‘Never, ever call mebabe,’ she said. ‘I’m Vee, and you’re Rick. I’m not sure if I should recognise you from my dark and distant past but for now, that’s all we need to know.’
Rick nodded and led her towards his van which was parked at the kerb a few metres away. He wasn’t going to tell Vee that calling womenbabe,sweetheart,dolland a few other equally cringe-making names had been a part of his plan to morph into the character of a tough builder with a heart of gold. At the time, it had seemed like another layer of his disguise. Was disguise the right word? He’d certainly needed to make drastic changes in his life after Stacey left. If Vee had arrived in Willowbrook a few years earlier, there would have been a definite danger that she’d have known him immediately. He pushed the thought from his mind and opened the van door for her.
‘Is your house far away?’ Vee asked as they drove along Fiddler’s Row, past the village green where an impromptu game of football was taking place.
‘No, barely five minutes’ drive. It’s a semi-detached Victorian villa on the edge of Willowbrook,’ he answered, as they took a turn that would lead them alongside the church and out towards one of the roads that led to Meadowthorpe town. ‘It was a wreck when I bought it, or I’d never have afforded the place, but I’ve gradually done it up. I’m a builder and a general handyman,’ he added, when she glanced across at him with interest.
Vee was staring out of the window again by the time the church came fully into view. Rick heard her sharp intake of breath. It came as no surprise. Some of his own memories probably mirrored hers far too closely for comfort. He glanced across at his passenger and saw that her hands were tightly clenched in her lap.
‘So anyway,’ he continued breezily. ‘As I was saying, I can tackle most kinds of work. Plumbing, a bit of electrical, renovations. You name it, I’ll take it on board.’
Even to himself, this sounded like a blatant sales pitch, knowing that Vee was in dire need of help in that area, but nothing ventured… Rick took a couple of left turns and pulled into the narrow drive next to his house and got out to open the door on the passenger side for Vee. He was relieved to see that she seemed to have recovered from her obvious tension by the church, and he quickly opened up so that he could usher her inside. Instead of going around to the back of the house and letting himself in through the kitchen door as usual, Rick had deliberately chosen to make this entrance Venetia’s first impression of his home. It had been his pet project once the rest of the house was liveable. The hallway had polished terracotta tiles on the floor and the stairs with their ornate banisters that led up to the bedrooms were sanded and varnished with a vintage runner going up the middle. The lampshade that hung down was made of stained glass in rainbow colours and a large cheese plant with glossy leaves stood in one corner near a row of antique wrought-iron coat pegs.
‘Oh, this is lovely,’ Vee said. ‘Did you do it all yourself?’
Rick nodded proudly. It had taken hours and hours of labour to reach this welcoming stage, but it had been worth every moment.
‘I don’t suppose… I mean, I expect you’re booked up for weeks in advance… but if you could possibly find time to do some work for me, I’d be so, so grateful,’ Vee said, turning shining eyes on him as she slipped off her coat and slung it over the newel post. ‘It’s so cosy in here, isn’t it? I feel overdressed now but it’s the first time I’ve felt warm all day.’
Rick’s heart gave a lurch in his chest. He’d been desperate for a new source of income recently and here was an opportunity to not only charge some rent but to get weeks of work booked in. How could he refuse? But what if she recognised him? The past would be sure to get in the way at some point, even if his hair had been dark and greasy in those days and his body shape much rounder. Vacillating in the few seconds it took to answer, Rick took a decision that had the potential to rock his entire world.
‘I think we can come to some arrangement,’ he said, gesturing to the next floor of his house. ‘Let me show you the room that’s available and then I’ll make us some coffee and we can make a plan.’
Rick followed Vee up the stairs, unable to even begin to admire her long legs in their tight jeans, being so preoccupied with his immediate future. The financial side of it was looking much more promising but what if Vee began to see past his carefully constructed smokescreen when she got to know him better? This was madness and could only end in disaster. Because the Rick who had been very much aware of Venetia Prescott back in 1985 was a very different character to the one that was currently offering her a safe place to stay and a way out of her tricky situation. And if she rumbled him, any friendly relationship would be totally out of the question. This whole thing could be a nightmare waiting to happen.
4
The room that Rick was displaying seemed like total salvation to Vee. She stood in the doorway as Rick ran through the amenities that could be provided if she gave the right answer.
‘Okay, so I usually start work early when I have a job on, so you’d have the kitchen and bathroom to yourself as soon as I leave. I’m out most of the day as a rule and I cook in the evenings when I feel like it. Either that or I have a takeaway or go to the pub,’ he added, with a burst of honesty.
‘It’s a lovely room. Have you always lived here on your own?’ Vee asked, intrigued as to why this man had a whole house to himself.
‘Yes, I bought it as a doer-upper after my wife… I mean my ex-wife left. I’ve tried to make it into a proper home. My boys used to come and stay sometimes, that’s why there are two single beds. Stacey moved to Munich with her new man. Since then… well, circumstances have changed.’
Vee frowned. ‘But what if your sons want to come and visit and I’m in their room? How’s that going to work out?’
‘They won’t. At least, not anytime soon. My wife… ex… has given them a kind of life that’s crammed with interesting activities. Seems like something’s going on every day after school and weekends too these days.’
‘That’s a shame.’
‘Tell me about it.’ He closed his mouth like a trap.
Vee waited until the silence became uncomfortable. Rick had walked over to the window and was fiddling with the blind. His back was to her, and it looked forbidding. ‘That’s not fair,’ she said. ‘Do they want to come?’
‘Are you always this nosy?’
The sharp retort made Vee blink. She cursed herself for the habit of speaking without engaging her brain. Her mother had told her time and time again to curb her tactless remarks. Would she never learn?
‘I asked for that,’ she said. ‘You’re right. It’s none of my business.’ She felt herself withdrawing into the shell she’d built over the years whenever life got challenging, or when her mother was being particularly frosty, which to be honest was quite often, latterly. There was no need for him to snap like that even if it had been a question too far, though.
Rick turned to face Vee. ‘I’m sorry, the kids’ visits are a bit of a sore point with me at the moment. I don’t suppose you meant to pry,’ he said, but the comment didn’t sound very sincere.
‘No, I didn’t but I guess it was a rude thing to ask.’And if I didn’t need a refuge so badly, I’d walk out right now and tell you to stuff your kind offer,Vee thought to herself. She bit back any further response and waited to see what he’d do next. In the meantime, she took a mental inventory of the room, as her host opened the blind and sunlight poured in, stripes of brilliance beaming through the slats. The weather was improving even if Rick’s mood wasn’t.
It was a large space, with a single bed on each side. Both had brightly coloured duvet covers but most of the room was decorated in neutral shades of cream with just one feature wall painted a deep peacock blue. The floorboards were sanded and oiled. They glowed with care, golden and smooth. The rug between the beds looked as if it would be soft and comfortable to bare feet and the fitted wooden wardrobes echoed the colour of the floor. The only other furniture was an old chest of drawers that had been painted white. It was a very peaceful place. Vee longed to have it for her own, even if only for a little while. The contrast to what waited for her at Dragonfly Cottage was daunting.
‘So, do you want the room? Maybe it’s not quite what you’re looking for.’ Rick’s words cut into Vee’s troubled thoughts, and she forced a smile. It was important to keep this touchy individual on her side.
