Summer Fling (22 page)

“Was,” Garth said. “I’m a widower now.”

“I don’t understand.” Nick looked
thoroughly confused, white with shock. “What do you mean, ‘destroy it’?”

 “You killed my wife,” Garth said calmly,
“and now I’m going to destroy the one thing in your life that you love. I’m
going to gut the place, burn everything inside it, and tear it down.”

Chloe gasped. “Christ, Garth, it was an
accident.”

“I know.” For the first time he looked at
her. His eyes blazed, filled with pain. “But he ruined my marriage, Chloe. The
only thing that kept me going while I was away was thinking about Jess and
getting back together with her, but when I came back I found out she was having
an affair with this piece of shit.”

Her insides twisted at the thought of how
much he must have loved his wife to feel this strongly about her. The angel
gave her a mental hug, but it did nothing to soothe her churning emotions.

Nick’s cheeks reddened. “I loved her.”

“She was my wife!” Garth spat.

“You make it sound like an idyllic
arrangement,” Nick snapped. “She told me everything. How she married you for
your money, and how you only married her to piss off your father. Hardly a
match made in heaven. And the two of you were obviously unhappy before you left
for Afghanistan, otherwise she wouldn’t have had an affair.”

Chloe stared at him. “You were having an
affair before he went away?”

Nick looked at Chloe then as if he’d
forgotten she was in the room. He ran a hand through his hair. “Yes. She was
already unhappy. They’d been married two years. She said they’d both tried to
make it work, and he hadn’t been unfaithful that she knew of, but she could
tell he didn’t love her.” He turned back to Garth. “You were always going away,
leaving her. She was lonely.”

“So you stepped in,” he said through
gritted teeth.

Nick met his gaze. “Yes. I meant what I
said. I loved her from the first moment I saw her. I worshipped the ground she
walked on. She was everything to me.”

“And you killed her,” Garth said cruelly.

“Yes.” Nick’s eyes shone. “I did.” He swallowed.
“You have every right to be angry with me. But I don’t think it’s me you’re
really angry at.”

Garth covered the room in a heartbeat,
catching Nick by his shirt collar and thrusting him up against a filing cabinet
with a crash. “Are you sure about that?” he yelled, towering over the shorter
man.

Sweat beaded on his brow, and his eyes were
glazed. Chloe’s heart went out to him, and she came forward to touch his arm
gently. “Nick’s right.” She flinched as Garth turned his blazing eyes on her,
but she continued, “I think maybe you’re angry because while you were away, you
survived by dreaming of mending your marriage when you returned—that you’d make
it into a perfect relationship. And you’re angry at Nick because you feel he
took that away from you, just as your captors took away eighteen months of your
life.”

She squeezed his arm. “Nick’s not to blame,
love. He’s certainly not innocent in this sorry story, but the crash was an
accident, and he’s more than paid for what he’s done. Doing this—destroying the
shop, trying to destroy Nick—it won’t make you feel better. Because he’s not
the one you’re trying to get revenge against. That year and a half of your life
is gone, honey. You can’t get it back. And you can’t make the people who took
it from you pay. You’ve got to deal with it and move on. Or you’ll end up
destroying yourself.”

His eyes met hers. His chest heaved with
emotion, and his eyes shone with unshed tears. “I can’t,” he whispered.

“She came here to buy the shop,” Nick told him
bitterly. “I thought you looked so happy together at the beach house—I was
certain you’d bought it for her. But all you can think about is yourself.”

Garth stared at her. “Is that why you came
here?”

She nodded, biting her lip. Realization
dawned in his eyes that he’d ruined her plans, that he’d ruined everything. His
eyes went flat, dead.

He thrust Nick to one side, who stumbled
into the wall. Then he walked over to the desk and took the edge in his hands.
It was a heavy, sturdy desk, but he lifted it easily and threw it over, sending
the computer, the pens and calculators and all the paperwork crashing to the
floor. She screamed, and Nick yelled in fear.

Then he walked out, leaving the two of them
in stunned silence.

Chloe just stared at Nick, who stared back.

Finally, he grabbed the jacket from the
back of his chair. “I’m sorry, Chloe. I’ve screwed everything up.” Face
crumbling, he walked out of the shop before she could stop him.

Chloe left the shop and walked to the
beach. She took off her shoes and let her toes sink into the sand, while the
waves crashed on the shore and seagulls cried overhead.

Her life lay in shattered pieces around
her, but the memory of the pain in Garth’s eyes overrode everything. He missed
his late wife so much, and he’d been so caught up in his past, he’d been unable
to find his way out of the dark forest he’d ended up in. His frustration at his
incarceration had led him to hit out at the only person he could hurt—Nick
Stewart.

It felt like the end of the world, but
Chloe made herself take deep breaths and let the cold sea air cleanse the
anguish from her system.

Garth had said she helped him to feel free.
Instinctively she knew she was the only one who could help him out of the deep
chasm of rage and grief he’d fallen into. That didn’t necessarily mean a future
lay ahead for them together. But it did mean she might be able to help him
begin to heal.

And to help herself to heal, as well. She’d
made a mess of so many things, including the relationship with her mother. And
that would be the first place to start.

She walked along the beach, thinking all
the while, turned up the main road and headed for Nina’s house up on the hill.
She knocked on the door and waited for her mother to answer. As Nina came to
the door, Chloe heard her talking to someone behind her. The new boyfriend.

Nina opened the door, and her smile faded.
But she didn’t yell or slam the door in her face. “Hey Chloe.” She stepped
back. “Come in.”

“Thanks,” Chloe said awkwardly. She walked
into Nina’s pretty little home, through into the living room, stopping as she
saw a man standing waiting for her, hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans.
He wasn’t very tall, maybe the same height as herself, with greying hair.
Nina’s usual type was built like a rugby player with his brain in another part
of his anatomy. This man looked gentle and nervous, and he swallowed when she
walked toward him and held out her hand.

“You must be Sam. I’m Chloe.”

He bobbed his head. “Yes, hello Chloe. Very
nice to meet you.”

Chloe shook his hand, liking the firm grip
and the way his eyes skirted immediately over to Nina to check she was all
right. He released Chloe’s hand and walked over to her mother, put his arm
around her and kissed her forehead. “I told you there’d be nothing to worry
about,” he said. Giving her a squeeze, he smiled at them both. “I’m going to
have a lie on the bed for a while, so you two can have a chance to talk.”

Chloe watched him walk away, and then she
turned to Nina as he disappeared into the bedroom. “He seems nice.”

“He is.” Nina’s tone wasn’t sharp, but
neither was it conciliatory. She walked into the kitchen, bustling around
putting cups into the dishwasher. “He’s lovely.”

She stopped suddenly and rested her hands
on the worktop. “I love him,” she whispered, looking over at her daughter. “I
know I haven’t known him for very long, and I know you’ve heard it from me
before, but this is different. Before, I’ve just
wanted
to love the guy,
you know? I’ve been desperate for it to work out, for some security. But this
time, I was determined to go slow, and yet, after only days, I knew I loved
him.”

Tears pricked Chloe’s eyelids. “I know, Mum.”
She walked up and threw her arms around her. “I’m so sorry I said those cruel
things. It was unforgiveable, and I’m so, so sorry. You didn’t deserve it.”

“I did,” Nina said, her voice muffled
against Chloe’s shoulder. “I know I’ve been awful to you, sweetie, just awful
in the past. You had a terrible childhood, and I regret so many things I did to
you. But I’ve started taking some different medication over the past few
months, and for the first time in…well…ever really, I feel better. But I’m
still sorry.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Tears ran down Chloe’s
face. Come to think about it, her mother
had
been different lately, but
she hadn’t paid attention, too caught up in her own misery after her split with
Ethan. “I just wanted to say... I understand. I... I’ve met someone too. I haven’t
known him for very long, but it’s become clear that my feelings go deeper than
friendship. It frightens me though, and I was reacting to that when I spoke to
you so harshly.”

Nina stepped back and held her hands. “Oh
Chloe, I’m so pleased for you. Who is he?”

She wiped her face. “His name’s Garth, and
he owns a flight business out at the airfield. I’m not sure what’s going to
happen between us. It’s complicated and very messy. But anyway, that’s not why
I came.”

“Why did you come?”

“I...” Suddenly, Chloe couldn’t raise the
subject. It would sound as if she’d only gone there to ask for money, and that
seemed terribly hard and cruel. “I came to apologize.”

Nina cocked her head and raised an eyebrow.
“Come on, I know you better than that. What’s up?”

Chloe swallowed. “I really did come to
apologize. But I’ve got an idea for something, and I was going to ask...” She
shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”

Nina led her to the sofa and made her sit
down. “Come on, tell me.”

Chloe looked at her hands. “It’s all
horribly complicated. Garth’s bought Cocoa Heaven in town, but he doesn’t
really want the shop, and I think he may sell again, if I ask him. I thought
about getting a business loan, but I need some collateral. And I don’t own a
house.” She finished feebly, hating herself.

Nina just studied her, though, her face
blank. “You want to put my house down as collateral for your loan?”

Chloe covered her eyes and shook her head.
“I can’t believe I’m asking, I’m really sorry I came, Mum, I feel awful.”

“Of course you can.”

 For a second, she didn’t think she’d heard
right. “What?”

“I’m sure you’ve done all the finances,
worked it all out, right?”

“Yes, but—”

“I trust you, sweetie. It’s the least I can
do for you. I want you to be happy.” She leaned forward and kissed Chloe’s
forehead.

Chloe could hardly speak for overwhelming
emotions. “You’re sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. When are you going to
the bank?”

“I’ve seen them already to get the loan
okayed in principle, but then they mentioned collateral and I wasn’t sure what
to do...”

“Bring the forms and I’ll sign them,
sweetie. And good luck—I know you’ll turn the business around.” She smiled.
“You always did like chocolate.” She patted her knee. “Now go on, I’m sure
you’ve got lots to organize. And there’s a film on a minute that Sam and I want
to see.”

Chloe stood and walked with Nina to the
door. Then she turned and gave her a big hug. “I love you,” she said huskily.

“Love you too,” said Nina.

Chloe stepped back. She thought about what
she’d considered at the beach house—that maybe Nina was like Garth, the
drudgery of everyday life leaving a gaping hole in her soul, making her empty
and terribly, terribly lonely. “I really like Sam,” she said.

Nina’s lips twisted wryly. “Me too.”

Chloe met her eyes. “Does he complete you,
Mum? Is he what you’ve been looking for?”

A slow, beautiful smile spread across her
face. “I think he is, yes.”

“Then I hope you’ll both be happy. I really
do.”

She left the house and walked back to the
beach, her heart a little lighter at the thought that maybe she’d now be able
to talk Garth into selling her the shop. She’d seen the look on his face when
Nick had told him about her plans. He’d hated himself for ruining her dream,
and she was sure he’d be open to a business offer from her.

And what about a personal offer? That
remained to be seen.

After he left Stewart’s shop, Garth went
home and collected Orion, then rang Alan Brown, a member of the Department of
Conservation who took flying lessons at Sky High. He asked Alan if he could
rent the DOC lodge in the Puketi forest for the weekend, and Alan agreed. Garth
picked up the key and drove the thirty or so miles to the forest, relieved when
the bush finally swallowed him up. He parked outside the lodge, let Orion
loose, and sat on the steps to look out at the magnificent view of the
surrounding countryside.

He stayed at the lodge occasionally when he
felt the need for freedom, and he’d never felt it more than now. It seemed as
if the world didn’t have enough space for him, as if every wall closed in on
him, making him feel suffocated and confined. Even sitting there, with no sound
except the singing of the cicadas in the bush and Orion snuffling happily in
the undergrowth, his throat constricted and a heavy weight pressed on his
chest.