Free Soul Protector by Amanda Leigh Cowley Page A

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the familiarity of Mum’s three-bed, ivy-clad semi. I instantly felt
myself relax. From the age of nine, this place had been my
sanctuary. Mum, Michelle and I had shared many happy times
here.
    I let myself in through the
front door, and was greeted by the mouth-watering aroma of roast
lamb. It didn’t matter what day of week it was, when you visited
Mum, you knew you would be having a roast. I wasn’t
complaining.
    “Hi, it’s only me,” I called
out, heading into the kitchen.
    As I entered the sunshine
yellow room, I wasn’t surprised to see Terry helping Mum with the
cooking. He was sticking a skewer into the joint, and she was
turning over some crispy roast potatoes, the fat sizzling away in
the oven tray.
    Duran Duran filtered out
through the CD player on the window sill, and the glass behind was
all steamed up.
    Mum glanced up, smiling. “Hello
love, be with you in a minute.” Then she turned her attention back
to the task at hand.
    Although in her late forties,
she looked a good ten years younger. Her short hair was dyed deep
reddish brown. She was fit, thanks to her regular Pilate’s
sessions, and she always dressed well, not too young for her age,
but still, clothes that I wouldn’t mind pinching off her.
    “Good to see you, Gracie,” said
Terry, handing me a small piece of the lamb he had cut off to
taste.
    He was average height for a man
and fairly slim, although I noticed he had succumbed to a spot of
middle-age spread. His dark hair was peppered with grey, and he had
kind eyes.
    I popped the lamb in my mouth,
and it practically melted on my tongue.
    “Perfect,” I announced, leaning
up to give him a quick peck on the cheek.
    It was funny how he and Mum had
found each other. She’d been single for years, not that it bothered
her, but all that changed a couple of months previous when a
salesman turned up on her doorstep. She wasn’t interested in
changing her energy supplier thank you very much, but she certainly
connected with the sales rep, Terry.
    I’d been wary of him at first.
Mum had been through so much over the years, and I was very
protective of her. But Terry had won me over with his easy banter
and kind ways. He was a gentle soul, and he and Mum liked nothing
better than staying in cooking meals together and watching DVDs. He
was even happy to give her foot rubs on demand.
    “Won’t be long now,” Mum said,
her eyes giving me the motherly once-over, “so, what’s new?”
    I shivered as memories of the
past few days fleeted across my mind. The words ‘I switched bodies
with Lydia,’ sounded too ridiculous, so I concentrated on the other
big event.
    “Phil proposed to Lydia at the
weekend.”
    Mum’s eyes widened. “He did?
And did she say yes?”
    I nodded.
    She paused for a minute,
studying my expression. “That’s fantastic news, isn’t it?”
    I cringed inside as I
remembered how jealous I’d felt on the night.
    “Yeah it is. It’s really
great.”
    “Well good for Lydia. And you
darling, you deserve some good luck soon. It’ll come your way, I
just know it,” she put her arm round me and gave me a gentle
squeeze.
    I shrugged. “I’m okay,
Mum.”
    “Of course you are sweetie,
you’ve just had a few knocks lately that’s all.” She tactfully
changed the subject. “I had an email from Sally, you know Kath’s
daughter from up the road. She’s leaving Perth at the weekend and
moving up to the Gold Coast.”
    “Yeah, I read it on Facebook.”
I sighed as I thought of Sally having the time of her life, just
drifting along in Australia, picking up work when it was available.
What a lovely carefree existence. It seemed ironic we were able to
discuss the neighbour’s family, but didn’t feel able to talk about
our own. Mum didn’t offer any news about Michelle, so I chose not
to ask.
    “Dinner’s ready,” Mum called,
ushering us through to the dining room. It was a small room,
perfectly square with patio doors on one side; leading through to
the garden