He staggered through the door and dripped all over the tiling. ‘I’m s-sorry. I j-just didn’t know what to d-do,’ he stuttered and dripped a little more.
‘Don’t apologise. Go on through to the living room and I’ll go get you some towels.’ She ran up the stairs to the bathroom and grabbed a couple of bath sheets, as well as her fluffy robe, and ran back down again. She found him standing in the centre of the lounge rubbing his hands up and down his arms. ‘Look, you’re going to have to get those clothes off. I don’t have anything suitable, but you can pop this on. I’ll leave you to it and go make some tea.’ She handed him her pale blue spotty robe and some towels.
‘Can I m-maybe have something s-stronger?’
‘Sure. I’ll get you a glass. Is wine okay?’
He nodded.
When she returned, he was standing with one bath sheet around his waist and was rubbing at his hair with the other. She glanced at the robe that was folded up on the chair and he cringed.
‘I’m sorry, but I couldn’t even get it on.’
When he removed the towel from his head, she was greeted with the full frontal of his naked chest. A smattering of dark hair sat across his pectoral muscles and droplets of water still glistened on his skin.
Juliette closed her eyes for a second, willing herself to forget his attire, or lack thereof, and shakily placed the glass on the coffee table. ‘Have a seat,’ she gestured to the sofa, and he sat down closest to where she stood, so she sat beside him. ‘What’s happened? You could’ve called instead of coming out in this awful weather.’
He shook his head. ‘I hope you don’t mind, but I had to see a friendly face after the shitty day I’ve had.’ He ran his hand over the wet strands of his hair and his brow crumpled. ‘I know you’re aware of the Kate and Kendric thing.’
Her heart sank and her stomach dropped as if she was on the downward portion of a rollercoaster. ‘Shit, Reid, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—’
‘No. Don’t apologise. You should never have been put in that situation. I can’t blame you for staying out of it. None of this was your doing.’
Relief flooded her to the point where the room began to swim, and her eyes began to fill with tears. ‘I felt so awful. I wanted to do something to help you, but I couldn’t think of what.’
He turned to face her and took her hand. ‘Hey, stop. Don’t beat yourself up. I’m not upset with you. I mean that.’ He quickly released her hand and she had the urge to reach out and touch him, just to make sure he was really here and had really forgiven her. He continued, ‘Anyway, Kate left with Evin around half an hour ago. He was refusing to get in the car at first. Then, he ran away and Father McAllen found him in the graveyard. He phoned to say Evin was there, sitting on the bench in the rain, clutching the little dog statue you got him and talking to hisgrandma. Father McAllen said he heard him saying, “Grandma, if you’re really watching over me like everyone tells me you are, please can you make it stop? Tell them I want to stay with Dad. I’ll be lonely without him and I don’t want to leave Chewie.” It was heart-breaking, Jules. He was begging her to step in and stop his mother from taking him away. His grandma died ages ago. I was terrified he was losing his mind, but then he said you’d told him that you found it helpful talking to Laurie, so he wanted to get his grandma to help us.’ Reid shook his head, pain evident in his crumpled expression. ‘Why did this have to happen to him? Hasn’t he been through enough?’
The desire to hold him was almost overpowering, but instead Juliette leaned forward and placed a reassuring hand on his arm. ‘I’m so sorry. I wish I could’ve done something.’
He placed his hand on top of hers and his lips curved upwards for a split second, but it wasn’t really a smile. ‘You tried. I heard what you said to Kate earlier. She took delight in telling me how you’d had a go at her. I was impressed with how you stood your ground. You’re pretty bloody amazing. But then, I’ve told you that already, eh?’ He dropped his gaze to the floor and shook his head again.
Anger at Kate knotted Juliette’s stomach. ‘I just wish she realised that this amount of stress and anguish isn’t good for Evin.Orfor you. And now that she knows Donny’s stories were blatant lies, she should have the decency to reconsider her actions. Especially in light of the fact thatshewas the one who left in the first place.’
Reid sighed. ‘She’s too stubborn. Too proud.’ He gave a humourless laugh. ‘You know, I found out she wanted to come home around six months after she’d left us; I heard that little snippet from a mutual friend. Apparently, the biker had lied about his wealth. But she wouldn’t pick up the phone. Scared of losing face. So, she’s stayed with, and tried to get pregnant with, a guy she apparently doesn’t even love. She even married him. Crazy.’
Juliette caught a strange expression in his eyes and had to ask, ‘Would you have taken her back?’
His response was quick and firm. ‘Absolutely not.’ He shrugged. ‘The trust was broken. There was no going back for me. Regardless of how much it all hurt and how much I loved her. I wasn’t prepared to take that risk again. Definitely not for Evin. But look where that got me. He’s gone anyway. All I can think about was the way he sobbed as they left. Reaching out of the car window and calling to me. And Chewie howling. God, the noise he made. He knew something was wrong with Evin and I had to fight with his lead to stop him from chasing the damn car.’ He rubbed at his eyes, his jaw clenched, and she could see he was struggling with the anguish of it all.
Her stomach roiled as the image of Evin, distressed and reaching for his dad, assaulted her mind. And that poor, helpless dog. She shook her head to try and dislodge it. ‘What about Kendric? What will you do now?’
He huffed the air from his lungs through puffed cheeks. ‘Honestly? I have no idea. The strange thing is I feel… numb. It happened a long time ago and he was so,sosorry. He sobbed. I’ve never seen him like that. He explained the reasons behind it all, and I tried to understand, but… It hurt. It hurt like hell. He’s the one person in all this that I should’ve been able to trust. But how can I now? He’s shattered that with his actions. He’s mybrother, for God’s sake. And yet… on the other side of it all… he’s my brother. Do you know what I mean?’
Juliette nodded. ‘I do. You still love him even after what he did.’
He nodded. ‘Talk about a double-edged sword.’ He closed his eyes briefly. ‘I want more than anything to forgive him. I just can’t do that right now. I hope that one day I can.’
‘Give it time.’
‘It’s all I can do. I’m just glad that Evin knows nothing about it all. Once the paternity test comes back, we’ll deal with it then, if we need to. Thankfully, my heartless ex has decided to give me that much. As for the rest of the stuff going on…’ He sighed heavily. ‘Well, the café is sold. So, I think I’ll maybe rent out my house and use the money I get from that to rent a flat closer to where Evin will be. Kate warned me off doing so, which to my mind makes it even easier for me to go ahead.’ He gave a wicked smile.
‘And what will become of the museum?’
‘There have been two offers. But both are low. And both are from big-name chains who want to cash in on the pretty location. Make it something more commercially viable for the tourist industry.’ He cringed. ‘You can see it now, can’t you? Pictures of coffee beans in sacks and modern barista equipment adorning the walls, instead of photos of the people who made the village what it is.The Lifeboat Coffee House.’ He sneered.
‘I wish I could help there too. I’m sorry, I just…’ She lowered her chin, guilt twisting her insides.
He reached out and lifted her face with one finger. ‘Hey, I totally understand. Your life is in the Cotswolds. There’s no need for you to apologise and I should never have made you feel guilty about that.’
