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“I’ve been helping Mel with Wayne’s birthday present,” he said. “It’s a secret, though, so don’t say anything.”
They fell into step together. “As if I would,” she objected. “I don’t really know Mel, anyway.”
“Well, I’ve worked with Wayne a long time and I want to make his birthday special. Even if he is my boss.” Luke laughed, and she was amazed at the way it transformed his features.
“You should laugh more,” she said. “It suits you. He seems nice, Wayne,” she added when he didn’t respond.
Luke nodded. “He organizes everything around here. I just help him make it all work. At the moment, he’s trying to get funding for an adventure trail on the grounds. You know, like an obstacle course. I’ll help build it, but money’s tight for things like that.”
“That sounds great,” Kat said, though she wondered if she’d have the same problem getting funds for her animal therapy. She’d need buildings and feed and enclosures.
“Yeah, he’s the best. And so is his wife.” Kat had only met Mel in passing, but she seemed sweet. Luke continued, “In fact, all the staff here are great. The place wouldn’t function without Mike and Gwen, and Tim has the classes running like clockwork. You’d think this was just an ordinary boarding school if you didn’t know better.”
“You get difficult children in every school,” Kat agreed. “I’ve worked with children from private schools who appear to have every advantage in life.”
Luke slowed down. “Ben isn’t bad, though, not really. He’s just lost his way.”
“No child is bad. Their problems usually stem from their upbringing and circumstances.”
“He just needs some boundaries,” Luke insisted. “I learned that very early on in life. Discipline’s important, don’t you think?”
“Not necessarily.” Kat chose her words carefully. “I mean, it is to a degree, but respect is more important...and love. Children need stability in their lives to build their confidence. They need to know that they are loved.”
Luke frowned. “Love is important, obviously, but my dad was very strict and it didn’t do me any harm. A child could have all the love in the world, but do you really think it’s going to solve behavior issues? Is that why we send criminals to prison—to love them? That’s the problem with your courses, Kat—you let the kids run too wild.”
Kat saw red. How dare he lecture her on something she was highly trained for.
“Says the man who abandoned his son.” As soon as the words left her lips she regretted them. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No kidding.”
He took off without another word, running ahead of her with huge, loping strides. She watched him go with a lurch of regret. No matter, she decided, increasing her pace. She had confidence in her work, and she wouldn’t let him interfere with it.
* * *
TRUE TO HER PROMISE, within two days of Kat’s phone call, Elsa May Malone Evans, the owner of Number Three Cove Cottages, emailed Kat a lease and Kat responded by sending her new landlord two months’ rent, sealing the deal. She had arranged to pick up the keys in the village later that afternoon, from a man named Ted, and she couldn’t wait. She’d already done some online shopping and had ordered several items. The cottage was fully furnished, but she wanted to make it feel like her own as soon as possible.
During her lunch break, she stopped into Mike’s office to let him know she would be moving out.
At first he just laughed. “But won’t you miss Luke?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. “I know how well you two get along.”
“Very funny,” she responded. “He’s obviously been complaining about me.”
“Actually, no, he hasn’t said anything about you personally. It’s general knowledge that you and he aren’t exactly the best of friends.”
“He’s against my therapy methods, that’s all.”
“Luke just worries about Ben. It’s a big deal, suddenly being introduced to the son you’ve never met. You should give him a chance, Kat. He’s a decent bloke.”
“I’m sure he is, but I’d love it if he could back off and let me get on with my job.”
Mike frowned, and his tone grew serious. “You and Luke really must try and put your differences aside. You have to cooperate with each other for Ben’s sake—you, of all people, should understand that. I couldn’t care less about your petty arguments. This is about the life and future of a vulnerable young boy.”
“Well, yes, of course it is,” Kat said, her cheeks growing hot. She hadn’t meant to sound churlish in front of her boss. “And that is what I care about more than anything—helping the children.”
“So figure it out,” he said. “Ben isn’t in a good place right now, and it’s showing in his behavior. To be honest, he seems to be getting worse rather than better. I’m sure you heard about the incident with Mr. Mather yesterday, when he refused to do the work he was given then ripped his notebook up. You’re a professional. Talk to him, Kat. Gwen tells me Ben listens to you. It’s what we hired you for.”
“I hadn’t heard about that incident yet,” Kat admitted. “The report from his teacher doesn’t come in until this afternoon. I’ll discuss it with Jed before my session with Ben later. I’ve seen him improving in the sea-therapy course, and his sessions have gone well. Frankly...”
Mike waited for her to go on.
“Frankly, I don’t think Luke is helping. He interferes all the time, criticizing everything I do. He’s been complaining about my therapy sessions and I think it’s because he wants all the funds he can get for the adventure trail he wants to build.” The idea had been percolating since their encounter on the path the other evening.
“Well, Luke hasn’t said anything to me about the way you run your courses. You’re right that it’s not his place to criticize you—you’re the expert, after all—unless the kids are in danger.” Mike leveled her with a stern look. “And I sincerely hope I won’t hear anything like that. But if he’s worried about the animal therapy using up valuable funds, that’s quite understandable. We only have so much to go around here for special programs. As I’ve said before, I’m open to the animal-therapy idea, but I’ll need to see a full proposal, including costs, before I can approve anything.”
Feeling suitably scolded and unprofessional, Kat apologized. “I’ll talk to him,” she promised. “And I’m really sorry. I know it’s up to me to make the effort.”
“Then we’ll say no more about it,” Mike said, smiling. “I don’t like to interfere but you do have to try and get on with him...for Ben’s sake.”
CHAPTER FIVE (#u4bfd1649-88da-5881-924d-3357804c4c0d)
AFTER THE HEATED conversation between him and Kat, Luke kept on running until he reached his apartment. Her words rang in his ears. Says the man who abandoned his son... Truth was, she was right: he had abandoned Ben. But for her to put it so bluntly was...harsh, to say the least. Okay, so she’d apologized, but that wasn’t the point. And she was wrong about him being against her courses; this fatherhood thing was new to him, and the responsibility was overwhelming.
A hot shower and a change of clothes made Luke feel more objective about the situation. Surely there was a way to work around the issues between him and Kat. A knock on the door shook him out of his thoughts. “Kat!” he cried when he opened it. “What are you doing here?”
She stood her ground, but appeared slightly uncomfortable. “I thought I’d... I mean, I just wanted to let you know I’m moving out.”
Luke frowned. “Okay...thanks for letting me know.”
“And I wanted to talk to you about Ben. To explain myself, I suppose.”
He nodded. “Go on...”
“I believe what Ben really needs is attention, and more than anything, to know that he’s loved. I don’t have all the details about his home situation, but there’s clearly some underlying cause for his insecurity. All we can do is talk to him and make him feel wanted.”
Luke tried to be straight with her. “Look, I respect your role as Ben’s therapist, but he’s my son and I worry about him. It irritates me when you go on about love—of course I love him. But I also believe boys his age need discipline as a first priority, an awareness of what’s right and wrong and consequences for their behavior.”
The expression on her face told him she was about to make some sarcastic comment, but instead she turned a bit pink and nodded. “Okay, why don’t we just agree to disagree...again. We both want what’s best for Ben, don’t we? I can tell you that my methods are tried and tested, but you are his dad and I respect that. For now, he just needs to settle in here and feel safe. Of course he needs discipline in the long term, but if you step back a bit I think you’ll find that my nature and animal therapy really puts kids in touch with the reality of life, makes them aware of what really matters and teaches them to love unselfishly...to care.”
Despite his reservations Luke had to admit that he was touched by her intensity. “I’ll keep all that in mind.”
“No more arguments?” she said with a shy little smile that he found quite intriguing.
“No more arguments,” he agreed.
As she walked away, he couldn’t help but notice her strong, determined stride, which belied the sensitivity she’d just shown. Maybe he should sit in on her next sea-therapy session, not to be critical but to try to understand where she was coming from. And who knew; getting involved might even help to break the ice a bit with Ben.
Feeling good about his decision, Luke headed for Wayne’s office to see what jobs were on the list for today. Wayne was sitting at his computer, frowning at the screen, his graying head tipped forward in concentration. He glanced up with a smile when he heard Luke come into the office.
“Oh, good. You’re here,” he said. “I need you to put in an order at the suppliers. Just check with Gwen first to see if there’s anything she needs. After that, can you make some calls to get the best price for rebuilding the fence at the back of the grounds? It could probably do with a temporary fix, too, if you have time. And the TV in the small sitting room is on the blink.”
“Not too many problems, then,” Luke said, smiling. His job was to support Wayne in any way he could and he’d come to realize that being assistant manager at Flight meant being up for almost anything.
When Luke had arrived at Flight in his early twenties to work as a general handyman, Wayne had taken him under his wing. In fact, Luke had lived with Wayne and Mel at their house in the village for the first few weeks, until the new staff annex was ready for him to move into. Since then the couple had taken it upon themselves to watch out for him. The assistant-manager position had actually been created for him. That was why he felt so guilty about keeping Ben a secret; Wayne and Mel had never said anything, but he could see that they were disappointed in him. He intended to make it up to them by helping make Wayne’s impending birthday the best ever.
Thinking about the smart little boat tucked away in the corner of Tanners’ boatyard, Luke couldn’t help but smile as he went off to complete the day’s tasks. It was Mel’s present to Wayne, but he’d helped her find it and spruced it up with some fresh paint. She was convinced that Wayne would love it; Luke hoped she was right.
* * *
KAT SPENT THE morning with the children’s therapy group for five-year-olds. She always found it hard when children so young had problems; it just didn’t seem right. How could anyone neglect or be cruel to such little kids?
Lucy Bell was a particularly heartrending case. She’d been taken from a squat in the northwest because her mother had been too spaced out on drugs to care for her most of the time. Left to fend for herself, she’d had little communication with others, and according to her social workers, she’d lived off scraps and leftovers and was rarely washed or dressed properly. Kat worked with her most days, just trying to get her to communicate, and this morning Lucy had smiled for the first time ever when Kat walked into the room. It felt like a breakthrough.
“Hey, Lucy,” Kat called. “Want to play a question game with me and Aaron?”
Lucy looked up from the pile of colored blocks she was playing with and nodded, her big blue eyes shining. “I like Aaron,” she said.
“And he likes you, too, Lucy,” Kat told her. “We all do. Now, who wants to be first?” Aaron put up his hand. “Okay, Aaron, what’s your first question?”
Aaron looked at Lucy for a moment; he knew this game well. “Which toy do you like best?” he asked.
“I like my dolly,” Lucy said, cuddling her lifelike baby doll close against her chest.
“Your turn, Lucy,” Kat said.
Lucy frowned. “Where’s your mummy?” she asked Aaron.
“She’s in heaven with the angels,” he replied, unfazed.
“My mummy’s sick,” Lucy told him. “That’s why they’re looking after me here.”
“Let’s play building,” Aaron suggested.
“We’ll use the blocks,” Lucy responded. “Come on. We could make dolly a house.”
Watching the children interact and develop confidence and positive social skills made everything worthwhile for Kat and reconfirmed why she loved her job so much. Spending time with the kids—talking to them, playing games and encouraging them to engage in the world around them—was how she spent most of her sessions. Her goal was to get to know each of them: what they liked, what made them laugh...and what made them cry. That was the hard part. Some of the kids had had such a hard time in their short lives that it made her mess of a childhood seem almost charmed.
When the session finished and the children went off to their classroom, Kat spent a few minutes tidying up the toys. Later this afternoon she was taking the six-to-ten group, and colored blocks weren’t as useful in getting them to open up.
Before that session, she wanted to give Ben a book about the sea she’d been promising to lend him; hopefully the book would capture his imagination and give him something to talk about. In one-on-one counseling he tended to be withdrawn and sulky, which she attributed to him having seen so many well-meaning social workers and therapists over the past few months. On the other hand, he’d been full of energy during the more informal sea sessions, winding up the other kids and causing trouble, but laughing, too.
Kat’s heart ached for him. It was clear to her that Ben just didn’t know who he was. His whole life had been turned on its head, and it probably seemed like everyone he thought he could believe in had let him down. Not to mention his dad’s appearance after nine years of silence. It would be hard for Ben to learn to trust again, and building a relationship with Luke was going to take a lot of forgiveness.
She glanced at her watch; he’d be out of class any minute. Kat grabbed the book and headed over to the new, chalet-style classrooms across the grounds, arriving just as the doors burst open. A stream of children came running out, but she couldn’t see Ben. When the crowd of kids had thinned and he still hadn’t appeared, she walked up the steps and in through the half-open door. Mrs. Selby, the math teacher, was standing by her desk, her cheeks flushed with anger, while Ben glared up at her. Kat noted his closed expression, which was more concerning than a tantrum or display of anger.
“What’s the matter, Mrs. Selby?” she asked.
Chris Selby turned her attention away from the boy, bristling with indignation. “It appears that Ben does not like math and he’s flatly refused to do any work at all today. All he has done is scribble all over his textbook. I’ve told him to take his workbook with him and finish his arithmetic questions before tomorrow. You can go now, Ben.”
Ben stood still, staring into space. “I said you can go,” she repeated.
When Ben ignored her, Kat stepped in. “I can deal with this if you like, Chris. I’ve brought him a book he wanted to borrow. I’ll make sure that he does his math—don’t worry.”
“Well, if you’re sure.”
“I’m sure. You get off to your next lesson.”
After Chris left, Kat turned to Ben. “Now, what was all that about?”
“I hate math and I hate her,” he mumbled without looking up.
“Mrs. Selby just wants you to do well, Ben. And if you’re really struggling with math then perhaps I can have a chat with Mr. Ellison about getting you some extra help.”
“Don’t want extra help. Don’t want to do it at all.”
“Well, if you grow up not even knowing how to multiply and divide, you’re not going to get very far. Anyway, let’s not worry about that right now. Come on—it’s a lovely day and you have a break now, so why don’t we go out into the garden and I’ll show you the book I’ve brought.”
Ben followed Kat outside, dragging his feet.
“It’s so beautiful, isn’t it?” she said, gesturing at the smooth green lawn spread out before them like a large patch of velvet surrounded by a vivid splash of colorful blooms carefully nurtured by Ned, the groundskeeper. “Don’t you think it’s a beautiful garden?” she asked Ben.
“We used to have a nice garden,” he responded quietly.
Ben had never mentioned his life before Flight to her. Kat crafted her response carefully. “If it was as nice as this one, you must have been very lucky.”
“Granddad used to do it.” Ben’s voice sounded wobbly. “He loved gardens. I helped him.”
“Your granddad must be a very nice and very clever man.”
“He used to be,” muttered Ben, grabbing the heads of some big red flowers and ripping them off.
“Ben!” cried Kat as he threw them onto the lawn. “Don’t do that.”
Ben looked at her then took off at a run, trampling the flower beds and darting in and out of the trees. Kat followed at a distance, keeping an eye on him but letting the boy let off steam.
Kat had never heard him mention his granddad’s illness before, and his condition obviously bothered Ben much more than she’d realized. She knew Mollie had to spend all her time caring for her husband, but it was more than a lack of attention from his grandmother that seemed to be at the root of Ben’s problems.
Like a lot of troubled children, Ben was far more sensitive than he let on. He was very susceptible to nature; she’d seen it in the sea sessions and again today when he’d finally let out some of his feelings in the garden. She would have to harness that sensitivity to find out more about his situation and help him regain some kind of balance.
Eventually, Ben made his way into the main house for lunch, so Kat headed to Mike’s office, hoping to get more details about Ben’s past.
“Hi,” Mike said, glancing up from some paperwork. “I could do with a distraction.”
“Not going to give me a hard time today?” she said, smiling.
“Look,” he responded, putting down his pen, “I know you’re totally professional and I believe in you and your methods—that’s why you’re here. You have to see my point of view, though. Luke is, understandably, in a strange place right now. The son no one knew about has turned up on his doorstep and he doesn’t quite know how to deal with it. You’ll probably say that he should have been in the boy’s life from the start but—”
“Of course he should,” Kat interrupted.
