Talk of the Town

by Rachael Johns

  There was simply something about her that snuck under his skin and made him question everything he’d always thought he stood for. Damn Tabitha for making him go over there. From now on, he’d leave all the do-gooding to her.

  He drove all the way to Walsh Primary School with the music up full-bore and ten kilometres over the speed limit—he wanted to get to Ned and he wanted something else in his head besides Meg. As he climbed out the ute, he looked up to see the principal holding the door open for him and realised this was even more serious than she’d conveyed on the phone.

  He shoved his keys in his pockets and headed over to greet her. ‘Hi Ms Saunders. Where’s Ned?’

  ‘He’s in my office, and I have to tell you, I’m very disappointed in his behaviour. I was hoping that his week off school would have given you and him some time to discuss acceptable forms of conflict resolution to complement what we’ve been discussing at school, but once again, Ned has used his fists to finish an argument.’

  ‘I … uh …’ Lawson honestly had no idea what to say. He’d never punched anyone in his life and he didn’t know where Ned was getting all this violence from.

  ‘Let’s go inside,’ Carline said, ‘and have a proper conversation.’

  She led him into her office, where Ned was sitting on one of the seats opposite her desk, his arms crossed tightly over his chest and a scowl on his face. Not a remorseful scowl, but an angry scowl, as if he wanted to punch someone else.

  ‘Ned,’ Lawson said, crossing over and dropping into the seat beside him. ‘What’s going on?’

  His son narrowed his eyes at Lawson in response and then looked away, preferring it seemed to face Carline as she sat behind her desk rather than him.

  She planted her elbows on the desk and entwined her hands. ‘Now, Ned, do you want to tell your father what happened or should I?’

  He shrugged, cast one scornful look at Lawson and then turned away again. ‘Some kids were spreading lies about Meg, not that you’d care!’

  Lawson stiffened. ‘What kind of lies?’

  He felt Carline’s castigating gaze boring into him. Of course she knew the truth about Meg—nothing was secret in a small country town.

  ‘They said Meg killed someone,’ Ned said, his tone telling Lawson how ridiculous he thought this, ‘and that she just got out of prison.’

  ‘I see.’ Lawson could barely speak, his chest squeezing so hard he suddenly found it difficult to breathe.

  ‘It’s not true!’ Ned shouted. Then in a tinier voice, he added, ‘Is it?’

  Lawson looked to Ned then to Carline, to Ned again and back to Carline. ‘This situation is complicated,’ he said. And all his fault. Tab’s words about how he needed to explain things properly to Ned reverberated around his head.

  Carline raised her eyebrows and nodded slowly. No kidding, said her expression. He could only imagine what she must think of him but right now that didn’t matter as much as Ned did.

  ‘I know Ned’s done something he shouldn’t have and we need to deal with that, but I’d like to have a conversation with my son in private first, if you don’t mind?’

  ‘Of course.’ Carline stood. ‘I’ve got to go do some classroom visits, so I’ll leave you in here to talk. Tell Beck when you’re finished and she’ll buzz me. I’ll come back and we can discuss where to from here.’

  He’d been envisaging taking Ned home and having a heart-to-heart over some of Tab’s ice-cream but maybe it was better to get this conversation over and done with. ‘Thank you,’ he said as Carline headed for the door.

  The moment she closed it behind her, he scooted his chair over closer to Ned’s. ‘I’m sorry, buddy,’ he said, ‘but you know those things the kids are saying about Meg … some of them are true.’

  Ned’s eyes widened and his lip wobbled as he shook his head. ‘She wouldn’t kill anyone!’

  ‘No, you’re right,’ Lawson reached out and placed his hand on Ned’s shoulder, ‘but she was in prison.’

  He swallowed, unsure how to go about this conversation. He didn’t want to lie to Ned—doing so by omission had got his son into this mess—but he wanted to protect him also. Damn, he wished he’d never met Megan: not only had she wrecked his heart, their association with her had messed Ned up as well.

  ‘What for?’ Ned asked, his face crumbling.

  ‘You know how you lost your mum?’ Lawson asked. Ned barely nodded. ‘Well, Meg was older when her mum died but at the same time, her dad and her brother died as well. She was very sad and to try and handle her pain, she started taking drugs.’

  Ned knew all about drugs—well, as much as a kid his age needed to know—because one of the local cops had come in and talked to the school about it.

  ‘As you know taking drugs messes with your head and so Meg made some bad friend choices.’ His stomach clenched again—he didn’t want to have to tell Ned any of this. As much as Ned pretended to be a big kid, he still radiated such innocence and Lawson didn’t want to be the one to strip him of it. But this shitty situation left him no choice. ‘One day she went into a shop with someone she thought was a friend and that person tried to rob the shop attendant and things got out of hand. The shop attendant died.’

  ‘But she didn’t do it,’ Ned exclaimed, shaking his head so hard it made Lawson’s own head hurt. ‘So why did she go to prison? Why is everyone saying she did?’

  Lawson let out a long puff of breath. How could he explain all this in a way that Ned would understand, when he didn’t really understand it himself?

  Before he could, Ned spoke again. ‘If Meg didn’t do it, then why are you angry at her, why have you two broken up?’

  ‘It’s complicated,’ Lawson said. ‘Meg never told me most of what I’ve just told you, I had to find it out for myself—and that hurt a lot.’

  ‘You’re such a fake!’ Ned yelled, leaping out of his chair and knocking it to the floor with a swipe of his arm. The ferocity of his actions stunned Lawson.

  ‘Excuse me,’ he said, standing up and looming tall over his son. ‘How dare you speak to me like that! What’s got into you? Since when have I ever taught you that violence is the answer to your problems?’

  Ned perched his hands on his hips and shouted right back. ‘I don’t care what you say anymore because you don’t practise what you preach. You told me I need to forgive Levi and Tate for being mean to me—you said I needed to understand that when people did bad things it was usually for a reason, that it was because they were hurting, so we needed to forgive them. And they keep doing it, but Meg has stopped doing anything wrong at all! And you won’t forgive her!’

  Tears burst from Ned’s eyes. Lawson wanted to go to him and hug him hard but he couldn’t move.

  ‘I don’t care what Meg did, Dad. I don’t care what anyone else thinks. I love her,’ Ned sobbed. ‘And I’m so sad without her. But you know what? You are too. Please, forgive her. I want her back.’

  Ned’s heartfelt words shot right to Lawson’s heart. Tears formed in his eyes because he felt exactly the same about this woman who had been in their lives little more than a month. Here was an eight-year-old boy—his eight-year-old boy—telling him that he was living his life all wrong, throwing his own words back in his face. His son was way smarter than he was.

  He suddenly heard Meg’s apology loud and clear, properly this time. He realised she hadn’t told him because she was scared of losing what was becoming the most important thing in her life. She was scared of losing them. And he was refusing to forgive her out of a stupid thing called pride. She was going to tell him, in her own time, as was her right. In refusing to forgive her, he wasn’t only punishing her, he was also punishing himself. And Ned.

  He was robbing all three of them of a future that could make them the happiest they could be.

  ‘You’re right,’ he told Ned simply. ‘I’m sorry. I do love Meg too and I’ve been an idiot. Will you ever forgive me?’

  Ned wiped his nose on his T-shirt sleeve and then cocked h
is head to one side. ‘You love her too?’

  Lawson nodded. ‘I do.’

  ‘What are you going to do about it then?’ Ned asked, his tone sceptical as if he didn’t quite believe what he was hearing.

  ‘I’m going to tell her and I’m going to ask her to forgive me.’

  Ned’s face broke into a smile and he all but leaped across the turned-over chair in his rush to throw his arms around Lawson.

  Man, he’d missed this little body these last few days.

  Chapter Forty-three

  Megan emerged from the shower to hear Cane barking like a lunatic by the front door. She groaned, wrapped a towel around herself and went across to the window to see if there was a reason for his hysterics. When her gaze came to rest on Lawson’s ute parked out the front of her building, she grabbed hold of the window sill to steady herself. As the window was ajar, she heard voices wafting upwards.

  ‘Do you think she’s home, Dad? Why won’t she open the door?’

  Ned! Her breath caught in her throat.

  ‘Give her time,’ came Lawson’s voice and then she heard a knock on the front door.

  She called out the window, ‘I’ll be down in a moment,’ then glanced around her bedroom and grabbed hold of the first clothes she laid her eyes on. She yanked on knickers, snapped on a bra, shrugged a yellow T-shirt dress over her head and then ran out of the room and down the stairs, dragging her fingers through her wet hair as she went.

  Cane was at the front door, jumping up against it, his claws making nail-down-the-blackboard noises against the dirty glass. When she turned back the lock and opened the door, he sprang at Ned, almost knocking him over in the process. Lawson reached out to steady him but Ned was all smiles, laughing as he returned the puppy’s affection.

  Lawson lifted his hand from his son’s shoulder and took a step towards Meg. ‘I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I’m so sorry.’ And then he grabbed her face between his two big hands and dragged her in. Two seconds later, she was tasting him. And man, he tasted better than all the chocolate in the world. Torn between confusion and bliss, between embarrassment at being kissed like that in front of his son and happiness so strong it made her heart hurt, all she could do was wrap her arms around him and throw herself utterly and completely into the kiss.

  When he finally tore his mouth from hers, her heart raced and she looked up at him questioningly. What on earth was that all about?

  He smiled down at her and then he looked to Ned, who was grinning up at both of them.

  ‘That was totally gross,’ the kid said. ‘Next time you do that make sure I’m not watching.’

  Lawson laughed. Megan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She thought maybe she’d fallen in the shower and knocked herself out and that this was actually a cruel dream. Yes, that had to be the answer, and if so, she never wanted to wake up.

  ‘Ned and I have been talking,’ Lawson said, taking hold of her hand. ‘It took one of us a little longer to realise, but we’ve come to the conclusion we’re in love with you.’

  What? This declaration was so unexpected she could hardly believe it. ‘I’m sleeping, aren’t I?’ she whispered.

  ‘You look pretty awake to me,’ Ned exclaimed, reaching out and pinching her on her leg.

  ‘Ouch!’ She yelped and frowned at Lawson. ‘I think … I must …’ She shook her head. ‘I must be hearing things. What did you just say?’

  Lawson opened his mouth but Ned got in first. ‘He said he loves you and so do I. Please say you love us too?’

  ‘Ned, give Meg a moment,’ Lawson said, putting his free hand on Ned’s shoulder again. ‘She doesn’t have to tell us anything.’

  ‘But I don’t understand. I thought you were angry. And why would you want to be with me when nobody else can stand to look at me?’

  ‘For one, it’s the situation I was angry with, not really you. For two, not everybody is judging you. You’ve got a massive champion in Tabitha and even if you didn’t, I wouldn’t care. I don’t care what the town thinks about you or me or us. The only opinions that really matter right now are yours, mine and Ned’s.’

  He squeezed the hand he was still holding, looked right into her eyes and continued. ‘Meg, you came unexpectedly into my life and, without even trying, you snuck into my heart in a way no other woman has been able to do since Leah died. I honestly thought I could never feel this way again but when I’m with you, I feel alive again and that is quite frankly the best feeling ever. I’d be stupid to throw that all away because you messed up in the past. I was stupid. I was proud and self-righteous and stupid. But no more secrets. If there’s anything else you’ve forgotten to tell me, you lay it on the table now and if there’s anything you want to ask me, go ahead. You were right: I wasn’t completely open with you either and for that I’m sorry. So, what do you say? You want to give the future a try with me and Ned?’

  ‘Okay. That sounds good.’ Tears prickled in her eyes but this time there were happy ones. She’d already decided that there were to be no more lies in her future, so it was an easy promise to give him. ‘No more secrets. Not ever.’

  ‘Good.’ Lawson squeezed her hand again, then looked down to Ned and Cane. ‘Ned, why don’t you take Cane out into the backyard and throw a ball to him or something.’

  ‘I’m hungry,’ Ned said.

  ‘There’s a full container of chocolate chip bickies on the kitchen table,’ Meg told him, smiling knowingly at Lawson.

  He laughed as Ned, followed by Cane, shot off into the house. ‘You said the magic words,’ he said, pulling her up close and personal again.

  ‘I’d say anything to have you to myself a few moments,’ she whispered.

  ‘I like your thinking,’ he said, and then he dipped his head and kissed her again.

  Meg welcomed him into her mouth and into her heart, smiling inside and out as her temperature rose to meet that of the midday sun. Some would think she didn’t deserve this wonderful man and his amazing son, but that wasn’t going to stop her grabbing onto them with both her hands, never ever letting go and being the very best she could—for herself and for them.

  The time had come to finally forgive.

  Epilogue

  Next summer

  ‘Move it that way just a little. Yes, that’s perfect.’

  Meg stood out the front of the old general store with Ned, Cane and Buster, directing Lawson as he positioned the blackboard sign out the front: Grand Opening—Eliza’s Tea Room.

  ‘You’re a slave driver, you know that?’ Lawson said, grinning as he came over to stand beside them. He slid his arm around Meg’s waist and pulled her into his side. ‘But I guess it works for you because look what you’ve achieved.’

  She playfully elbowed him but couldn’t help smiling as she gazed at the building they’d lovingly restored to its former glory. The doors and windows were now so clean they sparkled and bright flowers filled the once-barren garden beds. Today, almost a year to the day she’d arrived in Rose Hill, Eliza’s Tea Room would be officially opened. Opening a café-gallery almost in the middle of nowhere with her reputation was quite possibly the scariest thing she’d ever done. And that was saying something. It felt like she’d achieved the unachievable but she knew she could never have done it without Lawson, Ned, Tabitha and their friends.

  ‘When’s everyone going to start arriving?’ Ned asked, absentmindedly fingering the fur at Buster’s neck as he spoke. Over the last year, he and Buster had become almost inseparable, so that eventually Meg had relented and let Buster move to the farm full-time. She and Cane were very frequent visitors.

  Lawson glanced down at his watch. ‘We officially don’t open for another half an hour but I’d say any time soon.’

  ‘That’s if anyone arrives,’ Meg said, trying to ignore the quiver in her belly. Although she was no longer getting so many terrified stares whenever she went into Walsh, she wasn’t naïve enough to think she’d been completely accepted by everyone. People had long memories, especially
in country towns, and she kept having terrifying dreams that the opening of the tea room would be a complete flop, with not even one person attending.

  ‘They will.’ Lawson turned and then put his thumb under her chin, forcing her to look up into his deep brown eyes—depths she’d never tire of falling into. ‘Funky and his family will be here soon for starters and he has a big family.’

  She laughed and rolled her eyes. There was only so long her business could survive on the kindness of the people who had become her friends because they loved Lawson.

  ‘And,’ he continued, ‘even if nobody comes, who the hell cares? We’ll eat ice-cream and cake and have tea with Eliza till we make ourselves sick. We don’t need anyone else.’

  As usual, his words and the way he looked at her as he said them eased her jitters. He was right—even if this was an utter flop, at least she could say she’d tried. If she’d learned anything over the past year, it was that she needed to follow her heart, do what felt right and not let what other people might or might not think stop her.

  ‘Are you guys going to stand around outside yakking and leave me to do all the hard work inside?’ Tabitha said, appearing in the doorway. She wore a CWA anniversary apron and her usual grin on her face. ‘The cream for the scones won’t whip itself, you know.’

  ‘Coming!’ Meg smiled; Tab had become the sister she’d never had.

  Lawson shook his head and glanced down at Ned. ‘We’re surrounded by slavedrivers.’

  Ned giggled. ‘What are we going to do with the dogs?’

  ‘We better put them out the back now,’ Meg replied.

  When she’d first dreamed of opening the tea room, she’d envisaged Cane lounging on the verandah like some kind of mascot, but he hadn’t really got to the lounging stage of his life yet. Buster would happily act as mascot but Cane would bark and whine out the back if he were left alone.