“So there was no Mr. Leighton around to keep it going for you?”
“No. That was my grandfather, my mother’s father, and to my best recollection the office hasn’t changed at all since he was in charge. It’s still short of filing cabinets and the door to the waiting room still needs refitting.”
Katy smiled as she remembered the conversation she’d overhead between him and his secretary. She was glad he was able to inject some humor into the story he was telling her. “Renovating your office must be way down your ‘to do’ list.”
“You can say that again. Finding clients is my main priority, when my mother leaves me alone for long enough to concentrate that is. If it wasn’t for Jack I’d have thrown in the towel long ago.”
“Is that Jack as in Jack Corley who owns the Corley Estate?”
“Yes. Fortunately he and his family have always used Brooks, Brooks and Leighton for their estate business, so I inherited it when my father left, and because Jack is a friend I carried on doing it from London. It wasn’t much in the early days but once Corley Hall opened its doors to the public the estate business became pretty much the company’s bread and butter.”
“I met his wife in the village when I took your mother to visit Mrs. Tomlins.”
“Ah yes, Izzie. She’s another one of the good guys and I can assure you they are pretty thin on the ground these days. My mother’s erratic behavior embarrasses most people you see.”
Remembering only too well how quickly her own fair-weather friends had given up on her when she’d most needed them, Katy nodded. “It happens.”
He heard the inflection in her voice and paused in the middle of raising his glass to his lips. “You too?”
She nodded. “When things started going wrong at the nursing home most of my so-called friends ran for cover. I think they were frightened I’d start asking them for money. The staff went too…not that I blame them because they needed to earn a living…but once they started to leave, that was the end. I couldn’t cope on my own and I couldn’t afford to bring in agency nurses either, so the whole thing collapsed before I had a chance to organize some sort of rescue package.”
“Which is why all your elderly patients had to move to new nursing homes.”
She nodded, unable to answer as the tears that she’d kept tightly in check ever since she’d closed the door of her childhood home behind her, suddenly threatened to overwhelm her. Putting down his glass he moved from his chair to the couch and, without thinking about the consequences, slipped his arm around her shoulders.
“Please don’t Katy. It’s bad enough that you’ve had to listen to the story of my dysfunctional family. I didn’t mean to remind you of your own problems.”
His concern tipped her over the edge, but as her tears began to fall in earnest she wondered why she felt comforted rather than outraged by his familiarity. Then the grief that had clogged her heart for months took over and she stopped thinking of anything at all and soaked the front of his shirt instead.
Later, when her tears had reduced to an occasional hiccup, she tried to pull away in embarrassment. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what made me do that. I…I’m fine now.”
“I don’t usually make a habit of hugging my mother’s nurse either.”
He released his hold slightly so that he could look at her. It was almost his undoing because instead of swollen lips he saw a kissable mouth with a tiny dimple in one corner, and instead of tear-stained cheeks he saw the dark tendrils of escaping curls clinging to her forehead. With an immense effort he moved away from her and reached for his glass. Draining it he stood up.
“That’s the first time you’ve really cried since your life fell apart isn’t it?”
Her smile was shaky. “How did you know?”
“Because I’ve seen too many people in tears in my job not to recognize the difference between normal grief and the overwhelming despair that stays trapped inside the victim until something releases it.”
“I’m sorry it had to be you.”
“I’m not, so you don’t need to be embarrassed. Now come and see me out so you can lock the door behind me because it’s too late to finish our conversation today. You need to go to bed.” Without thinking he held out his hand.
Taking it she let him pull her up from the couch. By the time she was standing they were both aware that something had changed between them, and for one brief moment Emlyn hesitated. Then he gently disengaged his hand. Now was not the time. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“There’s no need. I’m fine now.” She wouldn’t meet his eyes because she didn’t want him to see what being in his arms had done to her, not when he had just made it abundantly clear that it was a one-way attraction.
“I’ll call anyway.” He opened the front door and then paused on the doorstep. “It’ll be alright Katy, We’ll find a way to sort out your problems, I promise.”
She nodded and then watched him walk down the path to the front gate. As she closed and locked the front door behind him she heard him drive away. Swallowing a sob she climbed the stairs to her bedroom. There was no point in wishing that things could be different.
* * *
Emlyn didn’t bother to go to bed because he knew sleep was hours away. Instead he drove the short distance to his apartment, changed into his jogging kit and then ran through Corley, past the inn and the straggle of bungalows at the edge of the village, and out into the country. When he reached the Corley Hall Estate he kept close to the perimeter wall that separated it from the road, his pace steady until a car turned into the gateway of the Hall and the glare of its headlights temporarily blinded him. Blinking, he kept jogging on the spot as he waited for it to disappear up the long winding driveway. Instead it stopped and the driver got out.
“I’m guessing you can’t sleep.”
“Right in one,” as Emlyn’s night vision began to return he recognized Jack Corley’s silhouette against the headlights.
“Do you want to join me for a nightcap?”
He shook his head. “Thanks but no. Another couple of miles and I’m done.”
“Is everything okay? Your new nurse working out is she?”
Recognizing the subtext Emlyn grinned despite himself. “If you’ve been talking to Tony you’ll know that my mother was with us.”
“He might have forgotten that bit. On the other hand he did seem to think she was slightly more attractive than you’ve led us to believe. Younger too.”
Trying very hard to forget just how attractive Katy was beneath her ridiculous camouflage, Emlyn gave a noncommittal shrug. “We thought the Corley Arms would be a good idea because she wants to my mother to socialize more. She took her to see Mrs. Tomlins the other day.”
“So Izzie said. She met them in the village and invited them to come up to the Hall to see the roses.”
“I’ll remind her.”
“You do that,” Jack got back into his car and triggered the electronic gates. Emlyn watched him disappear behind them with relief. Although he usually enjoyed his friend’s company, tonight he just wanted to be alone with his thoughts.
As he picked up speed he frowned. He’d promised Katy he’d help her to sort out her problems and he knew he could. How he was going to sort out his own problems was far less clear however, especially now he had the added complication of being far too attracted to Katy Gray.
Chapter Seven
Mrs. Brooks was very restless the following day, so when Emlyn telephoned Katy told him not to visit.
“The trip to The Corley Arms yesterday seems to have been a bit too much for her,” she explained, trying to ignore the relief she felt that she had a legitimate excuse not to see him and refusing to acknowledge why she felt that way.
“In that case I’ll leave it until the weekend,” his response was matter-of-fact. So was his enquiry about Katy herself, and once she’d assured him she was fine, he grunted a monosyllabic reply and cut the call.
Trying not to wish he’d been a bi
t more concerned, she returned to the dining room where she found Mrs. Brooks pulling out drawers with the same frenzy she’d displayed on the day they first met. “Emlyn’s hidden my catalogues,” she told her, her face screwed up in frustration as she tried to explain. “He sold my shop and now he’s thrown all my catalogues away.”
With no idea whether this was true or not, Katy attempted to distract her. “Why don’t we order some new ones instead?”
“No! I want my catalogues,” she started rummaging again. Leaving her alone, Katy ran upstairs to collect her laptop computer. If she could find some pictures of flowers she might be able to calm her down enough to discover why the old catalogues were so important. By the time she returned Mrs. Brooks was disconsolate. With tears pouring down her face she turned to Katy.
“I can’t find my catalogues.”
“I know you can’t but I’m going to help you find some new ones.” She set the laptop down on one of the dusty tables and typed in the name of a well known garden supplier, telling herself that she really must try to find the time to tidy the drawers in the various dressers and sideboards that were crammed into the room. If she knew exactly what it was that was stored in them she might be able to help Mrs. Brooks the next time she was looking for something.
* * *
By lunchtime, as well as helping her order half-a-dozen catalogues, Katy had also shown Mrs. Brooks how to scroll through pictures on the computer. Leaving her happily studying a gallery of floral displays, she started to prepare lunch. It was almost ready when an anguished cry from the adjoining room was followed by a loud crash.
Katy knew her computer was broken before she saw it but she was too worried about Mrs. Brooks to give it more than a cursory glance. The older woman, her face scarlet with angry frustration, had started searching through the drawers again. When she saw Katy she scowled.
“The pictures went,” she said.
Realizing that the screensaver had blanked the screen, Katy wanted to kick herself. How could she have been so stupid? To leave someone who was already anxious and frustrated in front of an unfamiliar piece of technology was asking for trouble. It took a great deal of effort for her to ignore her broken computer and manage a soothing smile but somehow she did it.
“Never mind. It happens sometimes. Come and have some lunch.”
With a sudden change of mood, Mrs. Brooks complied, following her into the kitchen without a murmur of complaint. Katy dished up their meal with relief. She would worry about the computer later. Right now she had to concentrate on Mrs. Brooks because that was what she was being paid to do, and if she messed up she would have nothing left at all.
* * *
Emlyn had spent most of the day unsuccessfully trying to concentrate on his work. For ten minutes at a time he’d turn pages, study court cases and make phone calls, then he’d remember how it had felt to hold Katy in his arms the previous evening and his attention would lapse. Finally, he gave up and told his secretary he was calling it a day.
She stared at him. “You never call it a day. Work is your life in case you’ve forgotten.”
Although he gave a rueful smile as he acknowledged her sarcastic comment, he didn’t reply. Instead he shuffled the papers on his desk into some sort of order, picked up his briefcase and walked out the door. Dorothy watched him go in amazement. Then she shrugged and collected her handbag. If he wanted to play hooky it was fine with her.
Emlyn, who knew full well that she would be on her way home before he made it to the end of the street, decided he didn’t care. He didn’t care, either, that Katy had told him not to visit her. Throwing his briefcase onto the back seat of his car he set off for Oak Lodge because he had some news that he wanted to deliver personally.
* * *
His mother answered the door when he rang the bell. She frowned at him. “Have you lost your keys?”
“No, but now Katy lives here, I can’t just walk in can I?”
Instead of answering him her mind darted off on a tangent. “She’s sad but she’s not angry.”
Not up to picking his way through her muddled thinking, he didn’t respond. Instead he followed her through to the kitchen intending to ask Katy what she meant. One look at the pieces of computer spread across the table told him everything he needed to know. He scowled at his mother.
“What did you do this time?”
Katy gave up trying to piece the plastic casing together and replied for her. “It was my fault. I forgot to explain about the screen saver so when the screen went blank it made her angry.”
“And she hurled it across the room I suppose,” Emlyn tried, without success, to keep the irritation out of his voice.
“Yes, but she didn’t mean to break it. We went online to order some new plant catalogues and then I left her looking at one of the gardening websites while I prepared lunch. It wasn’t one of my better decisions!”
“And that makes it okay does it? Are you saying it’s fine for her to throw things as long as she can blame someone else for her frustration.”
“No of course I’m not,” Katy’s retaliation was sharp as she stood up and put a protective arm around Mrs. Brooks’ shoulders. His mother shrugged her off, picked up her secateurs and went into the garden, apparently quite unaware that she had done anything wrong.
Wondering how much longer he could go on bailing her out or even how much longer he wanted to, he turned to Katy. “I’ll buy you a new one of course. Let my secretary know what model you want and she’ll order it for you.”
She shook her head. “You don’t have to do that. It was already old and slow, and as I said, it was my fault.”
“I’m not arguing about it Katy. Dorothy will order you a new one. I’m not happy that mother is throwing things either. She could have hurt you.”
“Well she didn’t, and it wouldn’t have happened in the first place if she could have found her plant catalogues. Did you get rid of them?”
“No I didn’t. I would never throw away anything that belongs to her.”
“So where are they? It really upsets her that she can’t find them.”
He shrugged. “Who knows where anything is in this house. I’m amazed that you can bear to live here, surrounded by so much clutter.”
Remembering the state of his office she couldn’t repress a grin. “I think the clutter may be a family trait?”
His gave a wry smile. “Touché, although I would like to point out that I will eventually close all those files and archive them, whereas here the chaos just keeps multiplying.”
“Not quite although you obviously haven’t noticed. The kitchen is a lot better and we’re halfway through her bedroom now. Next I’m going to tackle the dining room, if only to stop her emptying the drawers on a daily basis.”
Looking around the kitchen his eyes widened in surprise as he saw what she meant. Although it still held all the evidence of his mother’s long and slightly eccentric tenure - from her quirky collection of teapots to the framed pictures of flowers that covered every inch of wall space - it was clean and bright, with sparkling windows and an uncluttered floor. The plastic bags, overflowing with things his mother refused to throw away, had gone from the kitchen counters too. So had the piles of old letters, newspapers and magazines.
Helping himself to an apple from the bowl of fruit that was now the only thing on the counter, he turned to her. “How did you persuade her? She refuses to let me touch a thing.”
“Me either but I had to do something before one of us had an accident, so I suggested we turn one of the bedrooms into a store room. Once she realized I didn’t expect her to get rid of anything she became quite enthusiastic.”
He shook his head in admiration. “Very creative. Maybe I should hire you to sort out my office once you’ve finished here because as sure as hell Dorothy isn’t going to.”
“That’s because she hates working in Corley and wants you to move to the main office in town.”
“How do you know that?”
>
“Because she told me while I was waiting for you to turn up from that fictitious meeting that went on for longer than you expected. She said Corley was in the back of beyond and that only an idiot would want to work here…not in so many words of course, but I got the gist…and then she showed me into your office and blocked my escape just in case I had taken her seriously. I think she was having a bad day,” she added mischievously.
He smiled. “She was having a bad month actually. Before you arrived she spent most of her time trying to reorganize all the meetings I had to cancel thanks to my mother’s…um…eccentricities. And when she wasn’t doing that she was trying to track down a new nurse/companion for her, as well as coping with an extremely bad tempered boss.”
She returned his smile and, as she did so, the dimple in the corner of her mouth that had almost dragged him into temptation the previous evening sent another invitation. He bit down hard on his half-eaten apple as he walked across to the open kitchen door.
“You don’t need to worry, she’s fine when she’s in the garden,” Katy told him, assuming he was checking on his mother.
Keeping his back to her he changed the subject. “I know you said not to visit today but I came because I thought you’d want to know what I’ve managed to find out about your financial problems.”
She gave a sharp intake of breath and sat down. “Already?”
“Yes. It didn’t take long because I’ve one or two useful contacts in the city. Do you know someone called Peter Cole? I think he was a friend of your father’s.”
She nodded, then realizing that he wasn’t looking at her, cleared her throat and forced out a reluctant reply. “I think he was the person who advised him to take out a mortgage on the house. He said it was the only way to raise the sort of money necessary to turn it into a nursing home.”
Saving Katy Gray (When Paths Meet Book 3) Page 5
