He could see why Will might enjoy living here. The landscape was surprising; presenting no end of challenges. But for James, it was far too far from the sea to ever feel like home. He missed Sydney, with its friendly bays and golden beaches, the red roofs and the fig trees, the scale of the place - just right.
He was ready again for the rhythm of his business, to sit and study the books, to make some big decisions, allocate resources to the French branch, explore some options for Will.
But most of all he missed Stella. It hit him in the heart.
A chipmunk scampered up beside him, hoping he’d share some food. He took another long swig of water just as his phone “pinged” again.
A message from Nicole and some unknown callers, maybe suppliers, a gazillion unread emails and some stuff on their Facebook page about the design competition. The competition! The comp that Stella had won!
Several more messages came in on his phone in quick succession. The awards ceremony. He peered at the pictures. Three she was! Stella! His heart lurched. He must congratulate her. Surely she wouldn’t mind. Or would she? She’d been adamant he didn’t hassle her. What would be best would be to get this trip over and done with and go home to her. How he wished he’d been there. What time was it in Sydney? Mid morning?
Could he simply phone her? Could he risk it? What is there to lose? Maybe everything. Maybe he was a gambler, too, no different to Will.
He punched in her number.
“James?”
He couldn’t decipher her tone of voice, and there was an annoying delay on the call, and a kind of echo. Awkward. Maybe phoning her was a bad idea. But it was his only way to reach her, and he couldn’t put it off any longer. Didn’t want to put it off.
“Stella? Congratulations. I saw on Facebook... The competition. Your design. You won!”
“Yes.”
Why so clipped? Wasn’t she happy to have won? Was it wrong to be phoning her when she’d asked him to give her space?
“Stella? Anything wrong?”
“James...”
She sounded upset, her voice tight.
“What is it, Stella? Talk to me. Please. I’m in Arizona. Is there some problem? What’s going on?”
“You really don’t know?”
“Stella?”
“I got notification from the council. They’ve closed down my stall.”
“No. But. How...? Oh no.”
“You told me only Huntleys could do this, and you said you wouldn’t, you hadn’t. And I believed you, James.”
“Stella! Oh God. You think I ... God, no. Stella, listen to me. It’s possible that Nicole might have.... Oh Stella. This has to be reversed. I have to talk to Nicole. Let me talk to Nicole. Let me fix this. Stella. You think I’m a liar, but Stella. I’d never do anything to hurt you. I couldn’t. Stella. Please. Can you hear me? Can you hear me okay? Stella, please. Sit tight. I’ll be there. Just a few more days, then I’m coming home. I need to see you. I’m going to reach Nicole and find out what’s going on. This is terrible. This must be terrible for you. Can I ask you this? Can I ask for you to wait for me? I need you to trust me. Stella. I... I love you Stella.”
“Goodbye, James.”
Silence. Alone and still in the forest, at the edge of the ravine, he slowly sat, cradling his phone like something infinitely fragile, replaying the conversation word for word. He felt sick. Horrified. Angry. Sad. Maybe it was too late to salvage anything, but he was going to try. Hell, yes.
Chapter 36
James stood and punched in a call to Nicole.
“James! Hey. How’s Will? How’s it going? The design awards went brilliantly. You should stay away more often, bro.”
“Cut the crap, Nicole. What’s this I hear about you trying to shut down Stellar? Why would you do such a thing, particularly without discussing it with me? Apart from the fact it’s morally wrong to stop someone else from making an honest living, do you have any idea how stupid this makes Huntleys look?”
“Hey slow down. It’s fine. It’s all fine. Stella was there. She might have been a bit tight-lipped, but she accepted the award alright. Ruben gave us great coverage...”
“Stella is not alright. I just spoke with her. How would you feel? Nicole, I can’t believe we’re having this conversation. What got into you?”
“Hang on. I did it ages ago. The day she turned up and ruined our Antoinette event. She stole our limelight big time. I was furious. I marched right into the council and did it straight away. And then I forgot about it, alright? Council took months to act on it, and we’ve had all those other things to deal with, the flooding in the south corner, and then all the new initiatives, the website, Christmas, the comp. It’s been bloody busy, and that’s a good thing, thank you very much. Have you got a thing for this Stella?”
“Nicole. Listen to me. That order is a big mistake, and you need to fix it. Fast. Now. Go to the council and revoke it. Immediately. Is council even open again after the break? I’ll submit a letter explaining you didn’t have the authority to make that request in the first place. And as for my relationship with Stella, or lack of one, it’s none of your business. The sooner we solve this the better, for all of us. We’re just lucky Ruben hasn’t got wind of it. Can you see how stupid this makes Huntleys look? How small minded?”
“Alright, alright. I’ve got the message. I’m onto it, alright?”
James wanted to get on the next plane home, but he had to focus on Will, see this thing out, do his best to help settle Will while he was here, achieve what he’d set out to do. He emailed a letter to the council’s general manager himself before heading out for this breakfast, copying Stella. He’d done all he could do for now. He’d make these few hours with Will count before he boarded the plane for Sydney again.
Will and James had just ordered coffee when Lisa walked in, wearing jeans and a casual top, her shiny blond hair up in a ponytail.
For the second time, James was suspicious. Was there something going on between Will and Lisa beyond their professional relationship? Will sprang up and pulled out her chair.
It was a showy gesture. Will always had a presence. But there was more to it, a studied concentration, a genuine level of care for another human he’d never seen in his younger brother. Not for the first time, he wondered if Will could be becoming addicted to his therapist. Complicated.
“Lisa, how are you?” Will was asking.
“Calf muscles a bit sore today, actually. And ready for pancakes!”
Will was radiating happiness, studying Lisa as if she was the real menu. Maybe she was. Surely not. Surely they both knew that any real kind of relationship would be unethical.
James noted Lisa’s ring finger. Nothing. Unusual. Maybe a trace of where a ring might once have been.
“Nice little town, Boulder City,” James ventured.
“Isn’t it? I love it here. It’s the kind of place you can keep your feet on the ground,” Lisa said, looking at Will as she said the last words. Will was smiling like he knew something. Yep. James could be right. Their bodies were turned to each other under the table. There was barely a pancake’s width between them, with static flying back and forth to span the distance. There was definitely something going on between them.
“And the best breakfast in America,” said Lisa. “Have you two ordered yet?”
“What would you recommend?”
“Can’t go wrong.”
It was a hearty breakfast, and they all ate their fill, talking about how they’d spend the day.
“Coming with us to the dam, Lisa?” Will asked.
“Might sit that one out. Leave you two brothers with some time alone. Besides, I need to do my laundry and shopping for the week.”
James paid the bill and they parted outside on the pavement.
James shook hands with Lisa and she, too, was instantly more formal.
“You’re doing a great job with Will, Dr Bakker. I need to thank you for your care.”
Her smile was
warm and genuine.
“He’s a good man, your brother,” she nodded. “We all need to find our feet sometime.”
...
The dam was magnificent. Acres of pale concrete. The brothers soaked up the history, learning of the wild Colorado river’s flood-prone nature before the dam was built in the 1930s, the optimism the federal project sparked during the great depression, the vice-free planning for Boulder City, the city of workers.
“They still don’t allow gambling here.”
“No way? No gambling?”
“Nup. Only one other town in the whole of the US is gambling-free,” Will said.
“Close enough to Vegas if you want to be tempted, I guess.”
“Yeah. And far enough away if you don’t.”
“Nice little town, Boulder City.”
“Sure is. So many other places I could show you from here. You can go in almost any direction and find nature reserves. Backpackers, skiers, rock climbers. There’s this whole world of adventure. Sky running’s just the tip of the iceberg. Lisa’s shown me just a few of the runs, but I’m betting there’s a lifetime’s worth of exploring to do just from this one place.”
“Yeah? I can see that. And Lisa.”
“Yeah. Lisa.” Will turned and gave James the full smile, the kind he remembered from one Christmas before their father became ill, when his younger brother received a shiny new bike, a pure kind of joy without artifice.
“So what’s the plan, Will? You coming back to Sydney?”
“Nah. Staying here, I reckon. Get out of therapy. Next week. Set up here. Boulder City. I’m taking the training seriously. Lisa thinks I’ve got potential. Maybe I can get a sponsor. If I can keep clean...”
“Sounds good. Lisa’s seriously cool, Will. Now we have to talk. This is serious stuff. This is why I’ve come to see you. You have to know that the business is in trouble. So I’ve got to ask. How are you planning to support yourself?”
“What do you mean, ‘support myself’?”
Not for the first time, James wondered about the wisdom of raising this with Will, when he was clearly vulnerable in some way, still receiving therapy. It was a cold, hard reality though. It couldn’t be sugar coated. There simply wasn’t another choice.
“Let me spell this out. Gravy train’s gotta stop, Will. Huntleys can’t afford it anymore. No more expenses. No more allowances. Mother’s given up two thirds of hers, for the sake of the business. And you need to do the same. Otherwise there’s simply no more money. At all. We’re nearly bankrupt as it is. We go over that edge and there’ll be no support. At all. Not for you, not for me, not for Jim or Nicole or mother. So. I need to ask you. You need to ask yourself. What are you going to do to support yourself?”
Will stopped. Stared at the ground. Of course it would come as a shock to him and for a moment, James regretted his words. Would this harsh reality set Will back in his recovery, send him off the rails again and back into the gambling parlours? James was worried. Maybe he should have consulted Lisa about this, about the best way to raise the subject. Too late now.
At times like this, James missed his father, felt the loss of him again, that great gaping hole in their family he’d done his best to fill. He knew he hadn’t always been up to the task. He pushed away the thought and squared his shoulders. Self pity never solved a thing. Nor did hiding from the truth. He couldn’t shelter Will from reality any more. They’d all grown up now. Will must take responsibility for his own future.
Will ought to know the value of money by now. Living on the streets wouldn’t have been much fun. Still, he was taking this more calmly than James had expected. No fireworks. No tantrums. Amazing. Maybe he was finally growing up.
“Win some prizes? Get some sponsorship? That’s short term. I know this might surprise you, but I’ve been talking about this stuff with Lisa. Longer term, I’m betting there’s a retail opportunity right here in Boulder. Combination adventure and camping gear. Maybe a little bit of jewelry.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. I couldn’t see it till I saw the other side of Vegas. There are plenty of hipsters get to Vegas and get turned off by all the hype. Lots of ‘em end up doing day trips out here looking for something more familiar, something more wholesome.”
They walked past a vegan restaurant. It was doing well.
“Boulder is hipster, and it’s so close to California, loads of ‘em have money. Techies. Could be just the place for some of Jim’s rings. Could be needing one myself...”
“Ha! Good luck to you, Will! So! No more playboy?”
“That was always a beat up, James. My big mistake was to date that Tele journalist and then drop her. She’s never let me forget it. Went to the gossip columnists every time I went near anyone with any kind of social media following. Lisa’s helped me understand that’s not normal. It was the journalist’s problem, not mine. Well, maybe I could have dumped her more kindly. We were just kids. How was I supposed to know she’d get all hurt and bitter? Well, she’s more than got even with all that playboy publicity. But I can make it work in my favour now. Take it carefully, like you plan a run. I’ve got some serious planning to do. Never planned a thing in my life before I met Lisa. She’s helped me grow up, James. I’m getting my act together.”
James was amazed. Maybe that was just it. Will had been slow to mature. Well. Even James had had some growing up to do, beyond stepping up to take on Huntleys. To decide to actually “own” Huntleys. Not just pay tribute to the past, and carry on things the way they’d always been done, but to “own it,” as Stella inspired him to do, and as Jim invited him to do.
“Makes a lot of sense. I’ve been having to do my own planning.”
“What? I thought big brother always knew best. Born knowing everything, bloody James Huntley the Third.”
They punched each other on the arm, laughing.
“Look. You come up with a plan, Will, a proper business plan, and we’ll see what we can do. I told you mother’s opening a Huntleys in the south of France? You open a branch here, and we could be truly global. Wouldn’t have to be huge. Start small. But you’d need to make it work. We couldn’t afford to prop you up. Set it all out properly on some spreadsheets. Do some predictions. Set some goals. You’ll need to convince Jim as well, and Nicole, and Scottie. And then you’ll have to stick with it, to really make it work. I won’t be bailing you out. All that’s stopping now, you understand? But it looks like you’re chasing something worthwhile here, Will. Make your own luck. Stick with it, Will. Make that shop of yours a winner.”
James was no fool. Will had made promising noises before, then gone back to his old wasteful ways. He’d need to see real plans and real progress before he’d part with any serious money, and he told Will exactly that. But he’d never been more hopeful.
The brothers clapped each other on the shoulders then shook hands.
James frowned. Should he mention Lisa, and probe Will on his intentions? Surely Will would already know that relationships with health professionals were unethical and illegal in the US, just as they were in Australia.
Will was beaming, and James bit his tongue. Why suggest something that might be just in his own imagination?
James’s mind was now on going home. Home to Stella.
Chapter 37
On the return flight, peering out at the thin layer of clouds, and, through the occasional hole in them, the shine of sea like aged pewter, James considered Will’s plans. It made sense, Will staying in the US, if he could get a visa. Will needed somewhere big enough to challenge him. Somewhere he could build his own life of adventure, pace himself, taking it one step at a time. The big question was the same as always - whether he could be trusted. The evidence said no. But maybe with the help of someone sensible like Lisa, Will could keep one foot on the ground, and run his own race.
James couldn’t wait to tell Stella. The plane couldn’t fly quickly enough. He urged it forwards as it droned on over the grey ocean, spanning the
continents, hour after hour after hour. Stella. Just imagining her had him smiling, at 37,000 feet, but he couldn’t return to her fast enough, to apologize in person for Nicole’s mistake. He hoped she could forgive them.
...
Sydney. Humid. Even at this early hour, when the city was just waking up. Stifling after the cool and dry Nevada desert. It hit James the minute he exited the airport.
He could head for Bondi Beach. As soon as possible. Maybe even take Stella with him.
He took an Uber home, showered, dressed for the beach, grabbed his towel and headed out the door, jogging to the mall, past the fragrant frangipani and box hedges with their tiny white flowers, smiling at the thought of surprising Stella.
But when he reached the mall, he couldn't believe his eyes.
Stella’s stall was missing. Gone.
He panicked. Maybe all he and Nicole had done to reverse the council’s order hadn’t been enough.
Fritz’s stall was there, and the others, but it was as if Stellar never existed.
He pulled out his phone and called her.
It went to voicemail.
“You’ve reached Stella Rhys, Stellar. Please leave a message.”
“Stella! James here. James Huntley. I’m back. Back in Sydney. Where are you?”
The moment he left the message he doubted himself. Who was James Huntley to keep tabs on Stella Rhys? He sounded like some kind of jealous stalker. She didn’t have to answer to him. It wasn’t like she owed him anything. But why hadn’t she told him she was leaving? It was only a few days since they’d spoken. This complete absence made no sense.
On top of the long flight, he was crushingly disappointed. He’d been counting on Stella to be here, as she’d been for so many days and weeks and months before he’d left for France. He’d looked forward to their reunion. Could barely wait.
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