Always You by Erin Kaye

Author:Erin Kaye [Erin Kaye]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Chapter 12

He was there, sitting on the bench by the river in front of The Big Fish, when Sarah arrived with her sandwich in one hand and a confusion of emotions in her heart. If he had not been here she would’ve been disappointed. But the fact that he was filled her with nervous apprehension. Evelyn had only been a slip of a girl when she’d risked everything she knew for an uncertain future. Was she brave enough to take a chance with Cahal, to risk being hurt a second time?

When she got close she saw that he had a phone pressed to his ear and she said, ‘Sorry, am I disturbing you?’

He shook his head, removed the phone from his ear and smiled. ‘Just listening to some voicemails the boys left me.’ He pressed a button on the phone and the smile fell from his lips. ‘Harry, the littlest, was crying.’

She sat down beside him on the bench. ‘Oh, how awful. What was wrong with him?’

‘I couldn’t make out what he was saying. Something about a boy at school.’ He pressed the phone to his chest and stared out across the river, the colour of sheet-metal under a blank grey sky. The sound of traffic and gulls calling filled the air. His throat moved. ‘You know, I don’t know what I’m doing here, Sarah. I hate being away from them. I can’t even speak to Harry until late tonight by which time it’ll be morning in Melbourne. I feel like I’ve let them down.’ He paused and shook his head.

‘I’m sure they understand that you had no choice.’ She stared at the back of his hand where it lay on his lap, recognising the lump where a hurling stick had fractured it in the Ryan Cup finals at uni. She’d kissed his bandaged hand with such tenderness, feeling his pain as if she herself had been wounded.

He hung his head. ‘I wanted to put as much distance as possible between myself and Adele and Brady.’

‘Brady?’

He looked up. ‘Adele’s new husband. He’s moved into our old house. It’s one of the reasons I came here. I couldn’t deal with it. Not because I still love Adele,’ he added hastily. ‘No, I’m pleased to see her happy. It’s Brady.’ He paused and stared hard out across the river before bringing his gaze back to Sarah. ‘His favourite things in the world are beer and sport and he’s more easy-going than me. I haven’t told anyone this before, but … well … I’m worried that the boys’ll like him more than me.’

‘That will only happen if you let it, Cahal. You’ll always be their Dad. And it’s only six months.’ Six short months and then he would be gone again. ‘Maybe with a stepfather as well as a father, they get the best of both worlds.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Just because Brady’s different from you, it doesn’t make him a bad influence. Maybe the boys will benefit from having two male role models in their lives.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.