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Her mother got that ruffled-up hen look, as she had outside the church. ‘You’re making it sound like we’ve done something wrong! You are our daughter, of course we talk about your future. And, truth be told, we worry about it too. What parent wouldn’t worry about their child being single for so long? It’s only natural.’
There was nothing natural about any of this as far as Tasha was concerned. ‘The last man I fell in love with betrayed me in my own bed, in case you’ve forgotten.’ They certainly seemed to have forgotten, the way they welcomed Jonny and Lauren under their roof as though they were part of the family. ‘Excuse me if I’m not in any rush to put myself out there again.’
‘What Jonny did was wrong,’ her mother said. ‘But if a relationship isn’t properly nurtured then problems are bound to arise.’
‘I was working to build us a future together—’ Tasha clamped her lips shut. She was not going to defend herself, especially not to the person who should’ve been on her side no matter what. ‘Look, I’m not discussing this with you. You’ve made your offer and my answer is no. Let’s leave it at that.’
Victoria stood abruptly. ‘You always were too stubborn and too ambitious for your own good.’ Her lower lip quivered and unshed tears glistened in her eyes. ‘We only want what’s best for you, and I hope you come to realise that before you’re too old to do something about it.’ And with that she stalked from the room.
Stunned, Tasha rocked back against the headboard as she stared at her father. ‘Is that what you think as well?’
Her father folded his arms across his chest, looking as if he wished the last few minutes hadn’t happened. He wasn’t the only one. ‘Your mum and I meant well, darling. I’m sorry we didn’t handle things better, but we don’t want you to miss out on the chance to have a family of your own. You were always keen on it when you were younger, and I’d hate to think that Jonny’s betrayal has put you off something you always dreamed of.’
Had she always dreamed of it, though? Or had she just gone along with the expectations of her parents and society in general? It was true that more women her age were making the choice to remain childless, but Tasha didn’t feel as if she fell into that category either. If she met the right man and it was something they both really wanted then she could see herself having children one day, but she was not going to live her life ruled by a biological clock that wasn’t even ticking. ‘Even if I accept that you’re doing this out of concern for me and not your desire for more grandchildren…’ She didn’t miss the way her father shifted uncomfortably. So that was what this was about. ‘Do you honestly think this is an appropriate way to go about things? Neither of you have even bothered to ask if I’m seeing anyone.’
‘Are you?’ Her father’s expression brightened.
‘No! But that’s not the point, Dad. You and Mum have obviously decided I’m not going to find a successful relationship unless I give up on my career ambitions.’
‘Now, come on, we haven’t said that,’ he protested.
‘Really?’ Tasha raised her eyebrows at him then mimicked her mother’s voice as she said, ‘If a relationship isn’t properly nurtured then problems are bound to arise. She might as well have gone the whole hog and told me it’s my fault Jonny cheated on me, because it’s clear that’s what she thinks.’
Her father sighed. ‘You’re clearly determined to think the worst of your mum so I don’t think we should talk about this any more.’
‘It’s hard to think better of her when she seems to care more about saving face with her friends at the WI than she does about her own daughter’s happiness. I’m sorry if I’m not meeting her expectations, or yours either for that matter, but this is my life and I am just trying to live it the best way I can.’
Her father nodded. ‘I hear what you’re saying, darling, and I am truly sorry that we’ve gone about this all the wrong way, but life flies by faster than you think.’ He reached out a finger to trace the faded outline of a butterfly sticker, the last remnant of the ones that had once decorated the front of her chest of drawers. ‘It seems like only yesterday that you chose these in the DIY store.’ His face adopted a dreamy expression, and she knew he was lost in the past. ‘You were so excited at getting to decorate your room.’
Tasha remembered it too, though perhaps with less nostalgia. ‘Do you know what my lasting memory of that day was? Being promised I could decorate my room, but then having every choice I made rejected. I wanted green walls, and I got pink. I wanted the beetles and the bugs stickers, but Mum said they were for boys. Let’s face it, Dad, I’ve always been the wrong kind of daughter for her.’
His brow furrowed. ‘Is that honestly what you think?’
She pulled her knees up towards her chest and curled her arms around them. ‘It’s not what I think; it’s what I know. I’ve got an early start tomorrow.’
Her father opened his mouth as if he was going to continue to argue the point with her, then closed it again. Approaching the bed, he swept his hand over Tasha’s hair before leaning down to press a kiss on the crown of her head. ‘Goodnight, darling.’
‘’Night, Dad.’
The door closed quietly behind him and Tasha closed her eyes, refusing to give in to the urge to cry. It would achieve nothing other than give her a headache and make driving in the morning harder if her eyes were swollen and puffy. Her parents were who they were and nothing was going to change that.
Tightness built in her chest as she held down a sob with the force of her will alone. She reached for a tried and tested breathing exercise, one she used before an important meeting at work, and gradually the painful fist beneath her ribs loosened.
A good five minutes later, she finally felt some semblance of calm and opened her eyes. She reached for her phone. There was no chance of getting to sleep right now so she might as well check her inbox to prepare herself for the week ahead.
At the top of the list of unread messages was one from Simon, entitled ‘Fancy a Challenge?’ Intrigued, Tasha clicked to open it and the screen on her phone filled with the image of a grand-looking stone mansion. There was nothing else in the email other than an attachment. Opening that, her brow furrowing, she read what appeared to be a job advert for a glorified campsite manager with a closing date for the following Friday.
What on earth was her boss up to this time?
6
‘So what do you think?’ Rhys asked Hope as they smiled and gave one final wave as the third interviewee they’d seen that day climbed into his car and drove away. Rhys raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sun. The forecasters had been proven right and it did seem as if they were finally saying goodbye to winter. There was still a sharp nip in the air, but that was to be expected given they were only a couple of days into March.
‘He seems like a nice guy, but too hesitant. It might just be nerves, of course, but I’m not convinced he’d be able to make a decision without running everything past you first.’ Hope paused in their stroll from the stable yard car park towards the coach house where her office was based on the top floor above the distillery. ‘Though you’d probably like that, control freak that you are.’
Rhys laughed, no offence taken at his cousin’s blunt observation. ‘The whole point of this is for me to be able to hand over responsibility and take a step back.’
‘Then, as decent as he was, I don’t think he’s the right person for the job, which is a shame.’
