Free A Family Forever by Helen Scott Taylor Page B

morning. Let me." She kneaded the muscles in his shoulders and neck and he dropped his head forward with a groan.
    "That's good. Don't stop."
    "I wasn't going to."
    "My doctor says I should slow down and take some time off, but it's difficult when I'm busy. I hate to miss a good opportunity."
    "You need to make the time. Maybe it's not only Harry who needs some home comforts."
    Adam's eyelids drifted down at the blissful sensation as her fingers worked his muscles. He could easily get used to this.
    The tension and pain leaked away and he fell into a trance. An image of a country house with a pretty garden drifted into his mind, the smell of baking and freshly brewed coffee, the sound of Harry and Sophie laughing together as they played. And Victoria stepping into his arms, linking her hands behind his neck, kissing him. Yes, home comforts like that would work wonders.
    If he could find a suitable house, somewhere not too far away, somewhere with enough land for Victoria to release her hedgehogs so she had a reason to visit him often. He could focus on development prospects in the UK, spend more time at home, and Harry could attend a normal school.
    His phone chimed to indicate a text. While Victoria continued to massage his neck, he fished the phone from his pocket and glanced at the message from his research guy. Andrews is up to his eyes in debt. Willowbrook Farm owned by the bank. Full report e-mailed.
    "Willowbrook Farm," he murmured. Of course. It was the answer to all his problems.

Chapter Nine
    A thread of excitement ran through Adam as he drove up the rough driveway to Willowbrook Farm. The eighteenth-century country house was exactly as he remembered. Restored sympathetically, the old farm would make a lovely family home for him and Harry. And maybe even Victoria and Sophie if he were lucky.
    A week ago he'd have had no hesitation in buying the property out from under the miserable old farmer without caring if he had somewhere else to go. But in the last few days, he'd changed.
    Harry running away had been a wake-up call—opened Adam's eyes to the fact that it was easy to make mistakes with family, even when you were certain you were doing the right thing.
    Nothing could excuse the way Andrews had treated Victoria and Sophie, but in his own way, the man probably thought his feelings were justified. After all, Victoria's grandmother had interfered in his relationship with his daughter.
    Anyway, Adam was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. It was easy to judge other people harshly without knowing exactly what had happened.
    Instead of making this a tragedy for Andrews, he hoped he could give him the chance for a fresh start. So he'd brought the farmer's daughter along. Her husband was running the pub to give her the morning off. She sat beside him in the four-wheel drive, her hands knotted tightly in her lap.
    "You okay?" he asked as they approached the house.
    "I haven't been back here for ten years. It was such a lovely house, now it's falling down around him. How could my father let the place get into this state?" Tears glistened in her eyes and Adam prayed that suggesting she come along had been the right decision.
    "I can take you home if you've changed your mind," he said.
    "No. I want to see Dad. You're right. He might need me."
    While Felicity mourned for the home she had once loved, Adam felt a tad guilty for the excitement buzzing inside him at the thought of renovating it for himself. At least the beautiful old place would become a family home again.
    He prayed Andrews took the easy way out of his financial troubles and sold up without a fight. Adam could just as easily buy the property from the bank, but it would take longer and be more painful for Andrews if the bank repossessed the farm and tossed the old man out.
    Adam parked beside the dented Land Rover and climbed out. "Best if you wait here until I've spoken to your father," he said to Felicity. "I'll call you over when the time is