‘Huh,’ he answered, rubbing his eyes, ‘It’s Sunday. Where’s the fire?’
‘I’m not sure, listen.’
They both listened.
Absolute silence.
‘You’re dreaming.’
‘I’m not,’ Bea insisted, but was beginning to wonder whether Nathan was actually right.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
‘See,’ she said, jumping out of bed and grabbing her dressing gown from the back of the door.
‘That’s the front door,’ Nathan claimed, sliding into a pair of tracksuit bottoms and throwing a t-shirt over his head.
‘I hope Jacob doesn’t wake up,’ Bea said, bounding downstairs and grasping the front-door keys from the hall table.
‘Let me go first. Think of the babies.’
‘I’m quite capable,’ Bea grappled with the lock and flung open the door, while Nathan peered over her shoulder.
Standing in front of her was Fern, her eyes were dark and she was visibly shaking.
‘She had to die in your arms, didn’t she,’ the venom in her voice sent a shiver down Bea’s spine and she could feel her own cheeks burning as she locked eyes with Fern.
‘What are you doing, shouting the odds at this time in the morning? Are you drunk?’ Nathan asked, his eyes narrowing at her.
‘Drunk? You have the audacity to call me drunk?’ she bellowed. Her eyes were red and bulging.
‘What exactly are you doing here?’ Bea said, her tone direct.
‘This, this is what I am doing here,’ she spat, rustling in her bag and pulling out an envelope.
Bea and Nathan stood rooted to the spot. ‘What’s that?’
‘Here, take it,’ she said, thrusting it into Bea’s hand.
‘Give it to me,’ Nathan said, taking a moment to digest the information inside the envelope.
‘What is it?’ Bea asked, trying to read over his shoulder.
‘It appears to look like your mum’s will and from what I can see … she’s left everything in a trust for Jacob, until he’s eighteen.’
‘That about sums it up,’ Fern said, fuming. ‘Where have you been for the last few years while I’ve nursed her, fed her and bathed her?’ She jabbed her finger towards Bea.
Bea had to admit, she was a little taken back by her mum’s decision. It wasn’t what she was expecting in a million years and she could see why Fern would be a little rattled by her decision.
‘This was my inheritance, mine, and you’ve snatched this away from me. This was my chance to …’ Fern stopped in her tracks.
‘Your chance to do what? Come on, to do what?’ Bea probed, seeing for the first time the anguish in Fern’s eyes.
Fern didn’t answer.
‘Maybe it’s time you left,’ said Nathan, trying to usher Bea back into the house. ‘We don’t need to get into slanging matches at this ungodly hour on the doorstep.’
‘Is that all you’ve got to say?’ Fern’s face was flushed and she was staring straight at Nathan.
‘Look, Fern, I can’t change this decision and please don’t come around here again shouting the odds.’
Fern raked her hand through her hair, the unshed tears glistened in her eyes. ‘You don’t understand,’ she snatched the letter out of Nathan’s hand, ‘I needed this, I was relying on this,’ She said, waving it in the air.
Bea narrowed her eyes at her sister. ‘Why do you need the money so badly, are you in trouble?’
‘What would you care if I was?’
‘Try me.’
‘I need a fresh start, away from here before it’s too late, that’s all.’
‘Always a drama queen,’ Nathan rolled his eyes.
Bea flicked a stare between the pair of them, ‘Make a fresh start from what?’ she asked, not letting the subject drop. ‘I think you’d better come in,’ Bea said, as she stared at her sister.
‘Are you serious?’ Nathan questioned his wife, who shot him a warning look, and he was immediately silenced.
Fern stepped into the hallway, much to Nathan’s displeasure, and followed Bea into the living room.
‘Have a seat,’ Bea gestured towards the settee while she sat in the chair opposite and Nathan hovered near the fireplace.
Bea stared at Fern, who looked visibly uncomfortable sitting there, but there was something telling Bea there was more going on here. She had a gut-wrenching feeling in the pit of her tummy.
‘Why do you need the money that badly?’ Bea asked tentatively, trying to coax her sister to talk.
‘You aren’t going to believe me if I told you.’ Fern’s voice faltered and her face crumpled. She bit down on her lip and blinked back the tears.
Bea handed her a tissue from the box on the table and Fern dabbed the corner of her eyes.
‘I know you’ve lost mum and I do understand your grieving,’ Bea spoke softly.
‘It’s not that.’
‘Well, what is it? It can’t be that bad that it can’t be fixed. Are you in debt?’ Is that why you need the money?’
Fern shook her head, ‘It’ll be easier if I just show you.’
Bea’s mouth became dry and her palms sweaty as she watched Fern slip her arms from her coat. Bea and Nathan watched, both wondering what the hell was going on.
Fern rolled up the sleeves of her jumper and Bea and Nathan looked horrified. ‘What are they … burns?’ stammered Bea.
Fern nodded, ‘He does this to me, he twists my wrists and stubs his cigarettes out on me.’ Fern stared towards the ground then swept her fringe to one side before flicking her teary eyes towards Bea.
‘I needed that money to escape from him. I couldn’t do it before. I couldn’t leave Mum, but I knew once she was gone it was my chance, it was my chance to make a run for it. Start afresh somewhere else, where no one knows me and where he could never find me.’
Bea got up and sat herself down next to her sister on the settee, ‘Why the hell haven’t you told us before?’
‘How could I?’ she paused, ‘After that night you cut me out of your life, and I don’t blame you, I would have done the same in the circumstances, but I couldn’t stand up to him, I was crying inside.’
She lifted up her jumper to reveal bruising to her ribs, ‘This is what happens if I stand up to him or look at him in the wrong way.’
Bea gasped and stared, devastated at the hurt and pain that her sister had endured. ‘Oh Fern.’
‘That night, the night you came to pick up Jacob,’ said Fern, ‘I didn’t mean to just stand there, I really didn’t. I felt so ashamed, I wanted to scream at him for calling Jacob what he did. I wanted to scream that he was a heartless bastard. When Jacob was crying in his cot, he wouldn’t let me pick him up or comfort him. Pete said he needed to learn that just because he cried didn’t mean I would go to him and comfort him. But please believe me when I say, I knew he was safe in his cot, I knew he couldn’t go anywhere and if I did try and go to him, I was frightened he would harm him too. I’m so sorry, I really am.’
Fern could barely breathe as Bea put her arms around her sister and pulled her in close. ‘You’re safe now,’ she whispered. ‘Nathan put the kettle on.’ Bea glanced over her sister’s shoulder towards him.
He nodded and immediately disappeared into the kitchen without saying a word.
‘Two days before that night …’ Fern wept, ‘I lost my own baby and couldn’t tell a soul. I didn’t even tell him I was pregnant. I was scared witless.’ Fern was shaking and wept into Bea’s arms.
‘I just don’t know what to say,’ Bea whispered, ‘Except, no one is treating you like this again, do you hear me?’
Fern barely managed a nod.
Bea’s heart was thumping, ‘How long has this been going on?’
Fern sat back and hugged a cushion to her chest. In a trancelike state she began to talk. ‘For the first six months everything was okay. Pete treated me like a princess and I felt a million dollars. He wined and dined me, bought me the most lavish gifts and I fell in
love with him, but when I got my promotion at work things began to change, slowly at first. He’d been made redundant and began to drop me off at work in the morning and he was always there picking me up in the evening, even though I’d insisted on numerous occasions I wanted to take the bus. It gave me a bit of me time, time for my own thoughts on the way to and from work.’
Bea nodded.
‘Then one evening, he just lost it. He’d arrived early and spotted me talking to my boss Dan outside the building. Pete went berserk, accusing me of having an affair and all sorts. When we got home, he pushed me to the floor and I hit my head against the corner of the coffee table. I remember feeling a warm, throbbing sensation and realised I was bleeding. It was the first time he’d laid a finger on me. He was sorry, of course. In fact he went into complete meltdown, blaming it on being at home with no job, feeling worthless and threatening to leave me because I deserved better. I honestly thought he was depressed and that it was just a one-off. But over time he became more possessive. He didn’t like me going out with my friends, or work colleagues, he’d get jealous of me even talking to anyone else and the abuse became more frequent. I was too ashamed to ask for help,’ Fern sobbed.
Bea slumped forward with her head in his hands. ‘This is just awful,’ her voice barely a whisper.
‘Here, take this,’ Nathan said, perching on the edge of the coffee table and handing them both a cup of tea.
‘When Mum became ill it gave me the perfect excuse to spend a couple of hours away from him. I could just sit by the side of her bed and everything was calm, well, for a short while, at least, and then when she died …’ Fern broke down.
‘You didn’t have that escape. Come here,’ Bea took the mug from her hands and held Fern as she wept into her arms.
‘I don’t even have a job now. He made it so difficult for me to go to work. He’s made it so I only have him to rely on. That’s why … that’s why I needed this money. I was going to run away from it all.’
‘I promise you, you’ll never be scared again, don’t we, Nathan?’
‘Of course,’ replied Nathan, ‘You’re safe now. Move into the spare room until the twins are here.’
‘Twins? You’re pregnant?’
Bea smiled, ‘Yes, we are expecting twins.’
‘That’s fantastic news, congratulations to you both.’
‘Thank you, honestly we won’t take no for an answer, move in and we can sort out a more permanent plan later.’
‘I can’t do that,’ sobbed Fern.
‘You can. This will be the last place he will look. No one is ever hurting you again,’ said Bea, giving Nathan a warm smile for suggesting it.
‘Thank you, thank you both so much.’
‘You don’t need to thank me, that’s what are sisters are for.’
Chapter 40
Nell stepped from the cold of the pavement into the warm entrance of the garden centre. It was Sunday afternoon and she’d received a garbled message from Bea asking her to meet her there at two o’clock sharp. She glanced at her watch before noticing Bea’s car pulling into the car park. Nathan was driving and Bea was sitting in the passenger seat. She saw Jacob’s face pressed up against the window. His face beamed when he spotted Nell and he waved madly. Then Nell noticed a figure sitting next to him, she squinted and realisation struck home.
‘Fern,’ she said, under her breath, ‘Surely not.’ Bea jumped out of the car and Nathan beeped as he pulled off.
‘Close your mouth or you’ll swallow flies.’ Bea’s lips twisted in lopsided smile.
‘I thought I was seeing things for a moment. I could have sworn that was Fern in the back of the car.’
Bea slipped her arm through Nell’s, and they headed towards the café in search of a coffee and a bite to eat.
‘It was, what a morning.’
Nell scrutinised her face, ‘Have you been crying?’
‘A little, let’s grab a drink and I’ll tell you all about it.’
A couple of minutes later, they were huddled in the corner of the café, hugging a mug of coffee.
‘It’s awful,’ said Bea tearfully, swallowing down a lump in her throat. She paused and brushed a strand of hair from her face.
Nell reached across the table and squeezed her friend’s hand, ‘Whatever’s happened?’ Nell studied her eyes and knew that whatever Bea was about to tell her must have been major for her to even contemplating speaking to Fern again.
Bea took a deep breath, her lips quivered. ‘We were woken up this morning by hammering on the front door and when we opened it, we were faced with a very angry Fern clutching a letter. Cutting a long story short, my mum has left all her money and house, in fact everything, to Jacob, in a trust fund …’
‘And Fern wasn’t happy?’ interrupted Nell.
‘Yes, but not for the reasons we may have thought.’ Bea took a sip of her coffee. ‘She was banking on the money being left to her, she needed it.’
‘What for?’
‘To escape.’
‘Escape?’ asked Nell perplexed.
‘You remember Pete?’
Nell rolled her eyes, ‘Do I ever? There was something about him. I never felt comfortable in his company. Shifty eyes in my opinion.’
‘Well, you’re a good judge of character.’
‘What do you mean?’
Bea lowered her voice and leaned over the table, ‘He’s not only been mentally abusing her for years, but physically too.’ Bea’s face crumpled as the words tumbled from her mouth.
Nell could see the hurt visible on Bea’s face, ‘Oh, Bea, I don’t know what to say.’
‘He’s basically isolated her, stripped her of her self-confidence, self-worth and made her reliant on him for money and food.’
‘I thought she’d a job?’ Nell lowered her mug and placed it on the table.
Bea shook her head, ‘From what I can gather he made life so difficult for her she went off with depression and never went back. When Mum became ill it gave her some relief from the situation.’
‘This is terrible.’
‘And now she’s died, she’s back to being with him twenty-four seven.’ Bea squeezed her eyes shut, blinking away the tears. ‘She needed Mum’s money to leave without a trace in the middle of the night. She didn’t have Mum to look after any more and I’d cut her out of our family.’ Bea rummaged in her bag – grabbing a tissue, she dabbed her eyes.
‘What sort of sister have I been? I’ve completely let her down.’ Bea looked up briefly, before staring down into her mug.
‘Now, you listen to me,’ said Nell in a kind voice, tapping her hand, ‘You haven’t, you can only react to the circumstances you know about.’
Bea looked up through her fringe.
‘As far as you were concerned, she stood by Pete when he called Jacob a bastard and they left him to cry in his cot when they were babysitting him that night.’
‘She had no choice,’ said Bea, taking a deep breath. Her shoulders were shaking and she squeezed her eyes shut. ‘Fern was protecting Jacob. Yes, he was crying, but in the past every time Fern stood up to Pete, or even looked at him the wrong way, he would make her pay. I’ve seen the bruises,’ Bea flinched just thinking about it. ‘He told her she couldn’t go to Jacob, and she knew if she went to his cot it would trigger his temper even more. She was afraid he would hurt Jacob too – she was actually guarding him from Pete’s erratic behaviour.’
Nell slumped back in her chair, ‘Did she ever tell your mum?’
Bea shook her head, ‘I think she’s been too scared. The only way out that she could see was the money from the will, and as soon as she found out it was left to Jacob, she thought her life was over.’
Nell felt a pang of sadness, ‘I don’t know what to say. Nobody has any idea what is really going on in someone else’s life, do they?’
They sat in silence for a moment, lost in their own thoughts, before Nell spoke. ‘What happens now?’
‘I know I’ve not a
lways seen eye to eye with Fern in the past but I can’t stand by and let her suffer any more. She’s moving in with us until the twins are born.’
Nell sat up in her chair, ‘Okay, I can really understand where you are coming from but what if, and I’m only throwing this out there because I’m worried about you, but what if Pete doesn’t like that? What if he comes after you?’
‘He won’t think she’s with us and if he does come anywhere near, the first people I will be phoning is the police.’
Nell nodded and heaved a sigh of relief, ‘And when the twins are born?’
‘I’ve no idea, but we’ve got a few months to come up with a plan.’
Bea’s phone beeped and she swiped the message, ‘That’s Nathan now. He’s dropped Fern at home and Jacob off at a party. He’s got a couple of errands to run and then he’ll pick her up. I can’t leave her there any longer. She’s going to throw some essentials into a suitcase and move in today.’
Nell took the last swig of her coffee, ‘Come on, it’s walking distance to Fern’s house from here, let’s walk over and help her pack.’
Bea nodded, ‘How would you feel if I offered her a job at the deli?’
‘I think that is just what is needed, it’ll give Fern something positive to focus on and build her confidence too. Ask her. See how she feels about it.’ Nell also felt relieved, not only would this be the perfect solution for Bea and Fern, it meant it would free Nell up to work on the Old Picture House knowing Bea was in safe hands.
They grabbed their coats and bags and began to amble towards Fern’s house.
‘I was meaning to ask,’ Bea turned towards Nell, ‘What’s been going on with you this week? Don’t think I haven’t noticed you are very quiet. Is it Guy leaving?’
‘That and my mother.’
‘What’s Gilly been up to now?’
Nell looked at Bea, ‘I’m not entirely sure, but something is niggling away at me.’
Bea raised her eyebrows.
Nell linked arms with Bea, ‘Let’s walk and talk and I’ll tell you all about the secrets of the shoebox.’
‘The secrets of the shoebox, this sounds ominous.’
The Cosy Canal Boat Dream: A funny, feel-good romantic comedy you won’t be able to put down! Page 24
