Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Sunshine and Moonlight continues with Book Three
Acknowledgments
Forever Falling
Book Two in the Series
Sunshine And Moonlight
Paige Randall
© 2016 Paige Randall
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.
This book is a work of fiction. All characters in this novel are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events or locales, persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Photography by Paige Randall
ISBN: 978-0-9961523-2-7 (kindle)
ISBN: 978-0-9961523-3-4 (paperback)
Dedication
To the true Paige and Randall.
You are my everything.
One
He’s not sure what pisses him off more, the fire searing his flesh yet again or the fact that his dick got him thrown out of his own restaurant. He flips the sea bass, ignoring the burn, and wonders who would order this shit. Who is paying forty-seven dollars for a decent piece of fish crapped up with a fucking basil infused beurre blanc. It’s a shit dish. Damn her for adding it to the menu anyway. The line cooks are doing a lot of whispering tonight. Cunts, he thinks through his hate. He tries to breathe through it, to control his reaction, his impulse. He is successful for a count of fourteen seconds, and then he is done.
He throws the sauté pan, with the fish and shit sauce, into the sink. Metal hits metal loud enough to silence everyone in the kitchen. Why wait until dinner service is over? They can all go straight to hell. He might as well make a decent exit. With two hands and a big shove, he flips a silver prep cart covered in oysters. They scatter across the kitchen floor between the black rubber soled shoes of stunned, but blessedly silent, line cooks. He reaches behind the bar and grabs a bottle of McClelland’s single malt scotch on his way out the front door. The London air is cold and wet and grey, at the same time a relief and oppressive. Goodbye England, you bitch, he thinks taking the first slug from the bottle. I’m going to America. He calls to book a flight on his mobile before the McClelland’s takes hold.
Callum Townsend’s plane lands in Columbia, South Carolina, before he thinks to call his sister to tell her he is coming. As the jet taxis toward the airport, he sends her a text. Guess who’s coming to dinner? If that’s ok. His sister, Anna Halloway replies in all caps. ARE YOU JOKING? ARE YOU HERE? Callum stands, or tries to. His nearly six foot, three inch frame isn’t going vertical anywhere near his window seat. When his head clears the overhead bin, he still stoops, but reaches for his bag and shoulders the slight collection of possessions he has brought to America. A little ginger-haired boy, no more than five, leans over from the seat in front of Callum’s and sticks his tongue out. Callum mouths fuck you silently. The little bastard was screaming and whining for half the flight and Callum wants to punch him in the face. Callum isn’t as patient as he might be with poorly behaved children. The mother is a fat-faced ogre. She would probably dump the little fucker on the runway for a shot at ten minutes in the rest room alone with Callum.
Callum replies to Anna’s text. Just landed in Columbia. Spontaneous trip. Ok if I come to Osprey Island for a few days? She replies immediately. YES!!!YES!!!YES!!! Well it’s nice to be welcome, somewhere.
Callum just met his half-sister, Anna the previous winter. As a teenager, Callum’s father got his girlfriend pregnant. Anna’s mother was young and her parents coerced her to give up her baby for adoption. Callum’s father never even knew he had a daughter. Finding a sister at the age of thirty was unbelievable for Callum. When he met Anna in January, she was just married and pregnant. Callum is ready to meet his niece. Actually there are two nieces. Anna is in the process of adopting her stepdaughter Clara.
Callum knows he shouldn’t want to, but he is considering kicking Anna’s husband’s ass. Anna and John were separated when Anna came to London last winter. Even though Anna and John are together now and Anna says they are happier than ever, Callum thinks John needs a good old kick in the teeth for deserting his pregnant wife. Who does that? Callum rubs both hands through his short blonde hair, trying to decide who he wants to beat on more, the little ginger fuck or John. Having a sister is new to Callum and it’s making him feel protective. He rubs his head harder, creating spiky points of hair. His head hurts, his hair hurts, his entire fucking being hurts. He needs a drink or a pill or something.
Callum walks while he texts and declines Anna’s offer for a ride. He picks up the black Jeep Wrangler he arranged for yesterday. It feels very American. He easily navigates the Jeep toward the coastline of South Carolina. Within thirty minutes, he is speeding down an arrow straight, quiet, two-lane road, lined with tall trees. He stops at a gas station with a mini-mart, grabs a jacket from his bag and pulls the fabric shell top off the Jeep. He syncs his mobile to play through the car’s Bluetooth. He picks up a six pack inside, cracks the top off a Becks and speeds along in the open air.
After years cooped up twelve hours a day, sometimes more, six or seven days a week, in hot cramped kitchens, screaming at line cooks, and taking orders, literally and figuratively, the air feels really good. Smooth music from The Black Keys fills the Jeep. Callum immediately likes South Carolina. The December air is cool and crisp but well warmed by the setting sun. It is a hell of a lot nicer then the dreary shit he left behind in London. He breathes in deep, tasting the sweet American air and pops open another Becks.
Ninety minutes later, Callum pulls onto a two-lane bridge for Osprey Island. Salty ocean air fills his soul. The bridge separates the mainland from a small barrier island about twenty miles north of Charleston. John and Anna live in a southern vacation paradise year round. When Callum pulls under the large ocean front house, he thinks this looks like a hell of a nice way to live. The house is large with dark rustic wood. Tall trees sway in the breeze. Callum admires hearty winter flowers still in bloom. Before he can get out of the Wrangler, Anna is in his arms.
“Callum, my darling brother. What the hell are you doing here?” Anna left England nearly twenty years ago to attend college in Maryland and she never returned. Her accent is much more prevalent when she is with her brothers. “This is the best surprise ever!”
He is happy to see her and picks her up, giving her a spin for good measure, but he doesn’t have anything to say just yet. Seeing Anna is making him feel it all over again — the happiness of finding a sister, combined with the fury of knowing she grew up ten minutes away and he never knew.
After Anna came to visit, Callum tried to find her adoptive parents who were actually Anna’s biological aunt and uncle. When Callum and his brother Eric learned of Anna’s unhappy childhood, they wanted answers. More likely, they wanted a confrontation to defend the sister they never had an opportunity to defend. Her parents had died years before. Lucky bastards. Callum and Eric might have killed them. Callum realizes his brother Eric doesn’t know he has left London. He should call later.
“Anna,” Callum finally says, putting his sister down. They stare at each other, still learning the face of their new sibling. Their hair is nearly the same light shade of blonde and their sky b
lue eyes are the identical color. Both are slender, but Callum lifts a lot of weights and played nearly every sport England schools had to offer. He liked the contact of rugby, but he can play anything with a ball. “I’m not entirely sure what I’m doing here. I needed to get away,” Callum says honestly. Anna accepts his indefinite answer.
“Okay then,” she says and smooths his windblown hair into place. “Well come one in. There’s a houseful who want to meet you and John is getting ready to cook out back.” With a look of disapproval, Anna collects his six empty Beck’s bottles and tosses them into the recycling bin.
“Really? You’re drinking and driving during your first two hours in America? Can you imagine what prison is like down here in the south?” Anna says searching his eyes for answers that don’t come out of his mouth. He just shrugs.
“Deliverance meets Midnight Express I’d imagine. You’ll be getting an ass fucking in a Charleston prison, Turkish style. Behave your damn self, Callum,” she scolds him and he lets her. Having someone give a shit is actually nice. He puts his arm around her shoulders, mumbles some apologies and they walk up the dark wooden stairs into the house.
John has him in a bear hug before he can get in the front door. Callum floats his hands in the air, not quite accepting John’s warm embrace. “Callum, my new brother! I am so happy to know you.” John’s Austin drawl makes his enthusiasm damn near contagious. Near, but not quite infecting Callum. John wears his dark hair long, in waves below his collar, with a neatly trimmed beard. He is just an inch or two shorter than Callum, but much broader. John is all shoulder. John’s smiling green eyes welcome Callum into his home and before Callum’s bag is down, he has a McLellands in his hand. Callum is impressed, but he doesn’t want to be.
“We’ll move you over to bourbon, before too long. But for your first night, I wanted you to feel at home,” John says rubbing Callum’s shoulder. These Americans are very handsy.
Callum thanks John halfheartedly before setting down the scotch and dropping to his knees to greet Clara, John’s three and a half year old daughter. Callum smiles at this long-haired beauty through dark ringlets falling over her face. He holds her curls back to get a better look and is rewarded with a smile.
Anna introduces them. “Clara luv, this is your Uncle Callum.”
Callum takes Clara’s hand in his for a shake. He could fit her entire arm into his hand. He might have liked to have a little girl like this one day, before he decided he is never having another relationship with a woman and, therefore, no children. Clara smiles tiny white teeth at him and sways side-to-side, but doesn’t say much. Callum smooths his thumb along her silken cheek before rising to meet Lynn. Lynn sits against her mother’s hip. She is just eight months old and her blue eyes are all Anna. She has John’s dark hair and Clara’s smile. Her lashes are a mile long. Lynn’s lashes make Callum’s heart break a little. She is so tiny and so perfect. He tosses back his scotch and toasts the baby Elizabeth and Jeremy will be expecting soon back in London. They got the restaurant, a revived marriage and a new baby in the making.
“They are both beautiful,” Callum tells Anna with a sullen smile. Callum glances at John lighting the grill on the deck. He feels less like kicking John’s ass now that he’s got the McClellands in him, and he’s met John’s two cute kids. Anna looks much happier than when he saw her in London. Despite the pregnancy, her face was too thin. She looked tired and drained. He thought it was exhaustion and travel, especially being pregnant. Now he can see how beautiful Anna really is. Her face is full of happiness and her smile is whole. Funny, when he saw her last winter, his smile was whole. Now his is hollow.
“Is everything all right Callum? You seem a bit sad. Is it just the travel or is something happening?” Anna asks, looking worried.
Callum shrugs and offers Anna a half smile. He shrugs a lot. Since he obviously is not interested in talking, Anna shows him to a large guest room at the end of the hall. “You’ll have your privacy down here,” she says. “No middle of the night baby nonsense for you.”
He really is grateful. After his fall from grace, having someplace to land is a relief. “Thanks Anna, for letting me come. I am so happy to meet your family. The girls are a dream come true.” He sets his bag down on the bed.
“Callum, you are my family too. Don’t forget that. Absolutely anything you need, any time. That’s what big sisters are for, right?” Anna asks with a worried smile.
He nods and takes another offered hug from his sister. He can’t remember the last time he hugged so much. When in Rome.
“Just settle in then. John and I will get the girls to bed and we can have a nice quiet dinner. You have everything you need?”
“I do. Thanks Anna. I have everything I could ever want.”
Lies and more lies, he thinks. I don’t have what I want at all.
A few minutes later, Anna calls down to ask if he’d like to read a book to Clara. Shit. “Can I tell her a story? I’m a good story teller,” he offers.
Callum sits next to Clara on her purple covered bed and tells her a story about a princess named Victoria who saves a prince from a mean cow named Moo Moo. Let the princess win this round. Little girls shouldn’t grow up thinking they need saving.
“This is great John, really excellent,” Callum says, pointing his fork at the perfect medium rare steak. No one grills a steak like John. Most people can’t grill a steak for shit.
“I’m glad to hear it. Cooking for a chef is a little daunting,” John studies Callum hard. This is his first opportunity to really look at Anna’s brother. “My god you two look a lot alike. Not just look alike, but you move alike. It’s pretty fucking amazing.”
Anna takes Callum’s hand for a squeeze. John can see she is happy to have her brother here, but she is worried about him.
“And how’s Eric? And your Mum,” Anna asks.
Callum tells them about Eric’s latest travels. He is a surgeon and prefers to spend as much time traveling as possible. He works with a London practice when he is in town, but he is just as likely to be found in one of many African or South American counties. “Eric has more air miles than anyone I know,” Callum comments and adds quickly, “Mum is well enough,” without elaborating.
John can’t help wondering why Callum is here. He is offering no explanations and he isn’t the happy go lucky guy Anna had described. John waits until Anna is clearing the dishes before he tries to do some digging. “So is this your first time in the states, Callum?”
“I came years ago on a school trip, New York and Washington. Lots of sightseeing and sneaking out of the hotel, chasing American girls at night. That sort of thing.”
John leans back in his chair and sips his bourbon. He doesn’t want to interrogate his guest, but Callum is not giving any clues to the reason for his sudden appearance on Osprey Island. Anna gives John an encouraging nod to get Callum talking.
“Callum, this might seem a strange question from one man to another, but do you want to go for a walk on the beach with me?”
Callum laughs hard. “Romance is in the air. I accept, my darling brother-in-law. On one condition.”
“Anything,” John says.
“Bring the bourbon.” Callum says rising, pushing in his chair and kissing Anna’s cheek.
They head out the back deck, down the wooden walkway and into the sand. The tide is high so they sit close to the dunes in the dry sand. They sit with the bottle between them and drink from short glasses.
“It’s fucking fantastic here,” Callum says, watching the ocean pound the surf.
John laughs out loud.
“What?”
“The day I met Anna, we stepped into the sand and that is exactly what she said. It stuck with me.”
Callum smiles into his glass. “Let’s hope things end differently for us, John.”
“Agreed,” John says, remembering lying Anna naked across her countertop, shortly after their first visit to the beach together. John lets Callum enjoy the calming soun
ds of the surf. It is every bit as intoxicating as the bourbon and John doesn’t mind a little silence.
“I’m a little disappointed in you John,” Callum says finally.
John is surprised. “You are?”
Callum takes his time before explaining. “I had planned on hating you. I was going to beat you senseless, actually.”
John gives him a slight nod and a Hmmm.
“How the fuck did you leave my sister when she was pregnant with your baby?” Callum doesn’t really ask. It is more of an indictment.
John hasn’t had to answer this question at all. Everyone in their lives understood the complications of his relationship with Anna in those early days. Their rocky start is behind them now and John isn’t really interested in apologizing for it. Still, Callum is Anna’s brother and he does have certain rights.
“What do you know about us Callum?” John realizes he has no idea what Anna has shared with her brothers.
“I know that Anna’s first husband died of a brain tumor. She lost her baby too, before you met. And you are a widower. After all that, you still left her?”
John is a little surprised that Callum doesn’t know more. He would never describe Anna as an open book though.
“There was a little more to it than that,” John says. He decides if he wants Callum to trust him and open up, he has to open up a little too. “My wife committed suicide. It was post-partum depression, maybe psychosis. Clara was just a baby. I left her with my brother and his wife, and I ran off for a year and a half. I was in pretty bad shape. Guilt and grief and a lot of anger. I met Anna here when I started putting the pieces back together last summer.” John leaves it there. He still struggles with how much detail to share with new people. Finding the right balance between shocking and understating when he’s trying to be honest is difficult. He looks as Callum’s eyes go wide and knows that was enough detail.
Forever Falling Page 1
