Blood Brothers. Josephine Cox

‘Shall I tell you what I really think?’

      ‘Yes! I’d like to know.’

      Joe worded his thoughts carefully. ‘Frank is headstrong. Sometimes he needs someone to hold him back. At first, he’ll find it virtually impossible to keep you in the manner you’ve been used to, but there is no doubt he’ll work his fingers to the bone. You will never want for anything, and in time, who knows, he may well give your father a run for his money.’ He had to smile. ‘If not, it won’t be for the want of trying.’

      Without being vindictive, he felt he had to be honest. ‘The thing is, when Frank sets his mind to something, he wants it right away. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always happen like that.’

      Joe went on in a serious voice. ‘He needs guidance, someone to draw the reins in now and then.’ He went on reluctantly, ‘You might just be the one, Alice.’

      Alice was flattered. ‘Do you really think so?’

      ‘Yes, I do.’ Against all his instincts, Joe reassured her. ‘I really do think you could handle Frank, where no one else can. Tonight for example. You didn’t yell or argue. You just told him quietly that it was never going to happen, that there was no point in him expecting your parents’ money. You stood up to him, and I’m proud of you. That took some guts, Alice Jacobs!’

      ‘Thank you, Joe.’

      When she smiled up at him, Joe’s heart bounced in his chest, and for a moment he couldn’t speak. Instead, he gazed into those wonderful, dark-blue eyes and his heart turned over. ‘You really are an amazing little thing,’ he murmured, ‘Frank is a very lucky man.’

      Beneath his intense gaze, Alice felt oddly uncomfortable, but not in a bad way. It was a feeling she had never before experienced, a feeling of someone looking right into your soul, to know you better than you knew yourself, to read your emotions like they were an open book.

      She felt worried and excited, all at the same time.

      Suddenly she knew. ‘You heard me, didn’t you?’ she whispered harshly. ‘Just now, you heard what I was saying. You heard it all. Didn’t you, Joe?’

      Joe nodded his head. ‘Yes, I heard.’ He felt ashamed. ‘I’m sorry.’

      Alice clambered up. ‘I’ve got to go!’ She began to move away, the tears rolling down her face. ‘Please, Joe, don’t tell Frank. I didn’t mean it, none of it! I didn’t know what I was saying. It’s not that I don’t love him, because I do. Only what with Mother taking over, and then Frank behaving like that tonight, I don’t know how I feel anymore…I just don’t…’

      ‘Ssh! Don’t cry, Alice.’ Impulsively, Joe drew her into his arms.

      Alice nestled into him; the faint, dry smell of his work-jacket offering an odd kind of comfort. She felt as though she belonged here, in Joe’s strong embrace.

      In that instant they were in each other’s arms. It was like a dam had burst and then they were kissing, long passionate kisses that surprised and thrilled.

      Shocked at her own response, Alice tentatively pulled away. ‘No! We shouldn’t…this is bad, Joe.’ Her head was saying one thing but her heart was saying another.

      ‘I understand.’ Joe released her. ‘Don’t blame yourself, Alice,’ he whispered. ‘It was my fault, not yours.’

      Stunned by what had just happened, Alice stumbled backwards.

      Behind her, Joe sat down in the hay, head bowed; his feelings in chaos, when he thought of the enormity of what might have been. He felt deeply ashamed, but he still wanted her so much he could hardly breathe.

      Deeply shaken, he went over the dizzy madness of the past few minutes. ‘I’m sorry.’ He didn’t look up; didn’t want to see her walking away. Suddenly, his every sense was heightened, and he knew she was there, standing right before him.

      He raised his head to look up, and there she was; hands motionless by her sides, and her blue eyes gazing down on him, alive with emotion.