Page 42 of The Burnt
Simon pulled out his phone and started to place a call.
“What are you doing?” Tom demanded.
“I’m calling Monarch.”
Tom tore the phone from Simon’s hands. “You can’t. Don’t do anything you’ll regret. Now is not the time to act rashly.” Tom took a deep breath. “Look—the car can be repaired easily enough. This”—he held up the notes—“this is something entirely different. I’ll follow you home and we’ll discuss what to do about these. But Monarch cannot know about this.”
Simon nodded his head and got into his car.
As Tom followed Simon back to The Paddock, one thought kept rolling around in his head—I need to take control.
Chapter Seventeen
Declan woke up and didn’t feel like working out. He sat on the edge of his bed and stretched.Is this it?he thought.The beginning of the slide into old age and all it holds—withered biceps and a paunch.
He looked over to the other side of the bed where Charlie hadn’t slept for the past four nights, having spent the weekend with Carrie and not returning from the hospital last night. Declan checked his phone but there were no new messages. He sent a quick text.
Thinking about you. I miss you. Call me.
Declan headed downstairs into the kitchenette and made himself a coffee. He prepped the drip machine for Mrs B then returned to the main room and glanced at the time. Eight-twenty-five. Declan deactivated the door alarm. Charlie would be impressed he’d remembered to set it in the first place. He reminded himself that either he, or Charlie, had to show Mrs B how it worked.
As Declan plopped himself down on the couch, he glanced atRocky Mountain Leisure, one of the new magazines Mrs B had brought in. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d just taken some time for himself like this. A cup of coffee, a magazine and nothing else.
Declan picked up the glossy tourist publication and flipped through the pages. The first article he came across was on Banff. There were the obligatory photos of Sulphur Mountain and thehot springs, ski lifts and cable cars, and the Banff Springs Hotel—then a picture of a beautiful old private home on Buffalo Avenue.
A rare example of mountain architecture from the mid-20th century, the prestigious home of Simon Griffin graces the shores of the Bow River. Rumours have it that he used the home to woo former film star Michelle Coleman…
His reading was disrupted by the sound of the street-level door chime and footsteps climbing the stairs. The office door opened and in walked—
“Charlie!” Declan shouted.
“I’m back,” Charlie said, before running over to Declan, who stood and gathered him up in his arms.
“I couldn’t sleep last night,” Charlie whispered. “I couldn’t get you out of my mind.”
“Me too,” Declan replied, nuzzling his nose into Charlie’s mop of hair.
“I’m sorry about yesterday,” Charlie murmured, “about not letting you come with me.”
“It’s okay, I understand.”Partially, Declan thought to himself. “I think you made a logical decision.”
Charlie pushed away and looked Declan in the eye. “No! You’re part of my life now and if my parents can’t handle it, well…I’ll have to figure out what to do about that…eventually.”
Declan nodded. “I know you’ll do what’s right.” He kissed Charlie. “So how’s your gran?”
“She’s a fighter—I’ll give her that. It turns out she fainted because she was dehydrated. When she took her tumble, she broke her wrist, which isn’t great, but she promised me that she wasn’t going to let it slow her down for long.”
“Still sounds pretty serious,” Declan said. “How long’s she going to be in the hospital?”
“Once her bloodwork comes back clean, and as long as her vitals are stable, she’ll be okay to go home. They thought in a day or two. So what did I miss? I’m ready to get back to work.”
Declan raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? If you need more time off—”
Charlie interrupted, “No. When I saw Gran lying there in bed, with tubes and wires coming out of her…I realised that that could be any of us at any time. One silly move can change everything in an instant. I don’t want to be the guy who realises too late in the game that he missed out on what he wanted to do with his life because he was too slow, or too afraid to do something. I want it all—the job, my family…and you. It doesn’t all have to happen at once. Or maybe it will. I don’t know. But what I do know is that I need to get back to work.”
Declan smiled. “When did you get to be so smart? Did they teach that to you at university?”
“No. I just picked it up from watching the old people I hang with,” he said, winking.
