Chapter 32
32
The day passed without incident and Anya received an update from Ma and Pa when she went to collect Freya.
‘They’re letting him home tomorrow. The antibiotics are doing their thing and he’s much more comfortable,’ Pa told her as she sat down for the obligatory cup of tea with them. ‘I tried to persuade him to come back here, but, well, you can imagine how that went down.’
‘I sure can.’ Conscious of small ears, she framed her next question casually. ‘And the other matter?’
Pa gave her a very relieved smile. ‘Manageable, by the sounds of things.’
Anya blinked hard to ward off a sudden rush of tears. ‘That’s good. I’ll have a chat with housekeeping in the morning and we’ll make sure his suite is spick and span, and between us Steve and I will keep an eye on him.’
‘That would be a weight off my mind.’
Though she’d half expected it to be Rick who brought Davy home the following morning, it was instead one of the twins – Harry, Anya figured as he came closer and she could see there was no scar.
‘Delivery for you.’
‘Thanks, I guess. Hello, Davy.’
Davy gave her a sheepish glance from under his brows. ‘Hello, pet.’
She folded her arms. ‘Is that it?’
He shrugged. ‘I reckon so.’
‘Good. I’ll leave Harry to get you settled and I’ll come up in a bit to make you a pot of tea.’
‘I’ll be fine in the office,’ Davy protested. ‘I don’t need any mollycoddling.’
‘Behave yourself, Uncle D. The doc only let you come home because you promised to be on bed-rest for the next couple of days.’
Davy scowled at Harry. ‘No one likes a grass, boy.’
Harry seemed entirely unfazed. ‘You don’t scare me, Uncle D, but Mum bloody well does and if she finds out I let you get away with any nonsense she’ll have my guts.’ He pointed towards the door that led to the stairs. ‘Come on, let’s get you sorted. Kitchen prep started half an hour ago, so I need to get to the restaurant.’
Anya let Davy get himself settled in before she placed the ‘back in five minutes’ sign on the front desk and made sure she had the hotel phone in her pocket. She climbed the stairs to the first floor and made her way down the corridor to the corner suite of rooms where Davy lived. When she knocked he told her it was unlocked, and she found him in his chair by the window with its rather uninspiring view out over the car park.
He turned to regard her. ‘It’s a lot tidier in here than I left it. That your doing?’
She nodded as she crossed to the little kitchenette in the corner. ‘I got housekeeping to change the bed and push the hoover around. It’s always nice to have clean sheets, I think, especially when you’ve not been feeling your best.’
‘It is, thank you.’ He was silent for a moment as she made herself busy filling the kettle and sorting out cups and the teapot. ‘Leave that for a minute will you, and come and sit down.’
There was only one chair, so Anya perched on the edge of the bed facing him. ‘I don’t want to fight with you, Davy. If you want to replace me, that’s your prerogative, but you’ll need someone to help you here.’
Davy held up a hand to forestall her. There was a livid bruise on the back of it, probably from where he’d had to have an IV line. ‘I owe you an apology. I could tell you that I wasn’t myself the other day, that it was the pain talking, but that would be a coward’s excuse. I lashed out at you because I was scared to death, and I’m afraid I took that out on you.’
She sighed. ‘I know you didn’t want me here, Davy, that Rick forced you to take me on.’
‘Forced me?’ Davy wheezed out a laugh, then winced and pressed a hand to his side. ‘I was struggling well before I banged my head, I just didn’t want to admit it. It was easier on my ego to pretend otherwise, but when Rick insisted I took someone on, it was a huge relief.’
‘You really hurt my feelings.’ It was important for her to say it. To stand up for herself and make him understand they couldn’t just brush everything under the carpet.
‘I know, pet. And I am more sorry than I can say. I know I don’t deserve it, but please try and find it in your heart to forgive a silly old fool with more pride than sense.’ He sat forward on the edge of his chair, clasping his hands together between his knees. ‘Having you here has been a blessing. More than a blessing: a joy. I hadn’t realised how lonely I was, how much I’d closed myself off from everyone, until I had you around and about the place.’
Anya rubbed her cheek where she could feel a blush of pleasure beginning to glow. ‘It’s been special for me too.’
Davy’s eyes lit up. ‘So you’ll stay?’
Anya glanced away, not liking the weight of that hope on her shoulders. ‘I don’t know yet. It depends on what you choose to do next. If you don’t want to undergo treatment then I will respect your decision, but I don’t know if I can bring myself to sit by and watch you fade away, Davy. You won’t have any problem replacing me, and I’ll bridge that gap until you do.’ She hesitated. It would be easier to walk away now, to protect herself as much as possible. But her aunt was right, life couldn’t be lived in a bubble. ‘If you decide to fight, however, I’ll fight with you, every step of the way.’
Davy shook his head. ‘You’ve already done more than enough, I wouldn’t have you go through that.’
Though her heart ached, Anya managed a wobbly smile. ‘You don’t get to make that decision for me. For all your grumping and growling, I’ve grown rather fond of you.’ She rose, needing to get out of there before she started bawling her head off. ‘Right, I’d better get back downstairs. Let me sort out your tea.’
Davy was silent until she set a clean cup, a small jug of milk and a pot of tea on the table beside his chair. ‘Thank you.’
‘My pleasure.’
He held out his hand to her and she took it without hesitation. His skin was warm, almost papery beneath her fingers. She held it gently, conscious of the bruise. ‘I’m going to see the doctor as soon as he gets my results through and I’ve already promised to take either Jago or Ryan with me.’ He huffed in amusement. ‘It’ll be both of them, if I know anything about my family.’
Anya smiled. ‘Bloody Penrose men, you’re all as stubborn as each other.’
‘Aye, aren’t we just. Anyway, I can’t make any promises until I know the full picture, but I’ll follow the doctor’s advice.’ He gave a little chuckle. ‘I thought I’d made my peace, that I was ready to accept I’d had my allotted time and shuffle off quietly. Then you showed up and I’ve watched you dig yourself out of rock bottom and it makes me ashamed that I didn’t show the same kind of courage. Not just about the cancer, but years ago.’
Anya knelt beside his chair. ‘What happened?’
Davy’s smile was soft and sad. ‘Oh, nothing earth shattering. Just that I thought I’d met the person I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with, but she had other ideas. I kind of gave up after that. Withdrew into my shell and even when there might have been another chance at happiness, I didn’t take the risk.’ He reached out and stroked her hair. ‘Don’t close yourself off to love. I know you’ve suffered more than anyone at your age should ever have to, but if a foolish old man is allowed to offer one piece of wisdom, it’s to always keep your heart open to possibilities.’
Anya lowered her head. ‘It hurts too much.’
Davy’s gnarled fingers stroked her hair once more. ‘You only think it does, but when you reach my age and look back on all the chances you’ve missed, it’ll hurt so much more.’
She lifted her watery eyes to meet his. ‘He lied to me.’
‘I know, but only because he was trying to do the right thing by me. I should never have put Rick in that position and I’ll regret it for whatever days are left to me that I’m the one who caused problems for the two of you.’
She sighed. ‘It wasn’t just you. I rushed into a relationship with Rick before I was ready. I mean I thought I was, but it’s become clear to me over the past couple of days that it all got a bit too much too soon.’ She quirked her lips in a wry smile. ‘You Penrose men are too damn easy to love and it was so nice to have someone to lean on. But Rick deserves someone who can give support, not just take it, and that can’t be me until I learn how to stand on my own.’
‘There’s nothing to say you can’t try again. Take your time.’ He gave her a bittersweet grin. ‘You’ve got plenty of that at least.’
‘You’re as bad as your great-nephew, always wanting to fix things,’ she admonished, though she smiled as she wagged her finger at him. ‘If I’m sticking around here, you need to promise to keep your nose out of my private life.’
Davy grinned, a hint of his old sparkle in his eyes. ‘I’ve got better things to do than worry about what you’re up to. I’ve got plans of my own, including for this place.’
Whatever she’d expected him to say, it wasn’t this. ‘I thought the hotel meant everything to you.’
Davy sighed. ‘So did I. Turns out you’re never too old to learn what’s really important in life.’ He squeezed her fingers. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll see you right.’
She shuffled closer to lean her head against his shoulder. ‘Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.’
‘I know you will.’ Davy turned his head and brushed a kiss against her temple. ‘And I intend to stick around if I can and watch you go from strength to strength.’
Anya sat back on her heels. ‘I’m going to hold you to that. So, are you going to tell me what your plans are for the hotel?’
Davy tapped the side of his nose. ‘It’s all in hand. You’ll see.’