Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 82868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“Oh yes, you were there too,” Mum says. “How was it? Zach said you were snowed in.”
“It was beautiful. I did a lot of cooking while we were snowed in and Zach was working.”
I move from Ellie to go and make some tea, leaving her to chat to Mum.
“How’s the new practice going, son?” Dad asks as I stick the kettle under the tap and he starts munching on the vegetables that have been left mid-chop on the chopping board.
This would be the perfect time to just get it over with and tell him about the book, but with everyone arriving, I’ll probably get interrupted. “It’s early days,” I say. It’s a cop-out and I know it.
He pats me on the back. “You’ve always been successful. This will be no different.”
The problem is, I don’t want more of the same.
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Can I make any calls?” he asks. My dad isn’t a showy man. He doesn’t talk about his connections and contacts, but I’m certain there’s not an influential person in medicine he doesn’t know.
“Thanks, but no, thanks.”
“Of course. You always wanted to do everything by yourself.” He shakes his head while he chuckles. “You’re a good boy.”
It’s been a long time since I was a boy, but having my dad’s appreciation always takes me back to the eleven-year-old, sixteen-year-old, eighteen-year-old, taking exams, wanting to make my parents proud.
The dog starts barking from outside and I glance out the window. It’s Nathan and Madison. The other black sheep in the family has arrived.
“Go and help your brother and Madison in with their stuff,” Mum says to me.
“Why? Nathan’s perfectly capable of lifting an overnight bag himself.”
She shoots me with a look that says, don’t mess with me, so I head out and Dad follows.
As Nathan gets out of the car, he glances between me and Dad and then back again. He’s trying to figure out if I’ve said anything yet.
I give a little shake of my head.
“You need to rip the plaster off,” he says as I pull him in for a hug.
I ignore him. “Did you know Vincent is coming?”
“To Norfolk?” Nathan asks.
“Apparently.”
“Is he arriving by yacht or something?” he asks. It’s ironic that Nathan is joking about Vincent’s wealth, given how rich Nathan is. It says a lot about Vincent.
Madison comes over. “I thought you were bringing Ellie?”
“I did.” I’m confused. “She’s inside.” Her eyes light up with mischief and she heads toward the front door.
I groan and start after her. Unsurprisingly, I’m not carrying anything.
I arrive back in the kitchen to see Madison practically strangling Ellie in a hug. “It’s so good to meet you. Zach needs an amazing woman in his life, and from what he says, you’re it.”
“She baked French apple cake.” Dad leans in to kiss Madison on the cheek. I’m not sure how, but Madison has managed to charm my father. I swear he would do anything she asked.
“Well, if you didn’t have my vote already, you would do now. I heard you’re a cook. Are we trying it?”
A hand settles on my shoulder, and I turn around and see Jacob. “Hey, I didn’t realize you were here.” I pull him in for a hug.
“Came up yesterday. Sutton and I wanted to get a couple of long walks in.” He grins. “So you brought a woman to Norfolk. You know what that means, don’t you?”
“It doesn’t mean anything,” I say. I know that’s not true. None of us are the type to introduce women we’re casually dating to our families.
“Yes it does,” Jacob says. “But we can talk about that later. Shall we do a fire pit tonight?”
“Absolutely not,” Mum says. “It’s going to be freezing tonight. No one is going out in that weather, because by then we’ll be several drinks down and making bad decisions. Or talking Dax into making bad decisions. He told me the other day he’s still limping because he jumped down from the top of the barn the last time he was here.”
Nathan, Jacob, and I exchange looks and try not to laugh.
“Stop laughing. It’s not funny. You know that boy will accept a bet from anyone.”
“It’s not us you need to worry about,” Nathan says. “Vincent’s the gambler.”
Mum groans. “You’ll have to have a word, John. I’m not making any middle-of-the-night A and E trips.”
“He’s never listened to me his entire life,” Dad says. “He’s not going to start now.”
“I’ll sort it,” I say and put my arm around Mum. “Dax is going to be fine.”
“I’ll sort it,” says Nathan.
Jacob starts to laugh and I know we’re all imagining all the ways we can stop Dax being destroyed by Vincent’s bet suggestions. We could tie him to a chair so he can’t move. We could gag him so he can’t accept any bets. We could put something in his food so he’s so ill, he spends his entire evening in the loo.