huge portrait of him they kept in the office. Their father was a little on the vain side. He’d had the portrait painted years ago and he kept it in his bedroom when he was alive. Now, it was far more suitable for the office. None of the guests needed a full-size Andrew Singer staring down at them.
‘Yes, he looks as if he’d be as overprotective as Gus. I feel that he’s warning me off with his eyes,’ Hector laughed.
‘Don’t be silly. You’re my friend and he’d have liked you. Actually, at first he wouldn’t but now, with this serious writing side of yours and stuff, he’d probably have liked you.’
‘I’ll take probably. Right, let’s have a toast. To my new book and to Meadowbrook, where it all began to make sense to me.’
As they clinked glasses, Pippa was lost for words. She never imagined that Hector felt that way, the way she did, about Meadowbrook. It was quite moving and she knew then that her father would have liked Hector. He would have admired the way he’d sorted himself out, grown up and was what her dad would have referred to as a ‘decent man’. High praise, indeed, Pippa smiled to herself.
‘I don’t see why I have to be the bloody driver,’ Freddie moaned. ‘I’m not a chauffeur, I’m a serious bar manager and co-owner of the hotel.’
‘You picked Hector up happily enough,’ Pippa pointed out.
‘That’s different, he’s a mate,’ Freddie whined.
Pippa laughed. Her brother acted like a toddler at times; she was almost expecting him to stamp his foot.
‘Fred, I can’t go because I’m needed here. We’ve got guests leaving and I’ve got to get Brooke’s room ready. I’ve got a skeleton staff as there’s some kind of cold bug going round, so someone needs to pick her up from the airport.’
‘But why me?’ Freddie persisted.
He didn’t like being ‘staff’, even though technically he was, but then he’d always been slightly work-shy. Since he’d started managing the hotel bar and running all the hotel’s social media, Freddie had began to work harder than ever, largely owing to Gemma, Pippa thought, but he still didn’t like to do anything that he didn’t want to. Which was a lot of things.
When they first lost their father, the terms of their father’s will stated that the four siblings had to live together in the house for a year and work in the sanctuary. Freddie had been appalled when he was first put on chicken duty, although he was very fond of them now and he spoilt them. But, that hadn’t happened overnight. It had taken a boot up Freddie’s backside to get him to actually do some work – and that boot had come from their father, from his grave.
‘Harry would kill me if we paid a cab to pick her up and included in her price is airport transfer. Fred, she’s an important guest. She’s staying with us for at least two months and she’s paid the full amount up front, so we need to make sure her stay, from the moment she steps out of the airport until she leaves here, is perfect. I trust you to give her the right kind of welcome.’
‘Hummph. What’s this woman’s story, anyway?’ He folded his arms but she could see he’d thawed a little.
‘It’s quite strange, actually. She’s only twenty-five, which seems very young. She’s from California. Apparently, she has some kind of English ancestry who she wants to find out more about and is even thinking of setting up a business here.’
‘Doing what? And when you say here, I’m guessing you don’t mean Parker’s Hollow?’ Freddie frowned.
He had a point. This was a lovely village but young people didn’t exactly pour in to set up businesses here. It was definitely an older person’s type of village; although there had been an influx of younger families lately what with the new housing developments on the outskirts – much to the horror of many of the long-standing residents. It had crossed Pippa’s mind to question why she’d chosen Meadowbrook, but Harriet told her not to pry. After all, they’d find out soon enough when she was staying with them.
‘Not sure, but we do know that she’s vegetarian and she eats a lot of eggs – free-range, of course,’ Pippa grinned.
Their chickens laid eggs and as the coop had almost doubled with ex-battery hens in the past year, they had plenty at the moment.
She continued, ‘And she drinks a lot of green juice. She sent the recipe over and poor Vicky’s getting to grips with the blender and wheatgrass as we speak.’
‘OK, so I’ll go and get her from Heathrow. Please tell me I don’t have to wear a chauffeur’s uniform.’
‘No, that would look silly, especially as you need to introduce yourself as one of the owners of the hotel. No, just look smart. Your best jeans and blazer would work well, I think.’
‘How will I know who she is?’
‘Oh, we made a sign for you. Don’t worry, Fred, we’ve thought of everything. Oh, and take the Range Rover, remember. No Porsche.’ Pippa didn’t want the poor woman arriving terrified.
‘You ruin all my fun,’ Freddie mumbled before heading out.
Pippa was intrigued about their new guest. She knew so little about her but she was looking forward to meeting her. She was also looking forward to having another woman about the place, although Harriet had warned her not to try to push friendship on this guest. While Pippa had taken umbrage at the time, she knew her sister had a point. Pippa did know how to be professional but she could try a bit too hard to be friends with people at times. Gemma had been a case in point. When Gemma came to Meadowbrook to work for them, Pippa had determined they’d be best friends. They’d become so over time, which only proved her right, but she also accepted that she could be a bit pushy and Brooke was a paying guest. Pippa knew she’d have to remember that. Friendly but professional. Of course, if she was going to see a lot of her, a bit like with Hector, then surely it wouldn’t be like the other guests, would it? Pippa knew she’d have to try to find the right balance.
‘Hey.’ Gemma walked in and found Pippa in the office.
‘Gosh, it’s like a revolving door around here. Freddie’s just left, you’ve just arrived.’
‘Oh, I missed him?’ Gemma sounded anxious. ‘I’m going to college in a bit. I was hoping to catch him before I left.’
‘You guys literally must have just passed each other.’
Pippa’s brows knotted. She knew Gemma well. When Gemma had come to work at Meadowbrook as their hotel consultant, Pippa and she had become close. Even though Gemma had tried to keep her and the rest of the family at arm’s-length, they soon broke down her barriers. It wasn’t easy and her situation turned out to be complicated. Gemma was serious and hardworking but anxious and almost secretive. They later found out that was because she wasn’t actually qualified to do the job they hired her for – although she was certainly capable – and she’d stolen her old boss’s CV. It had sent Pippa into a rage; she couldn’t believe her friend had lied to her. But then Gemma had explained that her boss was horrible, her nan was in an expensive nursing home and she had nowhere to live, so she’d taken the first risk that she’d ever taken in her life… And she hadn’t expected to get close to the people she worked with.
In the end, Pippa understood. Gemma had had a terrible time, had hardly any family and then her only relative, her nan, had died just before the hotel opened. Pippa had recognised that Gemma wasn’t a bad person and she’d done an amazing job with the hotel. Eventually, she’d thawed and they’d reaffirmed their friendship, and when Gemma and Freddie got together, it had made Gemma more part of the family. And their relationship had seemed wonderful for the past year. Gemma was definitely a positive influence in Freddie’s life and he helped bring out her lighter side. Everyone agreed they were