‘Up until Afghanistan, my life had been the military. Running the family business provided financial security, but I needed something more fulfilling, a role that allowed me to give something back. When I was approached by ICAC to assist with this part of the operation here at Half Moon Bay, it was an easy choice. I would finally have closure on the whole sorry mess. The O’Sullivan investigation was already well underway when I came on board. All our evidence was put to good use. Lachlan Meriden was identified early on as a person of interest at the Australian end. Meriden’s currently assisting the Feds with their inquiries. He’s trying to blame Nina, but my money is that it’s the other way around.’
‘The evidence on her laptop should help with that,’ Ellie said, feeling the weight lift from her shoulders. Nina had the proof, the authorities only needed to follow through and wrap it up. Lachlan Meriden would be held accountable for the deaths of Alex and Teisha, even if he couldn’t be blamed for Nina’s shooting.
‘It was so hard not to confide in you, but I had to be sure you weren’t involved. My heart told me you weren’t, but my head wasn’t going to be convinced that easily. The whole disaster seemed to keep on rolling, gathering more casualties as it went.’
Ellie squeezed his hand, finally finding words. ‘I believe you, Nick.’ Her voice trembled. ‘Dad laid it all out for me.’
He half smiled in the near darkness. ‘I broke every one of my rules by seducing you. To finally have you in my arms was a dream.’ He fell silent, but Ellie could feel the emotion in the big frame. She offered comfort.
‘No more lies, if we’re to find a way forward.’
‘“We”, Ellie?’ His dark eyes met hers in surprised hope. ‘Knowing that I was there and should have done more to stop them, you can still say “we”?’
‘Nick, Nina was no saint, and I know how passionate she was about her causes. The end always justified the means for her. You’re not responsible for that any more than I am.’
‘So there is a chance for us still?’
‘Is that what you want, Nick?’
‘Yes, oh God . . . I want to know what makes you laugh. I’ve already seen what makes you cry.’
‘That may take a while.’
‘I’m not in a hurry.’ He wrapped his arms around her, hauling her into his lap. His body was trembling. She rested against his chest in the safe circle of his arms and he pressed his lips against her temple. She ran her fingernail along his jaw, rasping over the new beard. She wanted this man with his hard hands and soft heart in a way she’d never wanted anyone before. She stretched up and touched her lips to the point of his jaw before it curved, tasted salt on his skin and smelt the hint of sandalwood she’d come to know.
He turned his head and captured her lips in a kiss. Its intensity was different to anything that had gone before, burning clear to her core. She felt his breathing go ragged, as one lean hand tangled in her hair, then cradled her head even closer. She heard his commitment in the whisper of her name, felt the desire in the shift of his body. Her hand rested on his chest, feeling the solid muscle vibrate and his heart thudding. The kiss swamped her, washed away any last reserves, and buried her in an avalanche of need. She finally understood what it felt like to be run down by love.
Nick broke the kiss first, tucking her hard up against him. His eyes held hers as his fingers brushed down her shoulder. ‘When you left without a word, I thought I’d lost you. The surveillance team outside my house said you looked frantic getting in the cab.’ He pressed his lips to her cheek. ‘I realised I’d do anything to get you back. I need you, Ellie Wilding; I need you desperately.’
She touched her fingers to his lips. ‘I had to come home. Half Moon Bay is the only place I’ve ever felt safe, even now, after everything that’s happened, but I didn’t think you’d follow me.’
He pressed a kiss to her fingertips. ‘What is between us is only going to grow stronger, Ellie.’
‘I know,’ she replied. ‘We’re bound by the truth now.’
‘The truth.’ His lips as they touched hers held the promise of a lifetime. She turned, sliding her arms around him, loving the play of muscles across his back as her fingers traced down his spine. His uneven breathing sent a surge through her limbs, pooling heat low in her belly. Her heart soared as she realised she was no longer held prisoner by her search for answers. The truth had set her free to live again, free to test this connection, this fierce desire that flared and raged between them.
The truth was a bridge that linked them. As she met his kisses with her own tempestuous passion she knew love was hammering on the shutters of her heart and she was finally prepared to fling them open and face the challenges with Nicholas Lawson beside her.
EPILOGUE
The sky arched royal blue over Half Moon Bay, the shadows lengthening, painting the white sand with dark silhouettes. The ocean murmured rather than roared this evening. A light easterly breeze stirred Ellie’s skirt as she opened the French doors wide and the cooler air rushed in, lifting the curtains in a rush. Lightning flashed to the west. Storms were forecast and would be welcome after the stifling summer heat of the day.
She was still drained from the drive up from Sydney. Nick had seemed more pensive the closer they came to the Bay.
‘Perfect,’ Nick said now, coming to stand behind her.
Ellie managed a smile. ‘It is.’
His reply was to slip his hands around her waist and nuzzle the sensitive skin below her ear. For a moment she rested against his strength.
‘Let’s sit,’ she said. ‘It’s lovely to have the place to ourselves for a change.’
She drew him across the verandah and sat on top of the wide steps. They’d done this so many times over the last eight months as the whole sorry investigation ground on. Tom and Shadow were still in Sydney, but as the latest court findings were handed down Ellie had a desperate need to escape from the city and come home. Lachlan Meriden would be in jail for a long time and the Australian smuggling operation had been cracked wide open. Alex’s killer already knew he wasn’t going home to Hong Kong for twenty years. Early on in the investigation O’Sullivan and his mates had entered plea bargains and would be out long before Ellie thought they should be. Nina’s reputation had been restored, but the fallout from her story had sent aftershocks echoing around the world.
Nick eased down behind Ellie, a long leg either side of her, his knees like two bookends against her thighs. The wind blew her hair back across his shoulder and he curled a handful around his fist and kissed the back of her neck. She shivered with the delight of it. He’d been her safe harbour, her place of refuge, as the case against Lachlan Meriden ebbed and flowed, as she unravelled Nina’s duplicity. She’d learned of Nick’s fiercely protective love for his mother and sister, watched him let down his guard with Sarah and Mikey, heard him laugh with Ron and Mavis as they pored over the plans for the new community centre on Mrs Bell’s land, and she’d seen him talking about war with her father. The only person missing was Nina.
‘She’ll always be here, Ellie.’ Nick was far too good at reading her thoughts.
‘I know.’
‘I think she’d approve of us, of me,’ he said. It was almost a question.
Ellie smiled at that. ‘Would you care if she didn’t?’
‘Of course, she’s your sister. She was so proud of you. We’d all heard so many stories about her little sister Ellie, I felt I knew you already even before finding you in that lousy hospital in Kandahar.’
‘Really?’
‘She carried photos of you and Tom with her. They were whipped out anytime she was asked about home. I remember the first time she worked with us when we were stationed in Kandahar. She was lounging in a deck chair on our precious square of lawn in the camp telling us her little Ellie would kick our arses to Hawaii and back in a surfing contest. There were plenty of guys lining up for the challenge.’
‘I didn’t know that.’ Ahead of them, on the edge of the horizon, the full moo
n cast an optimistic glow as it began its journey. Ellie glanced sideways at the space on the step beside them. She didn’t need a photograph to see Nina sitting there again, one leg tucked underneath her, a glass of wine in her hand as she expounded her latest theory. ‘Humility’s overrated,’ Nina used to say with an airy wave. ‘It’s your duty to follow your dreams. Just don’t ever lose sight of your home and what’s real in the world.’ She was larger than life, even in death.
The roofing iron groaned as it cooled. Ellie smiled again. The house made a habit of having an opinion. But home was so much more than this little beach shack now. It was the sum total of people, of places, of memories. Half Moon Bay was her first home and, like every first love, it would always be special.
The images of home would continue to be coloured by Nina, but now there were new photos to add to that collage, photos that were bold and vibrant and alive: Nick focusing on a game of chess with his sister, a fall of thick hair touching a lowered eyebrow as he narrowly escaped checkmate. Nick with his head inside the bilges of the trawler, discussing with Dan the latest in automatic pumps. A concerned Nick in conversation with Jason O’Sullivan as he drove him to a rehab clinic. A bloodied and battered Nick at the end of a brutal game of footy with his arms around his mates, all equally dirty and unbowed. And the memory of Nick’s slow smile as he woke in the early dawn and ran possessive hands down her body.
The shot of reckless desire took Ellie by surprise. She turned to him, pressed a kiss to his cheek and slipped her hand between the buttons of his shirt, loving the feel, the heat of his skin and the way it contracted with her touch. Ellie felt the thrill of him deep in her soul.
‘Come for a walk?’ She held out her hand and he linked their fingers together and followed her down the path to the beach below. The day was almost done. Night had won.
The tide left gleaming white lines as the waves rushed in, then retreated. The moon’s silver path beckoned, keeping pace as they ambled, their footprints washed away by the incoming tide. Above them the Milky Way scattered a smoky trail across the inky black.
‘Moonlight suits you,’ Nick said, bringing them to a stop and dropping a kiss on her shoulder. He linked his other hand with hers and drew her close enough for her skirt to tangle with his legs.
‘Like a soft focus lens?’ She looked up at him, her eyes accustomed to the night. ‘Or maybe it’s the witching hour.’ She stepped closer, pressing against him, feeling the steady rhythm of his heart, his warmth through the thin fabric of her dress.
He smiled at her, a lopsided grin that disarmed her. ‘Then I’m under your spell.’
‘This is too real to be a spell, Nick.’
‘I know.’
His lips skimmed hers before he drew away, far enough to look into her face. ‘You once told me this was the only place you felt safe, at home.’
The question was there in his voice and her heart soared. She searched for the words, the right words.
‘Here.’ She spread her hand across his chest. ‘Here is where my home is, with you.’
His breath was a shuddering sigh as his hands, urgent and hard, pulled her against him. He captured her mouth with a slick slide of his tongue and a nip of her lower lip. She answered that call, hearing the hiss of the surf, breathing in the sandalwood and myrtle on his skin, her body unravelling under his touch.
He slipped the fine strap from one shoulder but she broke the kiss and leant away, teasing him, needing to hear his voice.
‘And what about you, Nicholas Lawson? Is your home in Sydney?’
This time his smile was unreserved.
‘With you, Ellie Wilding, anywhere in the world.’
There, she thought as she slipped the other strap clear and slid the dress from her body, letting it float to the ground. The truth was there in the heat of his hands, the hunger of his mouth and the pounding of her heart. Somewhere between the sorrow and dislocation of a war-torn country and the peace of Half Moon Bay they’d found their safe haven, their home. Together.
‘Anywhere in the world and for always,’ she whispered against his lips. ‘Always.’
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
As usual an army of people have answered the call to bring Half Moon Bay to life. This story has been gestating for over seven years and while the core values of the book are still there – a sister’s love, betrayal and the price of honour – the characters have grown with each new telling.
Anne Harth provided insightful advice on the very first draft. Her wide-angle perspective was invaluable. The RWA contests judges delivered tough love that helped me hone my writing skills when I was just starting out on this journey.
A special thanks to Ali Watts for not only believing in Half Moon Bay, but for again encouraging me to dig deeper into my characters, and for guiding me into more emotional territory. You bring out the best in my writing. Thanks to Saskia Adams for sharpening the focus of the story with her patient editing skills.
Thanks to Louise Ryan, Chantelle Sturt and the rest of the Penguin Australia team for so warmly welcoming me. It’s a pleasure working with you all. Thanks also to my agent, Clare Foster. Both your wry humour and timely advice are very much appreciated.
An enormous thank you goes to Leonard Winkler for giving up precious family time to show me photos, maps and film footage of Kandahar and for sharing memories of his tours of duty. It helped to bring authenticity to my settings with close-ups of everyday life in a war zone. My thanks to Ross Wakem for confirming details of army ranks and ensuring Nicholas Lawson had a suitable career. Any mistakes on the military side are mine alone.
Half Moon Bay is a small coastal town I’ve created somewhere around Yamba and Angourie, places dear to my heart. It also draws much from the people of Currumbin Beach, where I spent so many carefree years growing up.
Thanks goes, as always, to my sister, Bron, not just for her advice on characters and plot, but for providing endless support from day one.
And finally to Graham – the things you bring to my life are too many to list, but most importantly you make me laugh, even after all these years.
ALSO BY HELENE YOUNG
Burning Lies
Lies, all lies. It didn’t matter how attractive he might be.
She didn’t really know this man . . . He was living
a lie and she didn’t know why.
Kaitlyn Scott is searching for the truth about her husband’s death, even if that means revisiting the most painful day of her life. But what she uncovers is a criminal willing to stop at nothing to keep his secret.
Ryan O’Donnell, an enigmatic undercover cop, is investigating arson attacks when he is drawn into Kaitlyn’s world. He tries to fight his attraction to her, hoping the case might put his own demons to rest, but it only threatens to push him over the edge.
With Kaitlyn and Ryan on a collision course, the arsonist seizes the chance to settle some old scores. As the Atherton Tableland burns, the three of them are caught in a fiery dance of danger and desire, and not everyone will come out alive.
An explosive story of peril and passion
by a multi-award-winning Australian author.
‘ A brilliant novel from an Australian author
right at the top of her game.’ Good Reads
‘Plenty of action, sizzling romance and
page-turning suspense.’ Book’d Out
MICHAEL JOSEPH
Published by the Penguin Group
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First published by Penguin Group (Australia), 2013
Text Copyright © Helene Young 2013
The moral right of the author has been asserted
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Cover and text design by Adam Laszuck © Penguin Group (Australia)
Cover photography: woman © Ilina Simeonova / Trevillion Images; beach © Terry Bidgood / Trevillion Images
penguin.com.au
ISBN: 978-0-85797-079-4
Half Moon Bay Page 33