12. We Waited A Long Time For You
We Waited A Long Time For You
Cara
The smile I wore walking to the bar falls from my face at the sound of his deep, strong voice.
‘I don’t like Cara, okay. I don’t like her. I’m looking to fix up her house, that’s all…’
I don’t know why it hurts so much. It’s not as if we really know each other, but I guess I thought I was making friends here, and Doug, well, I don’t know.
I feel the lump of emotion rise in my throat as the three siblings turn their attention to me. I’m vaguely aware of Doug standing from his bar stool, but I turn and rush out of the bar.
It’s not that I thought he would ever look at me as anything other than the new girl in town, but to hear him say that he doesn’t like me is that same old rejection. It’s my parents calling me a mistake. It’s thinking my grandparents didn’t want to know me. It’s the other kids in the village and at school telling me they don’t want to be my friend because I’m not fun. It’s Jamie breaking up with me. I’m tough, and I have a thick skin, but this feeling is sharp, and it cuts deep.
‘Cara.’ The rich voice that lulled me into a dream world as we walked around my house calls out my name as I rush back toward my cabin. ‘Cara, wait.’
I don’t wait. I reach my cabin before he catches up with me.
‘Would you just stop, please?’
I take a deep breath and turn to face him, schooling my features and my emotions. Don’t let them know they’re getting to you, Cara, I hear my mum reminding me .
‘What’s wrong, Doug?’ I ask and notice the flash of confusion cross his face.
‘What I said. I mean, I just…’
‘That you don’t like me?’ I say simply and notice him swallow, ‘Well, that’s okay. I just came over to the bar because I noticed your truck was still here and wanted to tell you that I loved your plans. You don’t need to like me, Doug. I need a contractor, not a best friend.’
‘It’s not. I,’
‘Please stop trying to explain something you have no need to explain. I want you to do the work. I will be paying you, and you will be renovating my house according to the plans we agree on. Simple as that. Now, if you could point me in the direction of the bank, I’d appreciate that.’
His lips part a little, a frown mars his ridiculously handsome face, and he takes a thoughtful breath before responding.
‘Sure, let me show you.’
‘No need, Doug. We’re not friends, after all. Directions will suffice.’
His gaze holds mine for a moment, and I have to fight my emotions to keep them hidden. Then he nods, looks away, and gives me the directions that I need.
I haven’t been in town long enough to know anyone. The only people I’ve really met are the three Campbell siblings. Walking alone for the first time, I feel very exposed. I feel eyes on me. I hear the hushed conversations as I pass. These people probably knew my mum. If they knew I was Charlotte Reynolds’s daughter would they open their arms to me? Perhaps they already do know. Zoe and Doug both know, so I assume that means Bree knows too. I don’t know them well enough to know if they’d keep that to themselves or not.
I reach the bank and smile up at the sweet building. I love the way this town preserves and celebrates its history. I push open the door and head inside.
‘Good morning. How can I help you?’ The elderly lady that greets me smiles pleasantly, then gasps. ‘Cara.’
I freeze on the spot. ‘How, um…’
She walks around the desk and approaches me with her arms open before pulling me into an embrace.
‘Oh, we waited a long time for you, sweetheart.’
‘How do you know who I am?’
She pulls back and reaches a hand up to my cheek. ‘Well, you look like your mama, honey, but also, your grandma was a good friend of mine. I’ve been looking at photographs of you your whole life.’
A lump rises in my throat, and tears wet my eyes.
‘Come on, honey. Let’s get you sorted out.’
She takes my hand and leads me through the old building to an office at the back. She knocks and enters when called.
‘Gloria, everything all right?’ the voice inside the office asks, and she squeezes my hand,
‘Peter, Cara McKenzie is here.’
‘The Reynolds girl?’ He gasps, and the tears I was holding back escape.
‘The Reynolds girl,’ Gloria confirms gleefully, clasping her hands together as though she’s announcing a lottery win, then pushes me into the room.
The man in the chair pushes himself to stand and approaches me. He’s not a tall man and is a little round in the middle. He has a huge smile on his face as he holds out his hand to me.
‘Roberta was worried you wouldn’t come. She was so worried that we’d have to sell the house and you’d never get to experience Forest Falls.’
He’s still shaking my hand when he appears to shake himself from the trance-like state he’s in.
‘Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Peter. I knew your grandparents, and your mother too when she was a girl. I am so very pleased to meet you, Cara. Welcome to Forest Falls.’
Forty-odd minutes and a very strong coffee later, I have heard numerous tales about my mum as a kid. I’ve laughed. I’ve cried. I’ve listened intently, and numerous bank workers came into the room to hug me, shake my hand, and tell me how they knew my family. I can honestly say that I have never felt as welcome anywhere in my whole life.
‘Well, come on. I suppose we should get down to business,’ Peter says eventually, and his colleagues all leave the room with smiles on their faces. ‘Sorry about that. They all hoped you’d come too.’
‘Peter, please don’t apologize. That was the loveliest half hour of my life.’ I smile softly, and he nods, then clears his throat.
‘Well, I imagine once news gets out around town, the next few days will be like that for you. You see, the Reynolds family founded this town. I don’t know if you know that. They built a farm and then started to grow the town around it, and they always took care of the people of Forest Falls. They never just sat up there on that hill looking down over us—they were the center of the community. By the time Roberta was the head of the family, you know that her husband took her name, not the other way round, right? Unheard of.’ I take it all in with wonder widening my eyes. ‘Well, by the time her parents were gone, Roberta took it upon herself to do more for the town than ever before. They decided not to farm the land anymore, so she sold most of it off, along with the livestock, to the two farms closest for far below its value, with a promise drawn into the sale that they would always support the people of the town, and make sure we always had food on our tables as the Reynolds family always had. The money she made from those sales, she put into an account right here for her daughter.’
‘Mum,’ I breathe, and he nods.
‘Roberta and Charlotte were inseparable. Charlotte had the same love for this town her mama did. They organized dances and fairs, and they helped us work on the town so that we could capitalize on the tourism during the summer months. If Charlotte was in town and she saw somebody walking their dog or carrying groceries, she would offer to help.’
I wipe away the tears from my cheeks. That was definitely Mum, always willing to help.
‘Roberta never got over losing her, and she deeply regretted the mistakes that were made.’
The word makes me flinch: me. I was the mistake that was made.
‘She wrote to Charlotte, told her she was leaving her the house and the money, but Charlotte didn’t want it. She said she didn’t imagine she would ever return to Forest Falls. Then she asked Roberta to leave it all to you.’
I feel the frown creasing my forehead. Why wouldn’t my mum ever want to return here? I know she left under a cloud, but this town is so warm and welcoming. It doesn’t make sense.
‘Anyway, did you bring some identification with you, Cara?’
The quick change of subject surprises me.
‘Oh, um, yes.’ I reach into my bag and pull out everything, my driver’s license, my passport, and even the email from Roberta that I printed out just in case.
‘Wonderful, well, I need you to sign a couple of things, and then it’s all yours, the house, and the account.’ He beams widely and then appears to trip over himself. ‘Oh, I almost forgot. I don’t know if you’ve seen the house yet, but it is going to need some work. You are going to want to speak to Doug Campbell about the renovations. He’s the best there is for miles around, and truth be told, that young man has been waiting a lifetime to get his hands on that house.’ He chuckles to himself as my stomach twists uncomfortably, and I just nod my head in agreement.
‘Okay, let's get to it then.’
I stand on the street outside of the bank, my feet lead weights, unable to move.
I didn’t know what to expect of the account Roberta left me; she didn’t have an ongoing income that I could pick out from the stories the bank workers told me, and I assumed that’s why the house fell into disrepair the way it did. I was wrong. I was very wrong.
Roberta was apparently a bloody genius when it came to investments, and I am now officially… oh god , I can’t even think the word in my head. Instead, I look down at the paper in my hands, a printout of the balance in the account Roberta left me.
$3,757,965.43. Add to that the money from my house sale in Scotland, and that number jumps up another two hundred thousand dollars, just over technically, not to mention the fact that those investments she made, all transferred into my name, will continue to deposit money regularly into my account.
‘ Fucking hell. ’ I breathe words I don’t think I’ve ever said out loud.
‘You okay?’
The soft voice beside me has me looking up and folding the paper in my hand. Bree.
‘Um, yeah, I.’ I swallow hard. ‘Yes. I’m okay.’
‘Listen, Cara, this morning, what you heard. Doug, he—’
‘Bree, it’s fine, really.’
‘No, I don’t want you to think he’s a dick. I promise he’s not. He just has a lot going on right now.’
‘It doesn’t matter. Really. He’s working for me. We don’t need to be friends.’
I see the way her shoulders slump, the disappointment in her eyes, but she doesn’t push.
‘What are you doing today? I’m just heading up to meet Zoe at the diner if you want to join us for lunch.’
I nod. ‘I’d like that.’
‘Ooh, and tonight, come and drink with us. There’s a live band playing at the bar, and Zo doesn’t have to work. You feel like having some fun?’
I just became a millionaire. Some fun is exactly what I feel like having.
‘Yes. Yes, I really do,’ I admit, and smiling, I follow my new friend toward the diner.