The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) (136 page)

  
‘Livvy, I don’t want you to have to stand on your own two feet, I need
you to need me. I want to look after you. But there are times when I feel
overwhelmed by the responsibility of everything. It’s happened so quickly. I
feel it’s all spinning out of control and I don’t know how much more I can
take.’

  
She nodded as he took her in his arms. ‘You’ve almost given up smoking,
too. Maybe that’s why you’re so tetchy at times.’

  
He smiled and planted a kiss on her lips. ‘I know what would make me
feel better right at this moment,’ he whispered, nuzzling her neck.

  
‘What’s that then,’ she teased, knowing full well what he was about to
suggest.

  
‘That I carry you off to bed and shag the arse off you, and those bloody
peasants won’t have a clue that we’re doing it right under their noses, so to
speak! Boy that would make some front page photo!’

  
‘Okay,’ she giggled. ‘It’s a deal, Mr Cantello.’

  
‘You feel up to it?’

  
‘I do at the moment. I’m always so tired at night and Harley’s usually
here during the day. It’s not that I don’t want you, believe me, I do. But
we’re going to have to pick our times, like now, while the house is empty and
before
you call Frank James and get into a lengthy conversation.’

  
Needing no further encouragement, Roy
swept her into his arms and carried her upstairs. He dropped her gently onto
the bed and strode to the window to close the curtains. ‘I don’t believe it!’
he exclaimed and opened the window. ‘Fuck off, you moron or I’ll call the
police! This is private land.’ He stuck two fingers up at whoever he was
yelling at and yanked the curtains across. He turned back to Livvy. ‘That told
the cheeky bastard!’

  
‘Who is it?’

  
‘A bloody guy in the tree opposite, taking photographs of the cottage
and my Beemer.’ He stripped off his clothes and lay down beside her. ‘No doubt
there’ll be a picture of my angry face on front pages tomorrow.

***

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

Livvy leant back on the sofa and
smiled. She’d outlined her plans to the girls, waiting for the enthusiasm that
was sure to come. ‘It will do us good to go to Scotland.
Be nice to catch up with my family.’

  
‘Do we have to go?’ Harley’s voice held a note of dismay. ‘We’ve got
plans of our own. Invite Gran and Grandpa down here instead.’

  
Livvy shook her head as Harley shifted her position on the sofa. It was
her first day home following her final chemotherapy treatment, but she’d
refused to go to bed in case she missed something. ‘That’s not an option. The
idea is to give Roy some space.
He’s climbing the walls holed up in here with us.’

  
‘Well
we
don’t have to go away for Dad to have some space,’
Harley said. ‘Tell him to go and stay with Uncle Ed, they’ve got plenty of
spare rooms. Anyway, he shouldn’t need his own space. We’re supposed to be a
family. He should enjoy being with us. Where is he now?’

  
‘Gone to Phil’s for a cigarette,’ Livvy replied wearily. ‘I’m worried
about him. He’s not looking well. It’s the stress.’ She was bothered that Roy
was missing Sammy more than he let on. He’d been upset when he came back from
Jasmine House the other day, telling her that packing up his old life made him
feel very sad.

  
Harley nodded. ‘I suppose so. Do you think he’s missing Mum? They’d
never have split up if you hadn’t come back to find me.’

  
Livvy swallowed hard as Harley voiced her own thoughts. ‘That makes me
feel bad,’ she said, knowing that she didn’t really mean it. ‘I didn’t know
things would end up like this; you ill, Danny dead and – him.’ She caressed her
bump gently and brushed a tear away.
 

  
‘Sorry for upsetting you, Mom. Will Courtney run up to Phil’s and get
Dad?’

  
‘No, leave him for a while. Perhaps you two could tell me what
your
plans are.’

  
‘We’ve started a band,’ Courtney announced excitedly.

  
‘Really? That’s great.
 
When did
this happen, and who’s we?’

  
‘Me, Harley, Jamie, Jack and Nathan. We had a jam session the weekend we
went to Jamie’s place. As soon as Harley’s feeling up to it, we’re having
another.’

  
‘Good luck to you. If you need help, you can always ask me and Roy.’

  
Harley grinned. ‘Give us a break, Mom! We’re planning on being more
Greenday
than
Juice
or
The Raiders.
But
thanks for the offer.’

  
‘All popular music has its roots in Country and Rock’n’Roll, so don’t
you knock it, young lady,’ Livvy said.
  

  
‘So now you see why we can’t go,’ Courtney continued. ‘Anyway, I don’t
want to leave Jamie.’

  
‘And I don’t want to leave Jack,’ Harley chipped in.
  

  
‘Fair enough. I know when I’m outnumbered. I’ll suggest Roy
goes to stay with Ed for a while. Good idea, Harley.

***

Frank James had advised Roy and
Livvy to issue a statement exclusive to The Daily Mirror and put the record
straight about their relationship. This eased the situation with the pressmen
on the lane. Livvy had also agreed a deal with Hello Magazine to do an
interview following the birth of their son.

  
Harley ventured back to school for half-days. Her latest test results
revealed that her red blood count was significantly improved, but there was
still the possibility of a bone-marrow transplant, and she was pinning all her
hopes on the new baby being her perfect match.

  
Roy and Eddie had revived their shelved songs for
The Raiders
final album and the band was planning a trip to the

***

December arrived cold and frosty,
and with Roy off to the recording
studios, Livvy’s parents were on their way to keep her and the girls company.
After running Courtney to school, Livvy set about preparing the spare room. She
shivered and turned the radiator thermostat to a higher setting. Getting used
to the cold after LA took some doing and she was glad she’d bought new
winter-weight duvets.
   

  
‘Harley, will you bring me the cream bedding set please?’ she called
above the music blasting from behind the girls’ bedroom door. No reply. She got
the linen from the airing cupboard and, arms laden, glanced out of the landing
window. She smiled at the antics of Laura’s cocker spaniels as they frolicked
in half-frozen puddles, glad that they wouldn’t be bringing their muddy paws
onto
her
kitchen floor.

  
As Harley’s music faded she heard a faint bleep, bleep noise. It seemed
to be coming from her and Roy’s
room and sounded like a cell phone message. In the room she couldn’t see Roy’s
phone lying around. Her own cell phone was switched off and in her handbag. The
bleeping noise sounded again from the direction of the wardrobes. She dropped
the linen on the bed and opened the doors, rooted in the pockets of several
jackets and found Roy’s mobile.

  
‘Damn it! How the hell am I supposed to get in touch with him now?’ The
last thing she’d said to him as he’d packed this morning was, ‘Don’t forget to
take your phone.’ Honestly, his memory was rubbish. Still, Ed would be bound to
have
his
phone, and if there was an emergency she could always ask Jane
for the number. No doubt Roy would
call her tonight from the hotel.

  
She opened the phone and checked, in case there was anything urgent she
could pass on to him. They were both from Sammy. The words leapt out and Livvy
felt her legs turn to jelly. She slumped down on the bed with a moan and reread
both messages. The first stated:
Thanks
for a wonderful time last night. I can
still
taste your champagne kisses. xxx.
The second was a PS:
Good luck at

  
Last night Roy had told
Livvy he was meeting up with Eddie at Carl’s house to go through some songs for
today. He’d left at seven and rolled home, worse for wear, just after
midnight
. Livvy had had no cause to doubt his
tale. She felt sick that he appeared to have betrayed her again. How could he
possibly cheat on her with Sammy, just a couple of weeks before his divorce was
due? Roy Jnr gave her a kick in the ribs to remind her that
he
was due very soon, too.

  
She went over the last few weeks in her head. Roy
had spent a fair bit of time at Jasmine House, sorting and packing things.
Sammy had received an asking-price offer from a couple of members of a
successful boy band, who were looking for a country retreat. The recording
studio and music room had clinched the deal and she’d asked Roy
to help her prepare for the move. Also, the arrival of Daisy Cantello-Young had
been a recent cause for celebration. Roy
was both enthralled and besotted with his new granddaughter and Livvy hadn’t
objected to him spending further time in Sammy’s company on his visits to Jason
and Jules’ home. Tears filled her eyes now and she placed her hands
protectively over her precious bump and took several deep breaths. ‘Your Daddy
is a cheating bastard,’ she muttered.

  
Harley popped her head around the door. ‘Did you call me, Mom? Sorry, I
was in the shower.’ She joined Livvy on the bed. ‘You okay? Is it the baby?
Shall I call Dad, get him to come back?’

  
Livvy saw the panic in Harley’s eyes. She shook her head. ‘It’s not the
baby, honey, and no, I don’t want you to call Roy.
I’m okay. I’ll finish making the bed before Mum and Dad arrive. You need to get
ready for afternoon school.’ She tried to stand, but her legs weren’t working
and she flopped back down again. Tears welled in her eyes and she stared at
Harley, unable to stop them tumbling down her cheeks.

  
‘Mom, what is it? Please tell me,’ Harley cried, dropping to her knees.
‘Why have you got Dad’s mobile?’
   

  
‘He’s forgotten it.’

  
‘Well, that’s no reason to cry. He’ll call you from his hotel, or use Uncle
Ed’s.’

  
‘I’m not crying because he’s forgotten it. Sammy sent him text
messages.’ She showed them to Harley who frowned and chewed her lower lip.

  
‘I don’t know what to say, Mom,’ she faltered. ‘I mean, it only mentions
kisses, doesn’t it?’

  
‘Oh yeah,’ Livvy retorted, ‘not to mention the wonderful time. He lied
to us last night. Told us he was going to Carl’s place, while all the time he
was alone with Sammy, presumably at Jasmine House.’

  
‘Maybe they were with Jason and Jules, perhaps that’s what she means,
that they had a wonderful time with them. You know how much Dad loves Jules’
cooking and…’ Harley tailed off as Livvy shook her head.

  
‘If that’s the case, why on earth did he tell us he was going to Carl’s?
I’ve never had
any
objections to him spending time with Jason, or Sammy
for that matter.’ Livvy clutched her stomach as a waive of pain shot through
her. ‘Oh, God!’

  
‘Right, I’m not going to school. I can’t leave you on your own.’ Harley
sprang up and grabbed the telephone from the bedside table. She dialled a
number and babbled into the receiver. ‘Mum, it’s me. Can you come over please?
Dad’s gone to London and Livvy’s
getting pains. I don’t know what to do. I’m really scared the baby will come
while we’re alone.’
  

  
Sammy replied that she’d be with them in ten minutes. Harley helped
Livvy downstairs and made her comfortable on the sofa.

***

Fresh out of the shower, Sammy
dashed around, pulling on jeans and a sweater. Harley had sounded so worried on
the phone that her heart had gone out to her daughter. She missed Harley with
all her being and hoped to God that Livvy wouldn’t give birth in front of her.

  
She quickly dialled Stuart, cancelled their lunchtime date and set off
for Charlecote Cottage. Harley let her in and led her through to the lounge
where Livvy was lying on the sofa, her face pale and her cheeks tearstained.

  
‘Has the baby started?’ Sammy asked, taking in Livvy’s pained
expression.

  
Livvy shook her head and tried to speak, but only succeeded in sobbing
loudly.

  
‘What is it then? Why the tears?’

  
Harley picked up Roy’s phone
and handed it to Sammy.

  
‘Dad’s forgotten his phone. Livvy read the messages you sent him. What
have you two been up to, Mum?’

  
Sammy gasped at Harley’s directness and felt her cheeks warming. ‘You
weren’t meant to see those. They were for Roy.’

  
‘Obviously!’ Livvy snapped. ‘And I’d have been none the wiser. How could
you, Sammy. You know how much I love Roy.
Me and the girls - we really need him.’

  
‘And
I
don’t, I suppose,’ Sammy retorted, angry tears springing
to her eyes. Damn it. She mustn’t lose control now. But it served Livvy right
to get a dose of her own medicine. Sammy knew that if she clicked her fingers, Roy
would come running back to her. She also knew that although he loved Livvy, he
felt trapped, he’d told her so last night. She blinked the tears away. ‘We
didn’t mean it to happen. We cracked open a bottle of bubbly to celebrate me
selling the house. We agreed it was for old time’s sake, that’s all. We
shouldn’t have done it, but then again, we are still married and
you
weren’t supposed to find out.’

  
Livvy glared at Sammy. ‘You’re divorcing him. Roy
told me he was going to Carl’s last night. Yet he must have known that he was
coming to you.’
   

  
‘Well of course he knew. We arranged it the day before.
I
wasn’t to know he’d lied to you. We
sorted through our record collection. Can you imagine how painful it was? There
were records there that we bought together when we first started dating. All
that history and loving we shared, until
you
came along.’ Sammy wanted to grab hold of Livvy and shake her head off. It
was so hard to stay cool and she knew she should keep her mouth shut, but she
had to say what was on her mind.
 

  
‘You’ve no idea how much I dreaded seeing you again. Each year, Harley’s
birthday was spoiled with the worry that you’d show up and demand her back. Roy
felt the same, which is why he put off telling her the truth. He was terrified
of losing her. .

  
‘I suspect that when you arrived in March, it was with an agenda. You
were determined to have another child with my husband, weren’t you? You didn’t
give a damn about me or our marriage. I told Roy
my feelings about that.’

  
Livvy gasped and Sammy was satisfied to see a blush creeping up her neck.
It gave her the courage to carry on. ‘Roy
believes that Roy Jnr was conceived
after
you moved into this place. But I would stake my life on it that he was
conceived at the hotel within the first few days of your visit. If Harley
hadn’t been ill, and you’d gone back to LA, would you ever have told Roy
that you’d taken back what you gave him sixteen years ago? Apart from seeing
Harley, that
was
what you came for, wasn’t it? And my poor, gullible
fool of a man hasn’t a bloody clue and nor, I presume, did yours.’