Read Online The Pleasures of Spring by Evie Hunter - Free Book Online Page A

that he can see the gardens. I’ve put you in the red room,’ his mother called after him.
    Andy paused. The largest and most opulent bedroom in the mansion, traditionally occupied by the master of the house.
    He knew his mother loved the gardens. They were her pride and joy. But giving over the room they had sharedfor more than thirty years to their son was more than a welcoming gesture. He was the prodigal son returned. They wanted him home for good and he didn’t know how to break it to them that he couldn’t stay. Andy dropped his bag at the bottom of the stairs and went to find his father.
    The west wing was the oldest part of the house. Generations of McTavishes and Campbells glared at him from the wood-panelled walls. Most had been wealthy landowners. A handful had been military men, but they had all returned home to Lough Darra and done their duty by the estate.
    Andy could see his future mapped out before him. Marry the dull, horsey daughter of one of his well-to-do neighbours, settle down with a brood of kids and breed horses.
    It wasn’t for him.
    The heavy oak door creaked as he pushed it open and slipped inside. The room was in darkness and he was about to leave again when his father called from the bed. ‘Open the damned curtains, I’m not dead yet.’
    Andy pulled back the heavy damask drapes and let the morning light into the room.
    The shrunken figure in the huge bed bore no resemblance to the man who had packed him off to boarding school when he was eleven. Andy had hated every single minute of it. He had run away twice before his mother had persuaded his father to let him come home and go to a local school.
    They were delighted when he went to Queens, but it wasn’t what he wanted, so he had joined the army.
    His parents had been convinced he wouldn’t make it, or would drop out after a week, but to their surprise he had loved the rough, tough life. They were even more shocked when he was recommended for the Rangers, and survived the murderously tough training to find his spiritual home.
    He’d been in Afghanistan when his brother was killed in a climbing accident. The memory of that phone call and his strong, implacable father in tears, made him break out in a sweat.
    ‘Hi, Dad.’
    Dougal Campbell McTavish grunted. ‘So you’re home?’

6
    The following morning, his head was foggy from too little sleep in a strange bed. The portrait over the mantel stared accusingly down at him as if he were a squatter, rather than the heir to the place.
    Andy couldn’t remember which ancestor it was, but he looked as if he’d swallowed a lemon. In one corner of the room a dark stain and cracked plaster revealed yet another leak in the roof. Damned thing was worse than a sieve and this was a sample of what would be waiting for him if he stayed at home.
    According to his mother, if it wasn’t the roof, it was the plumbing, or a broken fence or Travellers camping in the meadow. Who on earth would want to live in the country?
    Andy rolled out of bed. If he was stuck here for a while, he would have to deal with all the problems, but first he had to ring his boss and tell him the situation.
    Niall Moore answered on the third ring. ‘You’ve found her?’
    ‘Not exactly. Listen, my father had a heart attack a couple of nights ago.’
    ‘Jesus, is he okay?’
    ‘He’s as belligerent as ever but I need some personal time because –’
    ‘No need to explain. You’re due some holidays anyway.You’ve barely taken a day off in the last year. I’ll put someone else on finding Roz.’
    ‘No. It’s not necessary.’ Now that he had picked up her trail again, he was damned if he would let any of the other guys near her.
    ‘You know where she is?’ The anxious note in the big guy’s voice made Andy feel guilty. Niall was crazy about his wife, and if something was making Sinead unhappy, he would move heaven and earth to sort it out.
    ‘Not yet, but I’ve made contact with her. Online.’
    Niall exhaled.