The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) (40 page)

  
‘We’ve emptied it and it’s up for sale. If it doesn’t sell I’ll update
it and do holiday lets. The estate agent said the market’s slow, so we’ll have
to wait and see what happens.’

  
‘Did anyone ring while we were away, Mum?’ Jane asked.

  
‘There’s a list of callers by the phone. I didn’t give out Celia’s
number. I assumed you wouldn’t want to be bothered unless it was urgent.
There’s a package on the dresser from Pat and Tim. It feels bulky. It might be
photos. The label says “Do Not Bend”.’

  
‘Oh great, I haven’t had a letter or call for weeks and neither has
Sammy. We were getting a bit worried.’

  
Jane picked up the package from Nashville.
She opened it and removed a bundle of photographs. A smiling Pat and Tim Davis,
lounging by their swimming pool, looked back at her. There were several shots
of their daughters, Kim and Abby, sitting astride ponies.
     

  
The last photo was of Tim and a group of men standing around in a
recording studio. Pat had written on the back,
Tim, and some guys you might recognise.

  
Jane turned the photo over and looked closely at the bearded man
clutching drumsticks. Another man, standing next to Tim, was smiling and
holding a double bass.

  
‘I don’t believe it. Ed, look who Tim’s with,’ she exclaimed.

  
‘Ah, yeah, last time I spoke to Tim he said he’d bumped into them. They
were in the studio to do some recording the same time as Tim’s band. I meant to
tell you but it slipped my mind.’

  
‘How could you forget something like that?’

 
‘Well what with the kids and dog, I get so mithered. You know how it is,
a man’s work and all that.’

  
‘Oh God, get the violins out,’ Jane said. ‘How on earth do you think
I
managed with Jon and Jess?
You
were away with the group all the time and there was no mum next door to go
running to every five minutes.’

  
‘You had Sammy living here,’ Eddie said. ‘She helped you with the
kids.’
 

  
‘Sammy was pregnant two years on the run. Then we had Nick and Jason to
look after, too. It was no picnic, Ed. Especially with all those bloody fans
hanging around the gates waiting for you lot to come home.’

  
‘Never mind, Jane.’ Enid
patted her hand. ‘You’ve a nice little job now with Sammy. Eddie has all the
hard work with the children these days.’

  
‘Mum, honestly. Sammy and I run a business. We employ a lot of people.
It’s not a little job, as you put it. And Eddie does
not
have all the
hard work either. You and the cleaner do most of it. He just messes
about with Roy all afternoon in the
music room while the kids are at school.’

  
‘Jane!’ Eddie exclaimed. ‘That messing
about keeps you in Porsches and leather coats. Roy and I write songs. It’s a
business, like the band was. It’s our living.’
 

  
‘Sorry, Ed, I’m tired. Mum always seems to think you’re badly done to,
staying at home with the kids all day. But you said you didn’t want a nanny.
It’s your choice to look after them, I don’t force you.’

  
‘I know you don’t, and I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love it.’
  

  
‘Are you two going to stop arguing?’ Ben reached for the photograph.
‘Put us out of our misery and tell us who this is, Jane.’

  
‘It’s
The Crickets.
Joe B and
Jerry. Can you believe Ed forgot to tell me that Tim met them at the studio?’

  
‘We were talking music. I said I was sorry. Anybody would think I’d
committed a crime.’

  
‘You have!’ Jane’s eyes twinkled. ‘You just wait ’til later and I’ll
think of a suitable punishment.’

  
‘Promises, promises,’ he said, grinning.
   

  
Enid took the photo off Ben.
‘Fancy that. Do you remember when Jane used to play
That’ll be the Day
over and over?’
        

  
‘I do. Buddy Holly and
The
Crickets
,’ Ben replied. ‘I also remember the day she came home from school
in tears after she’d heard Buddy Holly had died in a plane crash. That was the
year after the Man United crash at Munich.’

  
‘That’s right, Ben,’ Eddie nodded. ‘He died on February the third 1959. Some dates you never
forget.’

  
‘Like December the eighth 1980,’
Jane said, eyes filling with sudden tears.
 

  
‘Why, what happened then?’ Enid
said, frowning.

  
‘John Lennon was murdered,’ Jess said. ‘Everybody knows that, Gran.’

  
‘Oh yes, of course,’ Enid
said. ‘That’s when I realised just how vulnerable you boys had been on your
American tours. I bet you’re glad that’s all behind you now, Ed?’

  
Eddie took a swig of wine and smiled. ‘If I’m honest, I miss the band.
Roy and I often talk of re-forming
The
Raiders
, but without Tim it’s
unthinkable.’

  
‘Ed, I’d hate for you to be touring again,’ Jane said quietly.

  
‘Well it’s not likely to happen. Tim’s in the States, Carl’s happy
working as a session pianist and Christ alone knows what’s happened to Phil
Jackson.’

  
‘He’s around,’ Jane said, referring to
The Raiders
blonde, rhythm guitarist. ‘We always get a card off him
at Christmas, and his mum still lives in Pickford. You should get in touch with
him again.’

  
‘He was a good looking lad, that Phil Jackson,’ Enid
said. ‘Used to flatter me something shocking. Made me feel young again.’

  
Ben raised his eyebrows and passed his cigarettes round. ‘The lad
probably needed glasses!’
   

  
Jane laughed and picked up the letter. ‘If you’ll all excuse me, I’m
going into the lounge to read Pat’s latest news.’

  
‘Where’s our Katie?’ Eddie asked as Jane left the room. ‘Shouldn’t she
be back by now? It’s nearly bedtime.’

  
‘She’s still at her friend’s,’ Enid
said. 'Lucy’s mum said she’d bring her home about seven.’

  
‘Okay, I suppose we should make the most of the peace. More wine,
anybody?’ Eddie opened another bottle of red as Ben, Jon and Jess pushed their
glasses across the table.
 

  
‘What’s up with you two? You’re both very quiet tonight,’ Eddie
addressed his son and daughter.

  
‘We’ve a lot on our minds, Dad. Isn’t that right, Sis?’ Jon replied.

  
‘I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that Roy and Sammy have okay-ed
Nick and I living together,’ Jess said, reaching for her wine.

  
‘Living together?’ Enid’s
eyebrows shot up her forehead.

  
‘Yes, Gran, Mum and Dad have given
their
permission.’

  
‘Well it’s very liberal of you, Ed, but don’t you think they’re a bit
too young for that sort of commitment?’ Enid
pursed her lips in a manner that Eddie knew meant business.

  
‘Jess is nearly nineteen. Jane was nineteen when you allowed her to move
in with me.’

  
‘I didn’t allow her, she just did it,’ Enid
said. ‘I gave her my blessing because you couldn’t look after Jon on your own
after Angie died. Those were exceptional circumstances, and you two got
married, eventually.’

  
‘Jane and I were in love, we
wanted
to be together. Nick and Jess
are also in love.’

  
‘Well there you are then,’ Jess said, and smiled round at everyone. ‘But
Nick and I won’t be getting married. He says we don’t need a bit of paper to
prove our love.’

 
 
‘It’s not just a bit of paper,
Jess.’ Enid folded her arms across
her bosom. ‘Your marriage vows should mean more than that. Oh well, I wash my
hands of it. As I always said to your mother, you make your own bed. What will
be, will be.’

***

CHAPTER SIX

  
Jane pulled the voile curtains across the French doors and switched on
the lamps. She kicked off her shoes and flopped down on the sofa. It was good
to be home, she thought as she wriggled her toes into the soft pile of the
Flokati rug. Her mum had lit a fire earlier and the room felt warm and cosy.

  
She unfolded Pat’s letter and settled back. Her friend had the knack of
story telling and her letters were always a joy. As she finished the first
page, Jane’s smile faded. She dropped the letter onto her lap and called out,
‘Ed, come in here, quickly!’

  
He rushed into the lounge and she handed him the letter.
 

  
‘What is it?’ he asked as her eyes filled with tears.

  
‘Read it,’ she choked.

  
Eddie sat down next to her and read the page, shock registering on his
face. ‘Oh dear, no.

  
Enid, carrying a mug of
coffee into the lounge, stared at their distressed faces. ‘What on earth’s the
matter?’

  
‘Pat has breast cancer,’ Eddie replied. ‘She found a lump, had her right
breast removed and she’s having chemotherapy,’ he continued, scanning the rest
of the letter. ‘She’s lost her hair. That’s upset her of course. That photo of
her and Tim was taken a week before she found the lump, she says, and wants us
to remember her like that, just as she was.’

  
Jane was sobbing and Eddie took her in his arms. Enid
had tears in her eyes as Ben walked into the lounge, Lennon on his heels as
usual.

  
‘What’s going on?’ Ben asked. ‘One minute you’re all smiles around the
table, next minute tears.’

  
Eddie handed him the letter. Ben read it and frowned. ‘Will she make a
full recovery?’

  
‘I hope so,’ Eddie said. ‘Her letter’s optimistic. She actually seems
quite cheerful. Jane, we’ll phone them later. You can speak with Pat, ask her
how she is. This letter was written over two weeks ago. She might be feeling
more like her old self today. I don’t understand why Tim didn’t say anything to
me when we last spoke. Why don’t you call Sammy, see if she’s heard anything?’

  
‘I will,’ Jane nodded, sniffing loudly.
 

  
Ben passed her his handkerchief. ‘Here you are, pet, it’s clean.’

  
‘Thanks, Dad. I’ll call from upstairs, it’s more private.’
                  

***

  
Enid watched her daughter
walk out of the room. ‘You don’t know what’s round the corner, do you? Pat’s
mother died young from breast cancer. That was before you met the girls, Ed.
Her dad had married Sammy’s mum, Molly by then.’

  
Eddie nodded. ‘I was puzzled as to how two sisters could look so
different, until Jane told me they were step-sisters.’

  
‘Well look at your lot,’ Enid
said. ‘Katie and Dom are the spit of Jane, Jess’s a bit of you both, but our
Jon, well he’s nothing at all like you. I reckon Angie was having you on there
and he’s the milkman’s.’

  
‘I reckon you might be right.’ Eddie laughed. ‘I’ll go up and see Jane.
Jess can bath Dominic tonight. I’ll leave you two to have your coffee in
peace.’

***

  
What would Enid say if she
knew the truth? Eddie thought as he left the lounge. That with his thick, dark
curls and vivid green eyes; Jon was the image of his late father. It was the
most closely guarded secret of Eddie’s life, how Angie had duped him into
believing she was carrying his child. His thoughts returned to the day his life
had been turned upside down.

  
When his seventeen-year-old ex announced she was pregnant and he was the
father, he’d told his parents who urged him to do the right thing and marry
her, even though he was in love with Jane. The marriage was unhappy. He and
Angie separated when Jon was almost three. Eddie had resumed his relationship
with Jane. Angie began dating Richard Price. Following Angie and Richard’s
deaths in a car crash he was told by Jon’s godmother, Cathy that Richard had
fathered Jon during a one night stand. But Eddie adored the little boy and
couldn’t bear to part with him.

  
Roy had taken charge when he
went to pieces, suggesting they make a pact to keep the truth to themselves.
Eddie had agreed; he didn’t want to lose Jon to Angie’s or Richard’s families.
The Raiders
were high profile at the
time and the media would have loved a juicy story. Not even his late parents or
Jane’s were privy to the truth. The only parties to the pact, besides he and
Jane, were Cathy, her husband Carl, Sammy, Roy, Tim and Pat. Eddie had told Jon
that Jane was not his real mother. To this day Jon was still none the wiser
about his true parentage and Eddie hoped that was how it would always remain.

***

  
Jess and Jon were still sitting at the table in companionable silence,
finishing off the last of the wine. Dominic, chin on hands, was staring at his
big brother and sister, a look of adoration on his young face.

  
Eddie ruffled Dominic’s hair. ‘Bedtime, Dom. I’ll come and read you a
story as soon as I can. Jess, take him up and bath him, please.’

  
‘Why, where’s Mum? I heard her going upstairs. I presumed it was to run
a bath.’

  
‘We’ve had bad news from Nashville.
Pat’s got breast cancer. Mum’s very upset. She’s gone upstairs to call Sammy.
Will
you
bath him, please, Jess?’

  
‘Of course.’ Jess’s face registered shock. ‘Will Pat be okay?’

  
‘Well let’s hope so. She’s having chemotherapy and has lost her hair.
We’re going to call her later, see how she’s coping. I bet Tim’s in bits over
this. He worships the ground she walks on. It’ll destroy him if anything
happens to her.’

  
‘You’ve known them for such a long time, haven’t you, Dad?’ Jon said,
shaking his head.
          

  
‘All our lives, almost. Me, Tim and Roy went to the same school. Mum and
Pat have been friends since they met at infant school. They teamed up with
Sammy at the Grammar. We met them when they were fourteen, and the rest, as
they say, is history.

  
‘Apart from my marriage to Angie, we’ve never been apart until Tim and
Pat moved to Nashville. Right, on
that note, I’m going upstairs. I’ll leave Dom in your very capable hands,
Jess.’

***

  
Jane lay on the bed, sobbing down the phone to Sammy. Eddie took the
receiver.

  
‘Hi Sam, it’s Ed. Is Roy
there, love?’ Sammy muttered something incoherent and called for Roy.

  
‘
Hi, Ed. Bad business, isn’t it
?’
Roy said.
 

  
‘Terrible,’ Eddie agreed. ‘Jane’s heart-broken.’

  
‘
So’s Sammy. We should be together
at a time like this. We’ll drop Jason at Jules’s place and come over.’
 

  
‘Please do,’ Eddie replied. ‘I’ll call Tim when you get here.’

  
‘
See you soon then
.’

  
‘Katie should be home any minute,’ Eddie said, pulling Jane into his
arms. ‘And Roy and Sammy are coming over.’
  

  
‘Good.’ She smiled through her tears as a car horn tooted.
  

  
Eddie looked out to see Katie waving goodbye to her friend. Seconds
later the bedroom door flew in and Katie hurtled into the room.

  
‘Daddy,’ she squealed, flinging herself at Eddie who picked her up and
twirled her round and round. She was a daddy’s girl, just like Jess.

  
‘Say hello to Mummy, Katie.’ Eddie bounced his daughter onto the bed.

  
Katie frowned, looking closely at her mum’s tearstained cheeks. ‘Mummy,
why are you crying?’ Her big brown eyes clouded with concern. ‘Have you been
naughty? Did Daddy shout at you?’

  
‘No of course he didn’t.’ Jane smiled at Katie’s serious expression.

  
‘Auntie Pat in America
is poorly and Mummy’s feeling upset by the news. But it’s nothing for you to
worry about,’ Eddie told her.
        

  
Katie grinned. ‘Did you bring me a present?’ she asked hopefully.

  
‘Yes, but it’s not much I’m afraid. Ed, nip downstairs and get me that
little pink bag off the dresser, please.’

  
He was back in seconds, dangling the bag in front of Katie, just out of
reach.

  
‘Have you been a good girl for Grandma?’

  
‘Of course I have,’ Kate replied, hands on hips. ‘Why, what’s Grandma
been saying? Did she tell you that I haven’t been good?’

  
Eddie laughed. ‘Is that a guilty conscience, Katie Mellor?’ He handed
her the bag and she delved inside, pulling out a pearly shell necklace and
matching bracelet.

  
‘Oh, they’re very pretty, Mummy. Thank you.’

  
‘You’re welcome, sweetheart. There’s a stick of rock and a beach ball
downstairs, too. Jess will help you with your bath when she’s finished with
Dom, so go and get yourself ready, please.’
   

  
Katie shot off the bed and ran out of the room. Jane turned to Eddie. ‘I
can’t face going back downstairs at the moment, Ed. Make my apologies to Mum
and Dad and tell them I’ll catch up with them tomorrow.’
  

 
‘Okay, love. I’ll see them out and bring you a drink up.’ As he walked
across the room Enid popped her
head around the bedroom door.

  
‘We’re going home now, Jane. I’ll see you in the morning and you can
tell me how Pat is then. I’ll phone Molly and Tom tomorrow. They’ve not
mentioned anything to me, but perhaps they’ve kept the news to themselves for
now. It’ll take some coming to terms with. Anyway, we’ll see ourselves out.
Bye, love. Bye, Ed.’

  
‘Bye, Mum and thanks for everything; you’re wonderful. I don’t know how
we would manage without you,’ Jane said, smiling tearfully.
        

  
‘Get away with you. It’s our pleasure.’
           

***

  
Eddie let in Roy, Sammy and Nick and led them upstairs. Jane and Sammy
fell on one another in a fresh outburst of tears and Nick disappeared to look
for Jess. Roy and Eddie hugged one another.

  
‘Take a pew and we’ll call Nashville.’
Eddie gestured to the bed as Jon knocked on the door.

  
‘Dad, can I phone Helen? I promised I’d call her tonight. I’ll explain
we’ve got a problem and you need the phone. I’ll arrange to ring her back
later. I don’t want her to think I’ve let her down.’

  
‘Go ahead. Give us a shout when you’ve finished.’
   

  
‘Do you think we should go over to the States for a visit?’ Roy
asked, as the four made themselves comfortable on the large brass bed.

  
‘I was wondering that myself,’ Eddie replied. ‘Let’s see what Tim has to
say. He never said a thing about Pat’s illness when I spoke to him recently.
Have you called Tom and your mum tonight, Sammy?’

  
‘Yes, I phoned them after I read my letter. They’ve known about Pat’s
cancer for a few months. But she made them promise not to tell us until she was
over the worst. That’s even more upsetting, putting us first so we wouldn’t
worry. We’ve always shared our problems and there’s poor Pat, thousands of
miles away, keeping it all to herself.’

  
Jon popped his head around the door again. ‘I’ve finished with the
phone, Dad.’

  
‘Thanks, son. If you’re not going out can you read the kids a quick
story - if Jess hasn’t already done it?’

  
‘Helen’s invited me over and we’re going clubbing. But I’ll read them a
story anyway. They can have one between them, it’ll save time.’

  
‘Katie won’t like that,’ Jane said, raising an eyebrow.

  
‘Well Katie will have to lump it. There’s a sexy little bird waiting for
me!’

  
‘You just be careful,’ Eddie warned, laughing at Jon’s lusty grin.

  
‘Dad, for God’s sake, I’m twenty-two not sixteen.’

  
‘Yes, but Helen’s only fifteen. Watch your step, that’s all I’m saying.’

  
‘That Helen’s bloody jailbait,’ Roy called after Jon.

  
‘I wish he’d find someone nearer his own age and settle down,’ Jane
said. ‘He always seems to get involved with schoolgirls.’

  
‘Trouble is,’ Eddie mused,’ all girls look older than their years these
days. Helen looks at least eighteen. I nearly dropped cork-legged when he told
me her age.’
 

  
‘Well it’s a girl thing to try and look older,’ Sammy said. ‘Me and Jane
used to slap the makeup on when were teenagers.’

  
‘Yeah,’ Roy’s dark eyes
twinkled, ‘but I have to say I preferred you in your school uniform - without
the makeup.’

  
‘You’re just a dirty old letch, Cantello!’ Sammy smacked his leg.
  

  
‘Right, let’s phone Pat and Tim,’ Eddie said. ‘At least we’re a bit more
cheerful than we were earlier. I’d hate them to think we’ve all gone to pieces.
We need to keep strong for them.’

  
Tim answered after a few rings. ‘Hi, mate, it’s Ed. We got your letter
and photos. We’re very sorry, Tim. How’s Pat doing?’ He fell silent as Tim
spoke.