Page 19 of Playing for Keeps
“Why do you sound annoyed?”
“Because you’re going to tell me I should have come back a long time ago … like you wanted me to.”
He chuckled. “Amusing as it is to hear you admit your clueless old dad might be right about something, maybe you just weren’t ready to go back before now.”
“Hmm.” She wasn’t in the mood to get into a deep conversation with her dad. She was never in the mood for that. “It feels a little weird with Bill. Not being honest about who I am.”
“You could always tell him. Oh, and Verity would remember you too.”
“Does she work in the cafe, by any chance?”
“She owns it. Have you already bumped into her?”
“I went to get a coffee and she seemed very familiar.”
He paused for a moment. “I’m glad you’ve finally made it back there.”
Allie stopped and dug the toe of her shoe into the wet sand.
“How’s it going at the golf club?” he asked, switching to a more neutral topic. “What do you make of Kevin?”
“I don’t think he’s the worst manager in the world. I’d make a few changes around the place, though. For a start, they don’t offer breakfast.”
“Kevin said it’s not worth it.”
“He said the same to me, but I got the impression he might just be pandering to a lazy chef. Oh, and do you know dogs aren’t allowed in the clubhouse?”
“Yes.”
“You should have overturned that rule. Bill has a lovely old Labrador who has to wait outside in the cold when there’s a perfectly good fire for him to snooze in front of.”
“Kevin knows my thoughts on that rule. When I’m there Perry comes inside, but it’s not easy to micro-manage from 200 miles away.”
“I suppose not.” Allie rubbed at her brow and gazed out to the horizon where a speedboat whizzed along. “So far there doesn’t seem to be any major issues, which means I shouldn’t need to be here for very long.”
“You’re there now, you may as well hang around a while.”
“I will.” Not only because the idea of a holiday felt suddenly appealing, but also because she had a niggling feeling there must be more she could do to improve the golf club. “By the way,” she said, as a thought occurred to her. “What do you know of the greenkeeper?”
“Ron’s a good guy,” her dad said immediately. “Getting close to retirement though, I think.”
“I haven’t met him yet. That’s not a great sign, is it?”
“You’ve only been there a couple of days.”
She smiled gently. “Can you imagine being at Fox Hill for two days without seeing Joe?”
Laughter hit her ear. “Sometimes it feels as though I can’t go two minutes without seeing Joe.”
“Exactly.”
“Do you think there’s a problem with the upkeep of the course?”
“Not that I’ve noticed. I just thought it was odd that I haven’t seen him.”
“He had a period where his arthritis was flaring up and he had to keep taking time off. That was when Kevin started talking about replacing him, but as far as I know, everything settled down again.”
“An arthritic greenkeeper?” Allie said, brow wrinkling as she imagined someone who wasn’t physically fit managing the upkeep of an entire golf course.