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“Huh?” said his father as he came back to the planet

“I did ask them,” Rainne said “They didn’t want me to do it”

“That’s not true,” histowards Rainne “We wanted you to have a better sense of the purpose of the shop Selling knickers wasn’t enough Not for you You’re meant for so much more We always support you, you know that”

Lake had heard enough

“Is that right?” It was time to call his mother’s bluff “Well, the shop is for sale Do you want to buy it so that Rainne can get on with her earth-friendly plans?”

Rainne looked at her mother so hopefully that it almost tore Lake to pieces Even after all these years she couldn’t see thehtened

“Of course, we can talk about it,” she said

She was going to sidestep the whole thing

“No You need to tell me now Do you want to buy it or not? If not, I put it on the market Monday This is your only chance How badly, exactly, do you want to support Rainne?”

There was a tense silence Betty’s froas so deep you couldn’t see her eyes His ht shefor her kids instead of expecting the for her

“All our money is tied up,” she said at last “It wouldn’t be possible to sort things out that fast”

“I can wait until the new year,” Lake said

He kneas pushing at Rainne’s expense, but just once, he wanted her to see theo and be herself His parents shared a look

“Not possible,” his father said at last, and all the hope went out of Rainne’s eyes

“Do you mean it isn’t possible,” Lake asked him, “or that you don’t want to do it?”