‘And you haven’t heard from her?’
‘I texted her, and she replied. She says she’s okay but she won’t say where she is. She promised to text this morning, and she did.’
‘So you left Amy with James and Carol’
‘I left her there because I’m going to look for Hannah.’ The resolution that had taken hold of her, and strengthened over the last twenty-four hours suddenly hardened into certainty. ‘I’m going to find her.’
‘Do you know where to even start?’
‘I’ll call her friends. Maybe I can persuade Hannah to tell me where she is, or to come back here if she’s not ready to go home. I don’t know. Something’s got to work.’
Chloe fell silent for a moment, letting herself feel his body against hers. It was a small indulgence, which would have to last through all of the uncertainty of the days ahead. Then she pulled away from him and stood up.
‘We should make waffles.’
He looked up at her. ‘Waffles? You’re sure about that?’
She shrugged. ‘James and I
have looked everywhere locally we can think of. There’s nothing more I can do tonight. I just have to trust that Hannah’s being sensible and that she’s all right. And I’ve got some bananas in the car.’
He grinned. ‘Banana waffles. Sounds like a plan.’
* * *
She made a show of opening and closing all the new cupboard doors because she could see that it pleased him. ‘How did you do all this in a weekend?’
‘I got into the swing of it when I did my own kitchen. And it’s really just cosmetic. The cupboards were good, and they’re a standard size, so I just put new doors on them.’
Chloe ran her hand across the worktops. ‘They’re lovely. They must have cost a fortune. You must let me—’
He laid one finger across her lips, grinning. ‘No, you don’t. My builder gets a trade discount on everything. And the length of worktop that I didn’t use in my own kitchen turned out to be almost enough.’
‘So you’re trying to kid me that you got all this for free? I don’t believe it.’
‘Believe whatever you like.’ He grinned at her. ‘Is it what you wanted?’
‘It’s better than that. It’s gorgeous, and I can’t believe you did it all in two days.’
‘I had a bit of help, fitting the worktop.’
‘Your builder again? The one who gets everything free?’
‘Yeah. He’s a great guy.’
Chloe wondered whether she should press the point. Jon had obviously spent something on this, but he was unwilling to tell her how much and she should probably accept the gift gracefully. And the most valuable part of it was the thought and care that had gone into it. He’d listened to what she wanted and had made it all happen.
‘It’s wonderful. I can’t thank you enough.’
He grinned. ‘It’s my pleasure. Now, get on and make the waffles. I’m getting hungry just thinking about them.’
They ate together, taking their time. By the time they’d done the washing up, exhaustion started to kick in for the second time, this time leaving Chloe with little choice but to recognise it.
‘You look tired.’ He seemed to be reading her mind. Or more likely he’d noticed that she could hardly keep her eyes open.
‘Yes. Think I’ll have an early night.’
‘What time are you going into the hospital tomorrow?’