Unbroken

by Natalie Debrabandere

  “Maybe,” she reflected. “I really hope you’re right.”

  “Anyway, I won’t get rid of the police if you’re happier with them around, Liz,” Kristan decided as she started to type an email in response to James. “I’ll just tell him they’re there but that he’s got nothing to worry about, and I’ll make sure the officers know he’s coming.”

  “Thank you,” Liz said with feeling.

  Kristan simply looked up and smiled.

  “That’s okay,” she said. “This is your home now, babe. I don’t get to make all the decisions.”

  “Yes, but you built it all,” Liz pointed out. “Your business, the Park,

  the cafe, your reputation with your clients…”

  “And?” Kristan asked softly. “I like it that I’m not on my own anymore, you know?”

  “I think I do, but...”

  “I’ve been single for a long time, but believe you me, I’m a sucker for joint bank accounts and checking in by text twenty-five times a day.”

  Liz started to laugh.

  “Really?” she challenged. “You want to be domesticated like that?”

  Kristan nodded seriously, joy dancing in her eyes.

  “Yes, doc, that is exactly what I want,” she declared. “With you, that’s what I want.”

  Liz started to melt as she looked into Kristan’s eyes and saw that she meant exactly that, every word.

  “What have I done to deserve you?” she murmured, smiling.

  “Likewise, baby.”

  Chapter 12

  James was on time and bearing gifts when he slowly walked up the steps to the cottage the next morning just after nine. Kristan had been up for hours already, been for a run and spent some time working. She spotted him as he neared the door, and pulled it open before he could knock.

  “Hi.”

  “Hey, Kristan. I, uh, I’m a bit early, sorry.”

  “No problem. I’m always early too. Come on in.”

  He nodded, looking slightly hesitant.

  “Sure. This is for you, by the way…”

  The man had bought her flowers.

  Kristan smiled at him, feeling tears burn the back of her eyes as she watched him standing there, all formal and unsure. She thanked him, and he looked away quickly before meeting her eyes again.

  Kristan thought of something else to say to him, but then she just grabbed him and gave him a hard hug. He was stiff at first, but eventually he did hug her back, and he was smiling when she released him.

  He was tall, slim, with blond hair, blue eyes, and a quiet look about him which Kristan was struggling to reconcile with the drunken James she had met twice before. He looked a little drawn but his eyes were clear, his hands steady, and when he smiled back at her she saw a little bit of Mike in him.

  “How’re you doing James?” she grinned, and he matched her with the same expression.

  “Getting there, Kris.”

  Liz walked out of the kitchen and came to stand next to her lover.

  “Hi James,” she greeted him, smiling. “My name is Liz.”

  “Hi Liz.”

  “Liz is my partner,” Kristan said with a smile directed at her. “She’s an absolute genius in the kitchen and she wanted to invite you over for pancakes. Are you hungry?”

  “Yeah. I’m starving actually.”

  “Good,” Liz approved, sounding happy as she took his arm and led him toward the kitchen. “So, where are you staying at the moment, James?”

  “I’ve got a room at a bed and breakfast in town.”

  “Must be expensive,” Kristan remarked as they both settled at the table.

  James shrugged a little.

  “I can afford it for a little while. It’s fine.”

  “Okay.”

  Kristan was not good with idle chit chat and so she jumped straight into it.

  “How long have you been sober now?” she asked. “Three weeks?”

  “Twenty-three days.”

  “Great. How are you feeling?”

  He gave her a tired smile.

  “The first week was awful. The second got better. Now I am getting my appetite back and I am sleeping again, at last.”

  Kristan gazed at him intently.

  “My first three days were the worst,” she said. “I had a fever and I kept throwing up.”

  “Same here,” James smiled.

  “Shit, uh.”

  “You bet. But worth it in the end.”

  “That’s for sure,” Kristan said gently. “So what happened to make you want to clean up for good this time?”

  “You,” he said immediately, and he glanced toward Liz as he said that and tears welled up in his eyes. “You thought I’d killed my brother. Shit, Kristan, that hurt, you know.”

  “I’m…”

  “No, don’t say you’re sorry,” he interrupted. “I deserved it. I’d become that scary guy you thought could have killed Mike. All of a sudden I saw myself through your eyes. I saw what I had become. That guy’s not who I am inside, Kristan.”

  “I know that, James.”

  “I’m a soldier. I flew Apache helicopters in Iraq, saved lives every single day that I was there. I got injured in the line of duty, even got a medal for bravery. My only regret is that I let my brother down when he wanted to help me, and I am sorry he’s not here today to see us all talking at last. The thing is, Kristan, I am never going back. Whatever it takes, whatever happens, I will never, ever drink again. And I am very sorry for all the shit I threw at you on the road the other day. And you, Liz.”

  All of a sudden James was sitting up straighter, and when he grinned at her Kristan knew for sure that the man was back for good. She smiled, and she watched happily as Liz walked over to him and gave him a huge hug. She kissed him on the cheek and he blushed, and all of them burst out laughing.

  “James, please help yourself to some pancakes before Kristan has them all,” Liz urged him. “There’s maple syrup and blueberry compote, and there’s coffee and tea if you like, and juice too.”

  “That’s wonderful, Liz, thank you so much,” he said, and everyone looked and sounded a little emotional.

  Kristan was very grateful that Liz was there to help them through it.

  “Hey, what’d you mean before I have them all?” she protested.

  “You know what,” Liz shot back at her, laughing.

  She went to sit next to her lover and clasped her hand in hers.

  “I think we have some empty cottages James could move into, don’t we Kris?” she asked as she poured orange juice for Kristan and helped herself to a glass.

  “Yes, we certainly do.”

  “Look, guys,” he said immediately. “Thanks a lot, I appreciate it. But I really only came round to apologise. I am not asking for a job or a place to stay.”

  He was sincere, Kristan could see that, and she shrugged a little.

  “Okay, that’s fine,” she said as she reached for a pancake and maple syrup. “You don’t have to, but the offer’s there if you want it. Also, I need a pilot for next season. So I’m just letting you know there is a job available if you wanted to apply for it.”

  He smiled, looking happy as he tucked into his breakfast.

  “Wow,” he exclaimed. “Mate, that is great food.”

  “Thanks,” Liz replied, and she nudged her partner under the table.

  Kristan knew exactly what she wanted and she squeezed her fingers lightly.

  “James,” she said, “you were crap at answering my questions the other day, but how about we go flying together today and you show me what you can do?”

  He paused and his eyes twinkled.

  “I can fly in dust storms, at night, with zero visibility,” he said with passion in his voice. “I can fly with a broken engine, over the mountains with a rotor down and the other one going. I can make sure your clients feel safe, happy and excited all at the same time, and that they have the experience of a lifetime. I can…”

  Kristan raised her
hand.

  “Hey, James, please stop,” she laughed. “I’m turned on already.”

  The man burst out laughing, and Liz shook her head with a smile.

  “James,” she said, “would you like to be a pilot here?”

  “Yes ma’am,” he replied, smiling. “Very much so.”

  “Good. Kris, would you like James to move into one of the cottages?”

  “Yes darling,” Kristan said with a firm nod. “Absolutely.”

  “I think we have a deal then, right?” Liz said, looking pleased. “Now let’s eat, and then you two can take me up to the mountains.”

  James was an incredible pilot.

  Liz sat in between him and Kristan during the flight, and several times her stomach dropped and she forgot to breathe, and she had to grab on to her partner.

  “James, you’re scaring the customers,” Kristan remarked with a smile, squeezing her lover’s hand.

  “Sorry Kris. Liz.”

  “But I like it,” Kristan laughed. “Come on, show me more!”

  By the end of the flight James was on the books officially, and in the afternoon Liz took him on a tour of the cottages.

  “You can pick any one you like,” she said. “It would be great to have you here at the Park, you know.”

  “Thank you so much. I just need you and Kris to know that even if I had left after breakfast this morning without a job or a place to live I

  still would have been happy.”

  “We do know that,” Liz said gently, “and Kristan would be okay with it too if that’s what you really wanted.”

  She glanced at James as he looked thoughtfully at one of the cottages, which Kristan had said he could move into straight away if he wanted to.

  “You know what Kris really wants?” she said.

  “Maybe… What does she want?”

  “She wants to give you a job you’ll enjoy and also a decent place to live for free. She loved Mike very much, and she loves you because you’re connected. And probably also because you’re a super talented pilot and a soldier to boost,” Liz added, smiling at him.

  He nodded, a soft smile dancing on his lips.

  “It would be great to have a place to live and a job that keeps me very busy for a while,” he admitted. “A job that I like, too. I love flying.”

  “Well, then I guess it’s a win-win for all of us.”

  “Looks like it,” James agreed. “Thank you.”

  He looked happy, and Liz squeezed his arm.

  “You do know the police still haven’t been able to find the person responsible for Mike, right?” she said.

  “Yeah,” he replied tensely. “And I heard about the other weird stuff that’s been happening around here.”

  “So you know you need to keep an eye out and be careful. We have a police presence at the Park, but I don’t know how long they’ll be here for, and…”

  James nodded.

  “Don’t worry, this won’t stop me from moving in. Liz, the guy they’re looking for, you think it’s your ex?”

  Liz nodded, looking pale all of a sudden.

  “It might be,” she said.

  James gave her a warm smile.

  “Hey, relax,” he told her. “Now that I’m here that bloke’s got another huge problem on his hands.”

  Later on that night Liz got out of the shower and joined her lover in the lounge. Kristan had a fire going. She sat comfortably on the couch with her computer resting on her lap, slender blue-jeaned legs stretched out in front of her.

  She smiled when Liz appeared in the room wearing nothing but one of her old sweat shirts, her hair wet from the shower.

  She was slowly getting used to having Liz around the place with her. She always smiled whenever she saw something that belonged to her somewhere inside the cottage. Little by little they were turning the place into a home and Kristan could not have been happier about it.

  “Hey doc. You look lovely,” she said when Liz came to sit next to her, snuggling close.

  “Thanks. What are you doing? Not working still, are you?”

  “No,” Kristan said with a chuckle. “Just googling helicopter parts.”

  “Working then.”

  “Not really. I’m a nerd, remember?”

  Liz laughed softly and she wrapped her arm around Kristan’s shoulders.

  “There are so many things I don’t know about you,” she reflected.

  “Ditto, probably,” Kristan replied softly. “And you know you can ask me anything you want, right?”

  Liz nodded, and Kristan switched her laptop off and turned to look at her.

  “Something in particular you’d like to know?”

  Liz seemed to hesitate, and then she nodded again.

  “Yes,” she said softly.

  “Go for it babe.”

  “The other night, when we were in town, you said that sort of stuff would normally drive you to drink.”

  Kristan just shrugged a little.

  “Yeah,” she nodded. “It used to. Not anymore though.”

  “How confident are you that you’ll never do it again?”

  Kristan let out a sharp breath, and her expression grew a little distant.

  “One million percent,” she replied, and she was clearly unhappy with the question.

  Liz rested her hand on her cheek and tilted her head a little until she could kiss her.

  “I’m only asking because I care about you,” she murmured. “Okay?”

  “I know. Sorry.”

  “No need, honey. It’s just that you mentioned drinking the other day, so I just want to make sure that you’re okay. With what’s going on here at the moment you’re bound to be feeling a bit stressed.”

  “Liz, I am about as likely to have another drink or do a line of coke as I am to start wearing high heels and dresses,” Kristan declared, smirking.

  She chuckled as Liz burst out laughing and leaned harder against her.

  “Ooh, no, don’t do that,” she grinned. “I like you big and butch.”

  Kristan laughed at that.

  “When I’m stressed I go running, babe, so don’t worry,” she added, and she grabbed her mobile off the table as it started to ring.

  “Hi Kel, how are you? Liz? Yeah, she’s right here next to me.”

  She handed the phone over to her partner.

  “Call for you, honey,” she smiled. “It’s Kelly.”

  She stood up and went to the kitchen, giving her lover a chance to chat in peace.

  When she walked back in with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate Liz was just finishing the call.

  “That is very kind, Kelly, and we would love to come. Okay. See you tomorrow.”

  Liz’s eyes lit up at the sight of the chocolate.

  “Oh, that smells wonderful, thanks,” she said.

  “No problem.”

  “I need to buy a New Zealand mobile,” Liz remarked. “Can’t keep using yours, and then we can keep in touch when we’re not together.”

  “And when would that be?” Kristan asked, frowning.

  “When you’re working. Or when I send you to town for groceries and I realise I forgot something, I can call you and request it,” Liz replied with a sparkle in her eye.

  “Is that how you figure it’s going to be?” Kristan laughed.

  “Yep!”

  “So what did Kelly want?”

  “Her daughter and grand-children are in town, so she wants to invite us for Sunday lunch tomorrow.”

  “Us as in you and me?”

  “Yes. And James as well, if he wants to come. And Pam.”

  Kristan frowned a little at that.

  “Pam is going?” she asked. “Does she know we are too?”

  Liz nodded with an eyebrow raised.

  “Apparently so.”

  She had told her lover about bumping into Pam in town, and about how the other woman had simply walked off and ignored her.

  “I sure hope she’ll be in a better mood,” Kristan sai
d darkly. “I won’t be very patient with her if she starts in on you again.”

  “If she does, let me handle it, Kris,” Liz said quietly.

  Kristan glanced at her and saw the calm yet determined look on her lover’s face. She liked that her partner could look after herself.

  “Sure thing, doc,” she smiled.

  Chapter 13

  “It’s always made my Sunday lunches a bit difficult, you know,” Kelly announced as she set a big pot of lentils and mushroom stew on the table.

  “What has?” Liz enquired curiously, catching Kristan as she rolled her eyes and made a face.

  “Well, you know, that vegan thing that Kristan does.”

  “Oh,” Liz nodded, grinning. “That thing, yeah. Of course.”

  “Stop moaning about it, Kel. There is nothing difficult about it and it will keep you alive longer,” Kristan declared from her side of the table, where she sat feeding Kelly’s six-months old grand-daughter her bottle.

  The baby had cried and cried and been passed from adult to adult until she landed in Kristan’s arms, and immediately got quiet. Kristan made faces at her and talked to her, allowed her to touch her face and pull her hair, and pretty soon the baby was smiling and giggling happily.

  “That baby’s fallen in love with Kristan,” James commented.

  “Difficult not to,” Liz murmured so only he could hear, and he laughed a little.

  Kelly’s daughter Jennifer nodded gratefully as she stood in the kitchen enjoying a glass of apple juice.

  “Thank God for Kris,” she said tiredly. “I was up all night with Tim who was having bad dreams, and then Marion started crying as soon as we got into the car, and pretty much hasn’t stopped until now. It’s like having two full time jobs when Brad is away on business,” she added, smiling at Liz.

  “Brad is your husband?” Liz enquired.

  “Yes. He’s just started work for a big Australian firm and he has been away a lot this year.”

  “Must be nice having your mum around to help,” Liz observed.

  Jennifer nodded vigorously.