A Fresh Start on Crumcarey (Crumcarey Island #5)

Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

LUKE

L uke trudged towards his uncle’s pickup and then held the door open for Maggie. He waited as she clambered up into the centre seat before making his way around to the driver’s side.

‘Who said you could drive?’ muttered Mr Harris.

‘I got here first!’ crowed Luke.

‘Not fair – my ankle’s always worse first thing in the morning,’ muttered Mr Harris, climbing up beside Maggie.

‘All the more reason for me to drive, then!’ said Luke with a placid smile as he started the engine.

It didn’t take long for the three of them to gather up the tarpaulins and rope from the top field. As soon as they were back in the truck, they made their way straight for Pear Tree Cottage.

Maggie’s smiling face had become more and more serious the closer they got, and by the time he pulled up in her gateway, he could swear she was on the brink of tears. He wasn’t surprised. He probably would be too if this was his home.

This really wasn’t good.

So much for all his “think positive” talk the night before. The storm had really done a number on the little place.

Stepping out of the truck, the three of them stood side-by-side-by-side, staring at the mess in front of them. Mr Harris had left McGregor in the truck for the time-being, just in case anything else fell from the roof while they were investigating the damage… not that there was much left to come down!

Only one of the several tarpaulins remained in place – dangling limply from one frayed bit of rope. The rest lay scattered around the garden and surrounding fields. Peering around, Luke spotted one flapping on a strand of barbed wire in the distance.

‘There’s one over there on top of the car too,’ said Maggie in a small voice.

Luke nodded. ‘Stay there a sec, you two.’

He didn’t like pulling rank, but there was no way he wanted either of them to be clonked on the head if there were any more loose slates waiting to fall. Grabbing a bit of wood that had been propping up one of the pieces of hardboard that was now lying prone in the tufty grass, he edged towards the front door. Standing as far back as he could get, he used it to prod the damaged roof – ready to leap out of the way if anything came slipping down.

Nothing shifted. It looked like the storm had finished the job.

He made his way over to Maggie’s car and peered at it before shifting a couple of the fallen stones so that he could move the tarp out of the way.

‘Good news,’ he said, turning to look at the other two, who hadn’t budged an inch.

‘Seriously?’ said Maggie. ‘Because now’s not the time for jokes.’

‘Seriously - I promise,’ Luke smiled. ‘None of the car windows have been broken. You’ll have a few extra dents – but other than cosmetic damage, I think it’ll be okay once we’ve shifted all the stone.’

‘Well… that’s definitely something!’ said Maggie. She smiled at him, but it was clearly costing her quite a bit of effort and it slipped right back of her face again the minute her eyes roamed back to the cottage.

‘Might take a while to get it out safely, though,’ said Mr Harris, still staring at the car.

Luke nodded, not taking his eyes off Maggie. She was staring as though mesmerised by the sight of the exposed roof beams. The entire place was still dripping with water, and Luke had a nasty feeling it’d be doing that inside, too.

‘Do you… do want to have a look inside?’ said Luke.

‘Do you think it’s safe?’ said Maggie.

‘No,’ said Luke sadly. ‘We’ll have to go careful… but it might be a good idea for you to see what you’re up against. I’m guessing you didn’t lock it?’

Maggie shook her head.

Luke wasn’t surprised. No one ever locked their homes on Crumcarey. There just wasn’t any need.

‘Want me to do the honours?’ he prompted when Maggie didn’t budge.

She just nodded, looking wide-eyed. Luke watched for a moment as Mr Harris put a gentle hand on her shoulder. Good. It’s exactly what he wanted to do… but right now, he was more use taking charge of the practical side of things.

Reaching for the doorknob, he pushed the door open and paused. There was no resulting crash… which had to be a good start. Still, he was having a hard time not swearing out loud at the sight that greeted his eyes.

Even though the storm damage was fairly bad inside the hallway, it wasn’t the missing roof or the fact that the entire place was alive with the sound of dripping water that had shocked him.

How had Maggie managed to live here so long in this state?!

Russell’s attempts at “modernising” were apparent everywhere he looked. Half-stripped walls and chunks of plasterboard with holes bashed in them were the least of his worries, though. It was the exposed electrical wiring and dangling dead ends everywhere that had him on high alert! The first thing they needed to do was to turn the power off… that’s if it hadn’t already tripped.

‘Do you know where the fuse board is?’ he said, as Maggie and Mr Harris appeared behind him.

‘Of course,’ she said in a quiet voice. ‘We’re old friends.’

‘Good,’ said Luke. ‘Let’s get the power turned off – just until we know what the water’s got into. We’ll have to get someone over to make sure it’s all safe.’

Maggie just nodded and pointed to the far end of the hallway. Sure enough, there was an ancient-looking fuse box sitting high on the shadowy wall. There was no way Luke was touching anything inside that with his bare hands – even if it should theoretically be safe.

‘Back in two secs.’

Dashing back outside, he grabbed the long piece of wood he’d been using to prod at the roof.

‘Got the torch with you?’ he said, hurrying back to the fuse box.

Maggie nodded. Grabbing it from her pocket, she flicked it on and angled the beam so that he could see what he was doing.

‘Perfect,’ said Luke, gingerly lifting the cover off the board. Then he let out a sigh of relief. Every single trip switch in there had already flipped over to the off position. ‘We’re good,’ he said. ‘For now, at least.’

Maggie nodded and then turned to lead the way through to the living room without saying a word.

Luke followed, only to find her standing stock-still, staring at a scene of devastation. The room was completely open to the elements. He glanced up at the sky through the bare bones of the roof beams and sighed.

Mr Harris let out a breath just behind him, and Luke turned and caught his eye. His uncle simply shrugged – though the look in his eyes clearly conveyed his own horror at the state of the place.

‘Well…’ said Luke, wanting to break the silence. Then he paused. He needed to choose his words carefully… he wanted to be as tactful as possible. After all, he didn’t want to be too negative about the place. Maggie had clearly worked her behind off just to keep it from crumbling. This was her home… even if it could barely be classed as a building right now! ‘There’s definitely a lot to do… but the walls will be nice and solid. These old stone places were built to last.’

‘Yeah… three hundred years ago,’ said Maggie in a small voice. ‘Maybe we’re coming to the end…?’

‘Don’t be soft, lass!’ said Mr Harris in a firm voice. ‘This place will be here when your children’s children’s children are having children.’

Maggie cracked a smile at that, and Luke sent a grateful wink in his uncle’s direction.

‘He’s right, Mags.’

‘I’m always right,’ said Mr Harris with a nod. ‘It looks bad with all the rainwater dripping in, but once we’ve got some covers back on the roof and everything’s dried out a bit, it’ll be fine. You’ll see.’

‘Is there anything you want to grab and bring with you?’ said Luke.

‘With me?’ said Maggie, sounding dazed.

‘To The Tallyaff,’ he said. ‘Isn’t Olive expecting you for work?’

Maggie blinked up at him in confusion for a moment, and Luke had to forcibly stop himself from reaching out and brushing a long strand of dark hair off her face.

‘Shit. Work!’ she said, seemingly coming to. ‘Gimmie a sec!’

‘We’ll wait for you outside,’ said Luke, suddenly aware that she might need a bit of privacy.

The place might be a dripping mess of half-done jobs, but it was still her home. Now that he knew she wasn’t about to get an electric shock, and no slates were teetering in the rafters like the sword of Damocles, he was happy that she was safe.

‘I can’t believe it,’ muttered Mr Harris in a low tone the minute the pair of them stepped back out into the daylight.

‘A bit of clearing up to do,’ agreed Luke. ‘The slates need shifting, and there’s probably some woodwork to do before anything else can happen,’ he added, nodding at the roof. ‘I’m not sure there’s any point using tarps again, though… maybe we can find something better to get her through the winter.’

‘I wasn’t talking about the storm damage!’ said Mr Harris, glancing over his shoulder to make sure that Maggie was still well out of earshot. ‘The state that poor girl’s been living in!’

‘Looks to me like she’s done loads,’ said Luke. He knew he sounded defensive, but he couldn’t help it. He was impressed she’d managed to do as much as she had.

‘Aye – I’m not disputing that, lad,’ said Mr Harris. ‘But there are jobs here no one could manage on their own… not even you!’

Luke nodded and opened his mouth to reply when Maggie appeared in the doorway, hugging a plastic box close to her chest. He raised his eyebrows. He’d been expecting clothes, maybe even some keepsakes she wanted to save from the water… but this was barely big enough to hold more than a notebook or two.

‘What have you got in there?’