‘Yes, but William Masters who’s adopting him lives alone. In his sixties, he’s retired and just wants a companion, so they’ll be perfect together, everyone thinks so.’
‘No loud music or house parties, then?’ Hector joked.
‘Oh, Hector, you’re so funny. No, we all think Lucky and William are the perfect match. It’s been amazing since the adoption day. We’ve had so many applications to re-home. Which reminds me, Pippa, I’ve marked up the ones I think are right for home visits, but will you just double-check them, they’re on the desk?’
‘Of course.’
This was normally Harriet’s role but Pippa knew what she was doing. When Harriet first found out she was pregnant they’d all had a quick crash course in the admin side of the sanctuary, in case Harriet was indisposed. Of course she never was, but they all knew how it ran in any case. Pippa went to the desk, where there was quite a stack of papers waiting for her.
‘And the cats need feeding now, Hector. I don’t suppose you fancy helping me?’ Ginny asked hopefully.
‘Sure thing, lead the way.’
Hector looked back and winked at Pippa and then she was finally left in peace. She’d just started going through the forms, when the computer on the desk pinged at her. She pressed the mouse and looked at the screen, then she wished she hadn’t. Mike was the main user of the computer. He was one of the few paid, full-time members of staff, along with Ginny and Clive. There were a few paid part-timers, too, and as many volunteers as Harriet could press-gang into helping out. While Ginny had been given the lofty title of sanctuary manager, Mike was office manager. He worked closely with Harriet, while Ginny and Clive reported to Connor. Clive was more hands-on with the animals than the others.
‘Oh God,’ Pippa said out loud as she nearly spat out her coffee.
Staring at Pippa on the screen in front of her, Mike’s screen, was a small picture of herself with the words ‘we’ve found you a new match’. It was the Internet dating site she’d just signed up to and her profile was looking back at her.
Her body tingled with both horror and embarrassment. It felt so public. Who else in Parker’s Hollow would know she was Internet dating? That she wanted to meet a man with a good sense of humour, and his own teeth? And as lovely as Mike was, he was nearly fifty. Twice divorced, the only thing they had in common was this place. She groaned. She’d put animal lover in her profile and obviously he would have done, too. This was beyond embarrassing. She willed the screen to go into sleep mode in front of her, but it seemed to taunt her for an awful long time before it finally did.
This was one of Gemma’s worst ideas. OK, so she’d set the age limit to 35–50, but then she liked an older man. They’d tried to get her to lower it, even Brooke said that she’d be best off with someone more her own age, but Pippa had argued that she liked maturity. But Mike? Be careful what you asked for! Oh, poor Mike was lovely, there was nothing wrong with him, but he wasn’t Pippa’s type in the slightest.
But then she realised, as she remembered the others who’d emailed her via the dating site, that she wasn’t sure what her type was. At the moment, she was discovering only who she didn’t want to date. All the men looked fine, or at least some of them did, but none of them held her attention. Yes, she knew you couldn’t tell what a person was like from the computer screen, but it just didn’t feel right. Gemma had said it was like Internet shopping but for a man. However, the thing was that Pippa hated Internet shopping. She wouldn’t even buy so much as a pair of shoes from it. No, she was an old-fashioned woman who actually liked to buy things in a real-life shop. The problem was that since the hotel opened she’d rarely been anywhere to ‘shop’ or meet men.
When Mike returned to the office, whistling and happy about Lucky going to such a nice chap, she couldn’t quite meet his eye. And she hoped when he did see his computer that he’d be far too embarrassed ever to mention it to her.
‘I’ve been through all these, Mike, and I’m quite sure they’re all suitable to go to the next stage of home visits,’ she said, trying to keep her voice even and professional.
‘Top job, Pippa. I’ll go through them with Harriet when she’s back. In the meantime, I was going to make a cuppa, can I tempt you?’
‘Um, no, thank you. I need to go and find Hector and then I ought to get back to the hotel.’
She could feel her face almost catching fire. The first thing she’d do when she got back to the hotel was to delete her Internet dating profile. It clearly wasn’t for her. She could only hope that all the single members of Parker’s Hollow hadn’t seen it before she got the chance to do so.
Pippa found Harriet outside near her house. Toby was asleep in the pram and she looked more relaxed than she had done lately.
‘Are you all right?’ Pippa asked, hugging her sister.
‘Yes. You know, I really am. It turns out being with other mums isn’t as horrific as I thought.’ Harriet almost sounded gleeful.
‘Harry, you shouldn’t say things like that.’
‘I know, but I thought they’d all be dull and talk about how much they love breastfeeding and sleep deprivation and poo, but it turns out we all feel the same. We’re all sore from breastfeeding, ridiculously tired and not so keen on poo. I’m actually normal. One of the women even cried!’ she announced cheerfully.
‘Harriet!’ Pippa swiped her sister but they both grinned. ‘I did tell you that everyone struggled with being a new mum.’
‘I know you did.’ Harriet waved her hand dismissively. ‘Everyone did but I didn’t believe you. I thought everyone was really good at it apart from me, but it turns out no one seems to be. In fact, from today I learnt that quite a few people are struggling more than I am!’
She sounded far happier than she should when she said this but Pippa understood. Harriet, who was always a high-achiever in everything she did, always had been, didn’t believe in struggling. Until now.
‘Well I feel bad for them, those struggling, I mean,’ Pippa pointed out.
‘Of course – I do, too – but it means that I’m not as bad at this as I thought and maybe I’m not going to ruin Toby’s life by being a terrible mum.’
‘God, Harry, where do you get your ideas from? You’re doing brilliantly.’
‘I know that now. I can’t wait to do more mum stuff! It really does make me realise that I’m not crap, and I like that.’
‘But did you make friends? I mean, did you like the other women?’ Pippa pushed.
‘At the moment I love them all, but only time will tell. We didn’t get the chance to talk about anything other than babies, not that I want to. There was one woman who worked in finance before she had her baby, so we’ll probably get on, but now it’s just nice to feel normal.’
‘Talking of new friends, I wanted to invite Brooke to a girls’ night, which means I need you and Gemma and hopefully Amanda to join us,’ Pippa said.
She’d been worrying about Brooke feeling lonely and they had such fun that night in the snug that Pippa wanted to repeat it.
‘Sure, but why? She’s a hotel guest.’ Harriet sounded perplexed.
‘She’s a young woman here on her own and she’s here because she might want to settle down in the UK. I think she needs friends and at the very least we should show friendliness towards her.’
‘Pippa, you don’t need to make everyone your friend,’ Harriet pointed out.
‘No, and that’s not what I’m doing, but she’s vulnerable and she’s also fun. You seem to like her and I know Gemma does. And the thing is that she can be open and warm, but then she clams up. She’s a bit of a conundrum. I also want to find out some more about her plans for staying here and you know how good you are at asking questions.’
‘Right, I hadn’t really given that much thought,’ Harriet said as if a light switch had been flicked on. ‘I’ve been so wrapped up with Toby that I didn’t think about it, but now … She’s young, twenty-five and she’s staying at a five-star hotel for two months, all p
aid for, so she can’t be short of money. She isn’t working but she says she’s setting up a business, yet there’s no sign of her doing much but dog walking, jogging with Gemma and hanging out at the hotel.’
‘No. Apart from going out running, and me taking her to Wells, she’s not been far at all.’
The way Harriet was talking was making Pippa more curious.
‘That’s weird,’ Harriet concurred.
‘I agree. And Hector said you’d be suspicious.’
‘Hey, I’m not, I couldn’t care less why she’s here as long as her bill is paid, but I’m nosy. You’re right, now I’m feeling a bit like myself again, I’m definitely curious.’
‘So yes to a girls’ night?’
‘Sure, Connor’ll love the chance to bond with Toby. He says it’s like I don’t trust him with his own son.’
‘And do you?’ Pippa asked dubiously.
‘Of course, but as I said to you, I have this weird feeling of failure and when I’m not with him, I feel so guilty.’
‘Thank goodness you met those other mums. I think it’ll do you good to be with people going through the same thing.’
‘Exactly. I thought I’d hate all these mum groups, that they’d be really boring, but I’m going to join more. Which means I need to take a bit more time off. But we should manage OK. It’s not the busiest time for the hotel, after all, and I can do the accounts at home. But anyway, Brooke. Let’s find out what her business actually is. You don’t think she’s some kind of secret hotel inspector?’ Harriet’s brows furrowed.
‘No, she’s too perky and no hotel reviewer would stay for two months. Anyway, if anyone can get it out of her, it’s you.’
As Pippa kissed Harriet on the cheek and went to leave, she didn’t notice that behind the hedge, Brooke, wearing her running clothes, stood, frozen, and had heard every word.
Chapter Twelve
‘I can’t remember the last time I had a girlie night,’ Amanda said as she arrived at Meadowbrook’s back door armed with wine and a broad smile.
She was wearing simple jeans and a sweater but her hair was loose around her shoulders and shining.
‘Probably your hen night,’ Pippa replied.
Amanda didn’t go out much. She wasn’t big on socialising, which suited Gus perfectly.
‘You know, you didn’t need to bring wine, we have a cellar full,’ she added.
‘I don’t want Harry to accuse us of drinking all your hotel profits,’ Amanda laughed as she handed the wine to Pippa.
‘Good point.’
Pippa had organised tonight for them purposely on a Monday because the hotel was empty apart from Brooke and Hector that night, so it meant they could decamp to the bar. They had guests arriving the following day, so Pippa hoped it would mean they wouldn’t drink too much. It was a theory, at least.
Amanda followed Pippa into the kitchen. Pippa grabbed some plates of snacks that Vicky had kindly prepared for them – it was a definite perk of the job – and then led the way to the bar.
‘Where are the others?’ Amanda asked. ‘It’s not like me to be early.’
‘Gemma’s on her way, she had to finish off some coursework, Harriet’s coming when she’s put Toby down, so she’ll be a bit late, and Brooke should be here any minute. Come on, we might as well get started.’
Pippa poured drinks for them both and they went to sit at one of the bigger tables. Because they were there first, Pippa and Amanda sunk into the oversize purple sofa.
‘Cheers. It’s funny being here with no guests,’ Amanda said, proffering her glass.
‘I know. We were so busy over the spring and summer that I’d forgotten what it was like to be quiet. We’re lucky we’ve got the corporate bookings, not to mention Hector and Brooke, but you’re right, when we’re here on our own I think of when we used to live here. And how Daddy lived here just with Gwen when I moved out.’
‘It’s a big house for just two people,’ Amanda said.
‘Hi.’ Brooke appeared wearing an oversized jumper over skinny jeans. Her hair was loose and she wore her signature lip gloss.
‘Nice to see you, Brooke,’ Amanda said, standing up to welcome her with a hug.
‘You, too!’ Brooke replied effervescently.
‘Sit down and I’ll get you a drink. Is prosecco OK?’ Pippa asked.
‘Sure, that’ll be great. Has Freddie got the night off?’ Brooke asked.
‘Yes, I had to get him to take Hector out so he didn’t gatecrash our night.’
‘Is he still mooning around after you?’ Amanda asked.
Pippa blushed.
‘Oh, I thought he liked you; he talks about you a real lot,’ Brooke said. ‘That’s why I was so confused when you said that we should get together,’ Brooke added as she sipped her drink.
‘Hector’s lovely but a bit young for me. I just thought you two might be well suited,’ Pippa replied evenly. ‘And I don’t think he really likes me that much, he just thinks he does.’
‘What? He’s been crazy about you for years!’ Amanda was incredulous, scuppering Pippa’s plan for Brooke and Hector once and for all.
‘Hi, sorry I’m late.’ Gemma swept in and hugged everyone. She poured herself a glass of wine before settling into an armchair opposite Brooke. ‘But I’m so glad to be here and away from my computer screen.’
‘That makes me even later. But then try getting baby puke out of your hair,’ Harriet said, breezing in, commanding the room as her presence often did.
Pippa was never exactly awkward but her sister oozed confidence, even when she didn’t feel it. It was how she’d run her trading floor for years and made grown men cry.
Harriet blew kisses around the table, poured herself a glass of wine and sat down. She was looking good, Pippa thought. You wouldn’t know she was sleep deprived – again, it was down to years of training on the trading floor, working all hours. It seemed it was a pretty good prelude to motherhood, in fact.
‘Brooke, let’s raise a toast, to you, to your stay at Meadowbrook and to getting to know you properly.’ Harriet grinned as everyone clinked glasses.
‘Thank you so much. You guys are so kind to welcome me this way,’ Brooke replied.
Her voice was soft, Pippa thought; she couldn’t imagine Brooke ever getting angry. She wondered if she ever did.
‘Right, well, why don’t we do an ice-breaker? Each of us’ll go through a potted history and then we’ll already know each other better,’ Harriet suggested. She didn’t have time to waste with small talk.
‘A what?’ Brooke looked confused.
Gemma exchanged glances with Amanda and Pippa, who were trying not to giggle. Harriet often approached everything as if it were a corporate exercise. Before she and Connor got together, on the odd date she went on she basically interviewed the guy, grilling him, practically demanding his CV before she’d agree to move from drinks to dinner. She said it was like that in New York – no one had time to waste so it was just efficient.
‘I’ll go first.’ Harriet wasn’t going to be dissuaded from her path. ‘I’m the oldest Singer, recently forty. As you know, I live with Connor, whom I love, and Toby, my baby. I’m very lucky but life changed for me when my father died. I was a corporate hard-arse in New York in my previous life…’
‘Which you’d never guess, right?’ Pippa joked, thinking that perhaps the tone needed lightening.
As the others laughed, Harriet shot her a ‘shut up’ glance.
‘So, anyway, I moved back here as per the terms of our father’s will. We all lived here together for a year and we had to make money for the animal sanctuary. I found I loved it here. Not at first, mind, but then at some point it felt like coming home and I knew I was where I wanted to be.’
Everyone seemed surprised by the softness in Harriet’s voice, but then she flicked her switch back as she so often did.
‘Pip, you go.’
‘Brooke already knows about me, don’t you, Brooke?’ Pippa said, unwilling to
bore her by going through everything again.
‘Sure,’ Brooke agreed uncertainly. That night in the snug she’d told Brooke about Mark, about opening the hotel, about her friendship with Gemma. ‘But, Harriet, you know you said about your dad’s will, you know, about having to live here for a year? Well, can you tell me a bit more about that?’ She leant towards Harriet.
‘Right, well, the family was fractured at the time of Dad’s death, which came as a shock. In his will he said we all had to live here, together, for a year, and it changed all of our lives. I fell out of love with investment banking and in love with Connor. Gus found his passion for painting, gardening and Amanda, Freddie got his act together and Pippa got divorced,’ Harriet explained.
Pippa shook her head. It was a potted history of the year but fundamentally covered the main points, no emotion, no embellishment. Typical Harriet.
‘So, Brooke, why don’t you go next?’ Harriet suggested, leaving her no option.
‘Um, sure. Well, I grew up in Orange County and then I moved to LA for a while to go to college, but I didn’t love it so I dropped out.’
‘What did you study?’ Harriet asked.
‘Mainly LA nightlife,’ Brooke replied honestly. ‘I was supposed to do an arts degree but I didn’t like it. I dropped out and found a fitness programme instead.’
‘That makes sense,’ Gemma said.
‘I kinda didn’t know what I wanted to do, but my dad said I had to go to college. He was so mad when I dropped out, and Mom, too. It was like world war three in our house, so I moved in with a friend and tended a bar while I got into fitness. My parents really didn’t approve of that, thought I should be doing something “proper”.’
‘Tell us about the fitness,’ Harriet pushed. ‘I’m guessing that your idea to move here, to set up a business, is based around that?’
‘Well yes, I guess. I wasn’t doing so well back home. Then my dad died and my mum and I had a big falling out. I needed to get away. I couldn’t breathe.’ Brooke looked sad.
Pippa reached across and gave her hand a squeeze.
The Ticket to Happiness Page 11