her travel fund. Please insist that she not use it for any other purpose. Don’t let her give it away to any of those free-loading relatives of hers.
I have every confidence that you will do this for me. You’re a good man. And not a greedy one. Give Abby my love and tell her not to wait too long to see the world. Life is meant to be lived.
The same goes for you, my boy. I’ll be watching over you from above.
Your Uncle Craig
Jake closed his eyes as he folded the letter, a huge lump having formed in his throat.
‘Damn it, Craig,’ he ground out, his heart squeezing tight with grief. ‘You should have told me you were ill. I could have been there for you the way you always were for me. You shouldn’t have had to die alone.’
And you should have just put a damned codicil in your will, came the added thought, grief finally giving way to exasperation.
It was impossible not to do what Craig asked, Jake accepted as he shoved the letter back in his pocket. But it annoyed him all the same.
It wasn’t a question of money. He had plenty of money. It was the fact that fulfilling his uncle’s deathbed wishes would force him into Abby’s personal space—and company—something he’d been careful to avoid ever since he’d hired her.
Because let’s face it, Jake, you fancy her even more now than ever.
But he could see no way out. He would just have to gird his loins and endure!
AT TWENTY PAST THREE Abby’s boss finally showed up, looking slightly harassed but still very handsome in a smart grey suit and a crisp white shirt which highlighted his dark hair, olive complexion and deep blue eyes.
Even Abby had to admit that in the flesh her boss was a hunk. But she’d never been blindly attracted to a man on looks alone. Handsome is as handsome does, in her opinion. What attracted her most in the opposite sex was kindness and gentleness, qualities which Wayne had had in spades.
‘Sorry I’m late,’ Jake said as he strode into the kitchen, where Abby was making herself coffee. ‘Damned ferry was running late. Could I trouble you for some coffee? Black, with no sugar,’ he ordered as he slid on to one of the kitchen stools, reefing off his tie at the same time.
Abby wanted to scream at him. Didn’t he know how stressed out she was? But she held her tongue and made him the darned coffee.
‘So what did you want to talk to me about?’ she asked as soon as she’d placed his mug in front of him. She stayed standing on the other side of the breakfast bar, not daring to pick up her own coffee yet for fear of spilling it.
His forehead bunched in a frown, which only added to her discomfort.
‘You’re going to fire me, aren’t you?’ she blurted out.
His head shot up, his dark brows arching. ‘What? No. No, of course not! Good God, is that what you thought this was about?’
She just shook her head at him. ‘I didn’t know what to think.’
‘Why on earth would I want to fire you? You are the best housekeeper a man could have. I’m sorry if you thought that.’
Abby found herself flushing at his compliment. And his apology. Relief swamped her as well. She didn’t want to lose this job. Not for a good while yet.
‘It’s to do with Craig’s will,’ Jake said abruptly.
‘Craig’s will?’ she repeated, feeling somewhat confused. ‘Are you talking about your uncle Craig, the man who stayed here for a while during the winter?’
It had been back in July, she recalled, about four months ago.
‘Yes. The thing is, Abby, he’s left you something in his will.’
Abby just stared at Jake, shock joining her confusion. ‘Are you saying that he’s dead?’
‘What? Oh. Yes. Yes, he died last week. Incurable cancer,’ he finished up with a heavy sigh.
‘But…but that’s impossible! I mean, he was so alive not that long ago.’
‘Tell me about it,’ Jake said as he swept an agitated hand through his hair. ‘It came as a shock to me as well. I gather he found out during an MRI for his busted knee about the cancer. But he never told anyone, not even me. And we were very close. I knew nothing about his illness till his solicitor rang and told me he’d passed away.’
Abby found it hard to understand what he was saying. ‘You mean you weren’t with him when he died?’
‘No. No one was, other than the palliative care nurse. He’d booked himself into a hospice without telling anyone.’
‘But that’s terrible!’ Abby declared heatedly, upset that anyone would choose to die like that.
Jake’s shrug carried a weary resignation. ‘It was what he wanted. I’m surprised you didn’t hear about his death. It was all over the news at the weekend. He was quite famous.’
‘I… I don’t often watch the news.’
‘I see.’
She wanted to ask him why he hadn’t told her himself, but of course why would he? She wasn’t a relative, or a friend. He wouldn’t have known how much she’d enjoyed the time she’d spent with his uncle whilst he’d stayed here.
Craig had been a fascinating individual, highly intelligent, widely travelled and very well read. He’d been incredibly nice to her, showing an interest in her as a person and not just some kind of maid. The day before he’d left, he’d given her a list of ten books which he said everybody—especially young women—should read. She was still slowly working her way through them. They were the reason she didn’t watch the news much any more, and why she hadn’t seen the report of his death.
Tears flooded her eyes at the realisation that this very nice man was actually dead.
‘He…he said he was going away to have a holiday.’ Abby’s voice caught at the memory.
‘He told me the same thing,’ Jake said.
‘Instead he went away to die,’ she choked out. ‘Alone…’
Abby couldn’t think of anything sadder than dying alone. It was the main thing which haunted her about Wayne’s death. That he’d been all alone, out there in the ocean, with the storm raging around him and little chance of being rescued. Had he lost all hope in the end? Had despair engulfed him in the moments before he drowned?
Suddenly, a huge wave of grief overwhelmed her, emotional distress welling up in Abby till it could not be contained. Tears filled her eyes so quickly they spilled over and ran down her cheeks.
When
