Beyond Grace's Rainbow: HarperImpulse Contemporary Romance

by Carmel Harrington

  Their waiter came and took the drinks orders, leaving the gang to select their choices from the extensive menu. They’d all eaten there before; it was a favourite haunt, so they knew the food would be good. When the orders were given, Tom turned to Shay and asked. ‘You’re an architect I believe?’

  ‘Yes, that’s right,’ Shay said a bit shyly. He knew that everyone was watching him closely and he didn’t want to let Abby down in any way.

  ‘What type of work do you do? Commercial or residential?’ Tom asked.

  ‘Well our firm does pretty much anything, but I tend to work on the residential side mainly. One of a kind houses that are a little bit special.’

  ‘Where money’s no object?’ Tom enquired.

  ‘Yeah, something like that. It’s challenging sometimes to come up with new concepts for my clients, but I love it,’ Shay replied.

  ‘Darling, how perfect,’ Gerry exclaimed loudly to Abby. ‘Just think of the house he’d design for you two if you get married!’

  Abby thought she would die of embarrassment and quickly looked to Shay to apologise, but he was just laughing. Thank God, she thought, he’s taken it the right way! Soon Grace and Shay were deep in conversation about some of the houses he had designed and Grace had done the interiors on. They had a lot in common. Abby was chuffed to see her friends all take to Shay so easily. He was fitting in just fine. Their starters arrived and as always in Siam’s, all conversation stopped for a few moments as all thoughts went to consuming the beautiful food laid out in front of them. When the starters were finished and everyone’s glasses of wine were topped up, conversation resumed. Soon talk turned to Grace and Liam’s wedding.

  ‘You should see Jack’s tuxedo,’ Grace told the group. ‘Gerry and I bought it today in Debenhams. It is absolutely gorgeous on him. He looks so cute.’

  ‘Did he mind trying them on?’ Tara asked.

  ‘Did he what?’ Liam joined in. ‘He went mad. It was only when I said he could wear his Spider-Man t-shirt underneath, that he agreed to it!’

  ‘Darlings, I was worried for a moment! I thought he was going to insist on walking Grace down the aisle in red tights with webs dangling from his hands!’

  Everyone laughed with Gerry at this image.

  ‘Well if so, we could always have had a fancy dress wedding,’ Grace said with a grin, turning to Tom. ‘You could have worn your Robin outfit again!’

  Tom acknowledged this by simply sticking his tongue out at Grace.

  ‘By the way, you’ll all be pleased to know that the venue’s booked,’ Gerry informed the group. ‘They decided upon Rose Tree Manor. December 24th, all set.’

  Everyone clapped and whooped with delight, Tom shouting the waiter to bring some champagne.

  ‘Didn’t Catherine mind?’ Tara asked.

  ‘No, she rang yesterday and said she thought I should definitely have the wedding there. She said it was perfect and that she’d call her friends, the Murtaghs, to make sure we got the best treatment.’

  Tom, Gerry and Liam exchanged glances. ‘When are you seeing her again, darling?’ Gerry asked.

  ‘Well, she said she’d be up in a couple of weeks or so. What did she say to you Liam when she called?’ Grace asked her fiancé.

  ‘Just that, babe. She’s going to come for a visit soon.’ With a slight nod of his head to the guys, Tom realised that Catherine had made her decision and was going to tell Grace.

  There were some people in this world that bad things happened to. There was always a drama of some kind in their lives, and Tom sadly realised that Grace was one of those people. He met people like that a lot in his work. Some of the stories of horror he’d come across in the past would make the hair stand on the back of your neck. But Grace was strong. She’d taken every knock in the past and come through it. Losing her parents, Liam’s drinking, raising Jack alone for his first years, surviving cancer. She’d learn to live with the horror of Catherine’s rape. He knew it.

  ‘Tom, whatever is the matter. You’re staring at me very strangely!’ Grace said self-consciously.

  ‘Sorry pet. Didn’t mean to. Just thinking how lovely you’re looking tonight that’s all.’

  ‘You’re forgiven so!’ Grace said with a beautiful smile.

  Shay excused himself then to go to the bathroom. As soon as he left, Abby turned to the group and asked them excitedly what they thought of him, as they knew she would. Six faces stared back at her silently. She couldn’t believe it. She thought they’d be praising him immediately. They really seemed to like him.

  ‘Gerry, you’ve met him already. Do you still love him?’ she asked smiling.

  ‘Darling, there’s something about the way his eyes keep shifting around that worries me,’ Gerry replied dramatically.

  ‘Grace, Tara, you liked him right? You both said he was lovely that first night,’ Abby turned to the girls.

  ‘His laugh is a bit false don’t you think, Tara?’ Grace said, to which Tara agreed.

  ‘A man with a false laugh is always a worry,’ Tara replied sagely, to which the entire table nodded their assent solemnly as if she had spoken words of wisdom worthy of the Dalai Lama!

  ‘Tom?’ Abby turned feeling panicky.

  ‘His eyebrows are really bushy. Very sinister looking,’ Tom replied.

  ‘Sean, Liam? Guys come on; I know you all liked him.’

  One by one they all shook their heads. Abby looked distraught and couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Then looking at their faces again she could see that they were all struggling not to laugh.

  ‘You little shits!’ she said crossly. ‘You’re having me on!’

  ‘That we are darling,’ Gerry exclaimed, giving his friend a quick kiss. ‘We love him. He’s perfect, isn’t he everyone?’

  With that, the group all started telling Abby how much they liked Shay, going quiet really quickly when he returned to the table.

  ‘Well do I pass?’ Shay asked the group. Seeing their faces, he continued with a grin, ‘I assume you were all letting Abby know what you thought about me! Will I do or should I pack my bags and go now?’

  ‘They love you!’ Abby said with a laugh.

  ‘Thank God for that! I’d hate to get on the wrong side of you lot!’ he finished with a laugh.

  ‘We’re not that scary are we?’ Tom asked him.

  ‘Yes we are!’ Liam replied. ‘I can remember the first time Grace introduced me to Tara and Abby. That was terrifying! Talk about the Spanish Inquisition!’

  ‘Wimp,’ Tara said with a grin.

  ‘Now I’ve just got to get through Sunday!’ Shay said with a mock groan.

  ‘What’s happening on Sunday?’ Grace asked.

  ‘He’s coming to my parents with me for Sunday lunch,’ Abby declared. To which the group erupted into whoops of laughter. To their knowledge, Abby had never taken any guy home. She must really be smitten.

  ‘Watch out for her dad, mate,’ Tom said to Shay. ‘He’s been known to meet guys at the door with a shotgun!’

  ‘And you better take a couple of Rennies too; her Ma is a terrible cook!’ Liam added.

  ‘What about those brothers of hers?’ Sean threw in for good measure.

  ‘You all finished?’ Abby asked them with a laugh. ‘Don’t worry Shay, Dad never shoots the guys the first time he meets them!’

  The meal continued with lots of chatter and laughter and the friends all had a great night. As Abby and Shay picked up their coats to go, Grace whispered to her, ‘This one’s a keeper. I can tell. Give me a call in the morning so we can have a proper gossip!’

  Tom shouted to Shay as he was leaving, ‘Join us for a jar some Thursday.’

  Abby couldn’t have been happier, the night had been a complete success.

  Chapter Thirty Two

  Catherine was spending the weekend with Grace and Liam. She had been avoiding them for weeks now, afraid to finally confess to Grace who her father was. Liam had called her and said he would have to talk to Grace if she d
idn’t talk to her soon. Catherine didn’t have any plan formulated. She laughed ruefully to herself when she realised this; she had spent the last four weeks thinking about little else. Every possible scenario played through her mind, what she would say and how Grace would respond. But now that she was driving to Grace’s apartment in Swords, the words were all muddled in her brain. She couldn’t get them straight in her mind. Half an hour later she was sitting in Grace’s living room, listening to Jack tell a story about his best friend in Montessori.

  ‘Ben met Mickey Mouse,’ he said excitedly.

  ‘Well it won’t be too long and you’ll be in Disneyland too pet, and that’s where Mickey Mouse lives,’ Catherine told him with a fond smile.

  ‘Do you think Mickey Mouse will give me a kiss too, Mommy?’ Jack said turning to Grace.

  ‘Of course he will sweetie-pie. But only if you’re a good boy!’

  They spent a lovely afternoon together chatting away about the forthcoming wedding. Liam came home from a meeting with his editor later that evening.

  ‘Dinner’s ready!’ he said with a grin when he walked into the sitting room with two bags. He’d stopped for an Indian takeaway on the way home.

  ‘You’re not eating very much, Catherine. Are you okay?’ Grace asked with concern when she realised Catherine had only been playing with her food.

  ‘Oh I’m grand pet, don’t be worrying. Just not that hungry.’

  Liam glanced at her quickly and his heart went out to Catherine. He knew what she was thinking about.

  After eating, they all watched some TV together and then Grace took Jack upstairs to bed.

  ‘Are you going to tell her tonight?’ Liam asked Catherine as soon as Grace had left the room.

  ‘I’m not sure I can,’ Catherine replied.

  ‘Of course you can Catherine. You have to,’ Liam said firmly.

  ‘That’s easy for you to say, Liam. Are you so sure that Grace needs to know? What good will it do?’

  ‘I don’t think Grace needs to know Catherine. But she has the right to know. We can’t keep it from her. It wouldn’t be right,’ Liam replied.

  ‘Why not? If Tom hadn’t gone snooping around Ballymichael, none of you would know,’ Catherine said.

  ‘But he did go “snooping”, Catherine. We can’t pretend that we didn’t have that conversation a month ago. It’s not fair expecting me to keep this from Grace,’ Liam said once again.

  ‘Keep what from me?’ Grace interrupted them both, a curious look on her face. ‘What kind of surprise are you two cooking up for me now?’ Then taking a look closely at both their faces, Grace realised that whatever they were talking about, it wasn’t a good thing. ‘What’s going on? Liam?’ Grace said worriedly.

  ‘Catherine has some news for you, Grace. Come over here babe and sit down beside me,’ Liam said, beckoning her over.

  ‘I’m fine where I am,’ Grace replied, standing firmly in her spot by the door. ‘Catherine, what have you got to tell me?’ Grace was beginning to get worried. Catherine and Liam looked so nervous; she began to imagine all sorts of things. ‘Oh my God, you’re not ill are you Catherine?’

  ‘No pet, I’m not ill. Sit down and I’ll tell you,’ Catherine replied immediately.

  ‘Thank God. Come on, whatever it is, it can’t be that bad,’ Grace said with a sigh of relief.

  Grace noted the look that passed between Catherine and Liam and felt worried all over again.

  ‘It’s about your father, Grace,’ Catherine began quietly.

  Seeing the puzzled look on Grace’s face, Liam clarified, ‘Not Mick. Your real father.’

  ‘I thought you didn’t know who it is,’ Grace accused Catherine.

  ‘I lied to you, Grace. Although I think you already guessed that. I’ve always known who your father is, but couldn’t tell you,’ Catherine replied.

  Grace couldn’t believe her ears. She felt a big smile begin to creep up her face. This was fantastic news. She was going to find out who her father was at last. Walking over to Liam, she sat down beside him saying, ‘This is huge. My heart is beating so fast! I can’t believe I’m going to find out at last where I came from.’

  ‘Try to calm down, babe. This isn’t easy for Catherine,’ Liam said, grabbing her hand.

  ‘I’m sorry Catherine. I just got so excited. Please go on,’ Grace said with a smile.

  ‘This is very hard for me, Grace. I’ve been very scared to tell you the truth,’ Catherine said in a small voice.

  ‘Why? Look Catherine, nothing you can say to me will shock me. I promise you.’

  ‘I hope you feel the same way when I’ve told you my story. Liam’s told me that Tom looked into my background.’

  Grace looked at Liam accusingly. When had he told Catherine this? ‘It seems there have been a few secrets going on around here.’

  Liam mouthed ‘Sorry.’

  Catherine continued, ‘Liam came to see me about a month ago. He and Tom had discovered something about your father and wanted to check it out with me.’

  Grace absorbed this information. She kept quiet although she had plenty of questions running around her mind.

  ‘I asked Liam and Tom to keep quiet about the conversation we had so that I could get myself together. I wanted to tell you myself.’ Catherine stood up and walked over to Grace, sitting on the other side of her. ‘There was a reason why I didn’t want to tell you previously about your father, Grace. It was a difficult and painful memory for me and one I’ve tried hard to bury for years. This is going to be hard for you to accept Grace and I’m so sorry that you have to hear it,’ Catherine said seriously.

  Grace had paled as she listened to Catherine speak and she realised that whatever she was going to hear now would change her life completely. Glancing at Liam, he too looked really worried.

  ‘I know Tom told you that I hadn’t really had any boyfriends back then and was basically a good girl.’

  Grace nodded in response.

  ‘Well that was true. Back then I only ever went out with one guy. Robert Hegarty.’

  ‘Did you love him?’ Grace asked her mother.

  ‘No pet. I’m not sure I’ve ever loved a man to be honest. Robert was a kind man and he was very good to me, but I didn’t love him. He’s not your father, Grace.’ Catherine was concerned that Grace still harboured this possibility.

  ‘I know that,’ Grace replied. ‘So who is?’

  ‘I was raped Grace.’ Catherine watched her daughter’s face closely and saw the shock register with a sharp blow. Grace stood up and started to pace the room.

  ‘Raped?’ Grace asked with a small voice. This she hadn’t been prepared for. ‘My father is a rapist?’

  ‘Yes,’ Catherine said softly.

  ‘Did you know him?’ Grace asked, horror written all over her face. She felt that now all-too familiar feeling of being completely winded, as if being hit by a truck. Bang! There it was again.

  ‘Yes, I knew him Grace,’ Catherine replied.

  ‘Who is he?’ Grace asked quietly.

  ‘Are you really sure you want to know? Just think about this for a moment, Grace. Who he is isn’t important. Your father was Mick Devlin. That will never change. The man who raped me is nobody. Believe me he isn’t worthy of one moment of your thoughts,’ Catherine said fervently.

  Grace looked at her mother in horror. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. Her mind was racing and she didn’t know what to think.

  ‘Are you okay, babe?’ Liam asked her.

  She looked at him and bit back a sarcastic response. She was annoyed with him but knew that more than likely she was being unfair. She knew that he hadn’t done anything wrong and if he’d spoken to Catherine behind her back, he did it with only good intentions. She walked towards the door. ‘I’m going for a walk. I need to clear my mind.’ Liam made to get up but Grace stopped him, ‘No Liam, I don’t want any company. Stay with Catherine.’ As she got to the door, she paused and turned back into the room towards Cath
erine, ‘I’m not annoyed with you, okay? I just need some time; I’ll be back soon.’

  Grabbing her coat and bag, Grace walked out the door. Liam knew that it was better to let her go. As it was raining Grace decided to go to her local pub down the road. She hadn’t really planned where she would go when she walked out of the apartment, she just knew that she needed to get out for a while. She needed some time alone to try to absorb the information she had just been given. Walking up to the bar, she asked for a brandy and ginger. She spotted a quiet corner and walked over with her drink. For one surreal moment she wondered if she had just dreamt the previous conversation. Had Catherine told her she’d been raped? Fuck. This was a nightmare. Who could have done such a thing? A hotel guest? Somebody from Ballymichael? A family member? God, it could be anyone. A cold shiver ran over her body when she thought about it. Poor Catherine. How awful it must have been for her. She couldn’t comprehend it. Catherine had said that maybe she shouldn’t know who the bastard was who did this to her. But surely she needed to know who he was. What if she bumped into him and didn’t realise who he was? A single tear fell down her cheek. How she wished her Mam and Dad were alive. She’d love to ask them what to do. They’d know what she should do, they always had. She knew she couldn’t hide out here forever, so she swallowed her drink and started to walk home.

  It had stopped raining and she looked up to the sky. A rainbow was shining brightly. ‘Oh Mam and Dad! Is that you beyond the rainbow’s end?’ she whispered. ‘I don’t know what to do.’ She thought of their faces and felt their love envelop her. And then she thought of Catherine, her mother too, and she realised she loved her and she knew she had to get back quickly to give her a hug. She couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for her.

  Chapter Thirty Three

  ‘Where do you think she’s gone?’ Catherine asked for the tenth time in the last half hour. She was pacing the floor of the apartment.

  ‘She’ll be back,’ Liam assured her. ‘It’s a lot for her to take in. Give her a chance to absorb the information.’ Liam was trying to keep Catherine calm. She was beside herself. He was worried too but was trying to keep that to himself. God alone knew what was going through Grace’s mind. It was with great relief that he heard the key turn in the lock. Running to the hall, he pulled Grace into his arms. ‘You okay babe?’