Page 97 of He's the One

“No problem then.”

“I feel really bad now that all I have to offer to drink is water.”

“I like water. The food smells amazing. What is it?”

“Sarah, the cook, made the sauce. It’s cashews and onions, bit of red chili, garam masala and tomato puree, all blitzed together. I’ve made it in the past. I did cook the cauliflower all on my own.”

“Okay.” Col smiled.

“You have time to look at the actual plans for the folly. They’re over there. They’re too delicate to take outside.”

By the time Col had finished, the food was on the table. Theo had tucked a naan bread next to each bowl.

One forkful and Col moaned. “Wow, this is delicious. I like to cook, but this is something I haven’t heard of.”

“How long are you planning on staying at your parents’?”

“I don’t know. I’d intended to find a job, then look for a place to live. Mum won’t take money from me. She knows I’m trying to save. She doesn’t approve but she gets it.”

“What are you saving for that she doesn’t approve of?”

“Dominic.”

“For when he comes out?”

Col nodded. “From the moment I received my first pay packet, I put money aside for him.”

“Is that why you didn’t go to university?”

“Yes. The sooner I was earning, the better. I want to be able to find him a place to live, have the rent paid for at least a year and give him enough to live on. Let him enjoy life and not have to worry about getting a job straight away. Not that getting a job will be easy. His sentence will never be considered spent. Once he admits to having a criminal record, employers will ask what he did and he has to tell them. Then they won’t want him.”

“That doesn’t seem fair if he’s served his time—more than his time.”

“No, but I get it. There are certain jobs that he can never do. He’ll never be able to work with children or vulnerable adults. Never be a doctor, nurse, teacher, or a social worker. He’ll be able to travel abroad with permission, but anywhere that requires a visa wouldn’t accept him.”

“What does he want to do?”

Col shrugged. “I have no idea. He won’t talk about it. I’ve done plenty of reading though, and I know it’s going to be tough. They go on and on about prisoners serving their time, gaining new skills, making a fresh start, but I suspect Dominic thinks there’ll be no second chance for him. I had this idea that we could live together and renovate old houses, then sell them or rent them out. Painting walls isn’t difficult and I could teach him some other trades. Maybe even to be a mason. I want to make sure hehasa second chance. It feels like I’m the only one who can.”

Theo reached across the table and took hold of Col’s hand. “You’re a good brother.”

“If I’d been a good brother, I’d have seen what was happening and done something about it when I was a kid.”

“You do know Dominic would be pissed off you’re punishing yourself for that. You can’t know that if you’d made different choices, you’d have changed the outcome of what happened.”

“Because you’ve thought the same thing.”

Theo gave a sad smile. “Course I have. If I’d not started digging a hole, if I’d stayed to help Piers instead of running to get our father. I think when something bad happens, you end up punishing yourself for stuff you hadn’t even done. It wastes a lot of energy and there’s no point in it. But memories don’t go away. Guilt sticks.”

“That’s true, but I’ve come to terms with what happened because it’s the only way forward. You owe it to your sister to be happy, to make your life the best it can be, to do what you can to keep Asquith afloat. Though not to marry a woman when you don’t love her. But my brother is still alive and even though I have to do what I can to help him, I have a life too. We only get one and I want to be happy. I’d just like him to be happy too.”

Theo nodded.

“Let’s wash up, then go and copy the files off the computer.” Col pushed to his feet.

“I’ve got dessert.”

“Save it until we get back.”

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