Page 33 of Love By Sunset

Robbie nodded. ‘Yes. After I was told, I checked in the business pages online. Amicable split, both the co-owners wanting a change of direction and so on. It happens. I understand there’s a new company being formed by Gerry Hansard to continue in a similar type of work, but they’re not interested in the Solhaven estate anymore.’

A long silence fell. Jake chewed on his lower lip, and his fingers interlaced, knuckles showing white. Finally, his voice low, Jake murmured, ‘I don’t… I don’t think I’ve got this straight properly. Why they withdrew and why they’ve closed the company.’

‘But…’ Robbie hesitated, clearly uncertain what to say, before he cleared his throat and cocked an eyebrow. ‘You do know Emily?’

Jake’s head dropped. His clasped fingers twined and untwined. ‘Yeah. Yeah. I know her. Well…’ He stood up, his movements slow, his eyes fixed on the floor. ‘That’s good news, yeah. Thanks. I’m secure for a while then.’ Turning, he walked over to the large sink and leaned on it, his back to Robbie, leaving his coffee untouched.

Somehow there was a connection between ethical clauses, the business being closed down, and Emily, but he wasn’t sure he could work it out. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to work it out. He thought it might open the door to more pain.

‘Jake,’ Robbie said gently. ‘Sit down. I’ll answer your question about Approach, but that’s not why I called round.’

Looking dazed, Jake turned. ‘Eh? But surely that’s all I need to know and…’ he paused, his eyes staring into the far distance as he finally allowed his mind to link Robbie’s information with Emily’s words and realise while she’d not been completely honest with him, maybe shehadbeen looking after his interests.

‘Sit down and have some of that coffee,’ Robbie advised. ‘I’m going to tell you something confidential.’

Jake sank down into his chair while Robbie sat patiently, his laptop still open, humming into the silence.

‘Emily Delamere herself told me the disagreement which caused the withdrawal of the offer was about your café. Her viewpoint was you should have been included in their plans, and your job should have been secure. She told me the ethics clause meant if one of them vetoed the proposed purchase, that was it. Over. And she vetoed it, Jake. So that was the end of Approach’s interest in the Solhaven Estate, and you were safe for the time being. I also think from what she said, the company was on its way to being disbanded, anyway. She mentioned outside factors which had made her reassess her life and decide to have a change of direction. I don’t know what they were…’ He cocked an eyebrow as he looked at Jake, who stared back, incapable of speech.

Heknew. Oh, yes, he knew full well what had made her change so much. He had some responsibility for this, and he saw how Emily’s initial brief, to come down and suss out Solhaven, crashed like a freight train into him. Him with his determination to bed her, screw her, and abandon her. Maybe she felt it best to keep quiet, knowing their affair would be short lived. But it hadn’t worked out like that. He’d fallen in love. Maybe she hadn’t expected that, either? Then… maybe, just maybe, she hadn’t known what to do?

Robbie’s voice broke into his thoughts. ‘Look, are you okay?’

After a pause, Jake turned his head away to stare out of the window. ‘Would you feel okay if you’d maybe acted like a fucking jerk, behaved like an arrogant prick, and made it absolutely clear you saw someone as having no value other than a temporary bed-partner? Would you feel okay if you realised you might’ve thrown away a damn good chance of happiness?’

It was clear Robbie was at a loss as he fiddled with the envelope, finally opening it, and pulling out two sheets of paper. ‘Jake, listen, okay? We found the will.’

Slowly, Jake looked back at Robbie. ‘Thewill? I didn’t think anyone believed me. I thought you’d looked through all Henry’s papers, anyway? You and I, we were going to look round the house, weren’t we?’

‘Someone believed in you very much and went back to the house day after day, checking every nook and cranny. She finally solved it and realised if Henry had been found by his car, maybe, just maybe, he’d been on his way to leave his will with a solicitor. We’ll never know for sure, but itwasin the glove box of his car, so it’s more than likely. If it wasn’t for—’

Jake flung up both hands, his face contorting with misery, obvious tears sheening his eyes, his stomach churning with dread. ‘Don’t,’ he said hoarsely. ‘Please don’t tell me it was Emily who found the will?’

‘Bu-but I thought you’d be pleased?’

‘You’ve no idea.’ His head sunk into his hands, his fingers gripping his hair. ‘Fuck.’

Sighing, Robbie laid the papers down. ‘Jake… would it help if you talked to me? I’m in the dark here.’

‘No. It’s enough I’ve completely fucked up and there’s no way back.’

A long moment passed before Jake heard Robbie’s sigh and the rustle of paper as he picked up the will again. ‘Okay. Listen.’

Reassured Jake had at least raised his head, despite his red-rimmed eyes and blank stare, Robbie related what was in the will. The house, the café, car park and access had all been left to Jake. The house contents and Henry Whitchurch’s shares had been left to the nephew in New Zealand. He had donated all the remaining land to the Beautiful Coast Trust.

‘And the reason we didn’t hear from any witnesses,’ Robbie explained, looking over the top of the papers, ‘was because they came from Durham. It seems their ancestors had lived in the house, and they called on spec when they were down here on holiday. I spoke to them on the phone. Mr Whitchurch showed them round then asked if they would witness him signing the will, which they obviously agreed to do. The date is only a few days before he died so I suspect Henry Whitchurch was indeed intending to bring it down to Solhaven.’

‘Thehouse?’

‘The house.’

‘I don’t want the house. It’s too big.’

‘A hotel?’

‘No. I like my café and my cottage. I’ve enough to live on and a fair number of properties scattered about, so I don’t need any more. Can I sell it?’

‘Of course. We’ll value it. We might even have a buyer already.’

---