Chapter Thirty-two
‘Are Molly and the baby OK?’ Lara asked.
‘They’re both fine. They’ve had a burst pipe in the house and there’s water running down the walls and all over the electrics. The ceiling came down over the cot while Molly was changing Esme and they’re wet through. Brenda’s away in Manchester and Molly’s panicking, understandably.’
‘I’m not surprised. It must have been terrifying.’
‘It could have been catastrophic …’ He shook his head. ‘Molly’s turned off the stopcock but she has no idea what to do next. She’s asked if I can go round now.’
‘How scary for them. What I can do to help?’
‘I can’t take the bike in these conditions and it’d be useless if I need to give Molly and the baby a lift anywhere. I don’t like to borrow the castle van on a – um – personal matter. I hoped you might be able loan me the Land Rover.’
‘I could and it is insured for other drivers, but I know the roads and the Landy has its quirks.’ Lara thought on her feet. ‘Why don’t I take you?’
He let out a sigh of relief. ‘Thanks so much. I was hoping you’d say that, but it’s a real imposition to make you come out after a busy day.’
‘Don’t worry. We all need help sometimes.’
‘Thanks. They’re in the dark and cold right now and they’re not safe.’
‘Then let’s go.’ Without a moment’s hesitation, Lara pulled her coat from the rack and scooped up her keys.
It took half an hour to reach the coastal village where Molly, Esme and Brenda lived. Flynn was largely silent, sending messages to Molly while Lara drove along the unlit road, concentrating hard in case there were any lingering patches of slush.
Brightly lit homes heralded their entrance to the village, with trees twinkling in people’s windows and glowing reindeer grazing on front lawns.
Some people had really gone to town, and while none of it could measure up the Ravendale light show, Lara found it touching.
It gave her a pang of homesickness for her own family home.
She didn’t think she’d see them now until well into the New Year, when they returned from Australia.
And the consolation of sharing a communal Christmas lunch with Flynn was now gone; he’d be sure to spend it with Molly and Esme, which was only to be expected.
She hoped that Flynn and his new family would be able to get to know each other better by then – meaning that Molly would have to tell Imogen and Brenda.
‘We’re only a couple of minutes away,’ Lara said, turning off the main street into a residential area.
‘It’s number twenty-eight,’ Flynn said, scanning the houses for Molly’s.
‘On the left. Might be that one with the Santa in the garden?’
Lara slowed and stopped the Land Rover outside a stone semi-detached cottage where the street lights showed a blow-up Santa tethered to the front lawn amid patches of melting snow.
‘There are no lights on, so I think it is.’
She turned off the engine and headlights, but Flynn seemed frozen to the passenger seat.
‘To think they were here all this time,’ he said, looking out of the window. ‘And I had no idea.’
‘I know …’ Lara thought of the switchback of emotions that the past couple of months had brought. Flynn walking into her life so dramatically at Halloween, breaking down her defences and giving her the hope of a fresh start – and now the future had been turned on its head again.
She took the keys from the ignition. ‘Come on, we don’t want to keep them waiting any longer. It’s past 10 p.m. already.’
Flynn snapped into life and carried his toolkit and torch into the house, where a pale-faced Molly let them in. Flynn had already told her Lara was coming too, so her presence wasn’t a shock.
Flynn set up a powerful torch that doubled as a lamp.
Molly had her coat on but was still shivering. It was almost as chilly inside as out.
‘I brought the travel cot down here,’ she said. ‘Luckily Esme’s now gone off to sleep.’
‘That’s one good thing, then,’ Lara said, smiling at the sleeping babe while Flynn opened up his toolbox.
Molly was still agitated. ‘I’m sorry to call you, but I didn’t know who else to ask,’ she said.
‘Nan’s gone to a Strictly Christmas show in Manchester.
She took the car or I would have driven myself.
She’ll go spare when she sees the damage but I’m not telling her until she gets home. I don’t want to ruin her special trip.’
‘It’s not your fault,’ Lara said.
‘Burst pipes and leaks can happen to anyone,’ Flynn said kindly. ‘Can you show me where the worst of the damage is?’
‘I can sit here and keep an eye on Esme,’ Lara offered, aware that she was even more of a stranger to the baby than Flynn.
Molly nodded and took Flynn into what seemed to be a kitchen area.
Ten minutes later, they both returned to the sitting room, much to Lara’s relief. Esme had woken up and she hadn’t dared let her crawl around in the dark, so she’d been entertaining her with YouTube kids’ videos on her phone.
Flynn set up his torch so they could see each other while he delivered his verdict on the damage.
‘It’s not great,’ he said, with a grimace, although Lara could tell he was trying not to over-dramatise the situation for Molly’s sake.
‘The water has leaked through the floor of Esme’s room, through to the utility room below and damaged the circuit breakers there, which is why there’s no power or light. ’
‘It’s bad, isn’t it?’
‘I’ve seen far worse, but the most important thing is that you’re both OK.
The ceiling can be fixed, but that’s a bigger job and I can’t even call anyone to see when they can repair it until morning.
We’ll also need to call out an emergency plumber and clear up the mess.
I can check the electrics properly myself tomorrow and fix any issues. ’
Lara thought it was very fortunate for Molly that Flynn was an experienced maintenance manager.
Esme let out a snicker of protest and Molly took her from Lara. ‘I can’t let her sleep in the dark and cold.’
‘No way can you stay here. I can’t be sure how safe the electrics are until at least tomorrow. Is there anywhere you can go?’
‘Friends?’ Lara prompted.
‘All the friends my age live with their parents or in house shares. There’s my Auntie Jane in Keswick, but that’s over an hour away and her flat is tiny. And before you ask, I am not staying with my ex! He lives with his brother and the place is pigsty. No way am I taking Esme there.’
‘It is very late,’ Lara said, then found herself blurting out, ‘You could always stay with me for the night, if you wanted to.’
Flynn stared at her in amazement.
‘Could I? You mean at the castle? Won’t they mind?’
Lara smiled. ‘I don’t live in the actual castle. I have a cottage in the grounds – opposite Flynn’s place, in fact. If you want, you and Esme are welcome to stay with me tonight. It’s not very big but it’s warm and dry.’
‘That’s very kind. Are you sure?’ Flynn said, wondering if Lara had offered because Molly might feel more comfortable staying with a woman than him.
‘I’d be very happy if Molly is.’
‘I think it’s a great idea.’
Esme wasn’t happy about being disturbed, and Lara was worried that her car seat wouldn’t tether to the old Land Rover’s rear seats, but Flynn and Molly managed to fix it and they set off, surrounded by cots, a highchair, a pack of nappies, and several bags of clothes and toys.
It was half-past eleven when Molly lifted a sleeping Esme from the car seat and followed Lara to her cottage while Flynn unloaded their stuff from the Land Rover.
Lara showed Molly her room and left her trying to settle Esme in her travel cot while she found fresh sheets.
Flynn had been on shuttle runs to the Land Rover with the rest of Esme’s paraphernalia and Lara opened the front door for him as he brought the last of it into the cottage. He put the bags down on the step and glanced over her shoulder, checking that Molly wasn’t listening.
‘Lara,’ he said in a low voice, ‘thank you for offering to have them. I was going to myself, but–– I wasn’t sure if she would feel comfortable if I suggested it. I’m her dad but she hardly knows me.’
‘She hardly knows me either, but I thought it might feel more natural – an all-girls-together kind of thing, like a sleepover …’ Lara grimaced. ‘I make it sound like we’re all ten! You know what I mean.’
Flynn smiled. ‘It’s a great solution. I can’t thank you enough.’ He looked as if he were about to hug her.
‘You don’t need to. I’m more than happy to help.’
‘I won’t disturb Molly if she’s settling Esme. Tell her I said goodnight to them both. See you tomorrow. It’ll have to be early: seven-thirty according to Molly?’
Lara smiled. ‘I think I’ll be lucky if I make it to six without waking up.’
‘Yeah. Look, I really am so grateful.’
‘Flynn. Stop being grateful.’ I don’t want you to feel guilty, she could have said. I don’t want you to try to compensate for a decision that must have felt impossible. That must still feel impossible. ‘Get some rest. I think you’re going to need it more than I do.’
Lara closed the door with an inner sigh before putting on a smile and carrying the things into the sitting room. Molly was in the kitchen pouring water into two mugs. ‘I managed to get Esme off to sleep and I found some teabags.’
‘Thanks,’ Lara said, getting milk from the fridge while trying to process that Flynn’s daughter – and granddaughter – were in her cottage, making her a drink.
Molly dropped the used teabags in the bin and added a splash of milk to her tea before leaning against the worktop. ‘It must be incredible living by a castle. I’ve always wanted to stay here. Not under these circumstances, of course.’ She laughed nervously.
‘It’s nowhere near as exciting as you might think,’ said Lara, thinking that the past couple of months had been even more eventful than the previous eighteen. ‘Shall we take these in the sitting room? You must need to decompress a bit before you go to bed. It must have been a stressful day.’
Molly sat down on the sofa, which was to be Lara’s bed for the night.