The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) (35 page)

‘You trusted her when she told
you the baby was yours. Don’t blame yourself for this.’ Jane touched his arm
comfortingly. ‘None of us really saw Richard close enough to take much notice
of his features. He was usually sitting in his car, and nearly always wore dark
glasses. I couldn’t have told you the colour of his eyes if my life depended on
it.’

Eddie shrugged helplessly. ‘I
feel
such
a fool. She really
took me for a ride. And Cathy, why the hell didn’t she say something sooner?
All this time and she never said a word, never even gave me a fucking clue!’

‘You can’t blame Cathy,’ Jane
said. ‘It must have been awful for her, keeping something like this to herself.
And remember, she did tell you last year that she tried to persuade Angie not
to marry you.’

‘I’ve just thought of something
else,’ Eddie said. ‘Richard had parents, a family. Cathy said that Angie was
going to tell them about Jonny. Somewhere out there he has grandparents and
probably aunts and uncles. If this gets out we could lose him. They might fight
for custody, and there’s also Angie’s parents and sister. They didn’t
particularly want him after she died, but they might now if they find out I’m
not his real father. Jesus, what a fucking mess!
As long as I live I’ll never be able to forgive Angie for this.’

‘We need to be calm, keep our
wits about us,’ Roy advised. ‘No
one knows except us, Carl and Cathy, and
she’s
kept it to herself all this time. I doubt she’ll say a word to anyone.’

‘I asked her not to,’ Jane said.

Roy
nodded. ‘Right, well in that case I think we need a proper meeting. Pat and Tim
should be told. We’re all so close; they’ll know something’s wrong immediately
we see them. I’ll phone them now, and call Carl and Cathy as well, get them to
drive over. If we sort this out tonight, we can put it behind us and learn to
live with it. You two are absolutely sure you want to continue bringing up
Jonny as your own?’

‘I couldn’t do anything else, I
think the world of him,’ Eddie replied. ‘What about you, Jane?’

‘Yes, of course I do. He’s our
little boy. I couldn’t be without him now.’

Roy
strode into the kitchen to make his calls. Eddie topped up their drinks and sat
down on the Chesterfield beside
Jane.

‘Will someone help me up please,’
Sammy groaned. ‘I’ll go to the loo before the others arrive. The little
bugger’s playing football with my bladder again!’

Eddie heaved her to her feet.
‘Don’t knock it. At least you and Roy know whose baby it is.’

‘Very true,’ Sammy said, waddling
out of the lounge.

Eddie took Jane’s hand. ‘I don’t
half lumber you with some bloody problems, Jane.’

‘I know.’ She smiled and stroked
his cheek. ‘But I wouldn’t have it any other way.’

‘You could have had such a
normal, peaceful life with Mark Fisher,’ he continued, holding her close. ‘He
might not have lost the plot if you’d stayed with him.’

‘Eddie, don’t say that. I hate
being reminded of him and I wouldn’t ever swap what
we’ve
got for normal.’

Sammy laughed as she lumbered
back into the lounge. ‘Normal, huh!
From the moment Jane clapped eyes on you she wanted
you
and only you and that’s why she’s here now. A normal lifestyle
would never have suited her.’

Roy
strolled back into the lounge. ‘They’re coming over and picking up Carl and
Cathy on the way.’ He topped up their glasses as they waited for the others to
arrive.

Jane jumped up as the doorbell
rang. She let in a worried looking Pat and Tim, accompanied by Carl and Cathy,
who was in tears.

‘What’s happened?’ Tim blurted.
‘Cathy keeps saying it’s all her fault. What’s she done, for God’s sake?’

‘Go and sit in the lounge and
I’ll get you all a drink,’ Jane said and busied herself in the kitchen pouring
glasses of red wine. She handed round the drinks as everyone found a seat.

Eddie explained to Tim and Pat
what had happened the night before. They were as shocked as everyone else had
been.

‘I don’t believe it!’ Tim
exclaimed as he looked at the photos Jane handed him.

‘He’s a dead ringer.’ Pat shook her
head in disbelief. ‘Oh, Ed, why didn’t any of us see it?’

‘Right!’ Roy
took charge of the situation and addressed Cathy. ‘We gather Richard had a
family?’

She nodded. ‘Yes, parents and two
younger sisters. But I’m absolutely certain they had no inkling that Jonny was
his son. The family was at the funerals and not a word was said.’

‘Okay. But that means Jonny has
family on both his mother and father’s side. Now if this ever leaks out, Eddie
and Jane could lose him. You’re all aware of that fact, aren’t you?’ He looked
at the group of solemn faces.

They nodded silently.

‘We have to keep this to
ourselves. If the press ever gets to hear a word, it will be all over the
papers and TV. It won’t matter a jot that Ed’s name’s on the birth certificate
or that he and Jane have brought Jonny up so far. The families would have
rights and they could be forced to hand him over to strangers. In the best
interests of young Jonny, I vote that we make a pact not to reveal his true
parentage to another living soul for the time being. Not even to your parents
or Phil,’ he advised Eddie and Jane.

They nodded in agreement, Jane
squeezing Eddie’s hand reassuringly.

‘It must never go beyond these
four walls,’ Roy continued. ‘If
even
one
of you has any doubts that
you can’t keep this secret for as long as is necessary speak up now.’

The room remained silent.

Roy
nodded. ‘Right, we’re all agreed. It will be up to you and Jane what you tell
Jonny later, Ed. Will you tell him the truth then, or will you still keep it to
yourselves?’

Eddie shrugged. ‘I honestly don’t
know, Roy. It’s too far into the
future to think about now. We’ll see how things go. His birth certificate,
should he ever need it, shows Angie and me as his parents. Jane and I had
already decided to tell him about his mother when he’s old enough to
understand. Maybe we’ll leave it at that.’

He stood up and walked across to
the fireplace. He leant against it, stared into the dying embers for a long
moment, then turned and smiled. ‘Thanks, all of you, for being so understanding.
I don’t know why these awful things keep happening to me and Jane, but without
your support we’d be lost.’

‘I’m so sorry, Eddie,’ Cathy
wriggled uncomfortably. ‘I wish I’d thrown that damn film away. I could have
kept it to myself forever then. You’ve had enough on your plate recently.’

‘Jane touched her arm. ‘It’s
okay, Cathy. There’s bound to be a time in the future when it would all come
out. Eddie and I love Jonny; we’ll always love him. As far as we’re concerned
he’s as much our son as Jessie is our daughter.’

Eddie smiled round at his loyal
and trusted friends. The secret would go no further than these four walls for
the foreseeable future. He held up his glass to propose a toast. ‘Here’s to our
son and daughter - and all future Raiders offspring, however many there may
be!’

TO BE
CONTINUED

'Til I Kissed You

By

Pam Howes

'Til I Kissed You

Published by

Pam Howes and Raider Publishing

Copyright © 2012 by Pam Howes

Second Edition

First published in
Great Britain
as a paperback in 2010 by YouWriteOn

ISBN 978-1-907986-96-3

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form without the prior
written permission of the author, nor be circulated in any other binding or
cover than that in which it is published.

This is a work of fiction.

***

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY

OF

SUSAN FRANCIS HOOPER

For My Man, Girls and Grandchildren

With love

CHAPTER
ONE

  
ASHLEA
VILLAGE
,
CHESHIRE
.
APRIL 1984

  
'Nick, where are you?'
  

  
Silence.

  
‘Nick, for God’s sake stop pissing around.’

  
The corridor was dark, long and narrow. She could smell him. Cigarette
smoke and leather. Why wouldn’t he answer? She crept down the corridor, one
hand against the wall the other outstretched. She could hear him breathing now.

  
‘Nick, you’re scaring me. I don’t like this game.’ Then she was falling
and Nick was shouting.

  
‘Hold on tight, Jess.’

  
Down, down, down like Alice
in the rabbit hole, and then thump.

  
Her eyes flew open and she let out a sharp breath. ‘For fuck’s sake!’
She was in her bed – alone - drenched with sweat and tangled up in the duvet.
That bloody dream, again. How many times was that now?
 
What was it all about? She dashed a trembling
hand across her face. Tears. She’d been crying in her sleep.

  
Was she going nuts? Was it the spliff she and Nick shared last night?
Surely not? Nick’s mate wouldn’t sell them dodgy gear and anyway, she’d had the
dream before. She looked at her bedside clock. 7:30. ‘Shit!’ The Cantellos were
picking her up at
8:00
. She’d never be
ready at this rate. She leapt out of bed and hurried into the en-suite. Still
shaking, she turned on the shower and stepped in. The soothing hot water
relaxed her and she remembered last night’s date with Nick, when his eager
hands and lips had had the opposite effect.

  
She grabbed a towel, wrapped it around her middle and sat in front of
the dressing table mirror, rubbing at the dark circles under her eyes. She must
start going to bed early, but then there was the bloody dream. Nick laughed the
first time she told him about it. Said she had an overactive imagination.
  

  
She dragged a brush through her long hair, blasted it with the dryer,
then slapped blusher on her cheeks and rimmed her eyes with kohl. She pulled on
jeans and a tight white T-shirt, pushed her feet into Doc Marten’s and clomped
downstairs.

***

  
Sammy Cantello checked her watch. She called up the stairs, ‘Roy,
for the last time, get a move on – and give Nick and Jason a shout. It’s after seven.
We promised Jess we’d pick her up at eight.’ She hurried back into the kitchen,
poured a mug of coffee and loaded the toaster. Her boys were hopeless at
getting up and her husband even worse.

  
They’d been roped in to help clear out the house in Brighton
that their friends Eddie and Jane Mellor had recently inherited from Eddie’s
Aunt Celia, but unless they got a move on, the first day would be wasted.
 

  
Clad in boxer shorts, dark hair glistening from the shower, Roy padded
barefoot into the kitchen and bent to kiss the top of her head. ‘Morning, Sam.’

  
‘About time, too. Sit down and I’ll pour you a coffee. Any sign of the
boys?’

  
‘They’re styling their hair. Give ‘em half an hour. Nick’s bog-eyed
after his late night. I guess he was out with Jess?’

  
‘You guess right.’ She handed him a mug. ‘Help yourself to toast. It’s
probably cold now.’

  
‘I’ll do without. Pass me a fag, love.’

  
‘Those boys take longer than I do over their hair.’ She handed Roy
his cigarettes. ‘The bags are in the hall. Load the car when you’ve finished,
please.’
 

  
‘I’ll put the roof-rack on first.’ He lit up, took a lengthy drag and
coughed. ‘I really must give up.’

  
‘You say that every morning.’

  
He took another long drag. ‘I'll take the keyboard and guitars. Ed’s
taken a couple of amps and Jess’s bass with him.’

  
‘You and Ed planning on doing some serious work then, or just jamming?’
Sammy wiped up toast crumbs from the worktop and tossed the cloth into the
sink.

  
‘Both, if we’ve time. There's a couple of new songs to run through while
we’ve got the kids under one roof.’

  
‘You alright, Roy?’ Sammy
asked as his dark eyes narrowed and he stared out of the window. ‘You look
miles away.’

  
‘Yeah – just thinking. Shame Livvy Grant’s not coming with us. One of the
songs is a real rocker and I wrote it with her in mind. It needs a stronger
voice than Jess’s.
  

  
‘Huh, don't fancy your chances if you say that to Jess. She doesn’t want
Livvy in
The Zoo
. She thinks the girl
fancies Nick.’

  
‘Nah, she doesn’t – does she? Fancy Nick I mean?’

  
‘I’ve no idea. I heard Jess having a go at him last week for being over
friendly.’

  
Roy stubbed out his
cigarette and came and stood beside her. He gazed into her eyes and kissed her.
‘I fancy you, Mrs C.’

  
‘Do you now?’

  
‘You can feel I do. How about a quickie while the lads have their
breakfast?’

  
‘Roy, for God’s sake, do you
ever think about anything else? Get dressed.’

  
Nick and Jason appeared; both yawning, dark hair blown and gelled to
perfection.

  
‘Grab some toast,’ Sammy said. ‘Then you can help Dad load the car. Get
the roof-rack out of the garage.’ She was conscious of Roy
hiding behind her, hands strategically placed over his boxer shorts.

  
‘That was a bit too close for comfort,’ he muttered as the boys headed
for the door.

  
‘Serves you right for walking around half-naked. Now get ready and load
the car.’

  
‘One kiss and I will.’

  
‘Roy, it never stops at one
kiss with you.’ She pulled away. ‘Go, now, or I won’t be responsible for my
actions.’

  
‘Tonight then, promise?’

  
‘If I’m not too tired.’ She jumped as the phone rang.

  
Roy grabbed the receiver and
pressed her against the cupboard. His free hand caressed her back through her
linen shirt. ‘Roy Cantello. – Ah, the lovely Mrs Mellor. And how are you this
fine morning? – Good. Just a mo.’

  
‘Jane.’ He handed Sammy the phone.

  
‘Hi, Jane. Saved by the bell,’ Sammy said as Roy
left the kitchen.

  
‘
What bell?’

  
‘The phone. Roy’s like a tom
on the tiles, as usual, while I’m getting more and more agitated – as usual!
Your timing is perfect.’

  
‘
Put him off his stride, did I?
Not that much ever does. I’ve forgotten my locket. Can you get it when you pick
up Jess, please? I’ve tried calling her but there’s no answer. She must be in
the shower.’

  
‘Of course, anything else?’

  
‘No, that’s it. It’s in my
jewellery box. Thanks, Sam, see you in a few hours. Safe journey.
’
   

  
‘Thanks, see you soon.’

***

  
Roy glanced out of the
bedroom window and shook his head as he watched Nick and Jason struggling with
the roof-rack. He opened the window and yelled, ‘Leave it – you’ll scratch the
bloody car! I’ll be down in a minute.’ He checked his hair in the mirror and
winked at his reflection. ‘Not bad for forty-two, Cantello.’ He picked up his
leather jacket and car keys.

  
Hand on the doorknob, he paused for a minute. Sammy’s earlier comment
about Livvy Grant fancying Nick bothered him and he wondered why. Roy
wanted her in
The Zoo.
Her voice had
a strength the band needed. Not only that, she was a good-looking kid, didn’t
give lip and he liked having her around. He’d have to call a serious band
meeting next week. There had to be a way of persuading Jess that it would be a
very sound move to have Livvy on board.

***

  
Jane smiled as she dropped the receiver back onto the cradle. In the
lounge her husband Eddie was reading the Daily Mail and her stepson Jon,
fiddling with a portable cassette recorder, trying to retrieve a jammed
tape.
  

  
‘I called Sammy,’ Jane said. ‘Roy’s
giving her no peace. He never changes.’

  
Eddie folded his newspaper and laughed. ‘Don’t suppose he ever will
now.’

  
‘Want a ciggie, Dad?’ Jon held out a packet of Silk Cut.

  
‘I’ll have one later, son.’

  
Jon plonked his feet on the coffee table, lit up and blew a perfect
smoke ring.

  
‘Don’t get too comfy,’ Jane smacked his feet down. ‘So, what’s the plan
of action for today?’

  
‘Well first off, me and Jon will go to the solicitor’s to sort out
Celia’s will,’ Eddie said.

  
‘Okay.’ Jane nodded. ‘I’ll have a wander around The Lanes; see if the
bric-a-brac shops will be interested in any of the furniture and stuff.’

  
‘I’ll be sorry to see it go,’ Eddie started to say, but something caused
his voice to crack. Jane stepped in.

  
‘End of an era, love, isn’t it? I’m sure it will all find a nice home.
Right, I’ll have a tidy round and get the rooms ready. The boys can have
camp-beds in with you, Jon. Jess can sleep in the attic. While you’re out you
can pick up some groceries for tonight. I’ll write a list.’

  
‘I’ll cook,’ Eddie said. ‘I’ll do Beef in Beer. Roy
loves that.’

  
‘So do I.’ Jon was fiddling with the cassette
recorder again. ‘Especially when
you
cook it and not Mum.’

  
‘Thanks very much, Jon. I’ll remember that the next time your father’s
in London and you have to eat my
burnt offerings, which, incidentally, you never refuse – or leave.’

  
‘Even your burnt offerings are preferable to starving, Mum. Dad just
happens to be the better cook, that’s all.’
 

  
‘Pity he didn’t realise that years ago,’ she said, only half joking.
 

***

  
Sammy knocked on the door of Hanover’s
Lodge. Jess answered, looking bleary-eyed.

  
‘Morning, Jess. You look tired. Not had much sleep?’

  
‘I’m fine,’ Jess said, smiling.

  
‘Well, if you’re ready, put your case in the boot. Your mum forgot her
locket. I’ll nip upstairs and get it.’

  
‘Do you want me to go?’

  
‘It’s okay, love. You get yourself settled in the car. I’ll lock up as I
leave.’

  
As Sammy climbed the familiar staircase a million memories flashed
through her mind. She passed Jess’s bedroom door. The room had been hers and Roy’s
when they’d all lived together during the sixties, and Eddie and Roy had been
members of chart topping group
The
Raiders
. She opened the door next to Jess’s room and peered in. The music
room – walls adorned with souvenirs of the group’s heyday. Awards, framed
photographs and gold discs. A corner of the room had doubled as her studio when
she’d started her own fashion design business. She smiled as she closed the
door and walked along the landing to Jane and Eddie’s bedroom.

  
She found the locket, dropped it into her bag and hurried out to the
car. Roy slumped in the front
passenger seat, his earlier friskiness gone. Jess was sitting between Nick and
Jason, Nick’s hand resting possessively on her knee.

  
‘Alright now, Jess?’ Sammy climbed in.

  
‘She’s fine, Mum,’ Nick answered for her.

  
‘Right then. We’ll stop at the services in a couple of hours.’ She
started up the engine of the sleek BMW saloon and drove down the rutted,
private lane towards the main road.

  
Jess chatted non-stop. She was very much her mother’s daughter in that
respect, whilst Nick, nodding and grunting only when he had to, was very much
his father’s son first thing in the morning.

  
Roy glanced at Sammy with
pleading eyes that said, “Can’t you shut her up?” Sammy smiled. She enjoyed
Jess’s chatter. ‘Did you have a good time last night, Jess?’

  
‘We did, thanks, Sammy.’

  
Sammy looked in the rear-view mirror. She saw Jess squeeze Nick’s hand
and he winked at her.

  
‘Go anywhere nice?’ Roy
asked.

  
‘Pub in Didsbury with some mates,’ Nick said.
   

  
‘So, they’ve started all night opening in Didsbury, have they?’

  
‘Roy, stop it. You’re
embarrassing them.’ In the rear-view Sammy saw Jess’s cheeks flush.

  
‘Sorry, kids, just envious. I wish I were your age again. Don’t you,
Sam?’
 
 

  
‘Sometimes, but knowing what I know now.’

***

  
Jon dashed upstairs to get changed. While he dressed he mulled over what
he would spend his inheritance money on. A new car maybe, depending on how much
Great Aunt Celia had left him. Jess had already spent hers a million times over
in her head. He slapped on the cologne she’d given him for Christmas. She’d
told him she loved the musky scent on him.