyond the weekend, and the promise of winter was in the air.
Melissa blew smoke out through her nose and turned back to Kasia. “Have you heard anything yet?”
Kasia hated cigarettes. She didn’t like the way she could taste them on Melissa’s breath or the way her clothes smelled when she’d been out for some “fresh air.” But she appreciated that Melissa made an effort not to smoke inside her house. She shrugged. “I’ve heard nothing. I think they’re avoiding me. I wish I’d never found that damned will.”
She meant it. Although she’d been pleased at the time to be able to ensure Peggy’s last wishes were respected, she could only assume it had worsened the bad feeling between her heirs.
“Why was it not with a lawyer?” Melissa took one last draw and carefully stubbed out the remaining cigarette on a windowsill covered with burn marks. She liked to claim that having half and saving it for later cut down her smoking, but she’d be back at the window in a few minutes for the rest.
“Peggy didn’t trust lawyers. Or banks. Alongside the will, I found a pile of cash in the drawer where she kept the utility bills.”
She waited until the window was shut, then pushed back the blanket, stretched her legs and stood. She’d need to hurry to get the shopping done before the afternoon ferry, but Melissa had given her an unexpected, though very pleasant, start to the morning, so it was worth it.
“I thought they might put it aside for maintenance to the hotel, but it went into an account to be managed by the executors. Whoever they might be.”
“Did you not read it? Not even a peek?” Melissa smirked as she pulled off the jacket and stood naked in front of her.
“No, of course I didn’t. It’s not my place to…” Kasia’s gaze disobeyed her mind and slipped down to enjoy the view, remembering how Melissa’s body had felt under her hands last night, and again just a short while ago.
No… She couldn’t be distracted from getting back to the mountain of work. She took in a sharp breath, grabbed her sweater from the chair beside the bed, and took her time pulling it on. If she couldn’t see Melissa’s hard nipples, she couldn’t be tempted. Melissa gave a resigned laugh as she fussed with her underwear and jeans, her face still half-covered by her sweater. When she turned back, Melissa was mercifully wrapped in a towel.
“I’m jumping in the shower. You sure you won’t join me?”
“As much as I’d love to, I can’t. I need to get the shopping done, and the loose roof tiles won’t fix themselves. Until someone decides they’re in charge, it’s on me to get it done.”
Joey would give her a hard time about taking on maintenance jobs that weren’t in her remit. Then they’d give in and help her get the work done. The hotel was rundown enough without letting things get worse. She couldn’t bear to think what Peggy would make of the neglect.
Melissa covered a fake yawn. “If you’d rather play handywoman than fuck me in the shower, knock yourself out.”
She turned away, but Kasia grasped her shoulder. “I really mean that I’d prefer to stay. You know what you do to me.” Even the touch of Melissa’s warm skin was arousing her once more.
When Melissa leaned in, Kasia stepped back quickly, catching the peck on her cheek instead of getting into another hot kiss. “Thank you for last night.”
Melissa raised her eyebrows, a smirk on her lips.
Kasia grinned. “And for this morning. All of it. Can we do it again soon?”
“You know I’m available whenever you want me. I’m a sucker for blonds with attitude.” Melissa turned to the bathroom. “Let yourself out. And call me next time you’re back on the mainland.”
She pulled the door closed, leaving Kasia with a sense of unease. They’d only gotten together a couple of times, but she could already see Melissa was more eager. Kasia had made it very clear from the beginning that it was sex, nothing more. Pretty great sex, but there wasn’t a lot of emotion there. Except guilt, it turned out. She grabbed the rest of her things and headed out, closing the door quietly behind her.
Kasia pulled her collar up high and her wool hat down low as she stood on the quay, watching the ferry get closer. Visitors’ cars weren’t allowed on the island, so the boat was a small vessel with indoor seating favored by the locals and seats on top where you could get soaked by waves and blown away by the wind. The tourists loved it, and so did Kasia. The rough caress of the elements made her feel wild and free, not sentiments she often felt in her daily life.
As the boat pulled up alongside the quay, Kasia was surprised to see both Aoife and Christy, Peggy’s twin grandchildren who ran the ferry service, in the wheelhouse. Kasia caught the line thrown by a crew member and expertly tied it to the cleat on the dock. As soon as the boat was secure, the gangway dropped and Jacky jumped down onto the quay beside her, grinning. He helped the handful of disembarking passengers down the ramp and turned to her.
“You want a hand with those?” He nodded at the stack of blue crates she’d dropped off before parking the van.
At peak holiday times, she’d have a dozen or more, a whole van full. But she was still grateful to have some help with the four she’d loaded up. “Thanks, Jacky.”
She stepped up the gangway quickly, dropped her bags onto the deck, and turned to take the first one from him. They loaded in a couple of minutes, long before the other passengers ambled along the stone quay to get onboard.
“How are ya, Margaret? Bridie?” He helped the older women up the slope and down the steps onto the boat.
Kasia nodded her greeting as they made their way into the enclosed cabin. She’d definitely opt for the outside seating, or she’d be pulled into every bit of gossip they’d gleaned from their regular Monday morning trip to the mainland.
“Aoife said to go on up and join them in the wheelhouse. She wants to talk to you.” Jacky tipped his head at the other passengers in a way that added “in private” to the end of the sentence.
She squeezed past him and headed toward the steps that led to the wheelhouse. The painted metal of the handrails was slick with salt as she pulled herself up. At the top, Aoife appeared, wearing not quite the welcoming smile Kasia had been hoping for. Her stomach flipped. Did they have bad news about the future of the hotel?
“C’mon up, Kasia. We just wanted a quick chat.”
She grabbed Aoife’s arm and hauled herself into the cabin, suddenly aware of how windy the conditions were when silence descended with the closing of the door. “Is it about the will?”
Christy turned his head of short red curls and then quickly looked ahead again. They were still docked, so she doubted he needed to be quite so vigilant. Both Aoife and Christy were always friendly, but it seemed as though they’d been avoiding her since Peggy’s funeral. She assumed this chat would be about the hotel. Finally, she’d get some answers.
Aoife scuffed the toe of her safety boot on the worn metal floor. She didn’t look up. “Dad and Uncle Desmond have consulted with a solicitor and apparently, there’s no likelihood of them contesting the will successfully. So, it’s official and public; Granny left the hotel to Kevin.”
“Kevin?” Kasia felt the floor move beneath her, but not with the gentle swell of the harbor. This made everything so much more uncertain. “Why would she do that? Kevin’s not been here for years.”
“You tell us. You spent more time with her than any of us these last few years.”
Kasia dropped onto a wooden bench as Christy started to maneuver out of the harbor. This changed everything. She’d been hoping for some stability and commitment to the work that the hotel needed over the winter. The two sons who had close links with the island might have provided that. But Kevin Walsh was unlikely to be the driving force required. Kevin’s daughter, Tierney, had spent her summers there every year when she’d been young. Joey had told her they’d been close friends, and Tierney had continued to be a regular summer visitor to the family cottage until shortly before Kasia arrived. But Kevin was notorious for not showing his face in Inishderry for nearly thirty years.
Kasia played with the zipper on her waterproof. It was awkward talking to Peggy’s family about something so intimate. “She rarely talked about Kevin. Whenever she did, she got sad, and I changed the subject. I think they’d argued. I don’t know what about.”
“Do you think he knew he’d inherit the hotel?” Aoife asked.
“I doubt it. I can’t remember last time he called. It would be for birthdays or at Christmas, nothing more. Peggy would try to call him, but she always got his gatekeeping PA who would promise to pass on a message. They hadn’t talked properly in years.”
“Then what was Granny thinking? If she wanted the hotel to be cared for, why would she leave it to the estranged son who’s made it clear he doesn’t care?”
“To give him a reason to come home?” She was too uncomfortable with the conversation to stick it out any longer, so she stood and walked to the door. “I really don’t know, Aoife. Thank you for sharing the news, but I don’t have any answers for you. I worked for your granny, but she didn’t share every personal thought with me.”
She’d been pestering the twins for news for months, but now that they finally had something to tell her, she felt interrogated. She knew the older Walsh brothers would be behind the inquisition. They were probably incandescent with rage at the thought of their youngest brother inheriting the most high-profile Walsh family asset. She wondered how long they’d been keeping this to themselves, trying to find a loophole while she limped on alone, trying to make the hotel work.
“Kasia, one more thing,” Aoife said.
Hand on the door latch, she turned. How much worse could this get?
“Tierney’s on her way. To check on the Waterside.” Aoife rubbed her hands together. “I’m sorry. I’d have given you more notice if I could.”
“Thank you.” She swung open the door and a blast of cold wind slammed into her. But that did nothing to corral her scattered thoughts. It wasn’t entirely true to say Peggy hadn’t confided in her. The winters were long on the island, and they’d spent endless hours talking about their families. She knew more about the Walshes than they would ever know, and Peggy had understood her better than anyone else in the world, even Joey. The sense of emptiness hit her once more, but she put aside her thoughts as she navigated the slick metal steps, which were even more treacherous now they were out at sea. She should have stayed put in the wheelhouse, but she needed some air.
Did Aoife and Christy and the other grandchildren miss Peggy like she did? Did they feel as though there was a deep hole in their life that nothing could fill? Her heel slipped, and she caught her weight on her arms as she gripped both rails. Focus, you idiot.
Jacky appeared at the bottom step and held out a steadying hand. “That’s a brave descent in a wind when you’re not used to it,” he shouted above the gale. “The conversation must’ve been something.”
His laugh rang out. Jacky was always loud, whether you met him out walking, or in the pub. Even when he thought he was whispering in the back of the church during Mass. A lifetime of fighting to be heard over wind and engine noise had left him permanently turned up to eleven.
“We finished our chat, and you know how I love to be on deck.” She wasn’t sure why she was justifying herself. He really wouldn’t care either way.
“You’d better make the most of sitting up top then. Winter’s on its way.” He rubbed his arms dramatically and cackled.
Winters with Peggy had been something to look forward to: rest and quiet times. Peggy had taught her to knit, and they’d played music together, with Peggy playing the accordion and singing all the old songs she loved, while Kasia accompanied her on the flute, learning the tunes as she went.
She settled on a bench up front with her back to the mainland so she could watch the distinctive shape of Inishderry grow on the horizon. She didn’t know what worried her more. A long, harsh winter alone with her memories, or the news that her services were no longer needed at the hotel now that the long-absent Kevin Walsh was her employer. No other jobs were likely to come up on the island. The Waterside was the only hotel, so she would have no choice but to leave. That would hurt far more than a winter of solitude. As she watched the island grow larger, tears pricked her eyes. She’d need to be strong. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d had to leave somewhere she thought of as home and start again. And maybe it wouldn’t be the last.