‘Can I ask a personal question about what happened when Naomi died, in terms of paperwork and so on?’
‘Of course.’ He sat down opposite her at the table and turned the teapot he’d brought in from the van for them. Clockwise three times and anticlockwise another three, just like Naomi used to do.
‘When Naomi died, did she leave anything to Pansy or does everything just go to you automatically?’
Henry rubbed his face where his beard was annoying him. He’d been thinking of shaving it off but autumn wasn’t far away and then he would complain about the cold.
‘Naomi had a life insurance and a policy from her parents, who died when we were first married. She left me the insurance money to care for Pansy and put half into an account for her schooling and half into a trust for her when she turns twenty-one. It won’t be a huge amount but enough for her to buy a car, put a deposit on a little flat or something.’
‘And you can’t touch that?’
‘No, it was in Naomi’s will.’
He picked up a document and started to read and then looked at Clara. ‘So what do you think happened?’
Clara picked up the papers and flicked through them.
‘I wonder if he left a will,’ she said.
‘Not everyone has one.’
Clara clapped her hands. ‘I can find out if her dad had one through the probate directory. I forgot about that. Maybe see if her mum had one also. You never know.’
He noticed that her eyes sparkled when she had a good idea. First it was the beds for the spare room, then when she said they should stay, and now with hunting down some justice for Rachel, a girl she hardly knew but who needed someone on her side for the first time in her life.
‘What about your dad? Did he leave a will?’
The spark left Clara’s face and she seemed to be searching for an answer.
‘No. I mean it was complicated…’ Her voice trailed away.
‘How so?’ Henry encouraged.
But Clara shook her head. ‘I can’t really talk about him – it’s sort of hard.’
Clara seemed nervous but he wasn’t sure why.
‘Of course. But you know you can tell me anything.’
Clara looked down at the papers on the table. ‘I know but I can’t yet. I don’t know if I ever can.’
‘You don’t have to do anything,’ he said. ‘But if you want to, if you feel it will give you some sense of ease if you put it down and share it with someone, a friend, instead of carrying it around, then I would like to take the load for a while if you’d let me.’
Clara said nothing and went back to her paperwork. He watched her work for a while, wondering what was so big that she couldn’t share it with him. He had told her everything about his simple life and yet, he felt there was a huge shadow between them, something that stopped her from moving towards him.
‘Clara?’
She looked up at him.
‘Whatever it is you want to tell me, I will listen, and I won’t judge you. I couldn’t. So when you’re ready to tell me, when and if you’re ready, I will be here, okay?’
She nodded and he could see her eyes were shining with tears.
‘I feel like there is nothing we couldn’t tell each other.’
Clara put her head down. ‘That’s not true though – we all have dark secrets.’
Henry nodded. ‘Yes, but some of them aren’t so scary if we bring them into the light once in a while.’
He saw a tear drop onto her hand and his heart hurt.
‘Maybe,’ she said.
‘Whenever you want to tell me, Clara, I will be here. I won’t run, if that’s what you’re thinking.’
Her eyes lifted to meet his. ‘Is that true though? Will you be here? What is even happening between us?’
He paused and thought for a moment.
‘I don’t know but I know I can’t wait to start work every morning. I know you make me laugh and you make me think. I know I want to impress you and I know I haven’t felt this way since I met Naomi.’
He saw her face soften.
‘Is this really happening between us? Is it okay? Can it happen when I’m paying you?’ she asked.
He shrugged. ‘So don’t pay me.’
‘I’m not not paying you,’ she said. ‘That’s ridiculous. That’s not what I meant.’
‘I know, I just wanted you to know that this—’ he gestured to them both ‘—has never happened before. I have never, ever had feelings for my clients, except maybe harbouring bad feelings towards idiots but you are something entirely new. I don’t know that I quoted for falling for you.’
Clara’s mouth dropped open at his words.
‘Did you just say you were falling for me?’
He nodded, almost surprised at his words. Clara made him want to tell her the truth. He just wished she could share her truth with him.
He saw she was blushing now and she bit her lip, stifling a smile.
‘So, tell me what you want?’ he asked.
‘Now? Tomorrow? Sometime soon?’ she teased.
‘All of the above.’
Clara gathered the papers and put them into a neat stack and put her pen on top.
‘Now? I want to go to bed and sleep. Tomorrow, I want to solve the issues with Rachel’s father’s papers and at some point in the future, as I have told you, I would like chickens and a pet dog.’
She walked to the door of the kitchen.
‘Just for the record, I’m falling for you too, but I worry we are each other’s rebound relationship.’
But Henry shook his head. ‘You are not a rebound. A rebound is when a person is using someone else to try and unlove another. I will never not love Naomi; she’s the mother of my daughter. I could have dated, I could have sent Pansy to my parents and slept with random women, I could have done
