Chapter 30
THE TICKING CLOCK
The crisp evening breeze brushes against my cheeks as I unlatch the newly painted gate leading to The Lake House.
I step onto the now lovingly tended gravel path and the scene before me is straight out of a folk ballad: a beautiful rural lakeside Irish house, standing as proudly as it did decades, even centuries, ago.
Just four weeks ago, this place was ready to be torn down – but look at it now, restored to its full potential.
I can’t believe the transformation that’s taken place in such a short amount of time – it proves that miracles can happen when good people work together. I’ll be sure to pass that on to Lenka.
Almost a month has passed since first arriving in Innisfree.
It feels like only yesterday and a lifetime ago all at once.
The last phase has been reached; I’ve gone to and from Jonathan’s office all week in order to wrap up the paperwork.
All the administrative processes have now kicked into gear.
It’s upped the ante in terms of final clearance and getting things moving with The Lake House.
For the rest of this week, I’m tasked with clearing out the remaining contents and scrubbing away years of dust and grime.
Finn and Liam are always willing to lend a hand, no task too difficult or menial.
They never complain nor whine; in fact they seem happiest when the workload is heaviest, loving to paddleboard in the evening on the lake after a full day’s graft.
As The Lake House nears completion, I’ve grown ever more desperate for answers about my mother’s past over these last few weeks – a woman with a secret so great she spent most of her life hiding it.
Since seeing that photo of Mick and my mum so in love, I know he’s somehow tangled in this mystery; I can feel it in my bones alongside the fact he left her this estate.
Surely that speaks of their enduring bond, especially after so many years apart?
I need to find out before I leave Innisfree, and I believe Moya Collins holds the key to unlocking my mother’s cryptic life.
I haven’t seen her since my first day at the house when James called out to her in the distance and I went to see her in her caravan and she wouldn’t answer the door.
Let alone speak to me. James suggested she could be afraid I was going to evict her.
I realise he might be right – maybe she thinks I’m here to take away her home.
Tears sting my eyes as I remember how it felt to be kicked out, moved on, pushed away – I would never do that to someone else.
I know only too well the fear and uncertainty that comes with losing your home, your sense of security, in an instant.
Somehow, I need to make it clear to her that’s not why I’m here.
She needs to understand there’s nothing for her to fear. So I’m going to try again.
With determination lighting the fire in my soul, I walk through the brisk Irish mist towards Moya’s caravan.
Its weathered exterior carries the burden of a thousand storms, with paint peeling in places like old secrets refusing to stay hidden.
I rap my knuckles on the door, but silence meets my ears.
My second knock yields a louder echo, but still nothing stirs inside.
I stand in the fading light on a patch of grass, the dew beneath my feet creating a damp, cool sensation.
I reach out and place my palm against the slightly damp wood, feeling the faint warmth radiating from within.
My voice cracks as I earnestly plead, ‘Moya, if you can hear me, I understand why you’re scared.
But please know that this land is your home now and for as long as you want it.
James has already agreed to put a clause in the paperwork that ensures it stays that way, even if the estate is sold.
Please let me talk to you before I go back to London. ’
The clock is ticking on my time here. Will she ever let me in?
The stillness of the night is suddenly pierced by an owl’s call from somewhere nearby, its hoot reverberating through the chill air. I wait a moment and then realise that she isn’t going to open up. I start walking back to the house, turning around in the hope that she might change her mind.
As if slowly waking from a long slumber, the curtain near the window twitches, revealing Moya watching me as I walk away.