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“I’m just repaying favours. Think of all the times you took Jessica for me when I was working. This is the least I can do.” She clucked her tongue. “I was thinking about getting Tobi to the holiday club.”
“I was as well. If I drop her off, they might see me and try to take her at pick-up. She’d go willingly with them, too. The same applies if they’re watching you.”
“I’d never let them grab her,” Molly spat.
“I know. But they’re powerful.” Threat of legal action had been one of the reasons I’d fled.
Molly was a single mom like me. Neither of us stood a chance when up against the machine that was the Winchester family.
“I had an idea. My aunt can come get Tobi from the hotel and take her to the club later than us. That way, if they’re followingme, I’ll have led them away, and you’ll be able to go to work. She’ll pick Tobi up, and we’ll work out a way to smuggle her back here.”
Molly’s aunt was a formidable lady who drove a bus. Tobi and I both knew her. If she was able to do this, I’d be able to get to work and not miss any more clients.
“Are you sure she can do it?” I asked.
“She never liked the Winchesters when I lived near them so she’ll be glad to help. Leave it with me. But after this…”
I knew.
We said our goodbyes, and I texted an update to Daisy, cringing with each word. This plan might work today, but I needed a better one for tomorrow.
An hour later, Molly’s aunt parked up in the hotel’s covered foyer, and I strapped Tobi into her car. She’d flipped the plan to take her in early, which suited me better even if the very last thing I wanted was to let her go.
“George and Simon Winchester can suck it,” she muttered, climbing from her seat. “And their mother.”
I thanked the woman, not having the heart to tell her she’d got Greg’s name wrong, and hugged my baby goodbye, holding in a wave of emotion.
Back in the hotel room, I sobbed.
Parting from her never got any easier. The wrench of seeing her go tore me up. Aside from my mother, she’d been all I had for years. I gave myself a minute to have a mini-breakdown then packed up our few belongings and checked out, driving north once more with a head full of problems with few solutions.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. I’d missed two clients but promised both I’d fit them in, so worked straight through without a break until eight in the evening. Tobi had been successfully smuggled back to Molly’s, which was a relief, but every ding of my phone in the hours after spiked my panic.
Finally, I returned to the hangar and into the bunkhouse.
I needed food. A shower.
Strangely, I buzzed with energy.
The place was empty on my arrival, so I took myself straight into the bathroom and washed away the grime of the day. When I came back out, I had company.
On one of the teal sofas, Valentine stretched out, a beer in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other. He peered up and grinned. “There she is. Hungry? I have food.”
I switched my gaze to the pizza boxes on the table which had been dragged closer to the fire. “Where the heck did you get takeaway pizza from?”
“It’s Friday.”
“That…makes no sense.”
“There’s a guy who parks his wood-fired pizza truck at the side of the A9 every Friday evening to catch the passing trade heading home for the weekend. I discovered him a couple of weeks ago and am obsessed. I even took a food bag to keep it warm, but it’s cooled down now.”
It smelled so good my mouth watered.
“One’s for ye,” he added. “The lower box. Daisy said you’d had a mare of a day, so I wanted to make ye smile. Take off any toppings ye don’t like.”
In a kind of daze, I sank to the rug and drew out the second box. Opening the lid brought a rush of amazing scent. The pizza was still warm, and he’d loaded it with a selection of toppings. Meatballs. Sweetcorn. Onion.
I lifted my gaze back to him. “Did anyone ever tell you you’re a beautiful man?”
