Читать книгу The Butterfly Cove Collection - Sarah Bennett, Sarah Bennett - Страница 28

Daniel sat at the kitchen table and watched Luke and Aaron both scrape the last of the gravy from their plates with thick slices of bread. Madeline was bustling around looking as pleased as punch to have a brood to take care of and Richard sat at the head of the table with a fond smile on his face as he watched his wife lift an apple crumble from the Aga. The sweet fragrance filled the room and Daniel felt his mouth water, even though he was already full to bursting from the second helping of stew that had been heaped on his plate earlier.

They had all worked hard that day, heaving stacks of furniture from inside the barn into the open air of the yard. Richard had suggested they get as much out into the light as possible so they could examine the pieces for rot and damage and to then group pieces that would work together. It had been a clear, fresh day and although they were filthy by the end of it, Daniel was sure that Mia would be pleased with the results. Luke had already selected a few pieces that would suit his plans for the back wing although he was remaining remarkably tight-lipped about exactly what those plans were.

Daniel couldn’t help but smile as Madeline ruffled Luke’s hair and patted Aaron on the cheek as she took their empty plates from the table and replaced them with bowls of steaming crumble and custard. He looked over at Richard and was surprised at the sadness on his face, so he leant forward to catch his eye. Richard shook himself slightly and forced a smile.

Daniel stood up from the table and casually nodded towards the back door. ‘I’m going to stretch my legs for a couple of minutes before I try and tackle pudding.’ Richard stood quickly and followed him, looking relieved of the chance to escape the cosy scene.

They strolled across the garden, hands in pockets, not talking in the way of men. They paused at the top of the steps that led down to the beach and Daniel drew in a great lungful of fresh, salty air. He still couldn’t believe that he was here in this idyllic place and he made a mental promise to himself to not take the situation for granted.

The wind was picking up and there was a slight sting of sea spray in it. He turned and leant against the side rail and Richard turned to mirror him on the other side.

Keeping his head facing towards the water Richard began to speak in a low voice. ‘We could never have children. We tried for a few years but Madeline couldn’t keep them. Not that I blame her at all, it’s just one of those things. After the third time, she nearly bled to death and I went and got a vasectomy whilst she was still in the hospital recovering. I couldn’t bear the thought that I would lose her and she eventually forgave me for it. It might have been different if we were of your generation. The advances in medical science are extraordinary from when we were your age, but we can’t change that. When I see her with you boys, with our Mia, it fills my heart with such joy and yet I can’t help mourning the loss of the family we could never have.’

Daniel stood quietly as he watched Richard blink hard, the moisture on his cheeks not entirely from the sea spray.

‘I miss my dad, Richard. Miss him and Mam so much. I was so lost when I came here. I think Madeline saved my life when she gave me a lift that day at the station. I know how much Mia values you both and I want you to know that I already feel the same way. I don’t know what will happen between us—you know what I want to happen, of course, and I’m hopeful she wants that too. If things work out, then maybe one day we’ll be able to give you that family.’

Daniel watched as Richard drew a shuddering breath and turned to face him with a huge smile on his face. ‘It would be the icing on the cake, son.’ They stepped together and Daniel allowed himself to lean against Richard as they embraced. It felt good to be held and supported and he knew that it would mean a lot to Richard that he was looking to him for such support and strength.

He thought again about how close he’d come to throwing everything away on a cheap buzz and a life of false friends and hangers-on. His muscles ached and he had paint and varnish stains on his hands and yet he couldn’t be happier. He’d even had his camera back out again today, capturing the stacks of dusty and damaged furniture sitting forlornly in their odd groupings in the yard. He still had it in his mind to put together an album for Mia, a memory piece of the work that had gone into transforming Butterfly House from a sad wreck into a vibrant and beautiful home.

He hoped that they would one day be able to show it to their children as a part of their history, telling them the story of how their parents had met. He knew he was getting way ahead of himself but these secret dreams of his heart were growing day by day.

Mia had been honest about going to stay with Jamie’s parents and part of Daniel was terrified that she would decide she wasn’t ready to move on from the past or that with a bit of distance perhaps she would find Daniel lacking in comparison to her lost love.

They’d kept in touch via text messages and he had deliberately kept his light and amusing, afraid that he would let his burgeoning feelings loose otherwise. He didn’t want to speak what was in his heart until Mia was back home and he could gauge her reaction. There was also the risk she would run a mile and he needed to be face to face with her so that he could persuade her not to.

He stood quietly in Richard’s arms and allowed these doubts and fears to wash through him. Richard squeezed his shoulder tightly and Daniel raised his head to meet the older man’s concerned gaze.

‘You’ll do right by each other, son. Just be honest with her and with yourself. If thirty years of marriage have taught me anything, it’s that the secrets and unspoken doubts will spoil things. Nothing good ever came from trying to shield your partner. Trust her with your dark places.’ With another squeeze on his shoulder, Richard steered them both back towards the warmth of the kitchen where Madeline and her delicious crumble awaited them.

They entered the cosy glow of the kitchen. The wave of warmth made Daniel shiver. It was strange how sometimes you didn’t realise how cold you were until after you got somewhere warm. Aaron was tapping away on his phone and Luke and Madeline were huddled together, foreheads almost touching as they perused some of the sketches Luke had put together for the suite. Madeline glanced up to wink at Richard briefly before she turned her whole attention back to Luke.

Daniel was glad that she had drawn his friend out. She had that way about her that made people surrender under the onslaught of her sweet determination. Like a fragrant, linen-clad steamroller, Madeline just kept on coming until she flattened your barriers. She was the perfect foil to Luke’s mother—Aaron’s wicked stepmother. Daniel had met her a few times when he’d accompanied Aaron on trips home during half-terms and holidays. They had ventured north to his own parents more frequently and Daniel understood why. The no-nonsense, unconditional love he’d had waiting for him was so unlike the brittle cold war that was waged daily at the Spenser home.

It was an age-old story of love that never quite lived up to expectations. Cathy had wanted Brian Spenser since the first moment he had sat down at the table that she and her best friend Trisha had been sharing in the Student Union bar at university. Brian had only had eyes for Trisha, and she had fallen for his easy charms hook, line and sinker. As soon as they had graduated, he’d whisked Trisha away to a life of wedded bliss in Somerset and there they had stayed.

Their perfect life had only been further enhanced by their perfect baby boy and Cathy had smiled and seethed her way through the christening, godmother to a baby that in the darkest reaches of her bitter heart should have been her own. It had been tragic when just a few years later, Trisha had been diagnosed with breast cancer. An evil disease that had eaten away her body, but not her bright, beautiful spirit. Cathy had put everything aside to help her friend in her last few weeks.

It was only natural that Brian should turn in his grief to the friend who had supported them both, who knew them both so well. Cathy had offered him the comfort of her body. She did everything to show Brian how perfect a replacement she could be for Trisha, taking such great care of Aaron, giving him all the love that he needed as the poor little boy tried to understand why Mummy wasn’t there any more.

It had been for Aaron more than himself that Brian had finally submitted and married Cathy. He’d tried to hide it, tried to love Cathy as she deserved but too much of his heart had died with Trisha. Aaron was the blessing in his life, the picture of his mother, and the more that Brian doted on him, the more resentful Cathy became.

She fell pregnant, determined to provide a better child for Brian, one who would draw his love away from Aaron and towards them, towards her. She had never understood that Brian had an infinite well of love when it came to his boys and he had adored them both in equal measure.

Thwarted again, the dreams of perfection that she had built in her mind were in tatters and Cathy blamed Aaron for everything. If he had just not been there, reminding Brian of Trisha every day, then Cathy knew Brian would love her the way he was supposed to. The way the hero did in books, the way Brian always had in her twisted fantasy life.

She’d only ever seen the superficial veneer of Brian and Trisha’s life together. The brave face that all couples show to the world. Married life was hard. They’d had their ups and downs like all relationships, but they had worked together to find their common ground and built a strong foundation upon it. Cathy had never seen the tears, the silences, the misunderstandings that are a part of all family life, so she compared her small disappointments to a false idol of perfection that had no basis in reality.

Aaron had been too young to understand at first. He only knew that Mummy was in heaven, an abstract idea that seemed to him like a special holiday place that only grown-ups got to visit. He loved Cathy because she had been so warm and comforting, holding him when the dreams were bad and letting him cry on her shoulder. Daddy let him cry too, but he tried not to do it too often in front of him as he didn’t like to make Daddy even more upset.

He tried to be a good boy for Cathy, to clean his teeth and tidy his room. He painted her pictures and made her cards to say thank you and at first she had delighted in his efforts. That had started to change about a year after Daddy had married Cathy and Aaron had turned five.

Slowly, but surely, Aaron started to be a bad boy, to get things wrong and make Cathy angry; although he never understood quite what it was that he did that was so bad. Cathy said he had been bad, told Daddy he had been bad, and Aaron had to try harder to be good.

When Luke came along, Aaron had been pleased because Cathy didn’t have time to tell him off and find fault so much. She was too wrapped up in the new baby and Aaron loved Luke for lots of reasons, not least because he made Daddy smile more.

The pattern had continued throughout his childhood, Aaron could do no right, Luke could do no wrong and Brian just loved both his boys. Luke had followed Aaron around from the moment he was first aware of him, initially with his big brown eyes and then on his belly as soon as he could crawl. Like a magnet, his first hesitant steps had been towards his big brother and Cathy had yet another reason to hate him.

It was a testament to their father that his determination to treat both boys as equals had helped to negate the poisonous games that Cathy played. Aaron had realised by the time he was around nine that there was nothing he could do to please her, but he never stopped trying. He stayed out of her way as much as possible and focused on his dad and his baby brother.

He was not a natural rebel. That eagerness to please had stayed with him so he diligently made Cathy Mother’s Day cards and picked pretty flowers that he thought would make her smile. The cards would be hidden on the mantelpiece behind a vase; the flowers went unwatered and soon graced the compost heap. The report cards he bought home full of praise and high marks were glanced at without comment, unless there was a chance for Cathy to point out a weakness, some small failing that she would latch on to and raise for weeks on end.

Aaron was gifted at sports and his dad had urged him towards team games where he could make friends and shine. Rugby was a firm favourite and Dad and Luke had bounced around on many a muddy touchline, cheering him on. Luke had of course wanted to follow him, and had happily laughed down the fact that although good, he was never quite in his brother’s class.

The escape to university had been a relief. Aaron was too old by then to sit quietly whilst Cathy twisted another one of her barbs into his psyche. Luke had started to notice and jumped to Aaron’s defence, making things worse as Cathy saw this as more evidence of wrongdoing on Aaron’s part.

Luke had always submitted peaceably to his mother’s smothering attentions. He had been cosseted and spoiled by her from day one and yet somehow he had remained a stoic, happy child. He loved his Mum and Dad, but Aaron was his number one and he’d never let him down. Always been there to offer a steadying hand, fend off the bullies and teach Luke everything from how to tie his shoelaces to how to talk to girls.

When Aaron went away to university, Luke had been lost for a while, not quite sure which direction to turn in now that his lodestone was absent. His father had stepped in and provided the guidance that he needed to steer a straight path and Aaron had made sure to keep in contact every day until Luke had settled down again.

Luke had latched on to Daniel as a natural extension of his brother and had followed them to London, to the same university that they had graduated from. His frequent trips into London to visit Aaron had triggered his love of buildings and architecture. Luke had roamed the streets for hours, seeking out the old and the new: the graceful airy charms of the Georgian town houses and the concrete monstrosities of the experimental sixties and seventies. He had explored them all and loved them all for the stories that they whispered in his ear.

Daniel stayed by the kitchen door, his attention on Aaron who was seemingly lost in the scrolling world of his internet connection, but Daniel knew better. Like a hound on point, Aaron was focused intently on the interaction between Madeline and Luke, alert for any hint of spite or unpleasantness.

Daniel wondered if Aaron himself understood just how wary of women his upbringing had made him. There had been some mild flirtation with Mia, but only because Aaron knew that she was taken and therefore no threat to his heart. Unlike Madeline. She could bust Aaron’s shell right open and give him the kind of maternal affection the man was aching for but would never admit to wanting.

Daniel wondered how long the scars of the past would stand against the tide of love that carried Madeline through life and he decided that Aaron didn’t stand a chance. He was glad that he had brought his friends to Butterfly Cove and was determined to drag them back as often as possible under whatever spurious excuses he could concoct. These friends of his needed a safe harbour too.