‘Shall we head back to the car?’ he suggested. ‘I’m getting hungry now and we need to cook our tea before we can eat.’
He pushed away from the sea wall and led her along the road to where his car was parked. She couldn’t help noticing that it was fifteen years old, which seemed odd considering he’d been a wealthy businessman. Maybe he just wasn’t into material things and didn’t care about money or possessions or how he looked to other people. It would explain him shopping in ShopSmart anyway.
They got into the car, glad to be out of the brisk wind, and Alison glanced in the mirror, groaning as she saw the state of her hair.
As she rummaged in her bag for a comb, Mac said, ‘Sorry. Didn’t mean to ignore your questions.’
She looked up, surprised. ‘It’s okay. None of my business, is it?’
He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. ‘Thing is, I haven’t seen my children for a while.’
‘O-kay.’ Alison quickly combed her hair, her eyes never leaving his face. Even though he was in profile she could see how tense he was. ‘Well, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.’
‘It’s only fair, since you told me about Jenna,’ he said.
She smiled. ‘You don’t owe me anything for that. Honestly.’
He turned to face her, and she saw anguish in his eyes. ‘I think I’d quite like to tell you.’
She didn’t know what to say to that, so she just nodded and slipped her comb back in her bag.
‘Truth is,’ he said quietly, ‘I haven’t seen them at all for about twelve years.’
‘Oh wow,’ she breathed. ‘Thatisa long time.’ She simply couldn’t imagine going that long without seeing Jenna. It would kill her.
‘After… after our divorce, the kids sort of drifted away,’ he admitted. ‘I saw them on the occasional Saturday for a while, but it was… difficult. I couldn’t always have them when their mum wanted me to have them, or when they weren’t at school.’
‘Because of your job?’ she asked, curious.
‘For a lot of reasons,’ he said evasively. ‘Anyway, over time they stopped bothering about it, I guess. Terry became more of a father to them. He saw so much more of them, and he was there for them in ways I couldn’t be.’
‘Terry?’
‘He was my best friend. The one I told you about. The one who I ended up going into business with?’
‘Oh, of course.’ Alison frowned. ‘Sorry, but why did he become a father figure to your children?’
Mac gave a heavy sigh. ‘Because he married their mum. My ex-wife, Lynne.’
Alison gasped. ‘Bloody hell! That must have been a complicated situation.’
‘It was.’ He gave her a grim smile. ‘Not the easiest of times, let’s put it that way. I was devastated when I found out they were together, and things went from bad to worse. In the end I cut off all contact with Terry and Lynne completely. I had to. But it meant that seeing the kids got harder and harder and it just…’ He rubbed his forehead then looked at her, and she saw the shame in his eyes. ‘It just trickled away,’ he admitted at last. ‘I haven’t heard a word from them in all that time.’
‘I see.’
‘So now you know why it was no wrench at all to move up here. I had nothing to keep me in Oxfordshire. Nothing at all.’
‘Your business?’
‘I sold my share to him,’ Mac said. ‘It seemed the easiest thing to do. The only thing to do, to be honest.’ He blew out his cheeks and tried to smile. ‘Pretty messy, eh? Now do you understand why I find Kelsea Sands so peaceful? It’s been like the answer to a prayer. I’m only sorry it took Mum’s death to bring me home. I should have come back a lot sooner.’
Alison noticed that he still called Kelsea Sands home, just as she did. After all this time.
‘Well,’ she said gently, ‘hindsight is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?’ She tentatively reached out and put her hand on his arm, and he smiled before placing his own hand on top of hers.
‘Right,’ he said. ‘Watersmeet. Time to get cooking because, I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.’
24
