The Auction Trilogy

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Pippa bounced up and down, an ecstatic, wiggly ball of white-blonde braided pigtails as I read her a bedtime story and tucked her into bed. She chattered non-stop, too excited to fall asleep, oblivious that my stomach twisted and threatened to eject our earlier supper.

"Mummy said she'll spend the whole rest of the summer with me," Pippa said. "And while I'm home, we can visit Grandpa!"

"That's wonderful, Nipper." I tousled her hair. "How often do you usually see your grandparents?"

"Only once or twice a year. Grandpa's house is right on the beach"

I tried to act happy for Pippa's sake, even though it felt like I'd just been thrown from the saddle. Just as I'd begun to feel like I had a place to call home, Eva Bristow-Jackson called to announce she wished to invoke the orig