Forever Scarred (25 page)

“Even before Rose was born Ellen had trouble keeping up. She hates the office work. She can barely stand to look at the computer screen, especially as she now has Rose to look after. Geraldine helps when she can but she’s actually a nurse not really office staff. I keep saying to Ellen to find someone to help her but she’s too scared to let a stranger see how the business is running. She needs someone she can trust, someone who knows how to manage money and who can be discreet. Some of our clients don’t want everyone knowing what’s wrong with them. We have to have some pretty personal details in case we need specialist help but that doesn’t mean the whole world has to know about it.”

David nodded.

“The chateau costs a fortune to run at the level of luxury that Ellen has decided is a minimum standard. It’s not been all plain sailing and we’ve had to up the corporate weekends. We’ve only just started turning a decent profit this year. Mind you, Freeman has added eighty thousand just by himself in the last two months so that will have made a massive difference.”

Joe suddenly interrupted
, grinning wildly.

“What about Lucy? She was Freeman’s secretary, she’s used to office work and she’s been managing her money brilliantly. It was only that bastard Freeman who forced her to fail. Would Ellen trust Lucy enough to let her help?”

Patrick looked up at Lucy’s hopeful face.

“I think that would be the best idea we have had in ages. I’ll call Ellen now and ask her, but I know what the answer will be. You may as well pack your bags right now Lucy.”

Lucy smiled up at Patrick and then turned to her new fiancé.

“Well that’s easy then. I only have to go and throw out
last night’s Chinese takeaway and we can go. I’m all packed up already.”

James spluttered into his hand and looked rather embarrassed.

“Joe and I actually ate it for breakfast. Sorry but we just couldn’t resist.”

Lucy let out another laugh.

“Men! Well then, if you cleared that lot up, all I need to do is find my passport and I’m done. I can give the keys to my agent and let them sort out the rest. The house is already packed up and the removal guys should be there any moment.” She slapped her hand over her eyes and gasped. “What on earth are they going to think of the eyeball?”

Patrick shrugged.

“If they have any sense they’ll jump and then laugh their pants off when they realize it’s a lychee stuffed with a marble. They’ll think it’s a practical joke. It wasn’t that realistic Lucy. It only worked because most people only see what they want.” He glanced around the room at all the men. “They don’t look any further than what they first see.”

Lucy stared at him understanding his double meaning instantly. She looked around at the group who had come to her
defence without a second thought and had stood beside Joe when he needed them. They were all a bit battered but none of them were broken and Lucy suddenly realized that they were just exceptional men with the marks of war upon them. 

Chapter Seventeen

One Year later

Joe stood knee deep in the running water. He was bent at the waist with his hands dangling into the cool depths. He saw the huge trout at the same time as he caught a familiar scent wafting towards him. He tried not to smile as he concentrated on the fish that was swimming in the current just beneath his fingertips.

He blew his
long fringe up out of his eyes and listened to the rustle of the leaves in the trees above him as he waited patiently until the fish was positioned perfectly. He suddenly closed his fingers around the huge creature and hauled it from the water and threw it up onto the bank.

He leapt out of the river
after the flapping fish and then hurtled through the nearest bushes yelling at the top of his voice.

Two screams of fright
split the air and then gales of laughter quickly followed as he dragged the two spies out of the greenery.

“That’s so not fair!” Robbie s
tood with his hands on his hips and pouted furiously up at Joe. “We thought we had you good this time. What gave us away?”

Joe gave him a squeeze and tickled him under his ribs before he spoke.

“You can blame Lucy that time Robbie. If she hadn’t been with you and I hadn’t smelled her perfume I would have never guessed you were there.”

Robbie frowned
up at Lucy who was holding her hand over her chest, trying to calm the rapid beating of her heart.

“You’re not coming with me next time.” He folded his arms across his chest and looked up at her grumpily. “Girls are stupid wearing smelly stuff.” He gave her a last withering glance and stomped off to look at the glistening trout.

Joe pulled Lucy into his chest. He looked down into her big brown eyes as he tucked a loose strand of blonde hair back behind her ear.

“I don’t mind you wearing stupid girly stuff. I actually quite like it.” He nuzzled against her throat and kissed her below her ear
where the scent was the strongest.

She snuggled against him, reveling in the feeling of his big arms around her.
She wound her arms up around his neck.

“You nearly gave me a heart attack that time
. I’m going to have to give this game up pretty soon.”

Joe laughed.

“Well, if you’re going to play games with the big boys then you have to be up for everything that goes along with them.”

Lucy rested her head on his shoulder and
closed her eyes as breathed in the scent of him.

“
And if you play with big girls then you have to be up for everything that goes along with that too.” She looked up at him as his breathing stilled suddenly.

He looked down curiously.

“What does that mean? What games with girls?”

Robbie gave a giggle
as he pulled a knife out of a pouch tied to his leg and promptly gut the fish lying at his feet. He threw the entrails into the fast moving river and wiped his blade on the grass. He made sure the knife was clean and then put it back into its leather sheath before glancing up at Joe and Lucy.

“She probably means those kissing games you
grown-ups get up to all the time. You look as though you are going to start playing them now! Yuk!” He pulled a disgusted face at the two of them and picked up the fish. He dropped it into his bag. “I’m going to take this up to Patrick. We can have it for our dinner. Are you two coming when you have finished your game?”

Joe
grinned at Robbie.

“Yes, we’ll be up in a moment. But you shouldn’t say things like that about girl’s games. They’re actually pretty good fun when you are old enough to play them.” He ignored Robbie’s manic eye rolling and
looked down at Lucy. They had been married for nearly a year and he was even more in love with her than ever. “So what consequences of these big girls games have I got to be up for?” He tried to kiss her lips but she smiled and moved her head away from him.

“
Serious consequences Joe. The sort that last a lifetime.” She took his big hand from her waist and placed it with hers over her stomach.

Joe’s breath caught in his throat and he stared down at her.

“You’re going to have a baby?”

She nodded and smiled at his amazed expression.

“It’s what happens when you play grown up games.”

Joe suddenly
yelled out in triumph as he swooped down and picked her up in his arms. He swung her around and then covered her lips with his own.

There was a deep groan
and the sound of pretend vomiting from behind them and they both looked down at Robbie who had now covered his eyes with his hands.

“More kissing and more babies!
I can’t stand it anymore. I’m going to tell papa that I want to go and live somewhere else.”

Joe laughed at his disgruntled little face.

“Don’t worry about it Robbie. I’m going to make it a condition that the cabin becomes a man only zone. No girls and no babies ever. We can come down here and do guy stuff without being interrupted. How does that sound?”

Robbie looked up at Joe and Lucy.
He smiled brightly again.

“Okay. I expect Papa and
Uncle Patrick will be really happy. They have to play the kissing game too and they look really fed up with it. Papa even told me he only does it to keep mama happy. I think he’s going to be very happy to have a man cabin. Now are you two going to stop kissing for long enough to go and tell the others about our cabin?”

Joe laughed as Lucy put her hand over her mouth to stifle the giggles. The thought of
Patrick or David being fed up of kissing their wives was hysterical, the men could barely keep their hands off the women, but he nodded down to the boy.

“
Yes Robbie. I’m really fed up of kissing too.” He gave Lucy a squeeze. “It’s a really silly game and we promise not to play it so much in the future, but just let me tell you now, in about twelve years’ time if I catch you mucking about with the kissing game, I’m going to ban you from playing it anywhere near me. Okay?”

Robbie looked up at him with a revolted expression on his face.

“That will be easy because I’m never going to play it. It looks horrible, especially when you poke tongues out at each other. Now come on you two, I want to show Uncle Patrick my fish.”

He turned and began to walk along the forest path.

Joe turned back to Lucy as soon as the boy was out of sight and bent to capture her lips once again.

They were both breathing deeply when they eventually broke apart. Lucy caught hold of Joe’s hand.

“Come on. We had best go and tell the others before Robbie splits on us.”

Joe slung his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close. He spoke gentle tones.

“I don’t care if he does split. This time last year I never thought I would find someone to love let alone that I would be a husband and father. You are my whole world Lucy, please never let me go.”

She shook her head and wrapped her arms around his a waist.

“Never. I did once but I’m never going to let you go again.” She looked along the forest path. Robbie could be heard whistling as he walked ahead of them. “Do you have your phone on you?” She waited as Joe nodded and pulled it out of his pocket. She dialed the number for the chateau.

“Hello, Ellen? Robbie is on his way up with a fish. Can you send David to meet him
? Oh, he’s coming down anyway. Good, no there’s no problem. Joe and I just have something to celebrate. We’ll be up later, but I won’t be drinking champagne.” She smiled as she heard an excited yell from down the receiver and Joe looked down at her curiously.

“You don’t want dinner?”

She shook her head and caught hold of his hand again. She began walking back towards the river.

“Dinner c
an wait. I can’t. I need to play some of those kissing games before you declare the cabin a woman free zone.”

Joe’s eyes opened wide and he suddenly picked her up in his arms.

“No man only zones for the next three hours at least.” He grinned down at her as he strode up to the cabin door and shouldered his way through it. He walked straight through to the tiny bedroom and lay Lucy on the big bed. He sat down beside her and tugged off his boots before slipping his legs in the bed. He reached down and pulled off her trainers then lay down on the bed beside her.

“At least I’m not asleep this time.” He began unbuttoning her shirt as she stared up at him.

“You weren’t asleep for long the last time.” She lifted his t-shirt up over his muscled chest. He looked down to where his skin rippled in delight as her hand roamed over his gloriously hard pectorals and he suddenly began to laugh.

She frowned up at him and stopped moving her hand.

“What’s so funny? Am I tickling you?”

Joe shook his head and tried to hold back the laughter, but it was no good. He bellowed with it and in the end Lucy was laughing too though she had no idea what at. When he eventually calmed down she took a deep breath.

“So you’re laughing at the way I’m going to look in a few months’ time, with a fat belly and a big bottom?” She guessed as she remembered what Geraldine had looked like in the last weeks of her pregnancy.

Joe shook his head and wiped his tears of laughter
at last.

“No
love, sorry. I wasn’t thinking about you at all actually. It was just because you touched my chest. It made me think about Freeman’s boob job!” And he started laughing all over again.