Saving Katy Gray (When Paths Meet Book 3)

by Sheila Claydon

  “I’ll be sure to tell him. It’ll make his day.” Emlyn wished he didn’t feel so miserable because then he’d be able to laugh at the way his sarcasm sailed over Lucy’s head. Right now though, he didn’t think he’d ever feel happy again, and it took a tremendous effort to greet Connie when she came over carrying menus and a basket of bread.

  “Sorry to keep you waiting but we’re a waitress down tonight.”

  “Yes, so Tony said. He didn’t tell us you were fully booked though. I only realized when I saw you laying up the extra table.”

  Not able to tell him that Tony had insisted she find him a table because he wanted her to keep an eye on him, she could only smile and shrug. “As if he’d ever let me turn you away, or Jack, not when you both more or less lived here when you were young.”

  Remembering the many hours he’d spent with his friends in the rooms above the pub, Emlyn’s expression brightened into a genuine smile. Before he could answer, however, Lucy interrupted.

  “Are these your only vegetarian options, because if they are then I’m not impressed. Surely you can do better than a cheese omelet, a jacket potato or a spinach and ricotta lasagna.”

  Connie, who had recognized Emlyn’s poisonous ex-girlfriend the moment she walked into the bar, gave her the bland smile she reserved for difficult customers. “The menu is based on what is popular I’m afraid, We know what people like and we stick to it. Even our daily specials are based on what sells well. I’m sure in your case we can make an exception though. How about eggs benedict on sourdough toast, or a tomato and sweet pepper curry?”

  Slightly mollified, Lucy opted for the curry while Emlyn very deliberately chose the omelet. Then, as Connie finished writing down the order, she demanded to see the wine list.

  Emlyn, who kept telling himself he was too much of a gentleman to embarrass a woman in public, waited until Connie had returned to the kitchen before he spoke again. When he did, however, he came swiftly to the point.

  “What do you actually want Lucy because I don’t believe for one minute that it’s me. You were very clear about that the last time you were here, when you told me I had to choose between you and my mother, as if I actually had any sort of choice at the time.”

  Narrowing her eyes she stared at him. “Everyone has a choice Emlyn, you just weren’t ruthless enough to make the one that was best for you. If you’d put your mother into a nursing home…and god knows you earned enough to pay for one…then you could have kept your old life. You know, the one where you spent your time enjoying boat trips on the river, parties, exotic holidays…sex! You can’t tell me you don’t miss it because if you do, I won’t believe you. You look like hell and it’ll just get worse the longer you stay in Corley, so come back to the city before it’s too late, before everyone else has moved on and left you behind.”

  “By everyone else I assume you mean all those friends who don’t call. The ones who were always too busy to talk in the early days when I still phoned them.”

  “Oh don’t be such a child. Of course they’re still talking to you. They’re just busy living their lives. You’ve been there so you know how it is. Anyway, that’s one of the reasons I’m here, because the whole gang has decided to come down for the weekend of the Bella Blue concert…all of them. Carlos and Mark, John too, and Amy and Cara, and I think Matt and Suzie are interested as well. Is it still the last weekend of August?”

  With a bitter smile he sat back in his chair. “So that’s why you’re here. You want me to get you some tickets because you know you’ve left it too late to order any through the box office. Well sorry to disappoint you but you’re out of luck.”

  Ignoring Connie, who had just returned with their food, she leaned forward. “Because you can’t get any or because you won’t?”

  “Because I won’t. Those tickets are for real friends Lucy, not for someone who thinks a night of sex for old time’s sake is a fair exchange.”

  Then, ignoring his own rule about not embarrassing anyone in public, he pushed back his chair, stood up, and tossed some money onto the table. “Here, have this on me. There should be enough left over to buy that champagne you mentioned as well because I’m sure you won’t have a problem finding someone to share it with you. You could start with that chap in the corner who’s been ogling you ever since we sat down.”

  Connie shook her head as he muttered an apology. His outburst didn’t bother her. Nor did the wasted meal. What did bother her was the expression of total despair on his face as he strode out of the bar without a backward look.

  * * *

  Katy, meanwhile, was dealing with her own heartbreak by pretending it didn’t exist. Busying herself at the cooker, she produced a meal that had Mrs. Tomlins and Mrs. Brooks exclaiming with delight. Then, when she’d settled them into comfortable chairs, each with a cup of coffee, she asked them if they’d enjoyed the flower show.

  It took them a long time to tell her about it, with every detail being repeated at least once. Forcing herself to concentrate, she asked a lot of questions and listened patiently while they answered them. It was only when Mrs. Tomlins enquired about her own day that she began to falter.

  “Um…I took a picnic and um…walked,” she told her. Then she described an imaginary route from what she could remember of the countryside she’d seen from the inside of Emlyn’s car, and hoped it sounded realistic.

  “My goodness, you really must enjoy walking if you managed to get that far,” Penny Brooks looked at her admiringly, her expression entirely lucid for once. “It’s a shame Emlyn was busy because he likes walking too and you’d have been good company for one another.”

  Remembering exactly what sort of company Emlyn had been, Katy swiftly deflected the comment by starting to stack the dishes. She protested when Mrs. Tomlins joined her.

  “Gracious me, you don’t think we’d leave you to clear up by yourself do you, not after that delicious meal. Come on Penny, you can put the napkins and the placemats away while I help Katy clear the kitchen.”

  * * *

  Later, when everything was spic and span again, she began to shrug herself into her cardigan. Noticing that she was having difficulty, Katy helped her put it on and then picked up the handbag she’d left on the hall table and handed it to her.

  “Are you sure you’ll be okay going home alone because it is very late?”

  “Bless you, I’ve been going home alone for most of my life. My husband died young you see, not long after we were married, and because I never met anyone else I wanted to spend my life with, I don’t have children either.”

  “Is that why Jack is so special to you? Izzie said you more or less brought him up.”

  “Jack and his sister Amelia, yes. They were my family, and now I’ve got Izzie and William as well, and Izzie’s sister and her children when they visit, and Luke, and Jem, the young man Amelia married last year. The Corley family just keeps growing and growing, and as long as there are children to babysit I’ll never feel lonely.”

  Then she leaned forward and kissed Katy on the cheek. “Although it’s none of my business, I can see you’re not happy my dear and I’m sorry, but take it from me, it will get better. I thought I’d never be happy again when my husband died but although I’ve never forgotten him, I’ve had a good life.”

  Her eyes brimming with tears, Katy attempted a smile as she opened the front door and watched her walk down the path. She hoped that Mrs. Tomlins was right, because if she had to spend the rest of her life feeling as she did now, then there really wasn’t much point in anything anymore.

  Chapter Fourteen

  For the next few days Emlyn made his secretary’s life a misery. In the end she lost her temper.

  “Either tell me what the problem is or go home. You’ve been like a bear with a sore head since Monday. Has it got something to do with that ex of yours? The model. Someone said they saw her in Corley at the weekend."

  “It has, not that it’s any business of yours or anyone else’s.”


  “That’s where you’re wrong. When you decided to reopen the Corley branch of your father’s office I offered to help out because I felt sorry for you, but my sympathy is wearing a bit thin now. You’re your own worst enemy Emlyn, or you were until you found Katy Gray. For a while after she moved in with your mother I really thought you were getting your life back on track but now you seem to be falling apart again.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Emlyn’s voice was heavy with sarcasm as he shifted some papers from one side of his desk to the other and wondered, for the umpteenth time, what he was going to do about Katy.

  “You’re welcome,” Dorothy’s sarcasm matched his own. Then her voice softened slightly. “One piece of advice though, please don’t let whatever’s bugging you rub off on Katy because, as you already know to your cost, finding a nurse/companion who is prepared to live in Corley is next to impossible.”

  For a moment he was tempted to tell her everything, knowing that despite her sharp tongue, nothing shocked her. She had worked for Brooks, Brooks & Leighton Solicitors for years and was loyal and discreet. Although she knew more about his family problems than anyone else in Corley, and at times had given him far more advice than he wanted and far more support than he deserved, he was quite sure she had never discussed them with anyone else. Then he remembered his promise to Katy; how he’d said the story of her past life was safe with him; and he knew he couldn’t say a word. With a grunt of dismissal he moved the papers again.

  Dorothy shook her head as she quietly closed the door behind her. She had heard good things about life at Oak Lodge now that Katy Gray was in charge, so why was he so miserable? Surely it wasn’t because of that ex-girlfriend of his, not after so long, and not after his apparent relief when they’d finally split. No, it had to be something else. Maybe it was to do with his mother. Perhaps she was getting worse although that wasn’t what Mary Tomlins had told her. She had said things were a lot better now. Pondering this as she fed documents into the photocopier, she decided there was only one person who might know the answer, and that was Katy Gray.

  * * *

  Katy, who had spent every day since Saturday scrubbing and tidying as if her life depended on it, jumped when the telephone rang. Peeling off her rubber gloves she reached for it, praying that it wouldn’t be Emlyn because she wasn’t ready to talk to him yet, not even to tell him she would be leaving as soon as she could find another job. Although the voice on the other end of the phone sounded familiar, it was a moment or two before she registered that it belonged to his secretary. So that was how he was going to play it in future, was it? He was going to use her as a go between and carry on with his life as if nothing had happened.

  “I know it’s short notice but would it be convenient if I called round at about four this afternoon Katy? It would mean I could go straight on to my daughter’s house from you instead of having to go back to the office.”

  Too embarrassed to say she had been so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn’t heard the first part of Dorothy’s conversation, so had no idea why she wanted to talk to her, Katy agreed. With nothing else to go on she decided she probably wanted to check she was ordering the correct replacement laptop Emlyn had insisted on buying. Hurrying into the dining room to retrieve the broken pieces from where she had left them on the dresser, she was startled to find Mrs. Brooks already in there staring at a letter.

  “I thought you were still in the greenhouse,” she said. Then, in an attempt to elicit some sort of response, “Emlyn’s secretary is calling in shortly. Would you like me to offer her tea?”

  Without lifting her head, Mrs. Brooks nodded. Then she held out the letter. “What does this mean?” she asked.

  * * *

  The tap on his office door startled Emlyn. He knew Dorothy had left for the day and had assumed she’d locked the outer door behind her. Now, thanks to her forgetfulness, he was going to have to deal with an after-hours caller. Not sure he would be able to hide the fact that he really didn’t care if he never got another client ever again, he pushed himself up from his chair, walked across the room and opened the door.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt you at work but I thought you’d want to see this,” Katy held out a sheet of paper, her rigid body language making it clear that there were a lot of other places she’d rather be.

  Unable to think of anything to say, he unfolded it and scanned the contents. Then, frowning, he read it again. “Where did you get this?”

  “Your mother gave it to me. She found it in the pile of papers I put to one side when I cleared out the dining room. I thought they might be important and I was going to ask you to go through them until…” her voice trailed off as they both remembered why she hadn’t gotten around to telling him about them.

  Staring at the letter he tried to make some sense of the details. Seeing his confusion, she stepped forward.

  “This shows his blood levels,” she said, pointing. “And this says that his white cell count is very high. I’m afraid your father is very ill Emlyn, and that’s why he went away. He hasn’t gone because he’s given up on your mother, he’s gone because he’s too poorly to look after her and he knows she can’t look after him.”

  Recalling his mother’s reaction to Mrs. Tomlins’ accident, Emlyn knew she was right. What he didn’t understand was why his father had chosen to leave the country, but even as he had the thought he knew it wasn’t true.

  “He hasn’t gone very far away has he? He just told her he was going on a golfing holiday to Florida so we wouldn’t search for him.”

  Katy nodded in agreement. “He would have been too ill to travel when that letter was written, and even if he has responded to treatment he’ll still be very poorly at the moment.”

  “And if he hasn’t?”

  Her eyes were troubled as she looked at him. “If he hasn’t then he won’t be coming home again.”

  Then she glanced at her watch and said she had to go. “Dorothy offered to stay with your mother while I came to see you but I promised to be as quick as possible because she’s on her way to visit her daughter.”

  He gave an involuntary smile. “Then she won’t mind being late because her daughter has five children and, according to Dorothy, when she goes to see her she spends most of her time washing and ironing and picking up toys.”

  Against her will, Katy returned the smile as she turned to go. Emlyn’s voice followed her to the door.

  “What am I going to do Katy? How do I start finding a man who doesn’t want to be found?”

  It was the anguish in his voice that broke her resolve. She had asked Dorothy to sit with his mother so that she could talk to him away from the intimacy of Oak Lodge, sure that she would be able to control her feelings in the formal confines of his office. Instead, seeing him surrounded by paper, his tie askew and his hair so disheveled that it looked as if he had spent all day pushing his hands through it, had just opened up the pain of her heartbreak all over again. She hadn’t reckoned on him asking for her help either.

  With her hand on the door, she paused. “I still have one or two contacts in the medical profession, people who might be able to help us to track him down.”

  Although she wasn’t aware that she had included herself in the search for his father, Emlyn had noticed, and despite the fact that his family life had suddenly become a lot more complicated, he felt his heart lift very slightly.

  “Will it be okay with you if I come up to see you later this evening so we can talk about it?”

  With great reluctance she nodded and then shut the door quietly behind her.

  * * *

  Mrs. Brooks was watching a gardening program on the TV when Emlyn arrived and she didn’t bother to acknowledge his greeting. With a wry smile he followed Katy through to the kitchen.

  She glanced at him. “Don’t let it get to you, she often ignores me too.”

  He leaned against the kitchen counter and watched her empty the dishwasher. Aware that she was only keepi
ng herself busy so she didn’t have to look at him, she stacked plates and bowls, and sorted cutlery. Then, with nothing left to do, she reluctantly offered to make coffee. Emlyn shook his head.

  “I need something stronger than that, and so do you by the look of you.”

  Bristling with indignation Katy jabbed the plug into the coffee machine. “Coffee is fine for me thank you very much, and I’d appreciate it if you kept personal remarks out of our relationship in future."

  “We still have a relationship then?”

  She compressed her lips into a thin line. “Only until I can find another job.”

  “So it’s just a professional one.”

  Whirling around she glared at him, her eyes flashing fire. “Well it’s hardly likely to be anything else is it?”

  “That depends.”

  “On what?”

  “On whether you still believe I was just filling in time with you until my girlfriend returned from her travels.”

  “What else am I supposed to believe? I saw her with my own eyes Emlyn…saw how you kissed her, saw how she looked at you. You drove off together for goodness sake. And in case you want to know how I felt about that, it made me thank my lucky stars that I found out what you are really like before it was too late.”

  Fighting the urge to just take her in his arms and prove how wrong she was, Emlyn held himself in check. She was still too angry for him to contemplate anything like that, and anyway he had to concentrate on finding his father. Right now he would have to settle for some sort of truce.

  “I know how it looked and I’m sorry. If I’d known she was waiting for me then the last thing I would have done was to bring you back to Oak Lodge.”

  “I’ll bet!” Her eyes still flashing fire, Katy crashed mugs onto the kitchen counter as the coffee machine announced that the coffee was ready with one last loud gurgle.