A Sister's Promise by Caroline Finnerty

Author:Caroline Finnerty [Finnerty, Caroline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Boldwood Books

20

That evening, Ella pulled back the living-room curtain and peered out into the darkness.

‘Dad’s here,’ she called as she saw headlights coming up in the driveway. ‘I’m so nervous, Mum.’ She was looking anxiously at Laura for reassurance.

‘You and me both,’ Laura muttered. She glanced in the mirror that hung over the mantelpiece and fixed her hair. ‘Go let him in and I’ll put the kettle on.’

Laura headed to the kitchen and filled the kettle with water before putting it on the Aga to boil. Upstairs, she heard the sound of Willow laughing. She and Penny were watching a movie together. When Laura had told Penny that Hugh was calling over, before Laura had even had to ask, she had offered to stay upstairs out of the way. It seemed Penny wanted to avoid Hugh just as much as Laura wanted to keep them apart.

As the kettle started to whistle, she heard Hugh and Ella chatting in the hall. Laura thought about what they were going to say to him. She had been thinking about it all day and still kept arriving at the same conclusion that there was going to be no good way to tell him – they were just going to have spit it out. They had decided that it needed to come from Ella, and then Laura would be there to help her if she became upset or to calm everything down if things got heated.

After a moment, Hugh appeared in the kitchen alongside Ella.

‘Hi,’ he said sheepishly.

‘How was your New Year?’ she asked.

‘Quiet and lonely.’ He smiled sadly at her and it almost made her pity him.

‘Would you like a cuppa?’ she offered.

‘Go on then,’ he said.

While Laura made a pot of tea, they chatted about Josh’s ski trip and a video he had sent to them taken on his Go-Pro, of him going off-piste.

‘It’ll be a miracle if he doesn’t come home in a coffin,’ Hugh laughed. ‘He has no fear.’

When Laura was finished, she set the teapot down on the table and poured out three mugs. She also had a loaf of lemon drizzle that she had made earlier when she had been so stressed about the conversation that they had ahead of them. Whether it was cooking or baking, once she was busy in her kitchen, she always felt calmer. It was like therapy for her. She cut the loaf into slices and served it up.

‘This is good, Laura. I’ve missed your cooking,’ Hugh admitted as he took a bite.

‘Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?’ she quipped, but they exchanged a smile.

Ella looked across the table at Laura, and Laura nodded encouragement at her.

‘Dad,’ she began, her voice quiet and tentative.

‘Yes, love?’ Hugh fixed his gaze on her.

‘I have something that I need to tell you.’ Her eyes kept dashing across to Laura for reassurance.

He rolled his eyes. ‘Let me guess… you need money?’

Ella shook her head. ‘No, it’s not that…’

‘Well, what is it then?’ he asked, looking to Ella and then to Laura and back to Ella again wondering what was going on.

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