“That’s awfully kind of you,” she said smiling.
“Tea?”he asked, already taking two ceramic mugs from the cupboard.
“Yes, please.”She watched as he moved about the kitchen with typical Rhys focus, movements precise, confident.No bumbling male in the kitchen here.“You seem awfully comfortable here,” she said.
He flashed a rueful smile.“I grew up in a cottage very much like this one, just a stone’s throw from here.It’s bittersweet being back at Langley Park.Lots of memories, not all easy.”
“Because of your mum?”
He shrugged and measured out the loose tea.“That, and it’s England.I’m not English, but here, I feel more English than Welsh.Whereas my father is all Welsh.Welsh to the core.”
“Were you born here?”
“No, was born in Wales but we moved here when I was three.I don’t remember any of my early life in Wales.This was home until I was seventeen.That’s when the earl decided he no longer needed his stable or his stable master.”
“Oh, Rhys.That had to be hard for your father.”
The kettle whistled and Rhys turned it off.“It was.My dad tried to pretend he was glad to be back in Wales, which was his home, but it was a terrible blow for him to lose his horses, his income, his identity.But what could he do?The earl wanted to trade in his horses for more cars, and the ancient stable’s interior was renovated, turning the venerable barn into a modern garage to house Lord Langley’s growing car collection.”
Cat heard the depth of feeling in Rhys’s voice, and her heart ached—for him, and for his father, who’d built a good life here, one they’d both loved.“How much do the girls know about your childhood?Or your father’s work?”
“Not much,” he admitted, watching the tea steep.“Lyndsey didn’t see it as essential—not out of shame, but because she thought my career in medicine was what truly mattered.”
Cat didn’t want to criticize his ex-wife, but she disagreed with her.Rhys’s past, and his life here, had shaped him, honing his discipline and ambition, making him who he was today.“I think the girls would enjoy learning more.They adore you, and I think they’d benefit from knowing how you fit in here, and why the people you care about here—Mr.Trimble, Mrs.Booth, and now Mrs.Johnson—mean so much to you.This was your world, and in many ways, these people became your family and community.Because unlike the earl’s family, they all worked here, just as your father did.You had a common goal, and I could be wrong, but I have a feeling when your mum was sick, Mrs.Booth would have stepped in and done whatever she could to help her and all of you.”
Rhys stood very still, his jaw working ever so slightly before looking at Cat, emotion darkening his eyes.“Very perceptive,” he said, voice husky, “and very true.”He cleared his throat.“Now, what should we do for dinner?”he asked, pouring the tea and adding a teaspoon of sugar and milk to both of the cups before carrying her mug to her at the table.“It’s almost half past five.”
She blew on her tea.“The girls will be hungry.Apparently, I had them out walking for miles and miles.”
Rhys’s lips curved faintly, amusement crinkling the corners of his eyes.“How far was it actually?”
He was far too attractive, far too warm and real.Everything she wanted and more.“Just to Bakewell and back,” she said.“But we did hit a lot of the shops, and then we came home through the front gates, which adds an extra fifteen minutes to the walk.All in all, it couldn’t have been more than two miles, but the fresh air and exercise did them good, they have been perfect angels ever since we got back.”
“Angels because they’re napping?”
Cat couldn’t hide her grin.“You must admit they look angelic sleeping.”
“But my angels will turn to devils when they wake up starving.”
“I did pick up some sausages at the store and can try bangers and mash.I can’t promise you they’ll be very good—”
“How about pizza?I can get some pizzas delivered here, which will thrill the girls.Not that your bangers and mash wouldn’t be fantastic.”
Cat laughed.“They wouldn’t be fantastic.Pizza is a much better idea.”She rose from the table, taking her steaming cup with her.“And now I better wake them, or they’ll be up all night.”
“Brilliant.I’ll get the pizzas ordered and then have a quick shower.”
*
In the smallbathroom adjacent to his bedroom, Rhys turned the shower on before he undressed as the water took forever to warm.
While he waited for the water to reach a bearable temperature he replayed his conversation with Cat in the kitchen, thinking he’d shared more with her about his life here—or in Wales—than he’d ever shared with Lyndsey.Lyndsey didn’t see anything romantic in his background as the son of a stable master.She came from a wealthy Houston family, and her father had both land, high tech investments, and a stake in a family oil business.She’d been raised with the best of everything, and while Rhys’s father wasn’tblue collar, he also hadn’t gone to college or moved in the sophisticated world she had.Lyndsey and his father had met several times, but it was never warm or comfortable, and it had been several years now since Rhys had seen his father.
He should do something about that.And Cat was right; his girls should know where Rhys came from, and what their grandfather did—not because it was shameful, but because Rhys’s father had a gift, an extraordinary gift, and Rhys’s daughters should know.
Rhys’s father had strengths, but he was a flawed man, like all men.He was blunt, and could be brusque, but there was no mean bone in his body.At one point, he drank too much but he’d given up alcohol right around the time Olivia was born and hadn’t touched the stuff since.
Cat was right about something else too.Rhys had grown up close to the Sherbourne family, as well as the house and garden staff.When his mother was sick, Mrs.Booth and Mrs.Trimble helped look after Rhys’s mother, while Mrs.Booth took Rhys under her wing, making sure he was prepared properly for school, with the right uniform, the proper haircut, and a warm hug before he left to begin the new term.
