Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 120838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 604(@200wpm)___ 483(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 604(@200wpm)___ 483(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
“Aye.”
“In a safe spot for you too?”
God fucking dammit.
“Just get on with it, Ned. Is Alex okay?”
“Alex?”
“This isn’t about Alex?”
“No. It’s about Helena.”
Dair was on the ground floor, almost to the kitchen, when he stopped dead.
“Helena?”
There was silence before Ned bit off, “Fuck, damn, fuck.”
“Ned,” Dair rumbled.
“I don’t know how to do this,” Ned told him.
“Just do it, whatever the fuck it is,” Dair replied, wondering what that woman was up to now.
“Dair, Helena was killed in a car crash on the M4 this afternoon.”
Dair froze solid.
“And I need you to know first, so when I tell Blake, you can be over the initial shock of it and be there for her,” Ned went on.
Forcing himself to move, Dair resumed his trek to the kitchen as he grunted, “Right,” into the phone.
“As you well know, there’s no love lost, but the woman was still her mother,” Ned said.
“She was,” Dair replied unnecessarily.
“And I know you knew her all your life and especially with what happened recently, you must be having conflicting emotions too, but it’s going to be all about Blake and Alex for a while.”
“Agreed. Absolutely,” Dair told him as he grabbed two bottles of still water from his fridge and moved back to the stairs. “I’m heading back to her. We doing this now?”
“I think we should.”
“Agreed on that as well,” Dair muttered, and he took the steps two at a time.
“I hate this for her,” Ned stated bitterly. “She’s happy. I’ve never seen her this happy. Both of them. Both of my daughters are finally happy, and now this.”
Even in this situation, Ned’s words weren’t lost on him, and they felt good because he knew he played a part in making Blake happy.
But he was still dreading what was about to happen.
Blake was lying in bed, scrolling on her phone, which made Dair uneasy she might run into the news about her mother, but the minute Dair and Sorcha made the room, she set it aside and shot a tentative, still curious smile Dair’s way but she reached to Sorcha.
Sorcha went to her side and got a head rub.
Dair went to his side, dumped the waters and got in bed with her.
“I’m back with her,” he told Ned. “Ready?”
“As I can be,” Ned muttered.
“Speaker?” Dair asked, and he hoped like fuck Ned agreed because he wanted to hear this and monitor how Blake responded it so he knew all he was dealing with.
“Yes, that’s perfect, Dair,” Ned agreed.
“Here we go then,” he murmured and looked to Blake. “It’s your dad, love.”
Her brows pinched.
This was her expression for mere seconds before a post-midnight call from her father penetrated and panic hit her face.
Quickly, he hit the speaker button on his screen and announced, “You’re on speaker, Ned.”
“Blake?” Ned called.
“Daddy?” Blake asked tremulously.
Dair wrapped an arm around her waist and yanked her close so her stiff body was fitted to his side.
“Oh, sweetheart,” Ned said. “I’m so sorry to interrupt your visit with this news.”
“What is it?” she asked, and then she jumped to the same conclusion he did. “Is Alex okay?”
“It’s not Alex, darling. It’s your mum.”
Dair was studying her face, and he watched what was left of the color drain out of it.
“Mum?”
“Blake, sweetheart, there was an accident on the M4 this afternoon. Your mum was on her way from her place in London to her place in Somerset…”
“Oh my God,” Blake breathed.
“…seven cars were involved. There were four fatalities. Including your mum and her driver.”
“Oh my God,” Blake moaned.
“I’m so sorry, darling,” Ned said, and even over speakerphone, it was easy to hear he meant it.
“I don’t…I can’t…” Blake stammered these but said nothing more, so Dair pulled her even closer, and now Sorcha was feeling the atmosphere, so she was snuffling the bedclothes on Blake’s side.
“I know it’s hard to take in,” Ned said.
“Does Alex know?” she asked.
“I told you first. She’s my next call.”
“My God, I just…” Again, she couldn’t finish.
When no one said anything for a while, Ned stated, “I don’t know what to say. There’s nothing to say. I hate that you’re so far away from me. But I’m glad Dair is there with you.”
Like she forgot he was there, Blake turned from staring at the phone like it was an object of evil to Dair.
He didn’t take offense. He was too busy not allowing his chest to cave in at the expression on her face.
“Love,” he whispered.
“Mum’s dead,” she told him, like this call hadn’t come in on his mobile and he wasn’t holding it right then.
“I know, baby,” he cooed.
“I’m flying out. Tomorrow,” Ned told them. “I suspect Alex and Rix will be making arrangements too, once they learn the news.”
“Somerset?” Dair asked.
“That’s where I’ll be heading, yes.”
“We’ll make plans. Meet you there,” Dair informed him.
“Good, Dair. Thank you. I’ll keep you apprised of my arrangements. My PA is booking them now.”