Swallowing down his growing trepidation, he reached across the table and took her hand. ‘I’ve got this, Kat, I promise. I’ll need you with me to make the presentation to Russ because I’m bound to get myself in a muddle when he starts talking facts and figures, but that’s all for the time being. It’s going to take ages to get everything through, so between now and then I want you tohelp your dad in whatever way he needs. Take some extra shifts at the coffee shop if you can stand it and let him rest up and sort himself out. That way, when you do walk away you can do it without feeling guilty about it.’
Kat nodded. ‘Thank you.’ She rubbed a tired hand over her eyes. ‘I really wish I didn’t have to do it, but I can’t see any other way.’ She gave him a smile that was only a little wobbly around the edges. ‘And don’t worry about Monday, I’ll be there no matter what. I’ve already spoken to Debbie and she’s covering for me so we’ll have the morning to make sure we’re fully prepped. I won’t let you down.’
‘I know you won’t.’ He was sure she believed what she was telling him, but that uncertain feeling inside him wouldn’t go away. Harry stood and tugged her to her feet. ‘Come on, you look absolutely done in, let’s have an early night.’
‘It’s not even five o’clock,’ she protested. ‘We can’t go to bed this early.’
He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her close. ‘I never said we had to go to sleep.’ He bent his head to nibble a slow line of kisses along her jaw. ‘We can snuggle up under the covers and watch a film.’ He found the tender skin of her earlobe and gave it a gentle nip, earning a soft moan from her that hit him in all the right places. ‘And once you’re nice and warm and cosy, I’m going to undress you very, very slowly, just like I promised.’
30
Kat didn’t make it more than half an hour into the film they’d chosen and the next thing she was aware of was Harry nudging her gently awake. She’d been so deeply asleep it took her a few moments to surface enough to focus on his smiling face. He was perched on the side of the bed. ‘Good morning, sleepyhead.’
‘Morning?’ Kat scrambled into a sitting position, her head still thick with the cotton wool of too much sleep. ‘What time is it?’
He patted her leg through the covers. ‘It’s only just after six, no need to panic. I’ve brought you a cup of tea.’ He tilted his head towards a steaming mug on the bedside table.
‘Thank you.’ She reached for his hand. ‘I’m sorry, I can’t believe I just crashed out like that.’
‘It’s fine, you obviously needed it.’ Her stomach chose that moment to unleash an enormous rumble and he laughed as she yanked her hand back to press it to her middle in embarrassment. ‘I’ll make you some breakfast.’ He rose. ‘You’ll have to come into the kitchen though because I have a strict no-crumbs-in-my-bed rule.’
After a quick diversion into the bathroom to clean her teeth and wash her face, Kat felt much more awake as she walked into the kitchen clutching her tea. She was expecting a couple of slices of toast and butter, but she should’ve known better given who she lived with. In the time it would have taken her to get all the ingredients together, Harry presented her with a plate of French toast piled high with fresh berries, whipped cream and drizzled with honey.
‘This looks amazing, thank you.’
‘You don’t need to thank me, I like cooking for you.’ Harry took the chair opposite, his own plate heaped with a portion probably double the size of her own. He picked up his fork and pointed at her plate. ‘Eat up.’
Kat had never had a big appetite but she fell on the food in front of her with alacrity. She ate almost everything before setting her cutlery down with a satisfied sigh. ‘That was amazing.’
Harry grinned at her over his raised fork. ‘I couldn’t send you off to battle on an empty stomach.’
She knew he was only joking but it didn’t stop her stomach giving an unhappy lurch. ‘God, I hope it’s not that bad.’
Harry must’ve realised his mistake by the way his face fell. ‘Bloody hell, Kitty, I’m sorry, that was a stupid thing to say. Do you really think your dad will give you a hard time?’
‘I honestly don’t know how he’s going to react, but he’s not going to be happy, that’s for sure.’ She took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. ‘At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what he thinks because I don’t regret what I did yesterday. It needed saying, and I did it for his benefit. Whether or not he’ll believe that is up to him.’ She pushed her plate away and stood, walking around to his side of the table to place an arm around his shoulder. ‘Thanks for breakfast.’ Leaning down, she pecked a kiss on his lips. ‘And thanks for being you.’
Kat was the first one in at work and she made haste to get everything set up for the day. When her father hadn’t shown up by ten minutes before they were due to open up, she headed into the office to fetch her phone and call him. Moments later she heard the jangle of the front door and her dad appeared in the doorway. The first thing she noticed was how tired he still looked, the dark circles under his eyes the colour of fresh bruises. The second was the grim expression on his face. ‘Hey, Dad.’
He slipped his coat off his shoulders with a sigh. ‘Still Dad, is it? I was half expecting I’d be Gavin after the way you spoke to your mother yesterday.’
Okay, they were going to get straight into it. Kat crossed her arms and bolstered her nerve. She wasn’t a child to be scolded. ‘All I did was tell her a few home truths. It’s a conversation I shouldn’t have had to have with her, but we are where we are.’
Her father shook his head. ‘You had no right, Katrina, these are private matters between your mother and me.’
Kat couldn’t hold back a laugh. ‘Private! How can they be private when half the village has been involved in her sordid carryings-on?’
‘Enough, Katrina, please!’
His tone as much as the volume he used stopped Kat in her tracks. She could count the number of times he’d shouted at her on the fingers of one hand. ‘You’re going to side with her on this, aren’t you?’
‘She’s my wife. What did you expect?’
She should’ve known it was coming, but even so it was a sickening blow. All her life she’d done everything she could tohelp hold their family together, but she would always be on the outside of the tortured mess of her parents’ marriage. Her father expected loyalty yet wasn’t willing to give an ounce of it in return. She swallowed hard. ‘I need to open up.’
Her father stepped aside to let her walk past him. ‘You’ll be pleased to know that one good thing came out of your conversation with your mother,’ he called after her.
Kat paused and looked back at him. ‘And what’s that?’
