Chapter 5
Juniper
Juniper watched as Billy raised his arms and William scooped him up.
She knew he could be anxious when meeting new people, but she was fascinated that he would turn to William for reassurance.
She didn’t have time to follow that line of thought, however, because Mikayla had arrived, with her brother firmly in tow.
“William, Leah, this is my bastard of a brother, Callum, who has been away for two years and has returned today without so much as a text message to let me know.”
“It was meant to be a surprise,” he replied, shaking first William’s hand, then Leah’s. He gave Juniper a kiss on the cheek and hugged Rafe, affectionately slapping him on the back.
“Well, it was! Do Mum and Dad even know you’re here?”
“Not yet. I parked at their place and walked down. I literally got in about ten minutes ago.”
“They’re probably at the pavilion. We were just heading there now, so let’s go.”
In her usual whirlwind fashion, Mikayla was off, pulling them all with her, except Leah. “You okay, honey?” Juniper asked. She looked like she’d seen a ghost. “Do you know Callum?”
“Ah, no, not really. I mean, um…no. No, I don’t know him.” She seemed to give herself a shake before mustering an uncertain smile. “We’d better catch up.”
Juniper followed her with a perplexed frown.
Although she didn’t know Leah that well, from what she could tell, she was quite shy and maybe lacking in confidence.
Callum was a famous musician so meeting him could certainly intimidate her, but it seemed more than that.
There wasn’t much she could do to help, though, so she just followed behind Leah as they caught up with the group.
The local sports oval had been repurposed into an outdoor music hall. A large marquee was at one end with a raised stage for the musicians and a dance floor laid out in front of it. Plastic tables and chairs were then scattered around at random, with tablecloths and flowers in glass jars on top.
“There they are!” Mikayla pointed to her parents, pushing Callum in their direction.
Juniper couldn’t help but smile at their reaction to seeing their prodigal son.
She absolutely adored Mikayla’s parents and almost thought of them like her own Mum and Dad.
They had looked after her so much after Billy had been born and acted like surrogate grandparents to him.
God knows, her own parents weren’t at all interested, so to Juniper, Nora and John were an absolute blessing.
“William, hi.”
“Hi, John.”
“You two know each other?” Mikayla asked, the surprise in her tone obvious.
“We sure do. William’s got my crew working like drovers up at the lighthouse,” John replied with a wink.
William laughed. “They’re a great crew, I certainly don’t need to push them.”
“Dad, do you know who William is?”
“Sure, poppet, he’s the man who owns the lighthouse,” John replied, with some confusion.
“He’s also the man that stopped to help Juniper deliver Billy.”
“Is he now?” Nora exclaimed. “Well, that deserves a hug.” She stepped forward and pulled William into a tight embrace.
“Well, if I’d known that, I would’ve given you a discount on the job.” John put his arm around Juniper’s shoulders, pulling her against his side as he shook William’s hand enthusiastically. “Words can’t describe what you did for our girl.”
Juniper smiled at the simple truth of the words, then she was intrigued to see that William looked a little uncomfortable.
“It was nothing, really.”
“Not to me it wasn’t,” she said softly. He might be standing in front of her now in his fancy shoes and expensive sunglasses, all slick and smooth, but she knew who he really was.
She almost laughed at herself for questioning it.
The man that had held her that night, cradled in his arms, whispering soft words of encouragement, was the real William Locke.
With a flash of insight, she knew that this William was a facade.
She tilted her head to one side, a smile curving her lips.
There was some digging to do here and looking at him, standing there with a soft ocean breeze playing with his hair, eyes clouded with confusion while he watched her watching him, she felt more than happy to pick up a spade and get digging.
“I think we need some more tables.” John and Callum grabbed more tables and chairs, and everyone sat down to listen to the band. It was a Beatles cover band, belting out a great rendition of Twist and Shout. Juniper tapped her foot to the beat of the music as she watched people on the dance floor.
“You want to dance?”
She turned to William with a smile. “Sure.” Rising to her feet, she checked with Nora. “You right with Billy?” He was sitting on her lap, wriggling his hips and clapping in time to the music.
“Of course. Off you go.”
William took her hand, and they wended their way through the tables to the dance floor.
They moved onto the floor just as the song finished and William turned her into him.
She placed one hand on his shoulder, allowing him to take her other hand in his as he wrapped his arm around her waist. When the drumbeat dropped, the singer yelled the first line of “Can’t Buy Me Love” into the microphone.
Juniper felt William’s grip tighten around her fingers, the slight pressure from his hand in the small of her back, she let her let instinct take over, shifting her weight to her right foot, then back to her left, dropping her right foot back as he stepped forward.
She felt the flow immediately, the smooth way his hand pressed into her back, turning her where he wanted her to go.
“You can dance!”
He laughed. “So can you.”
She surrendered to the beat and his hands, turning exactly as he wanted her to, spinning out and back in, then behind him, back around the front, back out again.
He held her hand high above her head and she spun around twice before being pulled tight against him.
She grinned up at him, recognizing the enjoyment in his eyes before he whirled her away again.
Here was pure joy and she reveled in it.
The song wound down, the singer crooning the last line of the song and on the final drumbeat, she wrapped her arm around William’s neck as he dipped her.
She laughed as he pulled her upright, hearing the crowd applauding.
“Give it up for Fred and Ginger, everyone.”
She looked around, realizing the other dancers had formed a circle around them as they danced, and that the applause was for them.
Laughing and breathless, she dropped a little curtsy as William bowed and grinned before taking her hand, and pulling her off the dance floor, through the crowd, back to their table.
“Wow, that was amazing!” Nora said enthusiastically, handing over a glass of chilled wine.
“Thank you.” Juniper was still trying to catch her breath. It had been a very long time since she had danced like that, but God, she’d loved every second of it. She sat down, putting one arm around Billy as he climbed into her lap, holding her wine glass high so he didn’t knock it.
Mikayla leaned over and whispered in her ear, “You know what they say about guys who can dance?”
She was almost too afraid to ask. “No, what?”
“They’re amazing in bed.”
She glanced at William, leaning back casually in his chair talking to Rafe and looking outrageously handsome.
“Hmm,” was all she said.
Mikayla grinned, giving her arm a poke. “That’s the way.”
She watched him a moment longer, his long fingers wrapped around the neck of the beer bottle, laughing at something Rafe was saying.
He glanced her way, their eyes met, she felt a little thrill, warm and enticing.
Yes, there was definitely something worth exploring there, but she needed to dig under the slick first, just to be sure, before she dived in.
They spent the next few hours listening to the music, dancing every now and then, snacking and drinking from Nora and John’s picnic basket.
As the sun faded from the day, pulling out all the warmth with it, Juniper reached into her backpack for a jumper for Billy and a cardigan for herself.
At that moment, Mikayla reached over and slapping Callum on the shoulder, gestured to the stage, saying, “You gonna get up there and give it a go?”
Juniper turned to him with a smile. She loved hearing him sing. She always turned the radio up when one of his songs came on, but there was no mistaking the shadow that passed over his face as he said, “Nah.”
“What? Why not? It’s free mic night after this next set. I haven’t heard you play live in ages.”
He shifted in his chair uncomfortably and shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not in the mood.”
“Since when?” Mikayla snorted.
“Since now.”
Mikayla stared at him for a long moment before shrugging and turning away, saying in a loud aside to Rafe, “No idea what’s crawled up his ass.”
“Mikky, leave it,” John intoned, leaving Mikayla to slump grumpily in her chair.
Juniper watched Callum, staring down at his beer bottle, peeling at the label with frustration.
The exchange left an awkward vibe in the air, broken by Nora’s suggestion that they head to the beach for the fireworks.
Billy’s excited response had everyone laughing and went some way to relieving the tension.