Page 64 of Suddenly Beck

‘Pretty sure he already did that,’ Ryan snorts quietly, and Beck shoots him a warning look.

Ignoring them both, I head into the living room to find Reed, Jesse, Quinn, Georgie, and the twins already waiting. Joss is once again sitting comfortably on the floor feeding the kittens, and I can’t help myself, I set my laptop down on the table and head over. As soon as I get close, the little tortoise-shell kitten I was feeding the other day mewls loudly and ambles toward me. Crying out loudly until I pick her up and snuggle her against my chest as she rubs her face against my t-shirt.

‘Hey, baby,’ I croon gently, completely in love with her as I stroke her soft fur. ‘Hey, pretty girl, did you miss me?’

‘I’m pretty sure she’s been pining for you.’ Joss smiles at me.

‘Maybe we should name her Beck then.’ Jesse grins, and out the corner of my eye, I see a cushion sail across the room and hit him in the face.

Chuckling softly, I drop down in an armchair with the kitten cradled against me. ‘I wish I could keep you,’ I mutter to her softly with a small pang of longing. ‘But I don’t think Bea will let me move you into my room at the B&B.’ She opens her mouth again and mewls loudly as if she’s answering me. I glance up and see Beck watching me with an unreadable expression.

‘Okay, now everyone’s here I guess we should get started.’ Mel takes a seat. ‘Nat, love, do you want a drink?’

‘I’m good thanks.’ I shake my head, settling back against the chair when I feel Beck perch on the arm of the chair beside me.

‘What’s going on Mum?’ he asks glancing first at her then me.

‘Well.’ She draws in a slow breath. ‘Quite a bit actually. As you know, the restaurant has been closed while we went through the health and safety inspections that Scott allowed to lapse, and while that was going on, I was looking through the books, and it’s not good.’

She pauses for a moment, and I can see her hands trembling slightly.

‘Tell them, Mel,’ I say to her encouragingly. ‘They need to know.’

‘Know what?’ Beck frowns.

‘Scott stole all the money,’ Mel admits quietly. ‘He drained the place dry. We’re on the verge of having to close permanently.’

‘WHAT?’ both Beck and Jesse, and Joss and Juni say simultaneously.

‘Twin thing,’ Quinn mouths at me.

Suddenly, the room erupts with everyone talking at once. Placing my hand gently over the kitten’s tiny head to protect her ears, then I place my fingers in my mouth, letting loose a shrill whistle. Everyone stops talking and looks at me in surprise.

‘That’s better.’ I smile calmly. ‘Now sit down, be quiet and let Mel explain, then you can talk.’

Mel smiles at me with a mixture of amusement and gratitude.

‘Wow, you can whistle really loud,’ Georgie remarks.

‘I’m not gonna lie,’ Beck leans over and whispers in my ear. ‘That was hot. You’ve totally got a sexy schoolteacher thing going on right now.’

I chuckle slowly.

‘Alright, that’s enough from the flirting corner.’ Jesse rolls his eyes. ‘Mum, carry on.’

‘I’ve already reported Scott to the police, and they’ve opened an investigation, but it’s going to be slow going,’ she explains. ‘It looks like he’s left the country. From what I’ve been told, he headed over to mainland Europe, and they don’t know where he’s gone from there yet. It’s going to take a while to find him and file criminal charges so they can extradite him back to the UK, but even if they do that and he goes to prison for what he did, there’s very little chance of recovering the money he took. It wasn’t even a lump sum. He’s been bleeding the place dry for over a year. They think he has a gambling problem, so the money’s long gone, and we’ll have to write it off.’

‘Where does that leave the restaurant?’ Reed asks quietly, as the oldest brother, he was the calmest and most reasonable.

‘I’m not going to lie, we’re in a very precarious situation.’ Mel shakes her head. ‘However, I’ve managed to secure a loan,’ she continues, deliberately not looking at me. ‘We have enough to keep our heads above water, but it’s all riding on the summer season. If we don’t make enough money to get us back in the black and to cover us for the winter, the restaurant will have to close, and the building will have to be sold.’

There’s a stunned and heavy silence in the room as her words sink in, and I’m beginning to realise just how much Sully’s means to all of them.

‘What can we do to help?’ Ryan is the first to speak.

‘Nat?’ Mel looks to me to take over.

Rising from the chair, I drop a little affectionate kiss on the kitten’s head before depositing her in Beck’s lap. Picking up the small cardboard box he’d carried in for me, I set it on the coffee table and begin unloading several items and laying them for the others to view.