film, Dirty Dancing. What a naive little girl she’d been. Now that she saw it for what it truly was, it made her cheeks burn with shame and anger.
Jake tucked into his breakfast with the voracity of a man who hadn’t been fed for weeks.
‘This is gorgeous, Mum,’ he mumbled, his mouth full of toast.
Kissing him on the top of his head, she sat at the table with him. ‘So, any plans for today?’
‘Dad’s going to show me his club and then we’ll probably grab something to eat,’ he replied, and her heart sank.
‘Is he coming here?’ she asked, trying to hide her uneasiness with that arrangement.
‘Yeah, he’ll be here in a bit.’
Grace got up from the table, telling Jake she needed to start getting ready for work. She hoped that she could be out of the house before Nathan arrived.
Nathan’s timing was as inconvenient as ever and he was ringing the doorbell as Grace was changing into her work clothes. She heard Jake let him in and the two of them fell into an easy banter. She wondered what reception she’d get from Nathan and whether he would still be annoyed about her rejecting his advances the night before. She hoped that they could put it behind them and at least maintain a degree of civility, if only for Jake’s sake; although knowing Nathan she didn’t hold up much hope for that.
Grace walked into the kitchen to find Nathan helping himself to some toast and coffee. He was dressed in a suit again and she marvelled at how fresh he looked given the state he’d been in the previous night. How typical of him that he’d been there less than ten minutes and was already making himself at home.
‘Grace!’ he said with a smile on his face. ‘You look lovely today.’
‘Thanks,’ she replied, not buying his nice-guy act for even a second. ‘You look very smart. Off anywhere interesting?’
‘Just some business to sort out. I’m taking Jake to The Blue Rooms. Got to show the boy the ropes, haven’t I?’
‘Sharon McNulty’s place?’ Grace asked.
‘No, my place,’ he snapped. ‘In all but name anyway. I’ve ran it since Tommy died, haven’t I? Besides, I’m buying it off her. I’m just waiting on my solicitor to draw up the paperwork and then it will all be official.’
Jake looked up at him with pure admiration in his eyes, and she had to physically stop herself from shaking some sense into him. She tried to appear indifferent in front of her son, but her stomach was churning. Jake would be off to university in a few months and then he’d be far away from his father’s grasp, but knowing Nathan, a lot of damage could be done during that time. There was no way Grace was going to allow Jake to get sucked into his father’s nefarious dealings.
Jake’s chair scraped across the kitchen floor as he stood up, interrupting Grace’s train of thought. ‘I’ll go and get ready, Dad. Be back down in a bit.’
And then there was just the two of them. Nathan’s presence in the room was, as ever, pervasive and suffocating. Every fibre of her being was aware of him and on edge. The incident from the previous night remained unmentioned, and she wondered how his anger might manifest itself.
Striding across the kitchen, head held high, Grace was not shaken by his presence; this was her house, her territory, and he was the intruder. Picking up the cafetière, she poured the remaining contents into a travel mug before spinning around on her heel, careful not to have her back to him for too long. He was up off his chair and standing in front of her before she could move another inch. He was so close that she could smell the expensive soap he’d used that morning. She glared at him. What the hell was he up to?
‘Anymore of that coffee?’ he asked, his voice low and calm. Reaching behind her to lift the pot; he almost pinned her to the kitchen counter as he did so.
‘No, all gone.’ she said, placing her free hand on his chest to create some distance between them.
‘No worries. I’ll make a cup of tea instead,’ he said before moving to the sink to fill the kettle.
‘You do realize Jake’s going to uni in a couple of months, don’t you?’ she said.
‘So?’ Nathan shrugged.
‘He doesn’t need you filling his head full of crap about how wonderful your life is in the meantime,’ she snapped.
‘I can’t help it if the kid idolizes me, Grace,’ he smirked. ‘I have that effect on people. You should know.’ He winked.
‘Ha,’ she snorted. ‘You haven’t had that effect on me for a very long time, Nathan.’
He lit a cigarette and sat back down at the kitchen table as he waited for the kettle to boil. She didn’t bother to tell him she didn’t allow smoking in her house; deciding she had a bigger axe to grind with him.
‘If he gets into any trouble because of you, Nathan, I’ll—’
‘You’ll what, Grace?’ He smirked, but she could see the anger flash momentarily across his face.
‘Just remember he’s an eighteen-year-old kid, with his whole life ahead of him, Nathan. Do not do anything to screw that up for him.’
He shrugged. ‘Whatever you say.’
Grace watched him as he blew smoke rings across the kitchen.
‘This is a nice place you’ve got yourself here,’ he said, changing the subject, his eyes twinkling as he talked. ‘The pub must be doing well?’
‘Yes, the pub does okay. It keeps me and Jake anyway.’ She almost told him that it had taken her two years to make the place viable again, after he had almost run it into the ground. But that was old news. All that would have done was start an argument, and she was in no mood for one with him today. Besides, he appeared to be in a very affable mood and she wondered if the previous night’s antics had been forgotten. Or at least written off as some drunken lunacy, brought on by his nostalgia at being back in their old home. Maybe her warning had actually worked, and he realized she was not a woman to be messed with anymore. Whatever the reason, she was grateful that he hadn’t brought it up and appeared to hold no ill feelings about it.
‘How is Kayleigh?’ Grace asked, trying to steer the conversation away from her financial affairs.
‘She’s good, got a terrible hangover this morning though,’ he laughed.
‘She seems like a nice girl.’
‘Yes, she is. She’s a star, my Kayleigh. The way she waited for me to get out of prison. Not many women would do that, it seems.’
‘Well not many women would put up with you, full stop,’ she smiled. ‘Personally, I think I deserve the George Cross for sticking it out as long as I did.’
He shook his head. ‘You’ve developed a sense of humour while I’ve been away, Grace. You never used to be this funny.’ He smiled as he said it, but Grace knew he was rankled by the way he momentarily clenched his jaw.
‘Well, I’d better
