A Roll in the Hay, стр. 14
“I would have told you sooner but—”
“You were worried I wouldn’t buy in,” Tess finished the thought, her jaw working. “And you really needed the investment, didn’t you?”
Margo shook her head, but it was far from convincing. “Most of all, I wanted to work with you. We always talked about having a practice together, but you went off to London, and, well, now we get another shot at it.”
“You should have given me all the information. I deserved that much. What if Adam and I can’t cope? He’s going to be tired and distracted with a new kid around. Am I going to have to keep the lights on by myself?” Tess heard her voice getting louder, but she couldn’t seem to rein it back in. “What happens if I can’t do the work of three people? Does the practice just go under?”
“Tess, please.”
“I’m going to get lunch,” Tess decided, clipping Waffles back on his leash for the walk out to the street. “And I’ll get over it; I know I will. I’m just going to need a minute to deal, okay?”
“Sure, of course,” Margo said. “My gut instinct was always to tell you; I just want you to know that. Adam was more cautious, and then you started telling us how Caroline tied you in knots over money and lied to you about it.”
“Yeah, so you know how I feel about other people sneaking around, lying to my face. Especially when it comes to information that could affect my whole life! My security, my ability to support myself… I’ve already thought once before that I’d be left with nothing.”
Tess wouldn’t have brought that up, but Margo had heard more of those complaints about Caroline than anyone else. As her best friend, Margo should have trusted Tess to make the right decision with all the facts, and she wasn’t about to just let her off the hook for it right away.
The short march across the street was worth it when Tess saw mac and cheese on the daily specials board, and it earned a rumble from her unsubtle stomach. She waited out the small queue of people while Waffles availed himself of the doggy water bowls by the front door.
“Dr Robinson,” Joan greeted her at the counter, but it wasn’t entirely friendly, judging by the way her arms were crossed over her chest. “I’ve been hearing about you again.”
Irrationally, all Tess could think was that she was somehow going to be denied macaroni and cheese, which, after a fight with her best friend, felt like cruel and unusual punishment. “What have you heard?” Best to brave it out. There was garlic bread cooking somewhere, so the stakes were only getting higher. “And you can just call me Tess, you know. I don’t stand on ceremony.”
“You’ve been drinking in that pub apparently. Despite my advice.”
“Well, it is right there, Joan. I was invited, so it would have been rude not to go. The whole village was there, practically!”
“Hmph.” They stared each other down, Joan’s deep-brown eyes unblinking.
Tess knew she had no chance if she folded at that point, so she shoved her hands into her pockets and refused to look away.
“You eating, then?” Joan finally asked.
“Yes, please,” Tess said around a quiet sigh of relief. “I’ll have the macaroni, and does that come with garlic bread?”
“Might do.”
“Right, then. And a fizzy drink with that, whatever you’ve got that’s diet.”
Joan nodded to indicate that Tess should take a seat.
She looked around for Waffles to bring him inside. He was well-trained but occasionally being allowed to wander around places where everyone would fuss over him made him a bit of a rebel. There was a moment’s panic when Tess couldn’t see him anywhere. He never wandered off without her, and there was still a road right out there, even if it was hardly a major thoroughfare.
“Come on, then,” said a friendly but decidedly posh voice.
Waffles came trotting in then, the handle of his leash in his mouth like he had just brought back a kill.
“You’re a handsome boy, aren’t you?” the voice continued. “Who do you belong to?”
“He’s mine,” Tess answered, looking up from where a hand had started petting Waffles to see the last person she expected to sound so perky about a strange dog. “Oh.”
“You never seem very pleased to see me, do you?” Susannah replied with the hint of a smirk. “Just as well you couldn’t land my business, then, wouldn’t you say?” She sauntered off to talk to Joan. It was almost strutting, really, the confidence with which she walked in those heels.
Tess gave Waffles a welcome scratch behind his ears and tried to focus on her imminent dose of carbs and cheese.
The door had barely swung closed when Margo came bursting in to join her, unable to let the disagreement fester between them. “Tess, I’m so sorry. There’s no excuse, and I just want you to know I really, really apologise. And listen, if there’s anything you need to see about the business, or anything you want us to do or show you, I’m more than happy to do it. You coming here has made my whole year, every bit as much as this baby. Who, by the way, I’m fully expecting you to be godmother to, come the time.”
“I’m not religious, though.”
“Neither are we, but it’s handy for getting into the good schools.” Margo hesitated after making the little joke as if to see if it was too soon.
Tess gave her a weak smile in return.
“Anyway, we’ll deal with that once there’s