Chapter Nine - Troubled Times

An ear-piercing shriek rang through the house, followed by an even higher, more childlike voice frantically protesting.

"Muuuuummmm!!!!"

Sammi, stretched out on the lawn, could only smirk to herself.

Letting out that wormrat was a master stroke, she mused to herself. It was payback indeed.
She never did like that landlady at all, and found the old woman stuck-up and snobby.

The front door burst open and a white-faced woman charged down the steps, her face contorted with rage.

Following in hot pursuit, clutching something furry in his hands, was a red-haired little boy, his face almost as red as his hair.

"But, Mrs C," he protested anxiously, "she's not that bad at all! Really!"

His comments fell on deaf ears as the old woman ran blindly towards the old willow tree in the forecourt.



She stopped to catch her breath, glaring nastily towards the approaching little boy.

"Keep .... that..... away..... from.....me," she rasped, clutching her heart.

"But.... but....," Ewan's eyes began to fill with tears, "Rosie is safe, honest."

Finally, Mrs Cartwright gained her breath and her posture.

Towering over him, she glared down at the trembling little boy in front of her.

"I told your mother," she said, folding her arms and frowning, "no pets are allowed."

"But...but..... Rosie's no trouble at all."

Sammi lay listening to the conversation, grinning to herself.
It was just what that old biddy deserved. Especially the way she spoke to everyone. Always complaining about the noise, even when they tiptoed around the poky little apartment. And picking on poor shy little Ewan.

Sammi listened carefully hoping this time that her little brother would have the courage to stand up to this horrid, mean old woman.

Sadly, that wasn't to be.
Sitting up stiffly, she could see that she was getting the better of her kid brother after all.

Ewan drooped his head shamefully, tears rolled down his cheeks. Mrs Cartwright folded her arms, a self-satisfied smirk on her face.

That grin vanished when she witnessed Ewan gently kissing the squirming wormrat between his short stubby fingers.



"Eugh!" she exclaimed, "that's disgusting."

Ewan glanced up at Mrs C, hot, angry tears flowed down his cheeks.

"No it's not!!" he squeaked.


Suddenly, without warning, a thin bony hand flashed across his cheek, sending Ewan reeling.
He let go of the wormrat which squealed with fright vanishing off into the bushes.

"That's for answering me back, you nasty little boy," Mrs C hissed.

Sammi leapt up and charged across to the old woman, her blood seething with rage.

"DON'T YOU DARE HIT MY BROTHER!!!" she screamed with fury.

Just then, Tess, their mother, appeared around the corner, her shoulders sagging from yet another failed job interview.


She could only look on in horror as she saw the scene before her.
Her son, scrabbling around the dirt and debris, her daughter having a stand up fight with their landlady.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON??" she bellowed, rushing to pry Sammi from the old woman.

Sammi was sobbing, her face bright red.

"She slapped Ewan!" Sammi protested.

Tess turned to Mrs C.

"Is this true?" she breathed, her fists clenching.

Mrs Cartwright pulled herself up, regaining her stiff composure and mechanically dusting her hands. Indeed, she was a formidable woman.

She looked haughtily down her nose at Tess, her thin lips twisted into a wry smile.

"He was cheeky to me," she replied, "and your daughter attacked me."

Sammi stepped forward to launch herself again, but Tess pinned her arms to her sides in a tight bear hug.

"I was protecting my brother," Sammi spat, pure hatred in her eyes.


"Sammi!" Tess murmured in her daughter's ear, "you're not making this any easier for us all. Cool it will you."

Sammi struggled against her mother's strength.

"Not until SHE apologises."

Mrs Cartwright stiffened, a cruel sneer played upon her thin, haggard face.

"I'm afraid this isn't working out for all of us" she intoned, "I'm afraid you'll all have to leave."

"WHAT????"

Tess loosened her grip on her daughter as the force of the old woman's statement hit her fully.


"You can't do that!!" she exclaimed breathlessly, "we have nowhere else to live."

The old woman sniffed.

"That's your problem, not mine," she replied, turning away, "besides, you'll find that I CAN do that. You broke several house rules. Up until now, I have been extremely lenient. Besides, I run a tight ship around here and you're kind are not welcome. I'll expect you all to vacate the premises as soon as possible."

The front door clicked shut.

Both mother and daughter looked at each other in stunned silence. The only other sound was that of Ewan, mewling softly.....

"Rosie! Rosie!"

Tess turned to her daughter, and Sammi's shoulders stiffened. She knew what was coming.


"What the hell just happened here?" her mother demanded, "and why aren't the two of you at school?"

Sammi felt herself tensing up. All her rage was boiling into a tight nucleus.

"For your information!" she screamed, "it was a study day. And lucky for me it was. Ewan was sent home sick."

"Don't you speak to me like that young lady!" Tess screamed back, "you know where I was. I was trying to find a job so that I can put food on the table."

By now, Ewan had given up his fruitless search for Rosie and was watching with growing distress over this fight between his mum and big sister.

Fresh tears coursed down his face as he witnessed the two of them tearing into each other.

Chapter Eight - New Surroundings

The sun shone brightly through the windows, as Alec arose.
Even though it was Sunday, he still got up early to get things organised.

At first, he was confused with the unfamiliar surroundings. But soon acclimatised himself to his new home.

Glancing out of the window, his breath caught in his throat.



The view was spectacular indeed, even with the low lying mist that seemed to envelop the lower grounds.

He still couldn't believe that he'd actually managed to acquire this farmhouse.
Expecting to be up all night, Alex had been pleasantly surprised at how quickly he'd fallen asleep.

Mind you, that was simply because he'd spent a good majority of the day, busying himself with unpacking everything he'd brought along with him.

Yawning widely, Alec got dressed and wandered into the bathroom.


Grimacing, he glanced in the mirror at his reflection.
No matter how he tried, his hair always seemed to stick up all over the place.

Hastily brushing his fingers through his thick, dry hair, he heard a whistling sound from outside.

Peering out of the window, he saw a young girl carrying a heavy sack on her shoulders, busying herself with delivering newspapers.

He hadn't realised that this area was part of the 'rounds', due to it's remoteness, but he smiled to himself.

At least someone else was up, just as early as himself.

Fixing himself a cup of coffee and a croissant (you just can't take the 'city' out of the boy), he settled down in front of the computer to check on his progress.


So far, he'd only managed to acquire properties to rent out.
There was one other property in this vicinity.
A small cottage, just over the hill.

That he'd successfully rented out to a colleague of his.

Brooke Isaac.

Although they worked together, theirs was a purely platonic relationship.
Besides, she was already in a relationship with another man.
Alec had well and truly missed the boat with this woman, and he knew it.

Buying and selling properties had always been his speciality and he managed to raise a substantial amount of money from it all.

But his latest project, was to be the biggest headache of all.

Since buying the farmhouse, he'd been buying up land by the mass, in the surrounding countryside.

His plans were to build up a small housing estate from the surrounding wastelands.

Ambitious?

Yes.

Especially when one plot of land totally eluded him.
And already, squatters had begun to park their trailers there.


Satisfied that his accounts were up to date, and all deliveries and deadlines had been met, Alex settled down to a quiet bit of reading, when the door bell rang.

Wondering who would be up and about at this hour, he cautiously answered the door.....

.... to a pretty young lady with long brown hair and huge brown eyes.



"Hello Alex," she said, coolly, "I see you've managed to settle in okay then."

"Hi Brooke," he replied, smiling.


But she never returned the smile at all. She was here on serious business.

"As you're currently unavailable by telephone," she remarked sarcastically, "I thought I'd come by in person."

Alec blushed, as he always did in her presence.
There was something about her that did that to him.

"I was taking a shower this morning," she pressed on, meeting his stare with one of her own, "when there was a bang, followed by gushing water. Can you take a look at it?"

"Oh."

Alec was startled momentarily.

"I'll..... I'll.... get one of my contractors to take a look at it."

"Taking a look at it, won't fix it you know!" she replied harshly, her hands on her hips, "I've got my dad living with me, and he's not the best man to get along with."

"Oh, I'm sorry,"

"Sorry doesn't cut it either. He'll not let this rest, along with a few other things that are going on in my life at present. So I suggest you get it fixed now!"


"Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?" Alec suggested.

He could see that Brooke was getting severely stressed out and thought that she needed something to calm her down.

"I'd rather not, thank you," she replied tersely.

"It'll take a few minutes to contact Nigel," he replied, hitting the hot key on his cell phone, "besides, it's fresh."

Brooke eyed him skeptically.

Out of the office, he was a totally different man.
But that still didn't make him any more approachable or appealing.

In fact.

Apart from his unruly hair, there's was nothing remotely interesting about Alec Thompson that would appeal to Brooke at all.

He dressed in dull clothing and he was always over polite.

Now Deano......

...... that was another matter.