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

“Very handsome,” Mum told him. “Do you h-have a wife? I’m a . . . widower.”

“Oh my god,” I dropped my hand, laughing louder. “Mum!”

Mum didn’t pay me any mind, Risk was her only focus.

“Well,” Risk said. “It’s my lucky day, because I’m very much single.”

Mum’s giggle was so wonderful to hear, her openly flirting with Risk made both Michael and I smile her way. This type of interaction with her massively beat one of her coughing fits or when she got angry or upset. She relaxed against her bed, looked at Michael and said, “I changed the alarm code.”

I hated her wheeze, I wanted nothing more than to take it away from her.

“Did ye?” he asked. “To what?”

“Yeah,” she replied. “I know. I wanted the big vase . . . instead.”

I glanced at Risk and he looked at me, blinking.

“She’s very easily confused,” I murmured. “Having a solid conversation with her is rare. We just go with it.”

“Nurse,” she said to me. “I don’t need . . . help, you can . . . leave.”

I bit back a laugh at the dismissal.

“Can I stay a few minutes longer? I’m enjoying your company.”

Mum sighed. “Okay.”

She looked back at Risk and her eyes widened.

“Hello.”

I laughed again. “Oh my days.”

Risk and Mum had another introduction, then there were conversations about nothing for a couple of hours before she got a bit cranky and let Michael talk her into resting. When she fell asleep, I kissed Michael, and Mum, goodbye. Risk shook my stepdad’s hand and touched Mum’s. When we left the hospital, Risk was really quiet. I knew he was processing his reunion with my mum and I wanted to give him time to straighten things out in his head before we spoke because it was a lot to deal with, especially when you were new to someone who has a disease such as Alzheimer’s.

When we drove back to Southwold, I broke the silence as we drove through town.

“You wanna talk about the visit?”

“Yeah,” he answered in a rushed breath. “I just don’t know what to say other than I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” I repeated. “What for?”

“For your mum being so ill . . . Frank, you have to deal with that every day. Her not knowing who you are, watching her get sicker. I hate that for you and Michael, and I hate it worse of all for your lovely mum.”

A lump formed in my throat.

“Like Michael said,” I looked out of the window. “We’re grateful for each day with her, the good, the bad and the ugly.”

Risk remained silent.

“She’s dying,” I said, clenching my hands into fists. “Her health is declining rapidly. She’s been in the hospice for two months now; the doctor gave her six months at most. I know her time to go is fast approaching, Michael does too. It’s just, if we focus on that we’ll miss moments like the ones you shared with her tonight. You know?”

“Yeah, Cherry,” I felt Risk look at me. “I know.”

I laughed then when he said, “How does it feel to know that your mum thinks I’m sexy?”

“Sexy?” I repeated. “I believe she called you handsome, not sexy.”

“Are you sure?” he teased. “The way she looked at me, she thought I was more than handsome.”

I tittered, shaking my head.

“Mum’s always been a Sinner,” I mused. “But it’ll break your heart to know that her heart has always been May’s.”

“Typical.” Risk mock growled. “May is everyone’s favourite.”

Before I thought better of it, I said, “Not mine.”

I kept my gaze locked on the passing town. Risk said nothing, which I was thankful for. The feeling of embarrassment passed when confusion took over. When we parked in the car park at Southwold Pier, I looked at Risk, who pulled the handbrake up and switched the car off.

“This is where you wanted to go after visiting my mum?” I quizzed. “The pier? You want to go walking?”

“Yep,” he chirped. “The last time I walked to the end of this pier and stared out at the ocean was with you . . . I don’t like being here without you.”

I had no idea what to say to that, so I followed his lead by getting out of the car. Risk pressed on the car fob and locked the vehicle. I fell in step next to him and we began walking towards the pier’s entrance. It was night-time, so the café, restaurant and gift shops along the pier were closed. It was freezing out too so we were the only idiots dumb enough to be outside walking, but I kind of liked it. I liked that we had the place all to ourselves. Even though it was very cold, the ocean was calm and there was only a slight breeze.

“I can’t wait for spring,” I said as we walked, slipping my ice-cold hands into my pockets. “I’m so fed up with the cold.”

“Really? I don’t mind it.”

I glanced up at him. “You live in LA; the winters there are pretty much our summers.”

Risk smiled, then he fixed his scarf in place, hiding most of his face from me. I wished I had brought a scarf of my own because my nose was so cold that it stung. I was confident that I already had wind burn on my cheeks too.

“God, I’ve missed that smell.” Risk inhaled deeply and exhaled with a satisfied sigh. “Cool, salty air and no humidity.”

I chuckled. “I guess I don’t notice the smell anymore since I’ve never left.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you about that,” Risk said. “Have you never gone on holiday anywhere?”

“Nope,” I answered. “For lots of reasons. The main one is my mum, I was never comfortable with leaving her even in the early days of her illness. Another is money, I had to save every penny so I could buy my cottage off Michael upfront without needing to apply for a mortgage.”

Risk jerked his head in my direction.

“You own the cottage?”

“Yeah.” I shivered as a breeze swirled around us. “I bought it two years ago. Michael wanted to just