Page 50 of Someone For Everyone

‘I’d better go and find Hanna,’ Alex said, with a sigh, heading upstairs. ‘She’ll only come looking for me otherwise. See you later.’

‘Good luck.’ He wasn’t comfortable with Hanna using Alex, but she didn’t have many other people to ask and the locum wasn’t in place yet. As talking to her was likely to make things worse, he’d be better off keeping quiet. Still, if she continued to abuse Alex’s good nature, he might have to step in.

He made his way into the dining room and headed for the kitchen. Suki greeted him before he’d even reached the door. She came bounding over, her floppy blonde hair flying about as she jumped up and tried to lick him. He ruffled her ears, stupidly buoyed at being shown such affection – even if it was from a daft dog. ‘Hey, there, girl. You ready for our run?’

‘Not with this hip,’ Granny Esme said, startling him.

He turned to see her sitting at the breakfast table, sipping a cup of coffee. ‘You made me jump. How come you’re up so early?’

‘The curse of old age, an inability to sleep.’ She was fully dressed, her navy jumpsuit teamed with a tartan shawl.

He frowned. ‘Do you need to see a doctor?’

‘It’s nothing painkillers and a shot of brandy won’t cure.’ She gave him a sly grin. ‘Where did you head off to yesterday? You were gone most of the day.’

Calvin checked the coast was clear before answering. He didn’t want Geraldine overhearing. ‘I went to meet with a representative from a national care-home company. They’re interested in taking over the place.’

Esme lowered her coffee. ‘You’ve made up your mind then? You’re selling?’

‘Nothing’s decided,’ he said, weighed down by the stress of it all. ‘But I need to consider my options. How can I make an informed decision if I don’t have all the facts? I needed to know more about how they operate.’

‘And what did you discover?’

He considered her question. ‘They’re very professional, structured, and they have a solid business model. The literature is impressive, and I have no doubt they’d manage the place with integrity and make a decent profit.’

‘So why the long face?’

‘I’m not sure. It sounded perfect.’ He stroked Suki’s head, smiling into her huge brown eyes. It’d been a while since anyone had looked at him with such affection. Sad that it was a dog that was making eyes at him and not a human being. ‘A bit too perfect.’

‘Meaning?’

‘I can’t imagine they’d allow Deshad to stay, or Natalie to continue looking after Jacob, along with working full-time. Their approach seemed very formal and rigid, which is probably a good thing and what this place needs, but…’ He sighed. ‘I don’t know… it felt a bit clinical and impersonal.’

His grandmother drank another mouthful of coffee. ‘Then you have some more thinking to do.’

‘Except I need to make a decision soon. I can’t keep stringing everyone along, especially as Kate is close to finalising the probate application.’

‘Quite the conundrum.’ Esme studied him. ‘Talking of Kate, the pair of you looked a little flustered over the weekend. Is everything okay?’

Trust Esme to notice.

‘It’s fine,’ he lied, making a fuss of Suki, hoping to cover his embarrassment.

Friday night’s lights switch-on event had been an evening of contrasting emotions. Part fun, part revelation – and ending in total confusion when she’d… well, he wasn’t sure what had happened. One moment they were sitting on a pew, chatting, after she’d come over faint, and the next she was pressed against him, her face buried into his neck and softly moaning.

The most alarming aspect was his reaction. Instead of recoiling, he’d had an overwhelming urge to wrap his arms around her and… well, again, he wasn’t sure what. All he knew was that he hadn’t wanted it to end, which only made his mortification worse when she’d come to her senses, sprung away from him and run from the church, mumbling and apologising. He never got the chance to tell her that he hadn’t minded, that he’d quite liked it and she had nothing to be sorry for.

But admitting that would only have complicated things further. So maybe it was better he hadn’t said anything.

‘Only, I saw her this morning,’ Esme said, interrupting his thoughts. ‘She looked rather upset.’

‘Upset?’

‘She came downstairs sniffing back tears and disappeared out the front door without a word. I wondered if something had happened between you two? An argument perhaps? Lovers’ tiff?’

‘Hardly. We work together, Granny… sorry, Esme.’ He tried to cover his discomfort. ‘When was this? Do you know where she went?’

‘No idea.’ Esme checked her watch. ‘It was about twenty minutes ago.’ Her gaze turned inquisitive. ‘Only, it seemed like the pair of you were getting along rather well?’ She tried and failed to make it sound like an innocent remark and not a probing question.

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