That Gallagher Girl by Kate Thompson Page B

have a tissue . . .’
    â€˜Here.’ Tearing off a section of kitchen towel, Río handed her a wodge.
    â€˜I’m sorry,’ sobbed Izzy. ‘My car stalled just as I was coming into the village, and a man in a van behind started honking his horn at me.’
    What? All those tears because of such a minor upset? Río guessed Izzy must be pre-menstrual.
    â€˜And then he started shouting at me. He told me . . . he told me to take driving lessons!’
    Río raised her eyes to heaven. Sweet Jesus! Get over yourself, Isabella! Sloshing South Africa’s finest plonk into a glass, she handed it to Izzy with ill-concealed impatience, resisting the impulse to tell the girl to stop being such a wimp.
    â€˜I’m sorry.’ Izzy managed a wan smile, then raised the glass to her lips and took a sip. ‘I guess I’m just tired after the drive from Dublin. Thanks for the wine.’
    â€˜You’re welcome.’ Río took a seat opposite. ‘You’re back living in Dublin then?’ she asked, glad of a conversational gambit.
    â€˜Yes. I’ve got a position in a marketing company.’
    â€˜What made you decide to come back?’
    â€˜Not the job satisfaction, that’s for sure.’ Izzy blew her nose. ‘I guess it was . . . well, when Dad told me he was coming back to Ireland, I thought I might as well come home too.’
    â€˜What was Dubai like?’
    â€˜Bloody horrible. Some good wreck diving, though.’
    Río plucked a piece of lint from her sleeve. She didn’t want to be diverted on to the topic of diving, because if they went there, Finn’s name would be bound to come up. ‘When’s Adair due back?’ she asked, even though she knew perfectly well when he was due.
    â€˜Next week. He’s just tying up some loose ends.’ Izzy took a swig of wine, and then she started crying again. ‘Oh, Río!’ she wailed. ‘Is the cottage really as bad as it looks on the internet? I couldn’t believe it when Dad showed me. I couldn’t believe that he was serious about buying it.’
    â€˜The cottage is pretty bad, all right,’ conceded Río. ‘But the mobile home is more like a mobile palace!’ She invested her voice with gung-ho enthusiasm. ‘You needn’t have any worries that your dad isn’t going to be comfortable, Izzy. It’s the Taj Mahal in miniature.’
    â€˜Is it? Is it really?’
    â€˜Yes. And I’m sure that he can make the cottage into a really lovely home. It’ll take a lot of work, of course, but your dad’s never been afraid of hard work.’ The irony struck her forcibly now, of Adair working like a navvy on a rundown cottage while Río’s son and his father swanned around in Coral Mansion.
    â€˜How . . . how long do you think it’ll take to fix the place up?’
    â€˜Six months, or thereabouts, I’d have thought if he hires some help and works flat out.’ Río looked at Izzy curiously. Her face had gone an ugly, mottled shade of puce.
    â€˜Six months?’ she whispered. ‘Working flat out?’
    Río nodded. ‘Are you all right, Izzy? You’re looking—–’
    â€˜My dad can’t work flat out for six months on some crappy little house!’
    â€˜He’s done it before,’ Río pointed out. ‘Sure, didn’t he start his career as a builder?’
    Izzy flinched, and tears started to course down her cheeks again.
    â€˜I know he’s come a long way since then,’ said Río. ‘But, hey – there are swings and there are roundabouts, Izzy. You win some, you lose some.’ God, she was even beginning to talk like Adair! Funny the way clichés came so easily when you were trying to console someone.
    â€˜I can’t bear to think of him navvying!’ whimpered Izzy.
    Río got to her feet and moved to the window. She was feeling a tad exasperated with