still can’t get over seeing you here,’ he said, looking at Alex. ‘It’s a small world, isn’t it?’
‘It certainly seems that way.’
He began to prepare a tray, setting out a cup and saucer, along with a plate of home-made biscuits. He smiled as he peered into the cookie jar. ‘She’s always loved baking,’ he said, helping himself to an oat biscuit. He offered the jar to Alex. ‘She let me help her when I was a child, but I’m not sure my efforts were all that brilliant. They tended to be misshapen, and a bit cracked around the edges.’
‘Much like mine, then,’ Alex said, helping herself to a biscuit, and they both chuckled. She looked at him, trying to imagine him as a child, mixing cookie dough or playing outside in the long garden. ‘You said she was like a mother to you…does that mean you lived here with her?’
He nodded. ‘For a good deal of the time, anyway.’ He looked around. ‘I love this house. It feels like home to me. In fact, I love the whole area.’
‘And your parents? Where were they?’
‘Mostly abroad, either in Africa or South America. I didn’t see a lot of them in my teen years because they were off working on projects to improve the health of the underprivileged children out there. Things are much the same nowadays.’
‘That must have been difficult for you.’ Her grey eyes were sympathetic. She remembered how sad he’d been when he’d first mentioned his parents. ‘You must have missed them.’
‘I suppose so.’ He frowned. ‘But my aunt and uncle made up for it. They gave me a decent home life and showed me what it was like to be part of a loving family. Until then, nothing had ever been stable. My parents were always busy, working all hours, and we moved around constantly. There was no chance of putting down any roots.’
Alex was sad for him. He’d obviously not known what a loving family was like in his earlier years.
‘You were lucky, then, that your aunt was able to take you in.’
‘Yes, I was.’ He poured tea into the cup. ‘I’d better go and check on her, and take her the tea.’
Alex glanced at him and hesitated a second or two before saying, ‘You know she’s having problems with her blood pressure, don’t you?’
He nodded. ‘It was diagnosed some time ago. She’s been prescribed a number of different medications over the past year or so.’
‘Yes, that’s what she said. But it seems to me that whatever her GP’s giving her isn’t working, and I suspect that’s because he hasn’t yet found the root cause of her problem. I’m wondering if she ought to have some tests done at the hospital. She’s suffering from a number of symptoms that need to be investigated…headaches, dizziness, pain in her back.’
A line etched itself into his brow. ‘Her doctor’s been taking care of her for years, though. She trusts him, and it’s no easy thing to get her to go along to see anyone else.’
Alex’s mouth flattened. ‘Even so…I don’t see how she can go on this way. She doesn’t look at all well. Something needs to be done. In fact, I feel really guilty that I took her up on her offer to look after the children. It worries me that I’m putting too much on her.’ She pulled in a deep breath. ‘And I don’t believe she’s coping too well with the house and garden either. The weeds are beginning to overtake the borders, and it’s all much more than she can manage.’
Callum gave Alex a perplexed stare. ‘I mended the fence and tidied up the rockery a couple of weeks ago.’
Alex finished wiping the table with a flourish. ‘I’m sure the stress of keeping up with the maintenance is taking a toll of her. Is there any chance you could arrange a more regular schedule? Find a local gardener who will come along and tidy things up, perhaps?’
He didn’t say a word for a moment or two, but simply studied her as though he was deep in thought.
‘You’re very good at this sort of thing, aren’t you?’ he said at last, a note of wonder in his voice.
‘This sort of thing?’ She frowned. ‘I’m afraid I’m not following you.’
‘Organising people…deciding what needs to be done. I get the strongest feeling that not only am I being audited at work, but now you’re taking stock of how I conduct my personal life as well.’ He turned his blue gaze on her. ‘I’m obviously done for. Maybe I should give in, here and now?’
Alex felt warm colour fill her cheeks. ‘Well, that would be a good idea,’ she said, giving a self-conscious laugh. ‘That would make things easier all round, wouldn’t it?’
He gave a wry smile. ‘You’ll find I don’t surrender that easily.’
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