Someday (Canyon Bay Series Book 1)

by Liz Lovelock

  “Look, I don’t want to ride with you if you’re going to be Mr Snappy Tom at me,” I reply coldly. “I’m sorry about what I said—perhaps I shouldn’t have said something that sounds so crazy.”

  He shakes his head. “No, don’t apologise. It’s just hard for me to accept.”

  He walks ahead of me as we make our way to the car that he has running and waiting on the road near the beachfront. The car ride is silent—the stillness is painful. Neither of us speak. I wish I knew what was going on with him. He said he didn’t want there to be secrets between us, but it seems to me that he still has something going on.

  After the short tension filled drive, we arrive home, and Seth assists me by getting my crutches, but once we’re in the door, he storms off down the hallway towards his room. I have nothing left in me; my emotions bounce all over the place.

  Entering the kitchen, I turn on the kettle to make myself a cup of tea. Perhaps it’s time to move back to the cottage. At least there wouldn’t be so much tension surrounding us. While I wait, the sound of shuffling behind me has me spinning around. I come face to face with Sherri, who has a very concerned look on her face. Her eyes are sad and questioning. “What happened, dear?”

  When I hear her sweet voice say those words, I break. She walks over and takes me in her tiny arms. I bend down to her level. Her arms tighten around me. Stepping back, she watches me.

  “I said the wrong thing,” I admit, hanging my head in shame.

  “You take a seat, and I’ll make the tea.” She gives me one of her comforting smiles. Things may not be as bad as what I’m making them out to be. Maybe he needs time to think about what I’ve said.

  After a moment, Sherri sits at the table across from me, sliding my tea towards me and hugging her own mug.

  “Thank you.”

  “That’s okay. Now what’s happened?” She takes a sip of her tea, as do I.

  “I told him that I’ve seen Olive. I don’t know if it was a dream or vision or whatever. I’m not a huge believer in ghosts, but I can’t explain it. The last time was when I was in my coma at the hospital …” I continue to fill her in on everything that has happened. She remains silent the whole time, not giving anything away. She simply sips at her tea, not interrupting me once.

  When I finish, she slowly places her cup down in front of her. Her eyes come back up and connect with my concerned ones. “You’re not the only one to have said they’ve seen Olive.”

  “Wait—what?” I swear my mouth falls open.

  Her hand comes across the table and takes mine. She tightens her grip. “There have been several people who have said they’ve met a young girl who just seems to pop up then vanish. Those people are mostly people like yourself—well, like you when you first arrived. Those who need a friend and or some words of advice.”

  I think back. I was a lost soul then. It is only recently that things have started to improve and I’ve begun to be happier within myself.

  “So, I’m not going crazy?” I breathe, slightly relieved that I’m not the only person who sees ghosts.

  Shaking her head, Sherri continues, “People who have seen Olive would mention it at the bar, and then Catfish would tell myself or Seth. It breaks Seth every time because …” She pauses.

  “Because she never came to him.”

  She nods, confirming my thought. He wishes she’d give him the comfort and guidance she’s given to others. He’s probably seeking her forgiveness, to put his mind at ease.

  “I call her the town guardian angel.” Sherri beams. “She comes when she’s needed.”

  “Do you think he’ll speak to me again?” I question.

  “Dear, he needs you right now. I hope he’s okay. I tried to talk to him, but he told me to leave him be. He hasn’t done that for many years. I can’t have him shut me out again, Chloe. It broke him when he lost his parents.”

  “I can only image what he’s going through.”

  “Go to him,” she urges.

  I rise from my seat immediately, grabbing my crutches and make my way slowly towards the closed door of his bedroom. Giving the door a light knock, I get no response. I open it. The room is dimly lit by the lamp. What I see brings me to a halt; a lump forms in my throat.

  Seth sits on the edge of his bed, his face buried in his hands. His shoulders shake hard, each sob a silent one. Each one rips my soul apart, piece by piece. No words are spoken, but I take a seat beside him, pulling him into my arms. He doesn’t flinch away from me as he did at the beach earlier. Instead, he leans on me and I hold him. I’ll hold him until he puts himself back together; I’m not going anywhere.

  After his crying stops, we lie in the bed together. My heart pounds in my ribcage.

  When I think it’s safe, I decide to speak. “I’m so sorry, Seth.”

  On the bed, we face each other. My fingers run through his hair. He hasn’t touched me since the beach, and I’m feeling the loss and emptiness. A piece of me is missing.

  “You weren’t to know about the others that Olive’s helped, or how it affected me that she never came to me,” he replies, his voice husky from the amount of crying he’s done tonight. I hate that it was me who caused this.

  “I’m sorry for wrecking our evening. It was a beautiful night.”

  He nods. “Yes, it was wonderful. I’m sorry my stupidity got the better of me. It was her name you said when you woke up in the hospital.”

  “You’re not stupid. I don’t remember saying her name, but yes, I was with her while in my coma, and you’re allowed to show emotion when it comes to your family. They’re your family—you love them and they loved you. Family is everything—”

  His lips crash to mine before I can continue. My body responds instantly; my hands go to his face, holding it, wanting to keep our lips moving. He’s a great kisser. One of his legs quickly folds over mine, and I shuffle myself closer to him so our bodies rub up against each other’s.

  My body needs his touch in every possible way. Our kisses deepen. His hands wander to places that burn for his gentle caress.

  In a matter of moments, we strip each other’s clothes away. There’s fumbling and giggling throughout the process due to the struggles both our casts cause. We lay bare. He slides closer to me, his hands glide up my sides, stopping at my breast as he cups it in his hand. I moan at the touch I’ve been longing for. We slowly move as one. His stroke is like a drug—I yearn for it. His movement quickens and soon we both find our release. It is life-changing. He’s mine and I’m his. Together, we are one.

  We lie back on the bed, our breaths heavy after going an early morning round, the brightness of the sun shines through the curtains. “Wow.” I lean over and place my lips on her neck. “You’re so beautiful.”

  “You’re not too bad yourself.” She winks. Her hand glides over my back as I lean over her to go in for another kiss. I can’t get enough. Her kisses are my drug of choice.

  It isn’t the ideal timing for sex, due to the fact she was in hospital a few days ago. We couldn’t help it. Sexual tension was running high. Our emotions were in overdrive last night, I’m torn over the fact that Chloe has seen Olive. Why couldn’t she come to me and help me?

  I wasn’t mad at Chloe last night. Hearing her tell me she’s seen Olive, like other travellers have—it hurts that my sister’s never come to me. The message that Chloe gave me last night hit home, hard. Olive’s super proud and she loves me, as do Mum and Dad. Even shutting out Nan is a new thing for me. I couldn’t speak; my words and emotions failed me.

  Here now, with Chloe in my bed, my completely shattered heart is mending. All because of this beauty beside me. She swooped into town with a broken heart of her own. Now, we’ve come together and have somehow healed each other.

  “What are you thinking?” There’s an inquisitive look on her face.

  “About you.” My lips turn up, as do hers.

  “Really? Anything I need to know?”

  I shake my head. “No, you just need to kno
w how beautiful and wonderful you truly are.”

  Her cheeks pink up at the compliment. “Don’t get all mushy on me now, Captain America.” She laughs.

  “Alright … get out of my bed and make me breakfast, broken leg and all.” I snap my fingers at her. She giggles. That sound fills me with determination to hear those giggles every day.

  “Keep dreaming.” She rolls on her side, preparing to get out of bed. I pull her back, placing feathery kisses up her neck until I meet her soft lips. Our kiss deepens. My hands travel over her silky-smooth skin. She manoeuvres herself and when she’s settled, I claim her body as mine in every single way. Hearing her low moans with each movement makes me drive harder, deeper, and faster.

  After our second magical moment tonight, she lies in my bed with her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling while she recovers.

  “I hope Sherri didn’t hear us,” she says, then her eyes peek open and catch me watching her.

  “If she did hear, she won’t say anything.”

  “Gosh, I hope not. That’s just downright embarrassing.”

  I gather her as best I can in my arms. This cast is annoying, especially at times like this. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I’m not. If anything, I’m over the moon that I don’t have blue balls anymore.”

  Her laughter rings out in the room. “Is that all I’m good for? Blue-ball syndrome?”

  “Hell no. You’re so much more than that, and you know it.”

  Her face tells me she’s pondering on something. “I do know it. We could have done this that night, but we had an interruption.”

  “Yeah. I think the interruption was for the best because I believe we’re stronger together, now that everything is out in the open.”

  “I completely agree.” A contented look settles over her face.

  “Stay here with me tonight?”

  “How could I say no to that puppy-dog face?” she teases.

  “You love it.”

  “I do.”

  She’s bewitched me. I’m okay with that.

  Finally, I’m able to get this death trap of a cast off. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve nearly fallen ass over tit because I’ve become off balance or the crutch did something stupid. Seth tells me it’s the operator. Now that, I find hard to believe.

  “How much longer do I have to wait?” I lean over towards Seth, who is sitting beside me. It feels as if we’ve been sitting here forever, when in fact it’s only been ten minutes.

  “Calm down.” He sighs. He’s sick of hearing me complain.

  I’ve complained a lot during the last six weeks. I don’t feel guilty about it at all. He had his cast off three weeks ago; his break wasn’t as bad as mine. So yeah, I’ve been slightly jealous. He knows it. “Don’t tell me to calm down. I’m so over this smelly thing.”

  It really does smell. What’s going to be worse is how hairy my damn leg is going to be. That’s just gross. I’ve worn a long red summer dress today for that reason. I want to cover up those hairs until I get home and can scrub the smell away and shave. I shudder at the thought of inch-long hair.

  “Chloe Saunders,” the nurse calls my name.

  “Finally,” I say under my breath. Seth shakes his head at my response.

  “Let’s go make my girl happy,” he says, helping me up.

  Forty-five minutes later, I’m hobbling out of the doctor’s office while I adjust to not having a lump of plaster weighing down my leg.

  “Are you alright?” Seth laughs while he watches me struggle.

  “Shut your pie hole or you’ll get no sex later.”

  His mouth snaps shut instantly. Yeah, take that, sucker. I’ve never threatened no sex before, but I’ve got so much I need to do and this wobbling feeling doesn’t help. Thank goodness, it’s only short term.

  “It’ll take a few days or maybe a week for it to feel somewhat normal again.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I heard what the doctor said,” I say.

  He holds his hands up in defence. “Sorry. Gee, you’re a feisty one today.”

  He is right about that. I’m very anxious because Mum and Dad informed me about two weeks ago, they’re planning to move here to be closer to me. I’m excited and nervous. They’ve already found a place and bought it. They began planning this move after they came here when I had my accident. They put in an offer on a house back then, and they didn’t tell me because they wanted to surprise me. Well, I was surprised. It’s around the corner from Sherri’s.

  “So, when are your parents arriving?” Seth questions, taking my mind off my annoyance. I’m not even entirely sure why I’m feeling like this. I’m annoyed, but I’m also anxious. Anger is how I deal with anxiety. I lash out at those I care about. Still, I can’t get this uneasiness that’s been sitting in the pit of my stomach for the past week, to disappear. Not even glorious sex with my devilishly handsome boyfriend clears it, which means it’s something bad.

  Looking at my watch, it reads eleven fifty. “They’re due to get here late afternoon. They were loading the truck this morning.”

  He already knows all this. He nods.

  We arrive at the car, and he opens the door for me. Who says chivalry is dead? That’s just Seth. He’s amazing—always making sure I’m happy. I’m still living at his place, and it looks as if it could be a permanent thing although I’d like him to move into the cottage with me, but I can’t kick Janie out and Sherri’s house is big enough for the three of us. Janie has been looking after it and working at the café.

  I can’t wait to get back to work and to be able to do more than just paperwork. I want to serve and get to know our customers. We have a new face in there every day. Tourist buses stop at the beachfront and people walk around and down our street which has gift shops, Seth’s garage, dress shops, a supermarket and now our Huggamug Café.

  “I need to swing by the cottage and pick up a few things,” I tell Seth. He doesn’t respond, but turns the car in that direction. Pulling my phone out I send a quick message to Mum.

  Chloe: Hey Mum, how’s the moving going? Has the removal truck been? Can’t wait to see you both.

  Seth pulls up out the front and gets out, making his way around to open my door for me. He hates it when I open it myself, so I just let him do it now. He likes to make me feel special, and he really does. Everything about him sings to me, except when he teases me about walking strange.

  I turn my key in the lock, and upon opening the door, I’m greeted with a sight I didn’t need to see.

  “Oh my—” I step back, slamming the door.

  “What?” Seth looks from me to the door. He reaches for the knob.

  “You may want to hold off for a moment before you open that. There are bare bums in there.”

  He screws his face up, his eyebrows raise in realisation. “Janie and Chance?” Shock is evident in his tone. I nod.

  In a matter of seconds, the front door swings open. A flushed Janie stands there, now fully clothed. Chance is still pulling his shirt over his well-defined body.

  “Sorry, we ahh—” Janie sputters.

  “Yeah, don’t even go there,” I say, holding my hands up to stop her. Stepping around her, I walk to my room, not looking at the couch knowing what they were up to. I place my phone and keys on the table. “You’re cleaning that couch, too, and before I move back in!” I yell while I dig through the cupboard for some clothes. Now I can finally get shorts up my leg.

  My phone rings, then stops. I hear Seth answer it.

  “Hello, Mrs Saunders.” He laughs as he answers. My guess is he was teasing Chance. “Whoa, Mr Saunders, slow down. I’ll get her for you. Chloe!” he calls me, his voice panicked.

  He hands the phone to me, his look strained. I take it, putting it to my ear. “Hello? Dad? What’s wrong?” My chest tightens. My anxiety level spikes to a new high.

  On the other end of the line, I hear Dad’s heavy breathing, followed by what sounds like sobbing. “Dad, you’re scaring me. Where’s
Mum?”

  “Chloe, Mum—she collapsed while carrying a box.” The line falls silent, except for the hiccupping cries from the opposite end. My knees give away beneath me. I land in a heap on the floor of the bedroom. Seth’s by my side in a heartbeat. My throat tightens with fear.

  “Ho—how is she?” I choke on the words. Tears fill my eyes. In my heart, I know it’s not going to be good news. Dad would never act like this if Mum was going to be all right.

  But she needs to be all right. She needs to be here when I get married. To help me pick out my wedding dress. She needs to be at the hospital when I give birth to my first baby. To comfort me and encourage me on. She’s my mum. I need her.

  Dad cries harder. “She—she didn’t make it. I’m so—so sorry, Chloe.” The world around me spins, but I’m not moving. My breaths come fast and short.

  “Wh—no, that can’t be true.” My bottom lip trembles. The life I know shatters around me, like a crystal glass. Seth’s hands pull me into his firm chest, a safe, familiar place.

  “Dad—please …” I cry. He cries. Seth holds me. My vision shifts, and I become very lightheaded.

  “I’m sorry, honey.”

  “What caused it?” I force my words out. I’m not sure I have the strength in me to be strong right now.

  “We aren’t sure yet—we’ll find out though.” It’s the last thing he manages to say. I need to go to him.

  “Dad, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Disconnecting the call, I look up at Seth’s face, trying to find the right words. The softness in his eyes tells me he knows what’s happened. Janie and Chance stand in the doorway; their faces mirror Seth’s.

  A cascade of tears stream down my face. How do I form the words to tell him? “My mum is gone. What am I going to do?”

  My chest heaves with continuous sobs. I don’t hear anything or anyone around me. All I feel is broken, lost, and devastated. I’m not even sure what I should be doing. How do I deal with this?

  This can’t be happening. I must still be dreaming. A sharp pain stabs me right in the place where my heart once was. It’s empty. I’m empty.