Page 71 of The Damaged Hearts Bargain

Chapter Twenty Nine

Cal walked to the beach, simply because she didn’t know what else to do. Her heart was in her boots, her head was a mess and she could barely breathe with the unfairness of it all.

Deep in her heart she knew that Lucy didn’t think she was a thief. Lucy had never been anything but up front with her. But that look, that one moment of brief doubt had broken her heart in ways she didn’t know it could still be broken. It had shattered around old fault lines, things she’d thought were mended by now.

She didn’t know what had happened. All she knew was that she hadn’t taken the money. Maybe George was mistaken. Maybe one of Moira Hadley’s kids had been playing around. Maybe Spiderman had snuck in over the roofs. She literally had no idea how anything like this could happen.

“Christ. Maybe I’m some sort of jinx,” she muttered to herself. “Maybe I should stay the hell away from money in all its forms.”

Even the thought of cash made her feel sick. But not as sick as that fleeting look on Lucy’s face.

The beach was heaving with people, the sun shining brightly. Kids splashed in the waves and for a moment Cal could remember what it felt like to be a child. What it felt like beforeany of this had been hanging over her.

She’d spent years running away. Years being whoever she wanted to be, not having to worry about a reputation or anything else. And those years had been happy. She wasn’t going to pretend that they hadn’t been, that she’d been miserable, that she’d been looking for a home or anything like that.

She’d been happy and free and coming back here had been the hugest mistake that she’d ever made. Well, perhaps the second after getting caught in the club room with that money. Who’d have thought that old Doris Renton would take it upon herself to be a vigilante? Staking out the club room like that, like she could single-handedly catch a thief.

She sat down on a hot patch of sand as far away as she could get from the screaming crowds and the smells of sunscreen and icecream, letting the ground warm her.

So what now, that was the question.

Except it wasn’t really a question any more. There wasn’t much that she could do. There were two choices. The old life that she’d left behind where she’d been happy and free and herself, and whatever was left here in Tetherington. That wasn’t much of a choice, not really.

Her phone started ringing and out of habit she took it out of her pocket, half expecting it to be Lucy. She didn’t know if she was disappointed or relieved to see that it was Syd calling. Still, Syd had her uses. A decent recommendation for her next bartending job for one thing. So she picked up.

“Still playing at love’s young dream?” Syd asked cheerfully. “Not that either of us are that young anymore, I suppose.”

Cal ignored the question. “Is it alright if I put your number down as a reference for a job?”

“Yeah, course,” Syd said. She paused. “Um, you’re getting a new job then?”

“Gotta pay the bills somehow.”

“Thought you were a rich heiress or whatever.”

Cal snorted. “The house’ll give me a nest egg. But I can’t live off the proceeds forever.”

“Better to save the money for when your knees give out,” Syd said. “You know, due to your advanced age and all.”

“Yeah, something like that,” Cal said.

There was a short silence. “So, you want to tell me what’s going on?” Syd asked eventually.

“Nothing,” said Cal. “I’m almost done clearing the house. I’ll get an estate agent in to put it up for sale, sign papers, whatever it is I have to do. Then I’m back on the market.”

“Job market or dating market?” asked Syd.

Cal’s mouth got dry. “Both, I suppose.”

“Ah.”

“Ah, what?”

“Ah, you’ve split up with this Lucy.”

“Maybe,” allowed Cal. She hadn’t quite done it yet. But it was coming. She supposed that she had to see Lucy face to face, that she couldn’t take the cowardly way out and do things over text. Unless she just ran like she’d done last time, just got on her bike and left town. Of course, last time she’d been seventeen and had left on a bus, but the end result was the same thing.

“Sure that’s what you want?” Syd asked. “And before you start, I know all about the six week rule. I’m just asking because, well, because this sounded a bit different. Like you’d found someone you might really like.”

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