Secrets in Pelican Crossing (Pelican Crossing #2)

Fourteen

‘Who were you talking to?’ Adele asked, when Finn joined her and Sandy at the door. ‘She looks familiar.’

‘Liz Phillips. I told you we met when Coop and I went into the medical centre with old Agnes.’

‘Oh!’ Adele didn’t display any interest. Why should she? Finn had barely exchanged two words with the woman. He’d intended to… he wasn’t sure what he’d intended to say. But the sight of the young couple she was with gazing at him, listening avidly, had sent everything he might have said out of his head. He was no further forward.

‘I know her, Mum,’ Sandy said. ‘I’ve seen her when we go to see Livia. I don’t think she’s a doctor, but I’ve seen her go into one of the rooms near Livia’s.’

Finn looked at his grandson with something like respect. Sandy had noticed her too. ‘Right, champ,’ he said.

‘Who’s Coop, Grandy?’ Sandy asked, going back to the earlier part of the conversation as he was wont to do.

‘Martin Cooper. People call him Coop. He’s a famous photographer. You know the book of photographs I gave your mum at Christmas?’

Sandy nodded. ‘The one with pictures of jungles and caves and things?’

‘That’s the one. He took all those photos. He used to do a lot of travelling, but now he lives in Bellbird Bay where I used to live, before I came here to live with you and your mum.’

But Sandy had lost interest. They had reached the car, and he was wrestling with the car door handle .

By the time they reached home, Sandy was almost asleep.

‘Why don’t we give his bath a miss tonight? I’ll get him ready for bed and you can put your feet up.’ It hadn’t escaped Finn’s notice Adele was looking tired too.

‘Thanks, Dad,’ she said.

Finn helped the little boy change into his pyjamas, then Sandy chose a book, and Finn settled on the chair beside the bed, opened the copy of Nate the Great – an old book, but a favourite with Sandy – and began to read. It wasn’t long before the small boy’s eyes closed. Finn closed the book, dropped a kiss on Sandy’s forehead and tip-toed out of the room.

‘Out like a light,’ he said when he joined Adele in the living room, to discover she’d poured two glasses of wine.

‘We didn’t have any with dinner,’ she said.

‘Thanks.’ Finn dropped onto the sofa.

‘Sorry if I was a bit grumpy earlier. It was just… seeing all those women at the jewellery thing, listening to them talking about their husbands. It brought it all back. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you, Dad.’

‘It’s okay. I can cope. I know things aren’t easy for you. They do say it gets easier with time, but I’m not sure it does.’

‘Hmm.’ Adele took a sip of wine.

Finn took a deep breath. ‘Do you ever talk to Mum about it?’

Adele stared at him. ‘What made you think about Mum?’

‘Nothing. I just wondered. You are in touch with her?’

‘Not recently. She’s not the world’s best communicator, not the most sensitive either. But you know Mum. She’d probably tell me to get over it.’

‘Mmm.’ Finn wished he could do more to help his daughter overcome the grief which still shrouded her.

‘I worry about you, Dad.’

Finn stared at her in surprise. ‘Me? Why?’

‘You changed your life to be with Sandy and me. It couldn’t have been easy for you. But it’s no life for you to spend it caring for us. You’re still relatively young. You should be… I don’t know… making a new future for yourself, finding a new partner.’

Finn’s mouth dropped open, the image of Liz Phillips appearing in his mind’s eye. Had Adele read his mind? Did she know he’d been attracted to Liz? Her next words put his mind at rest.

‘I know it’s probably difficult for you to meet anyone when you spend all your free time with us, but I… there’s no sense in both of us spending a lonely old age.’

‘I’ll never be lonely while I have you and Sandy, and you… given time, Adele, you may find someone to fill the gap in your life.’

Adele shook her head. ‘I’ll never forget Tim.’ Her eyes filled.

‘Of course not. No one would expect you to.’ It was too soon, he realised. He’d spoken too soon.

‘I think I’ll go to bed.’ Adele drained her glass and took it into the kitchen.

Finn heard the tap run, the sound of the dishwasher door opening and closing, then Adele’s footsteps and the closing of her bedroom door. He sighed. He’d done it again. It was so hard to know when to speak and when to stay silent. But the conversation had proven to him yet again that he needed to do something more to connect with Liz Phillips. But what?

*

Finn was no further forward in his thinking by the time Monday came around. The previous day had been spent by the beach, Sandy still refusing to venture near the water, Adele lost in a book – or pretending to be – and Finn trying to work out how to contact Liz Phillips.

A call from the mayor took care of lunch. Finn had met Joe Harris soon after he arrived in Pelican Crossing, and the two men had become friends. Both single, Finn divorced and Jo a widower, they often met for a beer to put the world to rights. Joe was also a good source of information. Today, Joe had intimated he had a juicy piece of news to share.

The morning passed in the usual rush to finalise the first edition of the week, leading Finn to wonder yet again if they should take the option of going digital. It was a decision he’d shelved, knowing many of their readers loved the paper version and several had never mastered anything online. It was a relief to close the office door behind him and make his way to The Grand where he was to meet Joe .

Pushing open the door of the old hotel which gave the impression it hadn’t changed in decades Finn was greeted by the familiar aroma of stale beer. He saw Joe was already there, sitting at the bar with a half-full glass. He rose when he saw Finn walk in. ‘Yours is coming,’ he said, nodding to his glass. ‘Couldn’t wait.’

The pair took their drinks to a nearby booth and ordered lunch – the inevitable pie and chips. Adele, with her insistence on healthy eating, would be shocked. But after a busy morning there was nothing quite like pie and chips washed down by a beer to make the day seem better.

‘So, what’s the news that couldn’t wait?’ Finn asked, when they had both downed half of their beers.

‘Remember Jordan Butler?’

‘Who doesn’t?’ The man had been big news a few months earlier when his development plans threatened the town.

‘Well, from what I’ve heard, he’s finally got his comeuppance. Seems he tried the same thing on the central coast of New South Wales, targeted the wrong people, is up on charges of threats with menaces, maximum penalty five years imprisonment.’

‘Wow. Thanks. I have contacts there. Will follow it up. He’s not local news, not anymore, but a lot of folk will be interested.’

‘What’s up with you, these days?’ Joe asked, as he squeezed a sachet of tomato sauce over his chips. ‘Anything new?’

‘No,’ Finn said, then thought better of it. ‘Actually, I could do with your advice.’

‘Always happy to help,’ Joe chuckled.

‘It’s this woman…’

‘It always is,’ Joe chuckled again. ‘Glad I don’t have that problem. Who’s the lucky lady?’

‘Don’t know about lucky.’ Finn pulled on one ear. ‘It’s Liz Phillips, she’s…’

‘Practice manager at Pelican Crossing Medical Centre. I know who she is. She was a great help when Barb…’

Of course Joe would know her. His late wife had been a patient at the medical centre during the illness which had taken her life.

‘So, what’s the problem? She turn you down?’

‘Not yet. I’m trying to figure out how to contact her. We only met briefly, then I saw her at the yacht club, but she was with a young couple, her daughter, I suppose. I was going to talk to her, ask for her phone number but I chickened out. It’s been so long, Joe. I think I’ve forgotten how.’

‘I’m not much help to you there, haven’t looked at a woman since Barb… My suggestion is to just do it. You know where she works. Pick up the phone and ask for her. It’s that simple.’

‘Thanks for nothing.’ Finn took a gulp of beer. He hadn’t needed to ask Joe. He knew what to do, he’d always known. But Joe was right about one thing. He just needed to do it.

When he got back to the office, Finn picked up the phone and dialled the number of the medical centre before he could change his mind, but he almost hung up when he heard her voice.

‘Liz Phillips, how can I help you?’

‘It’s Finn Hunter. We met…’ Finn cleared his throat. ‘I wondered if… I wanted to invite you to dinner. Are you free on Friday?’

There was a pause, then she spoke again. ‘That sounds lovely. I’d love to have dinner with you.’