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“Presumably he’s not on the scene or you’d have heard Ellie mentioning her dad,” Keira said.
“True.”
“I better get back to work,” Seren said, glancing at her watch. “The quiz starts in five minutes. Shall I sign you up?”
Trystan shook his head. “I’m going home in a minute.”
“No, you’re not,” Keira said. “The quiz was your idea so you have to stay and help us. I suspect Noah’s going to be rubbish at it.”
“Hey!” Noah gave her a friendly shove.
“You have a point.” Trystan looked from Noah to Kit. “It would be really mean of me to leave you with these two.” Staying for the quiz didn’t appeal at all, but it seemed like a marginally better option than going home to mope.
* * *
The way Beth had spoken to Trystan left her with a knot in her stomach that refused to budge. By the time she’d put Ellie to bed and taken her usual spot on the patio she was tempted to go and apologise. He was definitely owed that. Except if she really was going home that week, it might be easier to leave things as they were with Trystan. Not that she’d got around to booking the flight. If she was honest, the idea of leaving so soon was becoming less and less appealing.
Pulling her phone out, she pressed dial on Dee’s number.
“If you’re calling to tell me about what a fantastic day you’ve had lounging around in paradise and flirting with hunky guys, I think I might pack my bags and come and join you. I’ve just got Ferne to bed and poured myself a massive gin and tonic.”
“It sounds as though you didn’t have a great day?”
“No. Mum’s ill and can’t look after Ferne this week, so I’ve taken extra holiday time from work. I’d thought we could make the most of it and do some fun days out but the child’s on a mission to drive me crazy. It’s one tantrum after the other, no matter what I do.”
“Is she missing Hugh?” Beth tried to focus on her friend’s problems, but her gaze drifted to Trystan’s cottage. As the daylight faded, the place remained in darkness, making her think he might not be at home even if she did decide to talk to him. Which she probably shouldn’t.
“I guess so,” Dee said. “I’m trying to be patient with her but … well, thank goodness for gin! How was your day? Try not to make it sound too great.”
“No fear of that, I’m afraid. It’s been awful.” She filled Dee in on the phone call from the care home and how guilt-ridden she was at not taking her dad into account while she’d been making her plans for the summer.
“He doesn’t even know who you are.” Dee sounded outraged by the situation. “What does it matter if you visit or not? You pay an absolute fortune for him to be looked after. I think it’s bloody cheeky of them to give you a guilt trip about going on holiday.”
“It’s not my money. It’s Dad’s.” It had probably been a mistake to mention to Dee how much the care home cost.
“That might be so, but you have power of attorney, right? If I were you I’d find him a cheaper place and take the extra money for yourself.”
“I’m not going to do that. He’s well looked after. And they weren’t guilt-tripping me… I just felt guilt. That’s my issue.”
“Even so, you’re a better daughter than me keeping him in such a fancy place.”
“Anyway …” Beth shook her head, wanting to get the conversation back on track. “I’m thinking that staying away for the whole summer is pretty self-indulgent and we should probably come home.”
“No!” Dee shrieked. “No bloody way. Don’t you dare.”
“But spending the entire summer away is very extravagant.”
“Not really. Lots of people do it. People who deserve a break far less than you do. I can’t believe you’d even contemplate coming home … what about your holiday romance?”
Beth grimaced and automatically glanced at the cottage again, where there were still no signs of life. “I messed that up. It’s another reason that leaving seems like a good idea.”
Dee made sympathetic noises while Beth told her about how she’d snapped at Trystan.
“I’m sure if you explain the situation, he’d understand,” she said softly.
“I don’t even know if I want him to understand. I shouldn’t be chasing after some guy. Spending so much time thinking about him has meant I’ve been neglecting my daughter and my dad.”
“Oh shut up!” Dee snapped. “No one could ever accuse you of neglecting Ellie. You’re an amazing mum. You always put her first, and it’s probably not healthy. It’s perfectly fine to make time for yourself too. As for your dad … well that’s a difficult situation, but I really don’t think you should come rushing home just to visit him. From what you’ve told me, I could go along and claim to be you and he wouldn’t know any different.” She gasped loudly. “Oh my god, that’s a great idea, isn’t it?”
