Love, Lies & Blood Ties - Whitby Shadows Series Book 2

Chapter Twenty-One

Everything that followed was a blur. Luke hugged me until I had no more tears to cry. Then he sat me down in the corner of the room with a blanket and a cup of sugary tea. Like an absolute hero, he took control of everything. He called the doctor, he dealt with the guests, he called Sophie and Joanna and gave them the day off.

The weather outside just added to my bleak mood. Dark clouds hung over the bay, pouring rain like I'd never seen. The pitter patter of it hitting the window almost hypnotised me. I just sat staring at my dad's lifeless body, willing him to suddenly leap back to life and say, "Haha, got ya!" but of course, that didn't happen. The doctor took hours to arrive. It had been around four a.m. when I woke up. He finally appeared at nine. After officially declaring Dad dead, he gave me his condolences and said he'd sort the medical certificate for the cause of death as soon as he got back to the office.

"Don't worry about a thing," Luke said, kneeling down in front of me. "I'll sort it all out, ok?"

I finally tore my gaze from Dad's body and said, "You don't need to do that. Really, it's ok."

He took hold of my hands and looked me square in the eye. "Cat, I want to do it. I don't want you worrying about anything."

The softness in his eyes hit a chord right in my heart. I could see the affection and care he had for me in that moment. It made me want to cry all over again. "Ok, thank you."

"Do you want me to call your mum?"

I hadn't even thought about Mum. I'd been so numb and dazed, I hadn't been capable of thinking anything, let alone logically.

"Please."

He picked up my phone from Dad's desk and scrolled through the contacts. I didn't even care that Mum might freak out at some strange man calling her from her daughter's phone. I just wasn't capable of doing anything except being...blank.

"Hi, Mrs Summers?" A pause. "Hi, my name is Luke Freeman, I'm one of your husband's employees." Another pause. "Yes, Caitlyn is fine. Well, not really. I'm afraid Brian passed away in the early hours. I think she could really use you right about now." Another brief pause. "Ok, I'll let her know."

He put the phone down and sat back in front of me. "Your mum is going to get some things together and head straight up. It'll likely be tonight before she gets here."

I nodded. "Thank you."

"Do you want to go and lay down?"

I shuddered. The thought of being cold and alone right now really didn't appeal to me. "No."

"You look exhausted, Cat."

I shook my head. "I..." my voice cracked "...I don't want to be alone right now."

"Ok, ok." He rubbed his hand up and down my arm. "We'll wait until the funeral home have been and then I'll take you to bed. I won't go anywhere, I promise."

I nodded. I didn't even have the energy to make a joke about him taking me to bed. Insinuations about our complicated friendship were the last thing either of us needed right now.

Sometime around eleven a.m., the funeral home came to collect Dad. When they put him in that black bag, something inside me just snapped as they did the zip up. I jumped from my chair, sending my cup of tea flying, and ran to the metal gurney.

"Don't, don't, please don't take him. He belongs here," I said, looking up at the older gentlemen with a bald head and glasses.

"I know this is hard, sweetheart, but we need to prepare him."

I started crying then as I knew exactly what he meant—pumping him full of chemicals. "I don't...I can't...please."

Luke wrapped his arms around me from behind and then turned me into his chest. I heard the wheels of the gurney rolling across the floor. I dug my fingers in Luke's broad back and screamed for all I was worth. He did nothing but hold me tighter. Outside, the crack of lightning and the rumble of thunder helped drown out the noise of the gurney being taken down the steps. By the time the skies quietened again, the funeral home people had gone.