Page 4 of Fierce Family

Sheila

Silence greets me whenI get home. I love that our small cottage is within walking distance of the hotel on the shore of lake Windermere, a short distance from Fellside. The kids hate it because all their friends are in the village and they have to take the bus to see them, but frankly it’s all I could afford after the divorce. And we’re not talking London distances; it takes fifteen minutes on the bus which does run fairly frequently. What dramas can really happen in a teenager’s life in that short period?

I drop my bag on the floor next to the shoe rack. Gregory’s jacket is gone but Kieran’s is hanging on the coat hanger.

“Kieran?” I call out. A door opens upstairs.

“Yes?”

“Can you come down please?” I try to not sound angry as it’s his brother who has gone against my orders yet again, not him.

“Yes, mum?” Kieran appears in the kitchen eyeing the leftovers I’m placing in the small fridge. When the hotel has a big event, we usually have tons of food left and Tommyand I hate to let it go to waste. Staff get it for their tea and anything left can be taken home by whoever wants some. My two boys love the Scotch eggs and nibbly bites we serve at finger buffets, so Chef always makes sure he puts some aside for them.

“Where’s your brother?” I ask. Kieran is the younger of my two. At twelve he still does what I ask him to—most of the time—and isn’t ashamed to be seen with his mum in the village. But I’m painfully aware that this could change any minute. Gregory is fifteen now, having hit those dreaded teen years at thirteen and a half when his first girlfriend came onto the scene.

Luckily, back then it was all about handholding. Now it’s another story. After I caught him and his latest girlfriend snogging in the garden, I made my ex-husband have a conversation with him about safe sex. I tried to have the conversation myself, but he turned bright red and shut down. I would be lying if I said it doesn’t kill me to think of my baby boy having grown up to that stage, but I can’t ignore it either.

“Gee went to Windermere. I think he said he’s going to the cinema,” Kieran shrugs but I can see a little twinkle in his eye. He knows his brother is in trouble because I had specifically asked him to stay at home until I got back. Kieran is old enough to look after himself for a couple of hours but somehow it makes me feel better when I know he’s not home alone.

Kieran took it almost as badly as I did when Gregory’s interests shifted from football to girls. He and his brother had been thick as thieves, but he stopped wanting to hang out with Kieran and now all they do is argue.

“I told him to stay at home,” I hiss.

“Why are you telling me that?” Kieran snaps back.

“Sorry! I brought Scotch eggs with me,” I nod towards the fridge.

“Sick! Thanks, mum.” He glides across the floor in his socks.

Gregory and Kieran both look a lot like their dad. Tall, dark hair, moss-green eyes and freckled noses. They’re handsome and I’m not just saying that as their mother. Nicholas, my ex and their dad, is hot, there’s no denying it, and the boys have his looks.

“We had another fire alarm today.” A glance into my fridge tells me it's time to place another food delivery order. Since I don't drive, I rely on monthly deliveries, but lately, with two boys who eat like there's no tomorrow, I find myself needing to place an extra order halfway through the month.

“Another alarm?” Kieran asks through a mouthful of food.

“Yes. And manners?” I raise an eyebrow.

He swallows the food and grins. “Sorry mum but they’re so good.”

“I know, which is why I brought them home. Keep some for your brother though!” I look in the larder to see what else I need to add to my shop.

“So what happened with the fire?” Kieran hops up on the kitchen counter, swinging his gangly legs. At twelve, he's already five foot ten and taller than me. Gregory, towering at six foot, makes it a right challenge to tell him off with any authority when I have to bend backwards just to look up at him.

“Mr Wilkinson was smoking.”

“Again? Seriously, when are you going to kick him out?”

“He’s a regular and pays well. We won’t ask him to leave, we’ll install a different fire detector in his room.”

“I could never work in a hotel, people would get on my nerves,” he chuckles. I can see that. Kieran prefers being on his computer playing games to venturing out and meeting people. I made him join the Scouts so he gets out of the house sometimes.

“But I love my job. What are you doing at Scouts this week?” During the summer holidays the local Scouts arrange trips each Friday to keep the kids busy.

“Funnily enough, the emergency services. First the fire station, then a climb with FMR which will be so wicked, and then we’ll finish at the police station. Not sure why they kept the most boring one until the end of the day. Nothing ever happens in Fellside,” he laughs.

“Not true, how about the kidnapping a few years ago.”

“But FMR did most of it, the only action our police see is sheep blocking the road.” He isn’t completely wrong and I’m glad about it. I love our rural life and that there isn’t much for the police to do.

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