Page 7 of Always on My Mind

The air grew thick between them.

“I got you a therapist,” he said, almost to himself.

Jamie’s eyes went wide. “What?”

“I didn’t know what else to do!”

“Dad!”

“You’re acting so erratically! And while I don’t necessarily believe in therapy, at this point, I reckon it can’t hurt!”

“Are you joking? I made one decision you don’t agree with and you think I must be pregnant or having a nervous breakdown?”

“I don’t know what’s going on, Jamie. But whatever it is, it must be worked out. By signing with Stanmore, your career’s taken a hit. If speaking to someone will help, I think it’ll get you back on track for a better club.”

“I didn’taskto speak to someone! And my career’s doing fine!”

“For now!” he bellowed, loud enough that she flinched this time. Doors she could predict, but she never knew when he would start yelling. “Actions have consequences, Jamie! And I’ve had enough of your back chat!” She shrank back as he inhaled. “Now, I’m going to get the footage from today’s press conference, and I’ll call you later to discuss it. Unless, of course, you intend on ignoring my calls again. Is that the case?”

Her shoulders sank. “No, sir.”

“Good. Your first appointment is on Thursday. I’ll speak to you later.”

He gave her no time to respond before he turned and stormed out. He slammed the door behind him and Jamie squeezed her eyes shut. Quiet settled back over the house and she sank into a dining chair. Tears pricked her eyes, and she blinked them back. For the rest of the evening, she asked herself if she’d made a huge mistake.

Chapter 2

Tessa scratched off another name with a sigh, red ink sinking into the paper in front of her.

“It’s no use, Billie,” she said, holding her phone between her cheek and her shoulder. “I’m never gonna find a flatmate at this rate.”

“It can’t be that bad,” her former flatmate but reigning best friend replied. “This is London. Thousands of people move here every day. Surely someone is suitable to live with.”

“I’m telling you, there’s no one.”

“What about that Scottish bloke?”

“He’s a bagpiper, Bills. How’s anyone supposed to live with a professional bagpiper?”

“Okay, fair enough. Have you got any other interviews lined up?”

“Ten.”

“See, there are options!”

Tessa glanced over the list of so-called options once more. She had one more interview left for the day, and the rest would haveto come throughout the week. She was considering giving up on the whole thing and moving to a one-bedroom. But even that would be difficult to maintain in London on a single income. A writer’s income at that.

She never noticed how much Billie was covering when they lived together. She made about twice Tessa’s salary working for a football club, and now that she was gone, Tessa realized how steep the difference was. She’d canceled half her streaming subscriptions, created a meal plan with only the cheapest ingredients, and sold vintage items from her collection several times a week on Etsy. And she was still struggling.

“I dunno. . . ” she trailed off. “Are you and Ethan looking for someone to keep house?”

Billie chuckled. “Believe me, Tess. You don’t want to be living at ours.”

“Shagging everywhere, are you?”

“Literally in every room.”

Tessa gagged, but she knew Billie understood the sarcasm behind it. Tessa was thrilled that Billie had found her soulmate. And she was honored to have been part of them discovering they were soulmates at all. Tessa found the letters and photographs which revealed that Billie, in a past life, was a Land Girl during World War II, working on a farm outside Aldbourne. And Ethan, in that same timeline, was a US paratrooper stationed in the small town before the D-Day invasion of Normandy. He was eventually killed in the Battle of the Bulge, but almost eighty years later, through Billie and Ethan, they found each other again. Now they were married and had started their life together.

---