Christmas at Butterfly Cove

by Sarah Bennett

  Kiki looked between her and Mia, a blush on her cheek. ‘Santa might have got a bit carried away,’ she whispered, and they all smiled. After the year they’d been through, Kiki and her family deserved a bit of spoiling.

  ‘Right, you lot are in my way.’ Mia made a shooing motion with her hands. ‘All of you into the front room and let me sort out what’s going on.’ She checked her watch. ‘Lord, I’m at least half an hour behind schedule.’

  Kiki led the children away, but Nee hesitated. ‘What can I do?’

  Her eldest sister smiled. ‘Not a thing, darling. I’ve got Daniel, and…’ She gestured with her head as Luke appeared carrying the tray. ‘…This one. I’ll be fine. We did most of the prep last night and the turkey’s already in the oven. Madeline should be here any minute and she’s on lunch duty.’ She paused. ‘Actually, can you do a headcount and get everyone in the big room? Once I’m back on track, we can serve the Bucks Fizz and open the presents.’

  Nee raised her fingers in a cheeky salute. ‘Aye, aye, Captain.’

  Chapter Thirteen

  Luke and Daniel made swift work of the breakfast things, and they had the dishwasher loaded and all the boards wiped down before Madeline and Richard came dashing through the back door sheltering under a wide umbrella. ‘Bloody filthy rain! What happened to that white Christmas I asked for? Hello, my lovely boy, Merry Christmas.’ Madeline offered her cheek to Daniel as he moved to help her out of her coat. She looked around the kitchen, ‘Well, don’t you all look splendid. You especially, Luke.’

  He did a twirl, still wearing the apron he’d put on to keep his clothes from getting splashed. ‘I scrub up all right, don’t I, Mads?’

  ‘You certainly do.’ She crossed the room to give Mia a quick hug. ‘Right, what’s to do?’

  ‘Turkey’s nearly done, so can you get the beef out and into a dish, and then maybe double-check there’s enough veg?’ Mia glanced over at him and Daniel. ‘Do you two want to put some nibbles out, and pour some drinks? Nee was going to check what everyone wanted…’

  ‘I’ll see to that,’ Richard said. ‘Morning, lads, everything all right with the world?’ He shook hands with them both.

  Three parts ecstatic and one part terrified he’d imagined what had been the most incredible start to the day, Luke couldn’t hold back a satisfied grin. ‘Pretty bloody perfect, thanks.’

  ‘Oh, I like the sound of that. Come and tell me more.’ Madeline plonked what looked to him like half a cow on the kitchen table and threw him a saucy wink.

  Damn. He adored Madeline, but she picked up on every stray word. Things with Nee were so close to being everything he wanted, he couldn’t afford for her to get skittish if they became the topic of conversation. He held his hands up. ‘Come on, now. A gentleman never kisses and tells.’

  ‘So, there was kissing, eh?’ she said, slyly, and he couldn’t stop a rueful laugh.

  ‘I’m saying nothing, Not another bloody word.’ He made a zipping motion across his lips, then quickly mimed unzipping them as he sent an appealing look across the room. ‘Richard, can you do something about your wife, please?’

  ‘Sorry, son. I gave up trying years ago. You’re on your own, I’m afraid.’ Grinning broadly, Richard left the room to chase down the drinks orders and, deciding his own retreat was in order, Luke escaped into the pantry to track down the nibbles.

  With the lunch preparations back under control and everyone clutching a glass of something fizzy—Bucks Fizz for those who wanted it, and sparkling elderflower for small people and those who preferred to watch what they were drinking—the grand opening of presents began. With his Santa hat back in place, Daniel worked his way through the stack of gaily wrapped boxes and bundles beneath the tree, placing a small pile before each adult, and considerably larger ones in front of the children. Paper, ribbons and labels flew as everyone got stuck in.

  ‘Socks!’ Luke brandished the multipack of outrageously striped footwear with a grin. ‘Cheers, Mum.’

  ‘Snap!’ Richard held up a set of more muted socks.

  ‘Double-snap!’ Aaron chimed in.

  ‘Four of a kind!’ His dad waved some black socks with fluorescent toes and heels.

  ‘I suppose this makes it a full house.’ George gave a shy smile as he too displayed a matching gift. Setting them aside, he picked up a small, square parcel. ‘Hankies?’ His guess was met with laughter.

  ‘Oh, I think I’ve got one like that too.’ Richard dug around in the stack in front of him.

  Madeline dug him in the ribs. ‘Well, if your every response when asked what you’d like is ‘I don’t need anything’, then what do you expect?’

  ‘A bottle of scotch?’ Richard ducked when she aimed a swatting blow at his head. ‘An all-expenses-trip to the Bahamas?’

  Madeline snorted. ‘You’ll be lucky if I don’t send you to the knacker’s yard, you silly old fool.’

  Although she was shaking her head at him, their devotion to each other was obvious to Luke. He let his gaze drift from the bantering couple to where Nee sat on his left. Bent over a set of instructions for something Matty had received, her short hair had slid forward to shield her face from view. He hooked it back behind her ear, letting his fingers trace the delicate shell, and her head moved to chase the touch, though she kept her focus on the conversation with her nephew. Intrigued, he abandoned the rest of his gifts to shift closer, stretching one leg out behind her back so he could lean across and see what held their attention.

  Nee immediately turned and settled into the gap between his legs, leaning her back against his chest and extending her hand so he could read the tightly spaced pages of print. Frowning, he tried to make sense of what he was reading. ‘Are you building a space shuttle?’

  Matty scrunched up his nose as he looked up at him. ‘That’s not what one of the pictures is, so I don’t think so.’

  Nee yielded the booklet to him when Luke gave it a tug, and he flipped it over to study the cover. Pictures of a robot, and four different kinds of vehicles, including a helicopter, boasted the things that could be made from the bucket of Junior Meccano pieces. Memories filled his head of hours spent at the dining-room table with his dad and Aaron as they tried, and sometimes failed, to build similar things. His older brother had been much better than him, his more-patient nature perfectly suited to the intricacies.

  Full of energy, Luke had been too easily distracted, too prone to fits of frustrated destruction. Give him a ball and enough space to run himself ragged and he’d been happy. His eyes flicked to the incessant rain drumming against the large picture window, and he bit back a sigh. Somewhere in the pile beside Matty was a beach cricket set he’d purchased for him. If the weather didn’t let up, they might not get a chance to try it out. It might be tough to swing the bat bundled up in coats and scarves, but that wouldn’t matter. He just hated being cooped up, and was also dying to see what the normally serene cove looked like in the full lash of winter.

  Knowing when to admit defeat, he handed the leaflet back to Matty. ‘Why don’t you ask Grandad Brian to help you? He’s an engineer, did Aaron tell you?’ Wide-eyed, the little boy shook his head. Luke nodded. ‘He’s brilliant at this sort of thing, and I know he’d be really pleased if you asked him to show you what to do.’

  He still looked a bit uncertain, so Luke glanced over his shoulder towards his dad, caught his eye and tilted his head in their direction. Brian put down the book he’d been holding and crossed to join them. ‘What’s this?’ He knelt down next to Matty and tilted the bright-red bucket back to study the label. ‘Wow, I haven’t seen Meccano for ages. Is this yours, Matty? You lucky boy!’

  Biting his lip in a gesture Luke had seen Kiki do a hundred times, Matty nodded. ‘Luke said, you might show me?’ His voice was all hesitancy and hope, and it broke Luke’s heart anew that, despite his brother’s best efforts, this little boy still expected disappointment and rejection.

  His dad knew the score, though, they all did, and Luke coul
d read the gentle understanding in his face as he reached out to ruffle Matty’s hair. ‘I’d love to. Shall we clear a space on the table and have a look now?’ Holding the bucket in one hand, and the boy’s shoulder in the other, Brian steered a smiling Matty through the chaos littering the floor and over to the table.

  Remembering he was still on duty, Luke kissed Nee’s cheek. ‘I’d better give them a hand to clear the table.’

  She stood with him. ‘I’ll help. If you take the plates, I’ll find a bin bag and get rid of all this paper.’

  He’d washed the bowls and set them on the rack to dry by the time she joined him in the kitchen with a black bag bulging with wrapping paper and discarded boxes. ‘If you stick it in the pantry, we can sort the recycling from it later,’ he suggested. Although he was a big fan of saving the environment, there was an ulterior motive to his suggestion. Everyone was busy in the front room, and the pantry was quiet and secluded…

  ‘Hey, what are you up to?’ Nee asked, although from the way his hands were sliding over her hips, he thought it was pretty obvious.

  ‘Come closer, and I’ll show you.’ Her arms curled around his neck and he boosted her up to sit on the low shelf running along the back wall. She welcomed his kiss with a soft laugh, and he raised one hand to cup the back of her neck, stroking the delicate column of skin.

  Touching her, tasting a hint of sharp orange juice on her lips from where she’d drained the last of her Bucks Fizz, he relished every sensation. The eagerness of her response gave him greater hope that, after earlier that morning, they were truly on the road to building a life together again. There was no hesitancy in her kiss, no hint of regret or second thoughts, and though he knew it was too soon to take the wonder of being with her for granted, he couldn’t help but let his mind weave dreams of their future.

  He thought about his father teaching Matty in his slow, patient manner; remembered, too, the way George had surprised them all at the wedding by enthralling the children with his animated storytelling. And, just for a moment or two, in the sweet tenderness of the kiss, he imagined their children in the same scenarios. Not that he was in any hurry to start a family; it was simply the possibility of them, when he’d feared that future lost to him for ever, that sent his head spinning.

  ‘Don’t mind me.’

  They broke apart, turning to see Daniel smirking at them from the doorway of the pantry, and Luke sent him a glare that only increased the width of his grin. ‘A little busy here, mate,’ Luke said, giving his back to the other man in the hope he’d take the hint and bugger off. He stared down at Nee, all puffy-lipped and starry-eyed from their kiss, and ducked his head, intent on capturing her mouth once more.

  ‘I’m only the advance party. Mia’s on her way to crack on with lunch.’ Daniel paused, and when he spoke again there was real amusement in his voice. ‘And I think I heard your mum volunteered to help her.’

  ‘Oh, God. Put me down.’ Nee shoved at his chest, making enough room to wriggle off the shelf. Her hands stroked frantically over her hair, setting in place the strands he’d mussed. ‘I’m already in her bad books as it is without her catching us messing about like this.’

  Luke frowned. His mum had been polite to Nee, making a point of thanking her for the fancy face cream and other toiletries they’d given her as a joint present. He hadn’t a clue what she used, and it had been Nee’s suggestion for him to get his dad to make a list of what was on Cathy’s dressing table. She’d seemed genuinely pleased, and Maggie had cooed enviously over the heavy glass jar whose contents promised some outlandish, age-defying miracle. Given his own propensity to play it safe with a spa voucher or some fancy chocolates, she had to know Nee had chosen her presents this year. If there’d been any tension between the two of them, it had been too subtle for him to pick up.

  Lifting her chin with a gentle finger, he forced her to meet his eyes. ‘Is there a problem I need to know about?’

  She turned her head away and slipped past him. ‘No. Everything’s fine. I was just making a silly joke.’ He might have called her on the blatant lie had voices not filled the kitchen at that moment. With a sigh, and a promise to press for a more satisfactory answer once they were alone again, he followed her out.

  Of course, the first person he saw was his mum. She raised an eyebrow at him and he followed her glance to see his shirt was partially untucked thanks to Nee’s wandering fingers. Shoving the white cotton hurriedly back into his trousers, he straightened his waistcoat then spread his hands as though presenting himself for inspection. With a roll of her eyes and a tut, Cathy dismissed him and turned her attention back to Mia.

  Nee leaned close enough to whisper, ‘I’m going to see if anyone needs anything next door,’ then beat a hasty retreat before anyone thought to comment on the high colour in her cheeks.

  Luke hung back for a few moments, until it was clear to him there were more than enough willing hands present. He touched his mum on the arm and gestured towards the hall. Hearing her heels clicking on the tiles behind him, he kept walking until he reached the cosy sitting room which had been designated a child-free zone for the week. A quick peek told him the room was free and he stood back to usher her in, closing the door behind her.

  Cathy turned to face him, flicked a non-existent piece of fluff from the sleeve of her blouse and eventually crossed her arms with a sigh when he did nothing more than study her. ‘Well, what is it?’

  Tucking his hands in his pockets, Luke shrugged. ‘I just thought we should have a bit of a catch-up. I’ve barely seen you since we arrived.’ True, they’d been at Butterfly Cove less than forty-eight hours, but now he thought about it, it was obvious his mum had been avoiding him – avoiding Nee was probably the truth of it, but it amounted to the same thing.

  She shrugged one silk-clad shoulder. ‘It’s been nonstop since we got here and, with so many new people to meet, my head is spinning.’ Her eyes darted to the left, back to his, then skittered away again. ‘Besides, I thought you’d be too preoccupied to be bothered with me and your dad.’

  Bloody hell, if they gave out prizes for passive/aggressive behaviour, she’d have enough to fill a trophy cabinet. ‘Mum…’

  ‘What? What do you want me to say, Luke? You can’t just drop all this in my lap and expect me to be okay with it. You got married and never said a word to any of us, for God’s sake!’ She threw her hands up in a gesture of clear frustration. ‘Oh! I know I promised your brother I’d keep quiet about it, but I can’t. Not now you’ve forced the point. She left you—walked out without so much as a word—and now I’m supposed to be thrilled you’re suddenly reunited again?’

  Damn. He knew it was a lot to ask, expecting her to accept all the surprise news he’d dumped in her lap, but it was like she wasn’t even prepared to give Nee a chance. And when had she and Aaron suddenly become confidants? ‘She’s trying, Mum. You must see that from all the thought she put into making sure we got your presents spot-on.’

  Cathy moved closer to reach up and place a hand on his cheek. ‘It’s not about her, darling. From what I’ve seen, she’s a lovely girl. It’s about you.’ He tried to pull away, but she raised her other hand to hold his face. ‘You’re my son, and Aaron might have inherited your father’s good nature, but you’re as stubborn and as bloody-minded as I am. Once we make up our minds we want something, we go all-out to get it – and the rest of the world be damned.’

  Releasing her grip, she moved past him to stare out of the window into the pouring rain. ‘From the first moment I saw Brian, there was never any other man for me.’ Her fingers pressed against the pane. ‘Unfortunately, he’d already met Trisha and there was nothing I could do about it, not unless I wanted to risk losing them both from my life.’

  Luke closed the gap between them to place a hand on Cathy’s shoulder; he knew the story of how his mum and Aaron’s mum had been best friends who happened to fall in love with the same man. He also knew his mum had never said a word to either of them, had stood by
and watched them get married, build a life and a family together until that evil bastard of a disease had stolen Trisha’s life away.

  ‘When she died…’ A shuddering breath wracked her slender frame. Cathy took a deep breath and tried again. ‘When she died, my beautiful, bright Trisha, it was a relief for us all. So much pain, I’ve never seen anything like it. She was glad to go in the end, made Brian and I swear we’d take care of each other for her. When she said that, it made me wonder if she’d known all along about my feelings for him.’

  His mum turned to face him, and the anguish in her eyes made him flinch. ‘That should have made it better, but it didn’t. When you’ve wanted something for so long and you finally get it, your expectations are so high, the reality can’t possibly match it. That’s what happened to me. I’d built this picture-perfect image of life with your dad and whenever something went wrong, I needed someone to blame.’ And that someone had been his poor brother.

  Cathy closed her eyes as she drew a long, composing breath, and when she opened them they shimmered with tears. ‘I’m not dragging up the past for sympathy. I’ve no one to blame for any of those difficulties other than myself, and it’s to Aaron’s credit he’ll even speak to me now. I just see that same possessiveness I felt when I see you looking at Nee, and it scares me.’

  He took a step back, not liking the comparison one bit. ‘It’s not like that with us, Mum. Nee and I have talked things out, and I understand why she left. I’ve forgiven her.’

  ‘Just like that?’ She laughed, a harsh crack full of disbelief. ‘You might have convinced yourself that’s true, but I’m not buying it. I know you, Luke.’

  Anger burned bright in his veins, and his hands clenched into fists at his sides as he fought to keep his voice low. ‘Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think. Everything between me and Nee is great. I’ve forgiven you for a lot of things, but I swear if you try and come between us, I’ll walk away and never look back. And that’s the truth.’