The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) (126 page)

  
‘No! I’m not leaving you alone with Mom. You’re just being a bully now.’

  
‘Fine, I can see when I’m outnumbered.
I’ll
go to bed then and I’ll speak to you in the morning.’ He
headed towards the door.

  
‘Well don’t forget that Roy’s
coming for me at eleven,’ Courtney reminded.

  
‘Ah yes, the wonderful Mr Cantello! Well I’m sure I’ll cope with that
one.’ He closed the door firmly on his way out.

  
Livvy and Courtney sank onto the bed.

  
‘You’re shaking. Are you okay, Mom?’

  
‘I’ll be fine, sweetie.’ Livvy pushed the curls out of Courtney’s eyes
and kissed the tip of her nose. ‘I’m sorry you had to hear all that. Go back to
bed now and I’ll see you in the morning.’

  
Courtney nodded. ‘I love Dad, but I really wish with all my heart that
me, you, Roy and Harley could be a family, you know, living together in one
house.’

  
‘Honey, so do I, but it won’t happen.’

  
‘Maybe if I wish hard enough it might.’

  
‘Well you can certainly try. Now bed, go on.’ She kissed Courtney,
pushed her gently towards the adjoining doors and closed them behind her.

  
Livvy lay on the bed and curled herself into a tight ball. First chance
she got tomorrow she would contact a solicitor for advice on how to prevent
Danny removing Courtney from her care. She would also make an appointment at Manor
Banks School,
get Courtney started there as soon as possible, and find a house to rent. If
she could show they had a settled and stable way of life then it might help her
case.

***

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN

‘You’re very quiet, Princess,’ Roy
said. He and Harley were travelling along the A6 towards Manchester
to collect Courtney. ‘You okay?’

  
‘Just thinking. When I called Courtney earlier she was a bit upset. Her
dad and Livvy had a big fight last night.’

  
‘Really?’ Roy glanced at
her. ‘Did she say why?’

  
‘Her dad wants to take her home. Livvy wants her to stay. Courtney wants
to stay, too. She also said that she heard
your
name being mentioned a few times.’

  
‘Hmm, I’m not surprised.’ He patted her knee. ‘Don’t worry; if I know
Livvy she’ll stand her ground. She won’t let Courtney go without a fight.’

  
‘Well I hope not. She wants to be my bone-marrow donor.’

  
Roy could feel his eyes
filling behind his shades. He blinked the tears away and tooted at the driver
in front who was dawdling at the traffic lights. ‘She might not be suitable.
We’ll have to wait and see. Jason might be a better match, or maybe me - or
your mother.’
 

  
‘You mean Livvy?’ Harley smiled. ‘Sounds odd when you call her my
mother.’

  
‘I’m sure it does,’ he said, ‘but that’s what she is.’

  
Harley nodded and looked out of the window for a while.

  
‘Oh, smell that?’ Roy said.
They were passing Mcvitie’s biscuit factory and the scent of warm syrup and
ginger hung in the air. ‘Freshly baked ginger nuts. Bloody marvellous. My Aunty
Vera worked there years ago. She used to bring home big bags of broken biscuits
on a Friday night.’
 

  
‘Broken biscuits,’ Harley frowned. ‘Couldn’t you afford to buy proper
ones in the olden days?’

  
‘Cheeky mare,’ he said, grinning. ‘You’ve never lived until you’ve dived
into a bag of Mcvitie’s broken bits. You’re spoiled today with all the fancy
stuff Mum gets you from Marks and Sparks.’

  
Harley smiled. ‘Mum was a bit quiet this morning, don’t you think?’

  
‘Yes, she was. I expect things are getting on top of her. Livvy being
here and you being ill, I mean. She’ll be fine when she’s had her coffee quota
and we get back home.’ Roy thought
back to last night and Sammy’s insistence once again that he ask Livvy today to
consider egg donation. He’d kept quiet about his visit to the hotel yesterday
and the fact he’d already asked Livvy to think about it. There’d be hell to pay
if Sammy knew that. He didn’t for one minute think Livvy would play ball. He
was sure she’d mull over the idea but would prefer to have a baby herself.
Well, it couldn’t happen. It was down to him and Sammy - or not at all. He’d
felt guilty all night for leaving Livvy upset yesterday. It had taken all his
willpower not to touch her. Walking out without even a proper kiss had been
agony.

  
‘Here we are,’ he said, swinging into a vacant spot in front of the
hotel. He wasn’t looking forward to this meeting with Danny. He hoped Courtney
was ready and they could leave quickly.

  
Courtney flung open the door at their knock and pulled Harley into the
room. Roy followed and took off his
shades.

  
‘Come and meet my dad,’ Courtney said.

  
‘Nice to meet you, Harley.’ Daniel smiled and held out his hand.

  
Roy stared at Daniel. This
was one meeting he wished he could avoid. Daniel was a similar height to
himself and as blonde as he was dark. He had a golden tan and a confident air,
but his smile didn’t quite reach his blue eyes. Roy
took an instant dislike to him. He’d bet money on it that Daniel was a control
freak. Harley grabbed his sleeve.
  

  
‘This is
my
dad, Roy,’ she
announced.

  
Roy shook Daniel’s proffered
hand firmly. God, he felt awkward and for once in his life he was lost for
words. What the hell did you say to a guy whose wife you fancied the arse off?
He caught Livvy looking at him and she gave him a half smile. He smiled back
and she looked at him with such pain in her eyes that his stomach turned over.
He wanted to go to her, take her in his arms, kiss her and tell her everything
would be okay. He wanted to love her like he’d never loved her before.
 

  
‘How are you feeling today, Harley?’ Daniel broke the awkward silence.

  
‘Not too bad, thanks. A bit tired and I’ve got more bruises on my legs
and stomach, but otherwise I’m alright.’

  
Roy saw Livvy’s eyes fill
with tears. He crossed the room to her side. ‘You okay, Liv?’ He placed an arm
around her shoulders, almost challenging Daniel to have a go at him for the
gesture. He could feel her slight frame trembling against him.

  
‘I’m fine, Roy, don’t
worry.’ She pushed him away. ‘Take the girls now. I’ll call you tonight to make
sure they’re alright.’ She held out her arms to Courtney and kissed her goodbye
and did the same to Harley.

  
Roy swallowed hard. He
didn’t want to leave her alone with Daniel. ‘Call the house if you need me.
Come on, you two, let’s go.’ He picked up Courtney’s holdall as she kissed her
father goodbye. He could sense Daniel’s eyes burning into his back as they left
the suite. Shit, he thought. What a bloody mess - again. Why is life never
straightforward?

***

Livvy sat on the bed, her
shoulders shaking, as Daniel closed the door behind Roy and the girls. She felt
sick and just wanted to lie down. She wished Daniel would go to his own room
and leave her in peace for a while. She could feel tears sliding down her
cheeks as he stood in front of her.

  
‘He’s in love with you, Olivia.’

  
‘I know he is,’ she sobbed. ‘But he loves Sammy as well.’

  
‘Who is he kidding?’ He might
love
Sammy, but he’s in love with
you.
Any
fool can see that. When are you going to come clean and sort yourselves out?
All the years you’ve wasted, not just your own, but mine and Sammy’s too.’

  
She wiped her eyes on her shirt sleeve and looked at him. ‘How on earth
can we possibly do that? There’s too much going on at the moment. Getting
Harley well is our main priority, everything else has to wait.’ She got to her
feet and paced the room, arms wrapped around herself.
  

  
‘Roy’s trying to do his best
for everyone,’ she continued. ‘Please don’t cause problems for us. Sammy’s
upset because
I’m
here. Having
Courtney stay over can’t be easy for her. We all need support, Danny, not
pulling apart with petty jealousies.’

  
‘I’d hardly call being angry with him, for fucking my wife, a petty
jealousy. If the kids hadn’t been around I’d have punched his goddamn lights
out.’

  
Livvy stopped pacing and glared. ‘Don’t even think about it.’

  
Daniel shrugged and held up his hands. ‘Look, I can see how ill Harley
is. I’m not an unreasonable guy. If it were Courtney, I’d be going out of my
mind. Fighting isn’t helping us, so let’s call a truce for now. Courtney can
stay here with you. But I’d like her home for Christmas, maybe you too.’

  
Livvy nodded; glad to agree to anything for now. If she were pregnant,
the baby would be almost due by Christmas, so she wouldn’t be flying anywhere.

  
‘I guess we need to find you somewhere decent to live then,’ Daniel
said. ‘Why don’t we get ready, have lunch in a pub and check out a few estate
agents? I fancy a trek round the city; take in a few of the sights.’

  
‘Okay,’ Livvy nodded. ‘I’ll show you where I used to work and you can
meet Jon and Sean. Jon’s the son of Eddie Mellor,
The Raiders
drummer.’

  
‘I’ll go take a shower,’ he said. ‘Give me a call when you’re ready to
go.’

***

Back in his room Daniel dialled a
number. ‘Hi, baby, sorry to wake you, but I won’t get another chance to call
you until tonight. -
 
No, she’s staying
in England for
the foreseeable future, Courtney too. So when I get home you can move into the
ranch. I’ll fire Mrs Grayson - we don’t want her telling tales - it will be
just the two of us. – Yes, like I promised you, I’ll get a divorce as soon as I
can, I’ve enough grounds. I just need a few days to find them a house and get
Courtney settled in school. Livvy’s involved with her ex again and I can’t see
her wanting to leave England
while their daughter is so sick. - I miss you and I love you, too, honey. I’ll
be back next week to make it up to you. Bye, Jodie, talk to you later.
 

***

With Daniel out of the way, Livvy
called directory enquiries for the number of Manor
Banks School.
She booked an appointment for the following afternoon. When she saw Jon later
she’d ask him if he knew of a good solicitor, or maybe his dad would. She’d
start the ball rolling for divorce as soon as Daniel went home. She could do
with finding out just who he was involved with, so she could give the solicitor
names. She hadn’t recognised the voice of the
woman who answered her call last week, for the line hadn’t been all that clear.
She’d bet her life it was the latest secretary to join the company. It
definitely wasn’t Maria, who had a distinctive Porto Rican accent, nor did she
think it was Jodie, his PA. Jodie had always been friendly towards her and had
even babysat for them on occasions. The rest of the staff was either far too
young or male. Ah well, she’d get to the bottom of it one way or another. Maybe
she’d call Jodie sometime soon, take her into her confidence, and ask her to
keep her eyes and ears open. For now, she’d make the best of the time she and
Daniel had together, for Courtney’s sake. She ticked off school and underlined
solicitor on her “to do” list, scribbled a reminder to call Jodie and put the
notepad back in the bedside drawer.
  

***

Sean greeted Livvy and Daniel with
welcoming smiles. ‘Well hello there, Liv.’ He gave her a kiss on both cheeks
then turned to Daniel. ‘And you must be Danny?’

  
Daniel shook the outstretched hand. ‘Sean, I take it. The Irish accent
gives it away.’
          

  
‘And this is Jon.’ Livvy introduced
Daniel to Jon who shook hands with him and gave Livvy a hug.
 

  
‘
Kettle on, Liam,’ Sean
ordered as Liam’s jaw dropped.

  
‘S’not fair, I never get to have any fun,’ he grumbled, stomping into
the staffroom.

  
Daniel grinned. ‘Just like my junior staff back home. So, this is
Flanagan and Grey’s.’

  
‘Certainly is,’ Sean nodded. ‘The only branch of the business still
open. John Grey closed the others a while back. I guess he felt sorry for Jon
and me after all the years we’ve worked here, so kept this store going.’

  
‘Long time then?’ Daniel asked.

  
‘Err, for me thirty-five years and for Jon, about seventeen.’

  
‘Oh wow, thirty-five years is some time,’ Daniel said. ‘Wish my staff
were as loyal and long-serving. LA’s so transient. Nobody stays in one place
for too long.’

  
‘You’ve had Jodie a couple of years now, Maria’s been with you over ten,
and …’ Livvy stopped and frowned. ‘What’s wrong? You’ve gone all pink.’

  
‘Nothing, I’m fine,’ Daniel said quickly. ‘Still, thirty-five years…’ He
shook his head.

  
‘Sean’s been part of the furniture since before
The Raiders
had their very first hit,’ Livvy told him.
  

  
‘That’s right,’ Sean said. ‘I used to work with Jon’s parents when Jon
was just a nipper.’

  
‘Dad, Roy and Tim used to go in the very first store in Pickford after
school in the late fifties,’ Jon said.

  
‘And it was downhill from then on,’ Sean quipped. ‘No, seriously, those
were the days. Decent music, bands that could play their instruments, none of
that bloody dance routine stuff they churn out today. Just good, earthy
Rock’n’Roll.’

  
‘Sounds like fun,’ Daniel said as Liam brought a tray of coffee through.

  
‘Seen you on your yacht in Hello,’ he said to Daniel. ‘Married to Livvy,
ain’t you?’

  
‘Err, yes, I am.’ Daniel shrugged, and picked up a mug. He turned away
and took a sip.

  
Sean, sensing a problem, sent Liam downstairs to help Shelley. ‘Where’s
Courtney today?’ he asked.

  
‘She’s with Harley at Roy’s
and she’s staying over there tonight,’ Livvy said.

  
‘Well in that case, why don’t you join Tina and me for a meal at
ours?’
 

  
‘Thanks, Sean, but why don’t you and Tina come into town and dine at the
hotel with us?’ Daniel suggested.

  
‘No, Danny, let’s go to Sean and Tina’s,’ Livvy said. ‘I don’t really
want to be seen too much in public.’

  
‘Okay,’ Daniel nodded. ‘Thanks, Sean. We’d love to take you up on your
offer.’ He turned to Livvy. ‘If you’ve finished your coffee we’ll go and find
you a house to rent.’
      

  
Jon looked up. ‘Hey, if you’re looking for a place, Phil and Laura have
a house to let. It’s a four-bedroom cottage near their own home, Apple Tree
House.’

  
‘Phil and Laura?’ Livvy asked.