BooksBarbecue
Back A Place to Call Home Save as PDF
Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. 52
  55. 53
  56. 54
  57. Epilogue
  58. Author’s Note
  59. Acknowledgments
  60. More from Fay Keenan
  61. About the Author
  62. About Boldwood Books

Charlie couldn’t stop grinning as he finally made it to his desk just after 9 a.m. He wanted to start every morning that way, he thought. As he logged onto the Commons wi-fi and waited for his email to load, he considered sending Holly a quick text. She’d be on the train by now, probably as far as Reading; he hoped she’d managed to get a seat. They’d arranged to meet later that evening for another quiet dinner at The Travellers’ Rest, and he planned to persuade her to come home with him after that. Although they lived so close together, he couldn’t bear to be parted from her any longer than was necessary.

‘You’re in love, Charlie,’ he said to himself as, finally, the email screen loaded. ‘No sense trying to deny it. She’s got right to you, and no mistake.’

Scanning through the title lines on the emails that had arrived overnight, his heart thumped as he saw one from the chair of the Health and Social Care Committee he’d observed the previous week. Perhaps he’d got himself noticed after all, he thought. Then, directly below it, there was another, more heart-thumping email from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care herself. Clicking on it immediately, when he read the contents, the coffee cup he’d been holding in his other hand froze on the way to his lips.

Charlie,

I note with interest your association with the campaign for CF drugs as part of NHS spending. Are you free to discuss further? Might I suggest meeting in my office at 2.30 p.m. tomorrow (Friday) to explore the current position and discuss a possible way forward?

Sincerely,

Cora Mellish,

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

Heart racing, Charlie didn’t even waste time to think and sent an instant reply accepting the meeting.

This is it, he thought triumphantly. This, it seemed, was the first step into a bigger presence in the Department of Health and Social Care. And a step on the road to helping Harry and the other CF patients.

Of course, if he was now occupied in London until tomorrow afternoon, it meant he wouldn’t get home to Willowbury that night, which meant no dinner with Holly.

With a pang of regret, he tried to call her, but reception was obviously not great while she was in transit to the West Country. He texted her quickly, not elaborating too much but letting her know that, as an upshot of his question, he had a meeting to attend at the Department of Health and Social Care. He’d fill her in on the details when he knew more after tomorrow. He hoped, by then, he’d finally be able to give her and Rachel the good news they’d been waiting for.