Page 45 of One Snowy Day
Alyssa beckoned her into the kitchen and pulled Jeremy Sprite’s letter from the drawer she’d been hiding it in so that Grandad or her mother wouldn’t see it.
‘Can you read this, please? I know you’ve only just started studying law, but I wondered if you’d have any ideas about who I could speak to, or if any of your professors would know about this kind of thing. I don’t really have the funds to get my own lawyer, so I’m just looking for other ways to get help.’
She watched as Kayleigh began to read, her eyes widening with every line until she got to the end and gasped. ‘Shit, Alyssa, this is awful.’
‘I got it this morning.’
‘Oh no, I’m so sorry. Did you try to speak to them? Find out what’s going on?’
‘Yep, but it’s hopeless. The lawyer is impossible to get hold of, but I spoke to the son of the owner who died and asked him to help.’
‘And?’
‘Horrible person. Wouldn’t even consider helping me. Said it’s a done deal and there’s nothing he can do about it.’
‘You should have taken my gran. Jessie would have kicked his arse.’
‘That might be my next plan.’
‘Okay, let me think…’ Kayleigh said, reading the letter again. ‘I don’t know anything about this kind of stuff yet, but there’s a paralegal on my course who is retraining to be a lawyer and she knows everything there is to know. And I’ve got a property law class on a Friday, so I’ll ask my professor if he’ll take a look at this. Can I come by tomorrow and get a copy of this letter and a copy of your lease and I’ll see what I can do? I’m not sure I can help, but I’ll give it a shot.’
For the second time tonight, Alyssa had to blink back tears. Lachlan Morden wouldn’t so much as give her the time of day, yet here was Kayleigh, prepared to do whatever she could to help. ‘Thank you so much. I’d be so grateful.’
The alarm started to go off on the cooker, interrupting them.
‘Do you need a hand in here?’ Kayleigh asked, before joking, ‘I was a much better waitress than Ginny.’
‘That’s not a very high bar of achievement. But no, you go on back out and enjoy your gran’s party. And, Kayleigh, thanks again.’
‘No worries. Still think you should get Jessie to kick his arse.’
‘It might still come to that.’
Only after she’d gone did Alyssa realise that she’d forgotten to ask Kayleigh not to tell anyone about this. As soon as she’d organised the hot food for the buffet, she’d go and find her again and swear her to secrecy. Gossip went round this village like a tornado, and she didn’t want Grandad hearing before she’d told him herself.
As she pulled the mini steak pies out of the oven, and began arranging them on a bamboo serving platter, Alyssa thought about what Kayleigh had said about the strangeness of living an anonymous life, and had the sudden realisation that she’d have that same experience if she went anywhere else. In Weirbridge, she went to the corner shop and knew everyone on the way. If she was in the post office, chances were she’d served up a bowl of soup to the customers in front and behind her in the queue.
Sure, there were downsides too. If she nipped into the doctor’s surgery, there would be ten people in the waiting room asking after her grandad while trying to work out what ailment had brought her there. And, of course, that could start rumours. Twice, she’d heard she might be pregnant, and there was an allegation of a boob job being in the works.
The point was, all of that only happened because she’d lived here all her life. If she went somewhere else, maybe got a job working in the city centre or perhaps down by Loch Lomond, she’d know no one.
The thought of starting her own catering company had crossed her mind when she’d been setting up for the party. She already had the van, so she would just need to find premises to work out of. At face value, that could be an option, but it would require investment in equipment and advertising, and she’d have to work hard to build a customer base that could sustain it. And, at the end of it all, she still wouldn’t have the joy of the toddler groups coming in for their Wednesday afternoon reading sessions, or the enjoyment of chatting to the ladies in the running club who met every Tuesday to discuss their plans to run a marathon in memory of their lovely friend who’d passed from cancer. The whole village had turned out for that lady’s funeral.
Alyssa lifted the tray and made her way out of the kitchen and into the café, still deep in thought.
It wouldn’t suit everyone, but this was the life that Alyssa wanted. Right here. Even if Kayleigh didn’t have a friend who could help, Alyssa couldn’t give up without fighting for this. She would start a petition. Somehow find the money for a good lawyer. Hell, she would picket Jeremy fricking Sprite’s office if that would shame him into listening to her.
Her spirits temporarily bolstered by her resolve, she laid the steak pies down on the buffet table and, with a tug of relief, noticed that her mother wasn’t stalking Moira Chiles after all. Instead, she was over at the bar, chatting to Jessie’s husband, Stan.
Ah well, at least her mum was serving a purpose now. Maybe her mother’s trademark flirty chatter would cheer him up a bit and he’d get into the swing of the party and make this a nightJessie would never forget. Just as that thought went through her mind, she saw that nope, he was still frowning.
Maybe there were some men that were oblivious to Dorinda’s charms after all.
24
LACHLAN
The living room was different from how he remembered it. When Jason lived here alone, it had been a true bachelor pad, with huge, oversized sofas, a glass and granite bar against the far wall and a pool table where a white chaise, with artfully placed cushions, now sat. Even if he didn’t know that Tanya lived here, he’d recognise her in the casually elegant style of the room, the whites and creams of the décor, the frames of her abstract art on the wall where the bar used to live.
