Back in the Game

by Caz Finlay

  ‘We’ll stay,’ Jake, pointing to himself and Siobhan.

  ‘Me too,’ Patrick and Libby said at the same time.

  ‘I can stay as well if you need me to?’ Sean added.

  Grace shook her head. ‘No! None of you need to stay. I’m a big girl, I can look after myself. Besides, you said Michael had taken care of them. I assume Eddie, Greg and Eve won’t be seeing the light of another day?’

  ‘But Grace—’ they started.

  ‘No. I love you all and I appreciate the offer. But I really want to be on my own.’

  ‘I’m not leaving you, Mum.’

  ‘You and Siobhan both need your rest, Jake. Please go home.’

  ‘You should really get home and take your tablets, Jake,’ Siobhan said as she linked her arm through his and smiled at Grace.

  They all argued with her for a further five minutes before she convinced them to leave her house, and only after she promised to keep her phone with her and sleep with a Glock under her pillow. Grace agreed, although she had no intention of using the gun Sean had left with her. She hated guns. She would put it in the safe, out of Belle’s reach, as soon as they left.

  ***

  As she checked all of the windows and doors for the second time, Grace started to regret sending everyone home. What was she trying to prove? That she was a big girl who could look after herself? Now, in her loneliness, she wondered if that even mattered any more. Wasn’t it more important to have people around when you needed them? And as sorry as she was feeling for herself, she knew in her heart that any of them would have been happy to keep her company. Sometimes her pride was her own worst enemy.

  She was heading for bed, her foot already on the bottom stair, when she heard the doorbell ring. Her heart leaped into her throat and she admonished herself. Burglars and robbers don’t ring the doorbell, Grace!

  Looking through the spyhole, she saw Michael standing on the doorstep, hopping impatiently from one foot to the other. She wondered whether he was making a flying visit, although she desperately hoped he was going to stay. Maybe she would ask him to?

  As she opened the door, he stepped uninvited into the hallway. His hair was damp and she caught the smell of shampoo and soap as he came closer to her.

  ‘I’m sorry I’m so late, but I had to make sure there were no loose ends,’ he said, as though it was a given that he’d be there. As though Grace should have been expecting him.

  ‘That’s okay,’ she said. ‘I wasn’t expecting you.’

  ‘Really?’ He frowned at her. ‘After what happened today, you didn’t think I’d be here to make sure you’re okay?’ He shook his head in annoyance. ‘Anyway. Where is everyone. My dad? Sean? Jake? Have they left you and Belle here on your own?’

  ‘I made them go,’ she said. ‘I wanted to be on my own.’

  ‘Well, I’m staying,’ he said as he walked past her and headed towards the kitchen. ‘Any chance of a drink?’

  Grace followed him into the kitchen and poured him a glass of brandy. She didn’t bother with one for herself – she didn’t think her stomach could take it.

  Michael downed his drink in one and slammed his glass onto the breakfast bar.

  Grace watched him intently, trying to figure him out. He was so angry. Why was he there? Because of Belle? Out of guilt? Or a sense of duty?

  No doubt sensing her watching him, he crossed the kitchen to where she was standing. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked, his face softening as he took hold of her hand and ran the pad of his thumb softly across the red skin on her wrist. ‘Did they hurt you?’

  She shook her head. ‘No. Not really. I’m fine. Thanks to you, I hear.’

  He smiled, his brown eyes twinkling. ‘No problem. Just returning the favour.’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ she said. Pulling her hand from his, she looked away from his gaze. So, it was nothing more than that.

  ‘Hey,’ he said as he took her hand again. ‘I’m just kidding. I’d douse myself in petrol and walk through a burning building for you, Grace. Don’t you know that by now?’

  Shaking her head, Grace bit her lip to stifle the tears that were threatening, fearing that if she started to cry she might never stop.

  ‘I thought I’d lost you,’ he said so quietly she almost didn’t hear. Then he pulled her to him and she buried her face in his chest, enjoying the familiar smell of him. When he wrapped his arms around her she responded in kind, clinging on to him as though he was a lifebelt in a storm.

  ‘I love you, Grace Sumner,’ he said in her ear.

  Then she started to cry.

  Epilogue

  Clad in only her underwear, Grace studied her reflection in the full-length mirror of her large wardrobe and sighed. Seeing Michael walk into the bedroom behind her, she smiled at his reflection. Slipping his arms around her, he nuzzled her neck. The coolness of his hands felt good against her hot skin. She leaned into him, enjoying the feel of his muscular chest against her bare back.

  ‘Hello, gorgeous. How are you feeling?’

  ‘Fed up,’ she groaned. ‘I have absolutely nothing to wear.’

  ‘You are beautiful,’ he said against her neck. ‘Anything you wear will look beautiful. Where’s Belle?’

  ‘Your dad and Sue took her to buy a new party dress and then they’re taking her to their house to show her the giant wooden Wendy house they’ve had built. I swear it’s as big as my aunt Helen’s old terrace in Anfield, Michael. They spoil her rotten, you know?’

  ‘I know. But that’s what grandparents are for. Don’t we spoil Isla just as much?’

  ‘Hmm, I suppose,’ she said, thinking of their beautiful eight-month-old granddaughter, who had looked so much like her aunty Belle when she was born.

  ‘We don’t have to go, you know.’

  ‘What? And miss our own party? I don’t think that will go down very well.’

  ‘Well, you do have the perfect excuse,’ he said as he rubbed her seemingly ever-increasing bump. ‘I’ll tell them you’re tired. Then we can spend the night in bed instead.’ He winked at her reflection.

  She placed her hands on his, her fingertips brushing over his platinum wedding band, the one that matched hers. ‘We can’t. They’ll be so disappointed.’

  ‘I’ll make it worth your while,’ he whispered in her ear as his hands moved lower. ‘Besides, don’t they say sex helps to induce labour? It might help move this stubborn little fella? I’m only thinking about you really.’

  ‘Oh, there’s nothing in it for you then? You’re so selfless.’ She laughed.

  ‘I certainly am.’

  The truth was, he was selfless when it came to her and their children. They were always his priority. All of them. Her, Jake, Paul, Connor, Belle and this new little boy who was refusing to move from the comfort of his mother’s womb.

  Michael slipped his fingers under the band of her underwear.

  ‘Hey,’ she said, laughing as she slapped his hand away. ‘It’s your wandering hands that got us into this predicament in the bloody first place.’

  ‘Well, I don’t recall any complaints at the time. Or any time since for that matter. I’m going to jump in the shower before we go.’ Then with a final kiss on her neck he walked over to his side of the wardrobe and started to get undressed.

  Grace lay on the bed and watched him as he removed his shirt and trousers. She loved his body – all muscle and tattoos. She felt safe wrapped in his giant arms. Looking at him still gave her butterflies. He was the type of husband she’d always dreamed about having, but had come to believe never existed.

  He was her partner in every sense of the word. He came home every single night, never smelling of drink or another woman. He always answered his phone. He listened when she spoke, and even when she didn’t. He always had time for her. He read bedtime stories to Belle. Cradled her while she slept. Soothed away her nightmares. Held her when she was sick. And he made Grace feel like the most important woman in the whole world. She had never felt more loved, or che
rished.

  She thought about everyone waiting for them to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. His family. Now hers too. Marrying him had given her the family she’d always dreamed of having. Pat and his fiancée, Sue, were doting grandparents. Sean and Sophia were like the brother and sister she’d never had. Then there were her three beautiful nieces, although Steph was more like a younger sister too. Michael’s two boys and Jake had become like brothers. Siobhan was like a daughter to her now that she and Jake were married, and baby Isla was a delight, although it had taken Grace a while to get used to being called Nana. Then there was Belle, not quite three years old, who had them all wrapped around her little finger. Sometimes Grace could hardly believe she was surrounded by so much love and happiness.

  ‘Penny for your thoughts,’ Michael said as he lay on the bed beside her.

  ‘I was just thinking how lucky I am to have you,’ she said, smiling at him.

  Propping himself up on one elbow, he brushed her hair behind her ear. His dark brown eyes appeared almost black. ‘I think you’ll find, I’m the lucky one,’ he said.

  Then he kissed her.

  Coffee and peppermint.

  Always.

  THE END

  Don’t miss Head of the Firm, the next gripping instalment in the Bad Blood series. Get your copy here!

  If you enjoyed Back in the Game, be sure to follow Caz Finlay on Twitter @cjfinlaywriter, on Facebook @cazfinlayauthor, and check out her website at cazfinlay.com for all the updates on her latest work.

  In the mood for even more unputdownable crime fiction?

  You will adore The Perfect Couple by Jackie Kabler, a ferocious exploration of the perfect lie at the heart of a picture-perfect marriage set against a thrilling backdrop of secrets and serial killers. Get your copy here!

  Similarly enthralling, Flowers for the Dead by C. K. Williams is an irresistibly tense suspense thriller set amidst the haunted heaths of Yorkshire. Get your copy here!

  You can also find us at @0neMoreChapter_ on Twitter and @0neMoreChapter on Facebook where we’ll be shouting about all our new releases.

  Happy reading!

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank the wonderful team at One More Chapter for believing in me and bringing this book to life, most especially my squad – Charlotte Ledger, Bethan Morgan and Charlotte Brabbin, who are the most amazing group of women to work with. I’d also love to thank my wonderful editor, Emily Ruston, for her expert insight and advice, which has helped to shape Grace’s story into something I had only dreamed of it becoming.

  I’d like to give a mention to my good friend and mentor, Mary Torjussen, who has continued to support and champion me all the way, and I will always be indebted to her for her advice and encouragement.

  A huge thank-you to my family for their constant love and support, especially my mum and dad, and husband, Eric.

  And finally, but most especially, to my three incredible boys – who continue to inspire and amaze me every single day.

  Also by Caz Finlay

  The Boss

  Head of the Firm

  About the Author

  Caz Finlay lives in Liverpool with her husband, two children, and a grumpy dog named Bert. A qualified probation officer, Caz has always been fascinated by the psychology of human behaviour and the reasons people do the things they do. However, it was the loss of her son in 2016 which prompted her to rediscover her love of writing and write her first novel, The Boss.

  @cjfinlaywriter

  @cazfinlayauthor

  cazfinlay.com

  About the Publisher

  Australia

  HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.

  Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street

  Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

  www.harpercollins.com.au

  Canada

  HarperCollins Canada

  Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower

  22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor

  Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada

  www.harpercollins.ca

  India

  HarperCollins India

  A 75, Sector 57

  Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201 301, India

  www.harpercollins.co.in

  New Zealand

  HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand

  Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive

  Rosedale 0632

  Auckland, New Zealand

  www.harpercollins.co.nz

  United Kingdom

  HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

  1 London Bridge Street

  London SE1 9GF, UK

  www.harpercollins.co.uk

  United States

  HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

  195 Broadway

  New York, NY 10007

  www.harpercollins.com