Second Time Around (12 page)

‘Hey, Mum, where are you?’ Sharon called out in a singsong voice.

Suzie heard the front door close and bags and coats being dropped in the hall. ‘In the kitchen!’ she called back and prayed that Percy behaved, although she had more faith in the dog
than in her grandson.

She let Sharon prattle on and fuss over Bobby and waited until they’d started eating before mentioning the dog. ‘I have a surprise, Bobby.’

Sharon looked astonished and pleased. ‘A surprise? Oh, Bobby, I wonder what it is?’

‘What is it, Granny?’ Bobby looked up at her.

‘There’s someone I want you both to meet.’ Suzie went into the passageway, put the dog on his lead, just in case, and led him into the kitchen, taking care to sit down as far
away from both of them as possible. ‘Sit,’ she said and Percy did, looking with interest at their two visitors, his tail wagging.

‘Doggy!’ Bobby’s eyes widened and he smiled.

‘Who’s this, then?’ Sharon asked, looking less than happy.

Suzie bristled at her tone. What was wrong with everyone? Percy was not only a handsome, friendly animal, he was well behaved too, which was more than could be said for Sharon’s son.

Bobby climbed down and moved slowly towards them.

‘Don’t touch him, Bobby, he might bite.’

Suzie glared at her. ‘He won’t bite. Come and sit beside me, Bobby.’ She shifted over to make room for him. ‘Percy will want to sniff you but don’t be afraid.
That’s just how dogs get to know you.’ Bobby did as she told him and Percy looked up at the little boy. ‘Stay, Percy,’ Susie murmured, praying that he wouldn’t choose
now to disobey her, but Percy did as he was told. Bobby sat quietly as the dog sniffed him and nudged his arm. The child laughed and reached out a hand to touch his coat. Susie smiled.
‘He’s wagging his tail. That means he likes you.’

‘Mum, I’m not sure—’

Suzie silenced her daughter with a look and turned her attention back to the dog. ‘Good dog, Percy. This is Bobby.’

The dog wagged his tail again and settled at Bobby’s feet.

‘He likes me.’ Bobby smiled.

Suzie beamed at her daughter. ‘See?’

‘Great.’ Sharon said and then frowned. ‘He doesn’t have fleas, does he?’

Jess decided to drop in on her mother on the way to a meeting in the city centre. It was a good excuse not to stay long. It had been a while since she’d visited and she
felt guilty, but she found it tough being around her mother. She’d stay twenty minutes and bail. Her phone buzzed, making her jump. No, Louis, not again. She glanced at it and saw that it was
just Sharon. She’d call her later. She read Louis’s last text again.

Whatever reaction she’d been expecting, this wasn’t it. He’d left lots of messages, pleading with her to see him; he’d even sent roses. Jess was afraid to meet him,
afraid he’d talk her round. It was one thing sleeping with him when she swallowed his lies but, if she went back to him now, she’d deserve all of the names her mum had called her.
She’d officially be ‘the other woman’. A mistress. The term made her cringe with shame. She had to stay strong.

Jess let herself into her mother’s house. All was quiet and she wondered if her mum was sleeping in. She tiptoed into the kitchen and saw Suzie through the window, hanging out washing. She
made to go out and join her but jumped back when she pushed open the door and was confronted by a large dog, who barked at her. Jess yelped in surprise and backed into the kitchen, her heart
thumping in her chest.

‘What is it, Percy?’ Suzie hurried in and then smiled when she saw her daughter. ‘Hi, Jess—’ She stopped when she saw her face. ‘What is it? What’s
wrong?’

Jess pressed herself against the far wall, keeping her eyes on the dog. ‘You know I’m terrified of dogs. What’s it doing here? Whose is it?’

‘Mine.’

Jess’s eyes widened and she dragged her eyes from the dog to stare, horrified, at her mum. ‘How could you get a dog without even talking to me first? Is this because of Louis? Did
you get that bloody animal just to punish me?’

Suzie shook her head, looking confused. ‘What are you talking about? Of course I didn’t. I adopted him because I wanted a dog. While I admit it was a whim, when I met Percy it just
felt right. He’s a very special dog and wouldn’t hurt a fly.’ She gave a heavy sigh. ‘I didn’t know you were afraid of dogs.’

Jess stared at her and realised it was true. Would this bloody head injury never stop hurting them? ‘You don’t remember.’

Suzie’s eyes narrowed and she settled the dog in his basket then closed the door on him before coming to sit at the table. ‘Tell me.’

Jess checked that the door was closed properly and then sat down opposite her. ‘When I was a toddler, I was attacked by a dog. You told me that your friend, Pamela, came to my rescue but
she couldn’t get to me in time.’ Jess turned her head and drew back her hair, revealing a pale scar that ran from her right ear lobe to just above her right eyebrow.

Suzie gasped, her eyes widening in shock. ‘I didn’t remember, I swear. Even now, when you say it’ – she shrugged, looking upset – ‘nothing. I’m so
sorry, Jess.’

‘It’s not your fault,’ Jess said, wondering how many times she’d said that in the last few weeks. It was true, but she was finding it harder and harder to cope with her
mother’s behaviour and attitude.

‘This is your chance to overcome your fear, love,’ Mum was saying now, her eyes excited. ‘Percy’s a wonderful dog, trained to protect people, not injure them. Since he
was a puppy, that’s all he’s known. That other dog hurt you and I can understand your fear. It was stupid of me not to have dealt with it years ago.’

Jess shrugged. ‘It’s okay. Lots of people are afraid of dogs. Just keep him away from me, please?’

‘You’ll come to love him,’ Suzie assured her, ‘but, if you don’t want him around, that’s fine.’

‘You mean you’ll get rid of him?’ Jess smiled, grateful.

Suzie blinked. ‘Well, no, but I’ll keep him outside when you’re here.’

‘Gee, thanks.’ Jess stared at her and, standing up, went to the door. ‘Now I know where I come on your list of priorities,’ she said and left, tears filling her eyes as
she got into her car and drove away.

Jess was trying her damnedest to write a funny piece on dating when her phone buzzed. Her heart sank when she saw it was a text from Louis. She’d noticed that they were
getting less loving and more demanding. When would he give up? The only ones she’d responded to were work-related and, as a result, he’d criticised the last two pieces she’d sent
in and used them as an excuse to drag her into the office to ‘discuss’ them. On both occasions it had been late in the evenings when there were few staff around and he’d sat too
close, brushing against her at every opportunity.

‘You know you want me as much as I want you, Jess,’ he’d said the last time. She couldn’t believe the risks he was taking. Anyone who saw them would know damn well what
was going on or what wasn’t. Either way, she’d be labelled. She’d have to stop it, stop him, but she had no idea how to without jeopardising her position. The obvious answer was
to stop writing for the
Gazette
but as Louis was the only one giving her the chance to write articles on politics and current affairs she was loathe to do that. Why should
she lose everything just because he wanted her? And was it her imagination, or did he want her more since they’d been found out? Did he get some kick out of the dangerous position he was in?
She sighed, knowing that if he didn’t back off she’d have no other choice but to walk away.

In the old days she’d have gone to her mother for advice. Yes, Mum would have been upset and disappointed at Jess having got herself into this mess but she would had counselled and advised
her. Now, Jess could just imagine the tongue-lashing she’d get – you made your bed, et cetera. While her mother was telling everyone exactly what she thought of them, they were all
pussyfooting around her, pretending that everything was fine. But it wasn’t. Nora was right. Maybe they should tell her that.

Jess had tried to talk to Noel about it, but he seemed to be in a world of his own at the moment and waved away her concerns. He didn’t see the changes that she and Sharon did. Her little
sister had been reduced to tears a few times lately but, then, it was worse for her. Not only had she lost her mother and friend, but Bobby had lost his doting granny too. Not that the child seemed
bothered. Like so many at that age, he seemed to be in a world of his own half the time and, once engrossed in one of his toys, he wouldn’t even react when he was called. But Suzie had gone
from fussing over the child and excusing his behaviour to being positively nasty and Sharon was distraught.

Jess found herself in an increasingly pivotal position in the family dynamic, comforting Sharon, showering Bobby with more love than she ever had before, and keeping tabs on Noel. She’d
gone from being daughter to carer and now to mother.

Most of the time Jess had been able to keep on Mum’s good side although it was hard work. But, since Mum had seen her with Louis, things had gone steadily downhill. Though she’d
forgiven Jess, her mother still seemed angry and would attack her, out of the blue, for no apparent reason.

Tears welled up in Jess’s eyes, blurring the words on the screen. Her phone rang and with a tired sigh, she sniffed back her tears and answered it. ‘Hello, Jess Connors?’ she
said, trying to sound upbeat and professional. She hadn’t looked at the display and there was a good chance it was Amelia, Beth or Jordan, her other editors.

‘Hi, hon.’

She smiled, relieved to hear Katie’s bubbly voice. ‘Hey, Katie, how are you?’

‘Busy. Are you going to Jen’s party?’

‘I don’t think so. I’ve a lot on.’ Jess did not feel in a party mood.

‘Is it your mum? I thought she was better now.’

Jess was filled with guilt at the sympathy in her friend’s voice. She hadn’t told Katie anything about Louis, letting her believe the reason she wasn’t available much was all
down to her mum but now she needed to confide in her. Maybe Katie would have some suggestions as to how Jess could extricate herself from this mess with the minimum amount of disruption to her
career or income. ‘She’s fine but we need to keep an eye on her, you know? And Noel’s exams start next week, so he’s got too much on his plate to be much help.’

‘Yeah, well, you’ve a lot on your plate, too,’ Katie argued. ‘Don’t put everyone else first, Jess, not all the time.’

Jess’s guilt mounted. ‘Should you be going partying, miss? Don’t you have exams to prepare for?’ Katie worked as a receptionist in an accountancy firm but had found she
liked working with numbers and had gone back to study accountancy at night.

‘Excuse me, I am completely organised. I have a strict schedule. If I get four hours’ revision done this evening and six tomorrow, I’ll have earned a night out. I’ve also
scheduled in coffee to sober me up on Sunday. Meet me then, at least, usual place?’

‘Yeah, I’d like that,’ Jess said.

‘You sure you’re okay?’

Jess smiled at the concern in her voice. ‘Yes, I’m tired, that’s all.’

They said their goodbyes and Jess turned her attention back to the blank screen. Her guilty feelings at lying to her friend were interrupted by the buzz of her phone. She picked it up again and
froze when she saw the caller. He never phoned unless it was about work, so, taking a deep breath, she answered.

‘Louis, hi.’

‘Hey, sweetheart. A client just cancelled, I thought we could get together.’

Jess sank back in her chair feeling weary. ‘Louis, I’ve told you, it’s over.’

‘I need to talk to you, it’s important, Jess. I could be there in thirty minutes. Do you want the job or not?’

Job? She frowned, hesitating. His tone was very brisk and professional. Was this really a business call?

‘Look, forget it, I’ll give it to someone else. It’s just you’re always saying that you want to write pieces on politics—’

‘No, it’s fine,’ she said hurriedly. ‘I can drop in to you if you want.’

‘I’m not in the office. I’ll see you soon.’ Louis said, a smile in his voice, and hung up, leaving her wondering if she’d been out-manoeuvred.

Jess paced nervously as she waited for him, pausing at the window from time to time. She jumped when the doorbell rang, and taking a deep breath, she smoothed back her hair and hurried down to
let him in. She opened her mouth to say hello only to find herself slammed against the wall, Louis’s hand closing round her throat.

‘You haven’t been answering my texts, Jess.’

‘Louis!’ she gasped, shocked by the attack and the crazed look in his eyes. ‘Stop, you’re hurting me.’ She thought of banging on the wall for her landlady and then
remembered that she was away.

‘Why aren’t you answering my texts?’ he repeated, his voice low and intense.

She mustn’t panic, she must calm Louis down and convince him that she would play along, at least until he loosened his grip. Then she’d . . . Well, she didn’t
know what she’d do. Despite the fact that she could barely breathe, she forced herself to answer. ‘You lied to me, Louis. I thought that I meant more to you.’

The pressure eased off on her neck and his expression softened.

‘Sweetheart, you know it’s you that I want.’ His hands moved down over her body. ‘I can’t get enough of you.’ He leaned in to kiss her, pulling her against
the length of his body.

‘Let’s go upstairs.’ She reached around him to supposedly close the front door, intending to make a run for it but his arm shot out, barring her way.

‘Let me, darling.’

‘Hi, Jess. Am I too early?’

Jess looked up in surprise and relief when she saw who was standing on her doorstep, his steely gaze on Louis. It was Cal, Noel’s friend, happily a rather tall, broad-shouldered and
intimidating figure who easily moved Louis’s hand and placed himself between the two of them. Jess thought quickly. ‘Cal, hey, how’s it going? Sorry, I’d completely
forgotten you were coming. This is Louis Healy, editor at the
Gazette
.’ She met Louis’s eyes and gave an apologetic shrug.