Chapter 6 #2
‘I couldn’t agree more and it was VAT fraud, he’s not an axe murderer.
’ Bex sighed. ‘Okay, I know that doesn’t make it right, but if I had to guess, I’d say it had something to do with his family and Leo in particular.
Just before it all came out, the Larks lost their father.
He’d been in a nursing home for six months and they were fundraising for Leo to get some experimental treatment in the US too.
Will’s wife also told me they’d been considering IVF to try for a second baby, so the embryos could be screened.
That was a lot for one family to cope with and pay for.
I can’t help thinking that whatever money Nathan took wasn’t for himself.
Even if it was, he paid the price, did his sentence and had to sell his house to settle what was owed. ’
‘Another fair point I suppose.’ Juliet pulled a face.
‘I still wish he hadn’t done it so I could have asked him out.
As much as I might be willing to see past his criminal record, I just don’t think I could cope with the snidey comments from parents who seem to think teachers should live lives that are beyond reproach.
It’s not fair; I haven’t seen anyone I fancy in months and, when I do, he turns out to be forbidden fruit. ’
‘Don’t worry, Jules, I’ll take you speed dating with me in Port Tremellien next time I go.’ Lyra made the offer and the conversation quickly moved on to the challenges of trying to date when you lived in rural Cornwall. Rowan was grateful for the change of subject, but Nathan was still on her mind.
Despite the things she’d heard about him over the years, no one had told her about the difficulties his family had gone through before he’d gone to prison and she hadn’t realised he was Leo’s uncle.
His brother Will didn’t have any social media either and the news other people had decided to pass on had focused on the more salacious aspects of his life.
Rowan’s trips home had always been fairly brief, so she’d only been given the information about Nathan that other people had thought was worth sharing.
Now that she’d begun to discover other things about him, she found herself wanting to know more, but she couldn’t justify why.
She tried to tell herself it was because he was the uncle of one of her pupils, a little boy with complex needs whose family she’d need to get to know even better than the families of her other pupils.
Rowan could tell herself that story as much as she liked, but when she glanced over and caught another glimpse of Nathan Lark, she knew there was more to it than she was willing to admit, even to herself.
* * *
‘It looks like you’re making great progress with the paving grids.
Bex said you didn’t want to stop for a drink, but I thought I should bring you one anyway, especially now that your brother has had to leave you to finish up.
’ Rowan held the bottle of water she’d taken from PTA supplies out to Nathan.
She’d put a two-pound coin into the petty cash box, which Bex had said was more than they charged for water when they sold it at school events, but it had still felt like she was doing something she shouldn’t.
Although, that might have had more to do with who the water was intended for rather than anything else.
He put down the spade he’d been holding and smiled.
He had a great smile, he always had done.
She didn’t know why she was so surprised to see it exactly as it had been all those years ago, but she was.
Rowan didn’t know what she’d expected after his short stint in prison, but clearly she’d anticipated some kind of impact; maybe missing teeth or a tear drop tattoo.
Her mouth twitched at the ridiculousness of the thought.
Whatever he’d been through in the last two decades, it had done nothing to dim his looks.
There was just the merest touch of grey at his temples, but the rest of his hair was still dark and there wasn’t any sign of it thinning in the way James’s hair had started to do.
Nathan’s dark blue eyes had the same memorising affect they’d always had as he met her gaze.
‘It’s really kind of you to bring me a drink, Rowan, thank you. Can I still call you that, now you’re going to be the headteacher?’
‘Of course, as long as it’s not in front of the children. Then I’m Mrs Bellamy.’ She raised her eyebrows and smiled. ‘And given my new position, I had to bring you a drink. I couldn’t have the stigma of you dropping dead from dehydration, before the term has even started.’
‘I’m quite good at attracting stigma. I expect you’ve heard.
’ He returned her smile, but there was a hint of something behind his eyes that she couldn’t quite identify.
If she’d had to guess, she’d have said it was regret, but it could have been guilt, or even embarrassment.
Still, he’d been the one to bring it up, so it couldn’t be a subject he was all that desperate to avoid.
‘You know what village life is like.’ She shrugged, wondering what Nathan had heard about her reasons for returning to Port Agnes, and the conclusions he’d drawn about her parents when she and her mother had first left.
‘Unfortunately so do I, only too well, which is why I make my own mind up about people instead of listening to gossip.’
‘Good to know.’ They locked eyes for a moment and she had to look away, beyond where he was standing to the paving grids that had already been laid.
‘I think your nephew is going to be in my son Theo’s class.
Please tell me that they’re a friendly group.
Theo is quite an anxious boy at the best of times and let’s just say that the last few months haven’t been the best of times.
’ It was more than she’d intended to say, but he’d always had that effect on her.
‘I’m sorry.’ Nathan briefly touched her hand and the patch of skin beneath his fingers tingled, even when he moved his hand away again.
‘I can’t vouch for the whole class, but most of the kids seem okay and, I know I’m biased, but Leo is great.
He’d never want to see anyone sidelined, so I’m sure he’ll give Theo a warm welcome. ’
‘That’s really good to know, thank you and thanks again for getting so involved with volunteering. At my last school, the average parent would never have mucked in to help, let alone the uncles.’
‘I’m not your average uncle.’ He smiled again and it had been on the tip of her tongue to say he wasn’t the average anything, but somehow she stopped herself from saying it out loud.
‘It was good to see you again, Nathan. Hopefully I’ll see a lot more of you.’ Colour flooded her cheeks as he laughed. ‘I meant around the school, helping out.’
‘It’s okay, I knew what you meant.’ He was grinning in the way she’d always found irresistible, which made it worse. ‘But a guy can dream, can’t he?’
She didn’t acknowledge his comment. ‘I’ll let you get back to work and don’t forget to stay hydrated.’
‘Yes, Mrs Bellamy.’ He grinned again and doffed an imaginary cap, before picking up the spade he’d set down earlier. Walking away, she resisted the urge to turn back and see whether he was watching her, because, as ridiculous as it was, she knew how disappointed she’d be if he wasn’t.
* * *
Rowan had spent far more time thinking about Nathan than she should have done.
Driving over to her father’s place, her mind should have been on work.
There was a lot to think about and a lot to prepare before the start of term, which was racing towards her at a scary pace.
Work had stopped her thinking about James as much as she might have done otherwise, and how the fallout from their marriage ending might affect them all long term.
She’d have to find a permanent home for herself and the children eventually.
And she’d been so busy since arriving in Port Agnes, and so intent on getting the children settled, that the sadness was nowhere near as all-consuming as it had been back at Membory Grange.
At this precise moment she was thinking about Nathan Lark instead of work, which was absolutely ridiculous.
Getting involved with anyone else was the last thing on her mind.
She couldn’t imagine ever wanting to do that after what James had put her through.
Even if she wanted to start dating, Nathan couldn’t have been more unsuitable.
She hated the fact that others judged him so harshly, but Juliet had been right about one thing: the parents of her pupils would definitely have something to say if their headteacher was in a relationship with an ex-convict.
She shook her head again as an unwanted image of herself and Nathan kissing popped into her mind.
It was just her memory playing tricks on her, finding an outlet to ease the stress she’d have been feeling otherwise.
Or maybe it was unfinished business from all those years ago.
Either way she wished it wasn’t happening and she just had to wait for it to pass.
Once school started, she definitely wouldn’t have time to worry about Nathan Lark and all of a sudden the start of term couldn’t come soon enough.