Christmas at Black Cherry Retreat

by Angela Britnell

  Maddy jerked around. ‘I hadn’t finished speaking, Will. I was about to explain to Fee that I’d been blinded by Allain’s charming ways. His tantalising accent. The stories he told me about New Orleans. I was young and stupid.’ She hurried across the room. ‘I’ve been an idiot, Will. I needed to know I was loved but you never told me in so many words. You’ve always been my best friend – with benefits as they say these days – but I craved more.’

  Fee gulped back tears as Will cradled Maddy’s face in his hands.

  ‘Of course I love you, silly girl. I loved you from the first day we met in that appalling squat in Wandsworth. I’m not good at the romantic stuff. I wish I was.’ He sighed.

  Tom caught her eye and he beckoned her to join him at the back of the room. Maddy and Will wouldn’t miss them. They sneaked out to the hall and made their way to the kitchen.

  ‘Do you want me to put the kettle on?’ Tom offered.

  ‘That sounded very natural. Have you been practising?’

  He put on an affronted stare. ‘I’m tryin’ to be considerate. It’s well known you Brits use tea to soothe all difficult situations and I took a wild guess this might count.’

  Fee slid her arms around his waist and hugged him to her. ‘It does indeed. You saw the resemblance when we arrived, didn’t you?’

  ‘Sure did.’

  The possibility of Will being her father never occurred to her before Tom threw out the idea on the train but it’d started her thinking and a lot of things made more sense now.

  ‘Are you good with the idea? I know you liked Allain.’

  ‘Yes. I’m more than good. Allain’s a decent man but Will was part of my life when I was a child. I always hated to leave him when Mum took us away again.’

  ‘He made you feel safe.’

  She nodded through a haze of tears.

  ‘Tell him so later. He needs to know you love him.’ Tom nuzzled her cheek. ‘We all need to hear it, just like your mom said.’

  Fee exhaled a deliberate, heavy sigh. ‘Fine. I love you. Alright?’

  ‘It’ll do for now,’ he teased. ‘Let’s go and see how your parents are doing.’

  ‘Gosh. That sounds peculiar.’ She startled at his choice of words. ‘I’ve never had “parents” before.’

  ‘You do now.’

  Fee couldn’t help beaming. ‘Your family will be pleased. This should make me a touch more normal.’

  Tom’s eyes darkened. ‘I’m not goin’ to say this again. I’ve never cared if you had a whole bunch of family or none. It makes no difference to me lovin’ you.’

  His honesty struck her to the core. He meant every word he said and she must never take that for granted. ‘I know, sweetheart.’

  ‘You better had.’

  Fee stifled a laugh at Tom’s attempt to sound cross. ‘Yes, dear.’

  She had lost one potential father but found the one she’d been too blind to see she had all along.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  ‘You sure we’ve stayed long enough?’ Tom watched Fee tuck clothes into her backpack. They’d toured Cornwall from end to end over the last week and he’d fallen for the place big time. Hiking the rugged coastline and checking out a few of the sites connected with the Celtic history he’d discovered a new passion for, topped his list of favourites.

  ‘We must be smelly fish by now,’ she declared.

  ‘What the heck are you talking about?’

  Fee grinned. ‘You must’ve heard the old saying about the resemblance between guests and fish – both stink after three days.’ Her smile wobbled. ‘I don’t want to push my luck. Let’s leave while it’s going well. Anyway you want to see more of Europe and someone has a dolls’ house to finish making before Christmas and that’s rapidly creeping up on us.’

  He backed off. Fee’s effort to reconnect with her mother hadn’t been straightforward. Many evenings he’d held her in his arms while she complained about how stubborn Maddy was. He’d smiled inside, thinking how Fee could be describing herself but wasn’t stupid enough to say it aloud.

  ‘Fair enough.’ Tom hesitated. ‘You sure having nothing planned or booked is goin’ to be okay?’

  Fee wagged her finger. ‘You promised to give me at least two weeks. If I haven’t converted you to spontaneous travelling by then I’ll give up.’

  He plastered on a bright smile. ‘Fair enough.’ They’d bought a couple of Eurail passes and were simply going to explore anywhere that took their fancy.

  ‘Make the most of our comfy bed tonight because it may be the last you’ll get for a while.’

  ‘Don’t worry. I intend to as soon as you finish packing.’ His blatant declaration of intent made her cheeks turn rosy and he burst out laughing.

  For the first time Fee was sorry to leave her mother. Normally she’d breathe a sigh of relief and vow never to go back but now she heard herself promising to return as soon as possible.

  ‘Take care of her or you’ll answer to me,’ Maddy instructed Tom and Fee struggled not to burst out laughing. She wouldn’t ask her mother who she thought had looked after Fee for the last twenty years when she’d travelled the world with little more than her camera and her wits.

  ‘Yes, ma’am.’ Tom’s eyes gleamed. ‘You’d better get ready to come to Tennessee for the wedding. We’ll let you know when we’ve set a date.’

  Fee swallowed down the tears burning her throat. It’d cracked the last part of the shell she’d erected around her heart when a serious, polite Tom asked Will for her hand in marriage after dinner last night. She’d been bemused when her new father launched into a whole raft of questions about Tom’s background, family and financial stability. Afterwards she’d asked Tom if he’d minded and he stared as if she’d grown two heads.

  Why should I? Any decent man would do the same. He’s cared for you all your life even when he wasn’t officially your father. Why would he stop now?

  It’d made her love both men even more.

  ‘We’d better leave before y’all drown in tears.’ Tom grabbed her hand and led her out to the waiting taxi. This time she’d turned down Will’s offer to drive them to the station because she thought it’d be easier to say goodbye here at the house.

  Amid a wealth of hugs and kisses they finally left and Fee craned her neck to wave at her mother and Will until the taxi turned the corner and she couldn’t see them anymore.

  ‘Paris next stop?’ Tom asked.

  She easily got caught up in his enthusiasm and they chatted about where he wanted to go first. In Cornwall she’d relished photographing familiar places through Tom’s fresh eyes. Re-directing her talent for observing people and their surroundings didn’t seem the impossibility it had appeared to be a couple of months ago. She’d emailed her therapist to thank him and told him briefly about her progress and the effect going to Black Cherry had on her life, and not simply because of Tom.

  ‘Do they have hamburgers in France?’ he asked. Fee was all set to berate him when she noticed his broad smile. The other night she’d talked to Tom about being open to new experiences and different cultures and got a bit preachy about the whole thing – at least that’s how he’d described her over-enthusiasm.

  ‘You’ll get escargots in a butter and garlic sauce and love them.’

  ‘And you think chitlins are nasty?’ Tom retorted.

  ‘The rest of your family won’t touch nasty pig intestines either. Your own mother said you were peculiar.’

  He shook his head. ‘Y’all don’t know what you’re missing.’

  ‘I’m happy to keep missing them.’

  ‘Fine.’ Tom sighed. ‘Take me to the snails.’

  Several places they visited stuck in Tom’s head but it wasn’t for the reasons he’d expected. He appreciated the history and architecture all over Europe but what really spoke to him was the people. The artist they observed in a back street in Florence trying to capture the sun setting over the Duomo. A group of Parisian children laughing at Tom’s inept efforts whe
n they invited him to join in their impromptu street football game. His obvious enthusiasm for that particular side of travelling had the bonus of bringing him closer to Fee. Always in the background he’d been aware of her taking pictures and in the process fully returning to life, cementing the fact Tom had made the best decision in suggesting they take this trip together.

  ‘Did you get a reply yet?’ Fee asked, pointing to his phone.

  ‘Yeah. About ten at last count. Even Lulu sent us a big kiss.’

  ‘I take it they’re happy we’ll be back for Thanksgiving?’

  ‘Let’s just say the cooking’s started already.’ He chuckled and patted his stomach. ‘Mama’s trying out some new recipes to impress you.’

  Fee frowned. ‘I hope she isn’t going to spoil everyone else’s meal to please me.’

  ‘No way. It’s in addition to the ten million things she always fixes.’

  ‘I don’t want to hear them all, do I?’

  ‘Nope. It’ll make your stomach hurt to listen, honey.’

  ‘Where do you want to spend the last couple of days before we go back to London?’ Fee asked. They’d chosen to fly out of Heathrow on Sunday to get over their jet lag before Thanksgiving on the following Thursday.

  Tom drank in the sight of her emerging from the shower with only a small, white towel wrapped around her before considering how to make his reply sound spontaneous. They’d treated themselves to this decent hotel in Brussels after he’d insisted his back was shot after too many nights curled up on hard train seats and scrunched into cheap hostel beds.

  ‘Amsterdam.’

  ‘Oh. Okay. That’ll work. It takes less than a couple of hours on the high-speed trains. What makes you want to go there?’

  He knew the reason but wasn’t about to share it with her yet. ‘I like the look of the canals and Anne Frank’s story fascinates me.’

  Fee crossed the room and leaned in over the bed, letting her scented heat surround him. She stroked his unshaven jawline and the rasp of her fingers made him shudder. ‘You’re a terrible liar.’ A mischievous smile tugged at her mouth. ‘Which makes me happy because I’ve met enough of those in my time.’

  ‘Good.’ Now he’d basically admitted to lying. ‘Damn. You’re good at this.’

  ‘What?’ Her hand trailed down his bare chest.

  ‘Finding out information. The intelligence services should employ you.’

  ‘A modern day Mata-Hari. I rather like the idea apart from the fact I’d have to seduce other men and that’s not going to happen. So?’ Her hand rested on the cord of his sweatpants. ‘The truth. The whole truth. And nothing but the truth.’

  ‘I give up. It’s useless trying to surprise you. Amsterdam is famous for its diamonds, you annoying woman.’

  A triumphant smile lit up her face. ‘I knew it.’

  ‘Then why’d we have to go through this?’ he complained.

  ‘Because it’s fun and I’ve never had fun with a man before.’ A touch of sadness ran through her words.

  Tom lay back on the bed. ‘Okay. I’m all yours.’

  Fee’s eyes darkened. The hotel room would be worth every one of the Euros it had cost him.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  ‘Simple and beautiful. Like you.’ Tom’s deep chocolatey eyes bored into her and Fee fought back tears.

  Despite her shrewd guess about why he wanted to go to Amsterdam he’d still managed to surprise her. When they were in England he’d gone online and tracked down an old college friend who’d married a Dutch girl. He’d described Fee’s taste in jewellery and been steered towards this ultra modern shop in the centre of the city. The platinum ring with squared off edges and single rectangular diamond set flush in the band was so perfect she could have designed it herself.

  ‘We have matching wedding bands if you would care to see them?’ The manager offered and Tom nodded his approval.

  Fee slipped the unadorned platinum ring onto his finger and held it there, not daring to look up at him. He wrapped his other hand over hers and they stood that way for the longest time.

  ‘Do they work for you both?’

  ‘Perfect.’ Tom’s rough voice betrayed his emotions.

  Before she knew it they were back out in the street and officially engaged.

  ‘Sightseeing is going to be a let-down after this,’ Tom joked, grasping her hands and kissing her fingers one by one. ‘Should I take a picture and email it to the folks or would you prefer to surprise them?’

  He was like a little boy wanting to show off his new Christmas bicycle and Fee couldn’t help responding to his obvious joy. ‘Show them now. They’ll get a kick out of it.’ She reached for her camera but he stopped her.

  ‘You can do your fancy stuff later. I’m taking this one with my phone,’ Tom declared and she backed off. Putting it politely photography wasn’t one of his talents and this picture would no doubt be crooked and out of focus. She dutifully held out her hand and waited while he took a couple of photos, checked them out, cursed and tried again. ‘Not bad.’ He showed her for all of two seconds then whisked the phone away and sent the picture. Then he pulled her into his arms. ‘I sure as heck don’t deserve you but somehow I got lucky.’

  So did I.

  In the middle of settling into their seats on the plane in London, Tom turned to her with a big grin on his face.

  ‘Did I pass the test?’

  ‘You’ll do. You only fretted a couple of times when we missed a train or couldn’t get a room for the night and you did only insist on going to McDonald’s once. But you redeemed yourself with this gorgeous thing.’ Fee flashed her engagement ring under his nose.

  ‘Don’t overdo it.’

  ‘We’ll go somewhere more challenging next time.’

  He rolled his eyes. ‘I’m ready to stay home for a while although I’m prepared to do Cornwall anytime you like.’

  Fee ran her fingers down his arm. ‘Doesn’t a warm Caribbean beach sound tempting in the middle of a harsh Tennessee winter? Think skimpy bikinis. Cocktails. White sand.’

  ‘You’re wicked,’ he whispered.

  She contented herself with a smile.

  ‘I’m goin’ to sleep.’

  ‘Of course you are. See you in Charlotte,’ Fee joked and threw a pillow at him.

  The handmade signs were unmistakeable and the loud yells sealed it – their welcoming committee was here. Fee’s plan to slip back to Black Cherry unnoticed faded away at the sight of Tom’s family.

  ‘Sorry,’ he murmured. ‘You’d think we’d been gone for a year instead of a few weeks. They didn’t make this much fuss when I came back from Iraq.’

  Probably because you wouldn’t have appreciated it then.

  ‘Yeah. Yeah. I know.’ Reading her mind again he laughed and kissed her, eliciting more whoops of joy.

  The second they got through the security gate Fee gave herself up to being hugged by what seemed to be a hundred pairs of arms. Lulu’s sticky hands grasped her face and the little girl plonked a wet kiss on her nose.

  ‘I love you, ice cream lady.’

  ‘Love you too, sweetheart.’ Fee plucked her from her mother’s arms. ‘I’ve got something to show you.’ She lifted her left hand and Lulu made a grab for her ring.

  ‘Pretty. I want it.’

  ‘Sorry, sweetie. It’s a present from Uncle T and he wouldn’t be happy if I gave it away.’

  Lulu pouted. ‘Not fair.’

  ‘Do you know what a bridesmaid is?’ They’d discussed wedding plans a little and decided on a quiet ceremony – all excepting this special little girl who’d helped bring them together.

  ‘Yes. You wear a pretty dress and have flowers.’ She grinned. ‘And a ring?’

  Fee laughed. ‘All of those. Absolutely.’

  ‘Have you set a date?’ Sarah Chambers interrupted and the free-for-all started. Fee threw Tom a beseeching look.

  ‘Mama, leave her alone. We’re beat. It’s great to see y’all but we need to get out of
here and head for home. You can interrogate us tomorrow,’ he said with a firmness that instantly stopped the questions.

  Outside the airport they found Tom’s truck waiting on the kerb with Billy in the driver’s seat.

  ‘Thought you’d prefer your own wheels.’ He hopped out and tossed Tom the keys.

  ‘You’re a pal.’ Tom seized them and held out his hand for her backpack. With the luggage thrown on the back seat he gestured for her to get in. ‘The welcome was great. We sure did appreciate it. We’ll be down tomorrow evening for supper.’

  ‘Think you’re invited, do you?’ His mother tried to sound aggrieved.

  ‘Better be. I’ve had some damn good food over there but I’m cravin’ some decent home cooking.’

  Fee stifled a laugh as his mother’s face softened.

  ‘I suppose I’ll come up with something,’ she conceded. ‘Now off with you and get some rest.’ Sarah shooed them away and Fee was too tired to argue.

  Jumping into the passenger seat of the truck she couldn’t help remembering the first time she’d ridden along with him and Lulu into Pine Ridge.

  ‘A lot’s happened since then, honey,’ Tom muttered as he got in beside her. ‘Who would’ve thought?’

  ‘Not me.’ Fee declared. ‘Although I have to concede a tiny part of me did register the fact you were …’

  ‘Handsome. Charming. Witty. Sexy.’

  ‘Oh, yes, all of the above.’

  He ignored her effort at sarcasm. ‘Exactly what I thought about you.’

  ‘Not scared, weird and odd-looking?’

  Tom placed his hands on her shoulders, turning her towards him. ‘I could tell straight off you’d had a tough time but to me you were always beautiful inside and out. You needed to realise it yourself, that’s all.’ He stroked his thumb over her mouth. ‘You believe me now, don’t you?’

  She sucked in a deep breath before nodding.

  ‘Good.’ He let go and placed his hands on the steering wheel. ‘Time to go home.’

  ‘It is indeed.’

  Watching Tom going around his home, checking every room and touching things to reassure himself they were the same Fee smiled to herself. She followed him outside and saw him frown at the diminished woodpile. Next he unlocked his shed and stepped inside.