Trying Not To Love You

Part Forty Seven

Chapter Forty Seven

A/N About to head out for a Christmas Party. So here's an extra chapter as a treat! More questions, more issues...but an answer or two too!! :) 

They couldn’t all fit in the car to go home, and it was a real problem. Martha wouldn’t let Sonny go back to the farm without her there; she needed to control her father and didn’t trust the two of them to control their tempers either. She wasn’t looking to pack up everything and move lock, stock and barrel back to the farm for lots of reasons, none was as prevalent as Stephanie who was devastated.

After the school run, they’d returned to her home and stood in the lounge with Stephanie. She was hurt, angry and very defensive. Immediately Sonny realised he was only adding to the drama, so he left the two women alone. And after an hour of hurled accusations, painful home truths and sadness, they both held each other tightly. There was no way that they could both win, there was a five year debt to her godmother, but being away from her family had created an unfillable void. There was no way she could keep Ethan away from him now, that meant that Stephanie was devastated, and after all she’d done for Martha, guilt weight heavily on her again.

So the compromise was to take a few days back home. She’d explained to his teachers that Ethan would be away for a little while, but to Steph she promised a return, soon. A chance to sort things out.

With a large bag packed, all three made the journey north by train. Ethan was ecstatic at the thought of being back on the farm; both the freedom and the man he realised doted on him were equal selling points.

The farm was quiet, and so they entered the kitchen and Martha started making some food. She’d have to go and see Scott’s father and offer her condolences, AND introduce him to his grandson, though she wasn’t in a rush for that. Instead she distracted herself with mundane things.

                “I wondered if you’d ever come back.”

Her father’s voice drew her from her thoughts and she turned around to see him at the backdoor.

                “I’m not that childish.”

He shrugged, “you did it before, after the last time you humiliated me in front of a pub full of my friends.”

Her eyes widened, “you’d really use that against me? We’ve been through this, you realised you were wrong, what last week? Now it’s all different? All that happened...I didn’t humiliate you either time. I love Sonny, why can’t you understand that?”

Her father shook his head, “I can’t, I won’t.”

Sighing she wiped her hands on a cloth and turned towards him, “you have to get used to it Dad, I don’t want to be forced away again, I want to spend time with you, make up for all that’s been lost.”

When he merely shrugged she took a deep breath, this was neither the time nor the place, “did you see the news?”

                “See the news?” He rolled his eyes, “I had the police here last night.”

That caused Martha to lift her head in shock, “here? Why?”

He gave an ironic laugh, “we’ve put in a complaint about him vandalising the farm...and then there’s your ‘boyfriend’ the jailbird.”

Martha squared up to her father angrily, “so says my father the jailbird!”

                “I’m not a mindless hooligan,” he snapped.