She pulled her car to a halt outside the front of an old detached garage next to the cottage and got out. Maybe she was just being paranoid. Actually, more than maybe and that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Her experience with Trent had been a rude and very unpleasant awakening. It wouldn’t do her any harm at all to be a little less eager to salve her mortally wounded pride with the company of a handsome man, even if he did have the power to make her heart skip.
The cottage was old, probably circa early 1900s, but very well maintained by the look of things. A large deep veranda stretched invitingly along the front of the house and around to one side. She hoped the interior was as appealing. Tamsyn grabbed the plastic bags Penny had enthusiastically filled with what she’d deemed to be the essentials to see her through the next day or so. Tam had been overwhelmed by the other woman’s generosity, even more so when Penny had refused any payment for the items. As a result, Tamsyn doubted she’d need to make her way into town for supplies for several days, given the fresh meat, milk, eggs and other items the hotelier had given her.
The key slid smoothly into the front door lock and turned easily. Feeling almost as if she was trespassing, Tamsyn stepped inside.
Dust motes floated on the gilded rays of morning sun that streamed in through windows to her left, but aside from that, the place looked well kept. Almost as if the owners had stepped outside for only a moment.
“Prrrrp.” She jumped at the sound as a sleek black cat followed in through the front door behind her, eyeing her carefully with its golden eyes before winding in and out of her legs and purring.
“Well, hello,” Tamsyn said, bending down to stroke the cat. “I guess you’re one of my responsibilities while I’m here, hmm? What a shame no one thought to tell me your name.”
The letting agent had mentioned that a neighbor had been caring for the animals at the house, but that they’d be her responsibility for the duration of the tenancy. How hard could it be, right? A few chickens, a cat. It wasn’t rocket science.
The cat looked up at her and blinked slowly before lithely jumping up onto the windowsill and grooming itself in the sun. For some reason, the animal’s presence made Tamsyn feel more at home. She took her supplies through to the compact and slightly old-fashioned kitchen and put them in the refrigerator. Through the window over the kitchen counter she could see a vast, somewhat overgrown, vegetable garden.
She wrapped her arms around herself and squeezed tight. It shouldn’t be so exciting to have this—temporary—home of her own. After all, she’d grown up on an amazing estate. But it was her family’s estate, never solely hers. She’d never truly been on her own. It was surprising how much she liked it. She really was pretty self-sufficient for the next few days. If she didn’t want to, she needn’t go anywhere. But how would she find her mother if she didn’t keep going out into the community and asking around?
Tamsyn groaned aloud as another thought came to her. The internet. Of course. Why hadn’t she thought of that?
Because her mind had been too distracted with other thoughts—thoughts of Trent and, more so, thoughts of the tall, enigmatic man who lived at the top of the hill—she’d completely discounted using her smartphone to do an internet search for her mother. As soon as she’d unpacked she’d get right onto it.
Tamsyn turned on her heel and nearly screamed when something brushed against her leg. The cat. Oh, God, her heart was racing. Living on her own, albeit with a resident feline, was going to take some getting used to.
The cat rubbed against her, twining in a figure eight between her legs and purring loudly before stalking toward a cupboard with its tail in the air. Sitting in front of the cupboard, it began to scratch.
“Oh, no, don’t do that,” Tamsyn said, hastening over.
She pushed the cat away from the door, but it determinedly moved back in front and began scratching again. Curious, and not a little fearful that perhaps there might be a mouse inside, she opened the cupboard. A sigh of relief flooded through her when she saw the bag of dried cat food sitting on the bottom shelf of what was obviously a pantry.
“You’re hungry, that’s what it is, isn’t it, Puss?”
She looked around for a bowl and spied a small plastic mat on the floor near a glass-paned door, an empty bowl and a water dish sitting side by side. The cat purred its obvious approval as she collected the empty dishes and rinsed them out at the kitchen sink before drying them and refilling them with cat biscuits and water.
“There you go,” she said, putting them back on the little mat and running her hand down the cat’s black furry back.
Feeling well-satisfied with herself, Tamsyn went back out to her car and grabbed her suitcase. This time, she turned to her right as she came back in. The bedrooms had to be down this way, she thought as she tried each door as she got to it. There were two bedrooms to choose from, one bathroom and one door that was locked. Tamsyn chose the smaller of the two bedrooms and unpacked her meager belongings. It was hardly worth the bother, she thought as she hung up the couple of things she’d bought and stuffed her small collection of underwear into a drawer. Compared with her walk-in closet at home, she had majorly downsized.
Home. Another wave of homesickness washed over her. She should call her brother, reassure him she was okay and tell him of her plans. Before she could talk herself out of it, she pressed the quick dial for his mobile number.
“I was beginning to think I’d have to send out a search party for you,” he answered.
While there was a teasing note in his voice, Tamsyn could hear the underlying concern.
“I did say I’d call in few days. I’m fine, by the way,” she assured him. “Thanks for asking.”
“Ready to come home yet?”
“Not anywhere near it, Ethan. How are you managing without me?”
“We’re coping surprisingly well. Aunt Cynthia has really come into her own taking over for you, you’d be impressed.”
Tamsyn felt his words like a physical blow. Sure, she’d walked out on them, but couldn’t they have missed her—even just a little bit? Nobody had missed her, it seemed. She hadn’t even had so much as a text or email from Trent. Not that she wanted to hear from him, but they’d been engaged over a year and had gone out for several months before that. Surely she’d warranted something from him, some explanation, anything. She quashed the thought. She’d walked away from him and his lover, and everything associated with them. That was her choice, as was her mission to find her mother. It was time to stop looking back and to keep her sights firmly fixed on her new future.
Forcing a smile to her lips, she said, “Hey, can you check something for me?”
“Name it.”
“The address Mom’s checks are sent to—can you give that to me again?”
“Sure, just give me a minute to find the email,” her brother replied.
In the background she could hear him using his usual hunt-and-peck keyboard skills to pull up the information. She smiled to herself. Computers were a necessary evil in Ethan’s book—he’d much rather be blending his world-famous wines and watching over their production as if they were his children heading out to a first day at school. While he was busy, Tamsyn scrabbled in her handbag for a pen and notebook.
“Found it,” he said a moment later. He rattled off the address.
“That’s weird,” Tamsyn replied, chewing on the end of her pen. “That’s the address I went to on Saturday, but the man there said he hadn’t heard of Mom.”
“Let me check with Dad’s solicitor and get back to you. Could be someone made a mistake somewhere.”
Or it could be that someone was lying to her. The thought echoed around in her mind. Could Finn be deliberately keeping information about her mother from her? Surely not. What would be the point? It’s