Kennedy 03 - Where Petals Fall Read Online Free Page A

of your own.’
    ‘She was such a lovely girl once,’ Louse said wistfully.
    ‘Deep down, she still is.’ Twice, Jill had seen Nikki in a good mood, and had been astonished to discover that beneath the hostile exterior was a bright, quick-witted and fun-loving girl. Not a girl now. Nikki was twenty-one. ‘Sadly, she’s mixing with –’
    ‘Scum!’ Louise finished for her. ‘Last night, I got home at about nine thirty to find six strangers in my house. They were lounging in the chairs and across the sofa, drinking from cans and smoking God knows what. I wouldn’t mind her bringing her friends round, but these people were aggressive somehow. I felt quite threatened. Frightened to tell the truth. I went to bed shortly after ten o’clock.’
    ‘God, Louise, you should have kicked them out. Makesure you do next time. And if they refuse to go, call the police.’
    ‘I spend half my time wishing Nikki had stayed in London,’ she said flatly. ‘Then I feel guilty for wishing such a thing. When I think of her sleeping rough . . .’ She shuddered.
    ‘It’s her choice, though. It’s time she learned a bit of respect for you and your property. She’s not a kid any more.’
    ‘I know that.’ Louise sighed. ‘You wouldn’t believe the mess I had to clear up this morning – overflowing ashtrays, cigarette ends tossed anywhere, dozens of beer cans and I even found a used condom on the bathroom floor.’
    ‘You’re joking! Oh, for God’s sake, Lou. If it were me, I’d have to evict her.’
    ‘No, you wouldn’t, Jill. You’d love her because she’s your daughter and you’d hope and pray that the next day will be better.’
    It never was, though.
    ‘Those people last night were all high on drugs or alcohol,’ Louise went on.
    ‘You need Charlie,’ Jill suggested. ‘You can’t deal with this on your own, Lou. If you both talked to her and stood firm –’
    ‘It’s no use. When we’ve tried to talk to her in the past, she’s just reminded us both that it’s none of Charlie’s business. She hates him.’
    ‘Her feelings for Charlie aren’t important. He must tell her that, by upsetting you, she’s making it his business.’
    Jill knew nothing was that simple. She couldn’t wave a magic wand and give her friend the happiness she deserved.
    ‘Charlie offered to take us on holiday,’ Louise confided. ‘He said Paris or even New York. He thought that if we invited her somewhere that would excite her, she couldn’t turn us down. He believes that, if we could get her away from these so-called friends of hers, spend some quality time with her . . .’ She sighed. ‘I don’t know what to do.’
    ‘That’s an excellent idea. Think about it, Lou. It would be great. You need to show her that her life would be so much better with Charlie in it, not worse.’
    ‘She refuses to come with us. She’d rather go shoplifting or taking drugs with those friends of hers.’ Louise took a huge gulp of wine. ‘Every time I walk through the door, I’m relieved to see that she hasn’t walked out again. Then, within minutes, I’m wishing she had.’
    ‘I can understand that.’ Jill sympathized.
    ‘And I’ve promised to take her to the Trafford Centre on Saturday. That annoys me as well. She won’t even make an effort to find a job – says she won’t be around long enough – but she expects me to buy her clothes. And, of course, I will, because I’m too embarrassed to see her wandering about like a tramp.’
    She expelled her breath on a long sigh.
    ‘Enough. I didn’t come here to bore you with my problems,’ she said, smiling ruefully. ‘As far as I know, my home is still standing and, for the moment, I’m grateful for that small mercy. Tell me about you. How was the party last night?’
    ‘Pah!’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Max got caught up with work stuff so he didn’t make it.’
    ‘Oh, no. God, I bet Max was really sorry to have missed it,’ Louise said, deadpan, and Jill laughed softly.
    ‘It