Echoes Of The Past (Fermosa Bay #1) Page 9

  Chapter Seven

  Niall and Connor headed out to the forest a few days later to organise a Christmas tree.

  “I thought you guys have fake trees?”

  Niall laughed. “We do, but a stubborn man like Jack likes tradition. And tradition for the Delaney family is to get a real Christmas tree.”

  “And you get that here?”

  Niall shot him a look. “We are at the other end of the world; that doesn’t mean we’re out of this world. Of course we have real Christmas trees. There’s a guy a couple of miles from here who sells them. The hassle is getting the tree back into town and setting it up.”

  Connor laughed. “At least you don’t have to do that in freezing conditions.”

  “Valid point,” Niall agreed with a chuckle.

  His friend focussed on a couple of tricky traffic situations when he suddenly said, “So how are you settling into Fermosa? It’s been…almost two weeks?”

  “It’s a great place. I’m a bit envious of you all.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Connor noticed Niall studying him.

  “What happened, Connor?”

  Connor laughed. “I’m sorry, mate. I don’t want to take the seriousness out of it by laughing, but it’s been a constant question the last two weeks.”

  “I suppose we all want to know.”

  “Which is fair enough.” Connor looked out the window and enjoyed the scenery. He couldn’t get enough of the forest right next to the ocean, the luscious green of the trees meeting the intense blue water. “There’s a hell of a lot more to it than I know and possibly will ever know. Mum didn’t like it here and the fall resulting in a few stitches was the final straw for her. She packed and headed back to England.”

  “I’m sorry for leaving the shoes—”

  Connor waved a hand, but his gaze stayed on the water. “Nah. Kids’ stuff. Shit happens. It was an excuse for her it seems. The only thing we’ll probably never know is why she took me with her.” He looked down at his hands in his lap. “It’s not that she used me as bargaining power for money.”

  “You’re her son.”

  Connor snorted. “Yes, when it’s convenient.”

  Niall stopped at a little turnout. Without looking at his friend, he said, “Ethan and Jack mentioned something about a boarding school.”

  Rubbing his hands over his face, Connor replied, “What’s this? A session on the couch?” But there wasn’t any malice in his voice. He got out of the car and stepped towards the lookout. Niall followed him. “It wasn’t a picture perfect childhood. Not sure how much you know about my mother, but motherhood wasn’t one of her favourite pastimes. Marrying Duncan, my step-father, was the best thing that could’ve happened to her. Rich. Established. Part of London’s society. The works.” He leaned onto the railing with both arms enjoying the view. The one million dollar view he could’ve had all his life. “Not sure why she took me with her.”

  “To break Jack’s heart?”

  Connor nodded. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  “Will you stay?”

  Connor chuckled. “What a question to ask after you’ve taken me to the most beautiful lookout.” He paused. “I’m sure you’ve been on a holiday and had the best time, thinking, yes, this place is perfect. This is what it is for me at the moment. Fermosa Bay represents the complete opposite to my life in London.” Meeting his friend’s gaze, he said, “I’m tempted. Damn, I’m tempted. I will definitely stay for the twelve months leave I’ve taken.”

  A smile spread across Niall’s face. “You’ll make quite a few people happy.”

  “Don’t get excited. Apparently, I’ve inherited Jack’s laidback nature—”

  “But also his nose for business, I’ve heard.”

  Connor laughed. “Yup. That as well.” He turned, leaning his hips against the railing. “Jack told me to consider working in his company.”

  Niall’s brows shot up. “That’d be great, mate.”

  Shaking his head, he admitted, “I’d expected some hesitation. Not excitement.”

  “How come?”

  “Competition?”

  “Want my job?”

  “I don’t really know what you’re doing.”

  Niall laughed as he gave Connor a gentle clap on the shoulder. “Ethan would love you to bring your knowledge into the business. He’s got quite a few ideas.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  “Competition is bullshit. This isn’t any shitty movie, this is Fermosa Bay.”

  “Competition is the nature of your business,” Connor reminded him.

  “You’re talking money, I’m talking HR.”

  Connor’s gaze went into the distance as he thought about that. Was it naïve or the way they really handled things here? It’d be a change for him, but one he’d really welcome.

  “Emily would like you to stay as well,” Niall added.

  He raised a brow.

  “It’s no secret how much she likes you.”

  “I like her, too,” Connor admitted.

  “So I’ve heard. How much?”

  Connor snorted. “Is this the talk with the protective brother?”

  His friend bit his lip. “In a way I suppose it is. You’ll break her heart.”

  Letting out a long breath, he gave a slow nod. “Quite possibly not only hers.”

  Niall smiled, gave him another pat on the arm, and said, “Another great reason to stay here. In fact, the best, yet.”

  They climbed back into the car and drove the rest of the way in silence listening to the radio until they arrived at the Christmas tree farm. The whole expedition was actually more fun than Connor had expected. When they arrived, he couldn’t believe how big the plantation was, not as big as back home, but there must’ve been a few hundred trees. They walked through the farm, inspecting each tree, with Connor teasing Niall that a tree is a tree.

  “I thought you did that at home as well?”

  Connor gave a nod. “Mate, it was freezing back home. The first tree that looked decent was ours.”

  Niall shook his head as he laughed. “Warning, don’t pull that on Jack. He’ll send you back here if the tree isn’t right. Come to think of it, I’m surprised he didn’t come with.”

  “So what does the right one look like?” Connor asked.

  “You’ll look at it and it’ll hit you in the face,” Niall replied with a shrug.

  “Can’t say that helps,” he murmured.

  It hadn’t hit him in the face, but an hour later, they walked out of the place with a great looking tree. Connor remembered the procedure to tie up the tree to the trailer so he wasn’t completely useless.

  Another couple of hours later, Connor stood in front of the tree, standing tall in the corner of the lounge room. Jack had told him that was all he was allowed to do. Apparently decorating it was Emily and Nick’s job. A smile crossed his face thinking of all the traditions, involving everyone around.

  ***

  Connor was about to grab his towel to head down to the beach when he heard Ethan coming in.

  “Going for a swim?” Ethan asked.

  Connor shook his head. “No way, but I’m tempted to dip my toes into the water.”

  His friend laughed. “Way to go. Make sure you don’t drown.”

  He decided to take the comment as a bad attempt of humour considering how afraid he was of water and laughed.

  “Wanna join me?”

  “Give me five minutes. I just have to discuss something with Jack.”

  “He’s upstairs. Asleep.”

  A frown appeared on Ethan’s face. “Again?”

  Connor nodded. “I’m afraid so. He’s very tired nowadays.”

  Scratching the back of his neck, Ethan said quietly, “Stubborn old man is not taking his medicine.”

  Not sure how or what to reply to that, Connor stayed silent.

  “Let’s go and do some toe tipping.”

  As they headed down the stairs and towards the beach, Ethan
said, “I heard I missed out on the traditional tree hunting.”

  He stopped and looked at his friend. “I didn’t…I mean…”

  “No sweat. I was busy anyway.”

  Instead of going into the water, they sat at the beach and Connor offered Ethan a drink.

  They sat in silence for a moment when Ethan asked, “Tell me, why did you come back?”

  The question surprised Connor, not sure what to read into it, if anything at all. “Jack asked me.” He hesitated. “Didn’t you want me to come back?”

  “Quite the opposite. I couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas. Everyone is looking forward to spending Christmas Day together.”

  He studied Ethan’s eyes, trying to search for the reason of his question. Why did he need to know? Wasn’t the fact that Jack had searched for him the obvious answer?

  “I came back to find out about my father. About my childhood. Once I was here I wanted to know about you guys, find out the truth to all the lies.”

  Ethan’s brows shot up. “Lies?”

  He shrugged. “I can’t help but get the feeling my mother had a big dislike to this place and wanted me to forget about it. And everyone associated with it.”

  “It seems she succeeded.”

  He nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. And now that I’m here, I can’t get past the feeling of how much I missed out. How my life could’ve been.”

  “Better?”

  Looking out across the ocean, Connor thought about that. Had his life been that bad that he was jealous or envious of his friends’ lives in Fermosa Bay? Life hadn’t been bad, simply different. Instead of a small town, he’d grown up in the metropolitan city of London. Instead of surfing the ocean, he’d preferred using the gym. Instead of going to a Christmas school concert to see his friend’s son sing and perform, he attended social functions which bored him to death.

  “The grass is always greener on the other side,” he finally answered. He took a long sip of his drink. Then asked, “Tell me about Skye.”

  Ethan didn’t say anything for a long time and Connor wasn’t sure whether he would at all. But he waited patiently.

  “She was the fifth friend. Great fun. As unbelievable as it sounds now, she was always the sensible. Don’t do this. You’ll get into trouble for that. Then teenage years hit and Fermosa Bay was boring and she wanted more. No one was able to figure out what exactly more was, and we slowly drifted apart.”

  “You couldn’t have drifted apart that far, otherwise there’d be no Nick.”

  Ethan let out a short mirthless laugh. “Yeah. Well, we all make mistakes at some stage or another.”

  Connor looked around and studied his friend’s expression. Ethan seemed far away with his thoughts. Connor kept his curiosity to himself and waited until Ethan was ready to come back to the now. It took a while, but he wasn’t in a hurry. He was finally enjoying and treasuring each minute of the day. So he turned and gazed across the ocean again, like he had so many times over the last few weeks.

  “When she told me she was pregnant,” Ethan finally said, “I obviously questioned fatherhood. It was mean. Everything she was, she wasn’t one to sleep around. Just a girl growing up in a small place, not finding herself. We moved in together, but it was anything but happy.” He let out a puff of air. “It sounds like a cliché, but the day Nick was born was the best day ever. To hold that small bundle of life, something you created, a part of you—it’s simply amazing!” There was a moment of silence. “Anyway. A couple of months later, I came home with Nick to find an empty house. Skye had left, wishing me all the best.”

  “Ever heard from her again?”

  “She’s doing well somewhere in Queensland. Her parents followed her up north for the better weather. I think she’s married, but no children.”

  “Regrets?”

  “Nah. Initially there was the feeling of failure and loss, but Jack stormed into the house one day and gave me a blast of his opinion. Got me enrolled at University and the rest is history as they say.”

  “Why?”

  Ethan’s brows shot up. “Why what?”

  “Why did he help?”

  With a shrug, he replied, “He always cared. Not just for me. For all of us, especially Emily. He loves her like his own daughter. I suppose he stepped in when I needed a father. And I’ll be forever grateful for that.”

  “Grateful enough to let his real son come back into the company?”

  Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose with his finger and thumb, and guilt rushed through Connor instantly. “Sorry, mate. Wrong thing to say.”

  Shaking his head, Ethan said, “No. Not at all. I suppose I can understand where you’re coming from.” After a brief moment, he continued. “Would I let you take over my job? No way. I’d fight for it. I worked hard for it. Would I let Jack put you in charge of the company? No way. But working together, I think that’d be great.” He rested his arm on his bent knee. “We all have been and some of us probably are still a bit wary about what to expect from you. After all, you still don’t know yourself what the next few months will bring for you. Will you stay or will you go back? It puts us in a limbo as well. Personally, I think you haven’t changed, and I think it’d be great to have you on board in the company.” He shrugged. “From what I heard, Niall’s thinking along the same way.” Then he let out a soft chuckle. “Well, I don’t have to tell you about Emily.”

  Connor smiled. And something inside him stirred. Something so unfamiliar, so unexpected, but so welcome. Warmth rushed through him. Warmth and the sensation of belonging. A sense of peace.

  “Tell me about Emily,” Connor finally said.

  “What you see is what you get.” Ethan patted Connor’s shoulder and added with a grin, “And apparently you got it already.”

  Connor snorted. “Bugger off.”

  “She loves you,” Ethan explained. “She always had. No idea why.”

  “Hey, I’m a lovable person,” Connor replied with a touch of amusement.

  “Of course you are. But we were kids when you left. She held onto something for over twenty years. We know lots of the memories came from Jack, telling her about you whenever he was able too, but, yup, it was lucky for her you stayed this lovable.”

  Connor chuckled.

  “I’m worried, though, how she’ll cope once you leave.”

  Connor grew serious, dug his hand into the sand, and let it run through his fingers. “I’ve taken twelve months leave to see whether my current love for this place is the holiday syndrome or whether I could indeed stay here for longer.”

  “Hey, that’s—”

  Connor held up his hand. “Not really. Yes, it might be great, but what if I decide it’s not for me? What if London is my home after all?”

  Ethan shrugged. “You gave it a try.”

  “I’ll muck up your business plans.”

  “We’ll work something out.”

  Connor shook his head. “You make it seem so easy.”

  Ethan stood. “C’mon mate. Let’s dip our toes in the water. I’m sure by the end of the year you’ll have had a swim as well.”

  “The end of the year is in a bit over a week.”

  With a laugh, his friend said, “I don’t care what Jack says about you, I reckon you’re quite clever.”

  Connor stood as well and gave his buddy a push. “Smartarse.”

  As they headed towards the edge of the water, Connor couldn’t help but wonder why Ethan had never replied to his easy remark. Everyone was telling him how easy things were here, so why did Ethan ignore it. Did Connor read too much into it? Or was it indeed easy?

  The cold water washed over his feet, and he cringed. Ethan looked at him, but Connor wasn’t able to read the expression on his face, until his friend smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll figure it out,” Ethan said. “We all will. Dad always said, where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

  ***

  There were a couple of knocks and Emily opened the front doo
r to Connor, who stood there with a single rose in his hand.

  “Hi there,” she whispered, heat rising within her.

  “Can I come in?”

  “Is the rose for me?”

  He held the rose close to his face, inhaling its scent. “Did you know a rose is a symbol for love and beauty?”

  “She comes with a thorn as well, though.”

  Looking up, he asked, “I considered you to be the one looking at positives rather than negatives.”

  Emily shrugged.

  He handed her the flower. “In tarot, the rose expresses new beginnings or hope.”

  “New beginnings?” she asked as she smelled the rose as well.

  “Can I come in?” he asked again.

  “First you need to tell me more about the rose and the new beginnings.”

  With a slight grin on his face, Connor stepped closer and hooked his finger into her jeans and pulled her closer, the heat of his body pressed against hers. His other hand glided into her hair, tugging her head back, gazing into her eyes. At touch of his lips, her body was on full alert.

  She stared at him as he pulled back. He gently pushed her into the house, shutting the door behind him with a soft kick. He found her mouth again. But this time, the kiss was urgent and deep.

  With one swift move, he slid his arms around her and gently scooped her up. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around him and cupped his face.

  “Are you always so mysterious? Like standing in front of a woman’s door with a rose and talking about new beginnings?”

  He chuckled. “No.”

  “You still haven’t told me about it.”

  She met his gaze as he carried her into her bedroom. He laid her down on the mattress and crawled up beside her.

  Connor touched her face with his finger, tracing the line of her jaw. “I wonder whether I can ever forgive my mother for taking me away from you.”

  A wave of desire built within her as he pulled her even closer to him. Overwhelmed by emotions, she stayed silent, although she still wondered about what happened.