Page 2 of Winter at Wishington Bay
I nodded. Gabe had rescued Bryan as a tiny puppy, having found him injured and abandoned, shivering in the pouring rain on a city street. He’d stuffed him in his motorbike jacket, raced to the veterinary practice where Carrie worked and begged them to save him, whatever the cost. Bryan had been lucky to last the night but to look at him now, you’d never have known he’d had such a tough start and he and his burly, six-foot-four guardian angel had been pretty much inseparable ever since. Hopefully Nate was just as crazy about the little dog as the rest of us were.
The doorbell tune echoed round the tiled hallway. I had a key, of course, but it didn’t feel right to just let myself in, especially as I still hadn’t received any sort of reply to the note I’d left. I shifted my weight to the other foot, then rang again. Nothing. Slightly hesitantly, I plugged the key into the lock and turned it. No small rocket of fur and energy came flying at me and there was a stillness to the house.
‘Hello?’ I called out, just in case, my voice echoing a little in the entryway.
Silence.
‘Mr… McKinley?’ Should I call him Nate or Mr McKinley? I hadn’t even thought of that.
Cautiously I moved into the kitchen and called out again but there was no reply. Well, I couldn’t stand there all day. I was there to do a job and if Nate McKinley wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to run into his cleaner, then so be it. That was, of course, his prerogative. I knew from past experience that some people could make a variety of assumptions about others based entirely on their jobs. I was ashamed to say that, at one point, I’d been one of them. But my eyes had now been opened to the world in a myriad of ways and I was proud to say I was no longer like that. If Nate was, then he really was different to his younger brother, and not in a good way.
* * *
‘I assume you must be Sophia?’
‘Holy shit!’ I jumped, stumbling backwards. I steadied myself on the side of the bath as the toilet brush went skittering across the floor and stopped within millimetres of the feet of a tall, broad, very serious-looking man with a quiet but deep Australian voice.
2
The scampering of tiny feet alerted us to incoming company in the shape of a mostly-sausage dog. The love and energy wrapped up in the tiny ball of exuberance that was Bryan, with a Y, completely belied his difficult start in life. While we were all crazy for the little dog and his antics, it was hard to tell whether Nate felt the same. Glancing at his face, it was hard to tell anything much about him at all. His expression was blank and unreadable.
Bryan’s eyes brightened as he got to the doorway and saw the new toy sitting at the feet of his temporary master. His tiny paws moved on the spot, desperately trying to gain traction as his snout pointed forwards and he launched himself towards it. Realising what the dog had in mind, I launched myself in the same direction, determined to grab the brush before Bryan got his jaws clamped round it. However, as I did so, Nate languidly scooped the dog up with one hand, his little paws still running in mid-air and I whisked the brush out of the way with an urgency that now seemed faintly ridiculous. I realised I was also now awkwardly close to Nate McKinley. This definitely hadn’t been the introduction to my client that I’d expected or wanted. Firstly, I’d sworn at him – well, not at him – but sort of at him, and now I was half-kneeling at his feet brandishing a loo brush.
‘Hi!’ I said, desperately trying to act as if this was a perfectly normal introduction. I’d had a lot of practice at acting as though everything in life was just perfect, so at least I was putting some of that experience to good use. I took a step back as I did so, gaining a little more personal space between us, and saw a brief flicker cross his face. Facing him now, I yanked off my rubber glove and held out my hand to shake his. ‘And yes, I’m Sophia. You must be Nate.’
He nodded briefly and shook my hand, even more briefly, as Bryan whined and wriggled under his arm.
‘I expect you’ll want to clean that before I put him down,’ he said, nodding at the floor.
‘Oh… Umm, yes. Of course,’ I said, pulling my glove back on. ‘I’ll get on to that now.’
He nodded again. ‘We’ll get back out of your way.’ And with that he turned and headed off downstairs, taking Bryan with him. I hadn’t even had a chance to say hi properly to my little canine friend. Letting out a tight sigh, I finished scrubbing the toilet with so much vigour, powered by irritation, it was a surprise there weren’t shavings of porcelain flying off. It was hard to believe this man and Gabe were even related. Gabe’s open, friendly manner couldn’t be more different to this man’s guarded, cool one. Not one smile had passed his lips – which was a shame as it looked like it had the potential to be a very attractive mouth. Or maybe that was just as well. Who knew?
It was probably a good thing Nate McKinley was only staying temporarily because, as welcoming as Wishington Bay was, that attitude certainly wouldn’t endear him to the villagers. OK, so it probably wasn’t ideal that I’d flung a used loo brush in his direction, but it was an accident, and it was partly his fault for creeping up on me anyway! And I certainly wasn’t happy about his insinuation that I’d been preparing to leave the floor unmopped after the toilet brush incident either! I might have been new to all this housework stuff but I’d discovered I had rather a talent for it, and even found it quite calming – gorgeous-but-moody Australian men aside. I’d even started an Instagram account to document tips and tricks I employed, along with other little moments of my days. Obviously I didn’t use my real name, and never featured on it at all, but I enjoyed sharing and often picked up quite a few Likes.
I took a couple of deep breaths and calmed a little, having now moved onto the bath, the rhythmic movement of cleaning it helping me relax. I was doing this for Holly and Gabe. That’s what I had to remember. Just because Nate McKinley was the unappreciative type, I wasn’t going to let it spoil my day. I also reminded myself that Nate was going through some marital problems and I knew from experience that that didn’t always make you the cheeriest clown in the car, so I was happy to cut him some slack on both of those accounts. But, still, manners cost nothing.
I finished mopping the floor and smiled, pleased with the shine I’d polished in. I knew Nate had no cause to doubt my cleaning duties as I’d done a trial run for Holly before she’d left and she’d been thrilled. I gathered my supplies in the little caddy and tried not to let the fact there had been no, ‘Thanks for the meals you left. They were delicious!’ either. Just thanks on its own would have been nice (even though I absolutely knew they were delicious).
I stood and stretched, giving one last look around the now gleaming bathroom. The toilet roll holder was full (I’d even done the pointy thing with the first sheet), and a bundle of spare rolls lazed in a wicker basket next to the wooden ladder towel rail where bright white, fluffy towels resided. A pop of bright orange was added to the white bathroom by the vase of fresh flowers I’d stood on the deep windowsill. Standing back by the door, I pulled my phone from my pocket and snapped a couple of pictures.
To be honest, it hadn’t been in that bad a state considering there’d been a man living here on his own for a week. Amazingly, even the toilet seat was down! But I got a sense of satisfaction from seeing the taps shining and the modern suite clean and bright as the low winter sun beamed through the softly frosted glass of the room.
Having dusted and cleaned upstairs, I popped downstairs to fetch the homemade air freshener I’d mixed up yesterday using some white sage oil I’d picked up in the crystal shop in the village at the weekend. Not only did it smell wonderful, it was said to have cleansing properties and improve the energy of a space. I wasn’t sure if I believed all that but it was a nice thought, and from my brief encounter this morning, a little less negativity round here wouldn’t do any harm.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Nate sat at the lovingly worn oak dining table, a laptop in front of him. He wasn’t typing, just staring at the screen, apparently engrossed. Bryan was out like a light in his bed, upside down, feet in the air, head lolling to the side and snoring gently. Nate might not be great with manners when it came to humans, but obviously Bryan had had a great time on his walk this morning so there was at least that in his favour. People who were kind to animals generally got a bit of a head start when it came to likeability in my book.
Judging by the deep furrow on his brow, writing, or rather thinking about writing things plummeting to earth at speed required a good deal of concentration. Thank goodness I’d finished downstairs while he was out this morning. I’m sure roaring round next to him with the vacuum while he was trying to work would have just about topped off the opinion he seemed to be forming of me. Putting the appliance I’d used earlier back in the cupboard, I returned the cleaning caddy and my gloves to the cabinet underneath the sink and grabbed my coat off the hook.
‘I’m finished now, Mr McKinley.’ After his rather frosty manner earlier, I’d decided that the formal address was the right one to go with. ‘So, I’ll be going.’
Bryan stirred in his bed, sleepily opened one eye and then spun round and out of his bed towards me, leaping half elegantly, half hopefully at me as he tended to do, with the innocent belief that whoever he launched himself at was going to catch him.
‘Hello, my darling!’ I laughed as he wriggled in my arms and snuffled his nose into my neck for cuddles. ‘You obviously had a good walk!’
‘Run.’
I looked up.
