Page 99 of Twilight Tides
“She promised to back off on the custody arrangements if I paid her bail.”
“Oh. Well, good. But Dad … I want to block her. I can’t deal with her.”
I experienced a flare of sympathy. I’d had to do the same thing after my parents refused to acknowledge the truth that thegreat Nick Huston had been abusing me. They were cut out of my life, and I never wanted them back in it. Even if a small part of my heart would always wish for them to magically become good parents, rationally I knew cutting them out would save me heartache in the long run.
“Then block her, m’eudail. You can always change your mind later if you want. But if this is what you need now, do it.”
Things were quiet for a few seconds, so I didn’t know what was happening.
And then I heard it. The sob.
Kelly was crying.
I wanted to rush out of the bathroom to comfort her too. Instead, because of my own suggestion, I had to hide in Murray’s bathroom. Eventually, I heard him take her upstairs to make an early breakfast and I waited, heart pounding, for my moment to leave.
At the top of the stairs, I managed to skitter past the kitchen and into my bedroom without being seen.
But it suddenly didn’t feel so good.
All this sneaking around.
After listening to how upset Kelly was, however, I knew we needed to put our own wants and desires aside to make sure Kelly’s emotional well-being was prioritized. Jill had put that girl through enough already.
36.Murray
Hindsight could be a bastard. Aye, it might give you clarity, but sometimes it just tormented the fuck out of you.
If I’d known how one wee conversation might derail the best thing I had going on in my life, I might have better considered what I’d thought was an innocuous discussion. With hindsight I could see it most definitely was not an innocuous discussion.
I’d returned to my bedroom to change into clothes and London had clearly managed to sneak out earlier. She met me and Kelly in the kitchen for a quick breakfast before she had to leave. She’d obviously overheard our conversation and managed to coax it out of Kelly before she departed. London’s comfort and assurance seemed to boost Kelly, and it reassured me that my daughter was in a better headspace when I dropped her off for school. The last thing she chatted about was how she couldn’t wait to get her provisional license in eighteen months so she could learn to drive. I reminded her a provisional license did not mean she could drive herself to school, that she’d have to wait until she was seventeen for that, but it didn’t seem to deter her.
The thought of buying my child a car messed with my head a bit until I reminded myself it was three years away. I wouldn’t linger over how quickly I knew three years could slip by.
Maybe I was too caught up in those kinds of thoughts, wanting to make the most of the time we had. Maybe that was the reason I didn’t think beyond the need to make London as happy as she made me. Maybe that’s why I fucked up when I bumped into Tierney McRae.
I’d gone into Leth Sholas to speak with Shona McIver because there had been a problem with her latest delivery. She insisted she’d paid for a small delivery of langoustine. The crustaceans were expensive and therefore lucrative, and I had three trawlers dedicated to catching them. Shona rarely ever ordered them because they were hard to sell to islanders at the price she had to charge to make a profit. Now and then, however, she’d buy some in and advertise the hell out of them. People were more likely to splash out when it was a rare occurrence.
Somehow, the langoustines had been missed off her delivery, so I’d promised to throw in a wee bit extra to make up for the inconvenience. I noted a cooling in her friendliness, but I didn’t take offense. I understood if she felt a bit awkward now that I was married to London.
Deciding to grab a coffee before heading into the office, I saw Tierney coming out of the bakery and called to her. She turned, and I noted her pregnancy bump. It was small but visible now. It made me feel a bit protective toward her.
“Murray, hey.” Tierney grinned broadly as we closed the distance between us, meeting outside Pages & Perks. “I’m just grabbing lunch for me and Spoon. We’re trying to put everything in place for Emmy so we don’t need to worry about leaving her alone with the B and B over the weekend.”
“London mentioned that was the plan this morning.”
Tierney’s gaze was suddenly searching. “Hey, I wondered if I could get your opinion on something.”
“Of course.”
“Before you two married, I’d considered asking London to be the permanent manager at the B and B so she had a bigger slice of the business. It would have meant her moving in, though, so obviously now you two are married and that seems to be going well …” She nudged me and winked. “That’s no longer a possibility. But I was thinking, it’s such a shame London’s culinary talents are restricted to breakfast. It might be nice to offer a unique fine dining experience at the B and B. Something that only happens once a week or a few times a month. And London can choose the menu. I know she’d be interested in playing around with local ingredients. Do you think she’d go for that?”
Unfortunately, I was not one for lying and I’d already had to lie to my daughter that morning. Therefore, I think my answer to Tierney’s question was written all over my face.
She frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Though London didn’t mean it to be, it was unfair to let Tierney believe she was happy at the guest house. Tierney was dreaming up plans for them both and bloody London would probably go along with them even if she didn’t want to.
I didn’t think before I spoke. “You need to talk to London about that.”
