Echoes of the Heart - Casey, L.A. (digital ebook reader .TXT) 📗

They laughed and turned forward in their seats. We left London and headed back to Southwold. I checked the time and cringed; I would cut it fine picking Frankie up from work. I’d have to table writing the song until later with the guys, which they were fine with. It took over three hours to get back home, the guys got out at May’s house and settled on ordering takeaway, while I jumped in the driver’s seat and bucked it to Mary Well’s. I pulled into the car park just as Frankie was walking out of the diner. I pulled alongside her and lowered the passenger window.

“Where are you off to, good looking?” I asked with a teasing grin. “I hope you were coming to find me.”

“You said you’d pick me up so I didn’t drive.” She tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear. “I . . . I thought that maybe you forgot about me.”

“Forget about you?” I repeated. “Cherry, if I haven’t been able to forget you over the past nine years, eighteen hours isn’t gonna do the trick.”

When she smiled, calmness filled me.

“Get in, Frodo,” I grinned. “I have something I wanna do after we visit your mum.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

FRANKIE

“You look like you’re going to rob a bank.”

Risk’s eyes crinkled at the corners, telling me he was smiling.

“Covering up is essential when I go out. Sinners are everywhere, y’know? Even in Southwold.”

I snorted. “At least with it being winter you get away with covering up so much without sticking out like a sore thumb.”

He nodded as we walked down the hallway of the hospice towards my mother’s room.

“Remember,” I reminded gently. “Michael might be a little cold towards you.”

“I know,” Risk straightened his coat. “He has every right to be pissed at me for how I treated you.”

“I didn’t tell him anything other than that you talked down to me a little, he would probably square up to you if he knew how much of an arse you were.”

Risk glanced down at me, his eyebrows raised. “He’s that protective over you?”

“He’s like my dad in many ways,” I said with a nod. “He loves me. I love him.”

Risk was silent as I brought us to a stop. I knocked on the door of Mum’s room, then let myself in. Mum was asleep, as usual, and Michael was perched in the armchair reading a newspaper. He looked up when I entered, adjusted his glasses and smiled, but that smile faltered when Risk stepped into the room after me, ducking slightly to avoid hitting the top of the door-frame.

“It’s okay,” I told Michael. “He stopped by my place last night to apologise, we’ve hashed it out.”

Michael didn’t look convinced.

“Ye apologised to her good and true?” he asked Risk, not blinking as he stared him down. “Because disrespectin’ her is disrespectin’ me. I don’t care who ye are, I won’t have it.”

Risk stepped around me, removing his scarf from around his face as he went.

“Yes, sir, I apologised. I said things that I shouldn’t have and I treated Frankie poorly. She didn’t deserve it, I know that. I was a massive prick.”

“I’ll say,” Michael grunted.

“I don’t want to cause any trouble, Dr O’Rourke.” Risk held his hands up. “I just wanted to visit Mrs O’Rourke, that’s all.”

Michael looked at me. “You’re happy with this, Frank?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “We spoke about it last night when he stopped by.”

“Okay then,” Michael said, then took a couple of steps forward and held out his hand. “Thank you for comin’ by and welcome home.”

“Thank you,” Risk closed the space between them and shook my stepdad’s hand. “Congratulations, too. On your marriage . . . I know I’m a bit late.”

Nearly a whole decade, but who was counting?

Michael snorted. “Thanks.”

I sat on my usual seat on the right of Mum’s bed, Risk pulled up the spare chair from against the window and sat next to me. When he was settled, I watched as he took in my mum’s frail body. His eyes widened a little, but he quickly masked his expression of shock, probably not to hurt my or Michael’s feelings. I leaned over and nudged him until he looked my way.

“It’s okay to be shocked,” I said gently. “She’s very ill, and we know she’s changed a lot over the past nine years.”

Risk cleared his throat. “I’m so sorry that she is going through this . . . such a lovely woman, I hate when bad things happen to good people like her.”

“Me too,” Michael agreed, looking at Mum. “But me wife’s illness has made sure that meself and Frankie never leave an ‘I love you’ unspoken. We never walk away in anger or leave a conversation unresolved and we always, always, thank God for each day we have with my Amanda. Every second with her is a blessin’ and we know it.”

I bobbed my head in wholehearted agreement.

Risk was startled when Mum suddenly began coughing. Both Michael and I got up to help her sit up when she woke up and automatically tried to move her body upright. I grabbed her hanky and gave it to her, she pressed it against her mouth and coughed until the fit passed. Michael didn’t call for a nurse, he checked Mum’s vitals and decided she’d benefit from some oxygen so he turned it on and fixed the mask over her face. She needed the mask more often than not now.

When she settled back against the pillow I had just fluffed up, her eyes landed on Risk, who was still sitting in his chair and staring at her.

“Who’re you?”

The question snapped him out of his trance.

“I’m Risk,” he smiled. “Risk Keller. Lovely to meet you.”

Michael snorted and shook his head when Mum began to tuck her hair behind her ears and adjusted her nightgown with her shaking hands. I put my hand over my mouth, sat back down and laughed. Risk took her trembling hand when she held it out to him. She rubbed her thumb over