Free Kennedy 02 - A Darker Side by Shirley Wells

Farm?’
    ‘He was. Sadly, he’s dead now. When Wilf died, his younger brother, George, took over the farm.’
    The way he spoke, Wilf Hayden had died some time ago. ‘How old was he when he died?’
    ‘Twenty-one,’ he told her grimly. ‘A tragic accident. He and George had a couple of old motorbikes and they used to ride them around the quarry at Stacksteads. There was a sheer drop and, one day, Wilf lost control of the bike and went over the edge. He didn’t stand a chance.’ He took a sip of wine. ‘Tragic, it was.’
    ‘How awful. George must have been devastated.’
    ‘Yes. He was two years younger than Wilf so he’d have been nineteen at the time.’ He brightened. ‘But every cloud and all that. The farm always meant everything to George and at least he inherited that. Oh, I’m not saying it could take the place of his brother,’ he added hastily, ‘but, well, I’m sure it helped.’
    ‘I know what you mean,’ Jill assured him.
    Exactly how much had the farm meant to George Hayden though? Enough to cause an ‘accident’ out at the quarry?
    They chatted about the area in general and then Jill enthused over Kelton Bridge, her cottage and her neighbours until it was time to leave . . .
    It was a few minutes after midnight when Scott stopped the car outside Lilac Cottage.
    ‘Thanks, Scott,’ she said, stifling a yawn. ‘I enjoyed it. They’re lovely people.’
    ‘You were miles away,’ he scolded gently.
    ‘Sorry. Was it so obvious?’‘
    Not to the others, no. Is something bothering you, Jill?’
    ‘Oh, it’s only work. A good night’s sleep will soon have me back to normal.’
    ‘Ah. I take it I’m not being invited in for coffee then.’
    The thought of inviting him inside hadn’t even entered her head. It was so long since she’d had a boyfriend that she’d forgotten the basics.
    ‘Next time,’ she promised, not bothering to hide this yawn. ‘I’ve an early start in the morning.’
    ‘I’ll call you tomorrow,’ he promised.
    ‘Thanks. And thanks for this evening. I enjoyed it. Really.’
    He leaned over and kissed her cheek. ‘You’re a hopeless liar,’ he whispered.
    She couldn’t argue with that.

Chapter Ten
    ‘Dad, can we go to Blackpool today?’
    ‘Yeah, you said we could.’
    ‘Blackpool?’ Max groaned. ‘I couldn’t possibly have said such a thing. What do you want to go there for? It’s a horrid place.’
    ‘It’s brill!’ Ben argued.
    ‘You said we could, Dad,’ Harry reminded him again.
    In a moment of madness, when he was bribing his sons, Max supposed he probably had.
    He made himself another coffee and leaned against the sink to watch Ben and Harry eating toast as if they hadn’t been fed for months. The dogs, Fly and Holly, were watching every mouthful, too.
    ‘Tell you what,’ Max said, ‘we’ll get some ice-creams out of the freezer and, instead of throwing money in those machines, you can throw it in my pockets. You’ll never know you haven’t been to Blackpool.’
    ‘Oh, Dad!’ Harry scoffed.
    It looked like a trip to Blackpool then. Max could think of a hundred things he’d rather do, but at least he’d be spending time with his kids and that’s what weekends were for. He’d planned to do a few jobs around the house. Rehanging cupboard doors and tidying out the shed couldn’t be termed quality time, though.
    ‘I need to make a couple of phone calls first,’ he told them, resigned, ‘and then we’ll go.’
    His mobile rang and, while he would have welcomed an excuse to avoid Blackpool, he didn’t want work to tear him from the boys again.
    It was Jill.
    ‘Hi. Good night last night?’ There was no need to sound downright unfriendly, but he couldn’t help himself. If she’d been seeing anyone other than Scott Williams . . . It wouldn’t have made a jot of difference, an inner voice scoffed.
    ‘Interesting,’ she replied. ‘George Hayden had an older brother, apparently. Years ago, when George was nineteen, his