Page 77 of Forgive Not Forget
“I’ll call them and see if they can come today. I’m not happy leaving a hole this large exposed when we reopen tomorrow.”
“I guess we can take the tent down now. Virginia will be so disappointed. Can you imagine if we had got up to anything that night we slept in there? The earth might have literally moved for both of us.”
It sent shivers up Katherine’s spine to think about it. “I’ll ask the gardeners to take it down. It seems crazy that we’ll be closed today. It’s going to take some work just calling around to mobilise everyone again.”
Katherine’s phone rang out from her pocket. The name told her it was a call she had been anticipating.
“I have to take this; I’m hoping it might be a bit of good news for a change.”
“I’ll head back to Laura’s to pack our belongings, then take them home and deal with Virginia. You get to work.”
“Thank Laura for me.”
Katherine picked up the call and watched Anna’s behind as she walked away. What an epic wobble.
CHAPTER30
The high street was transformed by the time she reached it. There wasn’t a media van or police car in sight. Pedestrians were ambling, going about their usual business. It was as if nothing had happened over the last twenty-four hours. It was astounding how quickly things could change. She’d only been back in Nunswick for just over a year, and within that time her life had been turned upside down.
Those days had felt as stressful as the current ones, though it was a different kind of stress. It just went to show that no one could live a stress-free life; there were just different types of stress and different ways to deal with them.
Katherine finally appeared to be tackling hers head-on. A tingle in her stomach reminded her of the worry she was carrying about that. How would Katherine cope with going to the prison? What if it did make things worse for her? She had to think positively, one of them should, and it wasn’t going to be Katherine.
Her gaze was drawn to the old house as she passed it, as it always was. A smile tugged at her lips as she thought of the times Katherine had visited them there. Whether it was to spend time with her dad, cook them a meal when she could see Anna’s workload was heavy, or support her on the day she closed the door for the final time. A tightness caught her around her throat as she realised she’d probably never step inside her family home again. Although she carried some memories with her, it felt like there were memories trapped inside the house that she could not access. Blowing out a hard breath, she crossed over the high street.
Anna let herself into Laura’s cottage and headed straight to the guest bedroom to pack. Although it was a comfortable room, it didn’t beat Abbey House. She was looking forward to snuggling up with Katherine back in their bed, falling asleep in awe of the feature wall before them.
Laura popped her head around the door after a few minutes.
“Sorry, did I wake you?” Anna asked. “I was trying to be quiet.”
“I was only dozing.” Laura covered her mouth as she yawned. “What’s going on?”
“The bomb was already deactivated and had been reburied. They’ve just removed it, and we have the abbey back.”
“Yay.”
“So thank you for your extended hospitality, but we’ll be heading home.”
Laura leaned against the doorframe. “I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for me and the kids.”
“It’s fine, honestly. They were a pleasure — well, Abi always, Tom eventually.”
“He’s transformed, Anna. Treating Abi with kindness, waiting on me hand and foot. Though I think I’ll have to send him up to Abbey House to learn a new recipe. He’s already insisting on making spaghetti bolognese again tonight. Not that I’d complain really, as golly, that woman of yours can cook.”
“I’ll tell Katherine, and it’s her you need to thank with regards to Tom. She returned him to me like that. I think maybe she reprogrammed him.”
“Good, he needed it.”
“I think whatever she said to him did some good for her too. We talked through some things last night, and although we’ve agreed kids are out of the question, she’s decided to go through with the restorative justice programme.”
Laura shook her head and folded her arms. “She’s brave. Let’s hope it gives her what she needs.”
“It better. Otherwise I just don’t know where we go from there.”
“I’m sorry it hasn’t turned out as you hoped with kids. You are welcome to borrow mine anytime.”
Anna grinned. “Thanks. You head back to bed; I’ll let myself out. Do you need anything before I go?”
