Chapter Thirteen #2
Flo had lied to her and Pru had manipulated her. Her father had grown up in this town and no one had thought to tell her until now.
Choking on her anguish, she let her tears fall.
She’d never felt as alone as she did right now.
She’d been lulled into a false sense of security.
For god’s sake, she’d started to believe that she was making connections, developing friendships, but today’s discovery proved that she was completely and utterly alone in this world.
A knock on the window startled her.
Noah looked in, concern etched deep into his brow. He put his hands up, apologising for scaring her, but gestured for her to open the window.
Only she couldn’t right now. She was done. Overwhelmed and completely defeated. And the thought of Noah having to deal with her brewing emotions was too much.
Covering her face with her hands, she sobbed harder.
Noah, though, clearly wouldn’t take no for an answer. He opened the door and crouched beside her. ‘Hey.’ He spoke quietly, calmly, and when he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, his touch was soft, gentle. She only wished it was enough to soothe her.
‘I can’t!’ she sobbed. ‘I can’t do this.’
‘Can’t do what?’ He waited a beat, then added, ‘Beth, let me help.’
‘You can’t, no one can.’
‘How do you know when you haven’t let me try?’ He moved his hand to her thigh and squeezed. ‘Please, let me try.’
A request like that, spoken so evenly, was impossible to deny. Reluctantly, she lowered her hands but couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes. Hers would be puffy, her face blotchy.
Whatever Noah saw was enough to make him stand and then, weirdly, remove his shirt. He held it out to her. ‘’Fraid I don’t have any tissues on me, so this is the best I can do.’
She gazed up at him. He smiled and waited patiently for her to take the shirt.
Oh. He made her want to cry harder. Why was he always coming to her rescue?
She accepted his offering and wiped her eyes on one of the sleeves, his scent ingrained in the soft cotton fabric. Then, trying to ignore the fact that he was now bare-chested, she said, ‘That’s two shirts I owe you.’
He held out his hand. ‘Come and sit with me and I’ll let you buy me a replacement.’
Putting her hand in his, she accepted his help to climb from the car then handed him his shirt.
After slipping it back on, he led her into the front yard, past the jacaranda tree—which had, since she’d arrived in town, bloomed and dropped its flowers, carpeting the grass with stunning purple petals—and over to the garden bench at the side of the property.
They sat and, at first, just enjoyed the quiet serenity of the garden. She stared at her hands, which lay in her lap, but could sense him looking at her. Eventually, she felt compelled to fill the silence.
‘I suppose I should talk about it, huh?’
‘Only if you want to,’ he said, completely without judgement or expectation.
And, she knew, she just knew, that if all she wanted to do was sit here for the next three hours and not utter a single word, then he’d be okay with that. He’d stay by her side the entire time, not judging. And, god, if that didn’t make her want to pour her heart out to him!
Without another thought, she started speaking.
‘I found out recently that Mum changed our last name after Dad died. She’d taken his when they married but reverted back to her own once he was gone and changed mine to match. She never told me she’d done it, let alone why, and now that she’s gone, I’ll never know.’
‘Damn, Beth, that’s … heavy.’
‘Yeah. And that’s only the half of it.’
She told him about how she’d tried to obtain a copy of her birth certificate only to discover that she hadn’t been born in South Australia as Rosie had led her to believe.
‘And the only reason I discovered these lies was because I received an inheritance from my father’s aunt.
She left me everything, and I feel so guilty because I hadn’t even known she’d existed. ’
She shoved her hands under her thighs and willed herself not to start crying again.
‘I can’t help wondering whether my mother didn’t tell me about my great aunt on purpose.
Because if she lied about my name and where I was born, it’s not really that hard to believe she’d keep me from my family, too.
And if she did, I don’t think I could ever forgive her.
But she’s dead and I don’t want to hate her, Noah. I don’t want to hate my mum.’
She choked out the last words as tears streamed down her face, but Noah was on his feet and pulling her into his arms before she had a moment to think.
She went willingly but held herself stiffly as sobs racked her body.
Noah rocked her and stroked her hair. He offered no empty words, he simply held her.
And before long, she melted against him, his chest warm against her cheek.
In that moment, she didn’t feel so alone.
Pulling back slightly, she wiped at the patch of tears she’d left behind and grimaced. ‘Make that three shirts.’
He caught her chin with his finger. ‘Technically, this only counts as one.’
The vivid blue of his eyes stole her breath. Or maybe the stroking of his thumb on her cheek was to blame. Whatever the cause, she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, felt his heartbeat thump under her fingers and wished the moment would last forever. And still his thumb stroked her skin.
‘How long have you been dealing with this on your own?’
The huskiness in his voice had her opening her eyes, and she found him staring down at her, his gaze questioning yet determined.
‘I’ve learned it bit by bit, but the truth started unravelling when I found out about the inheritance. Just over two months ago now.’
Noah worked his jaw. ‘Did you learn something today? Is that why you were crying in your car?’
She sniffed, not wanting to recall the details of her conversation with Flo, but Noah had a knack for drawing the truth out of her.
‘I found out that my dad grew up here. In Karlup. And I had no idea.’
His thumb finally stilled. ‘Your dad … what was his name?’
She furrowed her brow. ‘Bryce Campbell.’
His eyes fell closed and he took a step back. ‘Holy shit.’
Panic quickly undid all of his efforts to relax her. ‘What?’ she whispered, every muscle in her body clenched tight.
He hesitated. Then, meeting her gaze head-on, he pulled her back to the bench.
She sat beside him but fisted her hands in her lap, ready to shut down if need be, but when Noah reached for one, it opened instinctively at his touch.
She stared down at their hands, marvelling at the way her palm moulded to his when he threaded his fingers through hers.
As if the two of them holding hands was an everyday occurrence, the most natural thing in the world.
Only it wasn’t either of those things. It was completely extraordinary and made her heart beat irregularly.
Whatever he was about to say to her, she knew she could handle it, as long as he didn’t let go.
‘I don’t know how to say this.’ Noah eyed her warily. ‘So I’m just going to come out with it. My parents knew Bryce.’
Beth stared at him, then blinked and focused on the purple flowers covering the grass.
She was unsure what to think, but given her recent track record for discovering things she’d never known about her family, she shouldn’t be surprised, really.
Still, it was a lot to process, and she had questions.
‘How did you … I mean, you already seemed to know when you asked his name.’
‘I connected the dots. You said he grew up here, that you received an inheritance and now you’re renovating a house that once belonged to his aunt …’
Beth nodded. That made sense. Noah’s thumb began working its magic once more, this time on the back of her hand.
‘How did your parents know him?’
‘He and Dad were best mates growing up.’
Hope sparked in her belly. Noah’s dad must have a thousand stories he could tell her about her father. ‘Really?’
‘Yeah, but …’ Noah swallowed. ‘There’s more.’
A lump formed in her throat. She should’ve known.
‘Bryce and Dad were mates, right from when they were tiny, because …’ He closed his eyes. Took a deep breath. ‘Because they grew up on neighbouring properties.’ He stared at her as if he were waiting for her to fall to the ground in a heap. Or yell at him till she was hoarse.
She frowned. Had she missed something?
‘Do you remember what I told you about the second house I renovated?’
Beth thought back to the conversation they’d had around Ellie’s dinner table and what Noah had told her. Originally, the house belonged to the neighbouring farm, but when the owner died, we bought the property and the house came with it. I moved in …
‘Oh my god,’ she breathed. ‘You live in the house my father grew up in?’
When he didn’t deny it, she jumped to her feet and started pacing. This was unbelievable!
‘I’m sorry.’ Noah stood but seemed to sense that she needed space.
She turned and sliced a hand through the air. ‘All I can think about is how I have nothing of my dad. Not a photo, a keepsake or even a memory. But here you are, someone I barely know, living in his childhood home. How is that fair?’
Noah shoved his hands in his pockets, which only made her angrier.
She stabbed a finger towards him. ‘I bet you’ve heard a bunch of stories about him, too, haven’t you? Things your dad told you about when they were growing up?’
He watched her carefully. ‘Yes.’
Making a sound of frustration, she turned from him and buried her face in her hands, her emotions past boiling point for the second time that day.
It wasn’t Noah’s fault. Logically, she knew that, but her brain had bypassed that station and was more than content being completely irrational. All she could think about was that Noah knew more about her father than she did, and right now, she hated him for it.
But his arms came around her, and just like that, her misplaced anger dissipated.
She held on to him and let his gentle rocking movements soothe her as her tears fell silently. ‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered. ‘You didn’t deserve that.’
‘You’re entitled to your emotions, Beth. Everything you’re feeling is completely valid. But you were wrong about one thing.’ He lifted her chin until she was looking at him. ‘I’d like to think we know each other pretty well by now.’
His gaze dropped to her lips and her breath hitched, but he made no move to kiss her.
‘I can show you the house if you like. So you can see where he lived.’
She swallowed but shook her head. Time to process, that’s what she needed. ‘I don’t think I’m ready for that,’ she told him, ‘but I do have a favour to ask.’
‘Anything.’
The word sent a shiver down her spine.
‘Can you arrange for me to meet with your parents? I want to find out what they know about my dad.’
‘Of course.’
And with that promise, Noah leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead.