Rainy Day Sisters by Kate Hewitt

Author:Kate Hewitt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2015-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

18

Juliet

“AND NOW IF ANYONE has any more points of business . . .”

Louise Walker, the chair of Hartley-by-the-Sea’s parish council, looked up from the minutes of their meeting, eyebrows raised expectantly.

“None for me,” Rob Telford stated, his legs stretched out in front of him. The eight other people round the table echoed him one by one, starting with Peter Lanford, who sat next to him, hands resting on his jeans-clad thighs, his voice a low rumble.

“Juliet?”

Juliet blinked and saw Louise was gazing at her with an expectation that bordered on annoyance. Like Juliet, Louise liked these meetings to be short and sweet. She had four children and three Patterdale terriers at home, and she was on half a dozen committees. The woman was practically a machine of efficiency.

“Nothing from me,” Juliet said hurriedly, and glanced away again, trying not to fidget.

Ever since she’d told Lucy about wanting a baby, she’d been determined to do something about it. Telling her sister had made the desire both more real and more dangerous; if she didn’t do anything, she would look and feel pathetic. Even worse, nothing would change. And if there was one good thing Lucy had done for her, it was make her realize she needed to change.

And to change, she needed to act. Tonight.

Louise had concluded the meeting and everyone started rising from their chairs, heading out into the chilly evening. It was the first week of October, but it felt more like December. Juliet watched Peter out of the corner of her eye; he rose from his chair slowly, smiling and nodding towards several of the other parish council members who filed outside.

Taking a deep breath, she headed across the room. “Hello, Peter.”

“You areet, Juliet,” Peter answered with one of his slow nods and smiles.

She’d seen a fair bit of Peter over the last two weeks; thanks to Rachel’s determination, they’d become something of a fixture at the Thursday night pub quiz. Juliet had even started to relax a little, answering questions and enjoying herself, although it still felt strange to be sitting there among friends. She always stuck to a single glass of wine.

Peter had also stopped by Tarn House several times for a cup of tea; the first time he’d come by, Juliet had been alone, cleaning the oven, her hair piled on top of her head and yellow rubber gloves up to each elbow. She’d been flustered to see him there, standing at the back door as if it were a usual occurrence, then taking off his mud-caked boots when she, stammering, had invited him in.

She’d gotten stuck, removing the rubber gloves, and Peter had reached over and tugged one off in a gesture that felt—well, suggestive. Of course it wasn’t, Juliet had told herself crossly, but she still could feel herself reacting as she turned away to put the kettle on.

Their conversation had gone in fits and starts, with Juliet needing to fill the silence; Peter had seemed content to simply sit, a mug cradled between his hands.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.