Harkett's Haven (19 page)

‘Well I’m sure that Dad and you will never fall
out. Sometimes friends are friends forever.’

Rachel laughed. ‘Yes, you’re r
ight. Sometimes friends are friends forever....come on. Let’s get back to your Dad. He must be wondering where we’ve got to. I just want to have a peek out the door first.....to make sure that that lady’s not around anymore.’

Esme
out her hand out and said, ‘I’ll go first and check that the coast’s clear. I’m a pretty good spy you know.’

And before Rachel could say anything,
Esme was off out the door, a few seconds later appearing back to give Rachel the thumbs up.

They strode out of the toilets hand in hand and back to the departure lounge. Eric was on the phone and smiled at
them, motioning them to sit down.

‘Flight 59
7 to Halifax. Departing Gate 7.’ The announcement came loud and clear over the tannoy.

‘That’s us
. That’s our plane Rachel.’ Esme could hardly contain her excitement. She made small jumps on the spot.

Eric finished his call.

‘Dad, our flight’s ready to go.’

Eric laughed. ‘Come on then, little sparrow. What’re you waiting for?’

He leaned over and kissed Rachel, putting his arm firmly round her waist.

‘How did the shopping trip go?’

‘Well.....great. I guess.’ She glanced at Esme, not able to keep the anxiety from clouding her face.

He looked at her quizzically.

Esme answered her father’s question.

‘It was awesome Dad. We had to hide from a lady in the toilets. She was looking for Rachel and I helped her to escape.’

Rachel nodded and sighed.

Eric’s face clouded immediately.
His pace picked up and Rachel had to quicken her steps. Esme skipped along beside her

‘What
happened Rachel?’

‘I saw Tom on his way out of the airport.’

‘Christ.’

Eric looked crestfallen.

‘I thought it wouldn’t come to this.’ He whispered.

Careful to keep her voice low enough for only Eric to hear she whispered, ‘I can leave now Eric. Keep you both out of this.’

He gripped her waist tighter.

‘No. Never,’ His voice was quietly vehement.

‘Look Rachel, I hoped Claire would leave us in peace, keep your anonymity. I don’t want anything or anyone getting in our way. Tom Sullivan means nothing to me.’

They boarded the plane and as they left
Rachel breathed a sigh of relief, leaving her troubles firmly behind her, at least for a time. Rachel was in no doubt now that Tom would not give up until he found her. He had the time and resources to do so and now he had a trail to follow.

Eric sat quietly brooding in the seat beside her and she tried, for the moment at least, to put thoughts of Tom behind her.

And as they climbed above the clouds and started to cross the Atlantic, Tom Sullivan made his way to the remote Ariskaig peninsula in the back of a black chauffer driven Audi, determined to find the woman he loved and lost and to take her back home with him.

9.

Rachel, who normally hated flying, loved the flight to Halifax. Esme fell asleep in her arms, her earlier excitement tiring her out. Rachel absently stroked the little girl’s long dark hair and watched her sleep, marvelling again at her beauty and peace.

Eric watched them
closely and gradually, the further they travelled from Scotland, started to talk again.

‘I’m sorry Rachel.’

She startled slightly, having been content to let Eric work through his dark mood in silence.

‘You’ve nothing to be sorry for Eric.’

‘I want us to get on with our lives now. I don’t want Tom Sullivan or Claire
Edwards to get in the way. I don’t want to think about them.’

‘
We’ve left that behind Eric. I think we should try to relax and get on with getting to know each other better. While we can.’

He took her hand and
held it.

‘I want to be honest with you Rachel. I want to be honest because
I want to be part of your life and I want you to be part of ours.....permanently’ He motioned to the sleeping Esme.

‘Eric I think we should take this slower....’

He interrupted her.

‘My head tells me we should take this slowly, I agree. But my heart
can’t stand the thought of not being with you. I know that this time, for me, everything’s different......and ....I want to tell you more about myself. ’

He continued to hold her hand but gazed out of the plane window.

‘When we arrive in Halifax we’re going to one of my family’s homes. It’s...well...it’s a big place, one that is out of range for a normal family GP. I don’t want you to think that I’m some kind of drug or gun runner or anything...... illegal.’

He laughed quietly. He kept his gaze averted, focussing on some indeterminate spot on the distant horizon.

‘My family have many homes. They’re wealthy, well known in Canada. Harkett Industries.’

Rachel knew about
Harkett Industries. It was a household name. She watched has large hand as it held hers. His hands were beautifully manicured, elegant, strong.

‘I was an only son and
my father wanted me to follow him into the business but I had my own ideas.  I wanted to be a doctor.  I wanted to be independent, do my own thing.’

‘Becoming a doctor is a very
admirable thing to wish to do.’

‘My father couldn’t hide his disappointment but I took a place at
Harvard Medical School and we.....tolerated the situation, tolerated each other. In my last year at university, I got Sarah pregnant...and my relationship with my father broke down completely. It was one step too far for him. An act of rebellion that they found hard to accept. But it wasn’t an act of rebellion. It was just a bloody mistake. My parents met Sarah....it wasn’t like they didn’t try ....but Sarah......’

He paused and
winced, a secret little expression that Rachel caught out of the corner of her eye.

‘Sarah had a chip on her shoulder a
bout the wealth in the family, the silver spoon in my mouth and she.....was just....well...she went out of her way to be ....unpleasant. Looking back I guess it was the age we were.....the student thing. I think at that age we all have that streak of anarchy running through us. We’re all just trying to find our way in the world. Sometimes we ruffle others feathers...’

Rachel closed her eyes and leant her head back on the seat, listening to his deep, low voice.

‘I didn’t see my family again after that. I got a job in New York and worked to become a surgeon. To become a good surgeon, work has to come first. Sarah and I moved in together before Esme was born but almost from the first week we both knew that it wasn’t right. That we weren’t right for each other. By that time Sarah was nearly at her due date and we decided to try to give it a go. For Esme’s sake.’

He sighed quietly and paused, reliving the pain.
Regret and a deep sense of responsibility opening old wounds. He looked at the sleeping Esme and the mere sight of her gave him strength to continue his story,

‘With hindsight i
t was the wrong thing to do. We had a brief honeymoon period after Esme was borne and then things deteriorated rapidly..........my work gave me the excuse I needed to stay away. We essentially lived separate lives under the same roof.  I got a job in London. Sarah decided to come with me. I thought that the move might force a decision on us to separate but Sarah’s mother had just died and . Kst font s...I guess you cling to the status quo, no matter how bad things are. My workload increased in London and Sarah started drinking. And the rest......the rest is history.’

Without opening her eyes she asked, ‘
Did your parents know about Sarah’s death?’

‘
Yes. I kept them informed. I told them about Esme. I told them about the big things that happened...and....of course they wanted to meet Esme.’

‘And they didn’t?’

‘Sarah wouldn’t allow it. There was no love lost between them. It was simply easier for me to go with her decision at that time.’

‘Jeez.’ Rachel sighed.

‘I want to do things right this time. I want to build bridges again. Sarah and I....we were both young when we met. Stupid, stubborn. And it all went wrong. Badly wrong.’

‘We’ve all done stupid things.
Made mistakes. You’re no different from every person on this planet. You can’t blame yourself.’

‘I can Rachel. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t look at
Esme and wish that I’d done things differently but ........’

Rachel
gazed past Eric and let her mind float on the clouds below them, pondering their situations.

‘You tried to do the right thing Eric. You married
Sarah, you were a father to Esme. It just didn’t work out.’ She added, ‘Does Esme know about her grandparents?’

Eric shook his head, ‘Sarah didn’t want them mentioned.
Esme was always told that she didn’t have grandparents.’

Rachel said nothing to this revelation
. Words could hardly express her dismay but she imagined the deep chasm that existed between Eric and Sarah; their different backgrounds, Sarah’s inability to accept, an unexpected pregnancy, an unhappy marriage, drink......She felt a deep sympathy for Sarah, a woman so trapped and unhappy in her situation that she felt her only way out was to take her own life. She sighed miserably.

Her hand continued to stroke
Esme’s soft hair and she felt nothing but compassion and a deep desire to heal the wounds that must still be hurting this small girl.

Eric turned towards Rachel
and pushed a stray strand of hair from her face, trailing a finger down her jaw and on to her neck.

‘I can’t wait to get us all to Halifax, to leave everything behind.
Just the three of us.’

His fingers pulled aside the fabric of her blouse exposing a small area of her shoulder and he bent to kiss her skin. Rachel lent her head against his and kissed his hair.

His touch sparked on her skin and his scent sent stars shooting across her vision. No man had ever had this effect on her, her whole body pulled towards his like a comet into a planet’s irresistible gravitational force. Their attraction to each other was an elemental, irresistible force, something that she couldn’t fight.

He kissed her neck, his soft lips lingering on her skin making her draw in a deep breath.

‘I need to take you to bed Rachel. I really need to take you to bed...’ his voice was soft and urgent, his breath warm on her skin.

She turned her face to him and kissed him, slowly, gently. And it was as they kissed that she realised that she was falling
inextricably and irretrievably in love with this man and his daughter. And for that moment she neither cared nor thought about the events that had led their paths to collide.

Esme
stirred slightly on her lap and she pulled away from Eric, hoping that she wouldn’t have seen them kiss, worried how Esme might react to her dad kissing another woman. It was too late. Esme’s sleepy eyes were open and sheer delight spreading across her face.

Her arms spread out above her and hugged her father and Rachel together.

‘I knew you were the one Rachel. I knew it,’ she whispered. Rachel stroked her head and glanced at Eric. Despite her feelings for Eric, she still worried about Esme’s expectations of their fledgling relationship. In life when did things ever go to plan?

Eric bent and kissed
Esme.