Derek shifted, his towel dangerously close to absconding altogether.
‘That’s the kind of attitude I’m talking about,’ he said. ‘You don’t understand what this place means. Balmaclay isn’t a job, it’s a legacy. Cal will come home and when he does, he’ll have Siobhan waiting for him because she does understand.’
The audacity of the man. Not to mention the brass balls on him, given the fact he was at my absolute mercy and could easily be relieved of his testicles at any second. Not that I wanted to think about Derek McClay’s testicles but speaking as a surgeon, I was entirely capable of removing them, quickly, cleanly, and just in time to turn them into a pair of earrings to give to his wife for Christmas.
But I didn’t. I breathed in, pulled my shit together and smiled.
‘Shall we carry on with the massage?’
He eyed me carefully but gave something like a nod and lowered his head again.
‘I’m telling you for your own good,’ he said into the pillow. ‘You see that, don’t you, hen? He may run off and sow his wild oats, struggle on with this cooking thing for another year or two but, before all is said and done, he’ll be back home. Where he belongs. His ties to Balmaclay are too strong.’
I was annoyed because he was arrogant, I was angry because no one had the right to tell another person howto live their life and I was furious at being referred to as nothing more than a receptacle for Callum’s oats, wild or otherwise.
‘What I see is you driving your son away,’ I told him, pinching the trapezius muscles in his shoulders sharply. ‘What Callum does is entirely up to him. I don’t tell him how to live his life, I trust and respect his choices. I know you mean well but I strongly suggest you learn to do the same before you lose him altogether.’
‘This is father and son stuff,’ he muttered. ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about. You barely know the boy.’
Perhaps not but I did understand how to dig my thumbs into the rock solid knots in his shoulders.
‘Too much pressure?’ I asked when he shrieked.
‘I think that’s enough for now,’ he replied tightly. ‘Thank you very much, Caroline, I’m sure that was a great help.’
‘I hope so,’ I replied, closing up the body oil and slamming it down on the bedside table. ‘For your sake.’
Chapter Nineteen
I was still muttering under my breath when I got back to my room, reeking of the artificially sweet fruit scent and boiling over with rage. How dare Derek talk to me like that? How dare he presume to tell Callum how to live his life? I was apoplectic, outraged on behalf of both my fake boyfriend and non-existent Caroline.
Flying through the door, I slammed it shut, gratified by the loud bang that echoed through the house. Let Derek explain that to his wife.
‘Hard day at the office, dear?’
‘Is everyone in this family trying to give me a heart attack?’ I gasped, back pressed against the door, when Callum appeared in front of me. ‘What are you doing in my— oh!’
Before I could finish my question, the six-foot fir tree wedged between the fireplace and the window answered it for him.
‘Is that a Christmas tree?’ I asked, drawn across the room by the evergreen beauty.
‘I hope so,’ he replied. ‘Otherwise I don’t know what we’re going to do with all this stuff.’
Scattered on the floor around the tree were boxes and boxes of ornaments, brand new and unopened.
‘I thought we could decorate it together,’ he said, hands in his pockets. ‘The way you used to with your mum.’
All of my rage melted away. I picked up one of the boxes of ornaments, a set of pretty iridescent glass spheres, and saw my surprised face reflected in the shiny plastic cover.
‘Where did you get these?’
‘In town. Mal ran me in while Mum and Dad were at Auntie Jean’s, I didn’t feel like going in for another lecture. Gray brought the tree over, it turns they had one too many at the pub.’
It wasn’t just the tree. There were decorations everywhere, fairy lights wrapped around the curtain rail, a potted poinsettia on my bedside table, a stuffed reindeer sitting on the bed, and two matching red and white stockings hanging from the fireplace, one on either side.
‘It’s amazing,’ I said, so moved I was almost afraid to look at him for fear of bursting into tears. ‘Thank you.’
Callum shrugged as though it was nothing. He was wrong, it was very much something. No one had ever done anything so thoughtful for me.
