Secrets in Pelican Crossing (Pelican Crossing #2)

Thirty-eight

Two weeks had passed since the establishment of the Save the Courier campaign and Finn’s call from the owners of the newspaper, and he still held the position of editor, though there had been no more mention of the hefty bonus. He supposed he’d forfeited that along with any sort of reference, should he want to apply for another position.

The good news was that donations were flooding in for the campaign, the town meeting had gone well and Joe had kept his word and had arranged for posters and fliers to be printed. These were now displayed in prominent places around town, in almost all the retail outlets, as well as public buildings such as the library and hospital. It would have been difficult for anyone living in or visiting Pelican Crossing to be unaware of what was happening.

The only challenge, according to Joe, was the refusal of the consortium to countenance any purchase of the paper and their absolute rejection of permission to use the name in any future publication. ‘We’ll figure out something,’ Joe said to Finn when he expressed his concern, but Finn couldn’t help worrying.

But today, Finn had a smile on his face. Liz’s daughter, Julie, had returned to Pelican Crossing on the weekend, and while for the past few days Liz had been busy helping her settle in, she’d called him last night to say she was free and to suggest they get together. He’d booked a table at Crossings and couldn’t wait to see her. They had met several times over the past two weeks, but he’d been very conscious of Tilly’s presence, even if the teenager had tactfully left him and Liz alone. It would be wonderful to have her all to himself again, to be able to make love to her, to relieve all the pent-up emotion of the past weeks.

Things had improved at home too. The confidence in the ocean which Sandy had found with his little dog had grown, and Finn was sure it wouldn’t be long before the boy would agree to go swimming again. While Adele still worried about losing him too, she knew she couldn’t protect him for ever and, if not entirely happy, was resigned to seeing him in the water again.

Dinner with Liz and Tilly had proved to be a success, with Sandy showing Tilly all Bluey’s tricks and insisting she read him his bedtime story, while Adele and Liz had got on well. Finn was starting to believe his daughter was finally beginning to recover from the pall of grief that had shrouded her since Tim’s death. It meant that if he did need to take a job somewhere else, he could feel confident she and Sandy would be all right. He didn’t dare think about what might happen to his relationship with Liz in that eventuality, only hoping it wouldn’t come to that, and Joe was right in his firm belief the campaign would be successful.

At the morning’s news conference, they’d had the wash up on the ANZAC edition of the paper which had been a huge success. Ed’s interviews with local Vietnam vets had turned out even better than expected and he had proposed a follow-up with Stan Ross who, it emerged, had been quite a hero. But, more importantly, it had given Ed the idea of devoting another edition to the elderly residents of Pelican Crossing and their contributions to the community. Through Stan, Ed had met Liz’s mother and reported to Finn that Joan was a wealth of knowledge about how Pelican Crossing’s older citizens provided valuable services to the town as volunteers in schools, hospitals and the library, to mention only a few of their activities. He must remember to tell Liz about it, sure it would amuse her.

*

Liz couldn’t wait for the day to be over. Now Julie was back in Pelican Crossing and settled in the house she had rented – Tara had even helped her find a job in a local law firm – Liz was free to see more of Finn. Tonight, they were having dinner at Crossings , and Liz had butterflies in her stomach at the thought of the evening ahead. It had been too long since they were alone together. She didn’t count the evenings spent snuggled up together on the sofa. Tilly had been in another room and could have appeared at any time.

The apartment was quiet without Tilly’s music blaring out. Liz was going to miss her granddaughter. But now she and Julie were living in Pelican Crossing, they’d be sure to meet regularly, Liz reminded herself as she showered and applied her makeup. It was difficult to decide what to wear, and she tried and discarded several outfits before settling on the green dress she had last worn to the yacht club with Mandy and Gary on the night Finn had come over to say hello. How long ago that seemed, and how much had happened since then. She slid her feet into a pair of high heeled sandals which made her feel elegant. She had just finished trying to tame her wild curls and was spraying on her favourite perfume when she heard a knock at the door. He was here!

‘Don’t you look beautiful!’ Finn said, embracing her and kissing her soundly on the lips. ‘Maybe we should stay here.’

Liz’s heart began to race, a flash of desire shooting through her.

‘But we do have a booking at Crossings ,’ he said releasing her gently and dropping a kiss on her forehead.

‘We do,’ Liz said, trying to fix her hair which had become disarranged.

‘Don’t,’ Finn said, putting up one hand. ‘I like it like that. It’s more natural. Ready to go?’

‘Almost.’ Liz picked up her bag and glanced around to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, then joined Finn, closing the door behind her.

To Liz’s surprise, Poppy greeted them when they entered the restaurant. ‘Short staffed,’ she said with a grimace, ‘but Cam’s joining me later. Enjoy your meal.’ She winked at Liz, who blushed.

Once they had been shown to a table, located in a secluded corner of the restaurant, Finn reached across to take Liz’s hands in his. ‘You can’t know how much I’ve been looking forward to this. I know you enjoyed Tilly’s company, and I appreciate how happy it made you to discover your new family, but I’ve been desperate to have you to myself again. Selfish, I know.’ He squeezed her hands .

Liz felt a warm glow flood her at his words. ‘Not selfish. I’ve been looking forward to it too. I miss Tilly, but…’ She smiled, lighting up her whole face.

Finn smiled back, his eyes crinkling with pleasure.

‘Now, what shall we order?’ Finn picked up a menu, and Liz did the same.

When they had ordered, both choosing the Moreton Bay Bug with Crossings Caesar salad, and Finn ordering a bottle of prosecco, they gazed at each other again. Liz couldn’t get enough of seeing Finn sitting there, across from her, his knees touching hers under the table, and it seemed he felt the same about her. Liz was so lost in contemplation of her companion and the evening ahead, encased in a cocoon of happiness, she was startled when the waiter appeared with their wine.

‘To us,’ Finn said, raising his glass and reminding her of when he’d last said that, and what had followed.

‘To us,’ she said, her voice almost a whisper.

Then reality intruded. ‘What’s happening with The Courier and the campaign?’ she asked. ‘It’s not long till the end of the financial year.’

‘Just over eight weeks.’ Finn sighed, the mood broken. ‘Nothing has changed at The Courier . It’s still due to close on June thirtieth, but the campaign is looking good. According to Joe, we’re on track to reach our target.’

‘That’s good, isn’t it?’ she asked, seeing Finn frown.

‘If he’s right. I’ve never seen Joe so enthusiastic about anything, not even last year when we were trying to save the town from that Sydney developer, but…’

‘But?’

‘It’s not his livelyhood at stake here, not only mine, either. I have my staff to consider, young men and women with families and mortgages. What do I say to them when they ask me about their future? I can’t lie to them and promise something that at present is pie in the sky, but I don’t want to lose them. We’ll need them if we want to start up a new paper.’ He rubbed his face. ‘Sorry, I didn’t intend to get into this tonight, to spoil our dinner.’

‘No, it’s my fault. I did ask. And I understand your dilemma. Have any of them left already? ’

‘Not yet, but I can tell a few are worried. I don’t blame them. I’ve had some sleepless nights too.’

Liz reached across the table to take his hand. ‘I’m so sorry, Finn.’ But his worries reminded her of her own concerns about the future of their relationship. ‘If… if the campaign doesn’t work, will you have to leave Pelican Crossing?’ She held her breath.

‘No, it won’t come to that. Trust me.’ Finn shook his head as if to shake away his worries, and grinned, that grin that always took Liz’s breath away. ‘Let’s talk about something more cheerful. Did you know The Courier is about to feature your mother in an edition about our elderly residents and the services they provide to the town?’

‘I did not. When did this come about?’

‘One of my reporters met her when he was interviewing one of the Vietnam vets who lives in The Haven . It seems she bent his ear about how they weren’t just a lot of old dears but took an active role in the community. Ed was impressed and suggested we make a feature of them.’

Liz laughed. ‘Sounds like Mum. I swear she’s livelier now than she was when I was growing up.’ She frowned, remembering the worry she’d no doubt caused her parents with her teenage pregnancy. ‘I bet the Vietnam vet was a new friend of hers, a guy called Stan. I haven’t met him yet but she talks about him a lot.’

‘Stan Ross. Seems he was a bit of a hero. Ed’s writing a follow up article on him too.’

‘More reason for a local paper.’

‘Absolutely.’ Finn was silent for a moment, then, ‘What about you?’

‘Nothing new.’ Liz sighed. ‘Apart from Julie moving here, and Tilly moving out of the apartment. Mandy’s still ignoring my calls.’

‘I saw her and Gary the other night. I took Adele and Sandy to the yacht club for dinner, and they were there. She looked happy.’

‘Thanks.’ It was good to know things were working out for Mandy with Gary.

They finished their meal with a luscious dessert of chocolate and hazelnut pavlova, then Finn said, ‘I think it’s time to go, don’t you?’ and gave Liz a wicked grin which made her legs go weak.

As they left the restaurant, Finn’s arm around her shoulders, the prospect of the lovemaking to follow, Liz managed to forget about the demise of the newspaper, the possibility of Finn leaving Pelican Crossing – she had to trust him – and Mandy’s stubborn refusal to contact her, and to enjoy the bliss of being with this man who was coming to mean so much to her.