Return to Cheshire Bay

by H. M. Shander

  “Speaking of Eric, they’re really hoping you’ll come join us on the beach for songs and hot dogs.”

  “Oh, my favourites.” Her eyes rolled but she chuckled good-naturedly. “Let me change, and I’ll be there.”

  I walked to the door and gave my bestie a solid once over. “One more thing…”

  “What’s that?”

  Rather than speak, I stepped over to my friend and wrapped her in a full hug. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” She squeezed me tight. “Now go. Eric’s waiting. I’ll be five minutes tops.”

  With a spring in my step, I bobbed my way over to where my guy was and began what was the start of a new adventure.

  Epilogue

  “I’m back. Sorry I’m late.” Eric stepped into my house and came to the back deck. “Have I got some news for you. I just brought over a trip from Seattle…” He bent down in front of me. “What’s up?”

  I relaxed my grip on the chair and opened my eyes. “Contraction.”

  “Okay.” If he was panicking, he gave no indication. “Have you been having them long?”

  I tossed him my phone and he opened the app, bobbing his head from side to side.

  “That’s not bad, a few hours, and they’re still less than a minute long.” Someone had paid attention at our last prenatal appointment. “Shall I call Willow?”

  “Maybe just to update her, but she doesn’t need to come right away.”

  A few weeks back, I’d agreed to meet with her after I’d cleaned out my apartment. By time I flew home, I was hurting and having minor contractions, likely from stress and overexertion. Willow put me at ease instantly, and I couldn’t get over how my body responded in her warmth and soothing presence. Arlo had been right, it was more than the physical aspect of pregnancy, she really cared about the person carrying the baby. After that, I signed up to be her patient, which made bonfire night a little tricky, but we’d both become good at not discussing the pregnancy then.

  “What were you saying about your flight?”

  I gestured for his help to stand, and immediately bent over as another contraction rippled through my body. Squeezing his hand, I counted to ten and inhaled, counted to five and exhaled. It worked to take the edge off, but since I needed to breathe through them, my body was telling me I was in labour.

  “Well, Mitch is going to have a hard night.”

  “Why’s that?” I leaned against his muscled chest.

  “The two passengers from Seattle were a mother and a child.” He wrapped his arm around my waist and escorted me into the kitchen. “Are we setting up in here or upstairs?”

  With Willow as my midwife, I was going to give birth in my home, I just hadn’t yet decided if I wanted the bedroom or the living room.

  It was still early enough in the day, even though I knew labour could last well into the night. “The beach?”

  “Really?”

  “Just to labour, not give birth. For that we can come back inside. Somewhere.” I squeezed his hand. “What about the mother and child?”

  “Well, I didn’t get all the details, but she’s from Mitch’s past and the guy was stone cold shocked.”

  I breathed hard and rested on the edge of the counter while Eric ran his hands over my back, up and across my shoulders. It was heavenly. Realization dawned on me about what he’d said about his passengers.

  “No…” I inhaled sharply as another contraction made an appearance. “And that’s… Is it Mitch’s child?”

  “Appears so.”

  “Poor Cedar.”

  Eric laughed. “Poor Mitch.”

  I grunted. “Bobby from that construction place called…” Inhaling and exhaling, trying to get a grip on the surges. “The initial drawings… for Jordan… will be ready… on Monday.”

  A couple weeks back, I went to the mayor’s office and practically begged to have something dedicated to Jordan. After some deliberation, and a quick vote to the council who eagerly welcomed the infusion of cash, there will now be a viewpoint named in his honour. The dedication ceremony won’t happen until the spring, but the ball was rolling on selecting the appropriate monument or plaque.

  “You know what,” I panted, unable to focus on Eric as much as I wanted. “Call Willow, please, and give her an update. I need to go outside.”

  I slowly waddled my way back out onto the deck, into the mild September air as the giant bowling ball nestled between my legs threatened to push out at any moment. The towel hanging over the railing now became a squeeze toy as I tightened my grip around the edges while taking a stair at a time. I wanted my feet in the ocean.

  Eric jumped off the deck and caught up. “She said she’ll pop by in a spell to check on you.”

  “Great, thank you.”

  I made my way to the edge of the beach where the ocean kissed the sand. I threw the towel on the ground, a few feet from the shoreline in a crumpled mess which Eric quickly straightened out. Slowly, I lowered myself to the ground, not wanting to sit on my butt at all. Another grunt and I managed to roll over onto my forearms with my ass in the air.

  “This will look awkward to the others down the beach.”

  “It’ll give them something new to talk about.”

  Plus, I really didn’t care. The position worked wonders on my aching back, until another contraction hit. I rocked back and forth on my hands and knees, moaning, and shaking. When it passed, I put my head back on the towel.

  While the sun made its decent toward the edge of the ocean, a couple dozen more contractions controlled my body and something deep inside changed on the last one.

  “Eric?”

  “Right here.” But he sounded so far away, as if he were back at the house and I was all alone.

  “It’s happening.”

  “Here?” His voice cracked. “Okay, no worries. Just breathe. Let’s get back to the house and up to the bed. Willow should be here by now.”

  A surge swelled within me, and I rocked back on my hands and knees, but it wasn’t helping. I dropped my butt onto my heels and grunted. “Eric! Eric! Oh no!”

  “Oh no, what?”

  “He’s… coming.” I gripped Eric’s shirt at the shoulders and pulled him close, digging my forehead into his pecs. “Eric…” And a strange, involuntary grunt tore out of my throat.

  “Oh, it’s baby time I see.” A friendly voice spoke through my haze and dropped down beside me. “Honey, I’m going to need to remove…”

  Eric moved quickly and stood behind me, holding me under my arms.

  An involuntary urge forced my body to push as Willow lowered my shorts. “Okay, Lily, the baby’s head is right here. A gentle pant and it’ll all be over. Good work.”

  “It’s right there?” Eric asked, repositioning himself to hold me up.

  “Lily, go ahead.” Willow folded herself onto her knees and grabbed something from her bag.

  “Oh! Oh!” A scream threatened to tear me apart, but I remembered from a prenatal meeting to channel that energy and push it down. A giant grunt consumed me, and a moment later, my baby was born.

  “Congratulations.”

  Eric kissed my cheek. “Look at your baby.”

  I opened my eyes and searched between the baby’s legs before I pulled him up into my arms and snuggled him against my chest, while tears of joy streamed down my cheeks as I took in my son.

  Deep in my heart, I knew instantly what his name was going to be. Gazing down upon my father’s namesake, I whispered his name. “Hi, Henry.”

  Willow gathered the towel under me. “Do you feel you can move back up to the deck?”

  I inhaled sharply and nodded, guessing the distance to be less than twenty feet. Slowly, the four of us shuffled our way to the deck, where I tenderly sat down on a thick towel. Kissing my son’s sweet head, and with tears still lingering in my eyes, I looked over at Eric, who knelt beside me. “Thank you.”

  “You did all the work.”

  “Thank you for welcoming me home when I
first arrived, and for loving me the way you do.” I reached to kiss him. “Thank you for accepting us.”

  “I couldn’t dream of loving anyone more.” He kissed me back and tenderly placed a sweet peck on my baby’s head.

  Moving to Cheshire Bay had been the best decision I’d ever made. The second best was giving my heart to Eric.

  # # #

  Did you love Return to Cheshire Bay, book one in the Cheshire Bay series? If you have a moment to spare, I’d be forever grateful for a rating/review on your favourite retail site or on Goodreads. Every rating/review helps me again visibility. Thank you.

  Continue the series and read all about Cedar’s reaction to Mitch’s surprise guest in Adrift in Cheshire Bay, book 2. For a sneak peek, keep reading.

  Adrift in Cheshire Bay

  She’s ready to surprise her boyfriend. Turns out she’s going to be the one in shock.

  Tonight’s the night. Cedar couldn’t be more excited to announce to her long-time sweetheart, at their anniversary dinner, that she’s expecting. That is until a mysterious woman shows up at their work, looking for Mitch, to introduce him to a young boy, their son.

  With her plans up in smoke, Cedar doesn’t know what to do next. When Mitch shuts down and refuses to discuss his past, she risks everything to uncover details that had changed her future. In the middle of it all, her soulmate discloses how he never wanted kids. Heartbroken, Cedar is forced to plan a new future.

  But Mitch means the world to her. Can she forgive and forget? Will she move on without him? Or will she always be adrift in a sea of what could’ve been?

  # # # CHAPTER ONE # # #

  I clicked off the walkie-talkie and walked to the bank of full-length windows. Flight 145 inbound from Seattle was on visual approach, and I was prepared to greet the three passengers aboard the Cessna 140. Off to the sidelines was the love of my life – Mitch Macomber, the airport mechanic, baggage handler, and all-around sweetheart of a sex-god.

  Some say they’d never be able to work with their boyfriends, but I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my day. We’d drive in to work together, go our separate ways – him to the garage, me to the front desk as the face of Pacific Airways and Cheshire Bay Airport – and we’d cross paths occasionally before heading to our home at the centre of our tiny village.

  “Flight 145 had touched down.” Mitch’s voice crackled on the walkie-talkie.

  “Check.”

  Cheshire Bay typically had two flights a day, which given the size of the town, was quite a lot. Most were intra-island, but occasionally, a few times a week there was a flight to the mainland, either Vancouver or Seattle. Over the summer months, our lovely little village swelled a hundred times its size as visitors drove across Vancouver Island to visit our impressive beaches and ride the amazing waves. Those with a little more money, caught the more expensive charter flights.

  The inbound flight from Seattle was the last of the day, finally.

  Tonight, Mitch and I were going to celebrate our fifth anniversary at one of the seaside restaurants I’d managed to secure a reservation at. September was still a busy tourist month, but the Harbour Chophouse saved ten percent of its capacity for the locals during the summer rush. Tonight, we’d be one of two tables. Lucky us.

  My drop-dead gorgeous guy was laser focused as he walked over in his grease-stained coveralls, baggy enough to fit the both of us, and popped the door where the luggage was stowed. With ease, he set the suitcases on the tarmac near the stairs unfolding from the plane.

  I loved the tourists and drummed my fingers on the metal doorframe as I eagerly awaited their descent off the plane and over to me, where I could inquire about their flight and if they needed any information about the location of the motels and local amenities. Since I was the first person they greeted, I had to have the knowledge about everything in Cheshire Bay, as well as the two nearest towns, which were larger, but tucked back on the highway away from the coast.

  The tourists grabbed their suitcases and walked my way, the idyllic maple and elms trees blowing lightly behind them just off the runway.

  My excitement on overdrive, I inhaled a mixture of the fresh salty sea air combined with the robust stench of jet fuel, as I propped open the huge glass door for the incoming passengers, water bottles in hand.

  “Good afternoon, and welcome to Cheshire Bay.” I gave the first guy, an older man with a hat and cane, his complimentary bottle.

  He tipped his hat in greeting and declined the cold water.

  “Did you have a good flight, sir?”

  His colouring was great, so I imagine the pilot – Eric Morris, one of my best friends, had a smooth ride with little to zero turbulence.

  “Great, yeah.”

  “Do you have a ride picking you up, or shall I call for one for you?” Our selection was minimal, not at all like a major urban area.

  “Julia’s got me. That’s my granddaughter. D’ya know her?” He grinned a toothless smile and pointed to the door, where a young lady around my age was entering.

  “No, I’m sorry, sir, I do not.” It made me smile. Yes, we were a small town, a village really, but I didn’t know everyone. Most though. “Enjoy your stay, sir.”

  I turned my attention to the mother and son still on the tarmac and repositioned the last water bottles.

  The little guy seemed to be struggling with his bag, as it kept tipping to the one side when he pulled it, likely to the contents shifting during flight.

  The mom had a tight-lipped smile and a firm grip on the child’s hand.

  I strode towards them.

  “Can I be of any assistance?” Specifically, I looked at the little boy, who appeared as though he’d slept most of the quick flight. “I can carry your suitcase.”

  “No.” The mother said with a sharp bite and followed it with a sigh. “We’ll be fine.”

  My gaze fell to the little guy who continued to walk, stop, right his suitcase and do it all over again.

  “It’s really no trouble, ma’am, and it’s a bonus service we offer here at Cheshire Bay.” I bent down to take the handle.

  “Fine, thank you.”

  I hunched down to the little boy’s height. “How about I take care of this until we’re inside and you take care of this for me?”

  The little guy yawned and eagerly let go of his suitcase while embracing the cool bottle of water.

  With ease, I retracted the handle and carried it. “How was the flight in from Seattle?”

  Her perfume, possibly a Coco Chanel by the nice way it smelled, blew in my direction. “Uneventful, which is always a plus.”

  We entered the building, and I closed the door, scanning on the whereabouts of Mitch and Eric. Eric was walking the length of the plane, likely checking for any forgotten items, and Mitch was giving the underside a thorough inspection. The plane was older, but it passed every inspection as Mitch was proactive in his approach, rather than reactive when there was a problem. Eric put his full trust in his best friend.

  Eric hopped down the stairs and over to the mother and child. “I think someone left something behind.” Eric wiggled a little white stuffed bear. “Is this yours?”

  “Thank you,” the mother said, and scolded her son. “Jackson, if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a dozen times. Stop leaving your things everywhere.”

  He hung his head full of dark wavy hair.

  Eric hunched down in front of the boy and waved the toy side-to-side. “What’s his name?”

  “Mr. Fluffy.”

  Eric shook the teddy-bear’s hand. “It was lovely to have met you, Mr. Fluffy, and as much fun as it is flying, I think your friend Jackson would like you to stay with him.”

  That put a smile on the little boy’s face, and he hugged Mr. Fluffy.

  “We’re all good now.” Eric tipped his hat and walked over to my desk, grabbing the binder to detail his flight.

  “Is there anything I can assist you with? Do you have a ride, or can I call one for you?”
I softened my tone, while still trying to be friendly, yet not in your face.

  The mother sighed, glancing around, a nervous smile playing on her lips. “Actually, yes. I’m looking for a Mitch Macomber. You wouldn’t by chance happen to know of him? Heard he works around here.”

  My heart skipped a beat, and I glanced over to Eric, who popped his head up from his writing. “Why yes, I do.”

  Did I call for Mitch, or ask her to leave her number? This was highly unusual.

  Her head tipped back a little and under her breath, she whispered, “Thank God.” Her shoulders sagged in relief. “Do you have a contact number for him?”

  “I’m sorry, ma’am. That information is confidential, and I am unable to provide that to you. However, if you leave your number, I can forward it to him.”

  “Does he work here?” Her eyes darted around the small, enclosed section of the building.

  I swallowed down a hard lump and was about to ask Eric what he suggested, but Mitch opened the door and strolled inside, washing his hands with an orange wipe that always left the best scent behind.

  The woman turned her attention in the direction I looked and gasped. “Mitchy?”

  Mitchy?

  He straightened himself up to his full height of six-two at the same time as his jaw unhinged and hit the floor. “Jas?”

  She quickly paced over and stood before him, her dark auburn hair billowing in straight lines as she moved.

  I threw a glance at Eric, who immediately came to stand beside me.

  “Oh. My. Gawd. How are you?” Her voice pitched in excitement and she embraced him in a quick bear hug.

  The colour drained from Mitch’s face, and he stumbled over his words as he put some distance between them. “Wow. Hey, Jasmine. What brings you out this way?”

  She squared her shoulders and smoothed out her silky-smooth top. “It’s been a while, right?”

  “Yeah.” His dark blue eyes connected with me, confusion clouding his strong features, before he returned his focus to Jasmine.