The Waffle House on the Pier - Tilly Tennant Page 0,87
trust me, she’s not about to go anywhere – at least not today.’
Ewan narrowed his eyes. ‘And you haven’t put her up to it?’
‘Don’t be a dick!’ Sadie snapped.
‘I’m just saying because you’re keen to keep the place open and it would suit you to—’
‘At the expense of Gammy’s safety? Credit me with some humanity, Ewan!’
He ground his teeth and stared into space for a moment. ‘As far as I can see, the sooner Grandma sells this place the better.’
‘I know that. But first we’ve got to persuade her it’s a good idea.’
‘A quick sale and a good price might do that.’
Sadie wasn’t so sure but she didn’t say so. She wasn’t sure any price would be enough for Gammy to let it go, especially not to a stranger.
‘Does it matter who buys it?’ she asked.
‘Why?’
‘No reason,’ Sadie said, though she didn’t know why Luke’s offer had popped into her head at that exact moment. She could probably put it down to desperation. They needed a quick solution and he had one. But she’d already dismissed it because it wouldn’t work, and her opinion hadn’t really changed on that. It was just too easy to reach out for the nearest life raft, even if that raft had holes and too many people on board already. And no matter how desperate things became, her brother would never agree to Luke buying the waffle house anyway and chances were – the way things stood – that April would never agree to sell it either. Sadie was convinced that the only way her grandmother would sell was if it stayed in the family, but they’d already established that wasn’t practical either because the only family member who wanted to buy it couldn’t afford to. They really were looking at the most impossible puzzle.
‘Ewan,’ she continued, ‘you can’t go in all guns blazing this morning, telling Gammy all this; you’ll only upset her and she’s already unhappy. For today we’re going to have to let it be and then talk to her again tonight. It might take time to get there and we’re going to have to be patient.’
‘We could talk to her again tonight if you could sit in the house for longer than ten minutes with us.’
Sadie put her hands to her hips. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘I don’t know… Don’t you have a date with an axe murderer or serial killer or something?’
Sadie scowled at him. ‘Oh, Ewan, you’re soooo funny…’
‘I’m not trying to be. Will you be in?’
‘For what it’s worth, yes. But I hardly think it matters. I’m hardly more persuasive than anyone else and nobody’s got through to her so far.’
‘That’s where you’re wrong. If you tell Grandma you won’t work in the waffle house any longer she’ll have no choice but to close up because even she knows she can’t run it alone.’
Sadie stared at him. ‘You want me to do what?’
‘You heard me,’ he replied, lowering his voice and casting a glance at the kitchen door.
She gave her head a vigorous shake. ‘I’m not doing it.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because Gammy will hate me.’
‘You’ll be doing her a kindness in the long run.’
‘Easy for you to say – you’re not going to look like the bitch who lost her lovely waffle house for her. She’ll still love you when it’s all over.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous – she’ll still love you too.’
‘She’d always blame me and that’s not fair because it wouldn’t even be my fault. Why should I take the rap? It’s a horrible idea and I’m not doing it.’
‘You don’t have a choice. It’s either that or she does herself an injury here. Or worse, she does someone else an injury. Maybe even you.’
‘You’re overreacting – she’s not that dangerous.’
‘Sadie, she locked you in this building and then wandered off with the keys! And I’m worried this might only be the tip of the iceberg – it could get worse. She could blow the place sky-high and then nobody would have it.’
Sadie let out a long sigh of defeat. ‘I hate you.’
‘I know, but you’ll get over it. Stay here today and I’ll get whoever’s free to come and check in from time to time. Tonight we have to sort things out because you just can’t open again tomorrow.’
Sadie gave a grim nod. As if her day wasn’t already bad enough, there was that to look forward to. What a start – it was hardly conducive to service with a smile.