by Louise Hall
“So how did you find out that Ruby was Dexter Rathburn’s daughter?” Ben asked.
“Pamela, that’s Ruby’s mum, she was diagnosed with breast cancer several years ago. She had a double mastectomy and thankfully she’s now in remission but she still does a lot of work for breast cancer charities. We were at the bakery one morning, I was finishing off decorating a cake in the shape of a bottom with a pair of pink frilly knickers on it for a stag do and Ruby didn’t have classes that day so she was helping out behind the counter while Nico was getting supplies. She mentioned that Pamela was struggling to come up with new fundraising ideas and so I suggested that we host an open-kitchen here at the bakery where women could come together, drink champagne and decorate the cookies we’d baked beforehand in the shape of breasts. Afterwards, we could sell the cookies in the bakery and all of the proceeds would go to Pamela’s charity. Ruby and Pamela both loved the idea and we raised about £1,000 that night.”
“It was later that night, while I was helping Nico clean up after the open-kitchen, that I met Dexter Rathburn for the first time. He came by to pick up Pamela and Ruby.”
“But you didn’t say anything to him?”
“No,” Liv raked her fingers through her long, brown hair, “by that time, Ruby and I had become really good friends. I knew that if I told her the truth about who I was and why I’d really come to Calder Harbour, it would only cause more upset and pain, something I desperately didn’t want to do. I still feel so guilty about what happened at Ryan’s wedding. I’m just so thankful that nobody was more badly hurt.”
“So what happened last night?”
“Last night…” Liv’s voice cracked, “was Ruby’s birthday party. I tried to make excuses for why I couldn’t go but Ruby insisted that as one of her best friends, she’d be really upset if I wasn’t there. It was a big party with almost all of Calder Harbour in attendance and so I hoped that I’d be able to avoid him. Unlike you and Rems, Cate, I’ve always looked more like Mum so I didn’t think it would be obvious that I was his biological daughter.”
“I could feel him watching me at various times throughout the night but I hoped that it was just because he didn’t like me. Nico had warned me that he could be a snob. But the guilt about lying to Ruby was giving me a stomach-ache and so I went outside for a few minutes to get some fresh air. I heard footsteps on the wooden planks of the old pier and when I turned around, Dexter had followed me outside.”
Cate put her hand over her sister’s. “His first words to me… After being absent from my life for twenty five years, you’d think that maybe he’d want to apologise or ask how I was? No, he just wanted to know how much money it would take for me to disappear. He gripped my upper arm and steered me further away from the bright lights of the party and into the shadows of the deserted pier. I was so shocked that he knew who I was that I could only just get out that I didn’t want his money.”
“I tried promising that I wouldn’t tell anyone that I was his daughter but he just scoffed at me. He said...”
“He said that I wasn’t his daughter. I was just one of the stupid mistakes he’d left behind a long time ago.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Ben shoved his chair back from the table.
He was interrupted by somebody knocking on the front door of the bakery. “I’ll get rid of them,” Nico insisted, pulling back the heavy curtain.
“We’re closed.”
“That’s fabulous,” Remy insisted, “but I’m not here for a cookie, Mr Tall Dark and Handsome. I’m looking for my family.”
“We’re back here,” Ben grunted.
“What did I miss?” Remy asked, slipping past Nico. “I had to get up at the butt-crack of dawn so it had better be good and oh my goodness… are those penis cookies?”
“Mm,” Cate smiled, “and they taste really good too.”
“OK, who are you and what have you done with my sweet, virginal sister?” Remy asked.
“Virginal? Really?” Cate gestured to her bump.
“Well, you used to be.”
Cate chuckled, “we all used to be, Remy.”
While Remy caught up with everything that had happened so far, she greedily devoured two of Nico’s yummy penis-shaped cookies. “Please,” she said scornfully when she heard that Dexter had called them all “stupid mistakes”. “With the exception of you,” she gestured towards Nico, “who I don’t know well enough to determine if you’re just a hot body and a cute face, none of the people in this room are either stupid or a mistake. I’m a kick-ass woman and since the four of us share the same DNA that means that you’re all kick-ass too. You can’t deny the science. Even Ben, who despite my best efforts when he was little – you should have seen him, he looked so adorable with his hair braided with pink ribbons – is unfortunately not a woman but he’s still kick-ass.” She nonchalantly licked a cookie crumb off the end of her thumb.
“When I grow up, I want to be just like you,” Cate joked.
“I can understand that,” Remy shrugged.
Ben shook his head, “one Remy is more than enough in this world.”
“In little ways, you all remind me so much of Ruby,” Nico commented.
Remy turned back to Liv, “so what happened next?”
“Dexter had his back to the door so he didn’t see the stricken look on Ruby’s face. She’d obviously heard what he’d said. He said that I wasn’t feeling well – I was a silly girl and must have drunk too much champagne – he was going to put me in a taxi and then he’d be right back. She ignored him, focusing all of her attention on me instead. She asked me if it was true. I didn’t know what to say. She was my friend, I didn’t want to lie to her but how could I tell her the truth? How could I completely destroy her family?”
“Pamela came to the doorway. She’d been looking for Dexter and Ruby because it was almost time to bring out Ruby’s birthday cake. I mumbled an apology to Nico. I couldn’t look at either Ruby or Pamela for fear of seeing how much pain I’d caused them. I promised Nico I’d be gone by the morning, hitched up my skirt and ran down the pier as fast as I could. I didn’t stop running until I got back to the bedsit, my muscles were screaming and I was crying so hard. For the first time since I arrived in Calder Harbour, I wanted to get drunk. I kept thinking about what Dexter had said, that I was just a “stupid mistake.”
“But you didn’t get drunk.” Cate said with certainty.
“No,” Liv shook her head. “I tried calling you but got your voicemail so then I called Jax.”
CHAPTER 21
Nico agreed to drive them up the hill to the Rathburn house. “Wow,” Cate said, “so that’s where all the money went?”
“He didn’t give you anything?” Nico asked.
“Ha,” Remy scoffed. “The last thing he did before he left was clear out the bank accounts so Mum had nothing.”
The four of them walked up the path. Nico waited for them in the car. Pamela opened the front door. “Ruby baby, we’ve been so worried.” She threw her arms around Cate.
“I’m not Ruby,” Cate struggled free of her grasp.
“Oh,” Pamela looked down at Cate’s bump and blushed bright crimson, “no, of course you’re not. I’m so sorry.”
She looked at Liv, “Olivia?”
“Is he here?” Liv asked, tightly squeezing Cate’s hand.
“Dexter?” Pamela called upstairs.
“Please come in.” She led them through to a large room with a beautiful view of the harbour below.
“What is it?” Dexter asked.
“Hello Dad,” Ben smirked.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Dexter yelled.
“I let them in,” Pamela patted his arm; “I think it’s about time you had this conversation, don’t you?”
“Can I get you any tea or coffee?” she asked. “Please sit down.”
“Don’t you dare sit down,” Dexter fumed. “If you’ve come here looking for money, I can tell you right now, you’re not getting a s
ingle penny out of me.”
“Dexter!” Pamela looked aghast.
“This was a bad idea, we should go,” Liv backed towards the door.
“No,” Cate and Ben quickly flanked her.
Like a vulture looking for the weakest prey to attack first, Dexter narrowed his black eyes. He turned his attention to Remy. “How much were you going to ask for? That’s why you came, isn’t it? I would imagine that something like £50k would be enough to save your foolish, little husband’s business from RaxCorp, am I right?”
Cate was shocked; she didn’t know that her sister and Vincenzo had been having money troubles.
Remy stepped forward, her stilettos making little divots in the plush carpeting. “Listen to me, you little…” She swore fluently in Italian, complete with lots of hand gestures.
Satisfied that he’d got under Remy’s skin, Dexter turned to the second of his children. “As you can see,” he cackled, “I’ve never had any problems fathering children but for lesser men, I’ve heard IVF can be very expensive. Isn’t that why you’re here, son?”
Ben’s eyes almost bugged out of his head, “how dare you…?”
Remy grabbed his arm, “don’t.” She’d regained a little of her composure. “He’s not worth it.”
“What about me?” Cate asked quietly. “Since you know everything about us, why do you think I need your money?”
Dexter smirked, “ah yes, I was just coming around to you. You’re the greediest of the lot, aren’t you? Those two…” he jerked his head at Remy and Ben, “they need my money because they made stupid decisions. She married an idiot who can’t run even a simple business successfully whereas he married a woman who can’t give him children.”
“I’m going to kill you,” Ben roared.
“The truth hurts, doesn’t it?” Dexter cackled again. It was an awful sound.
“I know all about you,” Dexter turned his attention to Cate. “You might not need my money but you want it. You were barely out of high school when you sank your claws into that rich husband of yours. Although, seducing him the night of his dad’s funeral…” Dexter tutted, “that’s cold-hearted, even by my standards.”
Dexter looked pointedly at Cate’s bump. “I heard about that poor boy, his leg broken in three places all because he’s dating your husband’s mistress. Did you really think that if you got knocked up again, it would stop him from cheating on you? You poor, naïve, little fool – you really have been blinded by all those pound signs. Your mum tried to do the exact same thing. She thought if she kept having babies that it would make me stay.”
“You’re wrong,” Cate swallowed the lump in the back of her throat. “I don’t want a single penny from you.”
“Neither do I,” Remy reached for her sister’s hand. “If you’re going to make accusations like that, you should get your facts straight. My husband’s business isn’t under threat from RaxCorp; in fact, we’ve just signed an exclusive deal to supply their supermarkets.”
“Marrying Erin was the best decision I have ever made,” Ben folded his arms across his chest. “We don’t need your money for IVF. My beautiful, smart, kind-hearted wife is eight months pregnant with our first child.”
“Have you heard of Klein Consulting?” Remy picked up the newspaper that was lying on the coffee table and flicked through to the business pages. “You see that,” she stabbed a red lacquered fingernail at the page. “That right there is Mum’s company. The company she built from nothing, after you took all our money and left.”
Dexter seemed to shrink right before their eyes, “Your mother has her own company?”
“You’re damn right she does,” Ben grinned, enjoying his discomfort.
The truth suddenly dawned on Cate. “That’s why you left, isn’t it? You knew that no matter what you did, Mum would always outshine you. That’s why you kept having children because you thought that it would make her dull but it didn’t, if anything it made her more vibrant because she had more to love, more to fight for. When you left, she was pregnant, had three young children and no money and yet she still managed to build a successful company.”
“You tried to trap her,” Remy said, “not the other way around.”
“I want you to leave, right now,” Dexter shouted.
“The truth hurts, doesn’t it,” Ben laughed, repeating Dexter’s words.
Cate refused to back down. “We’re not going anywhere until you admit it.”
“I thought Vin’s uncles were chauvinist pigs,” Remy looked at their father spluttering with rage. “They have nothing on you.”
“Fine,” Dexter shouted, his eyes bulging out of his head. “The day your mum found out she was pregnant for the fourth time, I lost my job. I couldn’t find another one. Your mum suggested that she could get a job just to tide us over until I found something. She quickly got promoted and I got stuck being a house husband. It wasn’t right – I was supposed to be the breadwinner, I’m the man. Instead, I was running around after three snotty-nosed little brats knowing that there would soon be a fourth. I couldn’t take it anymore. When I walked out of the front door that morning, I felt like I could breathe properly for the first time in years. I didn’t have to smell dirty nappies or listen to the cries of teething babies or fights over cheap plastic toys.”
They heard a loud crack and Dexter slumped to the floor, holding the side of his face. “Vile bitch, you’re just like your mother. Get out of my house.”
They turned to Remy, who was flexing her fingers trying to work out if she’d broken any bones. She curled her lip. “If you think telling me that I’m just like my amazing mum is an insult, you’re even more stupid than I thought.”
“Come on,” she turned to her brother and sisters, “let’s get the hell out of here. We’ve wasted twenty five years on this pathetic excuse of a man. I’m done.”
CHAPTER 22
“Where are we?” Cate asked, rubbing her eyes. She’d fallen asleep shortly after they’d left the Rathburn’s, only waking as Nico’s car came to a stop in front of what looked like a lavish stately home.
“We’re staying here tonight,” Remy offered Cate a hand to climb out from the backseat. “I’ve booked us all rooms.”
“Wow,” Liv looked around wide-eyed as they walked up the steps to the main entrance. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. Look at that chandelier, it’s freaking huge!”
“You look like crap,” Remy nudged Cate as they waited for Liv and Ben to finish checking in. “Why don’t you go upstairs and take a nap? The restaurant here is supposed to be really good. We’ll meet back downstairs for dinner at 8ish?”
“OK, Mum,” Cate joked. The smile quickly dropped from her face as she thought about how angry Irene was going to be. “Do you think we should maybe…?”
Remy shook her head, “not tonight. It’s too raw. We’ll go home together and tell her then. It’ll be better in person.”
Hit by another wave of exhaustion, Cate could do little more than nod. She followed the porter upstairs to her room.
After the porter had gone, Cate checked her watch; the Rovers match had kicked off five minutes ago so she switched on BBC Radio 5 Live for the commentary. “Warner with a good first touch; spreads the ball out wide to Di Vela.” She liked hearing Kian’s name; if he couldn’t be here, at least she could picture where he was and what he was doing.
She was pleased to hear that Matteo was playing again too. Kian had a private word with the gaffer and as soon as Matteo was fit enough to fly, the club had given him leave to visit his family back home in Italy. While he was there, he’d admitted to his parents that he was homesick and so they’d arranged for his older brother, Raimondo and cousin, Domenico to come and stay with him in Manchester.
Cate turned the volume down so it was a low murmur, toed off her ballet pumps and climbed into the massive four-poster bed.
She chuckled as she looked at the sturdy, wooden posts on all four corners of the bed. When she was more awake, she
was going to snap a photo of them and send it to Kian, since he enjoyed tying her up so much.
The exhaustion rolled into her again like waves on the shore. She lay back, cocooned within mountains of plump cushions and closed her eyes; the duvet and silk eiderdown comfortingly heavy against her skin. It felt like she was being swallowed into the depths of the bed and she wasn’t putting up any resistance.
As the waves receded, preparing for a fresh onslaught. Cate blinked open her eyes. She couldn’t believe that she’d met her biological father today. He’d been everything and nothing like she’d imagined. He’d seemed so small, pathetic; cowering on the carpet after Remy had slapped him.
After twenty five years, she’d expected there to be a massive revelation as to why he’d walked out on his pregnant wife and three young children. She’d expected amnesia, sordid affairs or alcohol and drug abuse. The truth was more shocking in that it wasn’t shocking at all – he’d simply thought that because he was a man, he was better than being just a dad. Cate thought about the dads she knew; Eamon, Vincenzo and Ben. Part of what made them such great men was that they were or would be great fathers. She thought about Kian and how fiercely he loved Lola. There was no just being a dad for Kian.
Later that evening, Cate met up with Ben and Remy in the hotel restaurant. “Where’s Liv?” As much as it hurt that she hadn’t been able to find that happiness back home in Manchester, Cate was eager to find out more about her sister’s new life in Calder Harbour.
Remy shook her head, “She left while you were asleep. She wants to make things right with Ruby.”
“Oh,” Cate felt a whip of betrayal. This was Liv’s family; Cate, Remy and Ben. They’d just seen their biological father for the first time in twenty five years. “Is she coming back?”