That's What Friends Are For

  That’s What Friends Are For

  A ​feel good novel​ of ​best​ friends and secrets

  Marcie Steele

  Mel Sherratt

  Contents

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Letter from Marcie

  New Releases Sign-Up

  Stirred with Love by Marcie Steele

  Books by Mel Sherratt

  Copyright

  For Alison, Talli and Sharon – the best friends

  I am so lucky to have.

  Prologue

  PROLOGUE – 1995

  * * *

  ‘Did you see the way Matt kept staring at you, Lou?’ Sam Wheldon asked her best friend as they walked home from the school disco.

  Louise Pellington turned to her with a grimace. ‘Euw, he’s our Ryan’s mate, I don’t fancy him in the slightest. What about you, though? I saw you looking at Reece.’

  ‘I know, but I’m not sure if he’s my type. I like my men mean and moody. Reece is too goody-goody for me.’

  ‘I thought it would be me who would want a bad boy,’ teased Louise.

  ‘Neither of us would know what to do with one,’ Sam pointed out.

  ‘Agreed. I can’t wait to get married though. I want a huge wedding with lots of guests, no expense spared, and a three week honeymoon afterwards.’ Louise broke free and ran in front of Sam pretending to waltz with a partner. ‘My first dance will be to something really smoochy, like The Pretender’s ‘I’ll Stand by You’. Everyone will be crying because they will be so happy for me. I’ll have four children and a big house and a dog and—’

  ‘Four!’ exclaimed Sam. ‘I’m not sure I could cope with one!’

  ‘But you do want kids?’

  ‘Yes! I’m tired of just me and dad.’

  ‘That’s why you’re an honorary member of the Pellington’s.’ Louise danced a little more before stopping while Sam caught up with her. ‘I have enough family for the both of us. Wait until we all start having children – we’ll have to start our own nursery!’

  ‘I don’t want any until I’m at least twenty,’ said Sam.

  ‘Oh, me too.’ Louise linked her arm back through Sam’s. ‘I want to leave Hedworth and go to London, travel the world, see some life, before being tied down with a baby. And I need to find a decent man first, and I won’t find him here. What about your wedding?’

  ‘Me?’ Sam paused while she thought – what did she want?

  ‘I’d like my wedding to be a small affair,’ she told her, ‘surrounded by my close friends, and my dad can walk me down the aisle. I might not even have a church service, just a registry do. I’ll look beautiful in a long white dress and flowers in my hair. And you can be my chief bridesmaid and wear a dress that makes you look like a fairy.’

  ‘Thanks a lot.’ Louise nudged her gently. ‘And will you stay in Hedworth or come to London with me?’

  ‘I’m not sure. It’s okay in Hedworth but it’s not very exciting is it?’

  ‘No, I can’t wait to leave school and move out.’

  ‘Me too,’ said Sam. ‘And if my dad thinks I’ll be working on the fruit and veg stall for the rest of my life, he’s got another think coming. Saturdays are enough for me.’

  ‘We should make a pact,’ Louise spoke excitedly. ‘We shouldn’t marry anyone, or have children, until we are at least twenty-one. And we should have a double wedding.’

  Sam nodded. ‘Of course, because we’re best friends forever.’

  Chapter One

  Sam Wheldon turned over in bed and faced her sleeping husband. Hands tucked under her chin, she stared at his familiar face. It wasn’t as if she didn’t love Reece any more. She did, there was no doubt about that. But lately something wasn’t working. She didn’t know whether it was because he worked away during the week and she’d got too used to a single life or if it was something deeper than that. Reece was a steady, reliable guy and not everyone could keep the passion alive for so many years, surely?

  Watching someone sleep should be so romantic, she thought, holding in a sigh in case she woke him. In his day, he’d been the proverbial tall, dark and handsome man that everyone wanted but age had taken away most of his hair and added a few weather worn lines. Even so, he kept himself fit, not looking a day over twenty-eight when in reality he was pushing thirty-six.

  Reece had been the school heart throb. Sam had thought he was cool from the minute she’d noticed him hanging around with her friend Louise’s brother, Ryan. One night, the two of them had sneaked into the local pub, all eyeliner and lip gloss to make them look eighteen, even though they’d barely reached sweet sixteen, and Sam got chatting to him. She’d seen him around for as long as she could remember, but hadn’t really spoken to him until then.

  They’d been together for two years before marrying when she was twenty. Now, she couldn’t remember a time when Reece hadn’t been in her life. Yet …

  She closed her eyes, trying not to liken him to Dan Wilshaw, the man who could make her knees quiver with one smile. On Friday morning, he’d stopped at her market stall to talk to her again and she’d been so tongue tied she’d had to resort to a nod, feeling the mortification as her cheeks reddened. Dan had noticed too and had flirted with her, making her blush even more.

  She thought back to when she had first noticed him a few weeks ago. Sam sold fruit and veg at the local indoor market, having inherited the business when she was just eighteen, after her dad had died. Dan had called at one of the stalls opposite hers and bought a mobile phone. Surreptitiously, Sam watched him from a distance. He caught her looking a couple of times but she’d been quick to hide behind her own customers. Moments later, he’d walked across to her stall and bought an apple. Sam was sure it had been meant as a symbol. It was the forbidden fruit: he obviously knew she was married. Well, that and the fact she was wearing a wedding ring.

  It had been a one off meeting, or so she thought. Dan had called at the stall the next day, and the next, so much so that Louise, and her sister, Nicci, who worked on the stall too, had started to rib her about him, and she’d been mortified.

  Yet, when he’d caught her away from the stall and asked her to join him for coffee at the café on the next aisle, she’d found herself saying yes. Even though she knew they shouldn’t, they’d swapped phone numbers and so the texting had begun.

  Dan had made it perfectly clear from the moment they’d shared that first coffee that he wanted her. There was something that she wanted from him too, but she was married. Good girls didn’t have affairs, did they? But the more she thought of him, the more she wanted a little excitement in her life. It was sorely missing right now.

  Reece stirred, stretching his arms above his head. Sam felt guilty almost immediately.

  ‘Morning,’ he smiled.

  ‘Morning.’ She stayed huddled under the covers, hoping her body language would be enough to stop him reaching over to her.

  They
lay in silence for a moment before Reece threw back the duvet. He kissed her lightly on the forehead before jumping out of the bed.

  ‘I’d better get up. I’m meeting Matt for a run before I head back to Sheffield. I reckon a ten-miler is on the cards today.’

  It took all of Sam’s strength to smile. But she needn’t have bothered, because Reece wouldn’t have noticed anyway. It had been a long time since Reece had noticed anything that Sam did – or said, for that matter.

  She pulled the duvet over her head to block out the day. Already, she was counting down the hours until Reece would be leaving. After lunch, he’d pick up his bag full of freshly washed clothes that she’d ironed while catching up on Saturday night television after their customary takeaway.

  Where were they heading, her and Reece? They’d been married for the past fourteen years, would be for the next fifty or so, she presumed. She wondered if he felt as bored as she was. They were definitely stuck in a rut but they had once been happy. It was just that things had gone stale. Sam craved excitement, passion, all the things that she should have been getting from Reece. And, even if she wasn’t sure that she loved him any more, she wouldn’t cheat on him. Would she?

  She let out another big sigh. No wonder Dan Wilshaw was filling her thoughts.

  Louise Pellington lifted her head from the pillow, slowly opened one eye and promptly closed it as memories of what she had done came flooding back. She turned onto her side, pushed her hair away from her face and huddled in the foetal position. Hadn’t she made a New Year’s resolution only ten days ago not to go off with Rob Masters again? She felt a tear trickle down her cheek and onto her nose.

  She’d known Rob since high school and had lost count of the many times they’d hooked up over the years. After every drunken episode she’d be remorseful, adamant that this would be the last time. But when the slow, lovey-dovey records came on, she and Rob would end up on the dance floor, bodies moulded together with practiced precision, arms entwined around each other, lips locked. It was depressing really, the way they clung to each other.

  Friends with extras, she’d read somewhere in her daughter’s teenage magazine. Charley Pellington was fifteen and the old head of the family, as she often told her mother when Louise wasn’t keen to act her age of thirty-four. According to the magazine, a friend with extras was someone there for whenever the need arose – or maybe that should be aroused? Louise couldn’t even bring herself to laugh at that last thought.

  Now, lying alone in her bed, she felt the shame wash over her as it always did. She knew what Rob Masters and the rest of his mates thought of her. Loose Louise, they called her. And they were right. It wasn’t a secret; they often said it to her face. But at the time, she didn’t care. Not until she sobered up and realised she’d done what she’d promised herself she wouldn’t do ever again.

  It all boiled down to loneliness. Louise tried to assuage some of the guilt that she felt. Rob used her. Sure, he was always there for her when she needed him. What man in their right mind would turn down sex on a plate? But in the back of her mind, Louise knew she used him too, and it wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted someone who would love her in return for all the love she had to give.

  Yet when would she ever find someone like that? She felt past her sell-by date already. All those dreams of big weddings and happy-ever-afters that she’d dreamed about as a child had accounted to nothing. Marriage had left her a lonely divorcee who couldn’t get a decent man, whatever she tried. And Louise knew that if she carried on like this, by the time she found anyone half decent she’d be too old to enjoy him.

  Why couldn’t her marriage have survived the early years? If she hadn’t caught her husband, Brian, with another woman, maybe they’d have been able to work at things.

  But then again, despite his shenanigans, he’d never really accepted Charley. Charley had only been a toddler when they’d met and he’d been fine with her at first. He’d take her out to the park, showing her off as if she were his own flesh and blood, and buy her presents, spoil her at Christmas and birthdays. But the more she grew up, the more he said she reminded him that she wasn’t his daughter. And the fact that she wouldn’t tell him who Charley’s father was became another bone of contention.

  Come off it, she scolded herself inwardly. Brian leaving hadn’t been anything to do with Charley. Louise had thought that by marrying him and providing Charley with a father it would be the fairytale life she’d dreamt of as a child. She’d got her man, and she had her daughter, but she wasn’t at all happy. So, in true Louise style, she’d began to nag at him, constantly winding him up. It didn’t take long for them to start living separate lives before eventually he left altogether.

  And now it seemed she was set for a lonely life forever if she couldn’t find a decent enough man. She wished she could find someone reliable, someone like her friend, Matt, who would put up with her and her ways. Someone who would love Charley as he did. It wasn’t for want of not trying enough. She hit the pubs and clubs of Hedworth every weekend seeking that someone special.

  How had everything gone so wrong? Was it life that had got in the way, or was it something to do with her? Because right now, Louise wasn’t feeling particularly proud of herself.

  After Reece returned from his run, he and Sam had wrapped up warmly and decided to go for roast beef with all the trimmings at the local pub. It had been quite pleasant, and they’d bumped into a few friends who had popped in too. It meant that Sam didn’t get to chat to Reece much, which was good and bad because sharing a lunch would have given them a break from the norm. Pretty soon it was time for him to get back to his digs in Sheffield.

  Their house was a small semi-detached in a quiet, leafy street only five miles from the city centre of Hedworth, where Sam’s market stall was located. Martin Wheldon, Sam’s dad, had died of a heart attack when he was just thirty-six. It had been sudden and brutal and she would never forget the horrifying image of him collapsed on the kitchen floor right in front of her. A post mortem had revealed a faulty valve in his heart. It had also left her an orphan, as Sam’s mum, Angela, had died of a brain tumour when Sam was four.

  Both Martin and Angela had been only children, so Sam had grown up very much the centre of their world. There were no aunties, uncles and cousins, and both sets of grandparents had gone by the time she was fifteen. So it had been the two of them for years, and one of the reasons why she had only a few close friends. She didn’t let people in easily.

  During her teens, she’d become really close to her dad. He’d been there for everything: laughing with her as he’d tried to help out with her maths homework, watching over her when she was sick, looking out for her when she was upset about something. Before his death, Martin had worked hard to improve the house over the years, which Sam inherited, so she was in a more fortunate position than her friends. Having added her individual style to it for the past sixteen years, their house now had a modern feel: all wooden floors, chromes and bright colours. It was also her sanctuary at the end of a day spent on her feet.

  After they returned back from lunch, Reece dropped his bombshell a few minutes before he was due to leave. Sam noticed he’d been a bit quiet on the way back from the pub and had put it down to his usual tiredness after his long week at work. But even back at the house, she’d seen him glancing at her a few times, studying her, as if he wanted to speak to her but didn’t know how to start.

  The conversation came when they were both in the living room sorting out his things. Sam was squashing rolled-up socks down one side of his holdall. She could feel the tense atmosphere around them. It was a relief when he spoke, until she heard what he had to say.

  ‘Sam.’ Reece shoved in another pair of jeans, studiously not looking at her as he spoke. ‘Would it bother you if I didn’t come home for the next few weeks?’

  Oh.

  Well, would it?

  A sense of dread rippled through her. If she was honest, she knew how she should feel but it wasn’t
necessarily how she did feel. But that was more of a problem than she would care to admit.

  ‘Why?’ She laughed, a little awkwardly. ‘You’re not planning on doing a runner, are you?’

  Reece’s laugh was a little awkward too. ‘Some of the lads have been offered a job in Germany,’ he told her, whilst avoiding answering her question. ‘It’s only for four weeks, five at tops. I thought—’

  ‘Five weeks!’ Sam put down a box of mince pies left over from Christmas. Her shoulders dropped.

  ‘It’s good money,’ Reece added. ‘I could make double what I do on the site now.’

  ‘Money’s not everything. It’s not as if we need it.’ Sam glanced around their impressive living room with the best of everything in it – leather settees, a few expensive figurines and photographs, all the latest gadgets for cinema-style television viewing.

  ‘I know but …well …’

  Sam sighed, realising that was why he was packing more than he normally would. It was obvious he’d already made up his mind and she definitely didn’t know what to think about that!

  ‘If you want to go, I’m not going to stop you,’ she said. ‘But five weeks?’

  Reece shrugged. ‘It’s probably going to be no more than four. And it’s not as if we see that much of each other anyway. I’ll be back before you know it.’

  Sam’s mouth hung agape. He didn’t seem bothered at all. But, she told herself – part of her didn’t really care either way. She was used to not having him around. Yet the other part of her wanted to scream out to him. Don’t leave me, not for that long. I’m lonely and I can’t trust myself. I need you to stay. I want you to love me. I want to feel like you still need me.

  ‘You’d better bring me back something nice,’ she told him instead with a wag of her index finger.

  As Reece moved towards her and kissed her on the cheek before giving her a token hug, Sam pondered on this new revelation. Looking on the bright side of things, five weeks wouldn’t be that long without him. He was right; they didn’t see that much of each other now so it wouldn’t seem too different.