Page 74 of Killing Mind

He glanced towards the door and the sound of panpipes filtered into the room.

The silence faded away as people began to speak to each other while they ate.

So, Jake Black preferred to eat in silence, she suspected, as she speared another piece of pork.

‘So, Tiffany, what brings you to Unity Farm?’ he asked, turning towards her.

She chewed the pork in her mouth while he waited for an answer.

‘Britney offered me a place to come for a few hours. I didn’t want to go home.’

She was telling the truth.

‘Why not?’ he asked, leaning closer as the volume of chatter at their own table increased.

Regretfully, Tiff put down her knife and fork. She couldn’t continue eating when he clearly wanted to engage her in conversation.

‘Had a row with my mum.’

He nodded his understanding.

‘Families are complicated. We place high expectations on blood relatives to do the right thing.’

Yes, telling Ryan he could have the box room would have been the right thing for her mother to do.

‘They often let us down, but do you know why that is?’

Tiffany had the sudden feeling that they were the only two people in the room. The chatter fell away as he continued.

‘There is an expectation on family members to love equally and they don’t. Parents do have favourites, maybe one child is prettier, funnier or more intelligent. They get favoured and it’s hard for the kids who get left behind. Not feeling good enough for your parents can lead to a whole lifetime of misery. Unloved kids seek approval until the day they die.’

Tiff listened carefully. He was right. She was still seeking approval now.

He touched her hand lightly. ‘There comes a time that you have to take control. Decide enough is enough and that the approval is no longer important to you.’ He paused and tipped his head, a smile playing on his lips. ‘If your family don’t appreciate just how special you are, they’re idiots and it is definitely more their loss than yours.’

Tiffany felt emotion gather at the back of her throat.

Jake squeezed her hand once more before standing.

‘People, listen up,’ he called out. Everyone turned.

‘This is Tiffany, or Tiff. Please take care of her and make her feel welcome. She is a special friend of Britney’s.’

Everyone nodded and smiled. Jake gave her one last smile as he left the table and walked away.

Tiff would have liked to have listened to him some more.

‘He likes you,’ Britney said, finishing her plate of food. Tiff looked sadly at her own which had now gone cold.

At the exact second Jake went out of sight the three women began to remove the hot plates.

‘Where are they going with that?’ Tiff asked. There was the second sitting still to eat.

‘To get the rest of the food.’

‘But there was plenty left,’ Tiff observed as the last of the pork and mash was removed. They’d been at the back of the queue and the third hotplate of food had been almost full.

‘Don’t worry about that,’ Britney said, standing. ‘I want to show you around.’