Chapter 2
Juniper
Juniper
Juniper watched as William reached out and ran a finger down her baby’s cheek, ever so gently, and her heart overflowed.
Moments like this were the stuff of life.
To be able to stand here, on this beach, and see this man again, it was really something.
She still didn’t have the words to express to him how much it meant to her that he had stayed with her that night, and how grateful she was that he had taken such good care of her.
She refused to dwell on what might have happened if he hadn’t doubled back after zooming past the site of her accident, but every now and then, it grabbed her, that feeling of dread; of what would have become of her and Billy if he’d kept on driving.
Now, to be here, on this bright sunny day, introducing him to her son, her cup was overflowing.
“Would you like a drink?” She gestured to the picnic rug where a fold out table was laid out with chips, crackers, dips, fruit and nestled in the icebox were cans of soft drink.
“Sure. That’d be great.”
They all settled around the low table as an awkward silence fell. Mikayla broke it immediately by calling it out. “Well, this is a bit awkward, hey.” A laugh rippled through the group. “So, tell us, William, what the hell are you doing in Blessed Inlet?”
Juniper handed him a can of Coke, her breath hitching a little as he smiled his thanks.
He was hot, to put it simply. Dark, silky hair that gleamed in the sun like sable.
Warm brown eyes, long lashes. A good straight nose, full lips that made her think of kissing.
She toyed with that idea for a moment. Hmm, yes, she imagined that kissing him would be quite lovely.
He wasn’t dressed for the beach, she thought, as she eyed his expensive business shirt and suit pants.
He’d taken his shoes off, at least, as he’d walked along the sand.
“I, ah, I’ve got business in the area.”
“For real? What kind of business? There’s pretty much only caravan parks and water equipment rentals around here and I gotta say, that doesn’t really look like your jam.”
Bless Mikayla and her unashamedly inappropriate questions.
“It’s a family business. It was actually why I was here three years ago, but then my father got sick, so we had to leave it for the moment. He’s as good as he’s going to get, so I’m back to pick up where I left off.”
“Oh, no, what happened to your dad?”
“Stroke.”
“Jeez, that’s the pits. But he’s better now?”
“He has a walking frame and he doesn’t have much movement through his right side, among other things. But yeah, he’s okay. Enough to still boss us all around, I guess.” A shadow passed over his face and Juniper knew instantly that there was much more to the story than he was letting on.
“So, what’s this family business then?”
“Hotels.”
“Hotels? You’re gonna open a hotel in Blessed Inlet?” There was no mistaking the note of skepticism in Mikayla’s voice.
“Sort of.”
Although it seemed that William was trying to evade her questions, Mikayla was relentless. “Come on, spill. We’re not strangers here.”
There was just no resisting her and William seemed to realize that fact. “Okay. My family own the lighthouse. We’re looking to turn it into a corporate retreat. I’m here to organize the repairs and maintenance to get it up to scratch.”
His words were met with a long, drawn-out silence that was more than uncomfortable.
Rumors of the lighthouse being up for sale had been floating around a few years back.
The question of who had bought it and what they planned to do with it had been the main topic of town gossip when Juniper had moved in.
But then nothing had happened, for years.
Now they knew why. William owned it and the only reason nothing had been done up there was because of his father falling ill.
She knew her friends were wondering the same thing she was.
Blessed Inlet was a small tourist town. The population hovered comfortably around one thousand residents, except in summer, when the foreshore exploded with tents and caravans, and every holiday unit was full.
Except for the few weeks of crazy summer tourism, it was an artist’s town, and she just couldn’t see the type of accommodation he was talking about working here.
Her heart sank as she pondered the types of people a corporate retreat would bring to the town.
They would be the type of people she’d fled Melbourne to get away from and they were the reason she couldn’t go back.
He’d started talking again, obviously aware that his revelation had caused a bit of discomfort.
He was in full on business mode, selling them on the benefits, smoothly rebutting Mikayla when she objected to any changes being made at the lighthouse.
It was that or let it decay and fall to ruin.
Although Juniper recognized the truth of his words, she couldn’t deny a twinge of disappointment.
Her memories of him were obviously clouded by the conditions under which they had met, but her impression had always been one of strength and kindness, like she could trust him. Here he just seemed slick, superficial.
“What about you, Juniper? How did you end up here?” He’d turned to look at her and she couldn’t avoid noticing the flare of interest in his eyes.
To give herself a bit of time, she turned to Billy, placing some more watermelon on his plate and running a hand over his bright curls.
“Well, after they dropped me at the hospital, Rafe and Mikayla arranged to have my car towed back here. The mechanic said it was a write off, so Mikayla knew straight away I had no way of getting to Byron Bay. She invited me to stay at her parents for a little while, in their little cottage in their back yard.” She looked at Mikayla with an affectionate grin.
“It wasn’t much of an invitation, actually.
She’d already taken everything from my car and put it in the cottage, as well as rounding up a whole lot of secondhand baby gear to get me started.
” She reached over and rubbed Mikayla’s arm, still so grateful for that helping hand at one of her most vulnerable moments.
“A little while turned into a long while and here I am.”
“Amazing. What do you do for work?”
“I own a ceramics shop, Junebug’s Pots, on the main street and I run pottery classes.”
“Sounds great.”
“Yeah, it keeps me busy, and it gives me plenty of time to spend with Billy.” She glanced at her son, who seemed to be following the exchange avidly, while managing to squash three grapes into his mouth at once.
She couldn’t help but smile. “We do okay, don’t we, mate?
” Billy grinned around the grapes and nodded his head vigorously, reaching for more fruit.
“Finish what’s in your mouth, first.” But he didn’t pull back, simply gave her a grumpy frown and extended his pudgy hand over the grapes.
“William.” The motherly note of warning forestalled him, and he pulled back, looking at her inquiringly.
“I said, finish what’s in your mouth first.” Then she turned to William and found him watching her, his head tilted to one side and a smile dancing in his eyes.
“That’s the exact tone my mother uses when I get in trouble.”
Juniper laughed. “It’s universal, encoded in our DNA during labor.”
“Rafe, I wanna make a castle.”
“Sure, buddy, finish your fruit and grab your hat.”
As Rafe and Mikayla gathered plastic buckets and spades, Juniper slathered Billy with sunscreen and tied his sunhat on. Then they were gone, Rafe chasing a shrieking Billy to the shoreline and Mikayla bringing up the rear with the beach toys.
Juniper, smiling as she watched them go, felt William’s gaze on her and turned to look at him. He was studying her with an arrested expression on his face.
“What is it?”
He shook himself. “Nothing. Sorry.” A long pause followed, just drifting into awkwardness before he said, “You seem to have really landed on your feet here.”
She turned to look at her friends and child, frolicking in the sand, their laughter floating on the light breeze. “I sure did.”
“I’m happy for you.”
She turned back to him and saw the sincerity of his words. “Thank you.” Another pause. “What about you, William?”
He shrugged. “I’m good.” Something about the way he said it made her want to probe, but really, she hardly knew him, and she certainly didn’t have Mikayla’s lack of filter for these sorts of situations.
“I’d better get back.” He rose to his feet and stood for a long moment looking down at her, his expression shuttered. “Seeya.”
“Seeya.”
Then he was gone, striding off down the beach without looking back.