Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
MADIGAN
Oh boy. The man making his way up the path to Chloe’s front door looked anything but happy to see two strange men standing there with his . . . deceased father’s partner. Quite a mouthful.
In his mid-forties, Austin was of average height, with short brown hair cut in a modern style, carefully groomed scruff, and thin, almost petulant lips.
The lack of any grey I put down to design rather than genes, along with a remarkably wrinkle-free complexion that screamed Botox and fillers.
Then again, what would I know? Gleaming white teeth, designer jeans, and a crisp white shirt completed the picture.
“Chloe? What’s going on here? Who are these men?” Austin’s shrewd blue eyes bounced between Nick and me, his gaze lingering on my hand, which rested around Nick’s waist.
Chloe leaned against the doorjamb for support as she introduced us. “This is Nick. He’s the son of someone I used to know a long time ago. And this is his partner, Madigan. Boys, this is Austin, Brendon’s son.”
Following Chloe’s lead, I took the pressure off Nick by offering my hand first. “Pleased to meet you, Austin.” I waited, and after a brief hesitation, he shook my hand.
“We happened to be in Nelson, and when we realised Chloe lived close by, we took a chance and dropped by unannounced to surprise her.”
Chloe nodded enthusiastically. “It’s been wonderful to catch up.”
Austin didn’t look convinced, let alone happy about the explanation.
“That’s right.” Nick shook hands with him next. “Chloe was very kind to me as a young boy, but we’d lost touch over the years.”
Austin’s gaze flicked warily over the three of us, but it was hard to tell what he was thinking.
“I’m sure Chloe was pleased to see you.” He sent her a pointed look.
“Can’t say I’ve ever heard her mention you before, though.
That’s fine, of course, but a call beforehand would’ve been appreciated.
If I’d known you were coming, I would’ve made sure to be here to greet you.
Chloe is getting on a bit now, you know how it is.
The memory isn’t what it used to be and she doesn’t handle surprises as well anymore. I’m sure you understand.”
“Nonsense,” Chloe snapped. “Don’t be rude, Austin. I’m perfectly fine.”
I wasn’t sure I liked the man’s tone or the lack of respect he showed in talking to Chloe’s guests in front of her that way. And in her own house, as well. Chloe certainly didn’t like it.
Beside me, Nick tensed, his hackles rising.
Like it or not, Chloe was his mother, and he wouldn’t stand for any disrespect.
I pre-empted his response with, “Of course. I have an aunt in her eighties and I understand, right, Nick?” I didn’t bother adding that Shirley would skin me alive if I dared talk about her as Austin had about Chloe.
Nick’s expression flattened to something between mildly irritated and who the hell does this arsehole think he is, with a definite lean toward the latter.
He ignored Austin and directed his answer to Chloe alone.
“I’m sorry if we disturbed you, Chloe, but thank you for seeing us.
If you want to get hold of me, we’re staying at Primrose Cottage on the Ballantyne Wine Estate. We’ll be in town a couple of nights.”
She gave a crisp nod. “I’ll make a note. Thank you. And you didn’t disturb me at all.” She sent an annoyed look Austin’s way. “Contrary to rumour, I’m a long way from the grave yet.”
I almost laughed. It was such a Shirley thing to say.
Austin was clearly less amused, but he held his tongue.
Chloe patted Nick on the arm. “Keep in touch and let me know if you’re ever coming back this way. I don’t get out as much as I used to, and visitors keep me young.” She threw another look at Austin.
He gave a tight smile in reply. Almost like a warning. Then he drew a business card from his pocket and handed it to Nick. “I’d appreciate it if you went through me first. Chloe has good and bad days. On her bad days, she might not even know who you are.”
“Be quiet, Austin,” Chloe scolded. “I’m not so far gone that I need your permission to talk to a friend.” Then to Nick. “Ignore him. Call me direct whenever you like.”
Austin’s cheeks blew red and his jaw clenched, but he said nothing. I was liking the man less and less.
“We’ll talk again.” Nick held Chloe’s gaze, emphasising his next words.
“I’ll make sure of it.” Then he smiled and kissed her affectionately on the cheek.
Based on the conflict he felt over his mother, the gesture surprised me.
I wondered if it was done more to piss off Austin than anything else.
Regardless, Chloe grinned, making no attempt to hide her pleasure at Nick’s attention.
And with a final nod in Austin’s direction, Nick led me down the path toward the Focus and we got the hell out of there.
I let him drive in silence, knowing it wouldn’t last long.
And sure enough, less than a kilometre down the road, and with Nick bottled up tighter than a fish’s arse, he swung right into a car park by the river and pulled to an abrupt stop.
With his hands clenching the wheel and his fixed gaze burning a hole in the windscreen, I knew better than to ask what was wrong or even touch him.
This Nick needed to clear some room in his head before I had any chance of getting invited in.
When he finally dropped his arms and sat back in his seat, I leaned across and pushed open his door. “Go on. Head down that path by the river and I’ll come find you in about fifteen minutes. And take this.” I passed him the jacket he’d thrown into the back seat. “It’s freezing out there.”
His shoulders dropped and he seemed to get smaller, almost caving in on himself. He took his coat and shot me a grateful look. “Thanks.”
I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen as much confusion in those grey eyes, but to my surprise, rather than just get out and leave, he leaned over and pressed a hard kiss to my mouth.
When he was done, he brushed his thumb over my top lip and stared deep into my eyes, his obvious desire igniting a fire in my belly.
If he could’ve fucked me hard against a tree, in broad daylight, and got away with it, I was pretty sure he’d have done it.
Instead, he melted me with one last look and all but ran for the path.
I watched him go, a relieved sigh on my lips. If I didn’t know what to make of our meeting with Chloe, I couldn’t imagine what Nick was feeling. And as for Austin? Who the fuck knew what was going on between him and Chloe.
To be fair, his shitty attitude might’ve been nothing more than genuine concern for Chloe and annoyance at us.
After all, it wasn’t like we knew the woman very well.
Forty-seven years was a long time. People changed.
Maybe we’d caught her on a good day like Austin said.
If I’d walked into Shirley’s room and found two strangers having coffee with her, I’d be suspicious as well.
I thought back to what I’d found in the kitchen and had to admit it was possible Austin had every right to be concerned, even if the guy was being a bit of a douchebag about it. With fifteen minutes to fill, I had time to do a little research on my phone.
When I finally set off after Nick, he hadn’t gone far, just five hundred metres, give or take.
I found him sitting on a bench with his eyes glued to the Taylor River as it picked its narrow winding way through Riverside Park.
He looked about as lost as I’d ever seen him, and my heart ached for the troubled child inside this man I loved.
The young boy who finally had some answers.
Whether they satisfied the questions he’d carried for decades was another matter.
I supposed I was about to find out.
Nick didn’t look up as I sat alongside him, but his head found my shoulder and his arm slid around my waist. “What a fucking mess.” He spoke so softly I had to strain to catch the words.
“I don’t know whether to hug her for finally reaching out or yell at her for leaving it so long.
I get why she did, I suppose, but fuck, it hurts to know she knew where I was all this time.
What kind of mother does that? What kind of mother leaves her kid and keeps track of them for decades without reaching out? ”
Nick turned to look at me, his eyes wet with tears, and the devastation I saw there stunned me.
He didn’t cry easily. He was a hugely emotional man but he kept it under wraps.
I saw much more than most, but he was getting better at showing it to others as well.
Gazza and Lee, especially. But his reaction to his mother was as raw as I’d ever seen him.
The few times I’d witnessed anything close to that kind of desolation in Nick circled around him losing Davis, or when I’d been in danger, or if he thought he’d fucked something up between us. And so, I answered his question the only way I knew how. The only way that made sense.
“What kind of mother might do something like that?” I repeated the question back to him. “Maybe one who’s been through unspeakable violence in her life. Who’s feared for her life and that of her young boy, and who’s carried a ton of guilt over what she did and whether it was the right choice.”
Nick huffed, sounding disappointed. “You sound like my therapist.”