Risk of a Lifetime

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‘Much. Thank you.’

‘You’re welcome. I could make a wisecrack about you not dressing adequately, but I’m not that mean.’

‘No, of course not. Just for that, I won’t offer it back.’

‘Pride wouldn’t let me take it. And anyway, as I’ve already pointed out, you look lovely so it’s a small sacrifice.’

‘I’m sure you’ll live.’

‘I’m sure I will. But it does mean I have to walk you home to repossess it.’

He grinned at her with that little-boy grin, and she smiled back, her eyes softening. ‘That’s fine, I’ll let you. I don’t think you’re about to turn into a stalker. Thank you for taking me this evening, by the way.’

‘You’re welcome. Thank you for coming. You do realise if you hadn’t been able to, I would have been obliged to ask Kate.’

She laughed softly at his shudder. ‘Why didn’t you ask her in the first place? I can’t believe you’re really scared of her.’

He chuckled. ‘No contest. It was you or Kate, and you were the obvious choice. Apart from the fact that Jerry gave us the tickets and not Kate, I’d far rather be with you. I think we have the same sense of humour.’

‘And Kate doesn’t?’

His mouth quirked. ‘Kate isn’t interested in humour. She just wants my body.’

Annie spluttered and clapped her hand over her mouth to suppress the laugh. ‘That’s outrageous!’

‘It’s true. She as good as said so. I told her I wasn’t interested.’

‘She’ll be gutted. She fell in love with you yesterday when she saw you through the glass.’

He chuckled, but there was a tinge of colour on his neck and it made her smile.

‘So—just out of curiosity,’ she asked after a moment of companionable silence, ‘and feel free to tell me to mind my own business, but who was your grandmother putting to bed?’

‘Ah. My grandfather. He’s—’ Ed broke off, and his face looked troubled.

‘Sorry. You don’t have to talk about it.’

‘That’s OK. He’s in a wheelchair and he’s a bit difficult to deal with sometimes.’

She nodded slowly. ‘Is that why you’re here? To help with caring for him?’

He looked down at her, surprised by her intuition, but maybe he shouldn’t have been because she seemed to be able to read him easily.

‘Yes,’ he told her, because it was the truth, if not the whole truth. ‘He’s going downhill fast now, and Marnie really can’t manage any longer, but she’s determined to look after him herself. I don’t know how long he’s got, but I promised her I’d be around for her until he’s gone.’

‘And then?’

He shrugged. ‘Who knows?’

‘So do you live with them?’

He shook his head, surprising her. ‘No. I’ve got my own place closer to the hospital. I’m renting it from the Walkers. He’s an obstetrician. James put me in touch with them when he offered me the job.’

‘And does she mind? Your grandmother?’

‘No,’ he said, but he wasn’t sure it was true. ‘She would probably rather have had the company, but I told her I needed to be nearer the hospital and she was OK with it.’

‘So where do they live?’

‘On the clifftop near the golf club.’

She frowned. ‘But—that’s only about a mile or so away from the hospital.’

‘I know, but mine is closer, and that’s five minutes in an emergency, and she hasn’t questioned it. And I needed my own space.’

‘And you couldn’t say so.’

He smiled wryly. ‘No. Not directly. Not like that.’

Annie nodded slowly. ‘Families are tricky things. Juggling all the obligations. The guilt.’

‘Tell me about it.’ He looked down at her again as they strolled slowly along the pavement. ‘So where does your mother live?’

‘With me. Or, rather, we live with her. I’ve got two daughters. Twins. Chloe and Grace. They’re nearly three. She took early retirement and moved down to London to help me when I went back to work, and we lived in my rented flat, but then my grandmother needed more support so we moved back up here to Mum’s bungalow when a job came up last summer. I’ve been here nearly a year and it’s been brilliant, but we couldn’t afford a big enough house for all of us so we’re living in Mum’s for now until I’ve cleared my debts from my maternity leave. It’s a bit crowded, though, and sometimes I just long for my own space.’

He nodded. ‘I can understand that. Even if it’s just for a short while every day, it’s important, and I imagine that’s even more true with twins. That’s pretty hard-core parenting, I should imagine, especially in the early days.’ He hesitated for a minute, then went on, ‘And their father?’

‘Not part of our lives,’ she said firmly, and he heard the door slam firmly closed.

That was fine. He had enough no-go areas in his own life to understand she had hers, but it didn’t stop him despising a man who could abandon his own children. Some people didn’t know how lucky they were.

She’d come to a halt, pausing in front of a small detached bungalow in a leafy avenue just around the corner from his rented house.