The Fire House on Honeysuckle Street Read online

  ‘Do you need anything?’ she checked.

  ‘Shower?’ he asked. She nodded, leading him up the stairs, her fingers entwined in his. As they headed up, she heard him lock the door behind them.

  Lucy was awoken from sleep by an alarm sounding at the other side of the bed from her. She felt movement in the bed, and glanced at the clock in a panic. A strong arm curled over her, smushing her back into the mattress.

  ‘Sorry I woke you, I thought I’d better go before Xander woke up.’ She turned in bed, making sure her fluffy PJs didn’t twist up with her. Sam was still in his t-shirt, having got back into it after his shower. He was lying in her bed, just in his pants below the waist. It was very distracting.

  Last night, she’d led him to the bathroom and then headed to her bedroom, getting into bed and listening to the sound of the running water and of Sam moving around. He came into the room in his t-shirt and boxer shorts, the rest of his clothes in a neat pile atop his boots. She didn’t say anything to him, just lifted the covers. He laughed softly and she giggled back.

  He got in and they both lay under the covers, and told each other about their day. She showed him the texts from Iain, and he scrolled through them wordlessly. She could see from his face that he was upset by them; little things that she had learned about him over the short weeks they had spent together. They didn’t talk about the fact that they were now in bed together for a second time, both enjoying being with each other, feeling comforted by the presence of the other person. Maybe it was just too much to talk about, or maybe it just felt right. When something felt like this, did it even need an explanation at all?

  ‘I’m heading to Agatha’s tomorrow,’ she told him excitedly. ‘I offered to help with the charity fundraiser. Apparently she’s decided to hold an auction.’

  Sam’s brows rose in faux shock-horror. ‘That woman will probably get some decent bids too. I’ve only met her a couple of times, but she seems like a driven character.’

  Lucy laughed again. ‘No kidding, they’re all as bad! Remember that film, where the women all gang up on Jack Nicholson?’

  Sam thought for a moment. ‘The Witches of Eastwick?’

  That got him a thumbs up. ‘Yes! They remind me of that, always plotting, working together to make things happen.’

  ‘Like us,’ he said, looking across at her. ‘Epic fail, eh?’

  They’d fallen asleep facing each other, one hand touching the hand of the other person. She’d slept like a log.

  ‘What time is it?’ she asked now, sleepily.

  ‘Just after five,’ he replied, reluctantly getting out from under the covers. ‘I’ll lock up and post the key.’ He put his clothes on and, boots in hand, he sat back down on the bed. ‘It’s funny, but I don’t want to go.’

  She moved to sit next to him, and brushed her fingers down the side of his face.

  ‘Marlene is having Xander again tonight. Apparently she’s bought a games console. She got Taylor to set it up, so now they’re planning some big games night with Dot and Grace.’

  ‘I’m on all day today, but I get off at six. Do you fancy doing something?’ He picked a piece of her hair from where it nestled on her shoulder, playing with it absentmindedly. It felt like it was connected to her entire body, and she could feel the tremors of electricity flow through her again.

  ‘Like what?’

  He shrugged. ‘Leave it with me, okay?’

  Oooo! Something to look forward to. ‘It’s a date.’ It popped out before she could filter her thoughts, but he didn’t look unhappy about it.

  ‘It’s a date,’ he said, a soppy grin on his face. ‘I’ll be thinking about it all day.’

  She leaned forward, and touched her lips to his. He kissed her back, reaching across and pushing his arm underneath her thighs, lifting and turning her in one smooth movement, their lips never leaving each other. She sat in his lap for a long while, the only noise in the house the sound of them kissing and the humming of her son. Argghhhh!

  The two jumped in surprise, Sam standing with her in his arms, moving left, and then right, and then left again.

  ‘Muuuumm …’ Xander opened the door, and saw his mother standing in her PJs. He grinned at her. ‘Morning! Can we have pancakes?’ She wanted to laugh hysterically. Happily married women didn’t have this kind of problem, did they? Back home, she’d be dragging herself out of bed, leaving Iain snoring in bed and making pancakes with matchsticks holding her eyes open.

  ‘It’s a bit early, sweetie. Put your slippers on, and go put the telly on. I’ll be down in a second.’

  He muttered something about blueberries, but did what he was asked for once.

  She closed the door, and Sam came out from behind it, a sigh of relief pushing out from his broad chest.

  ‘Close one, sorry.’ He winced. ‘Window?’

  She looked at the window and even considered it for half a second.

  ‘No need, I’ll make sure the coast is clear, you can nip out the front door.’

  He bent his head, dropping five, six tender kisses on her lips. ‘See you tonight? If you need to turn your phone off, don’t worry. I’ll knock when I get back.’

  She nodded, and headed downstairs to distract Xander with his favourite breakfast. She was just mixing the batter when she heard her front door key hit the mat.

  ‘So,’ Agatha said, setting down a huge tea tray in front of them on the large coffee table. The other women were all chatting away, but a hush fell on them when Agatha took the stage. ‘I had rather a cheeky idea for a charity auction, and I wondered whether or not you ladies were up for the challenge.’ She waved her hands around the house, as if illustrating her point. ‘I did want to host an afternoon tea in the garden type event, but we wanted to make it a little different than normal, so we’re holding an auction called Hot Helpers.’

  ‘Hot Helpers?’ Lucy echoed. ‘What’s that about?’

  Agatha smiled at her. Lucy thought it was supposed to be a sincere, warm smile, but it gave her the creeps a little. Like they all knew something she didn’t. Which they did, but not about the romance plans they had concocted. She was totally onto them about that. Little did they know, Sam had slept in her bed last night.

  ‘Well, I thought that we would hold an auction, and have some of the local fireman and other residents offer up their services for say half a day, just for fun and to raise money for the community centre and the fire house. I have spoken to Chief Briggs and he has agreed to relieve the duties for some of his staff so that they can take part.’

  The ladies all murmured excitedly, and Lucy nodded along.

  ‘Great idea, do you have anyone in mind?’

  Agatha’s smile twitched, just for a second, but then she was back in control. ‘Well, Chief Briggs will be letting them know today, and I do hope we can rely on you coming to pitch in on the day. We need some waitresses, just to serve drinks. Xander is welcome too, of course – Amanda and Lily from the village are going to run a bit of a daycare centre, movies and things, in the community centre. Do you think he’ll go there?’

  Xander had always loved younger children, much more than he did his peers. He tended to struggle with them, not finding friendships easy, or keeping them once he had them. Lucy knew Amanda had a little one, so with that and a bit of Lego, he’d be fine.

  ‘Yes, I think he would. It’s not far either, so if there was a problem—’

  ‘Of course,’ Marlene cut in. ‘You would be able to dash straight off to him, love. We don’t want him upset over this. We love him to bits.’

  The ladies’ warm grins told her everything she needed to know. They did love him, and he loved them. He’d be fine, they’d all make sure of it.

  ‘And when will this be happening?’

  ‘Next weekend,’ Agatha replied, looking a little panicked. ‘A little close I know, but we are eager to get things moving.’

  I bet you are, Lucy thought to herself. She only had two weeks left here, till her train ticket return
date came around. She’d bought a return, but the closer it came to going back, the more dread settled on her. With school and work, she wouldn’t be able to come back in a hurry. The cottage wasn’t cheap, and between that, the money she needed to buy food etc. and the disastrous holiday she’d paid for, her savings were looking in a sorry state. Iain was changing too, getting nastier and more threatening, and if he decided to follow through with his threats, she might lose Xander altogether. That wasn’t an option.

  ‘Okay, sounds good to me! Count me in,’ she said with far more cheer and optimism than she felt. She thought of Sam, and their plans, and it gave her the resolve she needed.

  ‘So, Agatha, can I just add, about the history of the house?’ The ladies were all chatting away now, Grace talking about knitting little thongs for the lads at the fire house to wear, and Marlene and Dot discussing chafing and fluff build-up. ‘I’m a fan of historical buildings, always have been really. I nearly became a history teacher before I decided to study primary level.’

  Agatha lit up. ‘Ah well, the Mayweather Estate is steeped in history. Things have had to adapt, over the years, but I do try to keep it as traditional as possible, in keeping with the Mayweather name. It sadly died with my husband.’ A bleak look crossed her features, and Lucy wanted to bite her tongue off. Keep going, do it for Sam. Change the subject a bit.

  ‘So, did they keep a bigger staff here then?’ She pretended to look around her, interested in the decor, the old paintings of long-dead Mayweathers. None of them bore any resemblance to Sam, so no dumb luck there.

  ‘Yes,’ Agatha sat forward, warming to one of her favourite conversations, her family home. ‘We had a maid, a butler, and of course we still have Archie, the gardener. Will, his nephew, he does a lot of the work now but Archie is still the boss.’

  ‘A maid and butler? What happened to them?’ If she could speak to them, they might know what went on.

  ‘Ah, well the butler was my Taylor’s father, and Taylor, he took over. The maid, well she didn’t last very long apparently. She left, and moved away.’

  Damn. She needed to speak to Archie, and Taylor.

  ‘Any idea where she moved to?’

  Agatha looked sad for a moment. ‘Yes, I do, although it’ll not do much good now. My Charlie, bless his heart, he was ever so upset when she left. So fond of her, he was. Mary Ann Miller, she was called. Lovely girl, she didn’t grow up around here. She came for work. Moved back to London, in the end.’

  London. Right where Sam was found.

  ‘Do you have an address?’ she pressed. It was worth a shot. How many women had access to the house, to the food boxes and the personalised stationery? A maid would have access to all of those things. The other women were all still chatting away, Xander colouring in the corner, headphones on, happily humming away to himself. Sounded like ELO, so his musical education was still being nurtured.

  ‘Yes, dear.’ She stood and poured another cup of tea into her china cup, her hands shaking a little. ‘She’s in Islington Cemetery. She was in a car accident, many years ago now. Her and her new husband. Only married a short time, they were. They’re buried there together.’

  Sometime and a LOT of tea later, Lucy headed back to the cottage on her own. Xander had jumped in the car with the ladies, excited and happy. He barely even waved to her as they drove off. She felt a bit sorry for the ladies, but they had brought it on themselves. All afternoon, they’d fed him milk and cookies, sandwiches and cake, all washed down with sugary tea. Xander loved to drink tea. He kept asking to try coffee, but Lucy wasn’t prepared for that caffeine fest just yet. They’d offered her a lift, but there wasn’t any room really, and she fancied the walk. She needed to clear her head. There hadn’t been a massive amount of women at the Mayweather Mansion, and this Mary character sounded like she could be Sam’s mother. Moving to London, leaving abruptly? Was that it? Was his mother so easy to find after one conversation? A big part of her wished that she had never asked. Now what was she left with? It was all going bad, and she didn’t know what to do for the best. She was almost at the cottage now, but she couldn’t bring herself to go in just yet. So she kept walking. The community centre had computers that she could use, and she wanted to look for some more evidence.

  Sam was aghast. Even the chief looked a little blindsided, but he smoothed his moustache and carried on. Gary was cooking again, and the noise from the pots and pans had grown significantly since the start of his announcement.

  ‘So,’ the Chief said, a little louder now, trying to make himself be heard around the dining table where they were all assembled. ‘It’s next Saturday. All those on the list—’ he brandished a suspiciously familiar piece of paper in his aloft hand ‘—will attend, and get time off in lieu later on. I have drafted in cover from nearby stations, so our service levels won’t be affected. There is a costume too apparently, so New Lease of Life, on Baker Street, they have those and are expecting you all in at some point this week.’

  The lads all looked at each other, nonplussed. Sam was the first to break the silence. ‘And the funds are split between us here and the community centre, right?’ Alan agreed readily, looking at the lads for a reaction. They all looked to Sam. ‘Well, I think we can trim a few hedges, run a hoover round, eh, lads? That’s all it will be. A bit embarrassing sure, but we’ve all seen worse.’

  A murmur of grudging assent rumbled through the table, and Alan mouthed ‘thank you’ at him. He nodded once respectfully. He would have done it anyway, but he felt like he had to lead the charge, really. He really needed this event, to get closer. He knew that Lucy would be involved too, thanks to the ladies. Seeing her every minute he could this summer was becoming his favourite thing. The summer was over in two weeks, and school would be starting. Things were so up in the air, they needed as much time as possible. While they could.

  Gary, still slaving away in the kitchen, wasn’t impressed. ‘Why am I not on the ruddy list? What about me?’ He lifted up his t-shirt to show off a rather impressive set of abs on his skinny frame. ‘Two per cent fat, mate, that’s me. Women love it! Sod ’em, I tell ya. Sod ’em!’

  He went back to serving, every portion of chicken stew being sloshed into bowls, dumplings plonked on top as he chuntered on to himself. Sam went over and picked up a tray full of steaming hot bowls.

  ‘Looks lush. Gary, listen. I bet we could auction you off, like a Naked Chef type thing?’

  Gary’s face lit up, his mouth opening in a wide gasp.

  ‘YES! I’d bloody rock that! Do you know him, like? Would he mind?’

  Sam was confused. ‘Know who?’

  ‘Jamie Oliver!’ He slapped Sam on the arm. ‘He comes from your neck of the woods, doesn’t he?’

  Sam laughed. ‘Er, no I don’t know every cockney, besides he’s an Essex boy. Do you know every famous Yorkshire person?’

  Gary thought seriously for a moment. ‘Well, I did meet a few of the Dingles once, at a farming show.’

  Sam’s raised brow was enough to silence him on the point. ‘Am sure we can sort something out, I’ll speak to the chief.’

  ‘Well, good luck with that. I have a feeling that he’s the monkey, not the organ grinder.’

  Sam chuckled, patting Gary on the back. Gary, with his 2 per cent fat and tin ribs, flew into the wall and face-planted into the plaster.

  Sam was due to come round in ten minutes, and she was still staring into her bedroom mirror, trying to work out what shade of lipstick to put on. She’d packed light when leaving London, and her little make-up kit was sparse. Had she known she would be going on a date with a fireman, then she would have perhaps been better prepared. She was wearing her best dark blue denim jeans, a cream blouse that flowed and hung off her body in all the right places, and her little dusky pink jacket. She’d topped it off with a pair of cream kitten heels, and curled her hair so it hung in loose, beachy waves. She was all ready, except for her naked lips. She’d lined up the two options, and was looking from one to the othe
r, back to her reflection in the mirror. She felt sick with indecision. Nothing had felt right since she’d spoken to Agatha. Nothing could ever feel right again. She looked again at the sticks of pretty lip gloss, and grabbed the deeper shade, slicked it on over her lips and tucked it into her handbag. She checked her phone, but thankfully it was still quiet. After her last text to Iain, she hadn’t replied to him at all, and eventually he had stopped. This morning, around the time Iain would be sitting down at his work desk, she got a text.

  ‘Sorry’ was all it read. She didn’t reply. He should be sorry, but she knew it was more than drunken ramblings. He was upset, and she needed to sort things out. Less than two weeks now and she would be due home. Whatever happened, she would be tied to Iain for life, through their son. She had to decide what she was doing, and stick to it. Rip off the plaster, wait for the stinging of the skin, the feel of the fine hairs being pulled from their roots. She checked her reflection in the mirror, and was satisfied that she looked good. Showtime.

  She was barely downstairs when she heard the knock at the door. She went over and opened it, finding her legs shaky as she walked.

  ‘Hi.’

  Sam was standing there in grey slacks, a white patterned shirt and grey tie covering his torso, a bunch of flowers in his hands, and a bar of chocolate.

  ‘For Xander,’ he explained, passing it over with the flowers. ‘The flowers are for you.’ She took both with thanks, murmured ‘come in’ and headed to the kitchen. He followed her in, dipping his head as he walked through the door.

  She busied herself by arranging the flowers in a vase she found under the sink, putting the chocolate out of reach for Xander to have later. She could feel him watching her, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him again. When she’d set eyes on him at the front door, he’d taken her breath away. He looked so attractive, so cute, she couldn’t bear it. He had a happy expression on his face, one that she had come to enjoy and even try to coax out of him in their time together. She didn’t want to be the one to break that mood. She’d rather die than cause him pain. She took her time, slicing the bottoms of the stems, arranging them neatly in the glass vase.