The Rose and Crown was a lovely traditional pub on the outskirts of the village. Annie was surprised that it was busy, even on a cold Tuesday on the first night in November. But they managed to find a table that had just been vacated next to the large roaring fire. She settled into a comfortable battered leather chair whilst Sam ordered the drinks.
It was a beautiful place, with low beams and a cosy feel. But despite feeling warm for the first time in weeks, Annie couldn’t settle. Not until she had made Sam listen to her. She had resigned from her job but he hadn’t seemed to have heard her.
He arrived at the table juggling two glasses of red wine and a couple of menus.
‘The food looks great,’ he said, shrugging off his coat before sitting down opposite her. He took a sip of wine. ‘Mmmm, that’s good.’
She ignored the glass that he had placed in front of her. ‘Look,’ she began. ‘I’m not sure you understood before. About my job.’
‘I’ve made it a rule never to discuss business on an empty stomach,’ he replied, giving her an unexpected smile. ‘Well, that’s what Aunt Rose tells me. You know, that’s a pretty nice glass of wine. You should try some and relax. Might offset any hangover that was still lingering. Now, what do you want to eat?’
Annie didn’t feel remotely hungry but she ordered a burger from the menu just to get Sam off her back.
As they waited for their dinner, only the crackle of the fire split the silence between them. Annie stared into the flames that licked up the side of the brick hearth.
‘That’s the first thing that I’m going to get done,’ said Sam, also looking at the fire. ‘You can’t beat a real fire, can you? We’re going to get the chimneys sorted and get some heat back in the house.’
We? She wondered who he was referring to.
Sam glanced around. ‘This is nice. You ever come in here?’
‘Not recently,’ she replied. ‘In fact, I don’t think I’ve actually been in here since I was young. I seem to remember coming here with my mum and dad during the summer. We used to sit outside in the beer garden.’
The memories made her both happy but sad that their time together had been so brief.
‘So after you lost your dad, you moved away with your mum?’ he asked.
Annie sighed as she nodded her reply.
‘What’s your stepfather like?’
She took a beat before telling him. ‘Mean.’
Sam didn’t reply, just waited for her to speak.
Annie realised it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t see Sam ever again after that evening so she took a deep breath and started with the safe stuff. She talked about her father passing away when she was ten years old. How her mother had been completely destroyed by the loss and had clung onto the strongest person she could find – her father’s best friend. How everything had changed when they had moved into their home.
‘He didn’t like having a stepdaughter?’ asked Sam.
Annie shook her head. ‘Maybe it was just me. Perhaps he thought that if he hit me hard enough I might change my attitude towards him.’
Sam looked shocked. ‘Your stepdad hit you?’ His jaw clenched in anger and he gripped his wine glass so hard that his knuckles turned white. ‘That’s terrible.’
Annie shrugged her shoulders, trying to pretend it hadn’t been a big deal. But it had almost destroyed her.
‘Was it just the one time?’ he asked, his eyes boring into hers with a compassion that took her breath away.
‘More than once,’ said Annie, reaching forward to take a sip of wine. ‘A lot more.’
*
Sam couldn’t believe it. Annie had talked about her family before but he had never realised she had had such a bad time when she was growing up. At least when he and Will had lost their parents, they had the love and support of their grandparents. Annie had been virtually alone.
‘What about friends?’ he said, thinking of his own friend Alex in particular. ‘Wasn’t there anyone you could talk to? Ask for help?’
‘Megan and our other best friend at school, Eleanor, were there for me. But after we moved I didn’t see them apart from during school holidays. Besides, I was so mixed up and just ended up pushing most people away. All those teenage hormones, I guess.’ She gave a sad smile. ‘Anyway, my stepfather got thrown out of every job he ever held so we ended up moving around so much that I never had time to make new friends. I flunked all my exams so I got some temporary work wherever I could. Anything to have my own money. I was desperate to get away, you see.’
‘I’m not surprised,’ he told her, shaking his head. ‘What happened?’
‘I grew up and was finally big enough to stop him and leave home for good.’
He was shocked and saddened about what had happened to Annie. Nothing he could say and do would ever take that away from her. But he couldn’t stop himself from reaching over the table and squeezing her much smaller hand in his.
‘I’m sorry,’ he told her. ‘Now I understand why family is so important to you.’
‘Only if they want you,’ she replied, with a sad smile.
*
Annie stared down at Sam’s hand over hers.
Steady, she told her racing pulse. You might care for him but he’s with Cassandra, remember? Out of bounds. Thou shalt not covet thy bitchy singer’s boyfriend.
‘So when did you move out?’ he asked, taking his hand away.
She tried to ignore the feeling of loss. ‘As soon as I could apply for my own passport.’
‘Where did you go?’
‘I had no qualifications. School and college had been an escape for me but I never paid too much attention. But I had to get as far away as possible. So I ended up working on cruise ships as a chambermaid.’
‘Wow.’ Sam looked astonished. ‘Where did you work?’
‘The whole world,’ she told him. ‘Sydney. The Far East. The Pacific. Anywhere but here. I came home as infrequently as I could.’
Sam nodded thoughtfully. ‘I don’t blame you. So how did you end up at Willow Tree Hall?’
She couldn’t tell him about Steve. How having her heart broken had changed everything. How Megan had picked up the shattered pieces of her soul and tried to put her back together again.
So she kept it simple. ‘In the end, I got fed up of the endless moving around. I guess I really wanted somewhere to call home. I came back to see Megan and the kids. She was the one who suggested applying for the housekeeping job. She’d just started cleaning twice a week for your grandad.’
Annie was grateful for the interruption of the food arriving. She had expected Sam to be shocked by her past but he had taken it all quite calmly.
She waited for the waitress to leave before saying, ‘Look. I’m not trained in anything. I have no qualifications. I can’t even cook properly. I certainly can’t keep a house like a professional would.’
Sam frowned. ‘But that’s nonsense. You know, you’re great at all those things, actually.’
Annie couldn’t believe it. Surely he was wrong?
Sam studied her for a beat before comprehension dawned on his face. ‘Don’t tell me, let me guess. Your stepfather kept telling you that you were no good and rubbish at everything.’
She was startled by how much he had picked up regarding her lack of confidence in herself.
‘The bad stuff is easier to believe than the good stuff,’ she muttered.
There was a short silence before he spoke. ‘But we believe in you.’
She looked up at him, startled by his words. ‘We?’
He nodded. ‘Me and Grandad. We trust you.’ He paused. ‘I trust you.’
‘Even though I lied to you all?’
He stared at her with an intensity that made her pulse quicken. ‘It doesn’t matter. Unless you’re telling me that you want to leave anyway?’
She took a deep breath. ‘No. I don’t.’
He seemed to relax. ‘Good. Because I think that my grandfather needs a warm, loving person to take care of him at home and I can’t think of anyone whom I would trust to do that other than you. OK?’
She nodded, unable to speak by the effect his words had on her. She ducked her head, pretending to concentrate on the food in front of her, in case he saw the tears in her eyes.
*
‘How about another drink?’ said Sam, gesturing at the barmaid to bring them over another couple of glasses of wine.
‘What about the car?’ she asked.
‘Oh, I never drink and drive,’ Sam told her. ‘Not after my parents’ accident.’
‘Of course,’ said Annie quickly. ‘I should have remembered. Sorry.’
‘You’re not expected to know every detail of my family’s tragic past.’ Sam wanted to reassure her.
Annie watched him for a second. ‘It must have been such a shock to lose them like that. At least with my dad, I had a bit of warning.’
Sam nodded. ‘It was. One day we were just a normal family. The next day, they were gone. All because some idiot decided he was sober enough to drive home.’
It had changed everything. Not only where they lived but how they had lived as well. To go from having young parents to elderly grandparents as their main guardians had been a huge culture shock for all of them. In addition, they had had to move from their own cosy house into Willow Tree Hall, a huge stately home.
‘Will took it very hard,’ said Sam, remembering the tears his younger brother had shed for so long.
‘What about you?’ asked Annie, softly.
Sam took a deep breath in thought before saying, ‘I had to be strong for Will. I tried to be Mum and Dad rolled up in one. But in the end, the pressure was too much. I ran away from home when I was seventeen.’
Annie almost choked on a chip. ‘Why?’ she blurted out.
‘My grandparents had been horrified that I wanted to play in a band,’ he told her before allowing himself a wry smile. ‘Not that I was any good as it turned out so my rebellion only lasted about a week. I quickly realised that my skills lay in recognising those who actually had talent. So I became a manager instead.’
He thought back to the scrapbook that Annie had found and felt a wave of comfort that his grandfather had secretly supported him with that decision after all.
*
Annie watched as Sam took a sip of his wine. There was a sadness lying behind that rigid façade. After all, his life, like hers, had been shattered in his early teens.
Seeing Sam was still looking lost in melancholy, she tried to think of a lighter subject.
‘Did I read that you manage Hazy Weekend?’
Sam rolled his eyes. ‘I must have done something terrible in a former life.’ But he broke into a smile. ‘I’m kidding. Almost. They’re a good bunch. They were the first band that I ever took on.’
‘My mum loves that Christmas hit of theirs.’
He grimaced. ‘Doesn’t everyone? Unfortunately, it’s the only hit they’ve ever had. But the royalties roll in every year. Though if you think our previous builders were badly behaved, just wait ‘til you meet them. These rock bands are just walking sexual hormones.’
I know, thought Annie sadly as she ate her burger. I know.
*
Sam had a feeling Annie was leaving something out of her story. Some tiny final piece in the jigsaw. But perhaps she would trust him in time.
‘You’re so lucky,’ she suddenly said, staring into the flames. ‘Having a big, loving family, I mean.’
‘I know,’ said Sam.
Annie leant forward. ‘Your grandfather and Aunt Rose were so kind to me. That first night in the attic was the best sleep I had known for years.’
‘They gave you security,’ said Sam, realising how blind he had been.
‘And love,’ said Annie before her pretty face clouded with concern. ‘Look, I know they’re not my actual family…’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ he quickly told her. ‘You don’t have to share the same blood to be close. Or even as far away from each other like I’ve been with Grandad.’
‘But you’re friends now?’
‘I think so,’ he said, thinking back to his visit to the nursing home earlier.
Perhaps they were finally getting along.
And so was he and Annie.
He glanced across at her. Her pretty face was softly illuminated by the flames. Those beautiful huge green eyes were looking so sad. He had a sudden desire to take away all of her pain and protect her from any further hurt.
He needed to prove to her that he was serious about renovating Willow Tree Hall. He was also hugely relieved that she wouldn’t be leaving any time soon.
And he knew deep down that it wasn’t just for his grandad’s sake.