Page 77 of Riding the Waves

He sighed, not sure how to answer.

“Hey.” Jack’s features morphed to concern. “We didn’t mean to cause issues. You were quick to offer for her to stay ... and then we figured if Amy was keen to get back into the bungalow she’d have called one of us for an update.”

Damian shook his head. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. The place is ready for her to go back to though?”

“Yeah. Whenever she wants.”

“Thanks.” He didn’t bother saying goodbye. Walking away, he felt a pang of guilt for bringing their mood down. Especially since it wasn’t their matchmaking attempts that had annoyed him, but the state of his life.

By the time he reached the house he’d thought he’d calmed down, but the sight of Amy looking all sad and concerned made his head spin again. Part of him wanted to tell her he loved her and nothing mattered except being together, but he knew it wasn’t true. He’d mess up again, and this time it would be way worse.

“Hi,” she said quietly, not shifting from the kitchen table. “The boys are in the garden.”

He nodded, spotting them through the window, kicking a ball around on the grass.

“Are you okay?” She didn’t get up but reached for his hand. He tensed when she curled her fingers around his. “What you said before about financial support being the only way you’re a father isn’t true at all. You’re Billy and Marty’s dad. They idolise you.”

He pulled his hand away, moving to stand near the window and look out at his boys. “I bumped into Jack. The bungalow is ready again.” He didn’t look at Amy, sure he didn’t want to see the look on her face.

“You want me to leave?” she asked, a quiver to her voice that tore at his heart.

When he didn’t reply, her chair scraped on the floor. “I’ll pack my stuff.”

He only remembered to breathe again after she’d left, but he felt as though he was glued to the spot. He hadn’t moved an inch when she came back downstairs just a couple of minutes later.

“You’re a great dad,” she said to his back, her voice thick with emotion. “If you think otherwise, you’re wrong. And I always intended for Billy and Marty to know about the money. I thought I’d give it to them later and they could use it to buy a car or a deposit for a house. They’d know it came from you. But it wouldn’t matter because they love you and that’s got nothing to do with money.”

Tears clouded his vision as he continued to stare straight ahead. Amy moved to the back door, clearing her throat and sounding almost normal as she called out to tell the boys she was leaving.

“Where are you going?” Marty asked, dashing over to her.

“Back to the bungalow. The leak is fixed now.”

“Can’t you stay here?” Billy asked.

“No. I need to go.”

It killed Damian not to jump in and tell her to stay. She should stay and they should all be together, like they were supposed to be. Life wasn’t that straightforward though. Wanting something didn’t mean you should get it. Some people were better off apart and that was all there was to it.

Amy gave hurried cuddles to Marty and Billy, promising to see them soon, then leaving without a backwards glance at him.

“What’s wrong, Daddy?” Marty asked when the front door closed behind Amy and Damian sank onto a chair.

He shook his head, trying to figure out how to reply while Marty crawled onto his lap.

“I didn’t want Mummy to go,” Damian said sadly. “I’ll miss her. And next week you’ll be going home and I’ll miss you too.”

“We’ll get to play PlayStation again,” Billy said. “And the TV works at home.”

“There is that,” Damian said, a hint of a smile pulling at his lips.

“We’ll see you again next school holidays,” Marty said, squeezing him tightly. “That won’t be very long.”

“Far too long for my liking,” Damian told him, then covered him in kisses that made him squirm and shout to Billy to help him escape. It ended in a wrestling match on the kitchen floor, which took Damian’s mind off Amy for all of about three minutes.

Then he was back to feeling like the world was ending.

CHAPTER 39

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