It's All About Him (38 page)

'I've just been up at the farm,' Dee told him.

'Ah!' He smiled. 'It looks well, doesn't it?'

'It looks marvellous and I believe you had a lot to do with it.'

'Not at all,' he said modestly, 'Conor did the lion's share and Julia did all the shopping – no hardship there.'

'You all did the most wonderful job, I'm really touched.'

'Has the little lad seen it yet?'

She shook her head. 'No, I just popped in to ask Conor— oh, damn.'

'What?'

'I went up to the farm to ask Conor if he would bring his tools over later and fix the loo but, in all the excitement, I completely forgot.'

'Are you stuck? Do you want me to come and take a look at it now?'

'Not at all, we can use the one upstairs, don't worry.'

'Well, have you time for a cup of tea?' Ronan asked, leading the way back into the café.

'Nope,' she grinned, 'but I'll have one anyway.'

'Zoe? Can we have one tea and one coffee, please?'

Zoe smiled. 'Hi, Dee, how's it going?'

Dee sat up on a high stool. 'Busy but good, how about you?'

'Great, thanks.'

'Zoe's started a cookery course,' Ronan told her, leaning against the counter.

'No, really?' Dee looked from Ronan back to Zoe.

'Do you think I'm mad?' Zoe smiled.

'No, not at all, I think it's a great idea. What do you want to do when you're finished?'

Zoe shot Ronan a sidelong glance. 'I'm not sure . . .'

Ronan chuckled. 'It's okay, Zoe, I was going to tell Dee about our plans today anyway.'

'Plans?' Dee eyed him curiously.

'Yes, well, as you're going on to bigger and better things, I thought it was time I made alternative catering arrangements.'

Dee looked horrified. 'Oh, Ronan, I hope you don't think I was planning to leave you high and dry; I would never do that!'

He patted her arm. 'Of course I know that, Dee, calm down. But I think – and young Zoe here agrees with me – that this new business of yours is going to be a lot more successful than you think. We see first hand every day how highly the customers think of your food and the prospect of being able to prepare something like it in their own home will be very attractive.'

'But Ronan, I'll have other chefs working for me, I'll still be able to cook for the café.'

'Well, that would be great in the short-term but we're hoping that Zoe will be able to take some of the load off your shoulders.'

'I'm not trying to steal your job,' Zoe said hurriedly, 'it will probably be ages before I'm good enough to go it alone.'

Dee nodded silently.

'Oh, please, say something.' Zoe looked at her anxiously.

'I think it's a great idea,' Dee told them.

'You do?' Ronan looked relieved.

'Yes, it's perfect. We can continue on as before but as Zoe settles in to her new position, she can try a few of my dishes from scratch.'

'That might take a while,' Zoe warned Ronan.

'It won't take that long,' Dee assured him before looking back at Zoe and smiling. 'You're a natural. I don't know why we didn't think of this before.'

The bell went in the shop and Ronan stood up, taking his mug with him. 'Must go, Dee, but I'm glad we've had this chat.'

'Me too,' she assured him.

'If Conor can't help you with your plumbing, give me a shout.'

She laughed. 'Thanks, I will. So,' she turned back to Zoe, 'you're going to be a chef.'

'I'm really looking forward to it, Dee, but I'm a bit nervous at the same time.'

'Don't worry, we won't throw you in at the deep end. And remember, even if you have the occasional disaster at the start, my freezer is only minutes away.'

Zoe laughed. 'I'll remember that.'

'I'd better get going.' Dee drained her mug. 'See you tomorrow.' After waving goodbye to Ronan, she walked out of the restaurant with a smile on her face. All in all it was turning out to be rather a good day. On impulse, she went into the florist across the road, bought a small bunch of white roses, and walked the short distance to Ronan and Julia's house.

'Dee, what a surprise.' Julia smiled brightly and held open the door. 'Do come in.'

'I can't stay, I just wanted to bring you these to say thank you.' She handed over the bunch of flowers and pecked Julia's cheek.

'How sweet of you, but what have I done to deserve these?' Julia led her through to the kitchen and took a small, cut-glass vase from the window sill.

'I've just come from the farm and I saw all of your wonderful handiwork.'

Julia's smile widened. 'Oh, good, I'm so glad you like it. And what does Sam think?'

'He hasn't seen it yet but I know he'll be thrilled, although Conor may live to regret it; Sam won't want to come home! I love your little finishing touches, like the mugs,' Dee continued. 'You have a real flair for interior design. You should go into business.'

'As if I'd have the time,' Julia trilled.

'True,' Dee said apologetically. 'Well, I must go. Thank you again.'

'You're very welcome,' Julia said, walking back down the hall with her, 'and thank you so much for the flowers. I do love roses.' She opened the door and waved at the rows of white roses outside the door.

Dee's face fell. 'Oh, right, good. Well, goodbye, then.'

'Goodbye, Dee, love to Sam.'

Peggy watched Neil swing the BMW away from the curb and then hurried up the stairs. She went into her own bedroom first and took the Spanish dictionary from the back of the drawer in her bedside table before hurrying into Neil's bedroom. She had realized after her fourth foray into her son's bedroom that she wasn't going to get anywhere unless she found someone who could read Spanish or – she had a flash of inspiration – she bought a dictionary. Now, after waiting all morning for Neil to leave, she finally had an opportunity to use it.

Quickly, she found the documents that had sparked her interest and got to work. She no longer felt guilty about invading Neil's privacy. When she read that bill from the garage more carefully, she discovered that the car he had boasted so much about was, in fact, just leased. He had lied to her and she needed to find out why, for Sam's sake as much as for her own sanity. She didn't want to uncover any sordid or dishonest details about her son or his life in Spain but she couldn't shirk from the truth either. He had hurt Dee once already and she couldn't – wouldn't – let him do it again.

When Dee had phoned asking her to meet up next Wednesday her first instinct had been to refuse, balking at the idea of being the bearer of bad news. But there was no point in putting off the inevitable. Instead she decided to find out everything she could, good or bad, so she could give Dee the full picture.

She took the first page, unfolded it carefully and started to work her way through the main words, jotting down the translation on the inside of the back cover of the dictionary. As she progressed, her heart sank. The key words she had uncovered were 'warning', 'notice', and 'debt' and the amount – she hadn't realized before that it was a number because it was spelt out – was seventy-three thousand euros. She dropped the page into her lap and put a trembling hand to her mouth. 'Dear, God,' she murmured, closing her eyes. After a moment, she forced herself to go on; she had no idea when Neil would be back so she had to make the most of her time. She carefully refolded the document and put it back where she'd found it. She took a deep breath before picking up the next page, the handwritten note, and, hoping that it wouldn't prove too difficult to decipher, Peggy started to read.

'You're kidding.' Dee stared at Conor. The children had all gone home for the day, Sam was helping Lisa and Martha tidy up and the couple were alone in the kitchen having a cup of tea. Dee had been on tenterhooks all day wondering what Conor's secret was and now that he'd told her, she couldn't believe her ears.

He smiled happily. 'Nope, it's true.'

'Someone has paid you a quarter of a million pounds for half an acre and it has no planning permission?'

'Yep.' He laughed. 'The property boom, don't you just love it?'

'I can't believe it. So apart from doing up your house, what are you going to do with the money?'

'Probably build up the herd and I was thinking of going into venison production.'

'You're kidding?'

He laughed. 'No, and will you stop saying that? Why are you so surprised, do you think you're the only one capable of innovation?'

'No, of course not, it's just you've never mentioned it before.'

'You never mentioned your new business plans either,' he reminded her.

She laughed. 'That's because I didn't have any. It was all Lisa's brainwave and if it wasn't for her badgering and Lauren's brilliance it would never have even got this far.' She shook her head. 'I really don't know what I'm getting myself into; I'm not entrepreneur material.'

'That's rubbish, what about Dee's Deli Delights?'

'That was a lucky accident. If it wasn't for Sam's allergies I'd never have got into cooking.'

'I wish you wouldn't belittle your achievement. You turned a passion into a career and as a result you are now on television and being quoted in newspapers.' He smiled at her. 'You are a huge success, Dee Hewson.'

She laughed. 'It's all a bit surreal.'

'Yes, well, that's the way I felt when the estate agent told me how much that tiny piece of wasteland was worth.'

'I'm thrilled for you.' She hugged him. 'You've worked so hard, you deserve it. Now, before I feed you, can I ask you something?'

'Sure.'

She smiled sweetly. 'Will you fix the loo please?'

An hour later they were sitting at the table tucking into Dee's homemade burgers and chunky chips and Sam was regaling them with stories of his antics with Tom in the garden.

'I'm going to start a worm farm,' he told Conor finally.

Conor nodded. 'Good idea. It's called a wormery.'

Dee looked from him to her son. 'No way.'

'Ah, Mum!'

'Maybe we could have one up at the farm,' Conor suggested. 'Not in the house, though, we'd have to keep it in the barn.'

'What about Boxer?' Dee said. The barn was where the dog slept and where Conor kept him when Sam was around and she had to suppress a shudder at the thought of her son going in there.

'I'm in the process of clearing out the barn and I've built Boxer his own kennel and run,' Conor told her.

Dee smiled and reached over to squeeze his hand gratefully. 'Sam, do you realize how lucky you are to have a friend like Conor?'

The child nodded. 'Do you, Mum?'

She laughed and her eyes locked with Conor's. 'I certainly do.'

'So I'll be able to look after the worms,' Sam said, grinning from ear to ear.

'I'm also planning to get some chickens,' Conor told him.

'Cool!' Sam jigged up and down excitedly. 'Can I help you look after them too?'

'Only if your mum thinks it would be okay.'

Dee shrugged. 'It should be fine.'

'Brilliant!'

Dee shook her head as Sam bounced precariously on his chair again. 'Be careful, Sam, you'll spill your milk.' She looked back at Conor. 'So does this mean you'll be supplying me with fresh eggs?'

'Fresh organic eggs,' he told her.

'Brilliant,' Dee echoed her son and Conor laughed.

'When can we get them, tomorrow?' Sam asked.

'No, champ, sorry, it will take a little longer to organize that. First we need to build them a nice comfortable house. Then we have to build a fence around it to make sure that they are safe. And then,' he leaned closer to Sam, 'we have to find the right kind of chickens that will give us the best eggs.'

'Is there a chicken shop that we can go to?'

Conor chuckled. 'No, but there's a poultry farm down in Tipperary where I think I can get what we need, maybe you and your mum could come with me when I'm choosing them.'

'Can we, Mum?'

Dee looked at his eager little face and smiled. 'Of course we can.'

'Oh, this is great, wait until I tell Tom!' Sam was almost beside himself with happiness. 'Can I phone him and tell him right now?'

'No,' Dee said firmly. 'You can finish your dinner, have a short playtime and then you're going upstairs for a bath.'

Sam's face fell.

'Don't,' she warned him. 'You are a very lucky little boy and I didn't even hear you say thank you to Conor.'

Sam smiled shyly at Conor. 'Thank you.'

The child finished his food and drained his cup. 'Can I go and play with my Power Rangers in my room, Mum?'

She looked at him from under raised eyebrows.

'Thanks and please?' he said, dutifully.

Conor laughed.

'Go on then,' Dee smiled and shook her head as he sped off. 'You have made one little boy very, very happy.'

'Good, although I'm sorry I told him about the chickens. I should have run it past you first.'

She shook her head. 'Don't worry, it's fine, he seems to be impervious to feathers. We visited the farm at the zoo last year and before I could stop him, he was holding a little chick in his hands; thankfully with no ill effects.'

He smiled. 'I know, I remembered.'

'You are a very good man,' she said, leaning across to kiss him.

'I think I should make the most of this gratitude,' he murmured, pulling her over on to his lap.

Dee reluctantly pulled away after a few minutes. 'That was very nice but I have a bath to run.'

'For me?' he asked, his eyes twinkling.

'No, but if you play your cards right, you might be in luck later.'

'Sounds good.' He ran his fingers through her short hair, combing it back from her face. 'Happy?' he asked.

She nodded, smiling. 'Oh, yes.'

'So, is now a good time to tell you that your loo has had it?'

'Oh, no, you're kidding.'

'Nope, sorry.'

'But how can that be?' she groaned, standing up. 'It was only installed four years ago; it's the newest thing in the house!'

'I'm afraid the plumber must have been a bit dodgy.'

'I don't have much luck with plumbers,' Dee grumbled as she cleared away the dirty dishes. 'The bloke who replaced the boiler definitely overcharged me.'