by June Tate
‘What does your mother say is wrong with him?’ Rick asked when she told him the news.
‘They’re not sure. He’s having blood tests and X-rays. Mum said she’d let me know the result.’
He tried to comfort her. ‘It may be nothing, Gracie honey. You know as people age, they begin to have various complaints; it’s the way it goes. Try not to worry until you hear the results.’
But two days later, Gracie received a cable saying that her father had been rushed into hospital after suffering a heart attack.
Gracie was in tears. ‘What if he dies?’ she cried. ‘He won’t ever have seen his grandson and I won’t be with him and Mum!’
Rick didn’t hesitate. He booked his wife and son on the Queen Mary, which was due to sail from New York four days later.
Those days passed in a haze for Gracie. Things were packed hurriedly. Valerie met her and Robbie in New York from the train, and they stayed overnight with her and Max. They both took her and Robbie to the docks and saw them safely on board.
‘If’s there’s anything we can do …’ Valerie gazed at her friend and saw the fear in her eyes. ‘It may be better than you expect,’ she said. ‘Call me and let me know. Reverse the charges.’
The five-day crossing seemed an eternity to Gracie. Having to take care of Robbie was the one thing that saved her sanity, but when she left him in the nursery in the afternoons to have a nap, in the care of the nursery nurse to give herself a break, then her inner fears would surface. She would walk the decks in tears until one day a deck steward stopped her and asked what was the matter? When she told him, he led her to a deckchair and brought her a pot of tea and some cakes.
‘Now you sit there love and relax. You’ll be no good to your mam in this state. You come here every afternoon when your baby’s asleep. A cup of tea will do wonders, you mark my words!’
She could have kissed him.
At last the liner docked in Southampton and her mother was there to meet her. Never had Gracie been so pleased to see her.
‘How’s Dad?’ were her first words.
‘A bit frail,’ said Margaret Brown, ‘but he knows you’re coming to see him. That’s cheered him no end.’
After they’d collected the baggage, they found a taxi and drove straight to the hospital.
As she walked down the ward carrying Robbie, Gracie thought her heart would leap out of her chest it was beating so hard, but she took a deep breath as they approached her father’s bed. She was shocked when she saw the pale drawn face staring back at her, as her father gave a wan smile as he recognised her.
‘Hello love,’ he said. She thought her heart would break. She smiled back and kissed him.
‘Hello, Dad. I’ve brought your grandson to meet you.’ She sat the baby on the bed.
Jim Brown took hold of the baby’s hand. ‘Hello son and how are you?’ He looked up at Gracie. ‘My, but he’s bonny!’
‘How are you feeling?’ Gracie asked.
‘Bit battered love, but I’ll be fine given time.’
But as she gazed at him, Gracie wondered just how long that would be. In her heart she felt it wouldn’t be that long and shortly after, she was able to have a word in private with the doctor who was caring for her father.
‘Mr Brown had a severe heart attack,’ he explained.
‘And the prognosis? Please be totally honest with me.’
‘Not good I’m afraid. We’ll keep him as comfortable as we can, but I’m afraid that’s all we can do.’
‘How long has he got?’
‘Difficult to say, but not long, a matter of weeks is all I can give you.’
She rose from her seat. ‘Thank you, Doctor, for your honesty. Does my mother know?’
‘Oh yes, she asked me the same questions as you did. I’m really sorry.’
Gracie stood in the corridor and wept quiet tears before returning to the ward.
Her mother took the baby outside to give Gracie and her father some private time together. Her father took her hand.
‘Don’t be sad love. I’ve had a good life and now you must go and live yours. Your mother tells me that Rick is a good man. So you look after him.’
‘He is good, Dad. He’s doing really well in his business. He bought us a nice house with a garden for Robbie to play in as he grows. He loves us both and I love him.’
‘That’s how it should be. I have a life insurance so your mother will be looked after financially.’
‘Oh Dad, don’t talk like that.’ Tears welled in her eyes.
‘Listen love, you have to look life in the face and take what it sends you. It’s no good pretending, what’s the point? I’ve made a will so there should be no difficulty when I’ve gone to meet my maker. I just want to tell you how much I love you and how proud I am of you. It wasn’t easy to leave here and you did it twice. That took guts Gracie!’
‘I still get homesick Dad.’
‘That’s natural, but your life is in America with your husband. Mum says Rick told her he’d bring you home every other year, so think how fortunate you are.’
‘But if you’re not here …’
‘No one can live for ever Gracie, we all have to go sometime.’
At that moment Margaret returned with Robbie.
‘The baby’s tired, Gracie. I think we should take him home, feed him, give him a bath and put him to bed.’
‘Go on love, your mother’s right. I’ll see you tomorrow.’
Gracie kissed him goodbye and left the ward.
Jim Brown passed away in his sleep that night. They got the call just after midnight.
Gracie rang Rick to tell him what had happened.
‘I’m so sorry honey, but at least you were in time to see him and for him to see Robbie.’
‘Yes, that was a blessing. I have to stay and help Mum with the funeral. I don’t know how long I’ll be staying after. It all depends on how Mum is.’
‘That’s fine. Do what you have to do, just make sure you come back to me eventually, that’s all.’
That made her smile for the first time in days. ‘I won’t let you loose on your own Mr Rider! I’ll be back!’
She then rang Valerie as promised.
‘Oh Gracie, I am so sorry. When you do decide to come back let me know and we’ll meet the ship. You can stay overnight and we’ll put you on the train for home. We’ll be thinking of you.’
Two weeks later Gracie and her mother sat down to discuss the future. The funeral had been a quiet affair, with just family and close friends attending. They had been through Jim’s clothes and given them away to the Salvation Army. The will was waiting for probate and at last the two women could relax.
‘How are you going to manage, Mum?’ asked Gracie.
‘I’ll do what a million women did who lost their husbands in the war. I’ll get on with my life. I now have a widow’s pension and the insurance from your father, so I’ll manage. I might find a part-time job to fill my time and in the spring I’ll come and visit you. I can afford to do so now!’
‘That’ll be marvellous. The last time you came it was winter. Spring will be so much better.’
Margaret gazed across at her daughter. ‘I think you should go to the Cunard office tomorrow and book your return passage.’ Seeing the consternation of Gracie’s face, she said firmly. ‘You have a husband to care for. It’s time for you to go home.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes, Gracie. I will get used to being alone because I have to. You have to go home for the same reason. Anyway it isn’t long until the spring.’ Seeing the look of uncertainty on her daughter’s face she added, ‘Gracie love, we are both strong women and we rise from the ashes like the phoenix when we have to. You did it twice. I will now do the same. Life has to go on. I’ll be fine!’
‘You are an extraordinary woman,’ Gracie said.
‘And I brought my daughter up the same way. Now you do the same for my grandson.’
As Gracie lay in bed that n
ight, she knew that her mother was right. Life had to go on and fortunately now her mother would be able to be a part of their lives with her visits to America, and soon she would be home with Rick. She smiled as she realised, at last, that she thought of America as home. It had taken some time, but it was all due to the man who loved her and she would be forever grateful for that.
We hope you enjoyed this book.
Do you want to know about our other great reads, download free extracts and enter competitions?
If so, visit our website www.allisonandbusby.com.
Sign up to our monthly newsletter (www.allisonandbusby.com/newsletter) for exclusive content and offers, news of our brand new releases, upcoming events with your favourite authors and much more.
And why not click to follow us on Facebook (AllisonandBusbyBooks) and Twitter (@AllisonandBusby)?
We’d love to hear from you!
About the Author
JUNE TATE was born in Southampton and spent the early years of her childhood in the Cotswolds. After leaving school she became a hairdresser on cruise ships the Queen Mary and the Mauritania, meeting many Hollywood film stars and VIPs on her travels. After her marriage to an airline pilot, she lived in Sussex and Hampshire before moving to Estoril in Portugal. June, who has two adult daughters, now lives in Sussex.
www.junetate.info
By June Tate
The Reluctant Sinner
Born to Dance
Brides of War
Copyright
Allison & Busby Limited
12 Fitzroy Mews
London W1T 6DW
www.allisonandbusby.com
First published in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2015.
This ebook edition published by Allison & Busby in 2015.
Copyright © 2015 by JUNE TATE
All characters and events in this publication other than those clearly in the public domain are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
The moral right of the author is hereby asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from
the British Library.
ISBN 978–0–7490–1842–9
