rather than him? Or did you try him first and we were second choice?’
‘Dad’s about to go away on a cruise around the Med. But even if he wasn’t, I couldn’t bear the idea of bloody Joan getting her claws into Mia. Believe it or not, you two were always first choice.’
Well, at least we still agree on something, Hannah thought. Joan was their father’s second wife, who’d appeared on the scene far too soon after their mother’s death for her liking. Hannah had always thought of Joan, who was nine years younger than sixty-seven-year-old Frank, as a gold-digger. And despite the fact they’d been together for a long time now, she’d never taken to her. Joan had been a widowed neighbour of her parents, who’d rather quickly turned into something else after Maggie’s death. Once she and Frank had got married, she’d convinced him to move to a village near Cambridge to be close to her family yet far from his northern roots. That said, he was at least living much closer to Diane and Mia in Bournemouth than he had been previously.
Hannah could understand why Diane wouldn’t want Joan manipulating her daughter like she had their father, who was a different man now than he had been with their mother. He was henpecked, basically, living the life she wanted him to lead and never daring to contradict her.
After a few more quickfire questions and answers, Diane said she’d give them some time alone to discuss the situation and followed Mia off to bed.
‘So,’ Hannah said to Mark once it was just the two of them in the lounge, ‘what do you think?’
Mark Cook knew his wife well enough to see she was already sold on the idea of having Mia come to stay.
When Diane had finally got round to explaining the reason for her visit, there had been a distinct change in Hannah’s attitude towards the situation. He’d sensed it immediately – and he even understood why. Her problem was with her sister, who under this proposal wasn’t going to be around. Hannah had been expecting a plea for cash, but instead she’d been offered the chance to bond with her long-lost niece.
Of course she was keen on the idea, even though Mia hadn’t exactly been friendly to her earlier. His wife had been devastated by what had gone on between her and her sister all those years ago. It had nearly broken her beyond repair. It surely would have, had she known the whole truth. And losing access to her niece – who she’d doted on, like a surrogate child of her own – had been especially hard.
The toddler Hannah had loved to spoil rotten was long gone, replaced by a fourteen-year-old stranger. But despite Mark’s major reservations about the request – based on a deep-seated distrust of Diane and his knowledge of her full potential to wreak havoc – he had little confidence in his ability to convince his wife. Despite what he felt, he couldn’t risk sounding more negative about her sister than she was, nor could he be seen as the one to put his foot down and say no. It was too risky. Diane was too much of a wildcard, especially after all these years. It had been such a relief to have her out of their lives for so long. Now she was back, he had no idea what was going through her mind – and the more he thought about this, the more it terrified him.
Sure enough, as soon as her sister had left the room, Hannah’s eyes lit up. ‘Well, that was unexpected,’ she said in a low voice. ‘What do you think, love? I have to admit I’m pretty excited by the idea. It would be amazing to get the chance to reconnect with Mia.’
Mark smiled. ‘I had a feeling that’s what you were thinking. It is all a little bit odd, though. And what about this mysterious mess Diane’s got herself into? Any idea what it might be?’
‘I don’t know,’ Hannah whispered. ‘I’m not too interested in that, to be honest. I’m mainly relieved she’s not asking us for money or planning to stick around herself. The last thing I expected was that I’d want to agree to anything Diane asked of me. But I do really like the prospect of having Mia here for a bit. What’s the harm if it’s only for a few days? She’s changed so much from the little girl I remember. I’d love to get to know her again. What do you think?’
‘You seem quite set on the idea. Diane’s your sister, so I think it should be your decision.’
‘That’s nice of you,’ Hannah replied, squeezing his hand, kissing him on the cheek and gazing into his eyes. ‘But this is your home too; I won’t agree to anything you’re not happy about.’
A big part of Mark wanted to say no at this point. He had a bad feeling about the whole business, but as this wasn’t based on anything he could communicate to Hannah, he bit his tongue. ‘If it’s what you really want, then you have my blessing. But I’d sleep on it, rather than saying anything to Diane tonight while she’s still awake. That way you can be sure.’
‘Of course,’ she replied. ‘You know I love you, don’t you?’
‘I do. And I love you too, which is why I want you to be careful.’
‘I will.’
Hannah made the announcement at breakfast the next morning, when all four of them were again sitting around the dining table.
‘So, Mia,’ she said, after taking a long sip from her coffee. ‘Your mother asked us last night whether you might be able to stay here for a short holiday. Of course we’d be only too delighted to have you.’
‘Both of us, you mean?’ Mia asked, the frown on her forehead revealing she clearly didn’t know anything about this.
‘Um, no. Just you, love,’ a flustered Diane replied, clearing her throat several times. ‘I have a few things I need to sort out. I thought this might be a nice break for you.’
‘What kind of things? You said we were only going on a quick trip. I have plans with my friends.’
‘We’ll talk about this in private after breakfast,’ Diane said. ‘I was waiting to see if it was possible before mentioning it to you.’
Mia raised her voice. ‘But this is so not fair. I—’
‘Do you want your phone back this morning or not?’ Diane snapped. ‘I can take it with me if you like.’
‘No, Mum, please—’
‘Eat your breakfast then and drop it.’
Mark was as surprised to see this work as he was about Diane not telling Mia in advance about the request she’d made of him and Hannah. Mia barely said another word for the rest of the meal and looked on the verge of tears.
Hannah’s move to announce their decision this way, rather than speaking to Diane privately first, was – Mark assumed, even though they hadn’t discussed it – designed to unsettle her. He had to admit it was a decent way of emphasising the fact that Hannah was no pushover, despite agreeing to help. And yet seeing Diane baited in this way made him feel uncomfortable, as of course did Mia’s less than ecstatic reaction to the news.
Later, after the pair had had their private discussion, from which mum and daughter had both emerged red-eyed but reconciled, the teenager seemed to have accepted what was happening. She still didn’t look over the moon about it, but why would she? She was essentially being left with two strangers. At least he and Hannah both remembered spending time with her as a toddler; she was unlikely to recall that now.
Meanwhile,
