It was only hearing a scream of delight from the yard below that made her realise she had fallen asleep at some stage. She forced an eye open to check the clock. Nine! She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept this late.
Her thoughts immediately shifted back to the night before and her conversation with Lia and Eliza. She still couldn’t believe Eliza had been so lucky with her brother’s investment. She smiled thinking about it. It sounded like Eliza needed a break and how lovely of her brother to provide it.
Her phone pinged with a text as she contemplated getting out of bed. She hesitated, praying it wasn’t Zane Fox as she picked up her phone from the bedside table. She let out a deep breath. It was her father.
Would you be free to pop over at three for afternoon tea? There’s something I want to discuss with you and Nat.
Hannah sent him a quick text back.
Let me check with Damien, and I’ll get back to you.
It was unusual for her dad to have something he needed to discuss, although with the financial problems he and Sue were experiencing it wouldn’t surprise her if he wanted to bring up the idea of selling the house.
She hauled herself out of bed and into the en-suite bathroom. She needed to get organised and face the day. Damien was the one who’d worked a late shift and yet he was up, and from the sounds coming from the yard, entertaining Amy and Bear. He must be wondering what was wrong with her.
After waving Amy and Damien off as they headed to the movies, at three o’clock she pulled into her father’s driveway.
Hannah was shocked when she saw him; his face was pale and he had dark circles under his eyes.
‘Are you alright?’ The words slipped from her tongue before she could stop them. Heat flooded her face. ‘Sorry, it’s just that you look terrible. You’re not sick, are you?’
Her father ushered her into the house and through to the kitchen. ‘Sick with worry maybe, but no, not sick otherwise. We met with your fund manager this week. Things aren’t looking good.’
Hannah’s heart sank. Her poor father. This wasn’t what someone about to retire needed. ‘Where’s Sue?’
‘She’s gone out for the afternoon. She thought it best that I have this discussion with you girls without her. She felt it wasn’t her place to have an opinion, which I completely disagree with. She was also worried that you girls, well, Nat in particular, might feel awkward expressing how you really feel with her here.’
Hannah smiled. ‘That’s never usually a problem where Nat’s concerned.’
There was a knock on the front door. ‘That’ll be Nat.’ Worry lines deepened on his forehead. ‘Expect fireworks.’
Hannah busied herself making tea while her father let Nat in. She was sure he was worrying about nothing. Nat would be the first to want to help him, she was sure of that.
Ten minutes later the three of them were sitting around the kitchen table, a plate of Nat’s favourite homemade biscuits in front of them. Hannah had bitten the inside of her lip to keep from smiling when her father mentioned that Sue had spent the morning baking them. They really did think they needed to butter her up.
He explained the financial situation to Nat and what the fund manager had advised earlier in the week.
Nat’s mouth dropped open. ‘What about your savings? The money that’s not tied up in your super? Surely you can live off that initially and hope the super fund performs better?’
‘No, most of it’s gone. I was talked into investing it in our super to help it grow quicker. I thought I was doing the right thing. We’ve only got a small amount left. Enough for a year or so, but not a lot more.’ He took a deep breath and looked at Nat. ‘One way that we could retire comfortably and still travel and do some of the things we planned is if we sold the house.’
Nat dropped her teacup back in its saucer with a loud clatter. ‘This house? You’re going to sell it?’
Her father shook his head. ‘Not definitely. It was something I wanted to run by you. See how you felt.’
‘And Sue wants to sell?’ Nat’s voice was shaky.
‘She isn’t attached to the house like we are, Nat,’ her father said. ‘Which is why she’s not here this afternoon. She wanted this to be our decision. She knows we have our memories of your mother here.’
Tears filled Nat’s eyes. ‘That’s exactly why it shouldn’t be sold. Mum loved this house.’
Hannah was surprised at her reaction. Nat lived a fairly nomadic existence; she hadn’t expected her to be attached to their childhood home at all. ‘Mum’s been gone for eighteen years. Don’t you think she’d want whatever was best for Dad at this stage?’
‘No, I think she’d want our memories of her preserved. There’s something special about coming here. You can feel her when you’re here.’
The pout on Nat’s face took Hannah back twenty years. Even as a teenager it was her defiant look. The stance she took when she wanted her own way. Anger bubbled up inside Hannah. Why couldn’t Nat think of someone other than herself? Couldn’t she see their father needed help? ‘And how often exactly do you come and visit? Other than the family events throughout the year, how often do you drop in to feel close to Mum?’
‘That’s not the point. I like knowing that I can.’
‘It is exactly the point. Mum wasn’t materialistic, and yes, she loved the house, but she would have moved in a flash if she’d needed to. Her home was where we were. She said that many times. It had nothing to do with bricks and mortar.’
‘Okay,’ their father interrupted, ‘we don’t need to argue about this. It was just an idea, and one that we appear to be divided on.’
‘Nat,’ Hannah said. ‘It isn’t your decision. Dad needs money, and with property values skyrocketing around here, this house could help him. He also doesn’t need the maintenance of such a large yard. Think about him rather than yourself for once.’
Nat’s eyes flashed with anger.
‘Probably a good time to pay back any outstanding loans too,’ Hannah added. ‘Which I imagine you have plenty of.’
‘Probably a good time for you to mind your own business. Any loans I have with Dad are our business, not yours. And for your information, most of them have been paid back.’ She turned to her father. ‘I’ll pay you back what I owe you as soon as I can. I hadn’t realised you were having problems.’
‘Thanks, love. But there’s no hurry. You don’t owe me much and I hadn’t ever really expected it to be paid back.’ He ran a hand through his hair. ‘To be honest, I’m beginning to wish I’d never mentioned the house or any of this. Sue and I can get by, it just won’t be the retirement we’d been dreaming of.’
Nat frowned. ‘I love this house, but of course I want you and Sue to be happy too. I just need some time to get my head around losing it. It will be like losing Mum again, I guess.’
It was on the tip of Hannah’s tongue to tell Nat to stop being so melodramatic, but she stopped herself. Maybe she really did feel a connection when she was at the house. Instead she touched her arm. ‘She’s always in your heart, Nat. You don’t have to say goodbye, just find her in different places, different situations. When I want to be close to her, I bake that ginger and pecan cake she used to make.’