Trying Not to Love You - Part Fifty Six

Chapter Fifty Six

“So you don’t hate me?” Martha asked, watching the three children play some game that looked like snap with the football cards she had no idea Ethan had secreted in his pocket.

Paul shook his head, “I feel anger at him, for putting you through all this.”

She laughed, “I didn’t have to have him, I could have aborted him. My life would have been easier, but there was something about him that I couldn’t give up on. I should have told Scott really.”

Paul blew out a large breath of air, “really? You think that would have worked? He was a control freak mate; there was no way anyone was telling him how things were.” He sighed, “there’s hardly going to be a big send off at his funeral.”

Martha sighed, “and that’s sad.”

He shook his head, “you reap what you sow, and for years he’s terrified people. This seems like karma, and the good thing is it’s freed you and Ethan, every cloud has a silver lining.”

                “You’re full of the metaphors tonight!”

He grinned, “I’m just really glad to see you, and to meet Ethan. You look happy.”

She nodded, “I am happy.”

                “And Sonny Carter is part of that?” The smile that accompanied the nod spoke volumes, “he’s an ok bloke.”

Sighing Martha drained her coffee, “you’re the only one who thinks so. Seems no one else appreciates him...”

He tilted his head in question and she murmured, “my Dad doesn’t approve.”
That surprised him, she could tell because frankly Carl Mansell was such an easygoing guy.

                “That’s shit.”

Nodding, she looked across to Ethan who was sat with Paul’s two children still playing snap whopping when they won a hand. “Another legacy of Scott Oldbury.”

Sonny wasn’t expecting to walk headlong into a car fight, but that’s what had happened, though one of the participants was in her seventies, the other in her sixties.

                “What the hell is going on?”

They both looked around at him guiltily, “Sonny...” Lucy offered. But he could see she was struggling to find an answer for him. “We...”

He looked at Stephanie and she had a smug look on her face, “you got anything to say?” Both remained silent. “Ethan and Martha could have walked in, you are the two women who love them, they don’t need to see bitchy fighting. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Lucy turned away, “it was a disagreement, it just got out of hand. Sorry Stephanie.”

Stephanie merely nodded in acceptance then flounced into the adjacent lounge. He however remained, watching Lucy intently. Eventually she looked up.

                “What?”

                “What happened? This isn’t you.”

She sighed, “she’s so bloody cocky. I’ve always hated her.”

This was a bottle of wine and a take away curry kind of story, he’d get to that when the time was right, instead he had to deal with the godmother, someone else who hated him on sight.

                “Why is she here?”

Lucy shrugged, “she hasn’t been to the farm in twenty years, Martha has always gone to her...but she says she’s invited.”

                “She planning to be here long?”

Lucy shrugged, “I bloody hope not, the bitch.”

He smiled at that, Lucy was so open and honest she could barely manage to contain her anger.

                “Do you need to chill out? I could take you out for a pint?”

Shaking her head she visibly pulled herself together, “I’m fine, I just need to be here, keep an eye on ‘her’.”

Sonny was making coffee half an hour later when the door flew open and Ethan preceded Martha into the kitchen.

                “You ok?” He smiled, he had a permanently plastered on grin whenever she walked into the room, today was no exception.

She nodded as Ethan dived straight for the fridge, “hey Mister. Wash hands then you can watch a little TV before dinner. You know the rules.”

With a groan and a toss of the head he stomped out of the kitchen in a real strop.

Martha rolled her eyes, “how was your day?”

                “Good. I suppose. Got the delivery in, though they sent five thousand napkins instead of one thousand, there’s room for them, but I still called the supplier and kicked off. Then I won two hundred on the horses, and my luck carried on into the pool hall.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small velvet bag and held it out to her.

She took it and looked at him questioningly, “what’s this?”

                “A little gift...a share of my winnings.”

Gasping in surprise she stared at him, “for me? You shouldn’t have.”

He sighed, “yes I should, I want to give you more...”

                “It’s more than I deserve. Thank you!”

He watched her intently as she opened the back, and a fine delicate silver chain fell out into her hand, “it’s beautiful.” As her fingers unwound the necklace she smiled, hanging from the chain was a sapphire blue stone encased in a silver cage. It was beautiful.

                “I knew it’d match your eyes.” Taking it from her he turned her so that he could slide it around her neck and fasten the clasp.

Resting his hands on her shoulders he fought the desire to kiss the skin exposed by the low neck line of her t-shirt, there was a time and a place, and they had both promised they’d not let Ethan see them as anything more than friends...despite the fact that he’d found them in bed several times.

                “Oh, and Stephanie is here. I caught her almost fighting with Lucy. Think there’ll be fireworks between them.”

                “Stephanie’s here? Shit! Where the hell am I going to put everyone? Dad wanted to move back up to his room and I was going to ask you to move to the attic eventually. But it’s dusty, I haven’t sorted anything.”

He grinned, “it’s ok. I’ll go out to my old room. I mean how long is she going to be here realistically?”

Martha rolled her eyes, “things seem to be going from bad to worse.”

An hour later she’d made dinner for everyone, and they were all sat with huge plates of spaghetti bolognaise at the kitchen table. The atmosphere was stilted, only Ethan chirped happily. There was tension between her father and Sonny, but also Stephanie possibly, then there was Lucy who was scowling every time Stephanie looked at her. Steph was her usual picture of composed serenity, she exuded a confidence that few could destabilise.

                “So how long are you staying Steph?” As the other woman stared at her, Martha chuckled, “just wondering how much juggling of bedrooms I need to do.”

She sighed, “well the house is so quiet without you both that I needed to come. I have no idea how long I’ll stay. As long as you’re ok with me staying.”

                “Of course we are,” her father snapped, eyes down on his food.

Martha sighed; nothing was easy in her life. Standing she made for the utility room, returning with a couple of bottles of wine.

                “Can I tempt anyone?”

Everyone it seemed was looking to find solace in alcohol, so she filled all the glasses, feeling like a teacher rather than the youngest one present.

                “So,” she sat down, “Sonny’s offered to move back out to the outhouse, so that means you can have his room while you’re here.”

That caused all the adult eyes to move to her in surprise.

                “I’ll make up your bed later. Sonny’ll take your bags up after dinner.”

Stephanie nodded then returned to her dinner, as did her father.

It was Lucy who tutted and chastised the bad manners, “is no one going to thank Sonny for being the gentleman here, he’s giving up his bed.”

Stephanie smiled genially, “of course I’m extremely grateful.”

Her father’s head remained low, could things get any worse? Martha sighed, as one door opened, another seemed to close.

Martha had spent the two hours after dinner sorting out the sleeping arrangements. Sonny had bagged his belongings and took them to the room in the coach house, that had left her time to rearrange the furniture, it was a masculine room and pulling the bed onto the opposite wall and taking a bedside table from her room made things seem a little friendlier. With clean linen and a floral duvet and a few additional items such as a Tiffany lamp and an extra clothing rail, the room was as presentable as possible.

Downstairs there was no sign of Stephanie.

                “Your father is showing her the horses. He’s selling one of the youngsters this week apparently.”

                “One thing less for me to worry about!” Martha snapped.

Lucy sighed, “you do too much and you’re not appreciated darling.”

Somewhere over the last few months her aunt had become the fountain of all knowledge, perceptive, aware and very intuitive...as well as supportive.

                “If you ever need anyone to run a guesthouse then I’m your girl.”

Lucy smiled, “Ethan’s ok?”

She nodded, “he’s over the moon that we’re all together. He’s kind of used to change, which is so sad.”

Reaching out she squeezed Martha’s hand, “don’t let that witch break up this family.”

                “Why don’t you like her?”

Chuckling, Lucy touched her cheek, “I’m old and maybe bitter, I don’t know, but I’ve always lived by my instincts. I might be wrong, I was with Sonny...and I’ll apologise if I’m wrong now. But once in seventy years, that’s how often I’ve got it wrong.”

Martha sighed, “I’m going to check on Ethan. What are you doing?”

                “Going to town. Meeting a few of the WI women for a glass of wine. I’m walking down soon.”

                “I don’t want you to walk alone. Is my Dad here? I’ll drive you.”

Lucy shook her head, “you do everything. I can walk. Sit down, put your feet up and relax. You haven’t done that in six months.”

Sonny hated Thursdays, they weren’t busy enough to throw himself into a hundred percent, but not quiet enough that he could be elsewhere. It was approaching ten, there were half a dozen tables left, all finishing dessert. Tim, a teenager who was new to the team was working with him, and was making coffees for the final table, Paul had cleaned up the other tables before he left, there was very little to do. When the door opened, he looked up and almost stepped back in amazement.

                “Lucy! What are you doing here?”

She smiled as she approached; slipping on to the single stool that stood by the bar, the one that Martha so often perched on.

                “I met some of the girls in the Royal Oak, but they all left...I’m not in a rush to go home.”

Sonny reached behind him for the wine and poured her a glass, “Is she that bad?”

She gave a noncommittal expression and accepted the glass.

                “Lucy Regan, since when were you so secretive?”

Lucy sighed, “since that bitch came back into my life.” He stood there waiting and she puffed out a deep breath, “she was my sister’s best friend, and I have always hated her. Ok?”

Sonny poured an inch of whisky into a glass and propped himself on the bar beside her, this was getting more interesting as the day progressed. Lucy was usually calm, almost disinterested in the rest of the world, something bad had happened between the two women.

                “Did you get on well with her? Your sister.”

She sipped her wine contemplatively, “she was eleven years younger than me, so it was strange, we weren’t close, but I was protective of her, Jennifer.”

She rifled through her back before handing a picture to him, it was faded, grainy, but the young woman smiling up at him was the image of Martha.

                “She’s young here?”

Nodding she took the picture back, tucking it into the special pocket in her purse. “She was a year older than Martha when she died, and Martha was a couple of years older than Ethan. Tragic.”

                “She died during childbirth?” He vaguely remembered the conversation with Martha months ago.

Lucy’s reaction was different to the one he expected, her face changed, from relaxed to tense, her eyes narrowing, “I suppose.”

“Are you saying that didn’t happen”?

She shook her head passionately, “no, it’s just an emotional thing for me, even now.”

She wasn’t about to offer up any more information, he could tell, so he asked her about her evening instead. She chattered away far more happily as he helped Tim, the young waiter clean up.

Once they’d finished everything, he turned to her, “fancy a night cap? Got ten minutes before the Oak closes.”

She nodded, taking the elbow he offered.