The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) (112 page)

‘I wish I’d had the chance to see
you
when you were sixteen. You must make
contact with her. Her father and his wife, were they good people? Presumably
you knew you could trust them?’

‘I’m sure they’ll have looked
after her very well. I’m hoping to visit them next week. All I want is to
satisfy myself that she’s okay. I’ve no intention of removing her from their
care.
 
She’s old enough now to cope with
the truth. If she’d like to visit me some time then I’d be thrilled to have her
stay. That invitation is extended to all of you. I really hope you’ll visit me
in LA.’

‘We’d love to,’ Leanne said. ‘But
we can’t afford that sort of trip. It would cost thousands.’

‘It won’t cost you a penny. I’ll
pay for the flights and we’ve plenty of spare bedrooms at the ranch to
accommodate you - really,’ she finished, as her brother began to protest.
‘You’re my family; the thrill of knowing I have you is wonderful. I’ve felt so
lonely all my life. You can’t possibly imagine how good it feels to find you
after all this time.’

‘Well in that case,’ Leanne said,
grinning with delight. ‘We’ll take you up on the offer.’
    

‘Do you live close to the sea?’
her brother asked.

‘Not too far. We’re in Orange
County on the West Coast - just
south of Los Angeles. We have a
yacht moored at Newport Beach.
Danny can take you sailing, Peter; he’d love that. I’ll make sure he takes time
off. He works far too hard and hardly ever takes a break.’

‘Selling property can be hard
graft,’ her father said. ‘Does he need to work, you being a big star and all
that?’

Livvy felt her cheeks warming
again. ‘Dan’s a property millionaire,’ she admitted. ‘He’s responsible for
employing many people across LA. He couldn’t just up-sticks. Anyway, he needs
to do his own thing or we’d be under one another’s feet too much. To be honest,
we’re going through a bad patch with our marriage at the moment.’

‘Is that why he hasn’t come with
you?’ Leanne asked.

‘Yes - sort of.’

‘Well let’s hope it all works out
in the end, hen.’ Her father patted her hand.

‘Shall we eat before the kids
scoff the lot?’ her brother suggested.

‘Good idea,’ Livvy said.

***

CHAPTER
SEVEN

‘You still awake, Sam?’ Roy
switched on the bedside lamp and prodded her shoulder gently. ‘I can’t sleep,’
he said as she rolled to face him.

She put her arms around him,
snuggling into his chest. ‘What’s wrong? You worrying about Harley and Livvy?’

‘Yeah. What if Harley decides she
wants to live in the States with her?’

‘She wants to get to know Livvy
but doesn’t want to leave
us
, Roy.
She’s adamant about that. We talked when you popped out to get the takeaway.’

‘What would I do without you,
Sam?’

‘I don’t know.’ She kissed him and
stroked his face. ‘I was thinking earlier about when we first started dating.
Do you remember our trips to Norman’s
Woods after school?’

‘Oh boy, do I. Lying with you on
the grass in the clearing, and then if it was muddy, doing it standing against
a tree! I’m getting horny just thinking about you in school uniform.’ He
stroked her hair from her face and pulled her closer. She always slept naked
since the hot flushes started and he loved the feel of her silken skin next to
him. He ran his hands over her body and traced her nipples with his fingertips,
feeling them stiffen. ‘Don’t suppose you fancy a shag?’
 

‘You’re such a romantic,
Cantello,’ she said, laughing at his hopeful expression. She reached to caress
his growing erection. ‘At least I can still turn you on.’

‘The day you can’t, I’ll be dead!’
He kissed her long and hard and stroked and explored her. He moved down the bed
and buried his face between her thighs. She groaned as his tongue began
searching. He planted little kisses up her stomach, her breasts, neck. She
rolled him over and straddled him.
  

‘You okay?’ he asked, holding her
breasts as she rode him. He knew what her answer would be. Sammy loved to fuck
as much as he did when she was in the mood.
 

‘Oh God, yes!’
  

The expression in her eyes told
him how much she loved him. She tossed her head from side to side as he thrust
deeply. ‘Sammy, oh Jesus, I love you, woman!’ he cried. He lay still, breathing
deeply, while she held him close and stroked his hair.

‘Feel better now?’ she whispered.

‘Much,’ he whispered back. ‘I’m so
scared things are going to change between us.’
 

‘We won’t allow them to,’ she
said.
  

***

Sammy rolled over and moved Roy’s
arm from around her middle. She slid out of bed and wiped away secret tears. Roy
was snoring softly, but now
she
couldn’t
sleep. Her mind was all over the place
and
she was having another hot sweat.
  

She pulled Roy’s
discarded T-shirt over her head, crept downstairs, brewed a mug of chamomile
tea and sat at the table next to the patio doors. She watched a scrawny fox,
making its way across the garden. It stopped in its tracks when she switched on
the patio lights. Frozen in the glare it stared at Sammy and she stared back.
Then it turned with a flick of its bushy red tail and ran off. She went to the
fridge, took out the remains of a cooked chicken, and opened the patio door.
She slid the plate outside, locked up and drew the blinds. The fox would be
back when it scented the chicken on the gentle night breeze.
     

She reached for the end of a joint
Roy had left in the ashtray. There
was just enough for a couple of tokes. She lit up, spluttered and puffed out a
small cloud of smoke. It was years since she’d smoked anything. Harley was
forever lecturing about the dangers, but with Roy
it fell on deaf ears. She inhaled again and smiled as it hit the spot. She
sipped her tea and tried to envisage a scenario where she would come face to
face with Livvy Grant. She couldn’t picture it, and hopefully, it wouldn’t be
necessary. Roy and Harley could handle any meetings well enough without her.
Her eyes filled with tears again. The thought of Roy and Livvy in the same room
filled her with fear and uncertainty. All she held dear felt threatened. But
one thing was certain, she was a stronger woman than she’d been sixteen years
ago and whatever happened this time, there was no way she was sharing him.
   

***

Harley pulled back the curtains
and stared out at the bright, sunny morning. Saturday - she was sixteen at
last.
   

In her en-suite she studied her
pale face. She still had dark circles under her eyes and rubbed at a spot of
dry blood just above her top lip. Last night’s nose bleed had been short,
compared to others she’d had this week. She brushed her teeth and saw blood
when she spat into the basin. She frowned. Why the hell did she keep bleeding?
Must be anaemia - whatever that was - like Mum said.

***

Sammy pushed a mug of coffee
across the table to Roy. ‘Shall I
go and wake her?’

‘She’ll be down when she’s ready,’
Roy said, lighting his first
cigarette of the day.
 

Sammy turned to the pile of
presents and cards on the table. She rearranged them and tweaked a couple of
bows.

‘That’s the third time you’ve done
that,’ Roy said. ‘Sit down and
drink your coffee, woman. Pity you finished my joint. Looks like you could use
it now.’

‘Shh, don’t let Harley hear you
saying that.’ Sammy sat down and feigned a smile. She could feel her heart
beating. ‘Think I’m getting another hot sweat.’ She fanned herself with her
hand as Roy took a swig of coffee.
She jumped up again and opened the patio doors, reaching for the chicken plate
from last night. The remains had gone and she had a sudden picture of the fox,
jaws slavering, picking up the carcass and staring slyly at her. As he turned
to run the carcass became Harley hanging from his mouth. She closed her eyes to
block out the scene.

‘You okay, love?’ Roy’s
voice penetrated her thoughts.

She looked at him, saw the concern
in his eyes and her heart turned over. He was a soft touch at times.
Livvy could wrap him around her little finger and he wouldn’t stand a chance.
Stop it, Sam, she told herself. He’s yours and he’s going nowhere. ‘Yeah, just
a bit nervous in case she doesn’t like her pressies.’
   

‘She will. You always get exactly
what she’s asked for. Here she comes,’ he
said, smiling as footfalls sounded on the stairs.
 

Sammy ran to greet her and hugged
and kissed her. She laughed as Roy
stood up and caught Harley in his arms. He twirled her around and then put her
down and sang Happy Birthday to her in his own rock-style. Harley giggled as he
flung out his arms and threw back his head in a final crescendo.

‘Happy birthday, darling. How are
you feeling?’ Sammy asked, giving her another hug.
  

‘Better thanks, Mum.’
   

‘Come on, sit down and get your
pressies opened.’ Sammy pulled Harley’s chair out. ‘Now, what would you like
for breakfast? Bacon and Eggs, full English?

‘Juice and toast with honey,
please, Mum.’

‘Full English sounds good to me,’ Roy
said.

‘Bad for your heart, Roy.
You can have grilled bacon and scrambled egg in a minute.’ She poured him
another coffee and Harley some juice then sat down as Harley picked up a bulky
parcel and ripped off the wrappings.
     

‘Oh, black leather.’ Harley held
the contents to her nose. ‘Love the smell. It’s exactly like the jacket Kate
bought Jack at Christmas.’

‘I expect that’s why Jason bought
the same one for you,’ Roy said. He
picked up a neatly wrapped and beribboned package. ‘This is from Jules.’
 

‘Feels like CD’s.’ She tore off
the paper and grinned. ‘Wow, look at this lot.
Robbie Williams, Dido, Westlife
- it’s the current chart.’ Next she
unwrapped a flat box and lifted out a low cut, black Lycra and lace dress.
‘Wicked, a Chloe dress. Oh, thanks, Mum. I’ll wear it tonight at the party.’

‘It’s very nice,’ Roy
said, ‘but it’s a bit short.’

‘It’s no shorter than I normally
wear. Now what’s in this last parcel? More clothes. Oh, they’re from Gap,
brilliant!’ She held up a pair of khaki combat pants, a padded gilet and a
cream, long-sleeved T-shirt.

‘Mum’s choice again,’ Roy
smiled. ‘She always gets it right.’ He grinned at Sammy.
  

‘Glad you like them, sweetheart,’
Sammy said as a loud clatter came from the hall. ‘There’s the post. Nip and get
it, Roy.’
     

‘Thanks, Mum, for everything. I’ll
wear the pants and stuff later when Jack and Nathan come over. Dad,’ Harley
began, as Roy came back in the room
and handed over a pile of cards. ‘Please don’t be horrible to Jack.’

‘I’ve no intention of being
horrible to him. But that doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven him.’ He dug into his back
pocket, pulled out a small red book and Sammy snatched it off him.

‘An extra gift from me and Dad,’
she said, handing it to Harley.

It was a building society book.
Harley opened the first page and gasped. ‘Five grand! All for me? My own
money?’

‘Well, sixteen’s a special
birthday. Now I can come and tap you up when I’m a bit short,’ Roy
teased.
 

‘Thank you, thank you, thank you,’
Harley cried. ‘Wow, just wait until I tell Jack. By the way, can I tell him
about Livvy yet?’

‘Leave it a while,’ Sammy said.
‘Let’s see how things go. Open your cards now. There’s quite a lot this year.’

‘My friends have posted instead of
giving them to me at school.’ She opened several of the cards, smiling at the messages
of greeting and get well wishes. She pulled out a card from a large pink
envelope. She looked at the written message,
which simply stated,
Wishing You
Many Happy Returns, With All My Love, Livvy
,
followed by a row of kisses. ‘It’s from Livvy.’ She handed the card to Sammy
and sat back in her chair.
 

Roy
grabbed the pink envelope and studied the franking. ‘Posted in Glasgow.
That’s how I missed it. I was looking for an Air Mail mark.’

‘Well I hope she doesn’t turn up
here tonight,’ Sammy said, staring at the card with the inscription –
To a Special Daughter
.

‘She wouldn’t dare,’ Roy
said.
 

‘Well turning up unannounced was
something she used to be good at,’ she reminded him and folded her arms. Trust
Livvy to take the shine off this special morning.

‘Mum, stop worrying,’ Harley said.
‘She’ll make proper arrangements to meet me.’

‘Yeah, of course she will,’ Roy
agreed.
 

***

‘Do you think I’m getting jowls?’ Roy
inspected his jaw line in the dressing table mirror.

‘Are you heck,’ Sammy said. ‘Stop
hogging the mirror and finish drying your hair. I want to do my makeup.’

‘My face isn’t as lean as it used
to be though, is it?’ He pushed his chin up with both hands and frowned.
‘Perhaps I should have a facelift.’

‘You don’t need a facelift. Why
are you suddenly so bothered about your appearance?’

‘I need a bit of reassurance,
that’s all,’ he said, wrapping a towel sari style around his middle.
  

‘Why?’

‘Dunno. I’m fifty-nine next. I
feel old lately. Perhaps I should dye my hair instead.’
     

‘No way. You look really
distinguished with your silver threads. This panic about getting old wouldn’t
have anything to do with Livvy coming, would it?’

Roy
looked put out. ‘No, of course it bloody isn’t.’

Sammy shook her head. ‘Then stop
faffing and get a move on. I’ve still got loads to do. Harley will be in any
minute. She turned her hairdryer off a while ago.’

There was a tap on the door. ‘Are
you decent?’ Harley asked, popping her head around.

‘
I
am, but your father’s
not!’ Sammy threw a pair of boxer shorts and black trousers at Roy.
‘Put them on in the bathroom.’ She turned to Harley, who, in spite of her
makeup, still looked pale. ‘You look lovely, sweetheart. That Chloe dress fits
you like a glove.’

‘Do you think Jack will like it?’
Harley twirled round, showing off the dress from all angles. Her dark hair
cascaded over her shoulders, and she’d anchored each side with sparkling silver
clips.

‘I’m sure he will.’

‘You can still see my bruises even
through these black tights.’ She held out a silkily clad leg for inspection.

‘Not as much as you think,’ Sammy
said. ‘No one will notice. I’ll finish getting ready and we’ll go downstairs.’

Roy
sauntered back into the bedroom and wolf whistled at Harley. ‘Wow, you look
stunning. Better keep my eye on you and Jack tonight.’
 

Harley blushed, adding colour to
her cheeks. ‘There’s no need for that. We’ve learnt our lesson.’

‘I hope so, Princess. There’s the
doorbell. Go and see who it is.’ He delved into the wardrobe and pulled out a
red silk shirt as Harley left the room. ‘Will this do, Sam?’

‘Yes. Red suits you.’ She stroked
blusher on her cheeks, slicked on lipstick, and ran her fingers through her
long hair, leaving it slightly tousled. ‘Does this outfit look okay?’

‘Very oriental. Same blue as your
eyes. New?’

‘Yeah. I got it from Monsoon when
I went out with Jane and Jess last week. Thought it would look good with my
Jimmy Choo’s.’ She held out her foot, clad in an elegant pewter sandal, toe
nails painted to match.
 

‘You look bloody gorgeous, but
then, you always do.’ He kissed her and clutched her backside through the fine
silk. ‘No knickers?’ He grinned, eyebrows raised questioningly.

‘That’s for me to know and you to
find out.’
 

‘Oh I will, soon as you get rid of
the guests.’

‘Hold your horses, you horny sod.
They haven’t even arrived yet.’