Chapter 28

28

‘That was delicious, as always. Thank you, Ruth and Phil.’ Jackson placed his knife and fork together on his empty plate and leaned back in his chair.

‘Maybe you’ll bless us with your presence a little more often now then.’ Richie chuckled as he stood up and began collecting the plates.

‘I’ll help you.’ Pushing her chair back, Laura piled Jenny’s plate onto hers.

‘I certainly will.’ Standing, Jackson nodded to Richie. ‘Sit down, mate. I’ll help Laura. You’ve probably been up all night with the little ones.’

‘Now this I could get used to. Someone who appreciates how difficult it can be raising kids.’ Richie slumped back in his chair.

‘Oi! We’re not difficult!’ Tammy shouted across the room at her uncle.

‘He means babies. Not children your age.’ Rob lowered his voice. ‘Although I can assure you, Richie, mate, just because they get older it doesn’t mean they automatically start to sleep through the night.’

‘Aw, she’s not that bad. She just had a bad dream last night, that’s all.’ Jenny passed Laura the empty gravy jug.

‘Thanks.’ With her hands full, Laura retreated to the kitchen, leaving the baby talk behind her.

‘Hey, you.’ After placing the crockery down on the work surface, Jackson went back and closed the door quietly behind them.

‘Hey.’ She began unloading the plates and gravy jug onto the counter before opening the dishwasher.

‘I think we’ll be safe for a few moments.’ Jackson glanced behind him in the direction of the dining room before walking across to her.

Letting the dishwasher quietly close again, she allowed him to pull her into his arms before resting her cheek against his chest. ‘Yes, we should have a couple of minutes.’

Jackson tucked his finger beneath her chin and gently tilted her head to face him. ‘Time for this?’

As he leaned down, she felt his lips against hers, soft and firm, and kissed him back before looking up at him. ‘Maybe we should just come out and tell them about us? What’s the worst that could happen?’

‘I was just thinking the same thing. Even if it’s a shock to them at first, I’m sure they’d come round to the idea.’

‘Exactly. I mean, they love you and so they’d trust you. What could be better than two people they love getting together?’ Laura grinned. Although, admittedly, sneaking around behind her family’s backs had been fun to begin with, now, with each passing minute, she just wanted to be able to reach out and take Jackson’s hand in hers or lean against him on the sofa. Plus, she hated keeping secrets from her parents. It had been bad enough omitting to tell them about the troubles she’d been having with the local residents in Meadowfield, but she’d known that conversation wouldn’t be worth the hassle and interrogation that followed. But her and Jackson? That was different.

‘Are we going to do this, then? Come clean?’ Jackson looked at the closed door.

Laura nodded. ‘Yes, after pudding though?’

‘Okay, let’s do it.’ Jackson kissed her on the forehead before turning and clearing the dishes away.

The kitchen door swung open and Richie peered round. ‘Wow, you two were quick at tidying. You make a good team.’

‘We do indeed.’ Jackson caught Laura’s eye.

‘Mum’s sent me to help bring pudding through to the living room. The kids are getting restless.’ Richie pulled open the fridge door and took out a large cheesecake.

Opening the cupboard, Laura picked up a stack of bowls.

‘Here, let me.’ Taking them from her, Jackson brushed hands with her and nodded.

She nodded back. They were really going to do this. They were going to come clean. She followed Richie and Jackson through to the living room and, with the sofas being full, she lowered herself to the rug next to where the children were playing.

The loud and cheerful tone of her parents’ doorbell cut through the sound of her nieces and nephews playing and the chatter of her family.

Her mum looked across to Laura, a knife in hand as she began to cut the cheesecake sitting on the coffee table. ‘Are you all right getting that, sweetheart?’

‘Yes, of course.’ Laura stood up again and headed towards the door.

‘If it’s the window cleaner, the cash is on top of the shoe cabinet,’ her dad called out.

‘Okay,’ Laura shouted back before pulling the door open. With her fingers gripping the door handle tightly, she felt her stomach knot. ‘Harry.’

‘Laura, hi. Fancy seeing you here.’ Harry smiled at her, his self-confidence etched into every pore.

Laura narrowed her eyes. It was her dad’s birthday, of course she’d be here. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Who is it, sweetheart?’ Her mum’s cheery voice filtered through to the hallway.

Harry turned to look in the direction her voice had come from and raised his voice. ‘Afternoon, Ruth! It’s just me, Harry. I’m returning your salad spinner.’

‘Salad spinner?’ Laura widened her eyes. He’d borrowed a salad spinner from her parents? She hadn’t even realised they’d owned one.

‘That’s right. We hosted a dinner party yesterday evening and only realised we couldn’t find ours at the last moment.’ Harry picked up a plastic bag from the step and held it up before taking a step forward.

Without thinking, Laura moved to block the doorway. ‘We?’

‘Yes, me and Dina.’ Harry jerked his head behind him, indicating his car. ‘You remember her? From the pub?’

Looking from Harry to his familiar blue Peugeot, she swallowed. He was back with Dina then. And he’d brought her to Laura’s parents’ house. When he’d no doubt had a pretty good idea she would be there. What was he playing at? ‘You’re back with her then.’

‘Yes, we had a break, but…’ He shrugged as he tried to step around her. ‘I guess when two people are meant to be, nothing can stand in the way.’

Moving into his path again, Laura held her hand out. What did he mean by that? And by reminding her that Dina had frequented the same pub as them? Was he admitting he’d had feelings for her when he’d been with Laura? The suspicion had niggled away at her for some time now, but she’d never had any evidence and she doubted she ever would. Always needing to be the good guy, Harry was too careful for that. ‘I can take that for you.’

‘Oh, I’d rather give it to Ruth myself. Thank her properly.’

‘I think…’ Her voice tailed off as she heard footsteps behind her.

‘Harry, sweetheart. Lovely to see you.’ Her mum appeared by Laura’s side, forcing her to step out of the way.

‘I just wanted to return your salad spinner. Thank you for lending it to me.’ Harry held out the bag. ‘There’s a card and a little something in there for Phil too.’

‘Why don’t you come on in, give it to him yourself?’ her mum smiled warmly.

‘I’d like that. Only for a moment, mind.’ Harry’s self-assured smile returned as he walked past Laura, his arm brushing her sleeve.

Left alone in the hallway, Laura slowly closed the front door and shifted from foot to foot as she listened to her mum fussing over Harry. How often had he really been popping round since she’d moved out? She’d only been gone a couple of weeks and she knew for a fact that her mum had already invited him in for tea and now she was lending him kitchen paraphernalia? Why was he still hanging around? Because he knew it would annoy her? Or simply because he missed being part of the family? And Jackson? What would he think, seeing Harry just turning up like this?

She peered through the glass of the front door; she could just about make out someone sitting in the passenger seat. Dina. The woman Harry had been seeing shortly before he and Laura had met. The woman Harry had returned to. She pressed her fingers against her temples and massaged them, the headache returning.

A few moments later, Harry reappeared in the hallway and made his way back to the front door. ‘Bye, Laura.’

‘Bye,’ she muttered as she held the door open for him, watching her ex-husband make his way down her parents’ path to his car, to his new partner. His ex and present partner should she say? She walked back to the living room as she tried to make sense of the situation. As she made her way through the toys scattered across the carpet again, she glanced quickly in Jackson’s direction. She couldn’t read his expression. Was he okay after seeing Harry? He didn’t think there was anything going on between them, did he?

‘That was nice of him to pop round like that, wasn’t it? And he knew just what to get you for your birthday, didn’t he?’ Her mum nodded towards the bottle of whisky sitting on the carpet next to her dad’s feet before leaning forward and continuing to cut and dish out the cheesecake, seemingly oblivious to how uncomfortable her own daughter was feeling.

Sitting down on the rug again, Laura closed her eyes briefly. This wasn’t exactly what she’d envisaged happening before she told her parents and siblings that she and Jackson were now an item.

‘And it seems he’s back with Dina again, sweetheart.’ Her mum passed her a bowl.

‘Yes.’ Taking the bowl, Laura scraped some cream from the edge of the cheesecake. ‘That’s nice for him.’

‘No need for that tone, sweetheart. I had the poor lad crying in my kitchen when he broke up with her the week you moved out of here.’ Her mum passed Jackson a bowl too.

Shifting her position on the floor, Laura bit down on her bottom lip. She took a deep breath before speaking, trying desperately to keep her voice steady. ‘You do know that he was seeing her before me and him got together, don’t you? And that there’s a strong possibility he at least had feelings for her before our marriage ended.’

Her mum snapped her head up and looked at her. ‘No, he wouldn’t have done that to you. Not Harry.’

Gripping her bowl in her hands, Laura clenched her jaw. What was she supposed to say to that? How was she supposed to respond to the fact that her own mum was adamant that she knew Laura’s ex-husband better than she did herself? ‘Okay…’

‘Are you crying, Auntie Laura?’ Tammy looked up from where she was helping Jasper make a tower with the brightly coloured plastic bricks.

‘No, sorry. I’m not.’ Swiping the back of her hand across her face, Laura placed her bowl on the rug in front of her and stood up before making her way to the kitchen. As she walked past the sofa, she quickly glanced at Jackson, trying and failing once again to decipher from his expression what he was feeling.

‘Sis, wait up.’

Once in the sanctuary of the kitchen, Laura held the door open until Richie had stepped through before turning away from him.

‘Are you all right?’

‘Well, I didn’t expect my ex to gatecrash my dad’s birthday celebrations, and even less expected my family to welcome him with open arms.’ She took the tissue he held out towards her and turned to face him. ‘It almost feels as though everyone’s on his side. Not that there should be sides, but… did you hear Mum when I dared to suggest Harry might have been unfaithful?’ She tried to keep her voice steady and low as she felt a flash of anger.

‘I—’

‘And you’re just as bad. Well, not as bad as Mum, but you still don’t understand my decision to end things with him. What with you saying you wouldn’t have to worry about me if I was still with him. You said that on the phone when I first moved into the inn.’ She took a deep breath before carrying on. ‘Why can’t you see that he has faults too? And why can’t you all understand that I’m happier now that I’m not married to Harry? I wasn’t happy with him. I was lonely, so lonely, and I know how stupid that sounds because I was with him and now, I’m living on my own, but?—’

‘Laura.’ Stepping forward, Richie drew her in for a hug. ‘I’m sorry if I’ve said anything to make you feel like you’ve made the wrong decision. That was never my intention. I just want you to be happy.’

‘You do?’

‘Yes, of course I do. I admit I liked Harry. I thought he was a good guy, and I had absolutely no idea that you felt so alone when you were with him. I also didn’t have a clue that you thought there was anything going on between him and Dina. If I’d known, I’d have told you to leave him before you did.’

‘Really? Even though you and him always got on so well?’

‘Hey, we didn’t get on that well. Not enough to see you unhappy. You’re my sister, remember, and it’s you I care about. Harry can do one.’ Richie squeezed her before releasing her. ‘Ready to go back in and face the music?’

‘I guess so.’ Just as they reached the door, Jackson peered inside.

‘Everything okay? Are you all right, Laura?’ Holding the door open, his face was full of concern.

Sniffing, Laura nodded. ‘Yes, thanks. I’m fine. I just…’ She shrugged.

‘Good, as long as you’re okay.’ With his hand on the door, Jackson stepped back, letting her and Richie through.

‘Oh, there you are, sweetheart. I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to upset you. It was just a shock, you making accusations like that. I hadn’t thought you suspected him of any wrongdoing.’ Her mum looked across at her.

‘That’s it now. No more talk of Harry and no more letting him in the house and feeding him.’ Her dad looked pointedly at his wife.

‘Point taken.’ Her mum nodded.

‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have overreacted.’ Laura picked up her bowl again and lowered herself to the floor.

‘No, we shouldn’t have made him feel so welcome here. From now on, this is a Harry-free family.’ Richie spoke firmly.

‘Harry who?’ Jenny laughed.

‘Exactly. And besides, now the fun can really begin. We can start setting you up on dates!’ Richie rubbed his hands together.

‘Ooh, yes. One of my clients is recently divorced and super hot,’ Jenny joined in.

‘Hot, is he?’ Rob raised an eyebrow.

‘For Laura, I mean.’ Jenny rubbed his arm and grinned. ‘He’s definitely not my type, all muscly and brooding…’

Rob crossed his arms and huffed before chuckling.

‘But what do you think? Shall I set you two up? I’m sure he’d love to meet you.’ Jenny pulled out her phone. ‘I think he has a photo on his business page.’

‘Wait. I don’t want to be set up with anyone.’ Laura grimaced. Even if she and Jackson hadn’t been together, the last thing she’d have wanted was to have her siblings arrange blind dates for her. ‘Besides?—’

‘There’s Dave who I play squash with.’ Richie looked at his wife. ‘I think he’d be your type, don’t you think, Jane?’

‘Umm, yes, I think so. He seems a really nice guy.’

‘Stop. Please stop.’ Laura held her hand up and laughed despite how exasperated she felt. Though the fact that Richie was talking about trying to set her up with a friend was a good sign that he’d be more accepting of her and Jackson than they’d first thought. Maybe they’d been worrying about nothing.

‘I’ve got an idea.’ Tammy stood up and pointed to Laura with one hand and Jackson with the other. ‘I think Auntie Laura and Jackson should marry.’

Leaning forward, Richie burst out laughing. ‘Oh, Tammy, we do love you, but you have some funny ideas.’

‘Well, I think it’s a good idea. Auntie Laura is sad because she doesn’t have a Harry anymore and Jackson is lonely, so I think they should kiss and marry.’ Tammy crossed her arms as a plastic brick fell to the floor from her grasp.

Coughing, Laura felt the slither of cheesecake she’d just put into her mouth go down the wrong way. Managing to swallow, she calmed herself as she felt the heat of a blush flush across her face. Tammy’s words may have been uttered innocently but she couldn’t have read the situation better if she’d tried.

‘I don’t think Auntie Laura and Jackson will get together, Tammy, sweetie.’ Jenny leaned forward and rubbed her daughter’s shoulder. ‘It’s a good idea, but they’re too much like friends for that.’

‘Oh, friends can marry. I’m friends with Jenson at school and he told me he wants to marry me,’ Tammy said matter-of-factly.

‘They can, but not Auntie Laura and Jackson.’ Jenny glanced across at Laura with a grin as Tammy sat down with a plop. ‘Kids!’

‘Don’t laugh at me.’ Tammy pouted and threw a brick, which landed on Jenny’s foot.

‘Come on now. No throwing. Why don’t you come and help me see if we’ve got any after-dinner chocolates anywhere?’ Laura’s dad stood up and held out his hand towards Tammy.

As Laura watched her dad and niece leave the room, she wished she could tag along with them. Instead, she was stuck here, listening to all the reasons why she and Jackson could never be together. She cleared her throat, trying her best to keep her voice light. ‘And yet you’ve literally just tried to get me to agree to go on a date with your mate Dave, Richie.’

‘That’s completely different.’ Her brother chuckled.

‘He’s your friend and so is Jackson.’ She spooned a lump of cheesecake into her mouth and tried not to choke as the biscuit base stuck to the roof of her mouth.

‘Jackson is Jackson. He’s been about forever. You’ve never met Dave.’ Richie looked from her to Jackson and back again. ‘Why? Please tell me there isn’t anything going on between you both?’

‘Of course not, mate. What do you take me for? I know your little sis is off limits.’ Jackson slapped Richie on the back.

Laura felt her stomach plummet. Before Harry had turned up, they’d been going to tell everyone they were dating and now… this? What had changed? Had she put him off by accusing Harry of cheating? Or was he just wary of Richie now he’d said what he had? Forcing herself, she joined in with the laughter despite just wanting to cry.

‘Phew.’ Richie wiped his hand across his forehead and sighed dramatically. ‘You almost had me going then. Almost!’

‘Please don’t go setting me up on any dates, though, any of you.’ Laura looked around the room, trying to keep the wobble from her voice. ‘I’m happy being single for the time being.’

‘Can’t I just bring you up in conversation with the guy I was telling you about? Just a little?’ Jenny held her thumb and forefinger slightly apart.

‘Not at all.’ Standing up, Laura placed her bowl in the pile of used ones on the coffee table. ‘Right, I’m going to head off now. I need to be up early tomorrow. You don’t mind, do you, Jackson?’

‘Of course not.’ Following her lead, Jackson stood up too.

‘Oh really?’ Jenny pushed herself to standing and drew her in for a hug. ‘Can’t you stay a bit longer?’

‘Nope. It’s a fair drive back, remember?’ And she really wanted to be in the dark and safety of her car before the tears began to fall.

She walked out of the living room, averting eye contact with Jackson.

After giving and receiving what felt like a million hugs and having a Tupperware dish of leftovers shoved into her hands, Laura pulled open the front door and looked on as it was Jackson’s turn for the hugs and goodbyes. ‘I’ll meet you out in the car, Jackson. I have a quick call to make.’

‘Drive carefully, sweetheart.’ Her mum rubbed her on the forearm. ‘And we’re okay? Me and you? I didn’t realise that you felt that uncomfortable about Harry coming here, and I certainly didn’t even have an inkling that you were questioning his faithfulness to you when you were married.’

‘I will. Thanks again for dinner. And, yes, we’re fine.’

Stepping outside, the cold air hit her as she hurried down the garden path, frantically clicking her key until the lights blinked to inform her the car was unlocked. Slipping behind the steering wheel, she pushed the key into the ignition. How could he? How could Jackson have spoken about her like that? So easily dismissing the mere notion that they could ever be a couple? He hadn’t even attempted to stand up to Richie. Hadn’t even tried to tell her brother he was being ridiculous by telling Laura who she could and couldn’t date.

She turned the key as soon as she heard the passenger door open, barely waiting for Jackson to sit down and click his seatbelt on before she pulled away.

‘That was a bit intense, wasn’t it?’ Jackson finally spoke.

‘Uh-huh.’ She kept her eyes on the road ahead. She couldn’t even bear to look at him. How little must he think of her? Of what she thought they had together?

‘You’re annoyed with me, aren’t you?’ Jackson reached out and touched her forearm.

Shaking his hand off, Laura swallowed. ‘Yesterday you told me you loved me and then today you’re agreeing with my brother over what a ridiculous idea you and I are as a couple. Which one is it? How do you really feel?’

‘You know how I feel.’

‘That’s the thing, I don’t. Because in one of those conversations you were telling the truth and the other one was just a really good performance.’ And if he could lie so easily to Richie, then what else was he lying about? How he felt about Evie Taunton? Harry had gone back to his ex, what was there to say Jackson wouldn’t do the same? That the feelings Evie Taunton so overtly had for him weren’t reciprocated? How could she trust him now?

‘Laura…’

‘Don’t. Just don’t. Just let me drive.’ She reached over and turned the stereo on, turning the volume up until she couldn’t hear him anymore. She just needed to get home, back to Pennycress. That’s all she wanted right now.