“So all these rooms are bedrooms except that one.” He pointed to the door second from the end. “It’s a bathroom.”
We walked past several closed doors before stopping in front of the one I already knew. “I was so mortified when you found me in this room.” I grimaced.
“It was a pretty big shock finding you here.” He pushed the door open and waited for me to go first.
I cringed. “I don’t know what I was thinking coming in here uninvited.”
He grazed the back of his hand along my cheekbone. “Well I’m bloody glad you did.”
“This was your bedroom, right?” I asked, a little breathless.
He nodded and blew out a long breath. “I was home for term break during my third year at uni and had told them about my change of heart.” His jaw clenched. “Mum was pissed and stormed off to bed early. I stayed up for a while with dad and we were able to have a rational conversation. He was a night owl and I knew he’d be up for hours yet. I’d said goodnight around eleven and gone to bed.”
“What happened?” I found myself holding my breath waiting for him to continue.
“We need to go back downstairs for me to finish the story.” He grabbed my hand and dragged me out.
“It was unusually quiet in the house when I came down the stairs the next morning,” he said as we descended. “But I assumed someone was up as I could smell the coffee wafting through the house. For years, I had come down for breakfast each morning to the sound of the seventies music.”
I held my breath, and butterflies flapped wildly in my stomach. We moved down the hallway towards the kitchen, where I knew something awful happened based on his reaction last time I had been in there with him. I wasn’t going to interrupt him with any questions.
Standing in the kitchen, Leo continued his story. The story I’d been waiting to hear since I’d stumbled across this farmhouse and walked in uninvited.
“When I reached the kitchen door, I was confronted with a sight I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life. I found my father lying on the floor in a pool of blood and my mother standing over him smiling.”
I gasped and my hands flew to cover my mouth. “Are you serious?” I spoke through my fingers. I stared at the floor, then back at Leo, then back at the floor. “You found him like that and she was smiling?”
He nodded and closed his eyes. I could see pain all over his body from his tense shoulders to his furrowed brow to his clenched fists. “When she saw me, her face dropped and the colour drained from her face. She looked so guilty, and in that moment my world simply stopped.”
“What did you do?” I asked in a whispered voice.
“I rushed forward, dropped to my knees and tried desperately to find a pulse. ‘Please don’t be dead,’ I begged repeatedly, but I already knew he was gone. I tried to tell my mother to call the police, but nothing came out. My mind and body were shutting down.”
“Jesus, Leo.”
He snapped his head to me. “I’ve never told anyone this story, other than the police, for what good that did.”
“Did your Mum…?” I asked. “Did she…?”
He shook his head.
I snaked my arms around his waist and hugged him. “Are you sure she was smiling? I don’t think anyone could be blamed for reacting irrationally in that situation.” I tipped my head back so I could look him in the eye.
Leo pulled away from me and leaned against the kitchen bench. I was about to suggest we go outside to give him a break when he continued. “She was happy. I walked into the kitchen and found her smiling while she looked down at her dead husband. She was happy, and not the rainbows and butterflies happy.” He narrowed his eyes. “More like the devil who’d just taken ownership of your soul happy.”
“Holy shit, Leo.”
“Once the police arrived, she transformed into the distressed wife, but she’d already shown me her cards.” The anger that flashed across his eyes made me shudder. “And so began the murder investigation.”
“So there was an intruder?” I asked, trying to get my head around what he was telling me.
“Mum said she came down and found Dad shortly before I did. All evidence at the scene proved we were both in the clear. They never bothered locking the doors so there was no forced entry and there was no murder weapon. He had no enemies and they had no leads.” He rubbed his face with his palms. “It felt like it was cold case before I’d even started to process what happened.”
“And you cut your mother off because of how she reacted to what most would agree was an all-round shocking scenario?”
“Partly,” he stated.
Oh, I mouthed.
He started pacing and my eyes tracked him. “My instincts told me she knew who did it.”
“Instincts?”
“Somewhere deep in my gut, I knew she had something to do with my father’s murder. Clearly she didn’t drive the knife in, but she knew something. I’d bet my life on it.”
“Did you tell the police that?”
He shook his head. “As I said at the cemetery, I barely knew which way was up. It was agonising knowing I was in the house at the time completely oblivious. I didn’t cope.”
“Did you confront your mother about it?’
He nodded. “She was pissed. And not just slightly pissed. More like she went fucking ballistic and I saw a level of crazy I had never seen before.” He slammed his hand down on the benchtop and I jolted backward. “She’s a fucking manipulative, lying bitch.” He exhaled a long, loud breath. “Fuck. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, babe. Do you want to keep talking about this or leave it for another time?”
He ran both his hands through his hair and stared out the window. “I’m okay. I just haven’t let myself think about this in a while, and being in here…” He shuddered. “It’s hard.” He met my gaze and I saw nothing but pain in his eyes. “Honestly, Jules. Her reaction had cemented her guilt in my mind. She was far too defensive.”
“We don’t have to keep talking about this.” I ran my hand down his arm then gripped his hand. “Why don’t we go back outside?”
Leo let me lead him out the back door and into the garden.
He ran his free hand through his hair and stared back at the house. “I’m okay. It’s hard, but it feels good to talk about it.”
We started walking down towards the gazebo. “So what does she want from you now?” I asked.
“Money.” He shrugged. “Greed is an ugly, ugly beast.” He shook his head and clenched his fists. “My father was gentle, kind and good. He deserved more.” He glanced back around the garden. “He loved this place and he loved me. His big downfall was loving her.”
“This is a lot to take in. Surely if she was just after the money, she could’ve divorced him and taken half?”
“I’ve asked myself the same question and I don’t know the answer. I might never know who killed my father and if my mother was involved.”
My mouth opened and closed while my brain attempted to form words. There were no words. I was rendered mute by the complete clusterfuck of emotions I was feeling about a situation too horrendous to believe. I was completely floored by what he’d told me and I had a whole new understanding for what he’d gone through the past five years.
“Your reaction pretty much sums it up.”
“God, Leo,” I managed to whisper. “I’m not sure I would’ve been able to handle that at all.”
“I didn’t handle it. I turned to alcohol and easy women. Pretty cliché, huh?”
“There is absolutely nothing clichéd about this situation. I don’t even know what to say, but I wish you’d told me before.”
“Why? Dredging it all up just forces me to relive the darkest days of my life, where I didn’t know how to even begin to cope with any of it. For a long time, I drowned myself in alcohol, but Nick introduced me to Dam, who introduced me to Muay Thai cage fighting to unleash the rage inside me, and best of all, I found you.”
I rea
ched for his hand and squeezed gently, running my thumb across the ridge of his knuckles. “No wonder you hate being in that kitchen.”
I had come up with so many scenarios since the first time I’d been to that house and watched Leo freak out. This was not something my brain could’ve conjured up.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through all that. I know it’s ridiculous, but I wish I could’ve been there for you.”
“Bea and Angus were there, but I found it hard to lean on anyone.”
We continued walking around the boundary of the garden. I let my hand rise and fall with the newly repaired dry stonewall. “Are you going to give her any money?”
“She knows I have an Achilles’ heel, and she’s going in for the kill.”
“Achilles’ heel?”
“You.” He cupped my face. “She knows I’d do anything to protect you.” He exhaled a long, loud breath. “She saw you as a way to get to me and it worked.”
“Shit.”
“I told her I’d think about it, but I want her gone” he said. “She gets the money and the fuck out of our lives.”
“So that’s what Sandra was talking about in the café earlier?”
He nodded.
“Do you think you’ll ever be able to move past your anger?”
He locked his jaw. “You might’ve been able to forgive your mother for what she did to you, but I think you’ll agree mine is on a whole other level. I’ll give her what she wants, but I can’t ever forget what happened in there.” He pointed to the house.
“You’ve been trying to forget all these years, but I don’t think that’s possible until you find a way to forgive.” I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the lips.
“Why don’t you tell me what you’d do with this garden?” He took on a lighter tone and I too was glad of the happier subject matter.
I clapped my hands and started walking backward away from him. “Big plans, Leo.” I held my arms wide. “Big plans.”
He shook his head and laughed. “Tell me everything.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Leo
The sun had almost met the horizon when I finally interrupted Jules. I’d never seen her speak with such passion about anything other than how she felt about me—about us. Being there with her made my heart swell with love instead of clench with fear. All the garden beds would be, in her words, explosions of colour. The hedges would be returned to their former glory, and she had visions of a garden swing hanging from one of the large trees around the back. This girl was having an incredible impact on my life and I could no longer imagine my future without her in it.
“Vines,” she exclaimed as I took her by the hand and led her back to the house so we could organise some dinner. “I’m going to look into it.” She could barely contain her excitement as she danced on the spot. “How amazing would it be to have your own grapevines?”
I smiled at her enthusiasm. My father had always talked about planting a vineyard, but Mum had said he spent enough of his time thinking about wine as it was.
“It’s up to you, babe. Whatever you want to do, just do it.” I put my arm around her shoulders. “I’m behind you one hundred percent.”
“Mind if I take a shower before dinner?” she asked, holding up her dirty hands. She hadn’t hesitated to get down on her hands and knees to check out the soil.
“Course.” I waved her off. “There are towels in the bathroom.”
“This is glamping, you know.”
“Glamping?” I asked, confused.
“We’re camping, but hardly roughing it.” She smiled. “Glamorous camping.”
“You’re the one who asked for a shower, princess.”
I could hear her laughing as she disappeared down the hallway.
Given my limited skills in the kitchen, we were having soup for dinner. Stirring the red liquid, I found myself staring out the window, down the garden to the fields beyond and wondering how on earth this had happened. Exactly five years ago, my life as I knew it had ended abruptly. Now, with the sound of Juliette’s laughter fresh in my ears, I was stirring soup and considering the possibility of living here again. I’d be lying if I said I was completely at ease or that I could ever be okay with what happened, but I bloody loved this house and I bloody loved being here with Juliette.
***
“Penny for your thoughts.” Juliette’s sultry voice snapped me out of my startling thoughts. Freshly showered and gorgeous, she leaned against the doorframe, wearing black leggings. A long cardigan was wrapped around her body and her hair was pulled up on top of her head. She was simply stunning.
“How was the shower, princess?” I asked when I managed to stop ogling.
She closed the distance between us and wrapped her arms around me from behind, resting her cheek on my back. Still stirring the soup, I placed one hand over hers. “It was amazing.” I heard her inhale. “Is that tomato soup you’re making me?”
“Making is a stretch, but yes, I’m heating up tomato soup for you.”
“How did you know it was my favourite?” she asked, clearly chuffed.
“Well, the countless cans in your kitchen cupboards were a bit of a giveaway.” I laughed. “Hope you weren’t just stockpiling for a potential holocaust.”
Her infectious laughter rumbled through me and I knew I’d gotten something right.
I’d set up a pair of deckchairs in front of the tent so we could enjoy the sunset while we ate.
“This is the good life,” she said, sighing as she scraped her spoon across the bottom of her bowl. “You were lucky growing up here.”
I met her pensive gaze. “I spent a lot of time thinking about life beyond this place, to be honest.”
“I spent all my time looking sideways.” She broke eye contact and fixated her gaze on the ball of orange melting into the horizon.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“My mother, in one way or another, stood directly in front of me, dictating my every move. Instead of upsetting her, I looked sideways and found little pieces of myself in the dark.”
“You did what felt right to you and I shouldn’t have judged you for that.”
She looked at me with watery eyes. “Thank you.”
I reached out and took her hand. “You’re my Venus, Jules.”
“Are you saying I’m the goddess of love?” she asked with a cheeky grin.
“Absolutely, but I’m trying to make a romantic analogy here, so hear me out.”
She giggled before clamping her other hand over her mouth. “Sorry.”
I pointed to the sky. “Can you see it there?”
She followed my arm up and nodded. “I see it.”
“It gets referred to as the morning and evening star.”
“Venus is brightest before the sun rises and just after sunset, but it doesn’t need the darkness to be seen.” Juliette stood up and climbed onto my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck. “Your light shines from within, Jules. It shines in the dark and it shines in the midday sky.”
“You are very romantic, you know?” She kissed me lightly on the lips.
One of her hands made its way under the hem of my t-shirt. “Your hands are freezing.” I yelped when it made contact with my stomach.
She pulled it back. “Sorry.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m getting a bit chilly.”
I hugged her to me and rubbed my hands up and down her arms. “Come on.” I gently pushed her off me. “I’ve been wanting to get you in bed all day.”
“I’ll just use the bathroom first.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” I asked. “It’s dark.” We hadn’t left any lights on in the house.
“I’m a big girl.” She winked. “And anyway, I’m Venus, the brightest object in the whole solar system.”
“Not quite true, but I like your thinking.” I kissed her then gave her backside a slap before she trotted back up the garden. I was glad to see a few lights come on in the house.
Reconnecting the electricity had felt like a big step.
She returned a short time later, a little out of breath, and even in the dim light, she appeared pale.
“You okay?” I asked.
“I just had a really strange feeling I was being watched.”
I glanced up to the house. “Did you see anyone?”
She shook her head. “It was just an uneasy feeling. I’m sure it’s nothing though. It’s probably just paranoia.”
“Last time I discounted your fear, I was threatened at gunpoint. I’m gonna check it out.”
“Well you’re not leaving me here,” she insisted.
She gripped my hand with both of hers, and we walked the perimeter by torchlight. A bird cry made her jump, and the grip on my hand was cutting off circulation.
“There’s nothing to worry about, Jules.” I eased my hand from hers and put my arm around her shoulders. I didn’t want her to be afraid, but I loved being able to protect her.
“I guess I’m just not used to it.” Her body relaxed into mine. “I’m too citified.”
“Well that’ll change if you decide you can live out here with me, you know.”
Her body froze and my head darted around, looking for the reason why. “What is it?” I whispered.
“You just asked me to live with you?”
“I did, didn’t I?” I turned her to face me. We were standing in the front garden, which was flooded by moonlight. “Well if we decide to move out here, we won’t be getting separate places.”
“I guess not. But here?” Her gaze darted around the garden and up at the house.
“The more time I spend here, the more I realise I can never part with it.” He glanced up at the large sandstone farmhouse, a little eerie in the moonlight, and sighed. “I feel connected to my father here. How can I ever give that up?”
A grin split across her beautiful face. “I love it here too.”
“What’s your middle name?” I asked when I realised I didn’t know it.
“Random question, Leo.”
“Just tell me what your middle name is.”
“Elizabeth.”
“Pretty name.”
“It’s my grandmother’s name,” she whispered.
Impact (The Fight for Life #2) Page 17
