Loving Netta Wilde (Netta Wilde #6)

1. This was a bad idea

1

THIS WAS A BAD IDEA

Five minutes ago, it had been a normal Friday morning. Five minutes ago, Netta had been poised to walk through the door, get into her car and go about her usual Friday business. She’d even got as far as picking up her keys and opening her mouth to say goodbye to Liza who was on her way downstairs in her pyjamas. But the look on her daughter’s face signalled something cataclysmic had happened and, in that instant, it stopped being a normal Friday morning.

‘Dad’s been thrown out.’

Netta’s mouth formed a perfect O. Then, her entire face screwed up into a squiggly question mark. ‘He’s been… What?’

‘Arianne’s locked him out and she won’t let him back in.’

‘But it’s his house. How can she lock him out of it?’

‘Dunno, but she has.’

‘Oh.’ With nothing left to say on the matter, Netta closed her mouth. Her ex-husband had been thrown out by his partner, the awful Arianne. Comeuppance had taken its time, but it had been worth the wait.

She was so engrossed in the delicious irony of his predicament that Liza’s question passed her by.

‘I’d completely understand if you said no. I mean, it’s not like he deserves any sympathy. Only he’s homeless. He’s got nowhere else to go, except a hotel.’

‘A hotel? Yes, I suppose.’ Netta still wasn’t fully concentrating. She was thinking about a morning some years earlier, when Colin had forced her out of the family home. He’d suggested a hotel then. Rather smugly, as she recalled.

‘Okay, a hotel then. I’ll have to go with him though.’

All at once her own rather smug thoughts came to a halt and she realised exactly what Liza was asking. Could Colin Grey, the man she loathed more than any other person in the world, come and live with them? The answer to that was easy. No. Absolutely not. But what she hadn’t yet grasped was why he needed a minder. ‘Why will you have to go with him?’

‘I’m worried he might do something stupid. He’s been a bit weird lately.’

‘A bit weird?’

‘Yeah. Like, really down about everything. And now this.’

‘Can’t he go to his mum and dad? I’m sure they’ll take him in.’

‘He won’t go to them. You know what they’re like.’ Still caught halfway between upstairs and down, Liza turned to go back up. ‘Can I use your little case for my things?’

‘No, wait. It’s silly when we’ve got the room. He can stay here. For a while anyway. Until Will comes back.’

This was a bad idea. The worst of ideas. Netta chewed on her thumbnail. It was an unappealing habit that she wasn’t normally guilty of, but all of sudden she’d become a nail biter. Bad ideas so often bring bad consequences and if assaulting her nails was the worst of it, she’d consider herself lucky. But she wasn’t that na?ve. There was absolutely no way she was going to get off that lightly.

What had she been thinking? What kind of insane, foolish do-good sentiment had driven her to agree to it? The last thing she wanted in her life right now was her ex-husband. Correction. The last thing she wanted in her life at any time, ever, was her ex-husband. And yet. And yet here she was, about to let him stay under the same roof. Not only that, she was going to collect him and bring him over here because, apparently, Arianne had also locked him out of his car. Yes, this was definitely a bad idea.

Now fully dressed, Liza sat down on the sofa and pulled on her trainers. ‘Are you sure about this, Mum? It’s not too late to back out.’

If only that were true. Sadly, it had been too late the minute Liza had brought up Colin’s situation, and that was before she’d even floated the idea of him staying with them. In theory, Netta could have said no. But the thought of Liza living out of a hotel room with the man who could twist and turn anything and anyone to his advantage was too much to contemplate. She’d agreed because she’d had no alternative. And because she’d been trying to prove to her daughter that, as a grown woman, she was above all the things she should be above. Even if she wasn’t. So that was it. Fate sealed. She added a bad feeling to a bad idea and bad consequences. Bad things were ganging up on her in droves.

‘Mum?’

‘Hmm?’

‘I said, are you sure?’

‘Yes, I’m sure.’

Through the lounge window she saw Frank on his way back from a morning run. She hadn’t had a chance to tell him yet, and it was only right that he was told, seeing as how he was the main man in her life, even if they lived next door to each other rather than together in the same house. ‘I’ll just let Frank know what’s happening and then we’ll go.’

She caught him while he was still on the street, clutching his side and stretching. He’d only started running a few months ago and it still looked like it was killing him.

‘Is this really something you want to do?’ he said, once she’d spilled the details.

‘No it isn’t, but I feel like I’d be letting Liza down if I said no. It’ll only be for a few days. A week at the most, I expect. I might have to spend more time over yours though. Sorry.’

‘There are some benefits to him being here then?’ He kissed her cheek, his clammy skin leaving a damp patch.

Netta wiped the side of her face. ‘Eww, sweaty. Right, I’d better go and fetch him.’

‘Just think of the good all this sweating’s doing me,’ he said, his eyes all sparkly and smiley. ‘Do you want me to come over when you get back?’

‘Yes please. He’ll be slightly less unpleasant if you’re around.’ She noticed Liza waiting on the front step. Hopefully she hadn’t heard anything. Liza knew what Colin was like, so there was no need to worry on that count, but Netta didn’t want her to hear she’d only agreed to this for her sake. Mind you, her daughter wasn’t stupid, she’d probably already worked that out.

They were in the car and on their way before Liza said: ‘I know this is going to be really hard for you, Mum. I don’t suppose it helps but I’m like, really dreading it.’ Maybe she had heard then.

‘It does help. Thank you, darling. We’ll get through it if we stick together.’

‘Is that code for, if we don’t let him manipulate us?’

‘And we’ve got Frank next door. We can always escape to his if it gets too much,’ she said, ignoring Liza’s question.

‘Frank’s so sweet.’

Sweet? Netta could think of many positive words to describe him but sweet wasn’t one of them. Anyway, surely there was an age limit for that? Frank was sixty-one. He must have crossed the threshold by now. Although, in Liza’s eyes, he’d be in the old man category which probably meant he was back in the requalification zone when it came to sweetness.

Liza pulled out her phone and started swiping and tapping. ‘Just letting Dad know we’re nearly there. Do you think you and Frank will get married sometime?’

Netta shot her a glance and almost missed the changing lights. She slammed her foot on the brake and they both jerked backwards in the sudden stop. ‘I have no idea. It’s not something we talk about. Or even think about.’ Well, she didn’t. She couldn’t speak for Frank.

‘Really? We talk about it sometimes.’

‘We? Who’s we?’

‘Me and Will. We think Frank would be a good step-dad. I mean he kind of is already, anyway. Kelly thinks so too.’

‘You’ve talked to Kelly about it?’

‘It comes up.’

Kelly, Netta’s self-proclaimed daughter-from-another-mother and one-time housemate was off travelling the world at the moment. It would appear that didn’t stop her from registering her views on Netta and Frank’s relationship status.

‘I’d have thought you’d have more interesting things to talk about.’

‘We do but, you know, there’s a lull occasionally.’

‘I see. Well, thanks for that. Nice to know we’re here for you whenever there’s a lull.’

The traffic was fairly quiet, and they reached Moseley in reasonable time. ‘Almost at the scene of the crime. Brace yourself,’ said Netta in an attempt to keep their spirits up. But it was in vain: the good humour was already draining from them as they turned into Colin’s road. By the time they reached his house, it was completely gone.

‘Oh my God!’ If Liza had looked shocked earlier on, it was nothing to the way she looked now. Not that Netta could blame her. Because, in the middle of his drive, Colin Grey was sitting on top of an upturned suitcase, surrounded by an assortment of bags and boxes, looking very, very sorry for himself.