Page 52 of Hotshot

Hey, hope your scan went well and the foot is healing nicely. Can’t stop thinking about last night. I haven’t seen any photos as too busy today. I’m sure it’s fine, don’t worry. We hardly snogged in the street, did we? That was later. See you when I’m back. And put your foot up.

Sloane grinned, then did as she was told. The swelling on her foot had gone down, but elevating it was a key part of her recovery. Even when she wasn’t here, Ella was still keeping a close eye on her.

The third message was from her mom, asking how she was, but in a tone that told Sloane she didn’t really want to know if it involved telling her anything about Sloane’s personal life. When Sloane did that, her mom went very silent indeed. However, dutiful daughter that she was, she owed her mom a call.

The fourth was from her cousin, Cathy.

I was thinking after our lovely visit. You want to see some photos. I’d love for you to meet the rest of the family. You said you weren’t going home for Christmas. Would you like to come here? Have a think. Someone can pick you up and drop you home if you still can’t drive. We’d love to have you.

Sloane blinked and put her phone on the couch. Festive warmth spread through her. Christmas with family sounded great, if a little daunting. But she’d met Ryan and Cathy, and they were both super-welcoming. If it was too much, she could go home early, using her injury as an excuse.

Christmas with Ella flashed through her mind. But was Ella going to her aunt’s house? Or was that why she was going this weekend? She typed a message to her cousin thanking her for the invite, but also saying she’d talk to her boss as she wasn’t sure about work commitments. It bought her a little time.

Then Sloane grabbed her laptop and pressed to connect to her mom. Duty called.

“Hello stranger, how are you?” Sloane could only see the bottom half of her face: her mom had never quite mastered the use of webcams. This was the way they always communicated. If you could call it communication.

“I’m good, Mom. How are you?”

“Fine. My back’s still giving me trouble, but I’m used to that.”

She was. “How’s Dad?”

“The same.”

Sloane tried to elevate her voice to raise her mom’s spirits. “And how’s your work going?”

“The same.”

Moving countries hadn’t made her mom any more talkative. But she was sure one topic would get her talking.

“Still trouble with your back, then?”

“Terrible. Some days I can hardly get out of bed. We made it out on Sunday to go to church, but we haven’t been out otherwise.” Her mom’s back had been an issue for as long as Sloane could recall. She said it had never been the same since childbirth. Sloane had always found it comforting that she blamed her children. It fitted with her persona.

“Sorry to hear that.” Sloane took a deep breath. “I just wanted to let you know, I won’t be back for Christmas.”

“Right.” Her mom’s chin moved left and right. “I wasn’t really expecting you to. You haven’t done that for a few years when you lived here. I just hope you’ll be going to a church to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ on Christmas Day. Goodness knows you need the forgiveness.”

That didn’t take long to slip the first jibe in. However, Sloane knew better than to reply to that. She didn’t want to get into a debate. She knew how it ended.

“Better than that – I’m going to your cousin’s house. Cathy, daughter of Sheila? She’s invited me over, and I’m considering it.” As soon as she said the words, though, Sloane knew she’d go. She didn’t have anywhere else to spend the day, and this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Maybe she’d have more in common with her family this side of the ocean. Cathy was a teaspoon of sugar in her bitter, cold cup of parental coffee.

“Spending Christmas with total strangers and not coming home to see your own family?” Her mom tutted. Sloane was glad she couldn’t see her whole face. She knew that tut came with an eye roll. Two for the price of one.

“I think it’s going to be great, finding out where I’m from, meeting my distant relatives.”

“Be sure to tell them all about us. I hope they’re god-fearing people.”

Sloane hoped with all her heart that they weren’t. In her experience, they were never the nicest.

CHAPTER20

“Morning Ella!” Head physio Dan gave her a smile as she walked through the main doors. “We missed you at the weekend. You missed a cracker from Nat.”

“I caught the goal on the Women’s Football Show. It looked like a great game. Shame we didn’t get the win, but a draw away from home isn’t to be sneezed at.”

“We should have won.” Dan shrugged. “But no injuries is good for me.” He paused. “You seeing some players today?”

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