Secrets in Pelican Crossing (Pelican Crossing #2)

Forty-six

It had been three weeks since Liz’s lunch with Finn and she had cried herself to sleep every night. It didn’t make any difference that it had been her decision, the hurt was as great as if it had been him who had ended their relationship. Sometimes, lying awake in the early hours, she wondered if she’d made a mistake, if she should have continued to enjoy his company… and their lovemaking. Then she would remember he was going to leave Pelican Crossing and knew she had made the right decision for her.

Today was the monthly lunch with her friends, and she wasn’t looking forward to it. Until finishing with Finn, she had been anticipating their surprise and congratulations at the news of Mandy’s pregnancy, but now all she could think of was how their eyes would fill with sympathy when they learned about Finn.

In an attempt to cheer herself up, Liz dressed in a bright pink dress patterned with orange she’d bought at a boutique called Birds of a Feather on a shopping expedition to Bellbird Bay. It was much more vibrant than anything else she owned, but she hadn’t been able to resist it. She hoped it would divert her friends’ attention from the bags under her eyes which even makeup failed to hide.

Today, they were meeting at Rachel’s. Since she had no guests staying at the moment, she’d announced it was time she took her turn to play host. Liz was looking forward to telling Rachel about Mandy’s pregnancy and their reconciliation, after having shared her problems with her youngest daughter to her earlier .

When Liz arrived, the others were already there and enjoying a glass of wine seated around the large, scrubbed wood table in Rachel’s family sized kitchen, her small West Highland Terrier lying in her basket by the doorway.

‘Here she is,’ Poppy called, when Liz walked in. ‘We thought you weren’t coming.’

Liz wished she hadn’t. She didn’t know if she could face the comments which would no doubt ensue when they learned about Finn. It was only now, she regretted her own past actions in commenting, sometimes unkindly, on the misfortunes of others.

‘Well, I’m here now,’ Liz said, trying to sound upbeat as she accepted a welcome glass of wine from Rachel.

‘We were just discussing the Save the Courier campaign,’ Poppy said. ‘With your connection with the newspaper, we were hoping you’d have news on how it’s going.’

They all looked at her.

Liz wanted to disappear. She took a gulp of wine. ‘Not as well as they’d hoped,’ she said. ‘Last I heard they were afraid they might not reach their target. But that was a few weeks ago.’

Rachel was the first to speak. ‘I thought… you and Finn Hunter…’

‘Not anymore, and I don’t want to talk about it.’ Liz had no intention of going into the details of why she’d decided to end what had been such a promising relationship with the most loving man she’d ever met, and how she regretted it every single day. She was glad no one asked for details, and Poppy immediately started talking about Amber’s twins which were due soon.

As the conversation began to revolve around grandchildren, Liz started to relax. ‘I have some news on that front,’ she said during a gap in the conversation. ‘Mandy’s pregnant.’

As she’d expected, this prompted a flurry of congratulations and questions, some of which – like if Mandy and Gary were planning to marry – she couldn’t answer. But it was pleasant to be the centre of attention for something positive. She hoped the news about her and Finn would soon be forgotten in the excitement of the announcement of the new birth.

Rachel produced lunch, a delicious potato and leek tart with salad, and the discussion turned to other matters. But as she was leaving, both Rachel and Poppy found a moment to whisper to Liz they were there for her if she wanted to talk.

As she drove home, Liz thought how lucky she was to have such good friends. She knew both Rachel and Poppy would listen to her woes without being judgemental, but right now, she had no wish to share her worries with anyone. All she wanted was to feel Finn’s arms around her again, but she had only herself to blame. Maybe it would be easier once he’d left town.

*

There were only two weeks to go till the end of June, and Finn knew those of his staff who hadn’t already found other positions were actively seeking them. The generous offer from the television company was sitting on his office desk at home, but he still hadn’t accepted it, hoping against hope Joe was right. But things didn’t look good. The donations had stalled, and the thermometer outside town hall was beginning to look tired. It hadn’t moved for days.

It was now a month since Liz had broken up with him and apart from glimpses of her in the distance they’d had no contact. He couldn’t believe how much he missed her, not only in bed. He missed her cheerful company, her sweet face, her ready smile. There was a gap in his life nothing else could fill. He’d been happy before they met, surely he could be again, but the ache of emptiness he now felt was almost unbearable. He tried to fill it by spending more time than before with Sandy, and managed to persuade the little boy to swim a few strokes in the ocean. Bluey’s constant presence was a big help. Finn also tried to catch up on his reading, but found himself reading and rereading the same passage several times without taking anything in, the image of Liz inserting itself between his eyes and the page.

He was on his way to yet another lunch meeting with Joe, expecting the usual platitudes and false hope. There was no sign of his friend when he entered The Grand , so Finn ordered the usual two beers and sipped his while he waited. He had almost decided to send off his acceptance of the television position that afternoon. They wanted him to start in July which didn’t give him much time to relocate .

Finn had almost finished his beer and was wondering whether to start on the second one, when Joe rushed in, a wide grin on his face. ‘Good news,’ he said, slapping Finn on the shoulder. ‘We’ve done it! Forget the beer. We’ll have a bottle of champagne,’ he said to the barman.

Finn followed Joe across to a corner table in the busy bar. He was full of questions, but Joe didn’t speak till both glasses were brimming with the sparking liquid.

‘What’s happened?’ he asked.

‘First,’ Joe said, taking a gulp of champagne, ‘your bosses at the consortium have changed their mind about selling us equipment. They’re willing to sell the larger items like the web press and desks, but we’ll still need to provide computers, photographic equipment and transport. I think they’ve realised it would be uneconomical to completely rip out everything in the building.’

‘That’s all very well, Joe, but we still need money for basic office supplies, staff salaries and rent. I can’t imagine, even with your influence, the council would agree to let us have the building rent free.’ Finn shook his head. Joe was getting excited about nothing.

‘That’s only one part of my news. The rest is we’ve not only met, but exceeded our target.’

Finn stared at his friend. How had that happened? When he passed the town hall only this morning, the thermometer still stood at less than the target amount.

‘Hear me out,’ Joe said, taking another drink.

This time, Finn followed his example, the bubbles making him sneeze.

‘I had almost given up hope,’ Joe said, ‘when I received a call from the bank. There has been an anonymous donation of $100,000, enough, along with what we have already raised, to provide the starting capital for the new Courier . Of course, we can’t call it that. Maybe we can have a competition to choose a name.’

Finn almost laughed aloud at Joe’s excitement. But he was feeling pretty good himself. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and he could face the future with a much lighter heart than before. The first thing he was going to do was to email the regional television channel and regretfully decline their generous offer. No, the first thing would be to tell his remaining staff. This afternoon in the office, there would be a celebration to end all celebrations. Then there was Adele to tell – she’d be delighted he was staying in Pelican Crossing… and Liz…

At the thought of Liz, his heart turned over in excitement. Now he was going to stay, would Liz change her mind? Could they recapture those special moments they’d known or was it too late? Had he ruined everything by failing to tell her about his doubts and fears, by keeping them secret?