“Look who’s hungry.” He picked up the three miniature hedgehogs and placed them on the grass.
The babies were about five weeks old, as far as he could tell. He’d found them beside their dead mother one night when he’d been out walking in the woods. Well, hobbling in the woods. He wasn’t sure what killed the mother, but the babies had been mewing softly beside her, hungry and scared. Flynn had scooped them up, as he’d done with many an injured animal over the years, taken them back to his van and set up a home for them in the cabin under it. In a couple of weeks they would start foraging for their own food, but for now they still needed him.
Flynn fetched their food from his kitchen, sat on the grass beside them and hand-fed the hoglets. They would have been fine eating straight from the dish, but he needed the comfort of caring for them more than they needed the comfort he could provide. For a precious few minutes they helped him forget his life was screwed up six ways to Sunday.
“Wouldn’t it be great if everything was as simple as dealing with you guys?”
Pulling his phone from his pocket, Flynn called his agent’s number again. Professional athletes didn’t tend to keep office hours so Flynn knew there would be someone to take his call.
“I’m sorry, Mr Boyle,” the secretary said. “As I told you earlier, he’s unavailable.”
Flynn ground his teeth together as he stared out into the darkness. “He’s been unavailable for days. I keep leaving messages, but he doesn’t get back to me.”
“I’m afraid all I can do is take another message.” The woman sounded as though she’d rather boil her eyeballs.
“Great, take another message. Tell him, again, that I want him to get me out of this documentary shoot. I’ve had enough. I want it done. He needs to talk to the sports studio and break the contract.”
“No problem, Mr Boyle.” The line went dead as the damn woman hung up on him. Again.
Flynn let out a stream of curses, most of which he’d learned on the soccer pitch, and let his head thud back onto the van behind him. His agent was dodging him. Michael was right: now there were no huge contracts in his future, or megabuck endorsements, his representation had lost interest in him. If this kept up he’d have to go to London in person and camp on his doorstep until he dealt with him. He pinched the bridge of his nose as the pain in his leg spiked. Powerless. He was so bloody powerless. The injury had robbed him of his career and the respect it garnered. He’d been so used to having a voice. People fell over themselves to listen to him. Now, he couldn’t even get his agent on the phone.
One of the hoglets demanded his attention by trying to climb over his leg. Flynn smiled and helped the little guy. Life was so much simpler with animals than it was with people. Maybe he’d take the money he’d made from investing in his brother’s big brain and buy an island somewhere. He’d fill the place with all sorts of animals and become a hermit. Aye, it was a great idea. No more people. No more criticism, or whining, or bullying. No more living up to someone’s expectations or disappointing them when he didn’t. The more he thought about it, the better the idea became.
Flynn closed his eyes, listened to the noises of the night and planned a future away from it all.
The walls were closing in on Abby. As soon as Katy was asleep, she locked the house up tight, snatched the baby monitor and made the short walk across the corner of Flynn’s property to the stream. She knew from experience she would hear Katy perfectly from her spot by the water and could be back at her side in a moment if needed.
The darkness folded around her like a blanket. The weight of the night soothing to her nerves. Behind a copse of trees, hidden by the overgrowth, was a fallen log. Abby brushed her fingers over the worn wood. Years she’d come here to sit. First with her husband and then alone. She remembered the times she’d sat wrapped in David’s arms as they whispered their hopes for the future. He’d had such wonderful dreams. All of which revolved around having a family, something he hadn’t known as a child. He’d wanted a house full of laughing children, a thriving business, a place in the community and to love her for the rest of his life. They were simple desires, but each one infinitely precious. Remembering David’s whispered hopes brought back the gnawing pain deep in Abby’s chest. The pain that never quite left her. The one throbbing with memory.
Abby sat on the log and stared out over the water. The soothing sounds of it trickling over the pebbled bed eased her clenched muscles somewhat.
“I’m screwing up, David,” she whispered to the water. “If you were still here, everything would be okay. You would know what to do about Victoria.” She scoffed at herself. “If you were here, this situation wouldn’t have happened in the first place. You would have dealt with Flynn before everything got out of hand. He would have listened to you. Everyone did. You had a way with people. Charming, you were so charming, David.”
She pulled her feet up onto the log in front of her and wrapped her arms around her knees.
“If you’d been here, we probably wouldn’t have had to sell the land to Flynn to start again. You would have thought of a way to keep the mushroom farm going, even after the cave-in.” She closed her eyes. “I’m so sorry, honey. I wish I could have saved your farm for you. I know how much it meant to you.”
She worked to steady her breathing for a minute or two. Listening to the water and the night noises as small creatures rustled through the edge of the wood.
“I kissed him,” she whispered.
The breeze on her cheeks was all the answer she received.
“I liked it.” She let out a long groan. “I feel as though I shouldn’t have liked it. As though I’ve been unfaithful to you. But you aren’t here, David. You left me, my sweet man. I miss you so much. I miss your arms around me. I miss your sweet kisses. I hate having another man’s kiss to compare to yours. I hate that I liked it so much. I hate that it made me feel. At the same time, I desperately want to feel like that again. Like I’m actually living my life, rather than treading water, trying to keep afloat, trying not to drown. I’m sorry about this too. I’m sorry I have to move on from you.” She let out a sharp laugh. “Although probably not with Flynn.” Her fingertips traced over her lips, as though it was possible to still feel Flynn’s touch there. “I did like his kiss, though.”
An owl cried out, breaking into the memory of Flynn’s warm, firm lips on hers. Of his taking control of the kiss, of her body, of her. It was delicious. More so, because she felt it was almost forbidden. Her heart had thudded with the teenage excitement of kissing a bad boy. What a cliché! She was a mother, with responsibilities, not a hormonally driven teenager with time to lust after an inappropriate boy. She had no time to think about kissing anyone. She had to focus on her daughter.
“Victoria wants Katy.” The words burned like acid in her throat. “Well, Mother wants Katy. Not to spend time with her, no, that wouldn’t be proper enough. She wants to send her to boarding school, teach her how to be a proper lady, raise her to be reserved and constrained—exactly as she did with me. It kills me to think it’s even a possibility.”
Abby put her feet down and stared at the black water. The only light came from the moon above and the glow from the house behind her. The world was painted in shades of grey, and for some reason the lack of colour made it feel intimate. This place, this log, was the only spot where Abby felt like she was comforted. Here she could feel David with her. Here she could let go of her responsibilities and fears, if only for a moment. She gave voice to her worries. Only here, where there was no one to judge, or condemn, or to scare.
“I wish you could see Katy,” she said. “You would be totally in love with her. More than you were before you went away. She is priceless. Smart, funny, full of life and love. She makes me laugh, David, even when my heart is breaking or my stomach is roiling with fear. I never know what she’s going to say next, which could be a huge problem right now. I dread to think what she might tell Victoria. It will be a miracle if Victoria doesn’t condemn my pa
renting on Katy’s tales alone. I need to figure out a way to censor Katy. She’s so young. Too young to understand her words can be used against us. I don’t know what to do. I wish you were here to help me. I wish it wasn’t just me. Alone. Fighting everything alone.”
Abby stood, dusted off her dress and blinked back tears she didn’t have time to shed.
“I’m being pathetic. There’s no time to wallow in self-pity. There are things to deal with.” She smiled out over the water. “I wish she knew you, darling.” Her voice broke on the words. “I wish that the most. I wish she had you.”
She wiped a stray tear with the back of her hand as she turned to leave. She couldn’t stay away from the house too long. That would be irresponsible. And as much as Abby’s responsibilities pressed down on her, making her buckle under the weight, she couldn’t ignore them. No, she could never escape for longer than a few stolen minutes. With one last glance at the log that held so many of her private memories, good and bad, she crept silently back to her house. And back to the problems mounting as they waited for her to deal with them.
Flynn watched Abby walk back to her house. He hadn’t meant to listen. He’d intended to tease. To make her eyes blaze with passion and coax her into another kiss.
And then she’d started to talk.
At her first word, Flynn took a step back and let the darkness swallow him. Loneliness and fear oozed from her, like blood from a seeping wound. He was used to an Abby who was controlled, responsible and sensible. Not one who was scared of the future and insecure about herself.
And he was to blame.
There was no denying it. He’d been blamed for other people’s problems in the past. It didn’t have much effect on him. But this was something else. Something new.
He rubbed his chest where it started to ache. It took him a minute to realise why he was in pain. It wasn’t heartburn.
It was guilt.
7
“The rules of soccer are very simple, basically it is this: if it moves, kick it. If it doesn’t move, kick it until it does.” Phil Woosnam, former Welsh football player and manager
It was early. Too early for Flynn. Especially seeing as he’d been awake most of the night trying to come up with a way to help Abby—and hopefully get rid of the pain in his chest at the same time. His brother didn’t care about Flynn being knackered. Nope, Harry ignored his pleas and dragged him over to their parents’ house. Apparently there was a family meeting and his attendance was mandatory. Flynn didn’t understand why it couldn’t have waited an hour or two. At least until he’d had a pot of coffee and his brain was working properly. He never got up before nine unless he was training. Which meant he was never getting up before nine again. Now there was a cheery thought to start the day.
His brother, Harry, pushed him into his parents’ dining room and Flynn stopped dead. The room was packed. This couldn’t be good. There was Matt and his wife Jena, Harry and his fiancée Magenta, Claire and her fiancé Grunt. Seriously? Grunt? On what planet was Grunt an acceptable name? Flynn shook his head. His parents were there. His aunt Heather was there. The only one missing was Megan, the other half of the nightmare twins. Everyone in the room was frowning at him. Well, except for Magenta, she was grinning. It wasn’t pleasant. It was the same look he imagined on the face of Jaws just before he ate the boat captain.
“Got any coffee, Mum?” Flynn plopped into one of the two free chairs.
“Coffee later. Talk first,” his father said.
He’d used the same tone each time Flynn had screwed up as a kid. It set off all sorts of alarm bells in Flynn’s head. He suddenly worried he wasn’t just an attendee at the meeting, but the subject of it.
Jena looked up from her phone and spoke to Matt. “That was Abby. She’s running late and isn’t sure when she’ll get here.”
“Should we wait for her?” Matt frowned and Jena shook her head.
“Why does Abby need to be at a family meeting?” Flynn asked.
“Because, dirt-for-brains,” Matt said, “this involves her too.”
Yeah, Flynn was right. This wasn’t a run-of-the-mill family get-together. He was about to get roasted. His dad confirmed his suspicion when he looked right at Flynn and said, “Let’s get this over with.”
As if everyone knew something Flynn didn’t, all eyes turned to Matt, who sat beside Flynn. Matt glared at Flynn as he spoke.
“Abby’s sister is here to assess whether or not she’s a fit mother. She’s got one week to prove Katy lives in a good environment. A stable, quiet and civilised environment.”
Right, now Flynn knew why he was there. He was obviously the unstable, noisy and uncivilised element that needed to be fixed. Excellent. And all of this without a cup of coffee. He opened his mouth to tell them he already knew about Abby’s problem and was working on it, when Matt’s glare dared him to speak. Guess he wasn’t allowed to talk. Fine. He folded his arms and waited for the rest of it.
“If,” Matt continued, “at the end of the week, her sister decides Abby isn’t a fit mother, or the living environment isn’t healthy, the family is going to bring legal action and try to take Katy away from Abby.”
Everyone in the room stared at Flynn. The air of disapproval was palpable. He stared back. They wanted him silent. They were bloody well going to get silent. There were groans of frustration.
“You’re the reason her family is here, dirt-for-brains,” Matt said. “They saw Abby losing her mind on the ten o’clock news. They think living next to you is going to warp the kid. You need to clean up your act and behave like a civilised person.”
Aye, Flynn was done being quiet. “Look who’s talking. You wouldn’t recognise civilised if it bit you on the backside. Don’t forget, I was by your side for most of your delinquent behaviour. I know exactly how uncivilised you can be. You might want to shove the superior attitude before you say anything else.” Flynn sure as hell wasn’t going to share about his intent to help Abby now.
“This isn’t about Matt,” his dad said. “It’s about you.”
“We’ve had enough, son,” his mum said. “We’re worried about you. And now we’re worried about Abby and Katy.”
“It’s time to grow up,” Matt said, making Flynn’s fists clench with the need to pummel him. “We’re sick of cleaning up after you and dealing with the fallout from your life. People are really beginning to suffer, and it’s pissing us all off that you don’t seem to give a flying fart about the damage you cause. This situation with Abby and her daughter is serious, and you influence the outcome of it. We’re all worried about it. We’re not sure you won’t blow it for her. You’re a mess. You’re out of control and it’s time that changed. It’s time you changed. We’re here today to make sure you get the message.”
Flynn stared at his cousin’s angry face. “Seriously?” To hell with coffee. There wasn’t enough caffeine in the world to deal with this. “You’ve staged an intervention? For me?”
“Call it what you like.” Matt crossed his arms. “We’ve all had enough of you. You’ve been back home two months and you’re driving everyone insane. Especially Abby. It’s time you quit behaving like a teenager.”
“My behaviour isn’t any of your business. I don’t go around telling you how to live.”
Matt let out a cold bark of laughter. “You don’t have the right to tell anyone how to live.”
Flynn clenched a fist. It’d been a good few years since he’d gone head to head with his older cousin. Maybe it was time to rectify that.
“Your behaviour affects everyone around you,” his mum said. Her pixie-shaped face, which had very few lines considering her age, radiated distress. “You might think it’s only about you, but it isn’t. I thought I taught you better than this. I thought I raised you to understand that your actions have consequences, for you and for those around you. I don’t know where I went wrong.”
Great. Mother guilt. Just what he needed. The woman had been taking lessons from Aunty Heather. Again. He ca
st a glance at Heather and watched as she nodded her approval at his mum. Yeah, they’d definitely teamed up.
“We had the tabloids camped on our doorstep for days when the paternity story broke,” his dad said. “Your mum couldn’t even go to the local shop without getting harassed about your love child.”
“I didn’t father that woman’s kid. The claim was bogus.” Great. Now he was being blamed for things outside his control.
“That’s not the point,” Harry chimed in. “The point is there wouldn’t have been any paternity case if you weren’t living like Hugh freaking Hefner.”
Flynn rolled his eyes. Hef wished he could live like Flynn. There was no comparison.
“People keep calling me.” Matt scowled. “Every time you get into trouble, they want my reaction. As though your cop cousin would step in and sort it out. Even if I could, I wouldn’t. You know, life isn’t all about you. You aren’t the only one in town the paparazzi find fascinating. Josh, Kirsty and Harry here are trying to live quietly. You’re screwing it up for them.”
This little attack on his character was getting out of hand pretty damn fast. “You want me to leave town?”
Aunty Heather shook her head. “We want you to grow up.”
Well, that sucked.
Flynn worked at controlling his anger. This situation needed to be defused, and fast. It was time to charm his way out of trouble. He gave them the smile that showed his dimples and used the same self-deprecating head tilt that worked with aggravating reporters during interviews.
“You’re making a big deal out of nothing,” he said. “I’m just having some fun. A little downtime while the leg heals. So I’ve had a few friends over. And yeah, things might have gotten a little out of hand, but seriously, you lot need to lighten up.” He congratulated himself on his tact.
His mother straightened her shoulders and pursed her lips before she spoke. “You have three half-naked women living with you in your motorhome. Rumours are rife. Your women do their best to keep those rumours going. We’ve had a magazine reporter asking if the town as a whole was alternative when it came to relationships. The woman hinted we were free and easy with our…” She trailed off, suddenly finding the tablecloth really interesting.
Bad Boy (Invertary Book 5) Page 6
