Page 33 of The Loneliest Number (The Thirst Trap #3)

“I’m just interested in people. Love getting to know what makes people tick, and I’m not a huge fan of small talk. I’d rather get straight to the heart of it.” Mum says in an earnest tone. Dad has perched himself on the arm of her chair, stroking his hand in circles on her back.

I never thought about how tactile my parents were until a friend pointed it out a few years ago.

It’s just the way they’ve always been. And it wasn’t something I ever saw for myself, intent instead to have plenty of fun, but lately I’ve been craving the closeness that has been present in my parents’ marriage for as long as I’ve been aware of it.

Before, it would have felt at odds with the lifestyle I was pursuing, but as I spend more time with Abby, I crave that intimacy between the two of us and I’m starting to believe it’s possible to have it just for us, even when we choose to invite others to play with us.

“So what’s the deal with Auntie Ruth? She said you’d asked her for a meeting?” Mum asks.

“I want to see if she knows anything about The Juniper and how it came to be in Gran’s possession.”

“The letter was a real mystery, wasn’t it?” Abby adds to the conversation and then covers her mouth with her hand as my mother’s brows knit together with confusion.

“What letter is that?” Mum asks in bewilderment.

“I’m so sorry, I just assumed you knew.” Abby turns to me, her eyes wide with panic. “I didn’t know it was a secret.”

“Abby, it’s okay.” I reach out my hand and rub her shoulders.

“It’s not a secret. I was just hoping to find out the answers and then speak to these guys about it once I knew more.

” Abby’s chest rises and falls, and she clasps her hands together on her lap.

“Hey, I promise, it’s okay. I should have explained to you who knew what. ”

“Cam, what’s going on?” Worry tinges Mum’s tone now.

“There was a letter in with the deeds for the building. From this William guy who gave Gran the building.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Mum asks, leaning forward, like she’s caught the scent of something and needs to chase it.

“You and Dad were busy after Gran’s funeral when the solicitor got in touch about it.

To be honest, after the initial surprise, I kinda forgot about the letter and just focused all my efforts on working out if the renovation was possible.

Saff mentioned the letter to Abby, and then I realised I always meant to try and speak to Auntie Ruth to see what she knew and see if we can get to the bottom of it. ”

“What’s in this letter, son?” my dad asks.

“I’ve got it in a folder in my bag. Do you want to see it?” I flick my gaze to my mum, who nods. “I’ll go and get it.”

“Cam, I’m so sorry.” Abby follows me out to the hallway, where I left the bags. “I should go to bed and leave you guys to it. I didn’t mean to blab and cause problems.”

To stem her panic, I give her a hug. “Hey, this is on me. Not you. I should have told my mum about the letter months ago, but I didn’t know what to make of it.

It’s her mum. And she’s been grieving. But I think it’s good to get it all out in the open now.

Please stay. She won’t tell me off for keeping it from her if you’re there to protect me.

” I make it a joke, but it falls flat, and I realise my mum would have no problems dressing me down if she thought I’d done something wrong, even if there was a friend present.

I keep a hold of Abby while reaching down for my bag, but have to let go to undo it and pull the folder out containing the letter.

“I don’t mind heading to bed if you want to speak to your parents alone. Please don’t think you have to include me just because I’ve been so nosy about the building.”

“Come on, you’re in this now. May as well see it through until we find some answers.

” I clutch her hand, pulling her along behind me as we go back into the lounge.

My parents are where I left them, but their faces both look serious as we sit back down.

Abby gestures for me to sit closest to Mum this time, which I do before I pass the clear folder containing the letter to her.

Mum pulls it closer, moving the folder so my dad can read along with her.

I wait in silence and look across to Abby, who’s watching Mum with her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

I tug her lip free from her anxious nibbling.

Our eyes meet. “It’s okay,” I mouth to her, not wanting to disturb my parents while they read.

I stroke her jaw with my hand, which causes her gaze to flick across to my parents before coming back to me.

She gives my knee a pat and gestures with her chin to my parents.

I turn to see them both watching us intently.

“How is Saff?” Mum asks, completely throwing me off guard. She’s holding the letter on her lap but staring right at me. “You mentioned that Abby has met her. Everything okay there?”

“Yeah, all good. Still friends,” I say with a smile.

“Friends.” Mum repeats, flicking her gaze to Abby and back to me. “I’m glad you’ve got friends that make you happy, Cam. I hope you’re taking care with people’s feelings.”

“Of course I am,” I say, worried that it sounds like I’m guilty about something. “My friends are important to me and I look after them.” I push down the churning in my stomach when I think about how I left Glasgow, and Saff felt somewhat abandoned. I’m going to do better now.

“He does,” Abby speaks up from beside me, her hand gripping my knee. “He’s a good friend. And I think Saff would say the same thing.” She purses her lips as if stopping herself from saying anything else.

“I’m glad to hear it.” Mum’s gaze bounces between me and Abby again, and I can’t help but feel this won’t be the last thing she says about it. Thankfully, she changes the subject back to the letter, holding up the folder to wave it about as she asks, “So, what have you found out about it?”

“Not much beyond the letter. My solicitor was able to verify what William’s letter says about the building being signed over to Gran and who managed it for her.

It seems that the building was boarded up several years ago, around the time that Grandpa died and Gran was declining.

The original solicitor who was managing it for her died.

It sounds like it got passed around the office a few times, but no-one really followed up on it.

” My parents share a glance but say nothing.

“I’m hoping Great Aunt Ruth knows something about it and can fill in the blanks. ”

“Have you tracked down this William guy?” Dad asks.

I shake my head before replying, “Not yet. I thought we could discuss it all once I’d spoken to Ruth and then decide what to do from there.”

“What made you keep this from us?” Mum asks with a puzzled tone.

“You were grieving, and I didn’t know what that letter meant.

No-one seemed particularly surprised Gran had left me some random building none of us knew about.

Yeah, she owned property, but why had none of us heard of this place before?

So I thought I’d do some digging before I told you.

And give you some time to process before I threw anything else at you. ”

“I’m glad we know now. I guess we wait and see what Auntie Ruth has to say about it all tomorrow.” Mum gives me a watery smile.

And I just hope we get some answers.