Free Lynch by Peter J Merrigan Page B

where that got David and me.’
    ‘But it’s not a lie,’ Clark said.
    ‘How can you say that?’
    ‘Kane Rider doesn’t exist any more. Scott Lynch is real; he’s as real as Jesse. Scott may be no more than a year and a half old, but look at where he is now. He has a good job, a lovely home, a new mother and, let’s face it, the potential for a fantastic relationship. The past is gone, it’s finished. Jesse doesn’t need to know the ins and outs of what happened before they met. All they need to concentrate on is a future.’
    ‘But it’s still a lie,’ Katherine said. ‘Withholding that sort of information can eat away at Scott and it could ruin things for him.’ She picked up her glass, put it down again. ‘I mean, if you had this deep, dark secret, wouldn’t you want to share it with the one you love? Don’t you think that if they love you they’d be there for you, no matter what? Isn’t that what love is all about?’
    Clark said, ‘I think you’re jumping the gun a little bit. They’ve only just met. They’re still at that getting-to-know-you stage. I don’t think anyone should be talking about love yet.’
    ‘But there’s something special there,’ Katherine said. ‘I can sense it. Kane—Scott—he might not even see it yet, but I can. Haven’t you seen the way Jesse looks at him? I recognise it from the way Ryan looked at him. And Scott’s looking back at Jesse the same way.’
    ‘Are you worried that Scott’s not ready to move on?’ Clark asked. ‘Or that you’re not ready to let him.’
    Katherine’s stare was cold, but she wilted back into the armchair and shook her head. ‘You’re probably right. I’m pushing him forward into the arms of Jesse, but I’m also trying to hold him back because he’s my only link to Ryan.’ She stood up. ‘Look at me, I’m supposed to be the strong one.’
    Clark ’s laugh was mirthless. ‘You are the strong one. How you’ve coped with everything you’ve been through, I’ll never know.’ She shrugged. ‘You just have to separate the present from the past. You know if Scott does fall in love with Jesse, he’s never going to forget about Ryan.’
    Katherine nodded. ‘I know.’ And when the front door opened and Scott came in, she smiled and said to Clark , ‘You can give me a hand with dinner, if you like.’
    Scott said, ‘None for me, thanks, I’m going out. I’m just home to shower and change.’
    ‘How was work?’ Katherine asked, kissing his cheek.
    ‘Busy. I’ve been running around like a blue-arsed fly all day. I’m sweating.’ He dropped his bag and kicked off his shoes.
    Clark said, ‘If you’re going out with Jesse again, you’d better scrub up pretty good. You don’t want him catching a whiff of you and turning the other way.’
    ‘You look like you need a shower, too,’ Scott laughed. ‘Want to join me?’
    ‘Water conservation,’ Clark said. ‘Very thoughtful of you.’
    ‘No, dear,’ he said, camping his voice and his pose, ‘rampant sex, please.’
    Clark screwed her face up in mock disgust. ‘Not if you were the last man on earth, sweetheart.’
    His laughter carried with him as he went upstairs.
    In the silence that ensued, Katherine flapped her arms in defeat. ‘Just another day in the life of a woman on the run.’
     
     
    The restaurant, on the south side of Harrogate towards Otley, was a small and elegant affair. Called Buttercups by the proprietor, it was generally known as Butterface by the locals, who had taken to Aleksandra’s welcoming greetings as they entered and her constant fussing over the clientele to ensure their meals were just perfect and their glasses were never empty. She was a lovely woman, they would say—but her face.
    Aleksandra had come to England from Croatia over thirty years ago when she was in her mid-twenties, she would tell anyone who listened long enough, with not a single penny to her name—not even a purse to store a penny if she had one. Although her