Page 38 of Starting Over at Halesmere House
‘Okay. I have paracetamol; I’ll bring it through later and you can keep it.’
‘Thanks, Alice, it’s really good of you. I hope I can get the hang of these; I’ve never had to use them before.’ Neil touched one of the crutches leaning against the bed. ‘Zac was the one on crutches, after he did his leg and had all those weeks in hospital.’
‘Hopefully you won’t need them for long. So, how many Wainwrights have you bagged now?’ Alice changed the subject on purpose and edged towards the door, thinking about dinner and what she could quickly put together for three. Neil was talking again, and she sidled into the kitchen, leaving his door open so she could get on and he wouldn’t think she was ignoring him completely.
‘I can’t remember, think it’s about fifty. I’m lucky it wasn’t worse, like Zac when he smashed up his leg and had to have surgery. Then it was a cast, a boot for another six weeks and months of physio. Four months before he could walk again and even then he was limping. Not that he ever let it show; he pushed himself beyond what any of us thought was sensible, even his physio, to get himself right again.’
Neil had raised his voice and Alice was at the fridge. She couldn’t have not heard, not without asking him to be quiet and that seemed too impolite for such a friendly man. She just wasn’t convinced Zac would want his dad sharing all this, so she tried changing the subject again, calling loudly, ‘It’s looking like tuna and cheese on toast with peppers. Is that okay?’
‘Lovely, thanks. And he did get himself right again, Zac. Sheer bloody willpower, most of it, I’m sure, especially when arthritis set in as well. Post-traumatic arthritis, they call it. Well, it was bloody traumatic, I can tell you. Never yet heard him complain about the pain but it was written all over his face.’
She opened a couple of cans of tuna, sliced some sourdough, then put the bread knife down, crumbs scattered on the worktop. Everyone had their own story and until Neil had burst through those doors at the hospital, it seemed that Zac might have been about to share some of his with Alice. She thought of Neil at lunch the other day after church, confessing that his children’s mum had left them, and Zac had cried himself to sleep because of it. And the fiancée who had walked away. Why? When?
This wasn’t a path she was meant to be treading but already her feet were on it. She swallowed back the rush of sadness for him, the things he had endured and of which she knew only the barest bones, thanks to Neil. Zac hadn’t chosen to share his story with her. But when would he have been able to do so, among the teasing and the banter, the assurances they kept giving each other that they were on the same page and wouldn’t be taking this attraction any further?
The en-suite door in the guest room clicked shut and Alice let out a sigh of relief. At least Neil couldn’t shout from there. She grated cheese into a bowl, adding diced peppers, sweetcorn and the tuna. The sourdough slices went under the grill to part-toast, and she spread a layer of tomato puree on them once they were done, followed by the tuna mix. She put the loaded slices on a tray, ready for the oven when Zac returned. She was in her own bathroom finding towels when she saw the flash of light on her drive. She abandoned the search and went to answer his knock.
‘Hey.’ He had a bag in each hand and a rucksack over one shoulder. ‘I hope he’s not boring you senseless.’
‘Of course not.’ She didn’t want to pretend that Neil had chatted about everyday things and not an episode in Zac’s life that had clearly been so distressing. ‘He said he hoped he’d be able to manage his crutches and that you had experience of them.’
‘So he told you? About my accident?’ Zac halted at the door of the guest room to face her.
‘Not exactly, just that you had one.’ Alice’s hand found its way to his arm, resting lightly on it. ‘I’m sorry, I did try and stop him but you’re right, he’s relentless.’
‘Don’t apologise; it’s not your fault. I love him to bits, and I don’t know where I’d be without him, but living together again is something else. And I am sorry too, about all of this. It’s incredibly good of you.’
Alice let her hand slide away as Zac sighed. ‘It’s fine, really. You don’t have to keep saying it.’ She turned to pick up the tray of sourdough and slid it into the Aga. ‘But you are helping me train for the triathlon, so you know, fair’s fair.’
‘I think you’ve got the rough end of the deal.’ He glanced at the table still set for two from before the dash to hospital. ‘Can I do anything?’
‘It’s almost ready. You could ask your dad what he’d like to drink.’
‘Okay.’ Zac was still holding the bags and he tapped on the door. ‘I’ll take these through and find out. Alice?’
‘Yes?’ She was collecting plates from the warming oven and stood up.
‘Just so you know, I won’t be sending you an invoice for the work I did. I really appreciate all of this, more than you know.’
‘Oh, Zac, please don’t do that. Having your dad staying for a few days is no trouble and I’d hate you to give up a day’s earnings because of it. I’d never have offered if I thought you’d be out of pocket.’
‘Decision made. I won’t change my mind.’
He shook his head as Neil’s muffled voice called, ‘Come in.’
‘We should be paying you. And I never got around to checking out those trees earlier.’ He smiled as he opened the door. ‘I’ll do it tomorrow. I think I got distracted.’
‘By what?’ Alice lowered her voice and she seemed to be looking up at him through her lashes again.
‘By racking my mind to come up with ways to improve my dating score,’ Zac said casually.
Still smiling at that, she took the tray out of the oven and shared the tuna toasties between the three plates.
‘Dad’s going to eat in his room if that’s okay, please? He wants to keep his knee elevated if he can. Just water to drink.’
‘Of course, I’m sure there are some trays somewhere.’ She rummaged in a cupboard, producing a tray covered in sheep, and passed it to Zac. ‘Here you go. Glasses are just there if you’d like to help yourself, and there’s some paracetamol for later.’
‘Thanks. I won’t be long.’
