Chapter 2
Alex Grant felt numb with shock as he lay sprawled on the ground next to Hannah. What had just happened?
One minute he had been comfortably in the lead of the Dragonfly Lake Triathlon, the next he was lying in the mud with his foot in agony. He sat up slowly, feeling the severe pain shooting up his lower leg and knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that at least one of the bones in his foot was broken.
One of his best friends, Ben, rushed up to them. ‘Are you both OK?’ he asked, helping his sister to stand up before looking down at Alex. ‘Mate, I can’t believe you didn’t win! What a disaster! I thought you had it all wrapped up.’
Despite his own pain, Alex immediately looked at Hannah to check that she wasn’t hurt. Mud was smeared down one side of her body but thankfully she appeared to be fine apart from that.
‘I’m OK,’ she muttered, slowly standing up. ‘But I’m so sorry about the race, Alex,’ she said, looking down at him with tears in her eyes. ‘The puppy just ran off and I couldn’t hold on to him!’
‘It’s not your fault,’ snapped Ben. ‘It’s bloomin’ Dodgy Del. Honestly!’ He turned back to look down at Alex with a roll of his eyes. ‘At least you can guarantee that this kind of thing won’t happen in the Commonwealth Games!’ He held out his hand. ‘Come on then. Let’s get you up.’
But as Alex stared up at his best friend, the reality began to sink in.
The Commonwealth Games were only four months away.
He tried to wiggle some of his toes once more and winced at the effort.
The pain registered something in his brain.
A broken bone would mean having to abandon his heavy training for at least two of those months for the healing to happen properly, leaving him vastly underprepared and unfit.
In that moment, he knew that pursuit of a gold medal was over. Everything that he and his dad had been working and training for the whole of his adult life was at an end. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
All he knew was that he had let his dad down and now they wouldn’t win the biggest prize of them all. Because as long as he could remember, Alex had been pushed by his father, the relentless burden to win at all costs bred into him at a young age.
His father had been a winner himself many years ago.
He had been a long-distance runner and the bronze medal that he had won at the World Athletics Championships still hung in his study next to his desk.
But he wanted more. He wanted the top medal.
However, when his own body wasn’t able to continue with the pressure, he had projected his gold-medal ambitions onto his son.
From a young age, Alex had known that winning at school sports competitions had only been the beginning.
It had continued into his university degree as well.
His dad didn’t care about Alex’s academic career, nor his accountancy qualifications of which Alex was quite proud.
Alex had worked for a large firm despite his dad wanting him to have his own company, thus being able to have even more time off work to train.
But the pressure that Alex was under in his personal life was not something that he wanted transferred to his career, so for once, he had said no to his father, being content to turn up, do a good job and then go home to unwind.
Not that he’d ever had much time to relax.
Any free time, including vacation time, was filled with competitions and training.
He had always followed the sensible route away from the competitions which had meant a good, steady income and then using his savings prudently to invest which had resulted in him owning a couple of properties in London.
One was rented out, the other Alex used as a base.
He still made good money from his job and investments and yet he had no time to spend it.
He felt as if he spent nearly all of his adult life travelling around the globe, not to relax or enjoy the sightseeing of the many different countries.
But instead having to swim, bike and run over and over again.
Different rivers and seas, different streets and circuits.
They had all begun to merge over the years until he had felt ground down by the relentlessness of it all.
Now in his early thirties, he wanted to pursue his own dreams, to be his own man in charge of his destiny. He wanted to be settled, to have a home, a family, a life away from the training and competitions.
However, his parents had made many sacrifices on his behalf, giving up time where they could be relaxing on holiday for the constant training in order that Alex would be in top condition. So, despite his growing reticence, he had carried on trying to pursue that elusive gold medal.
In the past couple of years, however, Alex had begun to secretly long to stop. He had thought that perhaps the Commonwealth gold medal would put an end to his father’s ambitions at last. But even that dream appeared to have been taken away from him, given the sharp pain in his foot at that moment.
He found Ben still looking down at him, reaching out a hand to help him up.
‘I can’t stand,’ he told his best friend, shaking his head. ‘I’m hurt.’
Ben looked horrified before glancing around at their other best friend, Jake, who had come to stand next to them.
‘Can’t say that wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever seen,’ said Jake, his handsome face lit up with humour in his usual relaxed style. ‘That was so funny. Should have videoed it. Couldn’t do it again, could you? Just for me?’
All around him, Alex saw some people in the crowd taking photos of him on their phones. He was too numb to be embarrassed. Too distraught to feel the mortification of failing so publicly and comically so close to the finishing line. All he knew was that he had failed.
‘Maybe not so funny after all,’ Ben told him, frowning. ‘Alex is injured.’
Jake’s wide smile immediately dropped. ‘What is it?’ he asked, his eyes sweeping over Alex. ‘What hurts?’
‘My foot,’ replied Alex, glancing at his muddy trainer from where the severe pain was emanating. ‘I think it’s broken.’
His best friends exchanged horrified looks before stepping forward to link their arms around his torso.
‘OK. Easy does it. On the count of three,’ said Jake, before they slowly lifted him up to a standing position.
Alex tried to put some weight on his foot before immediately pulling up his leg once more to hover above the ground. ‘Nope. It’s too painful. I can’t even stand on it.’
Jake swore. ‘Looks like our celebratory drinks will have to wait,’ he muttered.
Ben’s mum Faye had also rushed over and was looking at him in concern. ‘Bring him inside,’ she said in a hushed tone. ‘We need to get some ice on that as soon as possible.’
With the help of his two best friends, Alex made slow progress towards Maple Tree Lodge on one leg.
He lived in one of his own flats but had never felt any inclination to add any homely features to it, apart from a huge television and a decent sofa.
It was just a base to him, not home. Any time spent at his parents’ house resulted in talking competitions and training with his dad so it wasn’t a relaxing place to be.
In fact, the only place he had ever thought of as a true home was Maple Tree Lodge.
He had met Ben at university and instantly bonded with him in the student digs, along with Jake.
The three of them had quickly become best friends and met up as often as their busy diaries allowed once they all left university.
All three of the men had settled in London for their respective careers. Ben had been an architect and Jake was a chef. So the three young men enjoyed the bright lights of the city together most weekends.
But it was only whenever they met at Ben’s family home in Cranley that Alex suddenly found himself feeling settled and at home. Maple Tree Lodge was warm and welcoming, unlike his own empty soulless flat.
He glanced around the familiar entrance hall as his friends helped him inside.
It was double height, full of warm oak wood and the decorative touches that made every guest feel instantly relaxed, such as aromatic candles and seasonal décor.
On top of the long reception desk that weekend, there was a small white tree from which pastel coloured easter eggs had been hung as well as a couple of matching flower arrangements placed on nearby tables.
Most of the decoration in the hotel was new, thanks to Lily’s skills, but the peaceful environment had always been there.
It was a stark contrast to his own family home where there had always been constant pressure from his dad.
Here at Maple Tree Lodge, he could relax.
He could step away from competing and just be himself. Not an athlete, just Alex.
But it wasn’t just the peace which made Maple Tree Lodge so appealing to Alex. It was Hannah, Ben’s younger sister.
The first time he had ever visited Maple Tree Lodge after graduating from university, he had been entranced by the place. But where the magic of the beautiful setting soothed his soul, it was Hannah who had left him speechless.
He could still remember the first time he had ever seen her.
She had been in the large family kitchen, baking a cake for everyone when they had been introduced.
He could still see the smudge of flour on her soft rosy cheek, her blue eyes stunning as they lit up with a smile for him.
As she had walked over to greet him, her blonde hair had swung around her shoulders in soft waves.
A wave of desire had hit him so strongly that he had almost fallen to his knees to worship her.