Page 68 of Happier Days

‘It could have been more if I’d known.’

She shrugged. ‘I certainly didn’t think it through at the time. Instead, I had to live with the shame of everyone thinking I’d slept around. I left it at that because it was easier.’

‘So why didn’t you tell me as soon as I came back?’

‘Because… you said you weren’t sticking around.’

‘I might have changed my mind had I known.’

‘Whenever we spoke, I saw someone with a chip on his shoulder, like his own father. It might be wrong, but I didn’t want that for her.’

Harry hung his head in shame. ‘Your dad was a better one than mine. That’s why I was around the hotel so much. Maxalways had us doing something for him, teaching us to tend to gardens, mending broken fencing, helping to run events, that kind of thing. I’ve never forgotten his kindness.’

Eliza felt the mood mellowing, so she took out her phone and brought up a photo of Willow. She passed it to Harry. Watched as his eyes filled with tears. Held back her own.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

‘She’s the image of you,’ Harry said, wiping at his cheeks.

‘I can see you in her around her eyes. She has a few of your mannerisms, too.’

‘I hope she hasn’t got my moody nature and pessimism.’

‘No, she definitely lucked out there. She’s bright and positive and has a great attitude towards life.’

‘That’s all down to you.’

‘And my family, as well as my ex-husband, James. She grew up with him from the age of four until he died eight years ago.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t be. He cared for Willow well. She had my parents, too, as well as my brothers and Cara.’

‘Do any of them know?’

‘Ruby has known all along. I told my mum not long after Willow was born. Jack didn’t know until last night.’

Harry was quieter now, more accepting.

‘I would have told you if you hadn’t skipped town,’ she remarked. ‘Didn’t your dad ever mention his suspicions to you?’

Harry shook his head. ‘We didn’t speak in years. We had a fight one night after he’d come from the pub. When I got up in the morning, I decided I couldn’t be there anymore. So I-I stolesome money from him and then left. It was only a few hundred quid, but I realise it was more than that. It was the dishonesty. I could never look him in the eye so that’s why I never came back.’

‘For a few hundred quid? That’s a lame excuse. You could have saved that and given it back to him.’

‘You’re right, but I didn’t see it like that for a while. When I left, I was mad at him for dragging me up to hate him or hate the man he became when he was drunk. I was angry with Jack, too, for saying it was my fault that our business folded. It was, but I wouldn’t hear of it.

‘And then I became annoyed living in a little place like Sapphire Lake and thought there was a bigger and better world out there for me.’ He sniggered. ‘I ended up going as far as Birmingham, and when I thought about visiting, it just became one of those things that the more time I stayed away, the easier it was to forget it and leave it hanging.’ He hung his head in shame. ‘I did some terrible things when I was younger. I was so angry. Mind you, I don’t think that ever changed until my second divorce came through. Since then, I’ve learned to like myself a little more. I’m no longer that mean and moody teenager, but the mistakes I made are still there.’

Eliza suddenly felt the need to comfort him. She moved to sit on the arm of the chair and put her hand on his forearm. ‘We all made mistakes when we were younger.’

‘Keeping the baby, you mean?’

‘No, there was never anything in my mind that told me to terminate her. Willow is the best thing that’s happened to me, my pride and joy.’

‘I haven’t asked… does she know about me?’

‘No, that’s up to you.’

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