Page 11 of Letting Go of Yesterday
‘Oh, it’s nothing bad, she just can’t wait for you to get better and go back to dancing.’
‘Me neither.’ Marion smiled again, her relief obvious. ‘But it won’t be long now that I’ve got this from your mum, and your dad has been looking after me really well too.’
‘Wow, I can’t believe how much things have changed lately.’ Rowan’s dad had always been a workaholic and she had a feeling it was one of the things that had come between him and her mother, to a point where they’d grown so far apart that there was no coming back together.
‘He’s realised that he needs to slow down and he’s found a company he’s happy to sub-contract to.’
‘Really? I never thought he’d do that. Who is it?’ Her father’s inability to delegate or pass work on to sub-contractors, out of fear of losing control, had been one of the major causes of him working too much. And after what had happened with Dean, he’d never trusted anyone else.
‘The Lark brothers.’
‘The Lark brothers?’ Rowan widened her eyes. ‘Is that a good idea, given that, well…’
She couldn’t finish the sentence, so Marion did it for her. ‘Are you talking about Nathan’s prison sentence?’
Her stepmother fixed her with a look and she couldn’t have lied if she’d wanted to. She hated herself for doing the very thing she’d criticised other people for, and not allowing Nathan to move on from his past. ‘I just don’t want Dad to be taken advantage of, that’s all.’
‘Me neither, sweetheart, but he won’t be.’ Marion sighed. ‘Whatever Nathan did, I’m sure he regrets it and knowing the family as I do, I think he must have had a good reason for it. Whatever it was, it doesn’t matter, he deserves a second chance, but you know what this village can be like. There are gossips who love to keep scandal going long after it would be over otherwise and we know the damage that can do better than anyone.’
‘We do, and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.’
‘There’s no need to be sorry, sweetheart. I know you’re only looking out for your dad, but Nathan’s a lovely lad, both the Lark boys are.’
‘Are you talking about my new business partners?’ Her father asked the question as he set a tray on the table, a slow smile spreading across his face. ‘At least I know these two won’t run off with my wife.’
‘Dad!’ Rowan couldn’t help laughing. Her father had always been a bit of a joker, but this wasn’t a subject he’d ever have found funny in the past. Things were definitely changing for the better.
‘Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure. After twenty-odd years you’re still on probation.’ Marion put a hand on the back of her husband’s head, pulling him towards her and planting a kiss on his lips to prove she was only joking.
‘Can you believe your stepmother?’ Rowan’s father shot her a smile, as he pulled away.
‘I’d say you’re a lucky man to only have had twenty years’ probation.’
‘I should have known you two would gang up on me.’ He was still smiling. ‘I messaged your brother to let him know you’re here. He’s going to FaceTime us in twenty minutes and he’ll be on my side.’
‘I can’t wait to actually talk to Charlie. He’s been away for too long and it’ll be so nice to see him in December.’
‘I was thinking we could have a big family Christmas this year.’ Tony gave Rowan a hopeful look. ‘And I thought that maybe your mum and Dean could join us too.’
‘I’d like that.’ Rowan nodded. It still seemed strange imagining her parents choosing to spend time together, let alone sharing a big family celebration out of choice rather than duty, but she was ready to embrace it. Marion was right, second chances were important and sometimes they came when you least expected it. After seeing the difference it had made to her parents, Rowan was determined to be as open to them as possible in the future, whenever they might arise.
7
‘Right Leo, I think we’re good to go.’ Fastening the safety strap across his nephew’s waist, Nathan smiled. It was impossible not to do so when Leo was beaming at him the way he was. The little boy lit up with happiness whenever they got down to Nathan’s beach hut and he was transferred from his electric wheelchair, into the all-terrain one that allowed him to go down on to the sand and in to the sea. It was Leo’s happy place, and spending time with his nephew was Nathan’s. The only thing he’d held on to outright ownership of, after his release from prison, had been his beach hut and the boat that had been left to him by his late father, but days like this made him so much more grateful for that. The £50,000 he’d had to repay after pleading guilty to VAT fraud would have meant remortgaging his house, but the divorce had resulted in having to sell it. It had taken more than ten years of sheer hard graft, as well as renovating and selling three other properties, to be able to own his own home outright at the age of just thirty-three, but he’d done it. Now it was all gone. He’d had enough money left to buy out Nicole’s share of the beach hut and boat, and to pay his mother £100,000 for the old cow shed in the grounds of his parents’ home. His mother had wanted to gift him the building, but he knew she needed the money to complete the renovations to the main house, which had included creating a self-contained annex for her, leaving Will and his family the rest of the house. The brothers had done most of the work themselves, but there’d been specialised adaptations needed for Leo, which were getting more pressing, and there’d been no question in Nathan’s mind about how the money should be used.
Leo’s care needs had meant Will’s wife, Heather, having to give up her job even before his diagnosis, and they’d been struggling to pay the mortgage on their own place ever since. Like Nathan, Will had done well on climbing the property ladder, but had remortgaged the place after Heather had left work. It wasn’t just the drop in her salary, there’d been experimental treatments for Leo, and expensive rounds of IVF in their attempt to have another child. After Leo’s diagnosis, they’d qualified for some NHS treatment, where the embryos would be screened for genetic abnormalities, but unfortunately the funded treatment had been unsuccessful. Heather had fast been approaching the NHS cut off and a major decline in her own fertility. So they’d thrown everything at funding private treatment and had finally had a successful round of IVF, but Heather had miscarried the baby two months later. It had broken everyone’s hearts and taken a huge toll on Will’s mental health and Nathan was terrified about what he might do. It had put incredible pressure on them all and things had got even worse when Nathan had been sent to prison.
After Nicole said she was leaving Nathan, their mother suggested they divide up the former family home so that Will and Heather could sell their place, and it had seemed the perfect solution. The agreement was that the house would be put into Will’s name so that when their mum died the property would be theirs. Nathan hadn’t had any objection to the proposal, even though it meant his stake in the family home would disappear. The byre, as the old cow shed was now known, and the paddock behind it, were now officially in his name, so technically he owned a property outright again, but he had a long way to go before it would be anything like the home he wanted.
The best thing about the building was that it was single storey and easily accessible to Leo. One of the first things he’d done was to open up a space in the back of the byre and put in glass bifold doors which looked directly out on to the paddock. Leo loved coming down from the big house and sitting there to look out on to the field, which was currently home to three goats. He’d often stay for hours, chatting away while Nathan worked. Being with his nephew made everything he’d gone through pale into insignificance, and everything he’d lost feel like nothing. There’d been a small miracle for Will and his wife too, Heather was now almost six months pregnant with a baby girl from a final round of IVF. The pregnancy hadn’t been without its challenges and Heather was having more monitoring than an expectant mother usually would. She and Will were at the hospital for another scan today, which was why he was looking after Leo. Not that he ever needed an excuse to spend time with his nephew, it was his favourite thing to do.
‘Do you think the sea will be cold?’ Leo looked up at him and Nathan smiled.
‘It’s still August, which means the temperature should be okay. But you’ve got a wetsuit on, kiddo, so you’ll be fine either way. It’s your poor old uncle who’ll end up with a numb bum if it’s a chilly one.’ The mention of bums was met with a peel of laughter from Leo and a warm feeling washed over Nathan, that not even the iciest of waves could have taken away. These were the things to be treasured and held on to, which mattered far more than how perfect his house was, or what other people had to say about him. Hearing Leo’s laughter was the best thing in the world and, whatever else happened, it meant this was already a very good day.
* * *
They’d stayed in the water for almost twenty minutes before Nathan pushed Leo’s wheelchair back on to the sand. Dashing up to the beach hut, he wrapped his nephew in a dryrobe and picked up the picnic basket he’d left there, before taking Leo back down on to the beach.
