Page 68 of Entwined in Norway

‘I think we need to talk.’

Erik followed Mats through the woods towards the hotel, then out the other side until they arrived at Mats’ and Lotta’s cabin.

‘Take a seat.’ Mats gestured to one of the chairs on the veranda. ‘Ida tells me you have the other half of whatever that letter is.’

Erik nodded, hoping he could have a frank conversation with Mats about the whole thing. Something he probably should have done in the first place. ‘It was given to my great-grandfather by yours, I guess.’

‘Do you know why?’

‘You don’t?’ It seemed odd to Erik that his family could have this tale of yore that had been passed down through generations, the torn half of the letter reverently shown occasionally, but carefully kept as the piece of treasure it was. Hadn’t it been like that for the Larsens?

‘Ida found that piece of paper when we cleared out the farmhouse last year. That was the first we knew that there might be a claim on the island.’

‘I’m not claiming the island,’ Erik said. ‘Look, I took a photo of the two halves together.’

He watched Mats scan the letter.

‘It’s the timber forest. Not the island.’ He exhaled with relief. ‘Ida said it was the farm.’

‘She was upset. Perhaps she didn’t take it in.’

‘Tell me everything you know about this,’ Mats said calmly.

Erik told the story of their ancestors. A story he knew so well that he could imagine himself being there as it had unfolded all those years ago.

‘Wow. That is incredible. My father, if he knew, never told us about this. Our half of the letter was still in my grandparents’ house when we cleared it out.’

‘Ida said.’

‘If this is why you came here, why didn’t you tell anyone? There were so many times you could have said something to Ida or me before now.’

Erik had been thinking about this since he’d left the house in Loddefjord.

‘I honestly didn’t know whether the place existed. The timber could have been harvested years ago. Until I found it, which wasn’t right away, I didn’t want to start laying claim to anything.’

‘That’s fair. But when was that? Before today.’

He nodded. ‘It was the first week I was here. But by then I knew you guys. Hell, I’d been on a date with Ida and I knew it would be a big deal. This has meant everything to me over the past few months, but meeting Ida and working on the cabins with you, that has given me something I never thought I’d find again.’ He tripped over the last few words because of the emotion in his chest.

‘It’s okay,’ Mats said reassuringly, keeping his eyeline firmly on the water rather than looking at Erik.

‘I know Ida feels like I’ve betrayed her, hell, I feel like that too. I never thought I would come here and find… this.’

‘So, what do you want to do?’

‘Seriously?’

‘I think you know I wanted to keep the island to preserve my family’s heritage. This is important to you for the same reasons. I understand. And I don’t mind splitting the timber with you.’

Erik felt tears spring to his eyes. It was that easy. He could have spoken to Mats on day one. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, grateful that Mats had gone back to staring out at the water. ‘Thank you.’

‘I think my sister is going to be harder to win over. She thinks you lied to her.’

‘I don’t blame her for thinking that. But I never wanted to take anything from your family. It’s not about that. It was just to find out if it was true.’

‘You don’t want any of the prime Norwegian spruce?’ Mats looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

‘I mean, if you’re offering, I’m not going to say no.’