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It was not long after lunch when Rhys arrived back at the entrance to the estate. A large flat-bed truck was waiting on the opposite side of the road, indicating they were also waiting to turn. He flashed his lights to let the truck go first, raising his hand to wave as he recognised the driver. They both pulled over just inside the gate and Rhys got out to shake Declan by the hand. Hope had hired the site manager and his team the previous year to build a house for her, and they’d ended up taking over the day-to-day management of the archaeological dig when the initial groundworks had uncovered extensive ruins beneath her building plot. ‘It’s good to see you back. How’s things?’
‘It’s good to be back, though I wish it were under better circumstances. Is Hope around at all? I wanted to have a quick chat with her before everyone else arrived.’ Declan was never the most expressive of men; his face was stony.
‘She’s around somewhere, why? What’s the matter?’
The site manager propped his hands on his hips. ‘I’ve got bad news, I’m afraid. There’s been a buyout at the firm, and they announced a load of redundancies this morning.’
No wonder he looked so pissed off. ‘Christ, I’m sorry. Have they laid you off as part of that?’
Declan shook his head. ‘No. I’m a self-employed contractor, but they’ve already told us if we want to carry on working for them we’ll have to accept reduced daily rates. I told them to get stuffed, but then I’m luckier than most and I can afford to do that. The younger lads, well…’ He kicked at a stray stone, the distance it skittered across the road a clear sign of his pent-up anger. ‘I’m afraid that’s not the worst of it, either. They’re also pulling out of all non-essential contracts.’
Rhys didn’t like the sound of that at all. ‘Does that include the dig?’
‘Top of the list. I called the Portakabin supplier on my way over here and they’re still prepared to deliver them this evening if Hope will approve the costs directly. I’m happy to supervise the work as agreed. It’s not like I’ve got anything else to do.’
He must’ve jumped straight in his truck following the meeting and Rhys had to admire the man’s sense of loyalty, especially given the gravity of the news and what it meant for his own personal future. ‘I appreciate you coming straight to us about this, Declan. Let’s go and find Hope and let her know. She’s probably in her office above the distillery. I’m headed that way to drop some stuff off anyway, so you can follow me down. If she’s not there, I’ll find Ziggy and get him to authorise it.’
‘Cheers.’
They walked into Hope’s office a few minutes later to find her on the phone. Her expression brightened the moment she spotted Declan, and she waved them both in as she hung up. ‘I’ve just had a weird email from Atkinsons saying they’re terminating my contract with them with immediate effect, and no one will answer the phone and speak to me. What the hell is going on over there?’
Rhys sat quietly and let Declan do the talking. Though he was as stoic as ever, it was clear the news had come as a terrible shock to him. ‘My lads have agreed not to accept any other work for the next two weeks if you want them as well.’
Hope nodded. ‘Absolutely. Let me speak to the cabin company now and see what they need me to do to secure their delivery and then we’ll sort out everything else. I’ll honour whatever rates Atkinsons were originally going to pay you.’
Declan gave her a grim smile. ‘It’ll work out cheaper for you because you won’t be swallowing the 20 per cent markup they put on everything.’
‘What – 20 per cent? Cheeky bastards!’
While Hope made the call, Rhys turned to Declan. ‘How would you feel if I could find you some other work around the estate?’
Declan’s eyes widened in indignation. ‘I didn’t come here looking for handouts.’
Rhys folded his arms across his chest, and held Declan’s gaze for a long moment. ‘And I’m not in the habit of dishing them out. I’ve got a few bigger repair jobs around the farm I’ve been putting off until the better weather, but the main thing I was thinking about was doing the groundworks and installation preparation for some new glamping spots we’re hoping to set up around the estate. I don’t have the details yet because my new manager is still working on the proposals, but I’d like to put the two of you together if you think it’s something you’d be interested in.’
‘Great.’ Declan sat back in his chair and his shoulders seemed to drop several inches. ‘That’d be really great.’
Rhys stood up and clapped him on the shoulder. ‘We’ve got the barbeque later to welcome everyone back. You’ll stick around for that?’
‘If my invite’s still good, I’d love to, though we’ll need to get those cabins installed before the beer starts flowing. Can I call the lads and let them know? They were gutted about the idea they might not get to join the dig. Tony’s turned into a right archaeology nerd since we were last here. He’s always watching stuff about it on the telly and boring us to death about it.’
Hope had come off the phone and was looking a lot happier than she had been a few minutes earlier. ‘They’re happy to accept a purchase order so I’m going to raise that as soon as they email me a quote. You weren’t kidding about that markup.’
‘I was just saying to Declan that I’ll introduce him to Tasha later at the barbeque because we’ll need someone to do the groundworks for the glamping areas. And I’ve got a few other jobs I can put his way in the meantime.’
‘Graham will be there as well, so I’ll see what’s on his improvements wish list.’
Declan looked between the two of them. ‘I really don’t know what to say. This is so much more than I expected.’
‘We look after people that look after us,’ Hope said.
Rhys left the two of them chatting and popped downstairs to fetch the box of labels he’d picked up and took them into the distillery. The air was full of the scent of herbs, spices and chocolate and he could hear the rattle of the bottling machine. Heading into the back, he found his dad and Ben had set up their own mini production line. He dropped the box on the end table next to a batch of already filled and sealed bottles. ‘Looks like I’m just in time.’
‘Ah, good lad!’ Zap finished dipping the neck of the bottle he was holding in the pot of sealing wax and set it in the drip tray. ‘I don’t suppose you want to give us a hand?’
Rhys shook his head. ‘Not this time. I’ve still got to drop the food off with Ziggy and then I need to deliver the activity-pack sheets to Tasha.’
Ben turned around, his smile eager. ‘How do they look?’
