Page 57 of A Fresh Start at Bramble Cottage
At least, she was still going to have to take out a mortgage to pay off the inheritance tax, which meant she was going to need a job. But it was no longer the mountain it had once seemed.
And she could afford to have the kitchen she had liked, which she had rejected as being too expensive. She’d better ring Dan the builder and let him know about the change.
Energised, she rolled out of bed and skipped into the bathroom.
Twenty minutes later she was in the kitchen, singing along to the radio as she fixed herself scrambled eggs on toast for her breakfast. Her happy warbling was interrupted by a knock on the door. Her heart thumped so hard it was almost painful.
Tom.
Why would he be knocking on her door? After that brief episode in the garden the other day did he think she’d invite him in for a repeat? But who else could it be? Debbie? Bez? Unlikely...
Damn him! Was he going to give her the old ‘my wife doesn’t understand me’ routine? Did he think she was stupid enough to fall for that one? Anger surging inside her, she threw the door open, not bothering with a smile.
It wasn’t Tom. It was Bill.
“Oh . . .”
“I’m sorry.” He blinked, bobbing his head. “I didn’t mean to bother you, but I saw your car was there today, so...” He took a step back. “I’m sorry. If it isn’t convenient...”
“No — no. It’s fine.” She made her smile extra-warm to compensate for her initial reaction. “Come in.”
“No, I won’t if you don’t mind — my boots are terrible muddy. I just came to say... thank you.”
“Thank you?”
“About my niece — Bethany. Bez, as she likes to call herself. She told me about how you talked to her, how it did the trick. Brenda — my sister — isn’t always wise, nagging on at her. You can’t do that with teenagers, can you?” He chuckled. “They think they know everything. So anyway... thank you.”
“It was nothing,” Vicky assured him readily. “She’s a nice kid — I enjoyed chatting to her. I hope she’ll settle down a bit now.”
“I think she will. She was real excited about the idea of going to university. She showed me that website on her phone — she’s still deciding which ones she’d like to apply to. Of course she’s got to pass her A levels first. But if she does... she’d be the first in the family to go to university.” He beamed. “We’d be that proud of her.”
“I’m sure you will. Bill...” Impulsively she caught his arm as he turned to go. “Look, while I’m interfering, I might as well add something else.” She took a deep breath and plunged on. “Why don’t you ask Debbie out?”
His cheeks flamed scarlet as he opened and closed his mouth like a stranded fish. “I... I did once. She said no.”
“Once?” She laughed, shaking her head. “How long ago was that?”
“A year ago, mebee.”
“Just after she’d split up with her husband?”
He dropped his head, looking sheepish. “Um . . .”
“Probably not the best time to choose, was it?”
He hesitated, returning her a crooked smile. “No...”
“Maybe it’s time to try again,” she suggested gently.
“You . . . you think so?”
Vicky smiled. “I know she likes you. She’s just been wary of getting involved because of Amy.”
His eyes widened in surprise. “But I love that kid — she knows that.”
“She does know. But she’s afraid that if she gets involved with you and it goes wrong, it will break Amy’s heart.”
“I would never break her heart.” Suddenly his voice was assertive. “Or Debbie’s. I’d rather cut out my tongue. I want to marry her.”
