‘You’re not my mother, so I don’t have to listen to you.’ Theo barreled into the hall with Becca close on his heels. Fury glazed the boy’s bright blue eyes. ‘If my dad was here,he’dunderstand!’ He shook off Becca when she tried to grab his arm and thundered up the stairs like a herd of stampeding elephants.
‘I just got Nora off to sleep,’ Becca moaned. ‘God, he’s thoughtless.’
‘Whatever is wrong?’
‘Oh, Li-Li, I can’t do this any longer.’ Tears trickled down her sister’s pale, drawn face, making a damp patch on the front of her stained, washed-out blue cotton dress. A couple of years ago her glamorous sister wouldn’t even have owned something that unfashionable, let alone wear it two days in a row.
Lyndsey instinctively wrapped her arms around her. The simmering differences between them seemed irrelevant now. ‘It’s going to be okay. I promise.’
‘But how?’ Becca wailed. ‘My life isn’t an overflowing wardrobe to be weeded out and organized.’
She wouldn’t be stupid enough to say it wasn’t really that different, because her sibling’s life was also chaotic, overstuffed and emotionally draining.
‘Let’s put the kettle on.’
The ghost of a smile lifted the corners of her sister’s downturned mouth. ‘You sounded like Mum then, and it made me homesick.’ Becca swiped at her red-rimmed eyes. ‘I’m not drinking any of your nasty herbal rubbish,’ she warned. ‘A strong cup of PG Tips was Mum’s remedy for everything from skinned knees to teenage broken hearts, so that’s what we’re having.’
Lyndsey blinked away a wave of emotion. ‘You’ve totally convinced me to join you.’
‘You’re such a wild thing. We’ll have you dancing on the tables of the Wildhorse Saloon yet!’
She hitched her arm through her sister’s and steered her towards the kitchen, content to be gently mocked if it brought them closer. Now she could see that many of their clashes were down to nothing more than normal sibling rivalry. Few children who’d been the center of their parents’ lives for as long as Lyndsey would’ve been thrilled to be forced to share them with a new arrival. It wasn’t Becca’s fault that her openly friendly personality and blonde prettiness made her more popular than her reserved, prickly older sister. But Becca wasn’t blameless, because she’d gone out of her way to use that to her advantage. If they could learn to move past all that, then perhaps the help Lyndsey provided with Nora would turn out to be the least important achievement of this trip. Their mother was smart.
‘You sit down.’ She filled up the kettle and reached down a hefty brown teapot from one of the open-plan shelves. ‘Is this Granny’s?’
‘Yes, Mum gave it to me when I got married,’ Becca said. ‘She didn’t think you’d want it. You don’t mind, do you?’
If she were completely honest she’d say yes, she did mind. She’d been far closer to their grandmother, Amy Trerice, and often ran to her nearby house after school to share tea and confidences.
‘Of course not,’ Lyndsey lied. Once the tea was made, she raided the precious stash of Minstrels she’d hidden in a drawer and handed one bag to her sister, keeping another out for herself.
‘God knows I need this.’ Becca ripped the packet open and crammed a handful of the crunchy chocolates in her mouth. ‘While you were at Griff’s, the school rang to say Theo started a fight with another boy during lunch. When the teacher asked him to explain what it was about, he refused to answer, so I had to go pick him up.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve come back so you didn’t have to haul Nora with you.’ She poured two mugs of tea, added milk to them and passed one across to Becca.
‘I didn’t want to spoil things for you, and I . . . I hate feeling so useless all the time.’ Her voice oozed with frustration. ‘Before I reached the school, I was determined to be the totally understanding stepmother and stand up for him.’ Becca heaved a sigh. ‘That part wasn’t a problem, so I hoped he’d be able to confide in me when we got home, and I’d make him see we’re in this together.’ She dropped her head. ‘You saw how well that went.’ She licked a finger and worked on the stain marring her dress. ‘I know I need to be more patient, but it’s so hard.’
‘I know. I can see how much you have to deal with. I’ve got a few ideas that might help if—’
‘If I’m willing to listen?’
If they don’t care for my forthright style, they can find someone else. Butforthrightwas one thing.Dictatorialquite another. ‘Yes, but I’ll do the same. Now eat some more chocolate and hear me out.’
Chapter Seven
Griff stopped the lawnmower and lifted his arm to wipe the sweat from his face with the sleeve of his ragged T-shirt. He pulled out a water bottle from his shorts’ pocket and gulped it down, then threw the empty bottle up on the porch to put in the recycling later.
The roar of a car engine disturbed the peace, and he saw Deke’s Mercedes swing by with Lyndsey at the wheel. If he was any sort of friend, he’d offer to cut his friend’s grass, too. It bewildered him why they didn’t pay for a lawn service, but maybe Becca put her foot down over that as well.
You’re just dreaming up an excuse to go over there.
He whipped out his phone to fire off a quick text, and in no time at all Becca’s response flew right back.
Yes please! You’re an angel.
Griff preferred his familiar mower over Deke’s fancier model, so wheeled it on down the drive then along the pavement before turning into Deke’s. Out of nowhere, Lyndsey materialized in front of him, cool and immaculate in a crisp white shirt and black capris. He didn’t think he’d ever seen her wearing any other colors apart from black, white and gray, which struck him as unusual, now that he thought about it.
‘You must not be baby wrangling today.’
