‘So, what you’re telling me,’ I heard him say, ‘is that it could be another week before this is sorted?’

He was quiet for a second and as I didn’t hear an answer, I guessed he was on the phone rather than chatting to an early visitor.

‘Two,’ he almost shouted, ‘you’re kidding?’

I didn’t mean to pry, but my eyes caught the words ‘land sale’ at the top of one of the sheets of paper and I picked it up. I remembered how Joe had mentioned that saving the farm meant selling off some of the land. Having been given the grand tour yesterday, I very much hoped the proposed sale didn’t include the field we had picnicked in. It would be a shame if they lost that magnificent sea view as well as the acreage.

‘Sunny Shores,’ I whispered, spotting the company name.

‘But Sunny Shores were saying last week,’ came Joe’s voice again, his words echoing those printed in front of me, ‘that they wanted to finalize before that.’

Unfortunately, I knew all about Sunny Shores and not because I had had ‘the holiday of a lifetime’ at one of their mammoth developments, as their advertising tagline promised, but because Dad had set up a campaign for them.

They were one of the largest holiday village companies in the country now and Dad’s clever strategy had quelled some of the controversy which followed them taking over an area of land which local residents had hoped would be sold to the Woodland Trust. The campaign had been a success, but it hadn’t completely drowned out the local element. I remembered I had secretly felt rather pleased about that, although it didn’t make any difference to the outcome.

‘Remind me again why I’m paying you such an exorbitant amount?’ Joe demanded. ‘I want it all wrapped up in half that time.’

My eyes quickly scanned the rest of the page. I had always assumed the plan was to sell a field or two to a near neighbour, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. If my understanding of the land mass mentioned was right, then Sunny Shores would be taking over a whole lot more than that. Practically the whole farm looked earmarked to be swallowed up by a brand-new holiday village, complete with its own avenue of shops, Sun Splash pool complex and at least three restaurants to cater for all appetites and tastes.