Midnight Beach (Escape to the Coast, #2) by Amber Jakeman

Author:Amber Jakeman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Beach read, second chance, WLB, forbidden love, sweet romance, wholesome romance, women's fiction
Publisher: Amber Jakeman
Published: 2024-01-03T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 39

Upstairs above Nola’s shop, her aunt sat with her feet up on one of the chairs.

“Have a good evening, love?” Nola said.

“Okay,” said Bronte.

“I loved my free time after work when I was your age.”

“What did you do with it?”

“Summer was the best, when there was plenty of light. I swam, or bushwalked or wandered – when I wasn’t studying or doing homework. Your Mum rang, Bronte.”

“Yeah?”

“She said she misses you. Wonders if you’ve changed your mind and want to go back to school. Said she and your Dad don’t mind if you want to change schools. Said they should have made the offer to you sooner. She’s sorry they insisted you go back to your old school.”

Bronte closed her eyes and shook her head.

“No,” she said, out of habit. For a moment, the vision of the drama props room returned. And Brinda, and Amina. Their little trio that tried to avoid trouble. But their parents hated her. They thought she was a bad influence.

“What happened, Bron?” Nola’s voice was gentle.

Nola would listen without judging. The great thing about Nola was she was so negative she was practically neutral. And she wouldn’t tell on her.

“Vipers’ nest,” said Bronte. “I was always the odd one out. Right from the very beginning. On those open days when your parents are meant to come and admire your efforts, Mum and Dad were always working. It was like they posted me at school and expected me to come out all stamped at the other end, as some kind of package called ‘a grown-up’ they could be proud of. And the other kids never let me forget it. Like I was some kind of orphan nobody cared about. If my own parents didn’t care, why should they?”

“Kids can be cruel at that age,” Nola nodded.

Bronte stared sharply at her aunt, so gray and worn out. How would she have any idea? But she hadn’t always been so old. Not that old was bad. It was Nola’s relentless negativity she found hardest to swallow. It was catchy. Jasper’s company was the opposite. Jasper? Yes. He was playful. Fun. He was all about the future. Nola was stuck in the past.

“Were they cruel to you, too, Nola?”

Nola nodded.

“It wasn’t easy being the shopkeepers’ daughters. Did Erin ever tell you? Plenty of schoolmates reckoned we should give them things for nothing. Some of them pushed it right to the limits.”

“Stealing things?”

“Yes, and expecting us to turn a blind eye. It forced us into impossible situations. If we reported them, they’d turn on us like we’d betrayed them. Worse were the ones who pretended they liked us, just so they could get larger servings, or free this or that.”

Nola’s face went so dark, Bronte touched her arm.

“What happened, Nola? Tell me?”

“Oh, I might be an old fool now, but I was a young fool once. Still it wasn’t all bad. I won’t tell you names, because some of these people still live in the bay, or visit, but there was a surfer I had a crush on, and he convinced me he liked me.

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