by Jacobs, Anna
‘Mum? Are you all right?’
‘I am now.’ She explained what had happened.
When he’d finished swearing, she got to the point of the call. ‘Can you go and see Rachel, tell her what happened?’
‘Yes. But Mum . . . I don’t think she’ll believe me. She still thinks he’s Mr Miracle.’
‘I’ll get the recording to you.’
‘She won’t listen to it.’
Molly sagged against the caravan window. ‘We can’t force her to do anything, I know, but we have to try to make her see sense.’
‘I believe you, Mum.’
‘I’m glad.’
‘I have to go now. I’m due at work. I’ll have to ring and explain that I’ll be late.’
When she switched off the phone, Molly sat there for a few moments, feeling as if she’d been run over by a tractor. But out of the corner of her eye she saw yet another car draw up. Euan would be struggling to deal with all these people.
She gave a wry smile as she tidied her hair and put on some more lipstick. The show must go on. And it’d probably be as well to keep herself occupied.
Brian rang his sister’s doorbell.
She opened it, keeping the security chain across it. ‘What do you want?’
‘Can I come in?’
‘No. Daddy just rang. He said you’d all ganged up on him, were trying to make me believe lies with a doctored tape.’
He blinked in shock. That was fast work. ‘If you’ll just let me in, I’ll explain.’
‘You’re not coming in. Daddy needs someone to stand by him. He hasn’t even got anywhere to sleep tonight, thanks to Mum and that flaky fellow she’s shacked up with. Well, he’s still got me.’
She slammed the door in his face.
He stood there for a moment, then shrugged and went back to work.
When the last customer of the afternoon had gone, Euan turned the sign to ‘closed’ and shut the office door firmly. ‘Thanks for coming back to work today. It can’t have been easy.’
‘It was easier than sitting on my own, thinking and worrying.’
‘I like Stuart.’
‘So do I. His mother’s lovely, too. I’m glad he’s going to buy my house.’
‘You could probably have got more money for it.’
‘Who cares? I like to think of him near Jane if she needs help. I like to think the house will be loved, as I used to love it.’
After a moment’s silence, he said quietly, ‘Let’s go down to the caravan.’
She felt a sense of loss as she walked inside, because of course she couldn’t stay there now. She’d shown herself up as a coward, for all Euan’s kind words. He wouldn’t be able to respect her now. She didn’t respect herself.
‘I think I can guess what you’re thinking,’ he said gently.
‘Can you?’
‘Oh, yes. I told you my cousin was in your situation, so I do understand. But I meant what I said. You standing up to him today took a huge amount of courage, and you did it without any counselling or help.’
‘Even so, I’m no fit partner for a man like you.’
‘Shouldn’t I be the one to judge that?’
‘You’re a kind man. And you’ll go on being kind to me for a while, then . . . you’ll leave me.’
‘I won’t, darling. I love you, the Molly you are now, admittedly, not the cowed woman put down by her whole family. The Molly I love is moving on. And will move still further.’
But still she shook her head.
‘What can I say to persuade you?’
‘I didn’t know you were the man behind CrestHayle Holdings. I thought you were struggling to find the money to finish this development.’
He smiled and took her hand. ‘I am. It’s a challenge I set myself, to see if I could still do it, make something from almost nothing.’
‘Why should you want to do that?’
‘Avril told me I was getting soft and spoiled. She was right. I’ve worked hard on this.’ He gestured around them. ‘I’m juggling pennies, where I usually juggle millions. And do you know what – it’s fun. I’ve not felt so alive for a long time, not since Karen died and I buried myself in financial work. And it’s brought me you, which is the best thing of all about a few minutes notice’
‘But I’m so ordinary.’
‘No, you’re not. You’ve got many useful skills, you’re kind, you’re fun and pretty. I don’t want a skinny woman who spends half her life looking after her body. I want a woman who’ll work beside me, hop on a plane at a drop of a hat and nip to Paris for dinner, or tell me off if I’ve left the place untidy, not to mention whipping up gourmet meals at a few minutes notice.’
She took a hesitant step towards him. Dare she believe him? Dare she take the risk? ‘I do love you, Euan.’
‘That makes me very happy. And do you believe I love you?’
She looked at him and nodded.
‘Does that mean you’ll take a risk on me, share my life?’
‘Yes. If you’ll do the same with me.’
Then she was in his arms, crying and laughing, kissing and loving. She knew it was a risk, but how could she not try for the moon?’
Seventeen
Her old home seemed so different already. Molly had to stop in the hall to take a few deep breaths and get her bearings. They’d exchanged contracts today and this was now Stuart’s house. She was here to check whether she wanted any of the furniture that was left, but she already knew she didn’t.
Beside her, Euan whispered, ‘All right?’
She turned to smile at him. ‘Very all right.’ In the month they’d been together, still in the tiny caravan, she’d smiled a lot.
Stuart threw open the door of the sitting room and a whole crowd of people yelled, ‘Surprise!’
Jane was closest and she moved forward first to hug Molly. ‘Welcome back, my dear.’
‘It’s so good to see you.’
Behind her was Brian, with a pleasant looking young woman by his side.
‘This is Carol, Mum.’
‘I’m pleased to meet you.’ And Molly was. You could tell at a glance that this was a nice person, devoid of malice or slyness. You just could. She was learning to trust her own judgement about people.
With squeals, her friends threw themselves on her, and her cousin Helen grinned at her from behind them, waiting for a hug.
‘This is Euan,’ she told them proudly.
‘Nice one,’ Nikki said. ‘You’ve hit gold this time.’
Molly let out a gurgle of laughter as Euan blushed. She’d learned by now that he was embarrassed by his own good looks. You could say it was his Achilles heel.
‘Hands off, girls!’ she said. ‘I saw him first.’ Then she saw Sally at the back of the room, looking a little anxious. She tugged Euan through the crowd. ‘I’m so glad to see you, Sally. I’ve never thanked you properly for helping me that day.’
The two women hugged and instead of air kisses, Sally plonked an old-fashioned kiss on her cheek.
Rachel wasn’t there, of course. But then, Molly hadn’t expected her to be. She had to hope that some day her daughter would find out for herself how untrustworthy her father was.
‘I didn’t know it was going to be a party,’ she said, ‘or I’d have dressed up.’
‘No, heaven help us. Don’t let her dress up, Euan. It doesn’t suit her,’ Di said. ‘Keep her simple.’
Everyone laughed and Molly with them. She’d grown confident enough to be amused at her own lack of dress sense, because Euan had taught her how unimportant that was compared to what sort of person you were.
At one stage, Brian cornered her in the bay window. ‘I just wanted to tell you how much two of my old toys fetched at auction.’
She gaped at the sum he named. ‘For two little toy trucks?’
‘In their original boxes, almost pristine. I never knew I’d be thankful that I tired of things quickly and you put them away out of harm’s reach. I’ve paid off
my debts, Mum, and I’m not getting into any more.’
‘Good. And I like your new friend.’
‘So do I.’ His eyes raked the crowd and he saw Carol in one corner talking animatedly to Jane. ‘She’s taught me a lot about life. I don’t think there’s anyone she can’t talk to and enjoy the company of.’ He hesitated. ‘No more trouble with Dad?’
‘No. Stuart’s keeping an eye on him, so is Euan.’
‘And Tasha’s really divorcing him?’
‘Oh, yes. She’s an ambitious woman, but she’s not into skulduggery, and I gather he did something that really upset her.’
He burst out laughing. ‘Skulduggery! I’d forgotten that word even existed.’
When everyone had gone, except for the Bentons, Molly and Euan, they sat over a final glass of wine.
‘I’m so glad you’ve got the house,’ she said to Wendy.
‘So am I. And I’m never moving house again. It was hard uprooting ourselves every couple of years.’
‘Change is always hard,’ Molly said before she could stop herself.
Wendy patted her hand. ‘But we change when we have to. I hope you and Euan will be happy together. I really like him.’
Molly smiled, hoping Euan couldn’t hear this or he’d be blushing again. ‘I’m beginning to believe we can.’
‘Don’t doubt it. He obviously loves you deeply. Everyone commented on the way he looks at you.’
When the chauffeur-driven car came to pick them up, Molly subsided on the back seat. ‘It’s tiring being happy, isn’t it?’
‘Are you happy?’
‘Oh, yes. Very. I do love you, Euan, and thank you for helping Stuart to arrange this party. It’s the right way to end my association with that house.’
‘I’ll arrange a lot more happy occasions, I hope, because I love you more each day.’
He said the most romantic things – but best of all, she believed he meant them. She snuggled against him, feeling happiness settle round them like a warm cloak.
Life wouldn’t always be perfect, she knew that, but she was quite certain this man wouldn’t let her down or bully her.
He was definitely a keeper.
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