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Chapter Ten

‘MOLLY !’ LAYING THE receiver beside the telephone, Brian hurried to the bottom of the stairs. He waited a moment, then when there was no sign of her, he called again, this time more loudly: ‘Molly, get down here, will you?! Jack’s on the phone, and my toast is going cold!’

Molly appeared at the door of her bedroom, ‘What does he want?’

Already frustrated with her for having stayed with him longer than he’d expected, Brian thumped the banister with his clenched fist. ‘How would I know?! You should answer your mobile, then he wouldn’t need to call the land-line!’

When she came running down, he lowered his voice so Jack could not hear. ‘Don’t you think you should put the poor devil out of his misery? Meet up with him, for crying out loud! All he’s asking is that you talk things through.’

‘Hmph!’ She raised her voice so Jack might hear. ‘As far as I’m concerned, there is nothing to talk through!’

Brian shook his head in despair. ‘Honestly, Sis, you can be a nasty piece of work when you set your mind to it.’

Making a face, she was about to go over and pick up the phone, when she changed her mind, deciding that it wouldn’t do any harm to keep Jack waiting.

From the doorway, Brian watched in disbelief as she calmly stood over the telephone, obviously enjoying the moment. ‘Are you going to speak to him or what?’ he deliberately spoke loudly before giving a wry little smile as Molly spun round, gesturing for him to clear off out of it. Which he did.

Snatching up the receiver, Molly was irritated. ‘Yes? What is it you want now?’ Determined to make Jack suffer, she called out to her brother, ‘Brian? Where’s Mal?’

‘Gone – as you well know!’

For Jack’s sake, she feigned disappointment. ‘Oh, and he never even gave me a kiss goodbye.’

Brian made no further comment. Not for the first time, he had been shocked by his sister’s behaviour. If he was Jack, he’d have been long gone. Because Molly was his sister and his landlady, it put him in a bad position; so much so that, he had secretly started looking for somewhere else to live. Though, if this development deal came through, he might even find himself in a position to put down a deposit and actually buy a place.

He could see that Molly was just using Mal to make Jack jealous. He had always been aware of his sister’s shortcomings, but lately, he had seen a side to her that had truly disgusted him. He would not interfere in her life, but once he got himself another place, she would hear a few home-truths from him – and so, for that matter, would Mal. His mate was a good bloke, but he was too trusting, and too besotted with Molly, to see what she was really like.

Torn between the devil and the deep blue sea, he wanted to warn Mal to be on his guard. On the other hand, if he told him the brutal truth – that Molly had no real feelings for him – he might risk Mal falling out with him, and he didn’t want that. Not when the man was like a brother to him, and especially not now, when they had committed themselves to working on this big project together.

Brian felt that the sooner he was out of Molly’s house, the better. He had never thought he would say it, but living under the same roof as his big sister was just too uncomfortable for words.

Now, on hearing Molly play the injured party, he decided to skip his now cold toast and make a run for it, before she came off the phone and turned her spite on him. Within minutes, he was out the door and gone.

Brian just didn’t get it. Mal and Jack, both infatuated with his sister. ‘Jack’s either hopelessly in love and can’t see the forest for the trees, or he’s hoping to change her selfish ways.’ Then he said out loud, ‘You’ve no chance, mate! Best get rid of her while you can.’ He jumped on his motorbike and revved it, hard. ‘If you don’t, she’ll make your life a misery.’

The thing was, when they were younger Molly was an OK sister. But somewhere along the line, she’d become hard and selfish.

The conversation was not going Molly’s way. ‘So nothing I’ve said has changed your mind, Jack?’ she asked in a hurt voice. ‘You’re still hell-bent on leaving me?’

‘Don’t put it like that, Moll.’ Jack felt guilty, but he was not about to undo all his plans, at least not when she refused to even discuss a middle way. ‘We can go up north together – make a new life. Get married sooner rather than later. I’m ready for that—’

‘Are you, now?’ Molly’s voice shook with anger. ‘Well, I’m not! You think you can just click your fingers and expect me to throw away my job, but you have no intention of doing the same for me. The answer is no. Unless you ask for your old job back and drop this idea of chasing ghosts, I want nothing more to do with you.’

Jack had been trying to see it from her point of view. ‘What if I didn’t accept the post permanently?’ he suggested. ‘What if I was to ask for a trial period of, say, three months? It’s not unknown for an employee to do that and still retain his old position. Think about it, Moll. Three months would maybe give me enough time to search for answers. It will at least give me a chance to do some delving – to go back to my old stamping-ground and search for the answers I so badly need.’

‘You won’t find any answers there, Jack. You’re not the only person in the world who suffers from nightmares, but other people learn to live with them. So why are you so determined to ruin our lives by going on this wild goose-chase? Why can’t you stay where you are, and maybe spend a weekend or even a couple of weekends up there? You’ll soon find out that there are no answers.’

‘That’s not what the psychiatrist hinted.’

‘Yes! That’s exactly it. He just hinted, and you jumped on the idea, like the fool you are.’

Jack chose to ignore that spiteful remark. ‘But I need you to support me, Moll. It’s important to me. One way or another, will you give me the time to find out if there is any truth in what he suggested – that my nightmares are rooted in real events that I can’t shut out?’

None of what Jack had said had made any impression on Molly, except to fuel her rage. ‘I wish I’d never suggested you going to see him!’ she snapped. ‘The idea was for you to get some closure of sorts. Not to leave me and go searching for something that isn’t even there.’

‘Well, whether you like it or not, this is something I have to do. It might be the solution I’m looking for, and apart from that, when the promotion came up and it was offered to me, it was too good an opportunity to turn down. Surely you can see that, Molly?’

When she remained silent, he asked her again, ‘So, are you prepared to meet me half-way?’

‘No.’ Molly would not give way an inch. ‘I won’t move up there with you. Nor do I intend playing the little wife-in-waiting. Putting my life on hold, while you take off on a whim No, Jack! I want nothing to do with any of it.’

‘Which means you want nothing to do with me. Right?’

‘If you want to look at it that way.’

‘You really don’t want to marry me – that’s the truth isn’t it?’

‘Yes, you’re right. I don’t want to marry you, Jack. Not when you’re so pig-headed and selfish, you can’t even do what I want.’

‘But this isn’t altogether about you.’ For a fleeting moment, Jack actually began to wonder if he really was being selfish, but after he had gone her way as far as he could, and still she was unable, or unwilling, to meet him half-way, what was he to think?

‘This is a big decision for me,’ he reminded her. ‘I need to find some peace of mind, if I can. You trying to hold me back tells me only one thing.’

‘What’s that?’

‘We don’t have a future together. We don’t have the kind of partnership that makes for a happy marriage. Perhaps we never did. Here am I, trying to find a middle way, but you’re only interested in what you want. You’re not even trying to see it from my point of view. You don’t respect my feelings, or any decision I make, unless it complies with yours.’

After this tussle of wills, he was beginning to see more clearly. ‘You obviously don’t understand that this is a last resort for me. Sometimes, I feel as though I’ll be cursed with these nightmares till the day I die. You may be right, and maybe there aren’t any answers – but at least this way, I’m trying to do something, and I desperately want you with me.’

‘Huh! Well, that’s not going to happen!’

Jack could see he was fighting a losing battle. ‘Won’t you even consider coming with me, just for a week or so – to see how the land lies? And if, for whatever reason, it doesn’t work out, we can think again. Say you’ll give it a try at least?’

‘Sorry, Jack, but this conversation is at an end.’

‘I’m sorry too. I’m sorry we couldn’t reconcile our differences.’

‘Your fault, not mine,’ she insisted.

Jack shrugged. ‘If that’s how you feel about it, I won’t bother you again. But if you do change your mind, you know where I am.’

‘Oh, but I think you’re the one who must change your mind, Jack.’ She played her last card. ‘I think you should know . . . Mal Shawncross has asked me to marry him. And I’m going to say yes.’

‘I see.’ Jack knew about Mal from Brian. He also knew how much Molly meant to him. ‘Mal’s a good bloke,’ he told her quietly. ‘Brian says he adores you, Molly. I’m sure he’ll take good care of you.’

‘He will, yes!’ Molly was furious that her plan had backfired. ‘Is that all you have to say?’ she demanded. ‘Aren’t you even going to try to fight for me, and make me change my mind?’

‘What’s the point? If you agree to marry Mal, you obviously don’t want me, and now I’m done arguing and talking. Like you, I need to get on with my own life.’

He felt betrayed, yet oddly relieved. ‘I’m glad for you both,’ he said – and was surprised to find that he meant it. Then, there was little else for him to say, except, ‘Bye, Moll. Thanks for everything. Take care of yourself.’

When he replaced the receiver, Molly threw a tantrum. Furious that her little ploy did not get the result she wanted, she upturned the small table, sending the phone crashing to the floor. ‘You’ll regret doing this to me!’ she yelled. ‘You bastard! I hope it all goes wrong for you!’

At Curtis Warren Motors, the morning had been frantic. The new stock had attracted a good turnout, which continued right up to lunchtime.

‘I’ve never known it so busy.’ Jan was kept on her toes behind the desk.

‘It must be the new promotion,’ Bill decided.

Jan had other ideas. ‘Nah. I reckon they’ve heard that Jack is leaving, and as he normally trims his own commission to make a good deal, they thought they’d best get in before he goes.’

‘I would never cut my commission!’ Bill bragged. ‘I need the money.’

‘Why? Have you got a wife and six kids hidden away somewhere?’ Jan found him easy to tease.

‘No way! I need the money because I mean to have my own showrooms by the time I’m thirty.’

Having emerged from his office to deliver a batch of mail for the post, Jack overheard his remark. ‘I’ve no doubt that you’ll do it too,’ he told Bill. ‘In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me to find that some day you own a string of showrooms right across the country.’ He drew an imaginary sign in mid-air: ‘Bill West – Autos to the Stars.’

Bill blushed. ‘Don’t take the mickey, Jack. It’s my dream. I know it’ll take time, but I will do it!’

Jack kindly reassured him, ‘I wasn’t taking the mickey. I really meant it, Bill. You’ve only been here a short time, but already you’ve proven yourself to be a born salesman. You’ve got a knack for making the right deal, and that only comes naturally. Many others have to learn the hard way.’

‘A born salesman!’ Bill was highly flattered. ‘Do you really mean that?’ His boyish smile lit up the room.

‘I do mean it, yes – and I’m not the only one who thinks so.’

‘The customers are of paramount importance and good judges. They like and trust you. They know you won’t flannel them into buying a car they don’t really want.’

Bill returned the compliment. ‘You taught me that, Jack,’ he admitted. ‘You showed me how the customer is more important than anyone else. ‘Look after them and they’ll look after you.’ That’s what you said.’

‘There you go, then! Keep that in mind, and you won’t go far wrong.’ Picking up his coffee, Jack took it back to the office.

‘I wish he wasn’t leaving,’ sighed Jan. ‘I’ll really miss him.’

‘We all will.’ Bill had no doubts about that. ‘I suppose he’s got a lot to think about, mind you, what with moving up north to take on such a highly responsible position.’

‘Yes, but if you ask me, Jack’s got a lot more on his mind than work just now.’ While Bill was always looking for the next customer, Jan enjoyed keeping her eyes open and her ear to the ground, for any juicy snippet of gossip. Leaning forward, she lowered her voice to a whisper: ‘He’s got woman trouble. After what I overheard earlier when he was on the phone, I reckon he’s about to chuck his girlfriend for good. And about time too, if you ask me!’

‘Why do you say that?’ Against all his instincts, Bill was intrigued.

‘Mind your own business.’ Jan regretted even mentioning it. ‘I’m not telling.’

‘Ah! Now you’re beginning to wish you hadn’t tittletattled . . . You like him, don’t you? I mean, you really like him! In fact, you fancy him rotten!’

‘Keep your voice down, or he’ll hear you!’

‘Admit it, then.’

‘All right, I won’t deny it.’ She glanced to where Jack was seated in his office, head bent over a pile of paperwork. ‘Who wouldn’t like him?’ she murmured. ‘He’s a good bloke.’

‘Yes,’ Bill taunted her, ‘and he’s about to receive a top-of-the-range company car. And he’s on his way to becoming a boss-man, with an outrageously generous salary.’

‘It’s got nothing to do with any of that. Like I say, he’s a good bloke, and there aren’t many of them around.’

Later, with the rush having slowed down, Jack arranged for his calls to be covered, while he took an hour out for lunch. ‘If it’s urgent, just call me on my mobile,’ he told Jan.

Getting into his car, he drove off towards Leighton Buzzard’s town centre. After parking, he made his way to Banbury’s main rivals, Johnson & Everett. For once, it was quiet there, for which he was grateful. He was also pleased to see a familiar face behind the desk. Having met her through Molly, he greeted the young woman with a smile.

‘Afternoon, Tess,’ he said. ‘You’re looking good, I must say.’ Daintily built, she was a pretty woman with a thick cap of black hair and a set of perfect teeth that dazzled when she smiled – like now.

‘Jack Redmond!’ Scrambling out of her chair, she came round to him. ‘How lovely to see you. What are you doing here?’ Peering out of the window, she asked cautiously, ‘Is Molly with you?’

‘So she’s not told you, then?’ Jack asked.

Tess sighed. ‘I sort of heard, but I wasn’t sure. What’s it all about, Jack? You and Molly . . . well, I mean, it seems crazy that you two should split up. One minute I’m thinking of buying a new outfit for the wedding, and the next I hear there’s been a rift.’ She gestured for him to sit beside her on the couch in the waiting area. ‘So, is it final? Have you really broken up?’

Jack was wary. Though he had much respect for Tess, he knew how close she was to Molly, and he warned himself not to say too much. Or he might live to regret it.

‘It seems so, yes,’ he answered.

‘But why?’

Jack gave a shrug. ‘It might be best if you were to ask Molly that.’

‘I did, but she wasn’t very forthcoming.’

‘Well then, maybe we should just leave it there, eh?’

‘If you say so.’ Tess looked him in the eyes. ‘Are you wanting me to speak with Molly on your behalf, is that it?’

‘No, of course not.’ Jack kept his guard up, ‘Molly and I have already talked it through – several times.’ He quickly changed direction. ‘The thing is, I’ve come here to ask that you put my house on the market.’

She gave a low whistle. ‘Does Molly know you’ve come to us?’

‘No.’

‘She won’t be best pleased, will she?’

‘I thought about that, but with the way things are between me and her, I’m sure she wouldn’t thank me if I asked her to sell my house. Especially when she knows I really am making the move away.’

‘Where to?’

‘Distant parts.’

‘Ah!’ Tess gave knowing smile. ‘Now I understand. So, am I right in thinking you would rather I didn’t say anything to her about you giving us the sale?’

Jack nodded. ‘I’ve a feeling it might be better all round if you just took the business, and made as little fuss as possible.’

‘Yes, of course. I promise you, I can be very discreet when needs be.’

‘Good.’ He dug into his jacket pocket. ‘Here are all the particulars, and here’s a set of keys. Please feel free to show people round the house whenever you like. Give me a ring when you’ve taken a look, and we’ll talk about prices. OK?’ He looked at his watch. ‘Got to get back to the office.’

‘Right, I’ll take it from there, then,’ said Tess. ‘I’m sure it won’t take long to find a buyer. Houses in that road are well sought after, as it’s near the train station.’ She could see he was impatient to be on his way. ‘We’ll be in touch, then. I’m sure we’ll have good news for you soon.’

‘Thanks,’ said Jack. ‘See you, then!’

He left with a slight feeling of anxiety. Had he done the right thing? He reassured himself with the knowledge that Tess was a first-class businesswoman. For that very reason, he could trust her to be discreet around Molly. And besides, the agency had an excellent reputation. He knew Tess wouldn’t do anything to jeopardise her position of responsibility.

However, he was unaware that her colleague Tina Morgan, new in the back office, had recently been recruited from Banbury’s, where Molly worked. Unfortunately she had overheard everything. Even as Jack made his way out of the front door, Tina was dial-ling Molly’s number.

Having recently secured a substantial house-sale, and earning an excellent commission along with it, Molly was just handing out some house details to a grey-haired gent, when the phone rang.

‘Can you get that, Molly?’ Hayley, the scatty receptionist, was just on her way out the door. ‘I’m sorry, but I’m already late for my lunch-date. If I don’t get a move on, Pete will just clear off. He’s got no patience at all, miserable git!’ Before Molly could object, Hayley was out and running down the street.

Molly finished dealing with her customer and snatched up the receiver. She gave her usual businesslike greeting, her tone changing when she realised it was Tina – who was eager to impart her snippet of gossip.

Later that afternoon, Jack came out of the office and chatted with Jan at the main desk. ‘Well, that’s a long day almost over.’ He gave a long-drawn-out sigh.

‘You sound weary, Jack. That’s not like you.’

‘It’s just that I have so much going on in my life at the minute, I haven’t had time to properly sort out my thoughts. What I wouldn’t give to leave it all behind, just for one week. Imagine – no paperwork, no phones ringing; nothing to worry about. Just lying on a beach, with the sun beating down on my head. What absolute bliss!’

‘Don’t forget the girl lying next to you!’ Jan said eagerly. ‘How about taking me with you, eh? You can stroke sun-oil on my back any time . . . wherever we are.’

Jack laughed. He was going to miss her sense of humour. She never failed to make him smile.

He was still smiling, when the doors were flung open and Molly rushed across the room to confront him. ‘Laughing at me with your new woman-friend, are you?’ she shouted, her voice shaking with rage. ‘I expect you’re telling the bitch how you took your business to someone else. Isn’t it enough that you sent me packing, without rubbing my nose in it!’

Hearing the fracas, Bill and his colleague came running, but Jack already had her by the arms and was holding her at bay. ‘For God’s sake, Molly, you’ve got it all wrong. If you’ve got a grievance, let’s talk about it like adults. Come into the office, and we’ll sort it out.’

When she began shouting obscenities, Jan thought to calm the situation by telling her, ‘We weren’t laughing at anyone. We were just talking.’ She had been deeply offended by Molly’s earlier comment. ‘And I’ll thank you not to call me a bitch!’

Molly replied by clearing everything from the desk with one sweep of her arm. ‘It wouldn’t matter to me whether you were his bitch or not. You’re welcome to him!’

Quieter now, she turned on Jack. ‘I’m glad it’s over between us,’ she hissed. ‘As for what you did – asking a rival agency to sell your house – that was just spiteful. But you know what? If you’d asked me to sell your house, I’d have said no anyway.’

Caught in Jack’s iron grip, she looked into his face, into those strong, mesmerising eyes that had once gazed on her so tenderly, and suddenly she was sobbing – quietly at first, then helplessly, her whole body shaking with emotion as she leaned into him.

Caught unawares by her change of mood, Jack coaxed her into the office, where he closed the door and sat her down. ‘What’s caused you to fly off the handle like this?’ he asked. ‘It can’t just be the fact that I went to another agency. You just said yourself that you wouldn’t want to sell my house anyway. So, come on, Moll. What is it?’

For a moment, Molly let him stew. She still wanted him back, but even now, it had to be on her terms. She took a deep breath, before confessing reluctantly, ‘It’s just that, well . . . I still hoped you might come round to my way of thinking. Then, when I found out that you’d actually put your house on the market, I just lost it.’

‘I’m sorry. Perhaps I should have told you earlier, but I thought it was for the best.’ Jack now realised he should have known the news would reach Molly.

‘I don’t want you to leave, Jack. I love you. I want us to get back together. I want you to forget about taking up the new job—’

Jack interrupted, ‘I’m sorry, Moll. I won’t do that. I’ve signed the contract and even now they’re making a short-list to fill my old position. It’s all settled, and I have to say, I feel lighter of heart than I’ve felt for a very long time. I really believe the recent series of events – you badgering me to see someone about my nightmares, then this vacancy coming up in Lytham – it all seems to fit.’

‘You could still say no,’ Molly persisted. ‘You just said, they haven’t got anyone to replace you yet, so you could tell them you’ve changed your mind . . . that you’re staying put. It’s not too late. Look, Jack, I’ve been thinking. Maybe the psychiatrist you saw was not the right one for you. So, go to someone who knows what they’re talking about, and in time, you’re sure to find the answer you’re looking for.’

Jack was adamant. ‘I do love you,’ he told her, ‘but to my mind, love is sharing. It’s helping each other. It’s a two-way thing.’

‘But that’s exactly what I’m saying!’ She grew excited. ‘I understand you. I understand about the nightmares. That’s why I made you go and see someone, because I wanted them to end. I wanted to help you. But now everything’s got out of hand. You listened to some idiot who didn’t know what he was talking about. Then you get it into your head to go back, to where you think it all began. I so want it to be like it was before. I don’t want to be on my own, Jack. You’re leaving, without a thought for me. You’re uprooting your whole life, and I know you’re bound to regret it.’

For what seemed an age, Jack let her words soak in, and all he could hear was ‘I’ this and ‘I’ that. ‘I want it to be like it was before . . . I made you go and see someone . . . I don’t want to be on my own.’

All he could hear was what Molly wanted. Not for one minute did she ever stop to consider what he wanted. What he desperately needed.

‘I can’t stay,’ he told her quietly. ‘It can’t be like it was before.’

When she opened her mouth to speak, he gently shushed her. ‘Molly, I know you understand about the nightmares, and I know you badgered me into seeing someone about them, and for that I am truly thankful.’

‘But?’ The harsh question was also an accusation. ‘Go on – tell me! Why can’t you stay? Why can’t it be like it was before?’

Jack knew then, that it really was over between them. ‘I have told you,’ he reminded her, ‘many times. Over and over. But it seems not to have sunk in, so I’ll tell you again. I cannot live with these nightmares for the rest of my life, and believe it or not, when it was suggested that they might actually be a memory, rather than my imagination, I have to tell you, Molly, something inside me knew that it was the truth. That the nightmares really do stem from something that actually happened.’

‘NO!’ She had never accepted the theory and she didn’t accept it now. ‘That can’t be! The things you see must be awful beyond words. You wake up covered in sweat and terror. You make strange noises, like some wild animal . . . and when you finally come out of it, you’re gabbling about the darkness, the full moon, and eyes staring at you . . . and unspeakable things that frighten me.’

Getting out of her chair, she looked at him as though seeing a stranger. This time she spoke softly, as though not wanting others to overhear. ‘You know what, Jack? I’ve always wondered, but now I know for certain. You’re losing your mind! There’s no other explanation.’

Jack was deeply shocked. ‘I think you’d better leave.’ Her accusations, her changed attitude, had unnerved him.

She went on, ‘You really are out of your mind, I can see that now. So go ahead, do what you like. I want no part of it.’

Heading for the door, she turned, her face set like stone. ‘Goodbye, Jack. Go and chase your ghosts. I really don’t care what you do any more.’ But what she said and what she thought were two different things.

Jack watched her leave, stunned by her cruel words. ‘So I’m a crazy man, eh?’ The awful thing was, he could almost believe her, but lately he had learned how vicious she could be when things did not go her way.

‘That was a spiteful thing for her to say.’ He thought about it for a moment, and was tempted to admit, she might be right.

That was why he had to go on this journey – to prove that he was as sane as anyone else.

Outside in Reception, they were still feeling shaken by Molly’s stormy entrance. Jan was talking with Charlie, one of the sales team. ‘What was she thinking,’ Charlie said, ‘coming in here and causing such a scene?’

‘She’s crazy!’ Jan answered. ‘I wouldn’t mind smacking her one. Calling me his bitch!’ She let her mind linger on that for a while, and a slow smile lifted her face. ‘Come to think of it, I wouldn’t mind being his bitch!’

The last two people to leave the building were Jan and Jack.

‘I’m sorry about all that,’ said Jack, referring to the nasty comment Molly had made. ‘She hasn’t always been so spiteful. It’s my fault she’s in such a rage.’

‘That’s not true!’ Jan had a habit of speaking her mind. ‘You can’t blame yourself for her bad temper. We can all throw a tantrum when things don’t go our way, but she was totally out of order. She just marched in and went straight for you. Thank God the boss wasn’t here.

She didn’t give a toss about getting you into trouble, did she? She obviously meant to have a row, and there was no stopping her.’

‘She was right, though. It must have hurt, me taking my house sale to a rival company. But I thought it would be less hurtful to her.’

‘Well, there you are, then So, like I said, her behaving like that was out of order.’ Jan picked up her keys and shoulder-bag. ‘Come on, let’s get out of here. Look, if you don’t mind me saying, your ex-girlfriend is nothing but a spoiled brat. Sweet and sugary when things are going right for her, then a cat in hell when she can’t have her own way. For what it’s worth, I think she showed you her true character today.’ She tutted loudly, ‘I bet even now, you still feel sorry for her?’

‘I do a bit, yes.’

Jan chuckled. ‘She was right about one thing.’

‘What’s that?’

‘She wasn’t far wrong when she called me a bitch.’

‘Why do you say that?’

‘Because she’s a woman, and she knows deep down that I fancy you. If I thought I had a chance with you, it would be claws drawn at noon and no mercy.’

Jack laughed, ‘You’re a feisty sort, I’ll give you that.’

‘Right, I’m off now,’ said Jan. ‘Mind how you go, eh?’

On the drive home, Jack couldn’t get Molly out of his mind. He kept thinking of the good times, and the guilt was like a clenched fist in his chest. Did he still want her? Or was he well rid of her?

There was a time, not very long ago, when she was his saviour. She had been there for him in his darkest hours. She had comforted him when he was low, and listened to him when he needed to talk things through. They were friends and lovers, and he had actually believed their relationship was too special to flounder.

Lately, though, he had seen a side of her that had shaken him. Maybe he had only now seen the real Molly. The Molly who by nature had to be in control. The Molly who had a nasty, vicious side when she was unable to pull all the strings.

When he actually thought back, Jack realised that he had always danced to her tune. But not this time, because he must follow his instincts and take this new promotion. As far as he was concerned, he had gone as far as he could to include Molly in his new venture, but she wanted none of it. With that in mind, he could see there was really no way forward.

His only option was to make a new life without her. Sometimes, though, it was hard – almost impossible – to close the door on someone you loved.