Rory had a brief look. ‘You know, what you need are some homely touches.’ He thought for a moment. ‘And some of your own things.’
Danny brightened immediately. ‘Seriously?’
‘Why not? I’m, er, pretty sure Kirsty has some of your things stored away. I could ask her to part with them and bring them here for you. We could brighten the place up a bit. You could ask Brooke how she’d like it done. I’d be happy to come back in a few weeks and bring you some cushions and a rug or something. You could choose your colour scheme. We can add pictures, posters, anything you like. Hey, and photographs! Would you like photos, Danny? I’m sure we could find you plenty of pics of Mum and Dad, and Brooke’s family. I could get you a pinboard and put it up on the wall and pin some up for you so you wouldn’t have to worry about turning the pages of a photo album or something. I could even get you a digital photo frame.’
‘Wow, Rory. I don’t know what to say…’ Danny gazed at his brother in gratitude. ‘That’s so kind of you. And you really want to come back here?’
‘Why not? I mean, if it’s okay with you of course. I don’t see why we couldn’t come back here three or four times a year for a reunion. And in the meantime, how would you feel about me sending letters to the owner at Harling Hall? You said she was very understanding. Do you think she’d be happy to read them to you, or at least send someone who would? That way I could let you know what was going on at home and with the family.’
Danny’s eyes filled with tears. ‘Honestly Rory, I don’t know what to say. That would be amazing. You’re the best brother ever!’
Rory gave him a half-hearted smile. ‘I wouldn’t go that far.’
‘I would! I can’t thank you enough. It would make so much difference!’ He sat down next to Rory, the possibilities tumbling through his mind. ‘I wouldn’t ever have dared to dream about all this,’ he said. ‘Just seeing you is one thing, but knowing you want to keep in touch… I can’t believe my luck.’
‘It’s nothing.’ Rory rubbed his forehead. ‘Danny, I have to be honest with you. There’s something I have to tell you. Something really important. It’s about my wife.’
Danny nodded. ‘Go on. She’s okay, isn’t she? I mean she’s not ill or anything?’
‘No, no. She’s fine. Absolutely fine. It’s just… Danny, I didn’t tell you everything. I know I should have, but it was all a bit overwhelming when I first met you, and I didn’t know how. You see, when I said I got married ten years ago…’
He swallowed hard and Danny gave him a puzzled look. What was so hard to say?
‘It’s all right,’ he said reassuringly. ‘You can tell me anything. No judgement here. You know that.’
‘I know.’ Rory shook his head. ‘You always were the nice one.’ He took a steadying breath then turned to face his brother. ‘Danny, the truth is – the truth is I married Kirsty.’
Danny wasn’t sure he’d heard right at first.
‘What?’
‘Kirsty. Your Kirsty. Well, my Kirsty. That is, ten years ago, Kirsty and I got married. And that’s not all. The other big news is that she’s here with me in Rowan Vale. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you earlier,’ he added quickly as Danny turned away, hardly able to process this new information. ‘I wanted to, honestly. But how do you tell someone you love that his widow married his big brother?’
Danny walked over to the window and gazed down on the street below. Somewhere in this very village was Kirsty, the woman who’d haunted his dreams for years. The woman he’d pined for, for almost two decades.
‘She’s been here all this time?’ he asked.
‘Yes.’ Rory sounded full of shame. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘How long?’
‘Excuse me?’
Danny turned to face him. ‘How long? How long did she wait before she started seeing you?’
Rory shook his head. ‘It wasn’t like that. We didn’t get together for a long time. Years. Kirsty cut off from our family after you – after the accident. She ended up selling the house and moving in with her mum and dad for a while. Then she bought a new house in Borehamwood.’
‘Borehamwood?’ Danny frowned. ‘That’s where she’s living now?’
‘Yeah. Anyway, Mum and Dad were worried about her, and they missed her. So in the end I got in touch with her mum and dad and they gave me her address, and I went to see her – just to make sure she was okay. She wasn’t keen on letting me in at first, but she finally relented when I told her Mum and Dad really needed to know she was okay.’
‘And was she?’ Danny’s voice sounded strange, even to himself.
‘Yes. Well, sort of. Not really. She’d thrown herself into work. Didn’t really have a social life. She was getting by, but that’s pretty much it. I realised she needed company so I asked if it was okay to go back another time and she agreed – reluctantly, it has to be said. Eventually we became friends.’
‘Friends!’ Danny said bitterly.
‘Yes, honestly! We were just friends. For ages I was still seeing other women, and Kirsty would give me dating advice. I don’t know how things changed, Danny. I just know that they did. But look, it was seven years after your death when we got together. It wasn’t like we rushed into it. It wasn’t like we’d forgotten all about you. We’d never do that. I think maybe the fact that we both loved you and were grieving for you helped bring us together. You have to believe that.’
