Be Mine: Valentine Novellas to Warm The Heart

by Nicole Flockton

He raised a flattened hand. “Hey, it’s okay. There’s plenty of time.”

  “Ok my darling, are you ready? Harrison. How delightful, you’re finally here. Have you met our Caitlynd? This gorgeous girl is my best friend Madelena’s daughter.”

  He smiled. “Small world. I have, she’s renting the cottage with the orange door.” He moved closer to his mother and kissed her cheek, holding her close. “You seem animated, are you all right?”

  “Yes dear, come and sit. Goodness, it is a small world. Oh, and it’s a lovely cottage and so perfect for you.” She stopped and looked at them both. “There is something in the air. Fate. I always say things happen for a reason. Caitlynd, please come and sit. Have some more tea, you look flushed all of a sudden. Harrison, you’ll have some tea as well.” Elspeth poured.

  “What’s going on mother?”

  “Well, Caitlynd and I have been reminiscing and...I wanted to give her something.” From the other side of her chair she pulled up a small painting.

  Caitlynd yelped and almost dropped her cup. “Oh my...”

  Harrison stared at the painting and at Caitlynd. “Stunning. The same dark flowing hair, the same dark expressive eyes. Beautiful. It’s you. But, how can it be? The painting must be at least forty or more years old.”

  “It’s my mother.” Caitlynd spoke the words but her voice was of a stranger. Sad and broken.

  “It’s Madelena’s self-portrait. She never believed it was a good likeness and wanted to destroy it. But I knew better and convinced her to leave it with me. I’m so glad I did and now I understand why. She truly was a beautiful woman. It’s amazing, you are so like her.”

  Caitlynd held her hand over her mouth. Tears streamed, unchecked and free flowing. Elspeth placed the painting on the table. “Caitlynd, this belongs to you. Your mother was once my best friend and I’m sorry she’s no longer with us. As sad as it is, I’m grateful you’ve made your way to me.” She wrapped her arms around Caitlynd as they both cried.

  Caitlynd laughed through her tears. She looked at Harrison, trying to smile. “I’m sorry, you’ve seen me at my worst.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t believe so.”

  “Well my darlings, I may have overdone things a little. I’m feeling a little tired. Would you mind terribly if I excuse myself?” Elspeth raised her arms to stretch and yawned loudly.

  “Elspeth, you are a wonderful hostess, thank you so much for asking me over and spoiling me with dinner as well. I should get on home anyway.” Caitlynd stood, collecting the few left over dishes on the table.

  “Darling, please don’t worry yourself about these dishes, I’ll sort it out tomorrow. Harrison, why don’t you escort Caitlynd home. I will see you both soon.” She moved around the table. “Goodnight mother, I’ll check on you in the morning. Sleep well.” Harrison kissed his mother and hugged her close.

  She seemed so frail all of a sudden. Even though she never complained, nor did she expect any sympathy. Her illness had slowed her and it was becoming obvious. In a short space of three months, she had aged. The light was fading in her eyes and it broke his heart. The treatment seemed far worse than the disease, but he knew she would beat it. She is a fighter and strong. She will recover, in time.

  Harrison saw the confused look cross Caitlynd’s beautiful, expressive and sad eyes, and was glad she didn’t say anything. He would explain in private. He couldn’t believe his luck as he walked into his mother’s backyard to find the woman of his dreams standing there. Her skin tone matched the rose she smelled to perfection. Her hair so dark it glistened silver in the sunshine.

  Earlier, when his eyes locked onto hers, a jolt of electricity zapped through him like a power punch to his gut. Never had he experienced a reaction like it. It took a simple glance. Then he heard her speak. A voice of an angel. WOW. It melted him inside.

  To find out she was his new tenant had made his day. It was meant to be. He struggled to focus on his work. He constantly glanced out the window hoping to catch a glimpse of her. He was so distracted, unable to focus and neglected his clients – all he saw was Caitlynd.

  He normally didn’t allow his tenants to know who he was, nor have much to do with them, preferring to be anonymous. It was easier to pretend to be the handy-man when needed. But, with Caitlynd, he wanted to know everything and was happy she knew him.

  “Are you ready to go? I’ll give you a hand with the painting.”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  He watched as she moved across to Elspeth as they both wrapped arms around each other like long lost friends. He was surprised they had met only yesterday, and yet had become close so quickly.

  His mother called it fate.

  Could it be true?

  3

  They stood on the pathway overlooking the bay; the reflected moonlight glistened in a long white line against the darkened deep. Waves danced along the shore, gently lapping. “What a perfect evening.” Caitlynd said, giving Harrison a smile and she took in a long breath, sniffing the air. “Lord, I love the smell.”

  “Smell?”

  The light giggle she made sounded genuine and he noticed a lovely slow blush work its way along her neckline.

  “Ever since I arrived, there’s a scent in the air. It could be the frangipani and hibiscus flowers all over the place.”

  “Oh sure. I’m so used to it; I guess I don’t notice it anymore.” Unconsciously he began to sniff the air, not wanting to miss what it was she smelled.

  She let out a soft sigh as the air gently ruffled her hair.

  “It’s unusually warm for this time of year and pretty calm right now, this breeze is nice. I suspect a storm is coming.” He didn’t want the evening to end.

  “Funny; Elspeth warned the same thing.”

  He smiled. “Well, if my mom said it, it must be true. She’s never wrong about these things.” Incapable to stop watching her. “So, how do you like it here?” Stupid question, he’d already heard her tell how much she loved it. She smiled and a tiny crease formed between her eyes. She took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. He was mesmerized.

  “I am honestly loving it. Its’ like for the first time in years I can breathe again. I go to bed at night hearing the ocean waves and I fight the urge to sleep. I wake to the chorus of early morning birds, and I find it soothing. I feel refreshed and alive. It sounds ridiculous, I know. Back at home, tucked away in suburban Sydney, going to sleep and waking was a struggle. There are so few birds, not like here. I don’t miss the sound of cars, horns honking, angry, tired people. Buses and trains. I’m happy to have left it all behind.” She gave her head a shake and closed her eyes as though trying to dispel the reminder. Her thick dark curls gently swung around her shoulders and he fisted his hands to stop himself from reaching out to caress them.

  “It’s not silly at all. I understand. I haven’t always lived here. I lived in Sydney for a while too, and before that was Washington DC. Two vast contrasts but with their own similarities. Working stupid hours, drinking way too much, getting little satisfaction out of the cases I was dealing with.” He saw the look of interest cross her face, or was it confusion? “You know, the low-life drug users, who did petty crimes to feed their addictions with no sense of remorse toward the people they’d wronged badly. Those who felt they were hard done by society, who never finished school, because they were too lazy but blamed the teachers, their parents, society, blah blah blah.”

  She nodded her head and frowned. “Yes, but I’m sure some were legitimate with real problems. Surely you can’t blame it solely on them.”

  His gut bounced with his guilt. “Yep, you’re right, but the majority were plain dumb. I’m afraid to say, my sympathy levels dropped dramatically after dealing with the liars and frauds. You can’t fix stupid…” He let out a short cough. “Even though I did try.”

  “I’m sorry, it sounds terrible.” She sounded disappointed.

  “Don’t get me wrong, I tried helping them, especially the younger ones. But after a
while, it got harder and harder. I’m not a social worker, but…it’s what I seemed to do more and more. It became harder to defend them. I was losing my sense of right and wrong. They became another number and I didn’t care if I lost and they went to jail. I didn’t care about them anymore. I didn’t care whether they got the rehabilitation they needed. It became all about the money and chasing the bigger clients. The faster car. The flashier home. The more expensive suits.”

  “I know the type.” She looked downward. Had he shocked her by the ugly truth? “What about girlfriends?”

  He shrugged his shoulders, letting out a harrumph and turned to look at the sea. “Plenty of them, but all for the wrong reasons.” He hated the person he had become, cynical and uncaring. Every now and again that cynical person would raise his ugly head and he needed to remind himself how fortunate he was to get away from it.

  “How terribly sad. I can’t see you that way, but I hear the cynic in you. I hope it’s better now.” The lilt of her voice skimmed across his heart. He searched within her soft brown eyes that held such compassion. Everything about her was innocence and goodness.

  “God, you’re beautiful.”

  She turned away, looking out to the bay. He’d shocked her…Why did he have to do that?

  “I’m sorry, that was forward of me. Things are much better now. We get the odd petty crime here, but nothing major. These days, I mostly look after property law, real estate is pretty easy here, and seeing happy people makes a difference.”

  “I’m glad. What about Louise?”

  “Louise?”

  “Yes…how does she fit in?”

  “She’s…” he swallowed hard. How was he going to explain? His sometimes go-to girl. “Louise is my assistant. She works for me.”

  He noticed the doubt cloud her face and the nod of her head. “OK.”

  “Come on, I’ll walk you home.” He was relieved when she gifted him with a smile, as though it was all forgiven.

  “Thanks...maybe you can help hang that painting.” He’d almost forgotten it was in his arms.

  “Sure, easy done.”

  “Harrison, you and your mom are so similar, so easy going, easy to speak with. It’s a great quality. You must be good at your job.” He sure was easy on the eye. He had removed his jacket and tie and rolled his sleeves to his elbow, while hanging the painting of her mother. His trousers molded over his backside and legs so perfectly. She enjoyed watching him, the way the fine fabric skimmed him so well. He was so precise, measuring the perfect position in the living room.

  He laughed and sent her a bright smile. His wind-mussed dark hair suited his cheesy smile and she couldn’t help but laugh along. What would it be like to run my fingers through that lustrous hair?

  Something loud crashed outside, causing the cottage to shake. “Aahh, what on earth was that?” she cried out, she’d been so distracted by him, she hadn’t notice the weather had turned bad outside.

  “The storm has finally arrived.” He headed to the front door and it almost blew inwards against the full-frontal blast. Rain sprayed over him and he struggled to force it closed. “Hhmm, this could be bad. You best make sure all the windows are closed tight.”

  Caitlynd immediately ran from room to room and closed all the windows. When she re-entered the living room, Harrison was on the phone to his mother.

  “All right, you hunker down, and stay in your room. If you need to, get into the bathtub. And please don’t do anything dumb. Ride it out and I’ll come to you as soon as it’s passed. Okay. Sure, I love you too. See you soon.” While talking he looked directly at Caitlynd. “She’s okay for the moment. I’ll check on her again later.”

  “Should we go to her?”

  “No. Her house is tucked away and not in the storm’s direct path.”

  “But…we are in its direct path? This isn’t a normal storm, is it?” She shivered and crossed her arms.

  “I checked the weather station app on my cell phone and it’s a small tropical storm.”

  Thunder boomed long and loud above them and Caitlynd couldn’t help from shrieking. “Holy cow, that was close.” She moved to sit on the lounge with her feet curled under her. Her skin speckled with goose bumps, rubbing her hands along her arms. “I can’t believe how quickly it turned.” She watched the man who seemed to take everything in so calmly. What the hell was she doing with him in her house?

  Suddenly a loud siren sounded and Caitlynd glared at Harrison with wide eyes. “Oh my God…what on earth?”

  “Relax, that’s the cyclone warning system.”

  “Cyclone. Relax. Oh my God. A cyclone. Should we leave? Go somewhere higher?”

  “Caitlynd, it’s okay. It happens sometimes. Look, if it gets serious the alarm tone changes. This is only the first one, meaning its low-grade. For the moment, we’re okay. But, I guess I’m stuck here for the duration. I hope you don’t mind. Or, I could make a run for it back to Mom’s house.” He moved to sit near her on the sofa.

  Curls swished around her shoulders as she shook her head. “I can’t have you running out in a cyclone; you’ll ruin your suit. Besides, it’s nice to have company for a change. Don’t get me wrong, I like my own company, but sometimes…”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “Do you want a drink? I’ve got some wine…” She stood and walked into the kitchen. The wine was a gift from her father for being brave and making the move. She smiled looking at the bottle. “Thanks, Dad.”

  She poured a liberal amount into each glass and handed one to Harrison. “So, here’s to bravery!” And swallowed a large mouthful.

  A thick dark eyebrow raised. “Bravery?”

  “Yes…,” she laughed, taking another mouthful. “It’s a long story, and something my dad said to me about being brave for what I was doing. It’s not worth the effort telling you all the sordid details.”

  “Your dad is here too?”

  “No, no…sadly, he went back to Sydney a couple of days ago.” She missed her dad but knew he had things to do back home. And to also prevent a certain someone from finding out where she was.

  “Shame, I would have liked to meet him. Mom would have enjoyed it too, no doubt.”

  She nodded her head. If only she had known about Elspeth and let out a small sigh. She would let her dad know first chance she got.

  “So…we’ve got all night. Tell me the sordid details.”

  She curled her legs under her, and made herself comfortable on the lounge. “It’s complicated, but the bottom line is, I want James out of my life for good. Soon he will be my ex-husband, and I will be happy to never see him again.”

  “How is it complicated?” He relaxed into the lounge and made himself more comfortable.

  “Ah where do I begin? We built our business together, which he prefers I not have any part of. He says I have no financial ownership, even though it’s listed under both our names. Trouble is, it was started from my money you see, he didn’t have any. Um, our house, same thing, even though the deed is under both our names. I used my mother’s inheritance to pay for both. I believed him and in what we were doing. I was so blind. Stupid. He fooled me and everyone else.”

  “He sounds like a piece of work, a royal prick. Could even be one of my partners back in Sydney. You do realize, because you left the country, you may have forfeited any rights to keeping the house and assets?”

  “Fine by me. I hate the house and want nothing from it. It carries ghosts and bad memories. I just want him to pay me back.” She was glad to be away from it, each time she walked the stairs, the searing pain returned, and she couldn’t escape it. Before she departed Australia, the only thing she left behind, aside from her father, were strict instructions with her solicitor about her secret location and a restraining order.

  “I’m sorry your marriage failed. No, that’s not entirely true, I’m glad. It brought you here. Mom calls it fate.”

  Fate. What did it mean exactly? Caitlynd watched him from over her wine glass. He was so d
ifferent from her ex.

  James was ruthless, hard-featured, cold eyed and cold hearted. He jealously wanted the best of everything and cared for nothing and no one. He used people for what he could get and when she tried to make him accountable, he became ugly and cruel.

  Whereas, Harrison, his eyes glowed with a warmth and softness, especially when he smiled. The way he cared for his mother spoke volumes about the man he was. Full of integrity and passion for life and a great patience. He wasn’t afraid of getting his hands dirty, happy to do things himself, not demand it of others to do it for him.

  “There must have been something about the man you liked. Otherwise, why else would you have married him?” Harrison walked into the kitchen, returning with the wine bottle. He refilled her glass first before emptying the remainder into his. Warmth entered her face making it difficult to hide the smile.

  “He would have filled his glass first and then maybe mine or not bothered at all.” She couldn’t believe how honest she was being with this man, a stranger, who had made her feel more warmth and excitement in one day than she had ever felt in five years with the man she married.

  “You know what’s funny. A few days before our wedding I saw a mystic fortune teller. I remember her, she was a most unusual woman. She warned me against James, said I was making a mistake, he was bad, not in those exact words of course, but…in retrospect, I understand what she was telling me. Her name was uncommon too, Madam Mireille.” Could Harrison be the other one Mireille mentioned. The perfect one?

  She tried to remember a time when she’d had fun and she looked away from Harrison’s delving eyes. It was as though he could see right through her.

  “So, where is the ex now?”

  “Back in Sydney I suppose, telling lies about me no doubt.”

  “I’m sorry, he didn’t deserve you.”

  She squirmed and swallowed hard. “Can we please stop talking about him?”

  “Of course…” A loud boom exploded around them. The house shook and Caitlynd jumped.