Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92668 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92668 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
He smiled. “Yes. No nests, don’t worry. I didn’t know you had a camera down there.”
“I took one down last night when you and Mum were going to bed,” I replied, getting my phone out once more to load the security app. “I was a bit weirded out by that Tierney bloke, so I thought I’d cover the front of the house.”
“You know that’s a Wi-Fi camera, don’t you?”
“Yes. I realised that just now when I tried to load the footage and it wouldn’t work.”
“It won’t work, Lottie. It needs to be connected to the cloud to even store anything.”
I blinked at Dad. “It’ll be on the camera, won’t it?”
He held his hands out for it, and I passed it over, including my phone for him to look at the app.
“No, sweetheart. It stores footage on the cloud, but it needs a connection for that. There’s nothing stored on it, look.” He turned my phone to show me. “If you’d said last night, I could have told you that.”
“I didn’t want to bother you,” I muttered, taking it back. “So, it was all a waste of time?”
“Until you get some internet there, yes. Then they’ll work, but you need the electrics working.”
The door to the neighbour’s house opened, and Stanley McGuire poked his head out. “I heard you talking about cameras. You got an issue with that one?”
Dad smiled at him. “No, Stan. Just my daughter apparently not knowing how Wi-Fi works.”
I rolled my eyes. “I thought it would store footage on the camera, but apparently it doesn’t.”
“Nah, not that one, darlin’. I told your grandpa on the phone to get a higher model, but he was happy with that one.” Stan stepped outside, his rotund belly preceding him slightly.
Not to be stereotypical, but Stan was the kind of guy you saw sitting at the pub every night after work to have two beers and a steak and kidney pie—grey hair cut close to his scalp, a beard that the tiniest length of stubble, a pot beer belly, and the kindest smile a person could wear.
“Problems with the electric at the B&B?” he asked me, leaning on the fence.
I nodded. “There is none, and even if there was, I don’t know if it would work, but I think I need to make it a priority.”
“We can call the electric company this morning,” Dad reassured me. “Once it’s turned back on with them, we can move forwards.”
Stan bobbed his head in agreement. “Hey—heard about that little chat you had with that rat, Declan Tierney, last night. That why you’re after the cameras?”
“Yeah. I don’t trust him,” I said honestly. “I wouldn’t put it past him to do something to force me to sell it.”
“You’re right not to. I wouldn’t trust that prick as far as I could throw him, and I used to do shotput. ’Scuse me French,” he added at the end. “Don’t usually swear in the front of a lady.”
My lips twitched into a smile. “Don’t worry. I’ve called him worse in my head.”
Stan chuckled. “Tell you what, Charlotte. Get that electricity of yours turned on down there today, and I’ll swing by tonight after work with a portable router. Only works off data, mind, but it’s come in pretty handy, and should do you until you get the internet on. I’ll set that camera up for you, too, and give the place a quick once-over. No charge.”
I blinked at him for a second. I’d completely forgotten he was an electrician. “Oh, no, Stan, I can’t ask that of you. I’m happy to pay for your—”
“Nope,” he said firmly. “Your grandpa was there for me when Penny died, and I was never able to repay him. Least I can do is make sure it’s safe for you.”
I pressed my lips together in a grateful smile. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
Dad touched my shoulder. “When you’re done there, why don’t you join us for dinner tonight?” he asked the other man. “God knows we’ve got enough food to feed the entire street.”
Stan looked at him, smiled, and nodded. “O’right. I’ll like that. Ta.” He turned to me with a twinkle in his eye. “Right. Be there about six, Charlotte, if that works.”
“That’s perfect. Thank you so much.”
With another nod of his head, he trudged back inside his house and closed the door behind him, and I swung my attention back to my dad.
“That’s really kind of him,” I said softly.
“Sure is,” Dad said, motioning for me to follow him back inside. When I had, he shut the door. “Penny died about twelve years ago, if I remember correctly. They didn’t have any family here—they’d only lived here a year or so at the time, and Stan didn’t have anyone to support him. No kids or anything, and your grandpa took him under his wing and looked after him through his grief, so I suspect he’s happy to have some way to repay that.”