‘Heart attack. His doctor had been telling him for years to change his diet and had tried to get him to take medication, but Dad didn’t have time for any of that. He was a stubborn bastard,’ Dean muttered, shaking his head. ‘I guess part of me feels guilty that I wasn’t here when it happened.’
‘Feeling guilty is understandable, but even if you were here, what you could have done?’
‘Yeah, I guess. He never really forgave me for not coming back to work this place. I wish now that I’d come back sooner. Maybe it wouldn’t have changed anything, but I’ll always regret not making things right between us before he died.’
Bel closed the gap between them and slipped her arms around his waist. The hug seemed to surprise him, and he initially remained stiff before relaxing against her and huggingher tightly back. She wasn’t sure there were any words to take away the regret he felt—she only knew she wanted to ease some of the pain he was carrying.
They stood quietly like that for a long time before he let out a muffled expletive at the scent of smoke and released her to grab a set of oven mitts and retrieve the charcoal-encrusted garlic bread from the oven.
The meal had been delicious, despite the extra crunchy bread, and Bel found herself comfortably satisfied with a full tummy and a warmth inside that continued to grow as she spent more time with this man across the table from her.
The next morning, Bel kissed Dean goodbye as they left the house together.
‘Stay in bed longer,’ he’d told her as his alarm went off.
‘No. I have a few things I want to do in town this morning anyway,’ she’d said, reaching up to kiss him lazily.
She could certainly get used to waking up beside him every day. She pondered that thought. She honestly could. She was beginning to hate the time they spent apart and counted down the hours until they saw each other again. Luckily, he didn’t have an employer to explain his rather late start that morning when they’d finally gotten out of bed and dressed. She looked back in her rear-view mirror and saw him standingwhere she’d left him in the driveway, still watching her, and a happy smile broke out on her face.
She wasn’t sure what the immediate future held in store for her, but she was going to have to think about it soon. She wasn’t going to be able to stay at Emma’s once Craig came home, and even though that might still be some time away, it was going to happen. She had Gran’s house, but it was currently being rented out and she was worried about what her return would mean for her tenant. She swore silently. She was definitely not cut out for the landlord business.
She’d dropped by one morning when she’d first come back, seeing Bert out in the garden and stopping to have a chat. He’d been so grateful she’d rented him the house and he clearly enjoyed living there. The garden had never looked better. She felt a small pang of emotion as she thought about how happy Gran would be to know someone was taking care of her beloved flowers.
She pulled up in front of the house now and let out a long breath. She had to at least let Bert know there was a possibility that she may need to move back into her house, to give him some warning. She hated the thought of doing it to him.
She knocked on the door but there was no answer. It was possible he’d gone into town or something, but then … Bert was elderly. What if something had happened and he couldn’t get to the door?
‘Hello, dear. Are you looking for Bert?’
Bel turned and spotted a familiar face over the low side fence. ‘Hello, Mrs Vernon. Yes, I was. He’s not answering the door though.’
‘No, he’s in hospital. Poor man had a fall a couple of days ago. I called his son to check on him and he said Bert was waiting to have an operation. I haven’t heard anything since. I didn’t like to bother the family. You know how it is, dear,’ she added, clearly concerned for her neighbour.
‘I hope he’s okay.’
‘I can give you the son’s number, if you like. If you find out anything, do let me know, won’t you?’
‘Of course,’ Bel assured her.
‘It’s a worry, when you get old and a bit shaky on your feet,’ Mrs Vernon said as she led Bel to her house to get the phone number. ‘I’m very fortunate that I have my two daughters nearby, and my grandchildren. They keep an eye on me. Poor Bert, his children don’t live locally. Luckily it happened outside in the garden or he may not have been found as soon as he was,’ she tsked.
Bel could only imagine how scary living alone could be for older people. Her thoughts briefly went to Dean’s father, and how horrible it would have been for him as well, dying alone out there, and she felt how the burden of that knowledge must weigh on Dean’s shoulders. Not that all the blame could rest on Dean—his father was a grown man who at anypoint could have tried to reach out to his son. Pride was a terrible thing when it stood in the way of happiness.
The town was busy. The excitement hadn’t really stopped since the whole Elvis fiasco, although it had settled into a more manageable bustle now that the media circus had moved on to a new scandal somewhere else.
There’d been one update about the mysterious return of Elvis the rooster on morning TV. They hadn’t come out to Wessex but had interviewed Betty via videocall, which showed how much the story had fallen from public interest.
‘Betty, it’s a miracle,’ the female co-host announced as an opening. ‘Elvis is back!’
‘Yes, he most certainly is and we’re all very relieved,’ Betty, crossing from the museum, confirmed.
‘Do we have any idea who was responsible? Were there any clues? We know the rooster-nappers left a ransom note when they stole him, but do we have an explanation about where he’s been or, more importantly, who took him?’
‘No,’ Betty informed them quite seriously. ‘There was no note when they returned him. We still don’t know who took him or why. It’s a big mystery to everyone.’
‘Well, on the upside, if there was anything good to come from this tragedy,’ the male co-host said with a completely straight face, ‘it’s that the town of Wessex has seen an unprecedented rise in visitors. How are the locals handling their newfound fame?’
‘It’s been very busy in Wessex, and we’re all extremely grateful for everyone’s well wishes. There’s been plenty of celebrating since Elvis’s return and we look forward to continuing to welcome visitors to our little town and now being able to showcase our very special mascot.’
