Chapter 13
Ethan waited until Chelsea was out of earshot before he followed Josh into the cottage. It was good to see his friend again. If he’d realised Josh was part of the local police, he might have been nervous, but Josh’s greeting had put him at ease. He’d always been easy-going and non-judgemental.
“Don’t mess up my crime scene.” Josh held up a hand to stop Ethan from entering any further.
“Any prints?”
“Some, but they’re probably Chelsea’s.” He glanced over. “What’s got you worried?”
“The property developer, Johann Mueller. He’s got a mean vibe and he seemed afraid of his bosses.” Ethan should have already investigated Johann’s company, but he’d been distracted by spending time with Chelsea again.
“I’ll look into it.”
Some tension in Ethan’s muscles dissipated. He was expecting to have to justify his thoughts, but perhaps their history together had Josh accepting his opinion.
“You still in the army?”
Ethan nodded and then paused. “On medical leave.”
Josh stood and surveyed the cottage before turning his attention back to Ethan. “What happened?”
“Broke my pelvis.”
Josh winced as he packed up his things. “That’s got to hurt.”
“Yeah.”
“What brought you back here?” Josh walked outside.
“I came to visit Aunt Maggie.”
Josh winced. “You didn’t know? Shit, mate. If I’d known you still kept in touch with her, I would have tracked you down and told you.”
“Not your fault. I didn’t keep in touch.”
The man shrugged. “You had your reasons. Honeybrook wasn’t exactly kind to you.”
That wasn’t entirely true. “I had to make a clean break.” But he had never forgotten what Aunt Maggie had done for him.
They walked through the hedges, and Ethan spotted Chelsea taking video footage with her phone over in the public area of the garden.
Her hair was loose for the first time, flowing past her shoulders.
She wore a shirt with kind of frilly sleeves and a navy-blue skirt and was smiling and gesturing while she spoke.
She looked happy and comfortable.
“Chelsea looks as if she’s done well for herself,” Josh commented.
Ethan nodded. “She’s some kind of media publicity person now. She’s working with Lauren to promote the Honeybrook Fair and she’s recording the restoration of Lilydale on social media in the hopes of bringing more people to the area.”
“I hope she succeeds. Honeybrook needs a break.”
Ethan frowned. “Why is it so bad?”
Josh shrugged. “Not enough jobs. None of our generation stayed and stores can’t make a profit. There are some farmers who are still doing well, but few people come through town now the new highway gets you down south faster, and fewer stop.”
Ethan hadn’t cared for the town, but if Chelsea was to be successful, it needed to bounce back. “Those campgrounds still open around the lake?”
“Yeah, but they’re not in good condition. Someone trashed the toilets out there and the council doesn’t have the funds to repair them.”
“Shame.” They’d spent some fun weekends camping by the lake. Usually it was when his foster parents thought he was working at Aunt Maggie’s.
Chelsea spotted them and waved, walking towards them with a smile.
Damn. He’d missed her smile, the way it lit up her face and made him feel about ten-feet tall, because she was genuinely happy to see him.
Josh laughed and shoulder bumped him. “Glad to see some things haven’t changed. You still get that goofy look on your face when you see Chelsea.”
Ethan didn’t deny it. “She always was the best thing to happen to me.”
“Thanks, mate.”
Ethan grinned. “But you were my first real friend.” He sobered. “Sorry I didn’t keep in touch.”
“Don’t sweat it.”
They fell silent as Chelsea approached. “You two look like you’re up to no good.”
“I was just telling Ethan how good it is to see you both,” Josh said as they followed her back towards the house.
“Did you find anything?”
“Got some prints, but they might be yours. Can you come to the station later so I can check?”
“Sure. I need to do some shopping, so I’ll drop by then. Can I get you a coffee?”
Josh eyed her coffee maker draining on the sink as he got out his notebook. “If it’s proper coffee, you can.” After she laughed, he said, “Tell me more about the property developer.”
While Chelsea told Josh about Johann, Ethan made his friend a coffee and then told him about his interaction with Darren.
When they were done, Josh said, “I have to be honest with you. Unless the prints aren’t yours, there’s nothing tying either of them to the vandalism. However I want you to keep me informed about any further interactions with them.”
Chelsea nodded. “Can I clean the cottages now?”
“Yeah. I’m done with them.” He finished his coffee. “Thanks. Hopefully I’ll see you around town.” There was a slight wistfulness about Josh’s tone.
Ethan hadn’t thought about his friend much over the years, because so many of his memories of Josh were tied up with Chelsea, but it sounded as if Josh needed someone to talk to.
Ethan clapped him on the shoulder. “We should go for a beer.”
“That would be great.” A smile and a flash of relief.
Yeah, he would definitely make time for his old friend. His childhood was long behind him now and there was nothing he needed to hide from. He’d made something of himself.
When the police car drove away, he turned to Chelsea. “Should we clean the cabins?”
She chuckled. “Absolutely.”
He took her hand, and they got back to work.
***
It was almost dark when Barry arrived from Perth.
Chelsea opened the newly oiled gate and directed the middle-aged man, who was still wearing his high-vis work gear, to the barn where he could lock his car up for the night.
He whistled as she took him to the freshly cleaned cottage.
“This place must have been amazing when it was in its prime.”
Chelsea nodded. “It was. That’s why I want to restore it. My great aunt would have hated to see it like this.”
Barry dumped his bag inside the cottage and ran his hand through his thick dark hair. “Why don’t you take me for a tour before it gets dark? That way I can plan my shots tonight and figure out where to start.”
“Sure.” She pointed out the different pathways through the garden and the areas that had been lawn.
“Any sprinklers?”
“Probably, but I don’t know where or if they’re still working. If you break any, we’ll fix them.”
He took notes as he went, asking a few questions as Chelsea showed him where the garden beds had been.
When they were done, she asked, “How long do you think it will take?”
He pursed his lips. “If there aren’t too many tangled surprises amongst the tall grass, it should only take a day to uncover the paths.” He shrugged. “Then maybe another day to hack back the lawn. I’ve got a colleague heading down tomorrow to help out.”
She shook her head, amazed so much could be done in such a short time. The weeds and long grass felt insurmountable. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you coming at short notice.”
He grinned. “I like a good challenge and my followers love the more difficult gardens. They’ll love this.”
Chelsea smiled. “I’d like to share your videos on my social media. I’ve only just created accounts for Lilydale, but I have a few followers.”
“Of course. I’m happy to cross-promote.”
“Thank you.” They returned to his cottage. “There aren’t many places to get dinner in Honeybrook,” she said. “You’re welcome to join us at the house. We’re making pizzas.”
Barry smiled. “Thanks. I’ll freshen up and be over in half an hour?”
“Sure.” Chelsea returned to the house where Ethan had already chopped toppings for the pizzas. He looked up as she walked in. “How did it go?”
Seeing him in her kitchen preparing food for them both sent her heart soaring. “Great. Barry thinks it will take him only a day or two to do everything.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Impressive. Is he coming for dinner?”
“Yeah, he’s cleaning up.” She appreciated that Ethan hadn’t felt the need to join her when she greeted the man and took him around the garden. She poured them both a glass of wine and her phone rang.
“Hey, Lauren.”
“Hey. I heard Josh visited you today. I wanted to make sure it was a social visit and there was nothing wrong.”
Chelsea didn’t bother asking who she’d heard it from. “As lovely as it was to see him again, it wasn’t social. Someone vandalised the cottages we’d just finished cleaning.”
Lauren gasped. “That’s awful. Do you need help with anything?”
“No. It didn’t take long to clean up, and I managed to sweet talk the glass fitter in Pinjarra to come out and replace the broken glass.”
“Do you know who did it?”
“No.” She changed the subject, not wanting to talk about her suspicions of Johann and Darren. “Were you able to authorise me to your social media?”
“Yeah. That was the other reason I called. But I feel bad about this, Chelsea. We can’t pay you for your work.”
“I’m happy to do it.”
“If you’re sure. I’ll email it to you now, but if you don’t get time, that’s fine.”
Chelsea glanced out the window as Barry walked towards the house. “I’ve got to go. The lawnmower guy you suggested is here for dinner.”
“Did he agree to do Lilydale?”
“Yeah. He’s starting tomorrow.”
“I’ll have to drop by after work to check it out.”
“See you then.” She hung up and went to let Barry in. She made the introductions and left Barry and Ethan to make the pizzas while she reviewed the links Lauren had sent her.
They used scheduling software so she could upload all the posts at once and they’d be posted on different days. Chelsea sorted the posts into groups. By the time she was done, Ethan was setting the table around her again.
She flushed. “Sorry. Lauren sent me some things for the campaign.” She turned to Barry, who had a beer in his hand. “I’m doing some work for the local council to promote the annual fair. It hasn’t been doing well over the past few years.”
“I remember the Honeybrook Fair,” he said. “My parents used to bring us down for the day. It was always fun.”
“It’s at the end of the month if you want to relive the nostalgia,” Chelsea told him.
He nodded. “I might. The kids would love it and with it being the end of the school holidays, they’ll be bored with all the usual things.”
She hadn’t considered the school holidays. She made a note to check the start date. “I could give you a discount on the family cabin if you want to make a weekend of it.”
Barry laughed. “You don’t need my help with promotion. You’re a born sweet-talker, but I’ll take you up on the offer. Book me in.”
Chelsea grinned as a thrill passed through her at having her first paying customer.
She entered his details in the booking system and sent him an email confirmation with payment details and then packed up her laptop as the pizzas came out of the oven and they sat down to chat about the plan of action for tomorrow.
By the time Barry left for the night, she was more confident in her ability to make Lilydale work.
Ethan had already cleaned the kitchen and was locking the back door as she closed the front door behind Barry.
It was comforting to have someone help her check the house was secure.
Everything about Ethan felt comforting and right.
He came back into the room and his gaze centred on her—direct, encompassing, like she was his entire world.
She hadn’t felt like that since they were together as teenagers.
And therein lay the problem.
As much as she wanted to run into his arms and forget about all the heartache he’d caused her, she couldn’t. It would be foolish not to go into this expecting some sort of heartbreak. They didn’t even live in the same state.
But she longed to have him hold her in his arms again and kiss her senseless.
She’d dreamed of waking up in his arms for more than a decade.
Could she give herself the physical aspect while protecting her emotional self?
“You’re doing a lot of thinking over there.” Ethan stayed at the base of the stairs, his hand on the banister.
She nodded.
“Chels, I’m not expecting anything from you. I know I hurt you and it will take time to trust me again—if you trust me at all. I’ll take whatever you’re willing to give me.”
Of course she trusted him. She trusted him in all things, except maybe her heart. But there was no reason she couldn’t enjoy his friendship and his body until her heart had time to be convinced.
Heart pounding, she walked towards him and slipped her hand into his. Without words, they climbed the stairs together and in the corridor outside their bedrooms they paused.
Ethan watched her patiently, waiting.
Letting her decide their future this time.
With a gentle tug, she pulled him into her bedroom. It had always been Ethan for her.