Page 74 of Fe
“The key is in a lockbox by the door.” Fen climbed out, then clung to the car for a moment before he straightened up. He took a picture of the tree and turned to smile at Ripley.
Ripley suspected Fen rarely went on long car journeys. He wished he’d thought to stop more often to let him take a break. He let Fen go ahead, then picked up the groceries they’d bought and carried them in. The property looked fine. There was a Christmas tree but no other decorations. It was a good-sized living room with a sectional sofa, large TV and a kitchen area. There were stairs between that and the kitchen. Hopefully only one bedroom.
“There’s a downstairs bathroom and a utility,” Fen said. “It’s lovely, isn’t it?”
Ripley met his glance. “It looks great. I’ll bring in the rest.”
Fen was loading groceries into the fridge when Ripley returned. Ripley cut the tags off Fen’s new things and hung up the jacket next to his. Their hats and gloves went on the side table by the door.
“You’ll take all that out of my money, right?” Fen asked quietly.
Ripley had his back to him and was glad Fen hadn’t seen his face, though he wasn’t sure what was on his face.
Before he could answer, Fen had spoken again. “I could have paid.”
Ripley turned round. “I asked you to book this. It’s not your fault you didn’t have the clothing you needed. Let me have your bank details.”
For a moment, he wasn’t convinced he’d done the right thing. He’d not asked Fen for his decision, but hadn’t it been given with that question?Isn’t this what I want?Since he’d suggested it, it fucking well should be. He put three thousand in Fen’s account and set it up to happen regularly.
“Want to go for a walk?” Fen asked. “We could find a pub and have a drink and then come back for pizza.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll take our things upstairs.”
One bedroom, one bathroom. There was a hot tub in the garden. All of that should have made him happy, but it didn’t. Ripley sat on the bed and his shoulders sagged. The path ahead had been drawn by him. So be it. He might as well try to enjoy himself as he walked down it. He was paying enough for it.
Back downstairs, Fen was wearing his new blue jacket, boots, hat and gloves. “The sea isn’t far. We could head there first.”
“Did you know there was a hot tub in the garden?” Ripley pulled on his jacket and changed into his boots.
“No! I missed that. Is it switched on?”
Ripley picked up a folder of information from the coffee table. “Yes, we need to turn it up when we get back.”
He locked the door, noted Fen hadn’t taken his crutch and told himself not to say anything. It wasn’t as if it had been forgotten. When Fen reached for Ripley’s hand, Ripley let him take it.
Fen squeezed his fingers. “If you don’t like holding hands, we can let go if we see someone.”
“I’m not used to holding hands,” Ripley said quietly.I’m too old to hold hands, but…
“Did your previous boyfriends not want to? Or was it you who didn’t want to?”
Ripley gave a short laugh. “I don’t know. No one has ever reached for my hand before.”
“You don’t even shake hands?”
“Strangely enough, barristers don’t shake hands with each other.”
“Really?”
“In sword-bearing times, people used to shake hands to show they weren’t armed. But barristers, as gentlemen, trusted each other and so didn’t need to bother.”
“Did you hold your mum’s hand when you were little?”
“No.”
“My mum would still hold mine if I let her. But I’ve never had my hand held by a guy, so thank you for holding mine. I like it, but I get why we should be cautious about doing it.”
“And you with your ninja skills?”
