Echoes Of The Past (Fermosa Bay #1) (7 page)

“Oh, hello darling. So lovely to hear from you.”

He went into his room at the back of the house, pulled a chair next to the window, and sat. The view towards the dark horizon was still stunning. He hoped the scenery in front of him would keep him calm during the conversation he was about to have with his mother.

“It’s nice and warm,” he replied with a smile in his voice. “Hard to believe it’s close to Christmas, and I’m running around in a T-shirt.”

“Yes, I remember that ghastly heat.”

His mouth twitched with amusement. There wasn’t a thing in or about Australia she liked. He knew that for a fact from the very few times she’d talked about it.

“We went out to a really nice waterfall today and had a picnic. Remember Ethan and Niall?”

The silence hung heavy in the air and when she didn’t reply, he asked, “Mother, what happened all those years ago? Jack told me you left more or less overnight.”

“Oh, darling, that is such a long time ago. Let’s not—”

“Quite the opposite. Let’s do. Mother. Did Jack ask you to leave?”

He heard background noise and imagined her reaction of utter annoyance. “Connor. This is ridiculous. I don’t really feel comfortable talking about this over the phone.”

The view didn’t do the trick, and anger rose within him. “For Pete’s sake, Mother. I’m on leave for twelve months. Did Jack ask you to leave?”

There was a long moment of silence during which he was able to hear his mother’s breathing. She wasn’t happy with his question, but he needed to know. He gave her some more time to choose her words.

“Yes, he did,” she finally whispered.

“Tell me the truth, Mother. For once, tell me the truth.”

“He didn’t have money, Connor,” she nearly screamed. “He was constantly on my back for spending too much money. Yes, I left. Are you happy now?”

No, he wasn’t happy. In fact, he didn’t feel anything but emptiness. A big hole of nothing inside. Most of his life had been built on lies and again he wondered how his life would have turned out if she’d left him behind.

“Why did you lie to me?” he asked, barely above a whisper, trying not to give in to the frustration and tiredness he felt inside.

“I didn’t lie—”

“Mother!”

“I couldn’t just leave you behind.”

Connor rubbed a hand over his face. “Apparently you did most of the time anyway.”

“Connor!”

He ignored her reprimand.

“I wanted you to be better off than Jack. He was a nice man, but—” She sighed. “I wanted you to grow up without missing on anything. And I can proudly say, I’ve done well.”

The last comment annoyed him to his very core. Yes, she could be proud. Proud of marrying a man who never really accepted him as his son, or sending him to boarding school, or never visited him while he studied in Oxford.

“You lied to me all these years,” he said again, trying hard to hold back the tears.

“Darling—”

“Don’t, Mother. Don’t you
darling
me. Simply tell me why you lied.”

“I’m having a headache, Connor. I need rest. I’ll call you—”

“Don’t hang up on—”

But she did. She had the audacity to just hang up. Letting out a scream of frustration, Connor stood, leaned against the window with his arms stretched out, trying to breathe in and out.

And again he wondered how his life could’ve been. Listening to Ethan and Niall earlier that day, he’d reflected on his life in London. Could or would he seriously consider a life here?

Chapter Five

Connor carried the two camping chairs across the oval, following Jack’s direction.

“She’s over there.” Jack struggled to talk above the noise of all the children. “There’s little Emmy.”

Connor followed his gaze, but didn’t have to search long until he saw Emily as well. Her curly red hair, shining in the sunlight even more so than usual. She turned and met his gaze. The big smile appearing on her face did something to him, something unexpected, yet welcomed. It lit something up inside that left him feeling
home.

“Over there,” Jack said again.

“Yeah, I see her, Dad.”

The old man stopped and turned around. Then he stared at Connor. Long and intense before a lonely tear began to fall down Jack’s face. It was like they were on their own on the oval and time stood still giving him the strangest feeling he’d ever had before Jack mouthed a hardly noticeable
thank you.

Connor took a moment to figure out what happened until he realised he had called him
Dad.
And it had come naturally to him, but his father’s reaction, the faint light in the depth of Jack’s eyes, left Connor momentarily overwhelmed. A torrent of emotions rushed through him which he wasn’t able to handle, yet.

Calling Jack
Dad
had been a slip of the tongue, yet, most possibly a Freudian slip of the tongue.

He’d been in Fermosa a week, and although the conversations with Jack were short and most of the times frustrating as he had a tendency to wander off in his mind, they’d talked a lot. He’d learnt a lot, yet still not everything. They’d sat in front of the television and watched some of Jack’s favourite movies or TV shows. They’d laughed, screamed at the TV when watching the cricket as opponents, or shook their heads at some criminal TV series. Something he couldn’t remember having ever done with his mother, let alone Duncan, the man he’d called
Father
for such a long time.

Yet, it’d nearly brought tears to his eyes as well to see Jack’s reaction.

Emily stepped closer. “Are you okay, Jack? What happened?”

Connor saw the smile on his father’s face as he replied, “I was just given my Christmas present. And I’m loving it.”

And hearing those few words, Connor had to take a deep breath and blink a couple of times, amazed at the effect his word had on Jack.

She looked down to his hands, then to Connor, and back to Jack, obviously not understanding what he meant.

Jack gave her a little wave with her hand. “Let’s go and sit down. I can’t wait to hear all the Christmas songs the children have prepared.”

Still puzzled, Emily looped her arm through Jack’s and walked with him to a free spot where they were going to sit. “Ethan brought a few chairs as well. Niall’s coming and so is Sabrina.”

Jack nodded. “Let me sit next to Sabrina.”

Connor unfolded a chair. It took him a minute to figure out how to, and wasn’t impressed at all when Emily had already unfolded the second chair within seconds. “Show off,” he said to her.

She laughed.

“Where is Ethan?”

Emily pointed into the distance. “Over there, smothering Nick with suncream.”

He looked up.

“It seems he’s also checking out the new teacher,” she added with a soft laugh. Placing a hand on his arm, she whispered, “What was the Christmas present all about?”

Something inside pulled at his heart. “I called him
Dad.
”

She let out an
aww
and a deep sigh. “Best present ever, I reckon.”

Before he was able to say something, someone slapped him gently on his shoulder. It was Niall.

“Ready for the event of the year?”

Connor chuckled. “Ready as I’ve ever been.”

Emily leaned in, gave Niall a kiss on his cheek, and Sabrina a hug. “Good to see you.” She pointed to Niall. “You, my best friend, are in trouble.”

Niall’s eyebrows shot up. “Me?”

“You went to the waterfalls without me,” she said nonchalantly.

“Men’s business. And what about the other three?”

“Ethan is in trouble as well.”

He nodded towards Connor. “And him?”

Emily lifted her shoulder in a slight shrug. “He doesn’t know the rules, yet.”

“There are rules?”

“What’s up?” Ethan asked as he joined the group.

Connor placed a hand on Ethan’s arm. “Hold back for a moment, buddy. This is hilarious.”

Emily turned around and weighed him with a critical glare. Connor wasn’t sure whether to laugh or to be worried that he’d said the wrong thing. But then again, he didn’t believe Emily was a hundred percent serious about the whole scenario.

Hands on hips, she asked, “Men’s business? That’s not fair. I’m part of this group. Next time you talk
men’s business,
I want to be part of it.”

She looked from Connor, to Ethan and Niall. “Understood?”

Connor whispered to Jack, “Is that the inner vixen coming out?”

Jack’s laugh turned into a cough and everyone gathered around him as he sat down. Sabrina turned to Connor. “I know we’ve met, but since everyone’s a bit side-tracked with
men’s business
, I have to introduce myself. I’m Sabrina, Niall’s grandmother and Jack’s long-time friend. You’ve seen me at the newsagency.”

Connor nodded. “Nice meeting you.”

“Emily’s fault with her accusations.” Niall laughed as he placed his arm around his grandmother’s shoulder. “My nana, best friend, partner-in-crime, babysitter—”

Connor nodded. “That’s a lot of responsibilities.”

Sabrina let out a soft chuckle. “And a lot of work, believe me.”

Everyone sat down. Ethan sat next to Connor. “The little one in the red T-shirt and the stupid Santa hat is
my
little one.”

Connor looked towards the sea of children. Red was the dominant colour of clothing, but in the end he did find Nicolas. He was Ethan Junior, indeed. He could tell from all the photos he’d seen over the last few days.

He leaned back into his chair, stretched his legs, and watched the concert unfold in front of him. It was definitely the first time that he’d been to a school concert and for some odd reason, he was enjoying himself. They’d had concerts at school and for the obvious reasons, nothing like a Christmas concert on the school oval, but he couldn’t remember his mother or Duncan making the effort to come. His grandparents came a couple of times, and he’d treasured their visits. He looked around. The atmosphere was uplifting. Parents chatting. Children playing.

Trying to recall the conversations of the last ten minutes, his father’s reaction to his comment, but mainly the teasing friendship between everyone. The casual banter, the underlying love for each other.

Unexpectedly, a wave of sadness hit him.

He looked up, the sun glaring down at them, relentless with not a single cloud in the sky. Christmas in summer. A new experience. Something his mother had never mentioned, yet he assumed it’d be something that would remain in his memory forever.

Fermosa Bay was growing on him.

“There’s the star of the evening,” Ethan whispered as he bumped Connor with his elbow.

And for the next five minutes they watched Nicolas dancing along an Australian version of “Twelve Days of Christmas.” Connor grinned, nearly cracking up in laughter. And it seemed so did the others.

He’d loved it!

“You wouldn’t believe how sick I am of this song,” Ethan said. “Had to listen to it non-stop the last four weeks.”

Connor turned to reply, when he saw Ethan’s transfixed stare into the distance. It wasn’t his son he was looking at, but…a woman. A smile tugged at his lips.

“Is she the one?” he asked quietly.

“Is she the one what?”

Connor grinned.

“Some of your traits haven’t changed, it seems. Still a nosy bugger.”

“That’s why I’ve become a lawyer.”

Ethan shook his head in amusement. “I’ve got a kid. There’s no time for a woman.”

That surprised Connor. From what everyone had told him, he calculated the boy to be about nine or ten years old.

“No woman since Skye?”

His friend lifted a shoulder in a shrug as he let out a long sigh. “Here and there, but nothing serious. Not many out there who are interested in becoming a mother to someone else’s child. There’s also the issue that I sit on a bit of money, thanks to Jack.” He turned to look at Connor. “What about you?”

Indeed, what about him? Another thing that had struck him, but also impressed him, was the honesty in everyone’s word. People were frank with each other—as far as he was aware, of course.

“Yeah, there was someone. Broke up recently. Apparently someone else’s bed was warmer than mine.”

“Ouch,” Ethan whispered.

“It’s okay. In hindsight, it might even be better.” He glanced at Emily and thought
might
wasn’t the right word. Straightening up, he added, “Like your money, having a father owning one of the best law firms in town can attract the wrong crowd.”

Ethan nodded. “What’s his name?”

“Excuse me?”

“What’s the name of your…what is he? Stepfather?”

“Duncan.”

“Lawyer as well?”

Connor nodded.

“Not your favourite topic?”

He dragged his hand through his hair and scratched the back of his head. “Not on a day like this.”

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to put salt into a wound.”

“That’s okay.”

Another bump of Ethan’s elbow into his arm. “Here comes trouble.”

Connor followed Ethan’s gaze and saw Nicolas running towards them. The boy gave his dad a high five before he sat on his lap and looked at Connor.

“Are you Dad’s friend from England?”

Connor smiled. The child was a chip off the block with his dark, brown hair and blue eyes. “I am indeed,” he replied.

“Cool.” He wrapped his arm around his father’s neck, their close relationship obvious. “Did you like our song?”

“I thought it was the best of them all.”

“Are you coming to our house later on?”

“Apparently that’s the deal.”

“Great,” the boy nearly shouted. “See you then.” Then he ran off with some of the other kids. From the distance Connor thought he heard him saying to his friends, “This is my dad’s friend from London.” They stared at him, and for a moment Connor felt like an animal in the circus. They all waved before heading back to their teachers.

“He’s a great little man,” he said to Ethan.

Nodding, Ethan followed his son with his eyes. “There’s a lot of regret when it comes to Skye, but having Nick…I’ll never regret that. He’s my reason for living. Such a great buddy. Heaps of fun.”

“What happened to your parents?”

“Dad died when I was ten or eleven. Aggressive brain tumour. Mum had a car accident about seven years ago. She was in a coma for a few months, but in the end the body didn’t want to fight anymore.”

“Sorry, mate,” Connor whispered.

“Look at it this way. Mum missed Dad incredibly. It was a comfort to know they’re back together.”

The announcement of Santa’s arrival caused havoc on the oval. They grabbed their chairs and agreed to meet at Ethan’s.

***

“Do you want us to give you a lift?” Connor asked.

Emily turned, and a little shiver ran down her spine when she met his gaze. “I promised Nick to drive with him. I’ll see you at his house.”

Connor placed a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll see you in a little while then.”

Locking her knees so she wouldn’t melt into a puddle, Emily simply nodded and watched him walking to the car with Jack.

Damn, he looked good. He was the reason her heart was pounding, and for the butterflies in her stomach. Having him here was everything she’d ever wanted. Watching him with Ethan and Nick sent warmth through her body, which she hadn’t experienced for a long time.

He fit in. He was part of their family.

And hopefully he would be for good.

Once Emily arrived at Ethan’s house, she helped pack away the camping chairs before following Nick into the house. She switched on the air conditioning, went along the hall and into the kitchen.

The house was light and spacious, especially the lounge room with the tall ceilings and window front with the million dollar view over the town and ocean. Emily loved it and had always been envious of the terracotta tiles in the kitchen and the wooden floor in the lounge room. There was a small pool outside, as well as an impressive veranda with the perfect set-up for outdoor entertainment. Nick’s room was upstairs in the loft. Ethan gave him the biggest room with the condition he had to keep it tidy and clean. It was a challenge, but Nick was improving. Emily laughed, remembering the discussions Ethan and Nick had.