Bricking It by Nick Spalding Read Free Book Online Page B

matter.’
    Interesting. I’d completely misjudged their relationship.
    ‘Slovenia,’ Danny remarks helpfully.
    Mischa smiles. ‘Yes. I am from Novo Mesto, Mr Daley. Have you heard of it?’
    Have you ever seen a small defenceless mammal trapped in the glare of your headlights on your way home from a late-night party?
    Mischa stares at my brother’s blank expression for a few moments, trying to figure out what is wrong with him. ‘Would you like a garibaldi?’ she ventures, holding up the packet.
    Danny fumbles a biscuit out of it. ‘Thanks,’ he says, taking a bite.
    I grab his arm. ‘Come on, Danny, let’s leave Mischa here in peace and go see if we can find a builder who can work with Mitchell.’
    ‘Okay,’ my brother says around a mouthful of crumbs.
    I lead us back up onto the deck and along the gangplank to the safety of dry land. ‘Well, that was quite an experience,’ I say as we walk back to my car.
    ‘You think he’s actually going to do a good job?’ Danny asks me.
    ‘Oh! Hello, Danny! Come back to us, have you?’ I mutter sarcastically. ‘For a while there, I thought you’d been replaced by one of the pod people. Was she really that pretty?’
    He blushes furiously. ‘I’ve just never seen a girl like that before. Did you hear her accent?’
    ‘Yes, Danny, I did hear her accent. It was very musical.’ I stop and place my hands on my hips. ‘Look, are you going to be able to function while she’s around? It sounds like Mitchell works quite closely with her. I’m sure she’ll be on site at the house quite a lot.’
    ‘I’ll be fine!’ he replies, not sounding convincing in the slightest.
    I’ll have to take Mischa to one side and ask her to wear an unsightly boiler suit and no make-up if she comes within a mile of the Daley farmhouse. Smearing herself with cow shit may be a good idea too. ‘You didn’t answer my question. Do you think he’ll do a good job?’
    I look back down the river at the houseboat and draw in a breath. ‘I don’t know, Dan. I really don’t. But he’s cheap up front, comes highly recommended . . . and doesn’t seem to doubt his own abilities one bit. I guess we’re just going to have to take the plunge and hope he’s everything he’s cracked up to be.’
    Danny looks dismayed. ‘It’s risky.’
    ‘No arguments here.’
    ‘Do you think this entire project is going to be like this? Risky , I mean?’
    ‘Probably. We’re going to have to take a chance on everyone we work with.’
    Danny looks doubly dismayed. ‘Great.’
    ‘Speaking of which, have you come up with any good ideas for a builder yet?’
    He opens the car door. ‘Well, there is one guy I’ve found, but we need to have a chat about him . . .’ Danny tails off mysteriously.
    ‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’
    ‘Well, let’s just say that Mitchell Hollingsbrooke might not be the only slightly odd character we could have involved in the renovation.’
    ‘Wonderful. It sounds like Daley Farmhouse is attracting all sorts of weird people already – possibly including us.’
    Danny laughs. ‘What did you just call it?’
    ‘Sorry?’
    ‘You just called that tumble-down shit pile Daley Farmhouse .’ He laughs again. ‘You’re not getting attached to it, are you?’
    My turn to go flame-faced. ‘Of course not! But we have to call it something, don’t we?’ I throw open my car door and climb inside. The key is in the ignition before Danny has got his seatbelt on. This is not a conversation I wish to pursue any further.
    Possibly because Danny is right.
    Have I started to get attached to the old wreck already? Is it, like the mould along the skirting board, growing on me? And if it is, what effect will it have on my approach to this renovation?
    A lot of questions start revolving in my head as I drive away from Mitchell Hollingsbrooke and his purple cords. Not least of which is, why would anyone want to swim in a building shaped like a tuba?

DANNY
    May
    £514.58