The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) (133 page)

  
Roy shrugged helplessly,
still kneeling on the floor.

  
‘I’ll make more tea.’ Laura gathered up the tray. Jess let in Doctor
Shaw who was closely followed by Eddie and Jane.

  
Jess ushered them into the kitchen. Roy
explained the situation to the doctor who gave Courtney a sedative and
suggested Roy put her to bed while
he examined Livvy.
     

  
‘I know this is a very difficult time for you. I can’t begin to imagine
what you and your daughter are going through at the moment, but you must rest
or I’ll need to admit you to hospital,’ he warned Livvy. ‘Your blood pressure
is too high.’ He turned to Roy who had come back into the room. ‘Even though
she’s extremely traumatised, I’m reluctant to give Mrs McVey a sedative in her
condition. But she must rest, it’s vital for the sake of the baby.’

  
Roy nodded. ‘Whatever you
think’s best. A drop of brandy in her tea perhaps?’

  
‘Just a drop on this occasion will do no harm. I’ll pop in tomorrow
morning. If you need me in the meantime, don’t hesitate to call the surgery.’

  
Roy saw the doctor to the
door then called to the others. ‘You can come out now.’

  
Laura carried a tray of mugs into the lounge while Eddie followed with
the bottle of brandy, Jane and Jess on his heels.

  
‘Are you okay, Livvy,’ Jane asked.

  
‘The doctor said her blood pressure’s too high. She needs to rest or
he’ll have her in hospital. Oh shit, none of you know of course, apart from
Jess,’ Roy said as they all looked
puzzled. ‘Livvy’s pregnant. Not the best of times to be announcing our news,
I’m afraid.’

  
‘Oh, Livvy, I know congratulations sound a bit odd at the moment,’ Laura
said. ‘But you know what I mean.’

  
‘Thanks, Laura, I’m sorry we’ve kept it quiet,’ Livvy said. ‘But it’s a
difficult situation, what with our divorces and stuff.’
 

  
‘We’ve kept everything as low key as possible because of the girls,
too,’ Roy added. ‘They don’t know
about the baby yet and this isn’t a good time to tell them. But we have to do
that soon, for obvious reasons. Also, I haven’t told Sammy yet. I’d be grateful
if you keep this to yourselves until I get the chance to speak to her.’

  
‘Does Danny know you’re pregnant, Livvy?’ Jane asked.

  
‘No,’ she replied, her eyes filling. ‘Now it looks as though he never
will. He’s gone, I just know he has.’
     

  
‘They evacuated a lot of people from the North
Tower before the collapse. Maybe he
got out safely,’ Eddie said, pouring brandy into the mugs.

  
‘Just a drop for Livvy please,’ Roy
said.
 
‘Before Courtney closed her eyes
when I put her to bed, she said the same thing as Livvy - Dad’s gone.’

  
Jane and Laura blinked back tears as the phone rang. Roy
answered it and spoke briefly then turned to the others. ‘That was Maria from
Danny’s office. They haven’t heard anything officially yet, but she confirmed
the meeting was on the 85
^th
floor. If he and Jodie were in the
building at the time the plane hit, it’s unlikely they’ll have got out alive.
She’ll keep us informed.’

  
‘I’ll take Harley home to stay with me tonight, Roy,’
Jess announced. ‘I’ve arranged for Jon to collect Jack and Nathan from school,
so I don’t have to worry about them.’

  
‘Thanks, Jess. I’ll stay here of course. Harley has her pills with her.
She takes quite a cocktail, but she knows exactly what to take and when.’

  
‘She’ll need a nightdress and something to wear for tomorrow. I’ll get
her some of Courtney’s things,’ Livvy said, struggling to get up off the sofa.

  
‘Don’t you dare move,’ Roy
said. ‘I’ll see to all that.’

  
Eddie stared after Roy as he
left the room. ‘We’ve had some stuff to deal with in our lives, but never
anything quite as shocking as this. You let Roy
take care of you, Livvy and look after that baby. It will mean a lot to you
both, I’m sure.’
 

  
‘It does,’ Livvy replied. ‘You do all realise that this baby could be a
perfect bone- marrow match for Harley?’ She gently patted her bump. ‘Roy Jnr
might save our daughter’s life someday.’

  
‘Roy Jnr?’ Jane smiled
tearfully. ‘It’s a boy then?’

  
‘It is,’ Livvy nodded. ‘When we had the twenty-week scan they asked us
if we wanted to know. I wasn’t bothered, but Roy
was so excited at seeing his baby wriggling around on the screen that he
couldn’t wait to find out. He’s thrilled to bits. It’s such a shame we couldn’t
announce our news on a happier occasion, but sometimes there’s never a right
time.’

***

Livvy’s family in Scotland
were in constant touch to see if there was any news and Sheena and Gerry
offered to fly out to New York,
but Livvy begged them not to go.
 

  
‘I’d be terrified at the thoughts of you flying at the moment,’ she told
Sheena. ‘There’s little you can do if you
did
go. Danny isn’t in any of
the hospitals, nor on the latest list of survivors. His office is in daily
contact with us and I’m afraid we have to assume the worst until we’re
officially informed.’

***

On the 20
^th
September
Livvy received the news she’d been expecting. Daniel and Jodie were listed
amongst the missing. She was told there’d been no survivors from above the
point of impact in the North Tower.
All the stairways and elevator shafts had been destroyed prior to the
building’s collapse, leaving no escape routes.

  
She granted permission to the authorities for them to take both Daniel’s
hair and toothbrushes from the hotel suite to help with DNA identification, although,
as of yet, his remains had not been recovered. Livvy felt numb with grief.
Although any love she’d had for Daniel had waned during their marriage, she
had
cared for him. He’d been a devoted and loving father to Courtney and his loss
would leave a gaping hole in their lives. Livvy felt sad that he’d not had the
chance to marry Jodie and have his much longed-for son and heir.

  
‘I don’t know what to do about the businesses, Roy,’
she said after speaking to a concerned Maria. ‘The staff are understandably
worried about their jobs. There are good managers, like Maria, in each real
estate office, so they’ll carry on as normal for now, but it’s the future I’m
concerned about.
I
can’t fly
home at the moment to deal with anything. There’s the ranch too, of course,
and
the horses. I’ll try and speak with the stable manager later today. He’s
already been on to Maria, voicing his concerns.’

  
Roy nodded. ‘Once the baby
arrives and Harley’s in remission, we’ll fly to LA as a family and sort
everything out.
I
don’t know anything about real estate, but when
The
Raiders
retire, maybe we could divide our time between here and LA and try and run the
businesses ourselves.’

  
Livvy shook her head. ‘I don’t want to do that. The girls are settled in
school here and can you imagine the protests from Harley when she has to leave
Jack for any length of time, not to mention Courtney and that Jamie Donahue.
I’d rather try and float the whole lot and sell up.’

  
‘It’s up to you, sweetheart. But you don’t have to make any big
decisions just yet. Danny’s lawyer can earn his living by doing some of the
worrying for you. Courtney inherits the bulk of his assets anyway, so it’s
her
future we should be concerned with.
The kid’s a multi-millionaire before she’s even sixteen.

  
‘There’s
your
career too. I
know you told me you don’t ever want to sing again, but believe me, Liv, once
Roy Jnr arrives you’ll feel differently. When I called Hank the other day he
was wondering if he shouldn’t fly over to see you. I told him you’d speak to him
as soon as you’re feeling up to talking to people.’

  
Livvy sighed and rested her hands on her wriggling bump. Roy Jnr was
getting so big and he was very active. He was never still for a minute and with
all the stress she’d hardly slept a wink since 9/11. She couldn’t face speaking
to anyone at the moment, not even her parents and Sheena. She’d had the press
on the phone, though God knows how they’d got her number, wanting her comments
on Danny’s death and asking why she was still in England
when her husband was missing in New York.
She’d responded with “No comment” and now there were reporters and
photographers hanging around the lane. Livvy felt like she wanted to hide away
with her daughters and Roy and never have to face the world again. There was no
closure for her. Without a body there was no funeral to arrange, just this
surreal feeling of limbo.

  
Courtney had quietly accepted the fact that her father had passed away
and to everyone’s surprise, had calmly announced at the beginning of October that
she was going back to school. Livvy knew her daughter’s pain was bottled up and
her calm exterior was just a front. She reminded her so much of herself. If
only she would cry and scream and give vent to her feelings, but since Doctor
Shaw had administered that sedative Courtney had been dignified in her grief,
retreating into a private shell that only Harley and Jamie Donahue seemed able
to penetrate.

  
Livvy had spoken in depth to the head of Manor Banks who had assured her
that Courtney would receive the utmost support from him, his colleagues and
pupils. So Livvy felt that she had no choice but to allow her daughter to
return.

***

‘Are you quite sure you’re ready
for this, Courtney?’ Livvy asked as they all sat around the breakfast table.
Two weeks on from hearing that Daniel was confirmed as missing, Roy and Harley
had moved into Charlecote Cottage, now that there was no reason not to.

  
‘Yes.’ But Courtney’s smile didn’t reach her eyes and her lower lip
trembled.

  
Harley, who was seated opposite her sister, caught her eye and nodded.
‘Don’t bottle out now,’ she mouthed silently.

  
‘What’s with you two?’ Roy
frowned, catching the look that passed between the girls.

  
‘Life has to go on,’ Harley announced philosophically. ‘I’m doing well
with my chemo, even though I have to wear this stupid bandanna, Courtney’s
coping as well as she can and Jamie’s being supportive, so don’t you go giving
her earache about seeing him,
and…,’
she tailed off, looking sternly at
her parents, ‘it’s about time you two came clean. Honestly, you’re behaving
like a pair of kids with a guilty secret.’

  
‘What?’ Roy gasped, a blush
creeping up his neck.

  
‘Mom’s pregnant!’ Courtney announced bluntly.

  
‘
Very
pregnant,’ Harley chipped in. ‘Why didn’t you tell us?
We’re not idiots, we guessed ages ago.’

  
Livvy glanced at Roy whose
mouth was twitching with the beginnings of a smile. ‘Role reversal,’ he said.
‘Okay, girls, you win. Roy Jnr is due in January.’

  
‘Roy Jnr? So, it’s a boy?’
Harley exclaimed. ‘Really? You’ve had a scan?’

  
‘Two scans,’ Livvy said. ‘The second scan shows quite clearly that the
baby is a boy.’

  
‘With all the necessary Cantello equipment!’ Roy
beamed proudly.

  
‘Dad!’ Harley exclaimed. ‘Do you have to?’

  
‘When did you guess?’ Livvy asked.

  
‘When Courtney found a pregnancy testing kit in the bathroom bin,’
Harley smirked. ‘Months ago in fact. Didn’t take you two long to make another
mistake.’

  
‘Roy Jnr isn’t a mistake,’ Livvy told her. ‘He was planned for a very
good reason. I wanted another child with your dad.’

  
Harley nodded slowly. ‘It
had
dawned on me that the baby would be
a full blood sibling. Maybe he’ll be a perfect match for me.’
  

  
‘Hopefully,’ Roy said. ‘They
told us at the hospital that they can take stem cells from his umbilical cord
after his birth and they can tell from that apparently. Clever stuff.’

  
‘So!’ Harley patted Livvy’s stomach gently. ‘I can’t wait to make your
acquaintance, little brother.’

  
‘No objections to our being too old then and showing you up at school?’ Roy
smiled.

  
‘I guess not,’ Harley replied with a shrug.

  
‘What about you, Courtney?’ Livvy turned to her daughter who was staring
silently into space.

  
‘What? Oh, I’m okay about it, Mom. I’m just glad it’s out in the open
and we can all be honest from now on. No more secrets. I’ve always wanted a
brother anyway. Did Dad know about the baby?’

  
Livvy shook her head. ‘No, we hadn’t got around to telling him.’

  
‘Perhaps as well!’ Courtney scraped back her chair on the flagstone
floor. ‘He always wanted a boy, but
you
would never have another baby with
him
.’

  
‘Courtney!’ Livvy frowned as she grabbed her school bag and flounced
towards the hall.

  
‘You three and Roy Jnr will be a proper family now,’ she called over her
shoulder. ‘Will you take me to school, please, Roy?’