Walking Back to Happiness Read online

  Contents

  Cover

  A Selection of Recent Titles by June Francis

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  A Selection of Recent Titles by June Francis

  SUNSHINE AND SHOWERS

  PIRATE’S DAUGHTER, REBEL WIFE

  IT HAD TO BE YOU

  THE UNCONVENTIONAL MAIDEN

  MAN BEHIND THE FAÇADE

  MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS *

  IT’S NOW OR NEVER *

  LOVE LETTERS IN THE SAND *

  MANY A TEAR HAS TO FALL *

  WALKING BACK TO HAPPINESS *

  * available from Severn House

  WALKING BACK TO HAPPINESS

  June Francis

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  First published in Great Britain and the USA 2017 by

  SEVERN HOUSE PUBLISHERS LTD of

  19 Cedar Road, Sutton, Surrey, England, SM2 5DA.

  This eBook edition first published in 2017 by Severn House Digital

  an imprint of Severn House Publishers Limited

  Trade paperback edition first published

  in Great Britain and the USA 2017 by

  SEVERN HOUSE PUBLISHERS LTD

  Copyright © 2017 by June Francis.

  The right of June Francis to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988.

  British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

  A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

  ISBN-13: 978-0-7278-8704-7 (cased)

  ISBN-13: 978-1-84751-810-1 (trade paper)

  ISBN-13: 978-1-78010-874-2 (e-book)

  Except where actual historical events and characters are being described for the storyline of this novel, all situations in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to living persons is purely coincidental.

  This ebook produced by

  Palimpsest Book Production Limited,

  Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland

  One

  December 1961: Liverpool

  ‘Lucia, when you finish that job can you make a start decorating the window for Christmas?’ called Maggie Colman from the doorway that led into the coffee bar’s kitchen, where her husband Josh was in the process of icing a chocolate cake.

  ‘All right,’ sang out Lucia, glad to have a change from clearing and setting tables. ‘Where are the decorations?’

  Blonde-haired Maggie dumped a cardboard box on the table nearest to Lucia and told her where the stepladder was before going back into the kitchen. Lucia fetched the stepladder and set it up at one end of the window before beginning to rummage inside the cardboard box. She dragged out garlands of crêpe paper in a variety of colours and placed them on the table beside the box. Then delved further into the box and found a folded yellow tissue-paper bell, as well as a Father Christmas decoration. As Lucia opened up the Father Christmas and fastened it with the side clip, her thoughts drifted to former Christmases when she and her younger siblings would help their father, David, to decorate the two downstairs rooms in the large Victorian house in Seaforth. Sadly their parents had been killed in a car crash earlier that year, so nineteen-year-old Lucia was going to have her work cut out to make this Christmas an enjoyable one for her younger siblings. Tears pricked her eyes and she forced her thoughts away from her family problems to the job in hand as she hung up one of the garlands before weighing up the merits of the yellow tissue-paper bell against the Father Christmas as the centrepiece for the garland now decorating the window. She looked round for Maggie to ask her opinion, but there was no sign of her; on hearing voices coming from the kitchen, Lucia realized Maggie was deep in conversation with Josh, an experienced chef, who was now the proprietor of the café on Hope Street which had once belonged to his uncle Lenny.

  Lucia decided to carry on single-handed. Having fixed on the Santa decoration, she gauged the distance between the stepladder on which she was standing and the centre of the garland. Surely she should be able to manage to pin the Father Christmas in place without falling off? She stretched out and, as she pinned him into place, was forced to slacken her grip on the side of the ladder. The stepladder wobbled and she lost her balance.

  At that moment the outer door of the coffee bar opened and a man entered. He paused in the doorway, leaning on a walking stick, watching as the stepladder tipped over. He dropped his walking stick and stepped forward, bracing himself to take her weight on his back, from whence she slid down to the floor.

  ‘You all right, queen?’ he asked, turning and reaching down a hand to her.

  Lucia looked up into the twinkling blue eyes with eyelashes, the length of which any girl would envy, set in a dimple-cheeked face and with sensuous lips that had a delicious curve to them. She really liked those dimples. Yet there were lines of pain etched on his attractive features due to him having been injured when he had saved a child’s life. She recognized him instantly. Maggie’s erstwhile boyfriend, ex-jailbird, Tim Murphy. Lucia wondered at him daring to show his face here once more. Surely he must have heard from his brother, Marty, that Maggie was now married and her husband was in charge of the coffee bar?

  At the sound of the ladder falling, Josh and Maggie had hurried out of the kitchen.

  Lucia watched Maggie’s face as recognition dawned in her eyes. Would there be trouble when Josh realized who the man was? Lucia wondered. But Josh, having ascertained that Lucia was unharmed, simply picked up the stepladder and took it away.

  ‘So they let you out then?’ said Maggie coldly, folding her arms across her chest and staring at Tim.

  ‘Don’t be like that, Maggie. I’ve done my time and learned my lessons the hard way. I’m on the straight and narrow now; I have to be for my son, Jerry,’ responded Tim. ‘Actually, I’m looking for lodgings for us both and wondered – what with you coming into contact with so many people here – whether you’d heard of anything, or if you could keep your ear open for a place that might suit us? We’re staying at our Marty and Irene’s at the moment and, what with Josie there as well, it’s a bit crowded.’ He paused before adding, ‘I need three rooms on the ground floor. Can’t do stairs so easily, since I damaged my hip saving that little lad’s life when that road hog hit me outside my garage.’

  ‘You’ve come to the wrong place, Tim,’ said Maggie. ‘Most of our customers are teenagers.’

  Lucia felt a stir of sympathy as well as excitement as she remembered the conversation she’d had only yesterday evening with the old lady who lived next door. Lucia’s seventeen-year-old brother Michael had been clearing snow from their neighbour’s front step, and Mrs Hudson had told her that her lodgers had moved out and she needed to find someone else
to take their place.

  ‘I know someone who is wanting to rent out a few rooms,’ said Lucia. ‘She lives next door to me in Seaforth. She’s an elderly widow who lost her only son in the war and the house is far too big for her. Her previous lodgers, a married couple with three children, have been given a council house.’

  She watched Tim’s downcast expression brighten and he said, ‘Thanks, queen. Give us the address and I’ll go and have a butcher’s.’

  Lucia did so and he thanked her again and left immediately. Josh came out of the kitchen and said, ‘Has he gone already? Did the sight of me frighten him off?’

  ‘No, Lucia was able to help him and so there was no need for him to stay.’ Maggie smiled at her husband, who looked puzzled until Lucia explained the situation.

  Josh said, ‘I hope you know what you’re doing, kid.’

  ‘Mam and Dad always said we were put on this earth to help each other, and that’s what I’ve done – and Mrs Hudson has the same outlook on life,’ said Lucia, who could not wait until it was time for her to finish so she could hurry home and find out if Tim had called on her neighbour.

  When Lucia arrived home, she wasted no time in popping next door to speak to Mrs Hudson, who was all of a twitter after Tim’s visit and wanted to talk, so she invited Lucia to sit down and have a cup of tea and a slice of homemade ginger cake.

  ‘There is something you should know about him,’ said Lucia after an inward struggle.

  ‘If it’s about him having been in prison, he told me. He said that it was only fair that I should know before he and his son move in. He’s determined to go straight, for the boy’s sake. He told me that he is planning to write a book about his experiences, which means he’ll be working from home. Apparently, due to some injuries preventing him from continuing as a mechanic, he has to find another source of income.’

  Lucia was surprised by the news but pleased that Tim had been honest with her neighbour. Realizing that time was getting on, she left soon after. Her fifteen-year-old sister, Theresa, was seeing to their evening meal, a potentially hazardous situation since it involved having several pans on the stove. She could only hope Michael was keeping his eye on the younger children, Gabrielle, James and Joseph. An unwelcome task if he had homework to do. He would be leaving school next year and good exam results would mean a better chance of a decent job. What she dreaded was him getting interested in girls. She accepted that, sooner or later, he would meet someone and get serious and want to get married and have his own life, but she hoped it would be years off yet.

  As the evening progressed, Lucia found her thoughts drifting back to Tim and his son. She wondered when they would move in and wished she had thought to ask Mrs Hudson. Not wanting to appear over-eager or nosey, she waited until the next day to send Theresa to ask Mrs Hudson if there was anything she wanted from the shops, and also to enquire when her new lodgers would be moving in. As Lucia prepared to leave for work, and the children were getting ready for school, she wondered whether Tim Murphy would have in mind a Catholic school for Jerry. If so, it would mean that he could join Gabrielle, James and Joseph at Our Lady, Star of the Sea Primary School. Theresa returned with the news that Mr Murphy and his little boy would be moving in that day. ‘Mrs Hudson also wants me to do some shopping for her, seeing the pavements are so frosty. Is there anything you want me to get for our tea?’ added Theresa.

  Lucia told her to buy some mince, potatoes, carrots and an onion, as well as a loaf. Later, when Lucia arrived at the coffee bar, she had already steeled herself to face a barrage of questions and more warnings from Josh and Maggie concerning Tim. Since her parents’ deaths, and despite the fact she had an aunt living not too far away, as well as her uncle, Francis, who was a priest in Liverpool, Josh and Maggie had behaved like surrogate parents to her, even though neither of them was all that much older than she was.

  ‘So did Tim turn up at your neighbour’s house?’ Maggie asked as soon as Lucia entered the coffee bar.

  ‘Yes, and before you ask, he told her that he’d been in prison.’

  ‘Even so, don’t be fooled by him – and tell your neighbour the same,’ said Maggie. ‘He can be a right charmer when he has a mind to be.’

  ‘From what I’ve heard, I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him,’ Josh said before returning to the kitchen.

  While Lucia appreciated their concern, she was irritated by their lack of trust in her having enough common sense to be on her guard against such a man. She just hoped they wouldn’t go on and on about it. As it was, Lucia need not have worried about what else the couple might say, because the coffee bar was so busy during the next hour or two that the three of them were rushed off their feet and there was no time for discussing Tim. Lucia was relieved when one of the other part-time waitresses, sixth-former Annie Wood, arrived to share the load.

  Lucia was glad to arrive home that evening, although there was no opportunity to put her feet up even then. Only once the evening meal was over, dishes washed and the three younger children were in bed, could she relax a little. Theresa settled with a library book in front of the glowing coal fire, while Lucia was letting down the hem of one of Theresa’s old dresses for Gabrielle. She stretched out on the sofa after switching on the small black-and-white telly on the sideboard to watch Coronation Street.

  ‘Do we have to have this on?’ asked Michael, on entering the room.

  ‘What’s it to you?’ asked Theresa. ‘You told me you were going out.’

  Lucia stared at her brother. ‘You didn’t mention going out to me.’

  ‘Do I have to have your permission for everything I do?’ said Michael.

  ‘I’m responsible for you,’ said Lucia.

  ‘I’m old enough to take care of myself,’ he said.

  ‘No, you’re not,’ she retorted.

  At that moment there was a ring of the doorbell and Michael said, ‘I’ll get it.’

  Before Lucia could rise from the chair, he had left the room. She hurried after him, and was a few feet behind him when he opened the front door. On the step stood Tim, and a boy holding his hand, who was as fair-haired as his father, with the same blue eyes. Tim gazed past Michael and smiled at Lucia. ‘I hope I’m not disturbing you, but I just wanted to thank you again for your help. Mrs Hudson is a sweetheart. She told me that several of your family go to Our Lady, Star of the Sea. I’m going tomorrow to see if Jerry can be enrolled there and wondered if we could go along with you to school in the morning.’

  ‘Actually it’s my brother, Michael, who usually takes the younger ones, but if you don’t mind escorting them, it would save him a job,’ she said. ‘I’d invite you and Jerry in to meet the boys, only they’re in bed.’

  ‘Who is this?’ asked Michael, regarding Tim suspiciously.

  ‘This is Mr Murphy. He’s Mrs Hudson’s new lodger. You might have heard Uncle Francis mention him in the past?’ said Lucia. ‘Mr Murphy used to live in his parish.’

  ‘Right,’ said Michael. ‘I’d better be on my way or I’ll be too late.’

  ‘Where are you going?’ asked Lucia, making a grab for him as he forced his way past Tim, throwing him off balance. ‘Hey, watch it, Michael,’ she added, ‘where are your manners?’

  ‘Sorry,’ sang out Michael, heading down the step. ‘I’ll be back by ten.’

  ‘You’d better be,’ said Lucia under her breath.

  ‘I can see you have your hands full,’ said Tim. ‘How old is he?’

  ‘Seventeen.’

  ‘I remember being that age,’ he said, thinking back to that period in his life when he had got involved with a gang led by Will Donahue, who one of the girls had called charismatic. Tim had never heard the word before and had looked it up in a dictionary. He’d had to admit at the time that the girl was right in believing there was something about the older lad that attracted one to him. He had enormous self-confidence that he could succeed in anything he tackled, which was inspirational, encouraging younger ones to throw
in their lot with him. He also had a way with words that the girls seemed to fall for. Suddenly Tim realized that Lucia was staring at him, as if expecting him to say something more. ‘I was struggling to be a man and took a wrong turning. I won’t keep you any longer. I’d best get Jerry to bed.’

  The following morning, when Jerry met Joseph, it was obvious to Lucia that it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. They took to each other straightaway. They could have even been taken for brothers, having the same shade of fair hair and similar wiry build.

  As the week progressed, Lucia was concerned that Tim might be missing his son’s company, because he seemed to be spending a lot of time at their house playing with Joseph, but Tim assured her that he was glad his son had found a friend so swiftly, adding that he hoped Jerry wasn’t proving a nuisance. To which she responded that he was a well-behaved lad and she too was glad that the two boys got on so well. Recalling Mrs Hudson telling her that Tim was writing a book, she guessed that Jerry’s absence afforded him time to write in peace.

  He agreed that he did need several hours of quiet a day, and then he asked after her family. ‘Mrs Hudson told me that your parents died earlier this year and that you have three younger brothers and two sisters to care for. That’s tough. You really do have your hands full.’

  ‘It isn’t easy. At the moment the thing I’m dreading most is Christmas, as it will be our first since Mam and Dad were killed. Still, my aunt and her family don’t live too far away, and there’s Uncle Francis, who I believe you know. He used to be your parish priest.’

  ‘Father Francis!’ exclaimed Tim. ‘Fancy him being your uncle. He was a great help to me when I was in prison; visited me regularly, as well as visiting me mam. She still lives in his parish.’

  Lucia was pleased that he was prepared to talk openly to her about his having been in prison. She liked his honesty, although she had not forgotten Maggie’s warning.

  ‘I don’t suppose you get out much in the evenings because of the children,’ Tim said, ‘but I’m thinking of going to the Cavern this Friday and I wouldn’t mind some company if you could fix up someone to stay with the kids? Mrs Hudson said she’d listen out for Jerry.’