Closer to the Heart (The Heart Trilogy Book 3)

by Unknown

  “Tell her I said Hi” then before I could say goodbye the phone was silent. I reached for my glass and finished the wine in a single mouthful.

  “Are you ok?” James asked.

  “Yes, I've just spoken to Zach, he may know someone who got Mark's rota's from the Hospital for Felicity”

  James sat down, the same smile played on his lips, matching mine. Jack just looked at the two of us, completely floored by the information the last half hour had thrown at him.

  With another bottle of wine opened I filled Jack in on the events of the last forty eight hours including the news of Charlotte's pregnancy. His face was a picture by the time he left. Mitchell came down, slipped into the kitchen and made two mugs of Hot Chocolate. He took the upstairs and I heard the click of the spare room door. James stood up and held out his hand.

  “Hot-tub or bed?” He asked.

  “Let’s do both”

  Chapter 41

  Friday came around with still no news from Zach, my fingers had itched to call him a couple of times. The attic search had found my diaries from that year and they matched the rota entries on the file. If only we could give the police this name, this person who had talked to Zach. Dressed and ready for the drive I peeped into the spare room.

  “Hey sweetheart, how are you feeling?”

  “Bored and fat” Charlie replied “Can't I get up today, go and sit in the garden” her eyes flitted to the summer sunshine through the window.

  She was looking so much better and had found her appetite again. A midwife had been in to check the previous day and said that everything was progressing well.

  “Ok, I'll tell Mitch he can take you outside, Pam and Peter will keep an eye on you as James and I are off to Hereford”

  Mitchell slipped into the room behind me and I saw my daughters gaze fall on him. I could see the tenderness and love evident in her green eyes.

  “Mitch, Mum says I can go in the garden today”

  “Cool, I'll go and sort out the sun loungers”

  James was waiting in the hallway and we walked out to the car. Mitchell stood framed in the doorway, we were both worried about him. He had not been out of the house since his return, despite invitations from Simon and other school friends to go for a drink. His excuse was that Charlotte needed him, but in reality I had seen the fear. I hoped that as Charlie recovered she in turn could coax Mitch back into the real world.

  In the passenger seat I pulled out my phone and sent Sarah a text, we had booked a meal for the four of us at lunchtime. Just as I was about to put the phone back in my bag it beeped.

  “Hi Stephanie, the person I told you about has agreed to talk as long as this will be taken into consideration against what he did to help Felicity. He is a private detective called Keith Madison and he would appreciate the police being discreet if possible. Hope everything goes well today, ZK”

  “Thanks Zach, I will tell them”

  A huge grin spread across my face as I dropped the phone back into my bag.

  “I think we've got her” I said

  “Let's stay calm until we see it for real, it still might not be enough to link her to the murder” James tempered his excitement, but he still reached across and gave my knee a squeeze. I placed my hand on his so he kept it there for much of the journey.

  We spent a couple of hours with Aaron Blackstar as he took my diary as evidence to go with the corroboration of the hospital who had managed to find the same files in their archives. They were working closely with the Warwickshire force and James' friend Rob and promised that they would proceed with caution regarding the lead from Keith Madison. I was relieved to leave it all with them and stroll out of the station feeling hopeful that something would come to light.

  We met Sarah and Chris in a pub on the outskirts of Hereford, it had a beer garden outside and after ordering food we carried our drinks to a table in the sun. Sarah seemed unusually excited and I knew she was itching to tell me something.

  “So how's life?”

  “Great, after we dropped Pam and Peter home last weekend we went to view a unit on a nearby Industrial estate” Chris said.

  “And”

  “We've put an offer in on it, the space and layout will make a perfect gym and fitness centre. So we're just waiting to hear back and if it's accepted we'll be moving nearer you guys”

  “And there is a huge space that could easily be converted into a dance studio” Sarah added “So you'd better keep your fingers crossed for us”

  I reached across and hugged Sarah, whilst James pumped Chris' hand before proposing a toast.

  “To our friends and their new venture”

  Sarah sipped her orange juice and then stood up to go to the Ladies. I joined her as although their news was exciting there was still something nibbling at her and as her best friend I knew she would spill. At the basin I touched up my lip gloss and turned to look at her flushed face.

  “So what else do you need to tell me?” I asked.

  “I'm not supposed to say anything, Chris is going to kill me”

  “I can keep a secret”

  “We gave IVF one more try while you guys were over in New Zealand and I'm pregnant, but it's really early days and I hope that by telling you I'm not going to jinx it”

  I pulled her into my arms and kissed her cheek.

  “Oh my god, that's fantastic news how far are you?”

  “I’m just approaching 3 months which is the trigger point for all the previous failures. I've booked some time off work and Chris intends to keep me off my feet as much as possible from this point on. He wanted to cancel our meal today” she grinned. I took a long look at the love blossoming on my best friend’s features.

  “So you had an idea when I told you about Charlotte”

  “Yes, you are the first to know, well after Chris. But we just need to be cautious until we hopefully hit the six month mark”

  I watched her rub a hand over her still flat belly, praying silently that this would be the one. I knew it was all she ever wanted so I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and we walked back out to our table. James and Chris were deep in conversation about how we could invest in their plans if it would help.

  James looked up and caught my eye, I smiled back and felt optimistically cautious about everyone's news. Before we drove home I persuaded James to follow Chris and Sarah back to Ross. We peeled off and waved at their tail lights before parking along Wye Street. The afternoon sun shot sparkles like diamonds on the meandering waters of the Wye. Our bench was empty so we sat down on it for a while, James reached an arm around me as we watched the water flow. Was our life finally flowing in the right direction or would more rocks hinder us?

  Without words we climbed the path from the river to the prospect and Mark's grave. I tidied it up but was pleased to see the miniature rose bush thriving there. Its petals gave a vivid blaze of colour against the granite stone. I laid my hand on the top, James touched my shoulder and I turned into his warm embrace.

  “Ready to go home” he asked.

  “Yes” I breathed, taking a last look and then walking back to our car through the streets of Ross-on-Wye. All of Sarah and Chris' good news filling my heart with joy.

  On the drive home we stopped to pick up Pizza for Charlie and Mitch and upon entering the house we heard music floating through from the garden. Grabbing some drinks I stepped through the patio doors and found not just Charlie and Mitch but Pam and Peter enjoying the evening sun.

  “Hi Mum, how was it?”

  “Everything is under control with the investigation” I replied. We knew it upset Mitchell to hear about it so we kept all conversations to a bare minimum.

  “Chris and Sarah send you their love. They might be moving closer to us as they've put an offer in for an Industrial Unit to convert into a gym”

  “Yes and your Mum and I might invest in it as there is also enough space for a dance studio” James said, looking over at Mitchell. A small glimmer of a smile touched his fe
atures.

  “Oh wow, your dream Mitchell” Charlie breathed “It might be in reach at last”

  His silence said more than words as Mitchell reached for his and Charlie's empty glasses and walked inside for some refills. I watched Charlie looking at his departure, her smile fading. She saw me watching and let her eyes fall to the towel she lay on.

  “Shall we all go in, there's pizza waiting” James said, lightening the silence.

  “Yes, sounds good as I'm starving” Charlie replied. I held out my hand to help her up but instead of brushing me away she cuddled into my side. She was still my child but about to grow up quicker than I would have liked.

  Mitchell had left the empty glasses on the side but was nowhere to be seen. I glanced across at James and he nodded at me before he reached to turn on the radio as Charlotte pulled open the lid on the pizza. I slipped through the door and upstairs to the room that had once belonged to James. I tapped on the outside but didn't wait for a reply. I found Mitchell lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

  “Mitchell, I think we need to talk” I said, approaching his prone figure on the bed.

  “Yes, but it’s so hard to say what I want too” he whispered “I'm a grown man yet this has me feeling like a child, afraid of my own shadow”

  I found a gap and sat down next to him and just waited, I knew exactly what he was feeling. Felicity had done the same thing to me and in some ways she still did.

  “I have Charlotte to look after now and then the babies when they arrive but I'm so scared that she will come and destroy it all again” his voice broke and he shuddered with the tears he felt ashamed to let flow.

  “She did the same to me, I still bear the scars but I'm living and I'm not going to let her win. But you can't get through it on your own. I tried and nearly failed if it hadn't been for my friends. You have us, all of us and believe me we all need you”

  He sat up, his eyes still downcast as the first sob broke free. I reached to cradle him in my arms, feeling the shake of his shoulders, the gasping for breath. I don't know how long he cried for but as they subsided I handed him a tissue.

  “We should go and see a Doctor, I don't like to recommend anti-depressants but sometimes they do work. Although looking back the music and my work on the radio helped far more”

  Mitchell nodded and looked across at me.

  “I need to dance again”

  “Then go, dance, do it whenever the feelings start to mount up and watch the music carry them away”

  “Charlotte is my whole world; I was stupid to throw her away over a tiny indiscretion. I need her, she is my whole world and dancing with her....well it just.....” His words petered out, he was unable to express in words what their dancing bought to their love.

  “I know, Charlotte needs the same from you, but she also understands what you are facing. Don't be afraid to ask her for help she's a fighter if ever I saw one. She gets that from her Dad”

  “No, she gets it from you. I see what you do to Dad when you walk in the room, I see the true person you revealed and one I still want to be like”

  I stood up and lingered in the doorway, for a second a ghost of memories assaulted my vision, James and I together in this room.

  “There's pizza downstairs and unless you're quick Charlotte will have eaten it all”

  “Thanks Stephanie”

  “Anytime” I took a few seconds to freshen up in my room and was heartened to see Mitchell back with the family, teasing Charlie about eating for three. His darkness has passed, but until this thing with Felicity was sorted it would be back and not just for him, I still felt it.

  A door clicked open and startled me from sleep, the alarm clock blinking 2.15am. I lay awake and listened to the footsteps on the stairs and waited, wondering if I should just check in case it was Charlotte. I was about to untangle James' arm that was draped over my waist when I heard a second set. They were both up I realised so I closed my eyes and snuggled closer to James. His arm tightened, his fingertips stroking my skin as I sighed.

  Mitchell crept through the door of the kitchen, stopping to give Jester a quick stroke before he opened the door of the studio. The lights blinded him at first but he was amazed to find it looking relatively clean. There was a light film of dust on the mirrors but as Charlotte had been in London he knew his Dad would not have thought to clean them. His mind lingered on the thought of Charlotte with Zach in his flat but he shook then away. He turned the stereo system on and checked the volume was low. Pressing play he waited to see what the last track on there had been.

  The lilting melody of She's like the Wind greeted him. He listened as the low voice of Patrick Swayze singing took him to another place. The wood was cool beneath his bare feet as he started to warm up, he put the song on loop as he needed to clear it of the memory of his imprisonment at his mother's. The night a stranger had danced across the dark grass as if to the music he was listening too. Slowly the steps returned to him, it was the last dance they had been working on before...

  Shutting his eyes he remembered Stephanie's advice to let the music sooth, wash clean his troubled thoughts, carry them away on its melody. With each new sweep of his arm, slide of his feet he felt closer to the person he used to be. As the song began again he felt a light draft and then a brief touch of a hand on his. It remained there as the ghost figure moved in time with him until the lift that he had been working on with Charlie. The figure was in the perfect position so he picked her up, held her, wrapping her around his strong chest. Rose perfume filled his nostril, hair softly tickled his shoulder and then the touch of her perfect lips.

  On his neck they started to trace a path to his jawline, brushing the beginnings of stubble there. Then his cheek, a tiny touch on his nose, all the while his hand moved up from her back to the nape of her neck and tangling into her silky tresses. He groaned before her mouth silenced his with her own. The tongue slid over his teeth, searching, probing and igniting a wave of strong desire. It was too much to bear as he staggered slightly under the weight of his partner.

  “Oh” Charlotte cried “put me down if I'm too heavy”

  He opened his eyes; hers locked onto him, the pupils large with feeling. He walked forwards until she was between him and the mirrored wall. She let the barre resting just beneath her ass support her weight. She wrapped her arms around his neck as his lips returned to hers in a kiss so tender it bought tears to her lashes. He pressed against her and then finding the bump drew back.

  “Put your arms around my neck” he whispered. She did and then he scooped her up into his arms.

  Charlie reached and clicked the light switch off as they passed through the door. She held on tight as he mounted the stairs and then paused by the spare room door.

  “No let’s go to our room” Charlie breathed, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. Mitchell nodded and carried her over the threshold and set her down on the duvet. She lay back against the pillows that held his scent in their fabric. He wriggled out of his sweat pants and in the dim light of the moon she saw him naked.

  Her breath caught in her throat, he had lost a bit of weight and tone but he was still the man she craved. He tasted sweeter than chocolate and more satisfying as he slipped in beside her. She was wearing one of his oversize t-shirts and he pulled it over her head, his first glimpse of her changing body shape. He took in the swell of her larger breasts, the stretched skin over her distended belly that held new life. Her legs toned from all the dancing and even in repose her toes pointed and he smiled. He was going to fight to get his life back, back to the way it was before but better.

  He spooned up behind her and wrapped his outer arm over the top swell, he felt a little kick and he rubbed gently. Charlie sighed and relished the feel of his body, his breath in her hair.

  Chapter 42

  Over the weekend things seemed to settle back into what felt like a family routine. I was pleased to see that Charlotte had moved back into the room she shared with Mitchell. The two of
them were inseparable with Mitch acting like a mother hen around her. I could see the colour returning to her face and her bump becoming larger on almost a daily basis. The summer weather was holding up and we all spent time in the garden. Even Darren and Sophie made a visit to us on the Sunday and Pam and I rustled up a mammoth sized lunch. I think Sophie and Darren were pleased to take the remains back with them.

  Sitting in the hot tub late on Sunday evening I felt James' hand slide over my thigh, sweeping the bubbles off that rested on my skin.

  “Back to work tomorrow” I said.

  “Yes, I'm not in until later but Mitchell and I have to call and see Rob for an update. Then I might see if he wants to drop in at the bike shop”

  “Good idea, but take things easy. He might not want to do both”

  His hand squeezed and then slid into the gap between my thighs, finding the part of me that had been nicely teased by the tickle of the bubbles. His finger added that much needed pressure to take me up a notch. I turned towards him and found his lips with mine.

  The next morning I took James up a coffee in bed and he watched as I got dressed for work.

  “Why do you look so hot?”

  “What?” I quipped, twirling around and sticking out my tongue. I had chosen a summer dress that showed off the tan. He tossed my cardigan over and I shrugged it on.

  “Shall I do the buttons up” I giggled.

  “Yes, all the way to the top I've seen your sleazy boss”

  I leaned down for a quick goodbye kiss and he tried to topple me onto him.