Winners and Losers Read Online Free

scrape a living, Dan.’
    â€˜I wish I knew how to get it.’
    â€˜Yeah, me too.’ Connor grinned at him. ‘I’ll ask our rich sister for money for the garage.’
    â€˜You say one word to Emily and I’ll have your guts for garters!’
    â€˜I meant Frances. Emily lives in that damned barn of a house but she hasn’t got a penny to spare.’
    â€˜I know. Emily would have lent me the money for the garage if she had it. She asked me once when she had some money going spare but I turned her down. I’ve sometimes regretted it,’ Daniel said. ‘But you won’t get a penny out of Frances. She blames me because the land was lost. I wouldn’t ask her for anything if I were you – that money has blood on it if you ask me.’
    â€˜Money is money,’ Connor said. ‘But I wouldn’t really ask either of them. It was a joke . . . you should know better.’
    â€˜Yeah, right,’ Daniel said as he brought the van to a halt. ‘Have a good time, then – and give Emily my love.’
    â€˜Yes, of course. You should think about what I said, Dan – about a holiday for Alice. Mary might have the kids for a week or so . . .’
    â€˜Mary has enough to do,’ Daniel said. ‘Frances asked her to help run the hotel but she wouldn’t leave Stretton. Most of her kids are grown up now, but she stills works part-time in the packing factory.’
    â€˜Mary has had a rough time. She came out of things badly when Henry died, but you don’t hear her complain. I still think she would have the kids if you asked – or Emily might.’
    â€˜I’ll think about it,’ Daniel said. ‘Go on or you will miss your train.’
    â€˜Right – see you in a week or so, then.’
    Connor left his brother and went into the station.
    Daniel sat where he was in the van, staring into space. He had tried hard to put all thought of the garage out of his mind, because it was a dream he had given up after the bankruptcy. He was struggling to clear his name because the shame of bankruptcy was something that didn’t sit well with him. Damn Clay for forcing them to take decisions that had led to the crushing debts that had caused the bank to foreclose on them. It wouldn’t have happened if Daniel had been home to help Henry run things, but he’d been stuck in a German prisoner of war camp and his eldest brother had struggled alone until his heart gave out.
    If Marcus Danby had been alive, Daniel might have asked his brother-in-law for a loan to get back on his feet, because Marcus had been approachable, but there was no one else. He couldn’t go cap in hand to Frances – though she had more money than she knew what to do with – and Emily was struggling. If he were Emily, he would sell that damned great mausoleum of a place, bank the money and enjoy life, but she loved the estate and refused to move out.
    Shaking his head, Daniel started the van again and headed for Ely. It was market day and he liked to visit the cattle market and then have a drink in the pub afterwards. It was his one chance to get away from the farm and Alice.
    Connor had annoyed him by saying he ought to take Alice for a holiday. He was well aware that his wife was looking tired and washed out. She never seemed to have time for anything but the kids these days, and sometimes Daniel wished that he hadn’t married so young. He hadn’t meant to get married at all until his business was up and running. If he had stuck to his word, he would have had the garage by now, but they had four children and it took every penny he could earn from his smallholding to feed and clothe them all.
    Alice had been lovely when they were courting. Daniel hadn’t been able to resist making love to her, and when she’d fallen for a baby there had been no hesitation. He had married her straight away, and he didn’t really regret it.