Read Online Please Release Me by Rhoda Baxter - Free Book Online Page A

but the work was nearly finished. The walls and woodwork had been repainted in tranquil green. The floor was covered in paint and footprints, but that was to be replaced soon. The room looked brighter and bigger than before.
    ‘I think we’ve done a good job,’ said Harry. ‘We’ve got some photos from before and once everything’s done, I should be able to do some nice before and after slides for the presentation at the fundraiser dinner next month. You coming to the fundraiser Peter?’
    Grace turned to see Peter strolling up, drying his hands on a rag. ‘Sure. Why not? When is it?’ When Harry told him, he said, ‘Put me down for a ticket.’
    Harry grinned. ‘Excellent.’ He pulled a notebook out of his pocket and wrote something down. ‘You know,’ he said, still busily scribbling. ‘I was just trying to persuade Grace to do the charity abseil down the side of the hospital building.’
    ‘What?’ Grace stared at him. He’d mentioned it before, and she’d said no. What was Harry talking about?
    ‘It’s a great cause, obviously, and it’ll be a great adventure for her.’ Harry put his hands on Grace’s shoulders. ‘It’s a shame you’re too scared, Grace.’
    Grace shrugged off his hands. ‘Damned right I’m too scared.’
    ‘Abseiling’s not scary,’ said Peter. ‘It’s quite exhilarating, in fact. I used to do that sort of thing a lot.’
    ‘Really?’ said Harry. ‘Would you consider signing up to do the abseil?’
    Peter shrugged. ‘I can, but where’s the challenge in a climber doing an abseil? I’d do that for fun. It’s not exactly worth sponsoring me to do that.’
    Grace took a step back, wondering if she could just sidle out while Harry was distracted by Peter.
    ‘He’s got a point,’ Harry said, turning to her ‘I wouldn’t sponsor him. But I’d sponsor you.’
    A couple of the other volunteers chimed in with their support.
    ‘Go on, ‘said Harry. ‘It’ll be fun.’
    ‘Throwing myself off a building? I don’t think so,’ said Grace.
    ‘It’d be a great way to raise money for the hospice …’
    ‘If it’s such a good idea, maybe
you
should do it?’
    Harry shook his head. ‘Sadly, I can’t. Not with my back. You on the other hand, would be great. And much more photogenic than I am.’
    ‘I … I’ve never done anything like that before. I’d be petrified.’ The words ‘something out of you comfort zone’ floated into her mind. Was this the sort of thing Margaret was talking about? Climbing up the biggest building she knew and chucking herself off it like some sort of crazy Bond girl was pretty much as far outside her comfort zone as it got.
    ‘Seriously. The thing that’s scaring you is the IDEA of going over the side of building. The actual abseil itself will be amazing. Trust me,’ said Peter.
    Peter’s intervention made Grace pause. She had this immediate urge to agree with him. What was wrong with her? Just because she liked him, didn’t mean she had to jump at trying to impress him. She wasn’t a teenager. Grace shook her head. ‘Still not making it sound appealing.’
    ‘And we’d all be there to support you,’ said Harry. ‘We’ll have a stall selling tea and cake and make up a little cheering squad for you at the bottom.’ He thrust the sponsorship form at her. ‘Go on. If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for us. We need the money to buy new stuff for this place.’ He gestured to the newly painted room. ‘Please?’
    Grace looked around. The new paint did make the place brighter. With a few hundred pounds they could replace that sagging sofa and maybe re-upholster some of the other chairs. A quick glance at the poster that was now lying on the table showed that she’d be expected to raise at least £250. The place could certainly do with some new stuff … Grace sighed. ‘I’m not sure I can raise that much in the time left, anyway.’
    ‘Of course you can. We’d all be supporting you. I’ll take a spare form