The Boy is Back in Town (5 page)

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room for a few seconds, broken only by the crackling of the logs in the open fire and the ticking of the old mantle clock while Mari busied herself filling a bowl with hot water and started washing the cups, aware that Ethan had strolled up to watch what she was doing, his back against the wall.

‘We have to find a way through this situation somehow, Mari. And I can’t do it alone.

My parents are going to be regular visitors to Swanhaven, the press are in town and I will probably visit them when they are here. Can we work together to put the past behind us? Or at least agree to a truce. Any ideas would be welcome at this point.’

‘A truce?’ Mari laughed with a shake of the head, then sighed. ‘That is quite a concept. But I do have a few questions,’ she said quietly over one shoulder.

‘Anything. Just shout.’

Mari took a breath and turned to face Ethan, who was looking at her with such total focus that she felt like the most important person in his world at that moment, and wanted to squirm at the same time. ‘Why has the local TV station come all this way to talk to my family and neighbours, Ethan?’ she asked. ‘And why are your parents flying all the way here in winter when they could stay in the sunshine in Florida? Why are you really here? I don’t want my sister or this community to be dragged into some part of the Ethan Chandler Reality TV show or some major marketing campaign that we don’t know about. I care too much to see it ridiculed like that. And please tell me the truth.’

Ethan’s arms unfolded and he pushed one hand deep into his trouser pocket. ‘Okay, I
asked for that. No TV show or marketing campaign, but you are right about one thing. I’ve just heard that TV cameras and journalists are heading this way and are about to descend on Swanhaven. And they are all looking for exclusive interviews and feature articles.’ He held up one hand. ‘I did not invite them. You can blame the PR company we use for that.’

‘PR company? When does a yachtsman need a PR company?’

‘I frequently do,’ he stated, and then his smile faded. ‘But this isn’t about me. It’s about the sailing charity I set up just over a year ago after I got back from the Green Globe round-the-world single-handed yacht race.’

Ethan paused and licked his lips. ‘I’ll give you the short version. There were three captains leading the race for months. It was tight all the way. By the time we reached the Southern Ocean at the bottom of the world I was in the lead by half a day but the seas were the worst we had ever seen. Every second was a fight to stay upright.’

Mari’s breath caught and she realised that she had stopped breathing.

His face was dark, eyebrows tight together. ‘This was a place you don’t go to unless you
have to, and when you get there you stay awake for as long as it takes to get out. I still don’t know what happened, but in the middle of the night I was on deck fighting a storm when my yacht hit a freak wave so hard that I went flying onto the deck. Part of my mast sheared and crashed into the cabin. I was knocked out for probably five or ten minutes and woke up with one mighty concussion and a boat that was taking in water.’

Ethan wandered over to the window, drawing back the curtains and peering down the narrow street. ‘It was about as bad as I could get without sinking. And I knew it. The only good news was that my radio still worked.’ His voice was softer now, as though talking to the window was easier than talking to her, but Mari could still hear the tension in his voice.

‘What happened? Did the organisers launch a rescue mission?’

He nodded. ‘The Australian coastguard had overall responsibility with the race organisers and they called in any commercial shipping in the area, including the other yachts in the race.’

He shook his head. ‘It took six hours of some crazy sailing in which he almost damaged his boat to reach me, but my friend
André was the first to arrive.’ Ethan laughed low in his throat. ‘I’ve never been so glad to see anything in my life. I managed to get into the water and across to his yacht. My boat was only fit for salvage and, by taking me onto his, André was out of the race. So we had a lot of time to talk about our lives and how we got started. We realised that both of us had learnt to sail in junior sailing clubs run by volunteers in small coastal towns like Swanhaven. It was strange, but the more time André and I spent together, the more we both came to the same conclusion. We both owed our passion for the sport to those sailing clubs.’

There was just enough change in Ethan’s voice to make Mari look up and pay attention. Suddenly he sounded excited and energised. Enthusiastic.

Mari could not help but smile. ‘Kit and his friends lived for that club. They did amazing work.’

‘I know. I used to be so jealous that Kit lived here all year round and could sail any time he wanted. He had more freedom than I ever had back when we lived in London.’

Ethan’s smile broke through the tension in the air and she blinked several times to break free from the intensity of his stunning grin.

‘Did you really think that I had forgotten about Kit and the summers I spent with him here? He would have loved to run a sailing school. I know it and so do you. When I got back to Florida I took the decision to retire from competitive sailing to create a charity teaching disadvantaged teenagers to sail. I bought a huge old wooden schooner and it has taken a lot of work to fit it out as a training ship, but it’s a fine vessel and does the job.’

‘When did you start teaching?’

‘About six months ago. The results have been amazing. The charity is turning the lives of those teenagers around. In a few weeks they can find self-confidence and skills they did not think possible. We’re giving them a chance to show what they can do.’

Ethan moved closer to Mari and she leant back against the sink as he rested his hand lightly on her arm. When he spoke his voice was low and warm. ‘Look, Mari, I’m here to finish the house for my parents. My mother has always loved Swanhaven. She’s stayed away for ten years but this is where she wants to spend her summers. But some researcher is bound to pick up on the accident and start asking around town about what happened to Kit. And I’m sorry if they do. I really am.’

‘Then you shouldn’t have come back here.’

‘You’re right. But my mother wants to spend more time here when she retires, and I want to give something back to the town which got me started on this amazing life. That’s why I agreed to give a few classes and open the regatta for Rosa. And if that means extra publicity for the charity and the town? Then I can put up with being reminded about the accident. But what about you? Are you okay with my being here?’ he asked in a low voice, and Mari shot him a sideways glance.

His head was tilted to one side and there was a look in his eyes that she had never seen before. A look which shouted out regret and concern and sorrow in one single glance, and her heart contracted so tightly she could only nod quickly in reply and turn back to her washing-up. ‘I don’t have a lot of choice, do I?’

His hand reached out and took hold of her wrist. ‘You asked me why I came to Swanhaven, Mari. And I’ve told you. But if it’s going to cause too much trouble or bring up too many painful memories, you just let me know and I can be out of here any time you want. As for now? Sorry about scaring you earlier. I can promise you that I will try my best to keep a low profile and try to see that
Kit is not mentioned. And I always keep my promises.’

Mari looked deep into those intense blue eyes which still had the power to enthral her and was still working on a reply when Rosa skipped down the last stair with her shopping baskets, hat, scarves and gloves bundled in her arms.

‘Ready when you are, Ethan.’

Ethan’s mouth twisted up at one side as Mari turned to face him. ‘Something tells me that this weekend is going to be one to remember. I can hardly wait.’

C
OLD
night air filled Mari’s lungs as she gingerly made her way across the cold footpath to the Swanhaven Yacht Club, where the normally staid club sign had been decorated with sparkly illuminated hearts ahead of the Valentine’s Day party.

Strange how it managed to be fun and stylish instead of cheap and tacky.

Unlike her shoes. She might share the same shoe size with Rosa, but she certainly would not have chosen sparkly sandals with three-inch heels to crunch through the thin layer of ice covering the snow. Rosa had taken one look at the elegant black shift dress that Mari usually wore for a casual evening and insisted that for once she should wear party shoes like a proper grown-up and she was going to choose some for her.

Fairy lights leftover from Christmas twinkled in the metal railings on the balcony of
the yacht club, illuminated by the warm glow of light from the windows. As she moved closer, Mari could see people clustered around the huge log fire burning in the hearth of the old stone house. It was as though every precious, warm feeling she had ever associated with Swanhaven had come together in one place. Concentrated in one room. Inside were most of her old school friends and extended family. These were the people she had known all of her life—and in turn they knew her. Good and bad.

This was the community she had left behind—but not for much longer if her plans came true.

Almost by magic, there was a rush of movement from the entrance and Rosa stepped outside, grabbed her arm and pulled her through the door and into the hallway.

‘It’s freezing out there! Ethan has already started on the buffet so you’d better work fast if you want something to eat!’

There was nothing else for it but allow herself to be dragged to the kitchen where the long pine table was groaning under the weight of enough food to feed half the town, which was probably necessary, judging by the crush of people who had squeezed themselves into the small rooms.

Mari followed Rosa past the crowds and looked around, grateful that she was tall enough to see over the heads of most of the other people there, especially in these heels.

She made her way slowly into the dining room, chatting and greeting friends and neighbours on the way, and then she saw Ethan in the small office the harbour master had once used.

And her heart let her down with a quick beat that made it pound. Palms sweaty, she gawped at the best-looking man in the room. He was wearing black trousers that had clearly been made to measure, especially around the seat. And a crisp white shirt open at the neck, designed to highlight his deep tan and the whiteness of his smile and eyes.

Oblivious to her ogling, Ethan was chatting to the chairman of the yacht club, who was standing with his arm around the shoulders of a teenage boy she did not recognise. As she watched Ethan pointing to a group photograph from one of the regattas where he had won the junior race, Mari suddenly knew exactly what she would be giving Ethan as a house-warming present for his parents. Over the years she had created a collection of personal photographs from the summers he had spent with his family in Swanhaven. She
had nothing but respect for Ethan’s parents and they had been totally amazing after the accident. Her mother would never have got through without their help.

The last thing she wanted was his parents to feel that she had forgotten about them or that they were unappreciated or unwelcome in the town.

And oh, the camera loved Ethan.

All she needed was a scanner to create a digital slideshow from the dozens of photographs she had taken over the years in those dreamy holidays. That way, Ethan could choose the prints he wanted from the film and have them framed! Yes! She could give them to Rosa before she left and her sister could pass them on as the final touch when she went to help Ethan decorate. And she knew exactly where the old photographs were kept in Rosa’s house.

Mari gave Ethan a fleeting smile as she started to weave her way towards the bar, only to be stopped by one neighbour after another, all anxious to catch up with her news and hear all about her exciting life in computing across the ocean.

Ethan glanced over his shoulder at that moment and caught Mari smiling at him.
And his breath caught in his throat so hard he could only manage a nod before turning back to chat to Henry Armstrong, the instructor who had taught Kit and himself to sail all those years ago and who was now retired and Chairman of the Swanhaven Yacht Club! When Ethan had arrived in Swanhaven, Henry had asked him if he would give his nephew Peter a few extra sailing lessons as a personal favour while he was in town. Ethan had hesitated, as his plan had been to keep a low profile. But after chatting to Peter he’d agreed to help him with some things he was struggling with.

Peter was a shy boy who held back in group lessons, but it was clear that he was passionate and talented and ready to learn. Over the past week he had grown fond of this fatherless boy who was prepared to go out on a bitterly cold day and get wet.

The only embarrassing part was how grateful Peter’s mother and uncle were, and now he nodded away their thanks before watching them melt back into the crowd of friends and neighbours, some of whom Ethan recognised from the family parties he had been invited to at the Chance house when he was a teenager. Mari’s aunts certainly had not changed much—they were still as eccentric as ever.

Rosa was certainly cast from the same stock. But Mari? She was so different.

She certainly was not the awkward, gawky sixteen-year-old girl that he remembered.

When had Mari finally learnt to stand ramrod-straight with her head upright? What had happened to the girl who had been so cripplingly shy that she’d found it impossible to look at a boy eye to eye? And the old Mari certainly would never have had the confidence to wear a fitted dress like that! A dress designed to make best use of her stunning figure. Elegant, sophisticated and formal, it was the perfect dress for a professional woman who wanted to get the message across that she would not tolerate any form of unwelcome familiarity.

If it had not been for Kit, Mari would probably have stayed a complete mystery to him. Just another girl, who happened to be living next door to their holiday home.

And yet … Marigold Chance was the girl he
could
have asked out a thousand times, if the words had not choked in his throat each time he’d almost said them.

Ethan winced at the memory of how inadequate his best friend’s younger sister used to make him feel. Mari could never be interested in him as anything more than a friend
of her late brother. Why should she? Mari was a loner. Unapproachable. Contained. She didn’t need to be part of a gang or play team sports to make a connection. She was happy in her own company—and he had envied her that. He had resorted to teasing her simply to get a reaction—any reaction—which meant that she took the time to notice that he existed.

What an idiot! He should have had the courage to ask her out at least once. Or at least explain that he was teasing her because he was attracted to her and was simply desperate to make her notice him.

And now Kit’s sister Mari was a lovely talented woman. In an amazing dress that fitted her in all of the places guaranteed to press the right buttons in the perfect sequence. Buttons he knew he had to turn back off. And fast. And those legs!

Gorgeous and intelligent. Now that was a killer combination.

She would never forgive him for being on the boat with Kit the day he died. Just as he would never forgive himself. Each of them had found their own way to get through each day—but it never went away.

All the more reason for him to keep his
distance, finish the house then get on with the work he had come here to do.

Mari shook her head in exasperation as Ethan dazzled her uncle and cousins with tales of derring-do and sailing adventures. He really did have the charm offensive down to a well-practised art and it took several minutes of manly back-slapping before Ethan glided up to Mari with her flute of champagne and his glass of cola, as though they were on the deck of a cruise ship, and started to say something.

Except that, just as she leant closer to try and hear what he was saying against the party noise, the laughter and chatter dropped away, Ethan stopped mid-sentence and looked over her shoulder in silence towards the entrance. He was white-faced with alarm, his eyebrows drawn tight together in concern and dismay.

‘What is it?’ she asked, concerned. ‘Has something happened?’

And then Mari turned and saw why everyone had gone silent. Rosa was standing just inside the side door, her face ashen, holding her left forearm out in front of her. Her dress was covered in mud and slush and her stockings were ripped. Her hair was dripping-wet, she had lost a shoe and all in all she looked a dishevelled mess.

Mari rushed forward faster than she thought possible and grabbed hold of Rosa around the waist. ‘What happened. Are you okay?’

‘It’s snowy. I slipped.’ And then Rosa’s legs collapsed under her and she slid towards the floor in an ungraceful faint as Mari tried to take her weight and failed.

It was Ethan who got there first and took Rosa in his arms before she hit the carpet, a fraction of a second before the entire crowd of people surged forward, pushing past her to help Rosa into a chair. Someone brought water. One of the lifeboat crew took a quick glance at Rosa’s arm, looked back at Mari and her aunt and mouthed,
‘broken wrist’
, then reached for his mobile phone to call the hospital.

A wave of nausea and dizziness hit Mari, forcing her to press her hand down on the nearest table for support. The wine. She should have eaten something before the wine. Now just the thought of food made her dizzier than ever, and she closed her eyes and fought air into her lungs.

She couldn’t believe it. Only a few seconds earlier Rosa had been laughing and jigging along to the jukebox. Her aunt Alice grasped
hold of Mari’s arm for a second before rushing forwards from the bar to be with Rosa. Rosa had to be okay. She just had to.

Ethan stood back, watching the scene from the back of the room, as his place at Rosa’s side was taken by her family.

Rosa was surrounded by the people who loved her, while Ethan felt very much the outsider. Oh, the family were friendly and everyone here had welcomed him but, when it came to it, he was still just a visitor.

This was what he’d felt like after Kit had died. Mari had become even more withdrawn. Distant. Solitary. She had disappeared into her studies. Driven. Obsessive. Trying to take care of the family as best she could.

Mari had been sixteen going on thirty and on her own.

He had seen it and not had the skills and power to do anything about it.

How could he? His family were moving to Florida full-time, he was set for university in America and the world of sailing, and the happy summer holidays he had spent here as a boy were over for good.

Rosa had told him that Mari had decided to use her education to get out of Swanhaven. He recalled asking Rosa if she would do the
same, and she’d said she’d tried, she really had, but compared to Mari? No way. Besides, she loved Swanhaven and had wanted to stay with her mother and the aunts and cousins. This was where she felt she belonged.

And then he had to leave Swanhaven and Mari and her family.

Of course everything had come to a head on the night of her sixteenth birthday party. She had waited all day for her father to turn up. But it had been Ethan who’d followed her out onto the beach and held on to her as she’d raged against the unfairness and cruelty of what he had done, talking and shouting in an explosion of suppressed emotion and crying and hanging on to him for strength until the dawn. Then he’d kissed her goodbye.

And then he had watched her pale silent face grow smaller and smaller as his family had driven out of Swanhaven. It had been one of the hardest things he had ever done. For one night he had felt an unshakeable bond with Mari which was so special. So unique. And he hadn’t had the emotional tools he needed to talk to her about Kit and make her understand how truly devastated he was.

It had been easier to leave with his parents and start a new life. And he was sorry for that.

It had hurt to see her in pain then. And it hurt now.

Ignoring the other people moving towards Rosa with coats and offers of a car to the hospital, Ethan wound his way around the room, looped his arm around Mari’s waist and half carried her as far as the hall, where she had some hope of catching her breath, or at least passing out with some dignity.

She looked up at him in surprise, then, as though recognising that something in him she could trust until her dying day, she stared, white-faced, into his concerned eyes.

‘The ambulance is on its way, but can you take me to the hospital to be with Rosa? Please? I don’t have a car and …’

‘You got it.’

As Ethan grabbed his own jacket from the hall stand and wrapped it around her shoulders, he knew it would take more than a coat to stop this precious woman from shivering. He had watched when her world had fallen apart once before, and he had been a boy. Powerless to help her, he had been forced to just stand back and watch her pain.

No longer.

She faltered on the icy steps and as he held her tighter around the waist, taking her weight, he felt her heart beating under her
thin dress in the cold night air and he knew his fate was sealed.

Doomed.

In that fraction of a second it took for his arm to wrap around Mari’s body, he knew that there was a chance that she could forgive him for Kit’s death—a small chance, but a chance nevertheless. And that meant more to him than he could say.

Ten years ago he had walked away from Mari without telling her how he felt about her. How could he? She had accused him of being reckless and not caring about anything but winning the race the day that Kit died. And she had been right about that. He had wanted to win. And maybe he had pushed the boat and Kit beyond what they were capable of doing, but no one could have predicted that wave hitting their boat so hard that it capsized. It had not seemed possible.