Page 50 of Heal You
Jan cast her gaze on the table as her shoulders slumped.“God, I’m so sorry, Morgan.”
“It is what it is.I came out of it, and now, I’m making a life for myself.”
“How…did you come out of it?”Jan looked back up at Morgan, those blue eyes reminding her that she was safe here.
“My grandfather passed away when I was twenty-six.My parents didn’t know that I still saw him and had a great relationship with him.I wasn’t going to risk losing him by telling them, either.He…was my only supporter.”Morgan wished she could have been around more for her grandfather during his final years, but he’d lived in a care home, and she couldn’t exactly move into his room with him to take care of him.Still, whenever she could, she would drop in and spend hours upon hours talking about the past with him.“I’ve never seen Mum looking so pale as she was the day I was summoned to the reading of his will.”
Jan’s eyes brightened.“I have a feeling this story has a happy ending, even though it’s terribly sad at the same time.”
“He left everything he had to me.His care home fees were paid via his two private pensions, so his home was left to me, along with any savings he had.”Morgan smiled, looking back fondly on her relationship with him.“He also told my parents what he thought of them via a letter he’d written a few months before he died.”
“He saved you…”
Morgan cleared her throat when the waiter brought their coffees.“Gracias.”She sweetened hers a little and nodded.“He did.He had no idea I was moving from place to place almost daily; I didn’t have the heart to put it on him.I also didn’t have it in me to move my stuff into his place and live there.I couldn’t pay the electricity bills anyway, even if I’d done that, and again, he didn’t know I was on the bones of my arse.He would have done anything he could for me, but I didn’t want to put it on him.He’d already been the most amazing grandfather when I was growing up.I wanted him to just keep that image in his head and not worry about me.Because he would have.”
“Oh, Morgan.”
Morgan didn’t want to ruin this afternoon.She would give Jan more information when it was appropriate.“Everything worked out in the end.That’s what counts.”
“Would you tell me about the bar and how you acquired it when you’re ready to?”
“Absolutely.Just…not now.I don’t want to waste this moment talking about the past when I could be enjoying the present with you, here like this.”Morgan’s mouth watered when their platter arrived.“And you won’t get a single word out of me once I tuck into this, anyway.”
Jan beamed a smile as she laughed.“That’s fair enough.But…thank you for sharing a part of your past with me.”
“I’m an open book, babe.Nothing is a secret in my life.”
Except you, unfortunately.
Chapter20
Wasthis what it felt like after a night of clubbing when you were nearing fifty?Jan slowly lowered herself to a seat in the shade and dropped her sunglasses over her eyes.She’d woken with a headache—dehydrated, too—while wondering if she could have made better life choices last night.Still, in that moment, Jan hadthoroughlyenjoyed herself.She’d danced like she hadn’t done in at least twenty years.Morgan…was a revelation.
Jan didn’t particularly blame her marriage for the lack of fun over the years, but she was learning that working herself into the ground to please Phil wasn’t something she ever planned to do again.Whether she remained at the business or not, Jan was making changes to her life.Without a doubt.Morgan, too, given the conversation they’d had about her promoting Ben to manager.Could this really be the beginning of a new life?Could Jan honestly walk right into a full-blown committed relationship with Morgan?
Oh, you’re already there.Don’t fool yourself into believing otherwise.
She cleared her throat and lifted her phone.Jan had a call to make, and she wanted to do it before Morgan returned from the local grocery store.She didn’t need anyone to talk her out of this decision.It was done.It was final.Jan was officially moving on.She called Gillian, not surprised when it barely had the chance to ring before she answered.
“What’s it like?Is it hot?How’s the hotel?”
Jan lifted her legs onto a stool and sighed.“Paradise.All of it is just…perfect.”
“It’s pissing down here.It has been since yesterday morning.”Gillian sighed.“Thanks for calling me.I know you’re away, but I like to know you’re okay.Especially because you’re there on your own.”
“The hotel is gorgeous.It looks out onto the beach.”Even though Jan was feeling a little fragile this morning, she didn’t exactly have a hangover.It was tiredness more than anything.“I think I’ll lie by the pool today.It’s quite quiet at the moment.”
“No sun bed wars?”
Jan smiled.“No.None.I also have the option of lying out on my private terrace if I want to.”
“You have a private terrace?!Okay, I’m officially jealous.”Gillian groaned, but Jan understood.Nobody wanted to be stuck at home while their best friend was sunning themselves abroad.“Maybe I could pull a sicky at work tomorrow and fly out.”
Even though Jan knew Gillian was joking, she still felt a wave of anxiety at the prospect.“We should definitely arrange a holiday at some point.With Finn, too, of course.”
“That would be great, love.You can count us both in.”Gillian cleared her throat.“How have you been out there on your own?Has it given you time to decide what’s next?”
“Yes.That’s why I’ve called you.”Jan lifted her glass of water from the table and sipped it slowly.“Could you do something for me?”
