Chapter 39
Erica
The helicopter had landed at the small airport on Copper Island, and the four people in the aircraft stared at each other. Jason had corralled Luke into coming with them on the same flight. Sitting next to Yanny, Erica crossed and uncrossed her legs as she stared out the window. Jason pulled his head back from sticking it out the window, chatting to a man below.
“What are we waiting for?” Yanny asked.
“Nathaniel, apparently. He’s the only one who can operate the forklift truck. You seemed to have carried an entire shop with you,” Jason said.
“I told the charity to get whatever they wanted to transport ready. It’s good they took advantage of all the space offered. It will cut their transport costs down drastically.”
“True,” Jason said and nodded. “They’re unloading now. Nate’s on his way.”
Half an hour later, Ralph was driving towards the helicopter in the larger golf buggy. They scrambled off. Erica looked to the horizon, sighing at the view of the blue waters. She could feel her muscles relax hearing the seagulls squawk.
“Is that it? All the luggage?” Ralph asked.
“Yes, that’s it,” Erica replied. “Thanks for coming to get us.
He hooked the dress carrier Erica handed him and hung it up at the back of the vehicle. Jason lifted the cases into the trailer at the back, and then they were on the move. The journey from the small airport up to Turner Hall was quiet as a private road linked the two places. She wondered why the first time a boat took her across. Jason explained that only the family got to use the private road. Guests came across by water.
Erica held onto the grab handle as Ralph navigated the small roadway up to the top of the cliff. Then, finally, they arrived at Erica’s cottage, and she was surprised to see it looked occupied. Pop music blared from the upstairs window. A few seconds later, a woman popped her head out of the open window and waved madly at them.
“Why’s that woman in my cottage?” Erica asked, looking up at the beautiful woman with tousled dark hair.
“That’s Daisy, our sister. I’m already exhausted by her enthusiasm,” Luke said.
Yanny chuckled and got out of the buggy first, moving to the back to take the bags out of the trailer. Jason joined him, taking the dress bag from the back.
“Is she living with me now?” Erica asked, not entirely upset at the idea of the company.
“When we all lived on the island, our home was Turner Hall. Daisy hated living there and said her aunt picked holes in everything she did. If our aunt is still alive, Daisy will never sleep a night at Turner Hall. ”
“They don’t get on?”
“Not at all. Daisy calls her The Dragon.”
“Oh dear, not exactly happy families,” Erica said.
“Not for a very long time. Let’s go in, and you can meet our pint-sized human bottle of champagne. She irritates the fuck out of me, but I still love her,” Luke said.
“You guys are all close. I’m envious,” Yanny said.
“We have our fights like any other family, but we would drop everything if one of us were in trouble.”
“That doesn’t sound good if you’re all here. Is Archer in trouble?” Erica asked.
Luke halted her progress up the path by grabbing her wrist. “You tell me, is he?”
“We’ll soon see. I hadn’t thought there would be this much of an audience when we arrived.”
“You’ll get space. I’ll make sure of it,” Luke said.
Erica stepped back into the cottage she was familiar with and looked around to see all her stuff was where she left it. The shawl over the chair in the kitchen was folded and placed on the seat.
“Hi, I’m Daisy,” the woman from upstairs came running across the living room to hug Erica. “I’m so happy to meet you. We’ve organised the best wedding you can imagine.”
Erica groaned inside. Was there still going to be a ceremony? The earnest look in Daisy’s eyes gave her hope Archer had thawed out since they’d last talked.
“Thank you. Is Archer here?”
“Um, yes, but there is a situation.”
“What’s going on, Daisy?” Jason said.
Erica, Yanny, Luke, and Jason all faced Daisy. She bit into her bottom lip, looking at each of them in turn.
“They’ve been yelling at each other for a while. It’s why I had the music up. ”
“Who is arguing, Daisy?” Luke asked.
“Archer and a man. He arrived half an hour ago looking like a shambles. I swear he slept in his clothes on the overnight ferry. They’re in the middle of the lawn out the back. No one’s thrown a punch yet, but it has that vibe.”
As a unit, the four of them moved to the back door, led by Erica. As they stepped out into the covered patio area one by one, Erica sucked in a breath.
“Oh shit,” Erica said.
“This is not good,” Yanny said.
“Who is that with Archer?” Erica heard Luke ask.
To her surprise, both Jason and Yanny answered at the same time. “Her ex-husband.”
Erica strode away towards the two men who were staring each other out. Archer’s arm muscles bunched as he fisted and unfisted his hands at his sides. Dressed in black board shorts and a black t-shirt, he looked menacing against Gregg’s creased suit and shirt.
Tearing her eyes away from Archer, she looked to Gregg. “What are you doing here?”
“You didn’t attend the lunch we arranged, so I was forced to come here instead.”
“How did you know I’d even be here?”
“Who is this guy?” Archer asked. “He turned up here an hour ago scaring the shit out of Daisy by banging on the cottage door. She called me to say a strange man was trying to break into the house. Daisy thought it was a crazed fan, and I came over.”
“I’m her husband,” Gregg said.
“This is Gregg, and he’s my ex-husband,” she told Archer at the same time.
Archer took a step towards Gregg, but Erica slipped between the two men facing Gregg .
“Take a step back, Gregg. You’re no match for Archer,” she said.
In every aspect, she thought. Erica could feel the heat coming from Archer at her back, but he wasn’t touching her. All she wanted to do was fall back into his arms and find comfort. Instead, Gregg looked over her shoulder and took several steps away, running his hands through his hair.
“Why are you here, Gregg? Yanny told you I couldn’t make the lunch meeting.”
“But you could have lunch with Jason Turner, your fiancé,” he said, spite oozing from his words.
“I’m not marrying Jason Turner. Where the hell are you getting that from? And why do you care? You asked me for the divorce, and you’ll have a baby soon with Monica.”
“It’s not my baby. I’ve been a fool, lured in by the lying bitch,” Gregg said.
“Hey, no name-calling,” Erica barked, pointing her finger at him. “Be respectful.”
“She tricked me into thinking I was the father of the baby. I’ll call her whatever I like,” Gregg replied.
“You’re no better,” Erica screeched. “You were having an affair while we were married before we split up. You’re a hypocrite, and you’re a lying bastard.”
“What happened to respectful?”
“Fuck off,” Archer said behind her.
Gregg looked over her shoulder and completely changed his demeanour. “I’m sorry, babe. I don’t know what I was thinking. When she told me she was pregnant so soon after I’d slept with her, I thought I had to do my duty and stand by her.”
“But you didn’t think it was dutiful to stand by your wife and not fuck around?” Erica said, spitting her words out .
Archer had curled his fingers around Erica’s bicep. It was a loose grip but one that could tighten in a second should she decide to lurch for her ex-husband.
“You were never home, always on set filming your latest movie or promoting. It was a lonely life.”
“You knew what my life was like before we married. Countless times you told me you didn’t mind I was away. I trusted you.”
“I’m sorry,” Gregg said, holding his head in his hands. “Can we talk? Somewhere we don’t have an audience?”
Erica looked to her side and saw Yanny, Daisy, Jason, and Luke standing in a row with pensive stares.
“I need to take a shower. Where are you staying? I’ll meet you at your guest house.”
“I have nowhere to stay. I came in these clothes. I needed to see you.”
“Fucking hell,” Archer said behind her.
Erica craned her neck to look at him. His eyes dropped to her face. All she felt was comfort, even if he looked at her with frosty eyes.
“If you’re not marrying Jason Turner, then all these people can back off and let us talk.”
Teddy barked at her feet, his yap aimed at Gregg. Erica bent to scratch the dog’s head and let him lick her hand in greeting. She was glad the dog was on her side.
“Are there some spare clothes Gregg could change into?” she asked Archer.
He rolled his eyes and looked at his two brothers. Gregg was nearer Luke’s physique than Jason or Archer.
“I’ll be back in ten minutes. You, arsehole, do not go into that cottage. I’ll come back with some clothes and can take you to get a shower. You stink. ”
“Thank you,” Gregg said. “I want to make amends with my wife.”
“Ex-wife,” all the Turners and Yanny said simultaneously.
Erica wanted to cry at the support she had from the surrounding people. The last thing she wanted to do was have a conversation with Gregg. What was the point? Archer hadn’t stepped in or volunteered he was marrying her, not Jason. Daisy has confirmed the wedding was still on, but that didn’t mean Archer was happy about it.