6. Buying Time
6
BUYING TIME
Back at her family home, Tayla flopped onto the bed and buried her head in the pillow. She let out a frustrated scream. He had to be kidding. Marry him? Would he expect her to wash his socks and cook him dinner, or would their arrangement include no level of domesticity? And what about the other? Would they share a bed?
She shuddered at the thought, her breasts tingling for some traitorous reason.
Overwhelmed by the summer heat and Mitch’s proposition, she stood and opened the French doors, letting the easterly from the coast waft through the net curtains. Tayla had always loved this room. With its iron bed, monochrome tones, and sanded-back floor and dresser, it represented the very essence of home. She’d moved in after Lisa had shifted to Auckland. Before that, she and Ruby had shared.
Tayla moved to the bookcase and pulled out a copy of East of Eden, inhaling the musty scent as she opened it to the title page. It was the last book she and Norman had read together. And even now, she often read random passages aloud. Just as she had with Norman.
Norman. What an impressive human he’d been. Intuitive and patient—a man who’d spoken so eloquently when they were alone yet couldn’t maintain friendships or family ties. And now Mitch thought he had a solution to his grandfather’s excessive need for control. And that solution also benefited Tayla’s need to play the role of family protector. The youngest child on a mission to make everything right, and the perfect way to let Hayden know she’d moved on. Even if that was the last thing she imagined herself doing.
Dinner that night was a lonely affair of pasta tossed with a jar of her mother’s homemade tomato sauce and topped with parmesan and fresh basil. As she ate, the texts from Hayden kept coming. Please pick up. I miss you. Call me!!! She knew she’d have to face him at some stage—to separate the domestic details of their lives—but dealing with his demands was no longer high on her list of priorities.
Later, settled on the veranda with a cup of green tea, Tayla opened her laptop and typed ‘Clifton Falls horticulture realtors’ into the search bar. She scrolled through the results. There didn’t appear to be many orchards for sale around the province. So why hadn’t Cherry Grove gained more interest?
She looked toward Lime Tree Hill as Mitch’s SUV hurried down the drive and onto the Eastern Pacific Highway. For an uneasy moment, Tayla wished she were still in Sydney, dining out or catching a movie. Going somewhere. Anywhere.
Tayla picked up her phone as it vibrated and hit Accept . “Hey, Mum, how’s Dad?”
“Stable. More to the point, how are you? You okay down there on your own?”
“Course I am.”
“We had a call from the realtor today. The settlement date for the retirement complex has moved back a month. That gives you some breathing room with the packing. Have you made a start yet? ”
Tayla didn’t have the heart to say she hadn’t even filled one cardboard box—couldn’t face the thought of it. “Kind of.”
“Listen to me.” Her mum sighed, chastising herself. “I’m not even giving you time to get your feet on the ground. Have you seen Mitch?” Her mother stopped just long enough to take a breath. “If you need anything, give him a call. I know you had no time for him when you were younger, but people change, Tayla. And we’ll be forever grateful for his interest in Cherry Grove. The Lord works in mysterious ways, that’s for sure.”
For once, her mother’s use of that particular cliché was spot on. Mitch’s interest in Cherry Grove had mystery written all over it, but Tayla was certain ‘the Lord’ had nothing to do with it. “I saw him this afternoon,” she said.
“Did you? I think he’s off to visit his sisters soon. They’re both pregnant, due a few weeks apart.”
Tayla hadn’t realized Mitch had siblings. She’d always thought of him as a spoiled only child. Not that all only children were spoiled, but if there was a stereotype to fit, he’d be snug and cozy in that role.
As her mother talked nonstop, Tayla replied when necessary, but couldn’t bring herself to raise the sale of the orchard. Or non-sale as was the case now. Still, the later settlement date bought her some time. How she’d use that time, she had no idea.
“I secretly hoped you two might get together once you’d matured.”
“Mum!” Tayla chuckled. “How can you even say that after how he treated me?”
“You can’t blame him for jumping to the wrong conclusion. He was just trying to look after Norman’s interests.”
Tayla sipped her tea. She never understood why her parents appeared to be lifetime members of the Mitchel Harrington fan club.
“He’s done so well with that business,” her mother continued, “even owns a commercial property in town. Anyway, he’s engaged now—to a girl from Tulloch Point. Prue someone. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her around lately. She’s not really my cup of tea. All made up with false eyelashes and those squared-off nails with different patterns on them. Beautiful, though.”
Mitch’s comment about bad decisions flashed through her mind. Was ‘Prue someone’ mixed up in his bad decision? “Hey, Mum. I’d better go. I need an early night. Give Dad a hug from me.”
“I will, sweetheart. And, Tayla?” She heard the catch in her mother’s voice. “Thank you. It must be difficult for you right now. Is there a chance you and Hayden will get back together?”
Tayla sucked in a breath. She’d forgotten about Hayden for a moment—how she shouldn’t be in love with him anymore. Anything she said would be a lie, or at least, part of one. “I don’t think so. But I’m fine, so please don’t worry.”
Her mother went quiet. “Do you still love him?” she eventually asked.
Tayla’s breath hitched before she had a chance to catch it. “We’ve drifted apart over the past few months.” If only that were true. “You know how it is.”
“Look, if you want to return to Sydney, you go. We’ll manage somehow.”
Tayla rubbed her eyes, eager to end the call before she let something slip that she shouldn’t. How many little white lies could she tell in one go? “No, I’m fine. Actually, I’m looking forward to the break. And I have lots of leave owing, so that’s not a problem. But those preserved apricots might all be gone by the time you get home.”
“You eat them up. That’s what they’re there for. Talk soon.”
“Love you. Say hi to everyone for me.”
Tayla strolled through the house, switching off the lights as she went, her thoughts not on Hayden for a change, but on Mitch. Why put in an offer he couldn’t settle on? And what had happened to ‘Prue someone,’ the fiancée?
On her run along the river track the next day, Tayla mulled over her conversation with Mitch. Did the guy really expect her just to lie down and say, ‘yes, I’d love to marry you’? Reality TV aside, how could anyone even contemplate a fake marriage? It was stressful enough planning a real one.
And yet, maybe his plan held an iota of merit. It would get her parents out of the red, and at least she wouldn’t have to sleep with the guy. Although, when she thought about it, sex with her fake-husband-to-be would scratch the itch she hadn’t dared touch in the past. What would Hayden say about that?
She shut down that mental picture. Plotting revenge on Hayden was childish, and she didn’t like where her thoughts were going. Sleeping with Mitch would only complicate their agreement—without a doubt. And yet…
Her interest in Mitch had developed the first time she’d laid eyes on him, the day he’d sauntered up to the checkout where she worked, carrying a shopping basket full of snacks, chocolate, and condoms. As much as she’d tried to push away that teenage crush over the years, and despite their history, she still found him one of the sexiest men she’d ever met. With his slightly too long hair, cut-to-perfection body, and that amused smile playing on his full lips, Mitch was a handsome man. But her fascination with him had little to do with his good looks. It was more his presence. A confidence that would seem like arrogance on other men.
As an impressionable seventeen-year-old virgin whose only experience of romance came from chick flicks and novels, she’d once used the word ‘dreamy’ to describe him. Now, many years later, ‘egotistical jerk’ seemed a better fit.
By the time she arrived back at her family home, the sun sat above her in a relentless haze of heat. She’d head back down to the river later to test the water and her hesitance. Her swimming coach had continually stressed the ‘you can, and you will’ approach, but right now, she needed to call Tim.
Tim Benson and Tayla had been close friends since high school—sometimes inseparable, other times linked by nothing but their patchy social media posts. But that bond they’d formed over being different—he gay, she a goth nerd—remained strong. No matter how many years or miles separated them, he still had her back. Always.
Tayla grabbed her phone from her bag and sank onto the sofa. Putting her feet up on the coffee table, she hit Tim’s number.
“Hey, you.” Tim’s voice breezed over the speaker. “How are you settling in?”
“Okay. It’s quiet without Mum and Dad here. And what’s with the traffic?”
“What do you mean?”
“There is none.”
Tim laughed.
“Anyway,” Tayla continued, “if you’re not busy tonight, can I cook you dinner? But I need you to come alone.”
“Just as well Brandon’s away, or he’d be devastated.”
“I know, but I have a secret, and it can’t be shared.”
She could almost hear Tim clap his hands. “I love secrets. What time? Half six?”
“Perfect.”
As the sun shone in a cloudless sky and the willows along the bank dipped their lower branches into the river, Tayla looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching. She removed her dress and slipped into the water, the coolness stealing her breath. And as her breasts adjusted to the cold, her tight nipples peaking just above the waterline, she wondered what Mitch would think if he found her swimming topless in his branch of the river. She smiled at the thought .
Immersing herself to shoulder height, Tayla gripped the smooth stones with her toes and took three slow, steady breaths. Keeping contact with the bottom, she lowered herself to the tip of her chin, her arms swirling across the still surface of the water.
Earlier, she’d rummaged in the vegetable garden, hoping to selvage some salad greens for dinner. But the few rotting lettuces, dried-up cucumber vines in the greenhouse, and trusses of cherry tomatoes—split and decaying on their stalks—proved one thing. The orchard and garden were too much for her parents and probably had been for a while.
Still, she’d visit Lime Tree Hill’s farm gate store before dinner to stock up on vegetables and soft cheese and crusty bread. Maybe even a carton of their organic ice cream her father raved about. Once nothing more than a tin shed selling a few odds and ends, the popular stall was now a bustling food market with organic treats to die for.
For now, she lay back, recalling her swimming coach’s instructions, her arms keeping her afloat in the shallow stream. She took another deep breath, trying to clear all fears from her mind and stayed that way until her heartbeat stilled. Bliss. Pure bliss.
Clambering up the bank later, she glanced toward the packing shed loft window that overlooked the river, certain she’d seen a shadow cross the glass. She grabbed her towel and scampered behind a tree to get dressed, adrenaline rushing through her veins. Had he seen her?
Smiling at the thought, Tayla wrung out her wet panties before walking home, blissfully naked underneath her dress of cotton voile.
It was time to call Ruby.
Tim arrived early, bearing a bottle of wine, a huge bunch of flowers and flashing a grin. Tayla wanted to wait until they’d eaten to tell him about the proposal, but he was having none of it. With a glass of merlot in one hand and a vegetable knife in the other, he insisted on making the salad while she talked. “So, what’s this big secret?”
“I might be getting married soon.”
Knife poised, he stopped mid-chop. “Shut the front door! Has that Hayden guy finally come to his senses?”
Tayla froze. She hadn’t thought of Hayden since lunchtime. “No, we broke up…before I left Sydney. Sorry, I should have told you before now, but life’s been crazy lately.”
“What? I thought you were solid as. What happened?”
“It’s a sorry story I can only share after a second glass. Until then, I have something I want to run past you, but don’t interrupt until I’ve finished. Okay?”
“Sure. Wait—you’re pregnant?”
Tayla chuckled as she reached for a slice of cucumber off the chopping board. “Tim! What did I just say? I’m not pregnant. So if you don’t mind…”
“Go right ahead,” he said with a wide grin.
Tayla chose her words carefully while Tim listened without interruption. By the time she’d finished, his mouth was as wide open as his expression and the salad bowl was still empty.
“What do you think?”
“Let me get this straight. You’re going to walk down the aisle with Mr. Lime Tree to save your parents’ financial ass?”
“Pretty much. But you can’t tell anyone. It has to look legit. But Ruby knows.”
“And? What’s her take on all of this?”
Snippets of her earlier phone conversation with Ruby surfaced. Her sister had plenty to say about Mitch’s proposal, none of it good. “She thinks I’m crazy.”
“And she’d be right. But, we’re all a little crazy sometimes.” He waggled his brows suggestively. “Do you get to sleep with him? ”
“What? No, of course not. It’s a business arrangement!”
“Pity. I bet he’s rocked a world or two in his time.”
Tayla tried to fight the mental picture. She failed. “Stop it. As if he’d be interested in rocking my world.”
“Why do you say that? You’re a catch. Maybe that’s his plan—to lure you into a life of passion via a fake marriage.”
She snatched another slice of cucumber. “That imagination of yours is running wild again.”
“Well, real life is just too depressing. And for what it’s worth, I think it’s a fabulous idea. Mitch gets his bride, your parents get their money, and you have somewhere to live until you return to Sydney. It’s a triple win. But…”
“Go on.”
“With his rugby coaching and his work in the community, Mitch is a popular guy. Especially with the ladies. My concern is, can you trust him to be discreet? What if it gets back to your folks that their new son-in-law’s a randy man-whore? They’d be devastated.”
Earlier, Tayla had thought about Mitch and his high profile, wondering how she’d fit into his world. “Yes, you’re right. But he’s not really a randy man-whore, is he?”
Tim cocked a brow. Grinned. “Clifton Falls may be a small city, but people still gossip as if it’s a country town. It’s not like living in Sydney.”
“So, what do you suggest?”
“Set some ground rules. Expecting Mitch to be celibate is a stretch, but if he wants to play away, he needs to pick his playground carefully. Or, make sexy time one of those ground rules.”
A warm blush crept up her neck. “You think we should sleep together?”
“Why not? He’s hot as. You may as well take any benefits offered.”
“That’s a complication I don’t need. Anyway, it’s not like he was offering, and I can’t sleep with someone I don’t have an emotional connection with. Besides, he’s not my type.”
“Brandon and I met on a one-night stand. Now we’re solid as. An emotional connection doesn’t necessarily have to come before sex.”
“Maybe not, but…” Tayla stopped herself before blurting out her virginity status. When it came to her sexuality, she’d never been one for sharing, even with Tim.
“But?”
She took the roast chicken and potatoes out of the oven and placed them on the table. “This is a mess of epic proportions.”
“You know what they say. One person’s mess is another’s opportunity. So, if you need a witness and photographer,” Tim continued, “I’m your man. What’s the time frame?”
“Thank you. Settlement’s due mid-April, so a few weeks yet.”
“Just as well it’s an elopement.” Tim placed the bowl of salad on the table. “Right, let’s get this chicken carved, then you can tell me what happened with you and Hayden.”
Tayla huffed out a heavy sigh and dropped her shoulders. “Do I have to? I’m starving, and I don’t want to ruin my dinner.”
Tim held her gaze the way only he could: with love and compassion. “He hurt you, didn’t he?”
She opened the fridge to get the dressing and let the cool air soothe her. “Yeah. But hearts mend. The memory may stay with me forever, but I’m slowly stitching myself back together.”