Rose walked up the High Street to the newspaper office where the Tourist Information was and was surprised to see Beth Latimer sat at a desk talking to someone. Beth acknowledged her so she decided to wait for her.
"Miss Tyler, nice to see you again. Have you moved into your new house yet?"
Rose nodded. "Please, call me Rose, yes, it's lovely, you must come over for coffee if you're not busy, I'll give you the address. I'm here because, well, I need help about what I told you the other day. Is there a counsellor I can see in the town? How did you cope?"
"I didn't. I fell to pieces but my family were there, especially my husband, you had no-one. What about your mother?"
"Yeah, she helped, she's still in London though given half a chance she would have come with me but I had to get away from everything. I just need someone to talk to other than her."
"Well, when we lost Danny, the local Vicar helped us, he's the one to go and see, he can put you in touch with a grief counsellor. He's the best one to ask. I'll be more than happy to call him for you unless you want to walk up to the church on the hill, you can't miss it. He'll be around somewhere but I'll give you his phone number. How are you getting on with DI Hardy, he didn't strike me as one for having a girlfriend. How did you meet him? I'm just curious, you don't need to go into details."
Rose looked around at the busy office and said, "I'd rather not discuss it here, come round for coffee and I'll tell you. Have you got that number, I have to go meet Alec for lunch soon, thanks."
Beth gave her the number and they agreed she would call around and see Rose the following morning as she wasn't working. Rose went off to meet Alec, not mentioning until she had found someone to talk to that she was thinking about it. They walked down to the DIY store, getting another set of keys cut and a fixing kit for the dryer which she then took back home then went off to find the church. She found the Vicar outside the church and introduced herself. She didn't mention her involvement with Alec, just saying she had met someone and wanted to be able to get over her loss.
"I can help you, do you mind if I call you Rose? I do know I saw you the other morning in the caf with DI Hardy, not many secrets around here anymore, not since last year. I'm Paul. Do you want to tell me what the problem is, it's not him is it? He's not exactly the most popular person in town although he redeemed himself by catching the killer. Have you got involved with him? He had secrets of his own you know."
Rose didn't want to hear this, she knew about his past and had accepted it. Obviously the town had not welcomed him but they hadn't even bothered when he was cleared regarding his previous case let alone when he'd almost died solving the murder. She was beginning to wish she hadn't moved there now if people didn't accept strangers.
"That's not what I came about, you've got the wrong idea. I came here to get over the death of my husband two years ago that I thought I was putting behind me but I still can't. I've already seen a grief counsellor but I need more help. I'm trying to move on and Alec Hardy is helping me but I'm afraid I'm going to lose him if I don't do something. I can't bare to lose him as well and now every time he leaves, I think he's not coming back like my husband. He was killed by a hit and run driver in London two years ago and I never thought anyone could replace him until I met Alec, he's helped me get over some of the pain and we've just, well, I shouldn't say this in front of you but I know you won't judge me, we've just moved into a house together. We met a few weeks ago when I came down here for the weekend and we got together again when I came back the Saturday before last, I was waiting for a transfer with my job. I don't want to drive him away if I can't get over my loss. Can you help me?"
Tears were now forming in her eyes as she admitted to herself she still needed help. Paul looked at her and could see her anguish, she was torn between her dead husband and a new man in her life and it was tearing her apart. He felt really out of his depth, he didn't know her and he really just tolerated Alec Hardy after what he had put him through but his job was to help everyone regardless of his personal feelings.
"Rose, only time will heal this, you've not giving yourself proper time. You were over it until you met someone else and it will go away again. I'm sure Alec Hardy is the one you should be talking to. If he loves you, he can help you and seeing all the counsellors in the world can't do as much good as he can. He's the only person that can do anything if he feels the same way about you as you do him. It's written all over you that you love him or you wouldn't be getting torn apart again. If you want, you can both come to me to talk if you feel he will agree to it although we don't exactly get on but if it helps you, I can listen while you talk to him. It won't be easy, you will have to tell him everything you are feeling and he might not like it but if he really does love you, he'll stick by you. I take it you've already told him most of it?"
Rose nodded. "We told each other about our past the night before we signed for the house. I was going to take it on my own but it was too expensive for me. My husband left me some money but it was expensive living in London. It's much cheaper down here but the rent was a bit high on my own so he offered to pay half the bills if we both agreed we could live with each other's pasts. He doesn't know I still have all this bottled up but I had to call him earlier to tell him that my fears were coming back and he was really good about it. I really don't want to lose him over this, he's all I have now to keep me going."
"Then talk to him, tell him what's going on, ask him for his help. Then if you want to see me, both of you come back. Don't leave it too long because it will only get worse, maybe drive a wedge between you. It's clear you need help and the fact you realise you need is all that counts. Let me know what you want to do and I'm here. I won't judge you, it's your lives, yours and Alec Hardy's. From what I gather, he needs your help too, you're both helping each other. You do know he nearly died when solving Danny Latimer's murder, don't you?" Rose nodded. "I don't know how he got through it but he's been through a lot too, maybe I misjudged him at the beginning, no-one knew there was anything wrong with him which explains why he was so miserable when he arrived here. No-one had the chance to get to know him, he'd only been here a few days when he was stepping it to handle the case. Maybe the whole town misjudged him but you can make him better Rose, you can tell him he's hurting as much as you and get through it together. You'll both heal each other in the end, you both have to give it time."
Rose thanked him for his help and said she would talk to Alec about it and would contact him again. She drove back home, remembering Alec was bringing food home with him later, sorted a few more things out and went to get changed, choosing a dress he'd not seen her in before, a red one that was very low cut and tight fitting with a black belt hanging loosely around her waist. She put her hair up and went back down to watch a bit of TV until it was almost six then turned it off to wait for him, a sickly feeling coming over her which she was forced to dismiss as she saw him pass the window and opened the door. She was up off the sofa in a flash, standing in front of the door as he came in and closed it behind him, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him into a long kiss. When she let go, he had a puzzled look on his face, clearly not expecting such a reception from her.
"Wow, where did that come from? I hope I'm going to get greeted like that every night when I come home or is this just a special occasion?" he said, looking at the way she was dressed then realising he was supposed to bring some food home but had been eager to get back since he got her call earlier in the day. "I'm sorry Sweetheart, I forgot to bring the food but I'll go up and get some. You set the table and I'll go back up then I'll light the candles when I get back or do you want me to fix the dryer first?"
"No, the dryer can wait, you must be hungry. Why don't we just walk across to the harbour pub and get something there? I want everyone to get used to seeing us together. I was in the tourist Information office this morning, talking to Beth Latimer. I invited her over for coffee tomorrow morning, I think it might help if I talk to someone. She must know how it feels. She suggested I go see the local Vicar, which I did and he can put me onto a counsellor. He saw us together in the caf last week so he knows we're together, he also suggested I talk everything out with you and that I need to listen to your problems too and he's right, Alec, I've been selfish it's all been about me and I've never listened properly about yours. So let's go out and when we get back, we'll talk and I want to know everything, DI Grumpy, no missing anything out."
"Hey, I thought you were ditching the DI bit?" he laughed, putting his arms around her. "Sweetheart, it's not about me, I'm over it, the only thing that bothers me now is the fact my daughter won't talk to me, everything else doesn't matter Rose, my only concern is you. You can't seem to move on in spite of you telling me you were and it's troubling me. I want to make you happy Rose, that's what it's all about. I hated being here until I met you, you make it worthwhile staying. I want to look after you and take care of you, not just financially but in every way possible. I love you Rose, nothing that happened in your past can change that. Now let's go get something to eat then I want to tell me about your life with John. I can be strong enough for both of us, you don't have to leave anything out. I'm not one to get jealous over someone who is no longer with us. Let me go get changed then we'll walk over."
He kissed her forehead and looked at her then traced his finger along the v-neck of her dress, stopping in the middle just long enough to move the dress down to see the top of her breasts then moved his head down and kissed her there then whispered in her ear, "You're so beautiful Rose."
He went to get changed while Rose put everything away off the table and retrieved her coat from the hooks on the wall by the door and sat on the kitchen chair just opposite the stairs watching for him coming downstairs. He was down five minutes later, seeing her waiting for him, smiling to himself. It had been a long time since a woman had been eagerly waiting for him, let alone one as beautiful as Rose, even his first wife, who had been pretty enough wasn't comparable to her, Rose looked stunning in red. She got up and he helped her into her coat, then grabbed his own on the way out. They held hands all the way over the harbour and even when they got to the pub, she was reluctant to let him go place their order on his own. He thought it was like she afraid he was going to disappear and in view of her panic earlier he wasn't surprised she felt that way. He decided to try to assure he wasn't going anywhere by sitting next to her instead of across from her and held her hand until their meals arrived. They got some stares from the locals and visitors alike as they never parted until they left. Alec was enjoying showing her off, especially to the locals, some of them he recognised from being in a fury over the Latimer case and the prolonged nature of it and some had driven the local newsagent to his death with the help of the media.
When they got back home, fixing the dryer on top of the washer wasn't something Alec was going to be able to do on his own, not without doing some damage to himself lifting it so high. So he said she should call a plumber to come and fix it properly or buy a combined machine but Rose said that the combined ones were rubbish and the dryer part made the clothes smell and held her nose while Alec was laughing at her. She said she would look one up but didn't have internet access until the phone was connected so Alec used his mobile to find local plumbers then remembered Mark Latimer had his own plumbing business but wondered if it was wise to let him know where he lived but he wouldn't be there when he called and Rose had made friends with Beth.
"Rose, did you say Beth Latimer was coming over in the morning? Her husband's a plumber, why don't you ask her to call him for you? He might come right away if she's here?"
Rose thought it was a good idea so they settled on that and then taking off their shoes, they curled up on the sofa. Rose had put a throwover onto it to match the cushions she'd bought so Alec laid down flat and Rose slipped down the side, holding onto him, their legs curled around each others. They just kissed for a while and got comfy then he told her to tell him everything about her life with John, the parts she had missed out before.
Rose wasn't entirely sure this was a good idea but Alec did and so had Paul, the Vicar and she was going to have to get over this once and for all. She tried to stall but Alec was having none of it, telling her to come out with it. She made him promise he wouldn't stop loving her if she told him, he promised he wouldn't, he was going to listen because he wanted her to move on with him now they were together. He tried to put her mind at ease, asking her if now she wanted for them to refer to each other as their official partner to which she readily said yes, then asking her other questions about their relationship like his responsibilities to her and taking care of her. He hoped it would prompt her to start talking but he could tell she was stalling. What was so bad she didn't want him to know? He couldn't figure it out. Finally he had to turn on his side to face her and gently kissed her. Then he looked at her, the gap of her low cut dress revealing her breasts was now driving him mad with her so close, he wanted to forget about her talking and take her right there on the sofa but he had to do this for her, to listen.
"Rose, you're stalling, Sweetheart, come on it's time to tell me. What happened when you first met him? How did you know he was the one for you? I want to know, I know you fell in love with him when you first met him so tell me, when did you know you were in love with me? I'm not leaving you Rose, I'll never leave you, why are you afraid I will?"
Rose tried to get past him but he blocked her way, putting his arms around her and holding her close until she sank into him and sobbed. He let her cry for some time, rubbing her back, letting her hair fall loose, his shirt getting wet from her tears. He whispered in her ear it was ok, he loved her, to just let it all out and tell him. She tried to hold back the tears, looking up at him as he leaned down to kiss her, for her to take her time. Held safely in his arms, she couldn't hold out much longer, he deserved to know she was afraid he was going to leave her too, to go away and never come back. It was all getting too much. She looked up at him and suddenly began to pour her heart out to him.
"Alec," she sobbed, looking at him through her tears, "That's what John told me, he said we'd be together forever and he left me, Alec, he left me and he's never coming back, not ever and I can't forgive him for leaving me alone for two years without even saying goodbye to me and the person who killed him is still out there and I hate them for taking him away from me." She broke down again, sobbing into his shoulder as he held her close, kissing her forehead and he was filled with sadness for her and trying to comfort her.