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“I’ll probably message you first,” he said cheekily.
Grinning all the way down the stairs, she was determined to prove him wrong. Her smile widened even further when she took out her phone on the front path, only to find he’d beaten her to it and had messaged to tell her he missed her.
A cold breeze whipped at her as she set off for the twenty-minute walk to the golf club. It surprised her how quickly she’d got used to walking everywhere. Of course, back in her golfing days, her daily step counts had been incredibly high, but in the past couple of years she’d got out of the habit.
After spending the weekend in a romantic bubble, she had a vague feeling of guilt for not checking in on her dad. To rectify it, she called him, only to have her guilt intensify when he didn’t answer. A gnawing worry added to her discomfort.
It was a relief when Bella answered her phone almost immediately.
“Is my dad okay?” Allie asked.
“Yes.” There was a questioning ring to her voice. “Why?”
“Because I just tried calling him and he didn’t answer.”
“Oh, right. He’s fine. I called in on him before work and he’s fine.”
“Okay.” Allie wasn’t exactly filled with confidence. “Hasn’t he been coming into work?” It was rare for him to even go a day without being in the clubhouse. Even when he claimed to be having a day off, he’d struggle to not call in and mingle in the lounge for a little while.
“He has,” Bella said in a rush. “Sometimes. I’ve been trying to get him to stay away and have a break. I told him not to come in today at all, that’s why I called in on him on the way here … to remind him to stay away …”
“Right. Well it sounds as though you’re doing a good job of getting him to take it easy.” It really wasn’t an easy feat with her dad. “How’s everything at the club?”
“Fine.”
Allie frowned. The number of “fines” she was getting from her cousin was slightly worrying. “And everything’s okay with you? You don’t need me to come rushing back?”
“Um …”
The pause was worrying on several levels, not least because Allie had absolutely no desire to go back.
“I don’t need you to rush back,” Bella finally answered. “It’d be great to see you though. Why don’t you pop back for a little visit? We could go for lunch, you could see your dad … you could just make it a day trip if you wanted …”
Quite a long drive for a day trip, Allie thought. “Maybe.”
“Brill,” Bella said, a note of relief in her voice. “How about this week? Wednesday would be good for me … you could surprise your dad …”
“Oh.” That had escalated quickly. “The next few days might be a little difficult. I’m working today and tomorrow and Wednesday.” And after that, she planned to spend as much time as possible with Hugh before his daughter returned.
“Thursday then?” Bella mused, a faraway quality to her words as though she were thinking out loud. “Thursday would work …”
“Maybe.” Allie rounded the bend and spotted the entrance to the golf course at the end of the long, narrow lane. “Let me have a think about it and get back to you. I’m just about to start work, but I’ll be in touch again soon and let you know about a visit.”
“That would be great.”
The phone call left Allie slightly flat, which was an annoying comedown after her perfect weekend. Thankfully, the restaurant was quiet that afternoon and evening, meaning she had plenty of time to exchange messages with Hugh. When Kevin caught her, he only rolled his eyes. He told her in a friendly tone that he didn’t have a problem with staff messaging when things were quiet as long as they were discreet and it didn’t interfere with customer service.
At the end of her shift, she messaged Hugh while she walked back to her room.
Are you still awake? she asked.
No, he replied. Fast asleep.
She chuckled as she opened her door, then sent him an eye-roll emoji to let him know what she thought of his joke.
How was work? he asked. Did it get any busier?
Not really.
