Chapter 37

CHAPTER

37

‘Why don’t you bring Vicki over after school? She can see the cria and I could cook us all dinner.’

Matt’s heart gave a little leap. ‘I’m sure Vicki would love that.’

‘And you?’ Bree’s voice down the phone was flirtatious.

Matt grinned. ‘I’d like it a lot too.’ He saw two cars pulling up outside his office. ‘Looks like I have some customers. Maybe my luck is changing.’

‘Your luck changed when I walked into your office. Haven’t you figured that out yet?’ Bree’s laugh was like music, even over the poor mobile connection.

‘I can be a bit thick at times, but I think maybe I have. See you later, Bree.’

He was smiling as he ended the call, but that smile faded as he looked up to greet his visitors. Sally was standing just inside the office door, her face thunderous. She’d obviously heard Matt use Bree’s name. His first instinct was to apologise; anything to preserve their ever more fragile relationship. But he didn’t. He wouldn’t apologise for his growing closeness to Bree. That was between the two of them, and none of Sally’s business.

He got to his feet. ‘Sally. You were supposed to call me before coming up. My lawyer says you shouldn’t be here while the legal issues are still outstanding. Unless you’ve come to tell me you’re not going forward with the action.’ He did not for one moment believe that was her reason.

‘This is John Hooper. I wanted to bring him here. To meet Vicki.’

Matt turned his attention to the man at Sally’s side. He looked about Matt’s age and had sandy hair and brown eyes. Matt had never seen him before. He inclined his head to acknowledge the man, then returned his attention to Sally.

‘Why?’

‘He’s Vicki’s father.’

‘What?’

‘No! I mean … I’m not …’ John stammered. He looked as startled as Matt felt.

‘Kim and John were planning to marry before you interfered,’ Sally said, overriding the man’s protestations. ‘Vicki’s birthday makes it entirely clear he is her father. And I’m trying to make sure my granddaughter stays with her family, not some interloper.’ Sally’s face was twisted and ugly with emotion, her eyes glistening with anger.

Matt’s first instinct was to avoid the upcoming confrontation by asking them to leave. Now. But the desire to help Sally remained strong. And while the man at her side was an unknown factor, Matt needed to believe that somehow they could get past this and Vicki could have her loving grandmother back. The way she used to be.

‘Please. No. I’m sorry.’ John addressed Matt. ‘Sally got in touch with me. I was so sorry to hear about Kim. She was a lovely person.’

Matt nodded, unable to even say thank you. He felt as if the ground beneath his feet was giving way as a huge chasm had opened and he was teetering on the edge, liable to fall in at any moment. Only his love for his daughter was holding his world together. That would never fail, but it might not be enough.

‘Sally, you need to leave. You brought lawyers into this. You need to stay away from Vicki and let the law sort this out.’ He glanced at the clock on the wall. The school day was almost over and he was desperate to get Sally and this man out of here before Vicki walked in.

‘I won’t let you stop me seeing my granddaughter. And you can’t stop her real father seeing her either.’

‘I am Vicki’s father!’

‘Daddy? What’s wrong?’ Vicki’s voice sounded so very afraid.

Matt closed his eyes in despair, just for a moment. When he opened them, all he could see was his daughter’s face in the doorway, her eyes glistening with tears as she clutched her school bag to her chest.

‘Vicki, honey. Everything’s fine. Why don’t you go through to the house? I’ll be there in a minute.’

‘Granny, is something wrong? You look upset.’

‘Nothing’s wrong, my lovely girl.’ Sally swept Vicki into a hug. ‘I have brought someone here to meet you. He’s—’

‘Sally.’ Matt’s warning was sharp and loud.

‘What? She should know the truth.’

Matt bit back the words he wanted to say, anger replacing compassion for his mother-in-law. He turned to his daughter, whose face was now white and wet with tears. ‘Vicki, honey. Go through to the house, please. This is a little misunderstanding with Granny. Don’t you worry about anything. Go and get yourself a glass of juice. You can have a chocolate biscuit as well. Please, honey. I’ll be there in a minute.’

Vicki glanced uncertainly at her grandmother and then looked back to Matt. He moved quickly to her side and knelt to give her the briefest, but hardest, of hugs. Then he put his hand on her back to gently urge her through the door leading to the house.

As soon as the door shut behind her, Matt turned on Sally.

‘That’s enough. I want you to leave. Now. I will not have Vicki upset like this.’

John, who had been watching silently, raised one hand, palm out as if to ward off Matt’s fury. ‘I didn’t—’

‘No. I don’t want to hear it.’ Matt went to the office door and pulled it open. ‘Please leave now. Both of you.’

Sally didn’t move.

‘I don’t want this to get any worse than it is,’ Matt said. ‘But if you don’t leave, I will call the police.’ He wasn’t at all sure he meant those words. Calling the police would take them all to a place from which they might never recover. He didn’t want that, but if he was to avoid it, he had to make Sally believe he was serious. ‘And if you come back or try to contact Vicki before this dispute is resolved, I will call the police. This is all in your hands, Sally. You can end it by dropping your lawsuit and respecting my wishes when it comes to your visits. But until you’re ready to do that, leave now and don’t come back.’

Matt stood firmly by the open door, watching Sally’s face. After a few tense moments, when Matt feared he would have to make good his threat, she stepped to the open doorway.

‘This is not the end of it,’ she hissed as she left.

The man who had accompanied her said nothing as he followed.

Matt shut the door and, exercising the utmost control, walked back to his desk and sat down. Outside, he could see the two speaking, until John Hooper got in his car and left. After one last, livid glance in Matt’s direction, Sally drove away.

His relief was overwhelming. He let his head drop into his hands while he tried to gather his composure. Sally was getting worse, and he thought he knew why. This was a tough week; a couple of days from now, they would have been celebrating Kim’s birthday. Now that day brought a renewal of grief at their terrible loss. He understood why Sally was falling apart and he empathised, but empathy wasn’t what she needed.

When his breathing had returned to normal, he reached for his phone. He had to get proper legal advice so he could stop this before it got worse. Then his thoughts flew to Vicki, sitting alone and upset in her room. He stood up and hurried to the house.

Vicki was sitting on her bed. She was surrounded by her favourite stuffed toys and several alpaca books. But the toys were untouched, the books closed. Her face was in her hands and she was sobbing.

‘Vicki. Honey.’ He moved to the bed and put his arms around her. He held her for a long time, telling her how much she was loved, reassuring her that nothing was wrong. No-one was angry at her and he would always be there to care for her. His eyes swam with tears, his throat constricted, and he struggled to find the words she needed to hear. The words that would take away her hurt and fear.

When he released his hold and she looked up at him, he saw the same haunted look on her face that he remembered from the first weeks after Kim died. He silently cursed Sally for that.

‘Is Granny still here?’ She did not sound as if she wanted the answer to be yes.

‘No, honey. Granny had to go. But she said to tell you she loved you very much.’

‘What’s wrong with Granny? She’s not so nice any more. She shouts at you. Sometimes she scares me.’

Matt’s heart almost broke as he pulled his daughter into his arms. ‘Granny is not well, Vicki. Hopefully she’ll get better soon. But you should never be afraid of her. And I’m always here to look after you.’

‘Will you look after Granny too?’

‘If I can, honey, if I can. Now, why don’t you wash your face? I’ve got a surprise for you.’

Some of the sadness vanished from her eyes. ‘What is it?’

‘If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise. But I can say we’re going to visit Bree and her alpacas.’

‘Yay!’ Vicki jumped off the bed. ‘Now?’ Her smile was back, but not as bright as it had been.

‘Now. Give me a couple of minutes to lock up the office. I’ll be right back.’

Vicki was jumping around with joy as Matt headed into the office. He certainly didn’t feel the same way.

He walked through the adjoining door and stopped. The office wasn’t empty. John Hooper was standing there.

‘What are you doing back here?’

‘I didn’t come to cause trouble, I just wanted to say I’m sorry. When Sally contacted me, I didn’t realise things were … like this.’

‘Fair enough. But there is something you need to understand. Vicki is my daughter. I was there when she was born and I have been here for her every day of her life. When we lost her mother—’ Matt didn’t care that his voice broke, but he needed a moment before he could continue. ‘When we lost her mother, I held her when she cried. For a long time, she clung so tightly to me, she panicked any time I wasn’t nearby. Even going to school was a problem, because she would become afraid I would go away and never come back like Kim did. I am her father in every way that matters.’

John looked thoughtful. ‘I agreed to come here with Sally because if I had a child, I would want to be part of her life too. I hope you can understand that.’

Matt said nothing. He was a father. Of course he understood.

‘I have to ask. Can you tell me—when is her birthday?’

Matt told him the date and a slow, sad smile spread over the man’s face.

‘Then she really is your daughter in every way. Kim and I—well, despite what Sally said, our relationship had run its course. We weren’t close any more. I mean … we hadn’t …’ His voice trailed off. ‘We don’t need a blood test. She’s your daughter, not mine. And I think she’s a very lucky girl to have you for her father.’

Matt sagged with relief. ‘Are you—’

‘I am certain.’

‘And you won’t be joining Sally’s fight?’

‘Good God, no. When I first spoke to her, I didn’t realise she was, well, like she is. I always got on okay with her and Brian. But this, this is wrong. I want to apologise for my part in it.’

The relief that surged through Matt was almost too much to take. With the greatest effort, he took a deep breath and straightened his back. He held out his hand. ‘Thank you.’

Hooper shook his hand. ‘I really am sorry it came to this. I hope you and Vicki can forget all about it.’ He left the office.

Matt locked the office door behind him. He walked swiftly back into the house to find Vicki waiting.

‘Let’s go and see Bree.’

‘And the alpacas.’

He smiled. ‘And the alpacas.’