by Lisa Hobman
‘Ahem… I kinda sneaked a few things through the hatch that I brought back from Canada. I didn’t want you thinking I was taking over your life completely when we got back from my mom’s.’
‘Hmm, very sneaky, Mr Canada. But seeing as I adore you I’ll let it go. And as a matter of fact, I don’t mind you taking over my life completely.’
‘Thanks Miss Yorksherrr.’ He rolled his ‘r’ in that way she loved.
‘That certainly was a memorable trip.’ Mallory paused, staring into space.
‘Which one?’
‘Canada… seeing your mom of course.’
Placing his hand at the back of her head, he pulled her face to his and kissed her deeply. ‘That’s because you agreed to marry me and made me the happiest man alive.’
‘You made me the happiest woman alive by surprising me like that.’
They snuggled together in the loft and reminisced about July 2014 and their life-changing trip.
*
July 2014
They were met at the airport by Renee, Sam’s mom. She was an elegant lady. Tall and slender with grey hair in a stylish bob, which she wore tucked behind her ears. She wore grey pants, a cream round-necked sweater, pale grey cardigan and a set of pearls with matching earrings. Her embrace had been warm and Mallory had liked her instantly. She had said how lovely it was to finally meet the wonderful woman who had deserved to capture her son’s heart.
Sam’s family home was beautiful. Compared to the houses in the UK, it was more of a mansion. The double-fronted façade was so incredibly pretty with its carved portico and shutters. There was a huge apple tree at the front which, Mallory learned, Sam used to climb up if he was sneaking home after his curfew.
The back ‘yard’ as they called it was also tree-lined and larger than any garden Mallory had been in other than at hotels or stately homes. The furniture in the garden was a mix of white-painted wrought iron in the tree-lined seating area and huge modern-looking outdoor wicker sofas on the huge BBQ and patio area.
The inside of the home was very traditional but extremely classy, with its cream walls and antique dark oak furniture. It felt very homey indeed and Mallory was completely at ease despite this being her first time meeting his family.
They spent a wonderful two-week break at the Buchanan family home and Sam had shown her the delights of Kingston. It was a huge town with a mix of architectural style from modern grey concrete buildings to beautiful old stone churches, complete with pretty carvings and fenestrations. The streets were much wider than Mallory was used to and everything seemed to be on a grander scale.
They had met with Sam’s brother Ryan and his lovely, pregnant wife Cara who Mallory had hit it off with straight away. Ryan was a typical big brother; teasing Sam playfully at every given opportunity.
They spent a day at Fort Henry, where Sam had spent many of his school trips; they had braved the chilly waters of the beach at MacLachlan Woodworking Museum with its pretty old log house, before taking a romantic stroll to see the wildlife. It was wonderful. Mallory had felt like she was on her honeymoon.
On the morning of their last full day in Canada, Sam and Mallory lay snuggled together in his old room in his mahogany sleigh bed, surrounded by blue and white striped wallpaper and posters of his childhood sports star heroes,
‘I’ve booked a table for us all to dine at Aqua Terra tonight, baby; it’s a seafood restaurant with fantastic views. I hope that’s okay. Ryan and Cara are coming over too. I thought it’d be a nice way to spend our last night here.’
‘Ooh that sounds good; I remember walking past signs for that place when we were out in Kingston on Tuesday. It sounds lovely.’ Mallory squeezed her man lovingly.
‘We are booked to dine at 8 p.m. so we have all day to do as we please.’ Sam wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as Mallory grinned up at him.
‘Hmm, what will we do, I wonder?’ she asked, kissing his chin lightly.
Sam growled his sexy growl and pulled the covers over their heads. Mallory let out a squeal of delight.
They spent the morning in bed, making love at their leisure. It was divine. In the afternoon, they had gone shopping and Mallory had bought a sexy midnight blue dress that clung to her curves in that sensuous way that Sam just adored. When they had returned home they had shared a luxurious shower, devouring each other’s bodies once again. Then it was time to get ready for dinner.
Sam sat perched on the edge of the bed in his smart black pants, pristine white shirt and black jacket. He waited patiently for Mallory to come out of the bathroom and reveal herself. She first poked her head around the door.
‘Ooooh, Sam, I’m so not sure about this dress,’ she stressed.
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. ‘C’mon, baby, you looked gorgeous in the store, why would now be different?’ he encouraged her.
She stepped, nervously, out of the en-suite bathroom, opened her arms and did a 360-degree turn.
Sam gasped and his pupils dilated. ‘See – you take my breath away.’ He looked genuinely taken aback by her.
Renee had styled her hair, creating a beautiful cascade of chocolate curls falling down from the diamanté clasp on the top of her head. She had applied smoky grey shadow to her eyelids and a glossy pink shade to her lips. The midnight blue dress was off the shoulder and fitted to her knees; very Marilyn Monroe. Her silver clutch and matching high heeled sandals finished off the look with perfection. And in spite of her earlier reservations, the look in Sam’s eyes caused her worries to melt away. In fact she felt like a million dollars.
They arrived at the restaurant and met Ryan, Cara and Renee in the foyer. They exchanged hugs and kisses and then were shown to their table overlooking the waterfront as the sun began to set and the twinkling lights of the boat masts danced like fireflies in the July breeze.
They chatted comfortably, ate escargots, crab and lobster and drank several bottles of Sauvignon Blanc. The house band played romantic tunes in the background. The dulcet tones of the handsome, young male vocalist lilted through the air and many of the restaurant clientele hummed along to familiar tunes like ‘The way you look tonight’ and ‘I’ve got you under my skin’. Taking in her surroundings, Mallory sighed in sheer bliss, knowing that this night couldn’t be any more perfect. The setting, the music and the company were just wonderful and this was shaping up to be the best night of her life so far.
Sam excused himself and rose from the table. Before he left he bent to kiss Mallory on the cheek. As she chatted easily with his family, the music stopped and the band shuffled their sheet music. They began to play again. The music seemed to take on a different tone. This tune had a more modern feel to it. Dum dur dum dur dum dur… the intro sounded familiar. The guitarist plucked the opening notes and a shiver travelled down Mallory’s spine. She looked around the room to see if anyone else had noticed. She did recognise those opening bars; it was the beginning of Snow Patrol’s ‘Chasing Cars’. She turned to acknowledge this fact to Sam, but he still wasn’t in his seat. Suddenly there was a hush across the whole restaurant. She realised that all eyes were on the stage.
Slowly she turned and saw Sam standing there, looking scared to death. What the heck is going on? Oh no, he’s not going to sing, is he? Please no! she cringed. Sam wasn’t renowned for his vocal talents. In fact, she had once joked that his voice could curdle milk. Thankfully, the band’s singer began the words that meant so much to the couple whilst Sam stood gazing at Mallory, his hand held out to her, needing her full and undivided attention.
Her eyes welled up with tears at the words she had held dear since their first night together. She rose to her feet and looked down at Renee whose eyes were filled with tears now too. Her hands were clasped in front of her face as if praying and a smile played on her lips. Ryan had a huge grin on his face as he looked up at Mallory and gestured that she should go to Sam; he was in on whatever was happening. The lovely but extremely hormonal Cara sobbed.
She looked back to Sam
who still beckoned her to him, the song continued and the magical words floated through the air like feathers on the wind; she began to walk towards him but her legs had suddenly turned to jelly. The singer’s beautiful voice went on coaxing her towards Sam whose gaze never broke from hers. She reached Sam as he stepped down from the stage and took her in his arms.
‘Will you dance with me if I promise not to sing?’ he whispered.
‘Did you ask them to play this?’ she asked, stroking his cheek. He nodded and planted a kiss on her nose. She giggled and slid her arms around his shoulders as they swayed to and fro in time with their song. The moment felt so perfect, even though they were now the centre of attention. All eyes were focused on the besotted couple as they danced. They gazed into each other’s eyes as the song carried on in the background. Suddenly Sam stopped dancing and silently mouthed the words that followed.
New tears sprang from her eyes as the song began to draw to a close. The musicians quieted down until their melody was a faint whisper and the singer’s voice rang clearly out across the room, Sam continued to mouth the words along with the voice that was much better equipped than he to express them musically.
During the last bars of the song, Sam dropped to one knee and with tears tracing the line of his handsome, smiling face, he looked up into the eyes of his beloved, holding aloft a little velvet box containing the most beautiful ring Mallory had ever seen. Her heart raced and her body shook as she gazed down at him and waited for the words she had dreamed of hearing.
He took a gulp of air before he spoke, ‘Mallory Westerman, I can think of no one else I’d rather chase cars with than you. Will you be mine for the rest of our lives? Will you marry me?’ Wrought with emotion he struggled to get the words out.
Mallory stared down at the only man she had ever truly loved and the answer was easy.
‘Yes’
The restaurant erupted into thunderous applause as the couple sealed their engagement with a kiss.
*
April 2015
After spending far too much time in the loft talking about their romantic engagement, they went back to clearing out. Leaving the house was going to be very hard for Mallory but knowing that Josie and Brad’s paperwork was finalised and they would be taking ownership made it that little bit easier. And she was excited about the prospect of a total change of pace and a new adventure with the love of her life.
Chapter Three
At eight-thirty, on the morning of moving day, there was a timely knock at the door. The bleary-eyed removal team had arrived to take her whole life hundreds of miles northwards. Where the heck was Sam? He had only nipped out to get some cash for their journey. Trust him to miss this bloody bit, she grumbled to herself and winced as she got a paper cut from a sheet of labels.
Her mobile phone rang. ‘Where the bloody hell are you, Sam?’ she scolded as she answered the call.
‘Hey, honey, I am soooo sorry but I got a call from Ryan while I was on my way home from the ATM. There’s been a major glitch on one of the client databases in Leeds and he’s stressing like a crazy person. He really needs me to go in there to help out, just for a couple hours. They’ve been on it all night but Ry didn’t want to bother me unless it was absolutely necessary. He does understand how important today is, babe, he just really needs my help.’
He sounded apologetic but Mallory was unimpressed that this job, which he was supposedly leaving behind, was getting in the way of the most important day of their lives so far.
‘Well that’s just bloody great, Sam. What am I supposed to do? Go without you?’
‘Honey, I’m so sorry. Please don’t be mad. We were driving up separately anyway. I’ll just be arriving a little later, that’s all. You know I’d rather change this, but I can’t. No one else knows the system like me and Ry and it’s just not feasible for him to get on a plane right now when I know I’ll be able to fix it. I’ll get this thing dealt with and I will get on the road as soon as humanly possible. I love you so much, you know that, right?’
‘Well, I’m mightily pissed off with you right now. And you can tell Ryan to stick his problem where the sun doesn’t shine! This is so unfair, Sam, of all the days your brother needs you he chooses today? Really? It’s just not fair.’
She realised how immature she must have sounded when one of the removal men, barely out of his teens, grinned at her sulky retort.
There was a long pause on the other end of the phone then Sam suddenly burst out laughing. ‘You’re one crazy Yorkshire terrier, do you know that? Hey, baby, I’ll get there ASAP. I promise.’ His tone changed to a husky whisper, ‘And I can’t wait to get you on the rug in front of the fireplace and kiss every inch of that sexy body of yours. In fact, make sure the champagne is chilled, baby. I intend to get you good and drunk and take advantage of you tonight,’ he growled that deep sexy way that made her legs turn to jelly and her lower regions quiver with anticipation.
‘Well make sure you do get up there ASAP. You have a lot of making up to do for this, mister.’ She gathered herself, glancing around to ensure no one could see the heat rising from her chest to her face.
‘I love ya, Miss Yorksher,’ he whispered.
‘I love you too, Mr Canada.’ She smiled. It was impossible to stay mad at him.
Her anger totally abated, Mallory joined the three men out at the truck to give them directions. When she got back to the house after waving off the truck filled with all her worldly possessions, she stood in the lounge looking at the bare walls and floor. Tears stung the back of her eyes and she remembered back to the day she moved in…
*
October 2005
‘Good grief, Mal! How much bloody stuff have you got?’ Brad exclaimed as he humped another box from the self-hire van into the little house. Josie and Brad had been together forever, it seemed. He was tall, very muscular and had that dirty blonde ‘surfer dude’ floppy hair going on. He was ruggedly handsome and had a scar above his left eye where his brother had hit him with a Tonka truck when he was five. Mallory looked at him as the older brother she never had. Being an only child it was great to have someone tough looking out for her.
‘Ooooh, only another three hundred boxes, Brad, don’t worry,’ Josie laughed as she and Mallory set to unpacking.
Brad moaned. ‘I don’t get how you two are just allowed to sit there doing the easy bit. I am one man you know!’
Josie jumped up and ran over to her man, reaching up and slinking her arms around his neck. ‘Ahhh, but what a man you are.’ She kissed him deeply.
Mallory threw a cushion at the loved-up pair. ‘Aaargh, get a bloody room you guys.’
‘Hey, Westerman, I think a snog is the least I deserve for helping out,’ Brad complained, making a face at her.
‘Oh, don’t worry, by the look of it you’ll be getting payment in kind from lusty lips there tonight.’ Mallory laughed and Brad winked at what she implied.
They finished unloading and unpacking by ten o’clock that night and were all completely and utterly enervated. Pizza was ordered, but when it arrived they were pretty much past the point of being hungry. Brad had commented that they should just save it until morning. After all, there was nothing, whatsoever wrong with pizza for breakfast. The girls laughed hysterically whilst Brad tried to justify not wasting good pizza.
Josie produced a warm bottle of fake champagne and they drank it from mugs, raising a toast to Mallory’s new home and to the loving parents who had bought it for her.
Josie hugged her friend hard. ‘May you have many happy years here, sweetie pie. And enjoy tonight because Sylvia will be here tomorrow to tell you that your taste in IKEA furniture is deplorable.’ She laughed uncontrollably and Mallory knew that she was absolutely, unequivocally correct. She loved her aunt so very much, but boy could she be cantankerous and opinionated. It was going to be an interesting visit.
Aunt Sylvia arrived the next morning sharply at nine. She was dressed in a lilac twinset and her hair had a m
atching hue. Mallory stifled a giggle.
‘Daaaaahling!’ Aunt Sylvia yelled in her usual pseudo-posh accent, hugging Mallory hard as if years had passed since their last meeting; in actual fact, it had been the previous day when Mallory had finally moved out from the ‘Manor House’.
Sylvia was her dad’s older sister by around eight years. She had married a very wealthy man who had owned a string of butcher shops throughout Yorkshire. She had gradually become the stereotypical Lady of the Manor, but she had a heart of gold.
‘Come on then, lovey; show your old Aunt Sylvia around your new crib.’
Mallory burst out laughing at the attempt Sylvia had made to use modern vernacular. ‘My what?’ she spluttered, holding her stomach for fear of her sides splitting.
‘You know… they do it on the MTV programmes on the Sky, haven’t you seen them? Oh, you really should watch it, Mallory, dear. You need to stay abreast. Anyway, they all go around and look inside the grand homes of the rich and famous and see where the magic happens, darling. You should try to keep up with what’s on trend, you know, young girl of your age.’ Sylvia didn’t crack a smile. She was unabashedly self-righteous in her explanation and subsequent dressing-down of her niece.
Mallory smirked. ‘Okay, Aunt Sylvia, I promise I’ll try harder. Come on in.’ They stepped inside the lounge which was still full of boxes.
Sylvia scanned the room almost with disdain. ‘Oh, it’s… um… compact… erm… delightful, darling, delightful. It’ll be nice when you get it all sorted and have been with your friends to that Swedish furniture place you youngsters can’t seem to avoid. Honestly it must be like walking into the same house over and over when you all visit one another.’ She looked to Mallory and her expression softened. ‘Sweetheart, you know you always have a home with me. Come back any time if you decide you don’t wish to be alone… here.’
