His Hidden Wife by Wendy Clarke

Author:Wendy Clarke [Clarke, Wendy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781800192669
Published: 2021-02-03T18:30:00+00:00

Twenty-Five

Teresa

By the time Teresa gets home, her worry about her mum is not nearly so all-encompassing as it had been before she spoke to Maya. She can now make progress with finding a suitable place for her mother and, in an odd way, the conversation with Stephen’s daughter has made her feel a little closer to her.

When she lets herself in, she’s relieved to see her mum is sitting in the exact same spot she left her. Her eyes glued to the TV.

She looks up as Teresa shuts the door and smiles. ‘I’m glad you’re home, dear.’

Teresa bends and kisses the top of her head, feeling the soft fine hair against her lips. ‘I’m glad to be home too. I’m sorry I was so long.’

Above their heads, there’s a loud bang, footsteps moving across sparsely furnished rooms. Teresa realises that Dale must be home, and she resists the urge to see what he’s doing.

Her mum follows her gaze to the ceiling. ‘It’s so nice to see him after all this time. I told him I didn’t know how long you’d be. Was that right?’

‘You only saw him an hour ago, Mum.’

She looks puzzled. ‘No,’ she says. ‘I don’t think so. I haven’t seen him since the day you came to my house.’

A sliver of fear lodges itself in her chest. ‘Who are you talking about, Mum?’

‘Oh, you silly thing. You know who.’

Teresa stands rigid, bracing herself for whatever it is she’s going to say next. Unable to take control of the dread that’s mushrooming.

‘No, Mum. I don’t.’

‘Gary,’ she says, with a smile. ‘Who did you think I meant?’

Teresa waits for the footsteps on the stairs that will tell her he’s coming down, her chest so tight she can barely breathe. She can’t believe he’s found them so soon.

With hands clasped in front of her, her nails digging into her skin, she raises her eyes to the ceiling. He’ll be angry. Incensed that she’s had the audacity to leave him. He’ll use the word disrespect – as though it’s possible she could ever respect a man with such low regard for her and Dale.

When the footfall on the stairs comes, Teresa’s worked herself up into such a state of anxiety that it’s almost a relief. At least this way, she’ll know what he wants, and it will be over sooner. The door opens and, not wanting to alarm her mum, she presses the back of her hand to her mouth to stop the sound of her fear from escaping.

Then he’s standing in front of them, and Teresa thinks she’ll collapse with relief.

‘Dale!’

He’s wearing a pair of baggy jeans, the crotch halfway to his knees and an inch of Calvin Klein underwear showing above his waistband. He’s bare-chested and Teresa’s surprised to see that the biceps of his lean arms are well defined, a dark shadow of hair running down the centre of his pale chest. She could have sworn that the last time she saw him without his shirt, he still had the body of a boy.

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