Hilda put her arm on her daughter-in-law’s. ‘You have your answers now. Send Carmen back to the annexe when you’ve finished chatting. She’s going to be staying for a couple of days.’

  Carmen took a breath, and sat back down opposite Rita, whose heart was beating wildly. She felt she wasn’t sure she could take any more drama tonight, but gripped her tea mug in anticipation.

  ‘I met Archie. Millennium New Year’s Eve. I was working as an au pair in Exeter. I was told that Seahaven Bay put on the best street party and fireworks display to see the year two thousand in, so that is where I came.’ She looked down at her tea. ‘I got pregnant. I never expected anything from him. Never tried to find him. I just went back home to Spain. That was my choice.’

  Rita’s breath caught. ‘I met Archie in two thousand,’ she said softly. ‘In the summer.’ She didn’t know what she had expected to feel, anger? Jealousy? But it was the relief that he didn’t cheat on her that was palpable.

  ‘I didn’t tell my son until he was older when he started asking questions. And by then, it felt too late. I managed to find out that Archie still lived in Seahaven Bay; I also found out that he had his own life and children with you, Rita.’

  ‘I suppose you’re here for the will,’ Rita said resignedly.

  Carmen shook her head firmly. ‘No. No. Hilda – she talked to me. I know nothing about Archie’s will. I never asked him for anything. Not a penny.’

  Rita raised an eyebrow.

  ‘My son, he travelled with his job. When he was twenty-one, he contacted Archie without me knowing. Archie insisted he talk to me. Said he must make up for all the strife and worry I must have had being a single parent. He sent money,’ Carmen admitted. ‘Not loads but enough for my boy to go on his travels around Europe. He had an accident, you see.’

  Tears were now running down Rita’s cheeks. Suddenly, everything made sense. Why this woman looked so familiar. Why Teo had been overly caring. Her voice wavered. ‘I know he did.’

  ‘Being honest, I didn’t want it to be just money. I wanted them to meet, in person. For my son to see the man, not just the gesture. We were going to meet him in Exeter. The week…’ Carmen looked up to stop tears from forming. ‘The week after he died.’

  A silence fell over the room. Even Henry stirred slightly, as if sensing the weight of the sadness of it all. ‘Just for a day,’ Carmen said quietly. ‘No more.’ The pretty Spanish woman continued to well up. ‘I maybe did it all wrong. But I did it the best way I thought.’

  ‘And that’s all we can do,’ Rita replied kindly, looking at the woman in front of her and knowing why Archie had fallen for her, however briefly. Something shifted within her. Not judgement. Not sympathy. Just the understanding of grief in its many complicated forms.

  She reached across the table and touched Carmen’s hand. It was warm, shaking slightly.

  ‘Well.’ Rita’s voice was hoarse with tiredness and emotion. ‘You’re here now.’ Carmen nodded, unable to find the words. ‘And Mateo is a credit to you.’

  ‘Thank you. He wanted to see where his father came from. And when he told me he had got a job on your farm, I didn’t know what to do. He loves you, Rita. The way he talks of you, his voice lilts. I said it wasn’t a clever idea him being here, but he said you were so kind and the way you spoke about his father made him seem much closer to him. He is a good boy, my Teo. But I now feel so bad that he didn’t tell you and now Hilda has made us confront this.’

  Carmen stood up crossed the room, and, sitting next to Rita, took both her hands in hers. ‘I am so sorry for our loss, but I am so happy for our gain.’

  She looked up at the woman who had carried this truth alone for so long.

  ‘I don’t know what to do with this,’ Rita whispered. ‘And does Teo even know you are here?’

  ‘Not yet and you don’t have to do anything.’ Carmen smiled.

  ‘I can’t believe he didn’t say anything.’ Rita sighed.

  ‘Please don’t be angry with him, Rita. He is a good boy.’

  Rita screwed up her nose. ‘Can I ask you how you found out about Archie’s passing?’

  Carmen nodded. ‘His brother called me. He was distraught.’

  FORTY-FOUR

  Rita woke to her alarm. Five a.m. She groaned and turned over, then remembering she had two new kids, a nursing goat, an ex-lover and son of her husband on the farm to deal with, she sat up sleepy eyed and slowly got out of bed and dragged on joggers and a hoodie. Checking her phone for messages and realising she hadn’t updated Kelly, she groaned again. Thinking her friend would understand the enormity of her late-night visitor, she fired off a quick text telling her there was drama, that she was OK, and she’d call her when she’d fed the animals. She’d just flicked the kettle on when there was a knock at the door. She checked her watch. Not even Zenya or Teo were on parade this early, especially as they had no guests at the moment.

  It was Hilda.

  ‘Bloody hell, Mother-in-law, did I just see a pig fly over the barn. You’re rarely up in time for Lorraine, normally.’ Rita reached for a second mug from the cupboard. She signalled to the table. ‘You’d better sit down.’

  Rita had never seen Hilda look quite this sincere as she sat opposite her at the kitchen table. She didn’t even ask if she could have a cigarette, it was that serious. Her mother-in-law slurped her tea noisily. ‘I suppose you want to know my part in this.’

  Rita yawned. ‘Just tell me everything, Hilda. I’m a big girl. I can take it.’

  ‘Archie was drunk one night and blurted out he had a child. I never said a single word to him about it after that, or him to me. Then, months later, I think you must have been in London with Kelly, he turned up drunk here, broke down in tears. Told me about losing his father too young. The weight of the farm. And how much he loved you, so much that he was scared it would break you if you ever knew about the fact he’d had another child and not told you, sooner. I think the more it went on that he hadn’t told you, he felt he couldn’t open up.’

  ‘We told each other everything,’ Rita almost whispered. ‘Or so I thought.’

  Hida pushed a strand of silver hair back off her face. ‘Look at how you’ve coped since his passing. You’re strong. Stronger than he ever gave you credit for. He should’ve just told you, and then maybe we wouldn’t all be going through this pain now.’

  ‘So did you know it was Teo?’

  ‘I had an inkling. Only because Archie let slip that her name was Carmen and she lived in the Triana neighbourhood of Seville. Her family run a company making flamenco costumes and that’s how I found her. I didn’t dare question the boy until I had the full story. I paid for her flight here as she was desperate to see Teo too. He didn’t betray you, Rita.’ She paused, eyes glistening now.

  ‘Well, he did in the sense he didn’t tell me, but at least he didn’t cheat, I guess.’

  ‘Exactly.’ Hilda nodded. ‘And to be fair to him, if Teo hadn’t contacted him, he would never have known either. He also said he was going to write a will and put a provision in for his son, nothing major, just a gesture. Was going to say it was someone he used to work with, before you even met, so that you never would have questioned it.’

  Rita stared at her, numb. ‘So why didn’t you tell me?’

  ‘Because…’ Hilda took a deep breath. ‘Because the night of his accident, I said I thought he should tell you what was going on. That he couldn’t put something in his will that you knew nothing about; it was too much of a betrayal to you. And he got angry. Said it was his business, and he would tell you when the time was right.’

  Hilda’s chin wobbled. The silence between them thickened.

  Rita shook her head. ‘So that’s why he came back to me so angry that night. Stupid sod. I don’t know what he thought I would do or say, but we’d have got through it.’

  Hilda’s voice was hollow. ‘It’s my fault he died that night.’

  Rita got up and ran around the kitchen table to hug her. ‘No, no! It was an accident. There was nothing either of us could have done about it.’

  Hilda jumped up. ‘I’d better get back, before Carmen wakes.’

  ‘Where is she sleeping?’

  ‘In Teo’s room. He stayed at Jude’s last night. He will have a shock when he gets back.’

  Rita ran her hands through her hair. ‘Oh yes. It’s all coming back now. Seems like a lifetime ago, but Camilla gave birth… I had no one to call… except Jago.’

  ‘Oh. But all OK?’

  ‘Yes, two beautiful baby boys.’

  ‘Oh, the irony.’ Hilda paused at the door. Her mouth twitching. ‘No good will come of any of us mixing with a Jenken, though. You hear me.’

  And then she was gone.

  Rita tied her hair up in a scruffy bun and, despite the warmth of the August morning, she pulled on her wellies and slung a bucket of feed over one arm.

  Mary, Elizabeth, and Anne bleated like mad the moment they saw her, crowding the gate as if demanding an update on Camilla.

  ‘All right, all right!’ Rita laughed. ‘Honestly, you’d think I never fed you.’

  Once all the aunties were fed, Rita jumped in the pen and went over to the shed where all the drama had happened last night. The smaller kid, who was white and brown, looking drunk on his spindly legs, was suckling, tail wagging like a wind-up toy. Rita crouched down to check him. ‘Look at you, you greedy little mister.’ The other white one, the spit of his mother, was lying next to her, with bright eyes and what looked like a full little belly. Camilla stood calmly, one back leg slightly cocked, eyes half closed. Her sides rose and fell steadily and every so often, she turned her head and gave the nursing kid a gentle nudge with her nose, as if to say, You’re doing just fine, little one.

  Rita rested her chin on the top rail of the pen, watching them for a long moment. ‘I need to name you, don’t I?’ She thought of the royal theme they’d used before, but somehow it didn’t seem right for these two. Like it was the end of an era now. Hers and Archie’s era. How he would have loved these little babies. These little twins.

  Satisfied everyone was fed and accounted for, she made her way to the chicken coop. A wave of soft clucking and the faint smell of straw met her as she opened the door. The hens were already scratching about, fat and happy, kicking up wood shavings and bossing each other about like they always did.

  ‘Morning, ladies. I trust you’re all ruling the roost?’ She collected the eggs, still warm in her palm, and whispered a small thank you like she always did. Then, leaving the bag of feed at the fence, maybe out of habit or maybe instinct, she wandered up the path towards the Singing Tree.

  When she reached the bench, she ran her fingers over the carving, lovingly etched by Stan, then sat down. ‘May You Always Hear the Sea, Archie Jory,’ Rita spoke aloud, then sighed deeply. ‘I don’t hate you,’ she whispered, to no one and everyone. ‘But bloody hell, Arch. You could’ve just told me.’

  She looked out over the ocean, where the early morning light kissed the waves in their soft gold and turquoise shimmer. The horizon stretched wide and endless, a vast, calming expanse that somehow made her troubles feel both small and immense all at once.

  It felt strange not having guests in the yurts. Like a canvas ghost town.

  She had to admit that she had really enjoyed her time with a bunch of strangers. They had become friends of a sort. But exactly as Paul had said, life really was just a series of events that had a beginning and an end and in the middle, a few good bits. Realistically, she probably would never see any of them again, but in the now, it had been great, despite a few expected teething problems.

  Paul had also opened her eyes, not just to new possibilities, but to herself. The way the musician had touched her, the slow, sure way he’d kissed her, like she was the only thing that mattered, had shaken something free inside her. It wasn’t just desire. It was a quiet, steady knowing that maybe she could still feel alive again.

  And then there was Jago. He made her feel alive, too, in a unique way. Like an unpredictable spark. When he was near, her heart raced, but so did the knot of questions she tried to ignore. The way he looked at her, like he was trying to steal her soul. The gentleness with which he had delivered Camilla’s kids. The silent way he had helped her get the resort up and running without wanting anything in return. There was no question about it. She had to see him. Had to ask him what was going on. Because last night, when the conversation turned to Archie’s brother, he had literally run away. That scared her. Scared her so much. But she had to know. Had to know why he pulled away when things got real, and why, despite it all, she couldn’t stop thinking about him, as much as he said he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Was it just the magnetic pull of lust or was it more than that? She was just reliving the kiss of last night when her thoughts were interrupted by the familiar sound of Archie’s old Land Rover pulling up.

  As she peered down Yurt Avenue, she saw Teo carefully getting out, two coffees in paper cups in hand and a carrier bag hung around his neck. He saw her and lifted a cup in greeting.

  She sat back down as he climbed the hill. When he reached the bench, he didn’t say a word, just handed her a coffee and sat beside her, pulling a cinnamon bun from the bag slung across his chest and giving it to her. A soft breeze stirred the branches overhead as Rita took a bite. She was exhausted, running on barely any sleep, and suddenly ravenous after the night she’d had.

  ‘I thought I might never be brave enough.’ His voice was barely above a whisper. ‘So, it’s a good job that Mamá is here.’ Rita waited. ‘I always wanted to know my father. But now I know he knew about me, and still didn’t…’ He broke off, teeth gritted. ‘I don’t know whether to be angry or just… sad now that I will never get to meet him.’

  ‘I think both are allowed.’ Rita squeezed the lad’s knee.

  ‘I keep wondering what I did wrong. If I hadn’t been someone worthy of his time.’ Teo sighed.

  Rita turned to him sharply. ‘Hey. No. Don’t go there. This wasn’t about you not being good enough. Archie didn’t find out until you contacted him. And your mum told me you were going to meet him. Plus, he had us lot here to manage with the news. Which, granted, he did very badly.’

  Teo blinked quickly.

  ‘I loved him, you know.’ Rita sighed and took a sip of her coffee. ‘Still do, even now. And I hate him a bit, too, for keeping this from me. But I also know… he was a man with a big heart, and he thought he was protecting everyone.’

  Rita reached over and laid her hand on his. ‘You’re not alone in this.’ Her voice wavered. ‘Whatever else he got wrong, he gave me you. And I’m not letting you go, Teo.’

  His eyes filled, but he smiled through it. ‘I don’t know what my fiery Mamá would say about that.’ They both laughed.

  ‘Let me look at you.’ She tilted his face towards her.

  Teo blinked, surprised, but didn’t resist. Beneath the dark hair and worried eyes, she saw Archie. Not just in the sharp angle of his jaw or the shape of his mouth, but in the way his eyes searched hers and the quiet strength he didn’t know he had.

  It hit her all at once, a thud of grief and wonder in her chest. Archie was gone. But Teo was here. And somehow, impossibly, both of them were looking back at her.

  ‘Don’t get me wrong with my mamá and my abuela, I’ve always felt amazingly loved but also like a mistake. But being here, in the place where my father lived and breathed and doing what I love to do. Maybe I’m not.’

  Rita reached for his hand. ‘I don’t think you realise quite how much you have supported me, and I also think you’re exactly where you’re meant to be now. You’ve never been on your own. OK?’ Rita looked directly into his eyes. ‘And you’re not on your own, now. OK?’

  Teo looked away, blinking hard, his jaw tightening as he fought for composure. But he didn’t let go of her hand. Squeezed it as if his life depended on it.

  ‘OK.’ His voice was barely a whisper but then he began nodding furiously. ‘OK.’

  FORTY-FIVE

  In the hazy blush of an August morning, the birds were having a right old singalong. They’d been at it since 4.30 a.m. when Rita had got up to have a pee, after tossing and turning in bed until eventually getting up at 5.30. Since the guests had left, she’d learned to embrace this time, when she knew she had an hour to herself to sit and have a cup of tea, go for a little walk, have some breakfast, and just breathe. Once the animals were fed, she would either go up to the Singing Tree or occasionally drive up to Seahaven Point and sit on her bench, just to watch the ebb and flow of the ocean on her favourite beach, where she would try to reset her heart and her constantly racing mind.

  With Carmen on her way back to Seville, Rita felt she could relax again. It had been lovely to see how Teo interacted with his mother; they clearly had a strong bond. And despite the fact Archie had kept such a humongous secret from her, she felt so sad for him that he had not been able to meet the wonderful child they had created. But it had been Carmen’s decision to keep her boy a secret and she had to respect the woman’s reasons for that too. And if tragedy hadn’t struck, the meeting would have taken place. And who knows, they could all have been one big happy blended family.

  But the big black cloud of having to talk to Jago still hung over her. Part of her didn’t want to face anything. Let the will hang in the ether. If Archie was leaving money to Teo then OK, she got it. She could see why Thom would be angry about this; but how would he have known in the first place? And did he know about the mystery brother, too? There were so many unanswered questions, and she felt that only one man knew all the answers.

  Feeling like a healthy breakfast was required, she made her way to the vegetable garden in search of any remaining strawberries. Creeping past Zenya’s tent, her footsteps muffled by dew-kissed grass, the air hummed with half-asleep bees and the scent of warm apples.