AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Aw, he’s such a sweet little soul.’
She led the way to the lane down towards the cove where the cobbles faded away to sand.
‘How’s Eden doing?’ she asked.
‘Yes. Great. She’s only got another couple of hours on the IV antibiotics and then the bite on her leg should be clear of infection.’
‘That’s great news.’
‘Yes, it is. It’s a good job you were able to rescue her from Mr Thomas’s when you did. Had she been left like that any longer and she might not have been so lucky.’ Mack nodded.
Poppy looked across at him. ‘You seem very quiet today. Is everything okay?’
There’d been no joking or teasing today and he seemed, well, deflated, as though there was something worrying him.
Mack kicked at the sand beneath his feet, unearthing a purple pebble. Picking it up, he smoothed it between his fingers. ‘Oh, nothing.’
‘Yes, there is. What’s the matter?’ She shook her head. ‘Sorry, I keep forgetting that we’ve only known each other a short time, I feel as though I’ve known you longer. You don’t have to tell me.’
Mack glanced at her before throwing the pebble in the air and deftly catching it with his other hand. ‘I feel the same and it’s fine. I don’t mind you asking. I just feel bad boring you with the woes of my life, that’s all.’
‘Hey, look at you; woes of your life! I’m happy to listen but there’s no pressure to tell me.’ She frowned. There was clearly something wrong, he hadn’t even raised an eyebrow at her yet let alone broken into one of his wide grins.
‘Thanks.’ Turning the pebble over and over in his hand, he took a deep breath. ‘My dad got in contact today. He sent a Christmas card. Well, three: one to me and one each to my brothers.’
Poppy looked over at him. His eyebrows were knitted together, seemingly concentrating on the task of rolling the pebble between his fingers. Only he wasn’t. He wasn’t concentrating on that; he was concentrating on keeping his voice light. She could tell because it was a trick of hers too, to pretend to focus on something small rather than allow her feelings to show on her face, in her posture.
‘You don’t hear from him very often? Your parents are divorced?’
Mack shook his head and looked out towards the ocean. ‘My mum passed away when I was in my teens. My dad then went on to remarry, but to say they didn’t have the best of relationships is the understatement of the century. From what I heard, anyway. I wasn’t living at home at the time. I’d moved away. I only popped back every month or so to check in on my half-brothers.’
‘You were at your old surgery?’
‘No, this was when I was training.’ He glanced at her before turning back to the water. ‘Anyway, she eventually left and my dad couldn’t cope with the boys, not by himself. That was when I transferred universities, moved back here, to West Par, to help take care of them and he upped and left without so much as a hint at what he was planning. I’ve not heard from him since. Not until today. Seven years of nothing from him and then he sends cards.’
‘Oh, wow.’ Poppy swallowed, trying to process all that he’d told her. ‘You’ve been looking after your brothers since Spencer was two?’
‘Yes, that’s right.’
‘What did the cards say?’
‘I haven’t given Spencer or Gus theirs yet. Gus is my other brother, by the way.’ He shrugged.
‘The teenager with the love of skateboarding?’
‘That’s him.’ Mack smiled, a quick shift to pride, before furrowing his brow again. ‘I opened my card though. I almost didn’t, but I made myself.’
‘And…’
‘And he wants to see them. He wants to start seeing Gus and Spencer. After all these years, after putting us through everything he did, just leaving them as he did.’ Mack shook his head. ‘It had been a normal weekend in the run-up to Christmas and he’d asked me to babysit so he could go and buy them presents.’ He shrugged. ‘And he just didn’t come back. The next week a card landed on the doormat with just the word “sorry” in it.’
‘And that was it? Just sorry, no explanation or anything?’
‘Nothing.’
Poppy blinked. She couldn’t imagine what effect that had had on little Spencer and Gus, or on Mack. He’d have had to have completely changed his life.
She looked at him. She’d known he was a good person, but to step up and care for his brothers like that… She shook her head.
