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Her voice started to tremble. ‘And I realised that I could be that person at the end of the phone for someone else. So I volunteered, they trained me, and I’ve been manning the phone three times a month for the last few years.’
He’d listened carefully. He knew there was more.
‘So what’s wrong?’
She stared down at her hands. ‘The last few nights, someone has been phoning, staying on the line for less than a minute then hanging up. I know that’s what Jess did.’ Her voice cracked. ‘And I can’t help but wonder if I’m failing them, just like I failed Jess.’
Rhuaridh didn’t hesitate, he pulled her into his arms. ‘You didn’t fail your sister, Kristie, and you haven’t failed this person either. They’ve called. They’ve got to take the decision to speak. Sometimes people call six or seven times before they pick up the courage to speak. All you can do is be there. All you can do is answer and let them know that you’re prepared to listen whenever they want to speak.’
‘But what if offering to listen isn’t enough?’ Her wide blue eyes were wet with tears.
His heart twisted in his chest. He could see just how desperate she was to save any other family from the pain she’d suffered. He could see just how much she wanted to help.
He put his hands at either side of her head. ‘Kristie Nelson, you are a brilliant big-hearted person. But you have to accept that there are some things in this life we can’t control—no matter how much we want to. All we can do...is the best that we can. I know that’s hard to accept. But we have to. Otherwise the what-ifs will eat us up inside.’
He leaned forward and rested his head against hers. They stayed like that for the longest time. At first he could see the small pulse racing at the bottom of her neck, but the longer they stayed together, the more her body relaxed against his, and the more her breathing steadied and eased. He wanted to give her that space and time to gather her thoughts—just like he was gathering his.
She took another breath. ‘There’s more,’ she said quietly.
‘What?’
She licked her lips. ‘These last few months I started working on something—a book.’
He was momentarily confused. ‘A book?’
She nodded. ‘It’s fiction. But it’s based on Jess, and what happens when a member of your family commits suicide. The impact it has on all those around. It’s about a tight-knit family and a group of old high school friends. How they all second-guess themselves wondering if they could have done something—changed things—and how they have to learn to live and move on.’
He pulled back and looked at her, amazed. ‘Wow, that sounds...incredible.’ He reached forward and brushed back a strand of hair from her face. ‘Can I read it?’
She looked surprised. ‘Do you want to?’
‘Of course. Now. Do you have it?’
A smile danced across her lips as she stood up and crossed the room, picking up her laptop. ‘It’s still in the early stages. There might be spelling mistakes—grammatical errors.’
He shook his head and held out his hands. ‘I don’t care. Just give it to me.’
He bent over the bright screen and started reading as she settled beside him.
* * *
Three hours later it was the early hours of the morning. Kristie’s manuscript. It was beautiful, touching and from the heart. And it smacked of Kristie. Every word, every nuance had her unique stamp on it. He brushed a tear from his eye and nudged her. She’d fallen asleep on his shoulder.
‘Kristie, wake up.’ He gave her a shake and she rubbed her tired eyes.
‘You’ve finished?’
He nodded and she bit her bottom lip. ‘What did you think?’
He held out his hand. ‘I think it’s brilliant. It’s heartbreaking. It’s real. You have to finish this. This is what you should be doing, Kristie. This is so important. I felt for every one of the people in this story. You have to get this out there.’
Her eyes sparkled. ‘You think so? Really?’
He nodded. ‘Without a doubt. You have a gift as a writer. Do it. I believe in you. Once an agent sees this, they’ll snatch it up with both hands.’
