Stolen Kiss (The Turners of Copper Island #2)

Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

Jason

A rcher and Erica went to see Jason the morning after the night before. They were waiting on the back patio until he got up and came outside. He took one look at the pair of them and shook his head. Archer, Luke and Daisy were always nearby, but to have Erica join the fold and lead the comforting was a bonus.

“We have breakfast ready, come over to our place,” Erica said.

Jason thought briefly that Archer couldn’t ask for a more perfect partner in life. He followed them over to their kitchen. The cold was too biting to sit outside on that November morning so they pulled up stools to the kitchen counter and dug into the breakfast Erica had laid on.

“I should go with him,” Archer muttered to Erica as Jason tore a piece of croissant with his teeth. His angry chewing escalating their concerns.

They were on their second pot of coffee while they argued about what to do.

“I’m going alone,” Jason said once he’d finished chewing.

“Is that wise?” Erica asked shifting forward on her stool across from Jason.

“Probably not,” Jason muttered taking another bite.

“Why don’t I come with you, stay in the background and not utter a word?” Archer said like he was negotiating with a child.

“And I’ll go and see Heidi, make sure no one has fed her any lies about what went down. I’d like to get to her before she sees the state of Keith.”

Jason winced at her words. Keith deserved both punches for disrespecting his sister. He dreaded the moment he saw Heidi again and what she’d say to him. He was expecting her to cut him off. He didn’t like violence, but he didn’t like Keith’s viewpoint.

“She may be freaked out if you just turn up,” Jason said. “You’re a Hollywood movie star.”

“I’m just Erica.”

“I know that and I love that you still think you’re the girl next door, but Heidi doesn’t know you that well, if at all.”

“I don’t want to risk her avoiding me if I call ahead. She needs to know the truth about last night, not the gossip’s version. I didn’t see Freya last night.”

“She’s in London on a mini-break,” Jason said.

“How do you know?”

“Luke told me,” Jason replied.

“Where’s Luke?” Archer asked wearing a smirk already guessing the answer.

“Probably not far behind,” Jason replied, smiling for the first time that morning.

“Are they an item?” Erica asked.

“No. I don’t know where Luke is, I’m just stirring the pot behind his back.”

Jason laughed and sat back, pressing his fingers to his jaw to see how much Keith had whacked him.

“Does it hurt?” Archer asked.

“Not really. He was too drunk to have much power behind his swing.”

“I bet he has a different feeling this morning,” Erica commented.

“He’s not the person I once knew. He’s so bitter and angry. I don’t know what happened but I intend to find out. You ready?” Jason said to Archer.

“Yep.”

“Erica, tell Heidi I’ll make dinner for us at my place. It’s better I find out if she’s dumping me because I hit her brother privately.”

“I can do that, what time?”

“Seven. I’m not sure how long we’ll be with dearest Aunt Cynthia but long it is, I’ll need calming down time and everyone knows you don’t cook while you’re angry.”

“Why not?” Archer asked, eyeing his toast and looking to Erica, giving her a comical look.

“It transfers to the food, and the recipient gets indigestion.”

“Really?” Erica said.

“So they say. I want to win Heidi over not make her sick to her stomach.”

Erica’s smile warmed in from the inside out, she practically had love hearts shooting out of her eyes.

“Okay, then it’s definite I go to Heidi. She’s going to need a girls’ day to get through this. Let’s hope she hasn’t ventured out yet.”

Erica stood with Archer and they both disappeared up the stairs. Archer came back down and nodded that he was ready. As an act of defiance, they were both dressed casually and wore trainers.

The brothers strode across the grass behind Edward Hall and briefly discussed repositioning the Gazebo for their weddings. Then onwards to Turner Hall.

There were three ways to get into Turner Hall these days.

Back when his father and grandfather were alive there were a dozen. Since their deaths, Aunt Cynthia had all but three doors permanently locked. The other three were only open during the daytime.

The front door which was on a latch and rumbled open when it was pushed ajar, this meant the entire house heard when it happened. The door to the kitchens where it was rarely empty with Maggie and Bailey bustling about. Then there was the door to the conservatory which led onto the morning room.

“Which route?” Archer asked.

“Kitchens. I’m not going to disrespect Bailey and his unwritten rules.”

“Agreed.”

They circled the side of the grand house, stepped over the threshold of the kitchens and saw Bailey and Maggie with their heads together having a heated conversation, both of them holding small bone China cups filled with tea. As soon as they saw Jason and then Archer duck their heads into the kitchen, the sprang apart and stopped talking.

Not a single drop of tea was spilled.

Maggie put her tea down on the nearest surface and came rushing over. Her black uniform immaculate with a spotless white apron around her waist. Bailey was in a grey pinstriped suit, white shirt and grey tie.

Maggie cupped his cheek with serious concern in her eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, you should see the other guy.”

I was trying for humour seeing as Maggie was clearly on his side.

Bailey harrumphed in the background which meant he was on the side of decorum. Bailey never took people’s sides only what the rules said.

“I take it you heard,” Jason said stepping further into the room.

“Yeah, we heard. Ralph told us first thing. He was there, so we got a decent version of what was said.”

“I need to see her,” Jason said to Bailey.

“She’s not coming down today,” Bailey replied.

“I have the utmost respect for you Bailey and I would never want to overstep the mark, but either she comes down or I go up. It’s her choice. She’s not The Queen and I don’t need an appointment.”

Bailey nodded, his mouth grim. “Understood. I’ll talk to Jennifer.”

He turned to enact his task, when Jason called out, “Bailey?”

Turning back, his grimace gone and his chin lifted, “Yes, Sir?”

“Does she know what happened last night?”

“I have every reason to believe she is in the know.”

That meant she’d taken her annoyance out on Jennifer who had then stomped down to the kitchens and vented to Maggie and Bailey. What Jason wanted to know was what Maggie and Bailey disagreed on.

Bailey left them alone and Maggie slumped on the bench seat at the table and sipped on her tea.

“What were you arguing about when we came in?” Archer asked.

“Miss Turner hiding upstairs. I suggested to Bailey that he might consider persuading her to come down and face the music.”

“You knew I would come?”

“I felt certain you would appear today and ask questions. I don’t know why Keith lied to you, it could be someone lied to him. If it was Miss Turner, then this needs to be cleared up.”

“Thank you Maggie for trying.”

“Don’t mistake my concern for condoning punching a man. Someone who used to be your best friend, Jason Turner.”

“No, of course not,” Jason said, suitably chastised.

“I suspect it will take Jennifer a little bit of time to get Miss Turner to agree to come down. Do you want some coffee?”

“Thanks, yes please.” Jason said.

“Have you got any cake to go with it?” Archer asked.

“In the tin over there,” she nodded before she went to the corner and dropped a filter into the coffee machine.

It took several mugs of coffee and lunch before Bailey returned announcing his aunt was in the morning room.

“Let’s go,” Jason said to Archer. “Thanks for keeping us fed and watered. Anytime you want a day off from cooking for this household, you call me over and I’ll take your shift,” Jason said.

Maggie visibly melted at Jason’s words coming to him with both hands reaching up to his cheeks. “You’re a good lad,” she said.

Jason marched to Bailey who then turned on his shiny shoes and led the way up to the morning room. When they reached the door, Bailey waited a moment.

“Are you ready?” Bailey asked.

“Yes,” Jason replied.

“I don’t know how long we’ll be,” Archer said.

“That doesn’t matter, Sir.”

Bailey didn’t delay and swung the door open. Unusually, he didn’t step into the room, instead he stepped away from the entry and let Jason and Archer pass before closing the doors behind them.

Jason looked to the conservatory end of the morning room to see his aunt squirting water on giant leaves of a tall plant. The dark green and cream stripes mesmerising him for a few seconds.

“You’ve dragged me all the way down here. What is it you want to say?” Aunt Cynthia barked not looking at them.

Jason’s eyes narrowed at her snippy tone and attempted to rein in his temper. He was running the show and not her, not this time.

He moved forward at a slow pace, making sure Archer was with him. He was grateful his brother was there because it would make sure he kept things civil. He knew Archer would intervene if he went too far.

“What did you tell Keith eleven years ago?” Jason asked calmly.

“That’s the Shaw boy isn’t it?”

“You know who he is Cynthia. You know everyone on this island. What did you say to him?”

“I can’t be expected to remember every conversation I’ve had, I’m nearly eighty.”

Jason dropped his head and rested his hands on his hips, resisting the urge to tap his foot in annoyance.

“You’ve wrecked a lot of people’s lives with omissions of truths. I’d tell me what I want to know.”

“Or what? This is still my home.” Cynthia’s eyes narrowed on him.

“For some reason you want us all back on the island. And don’t try to deny that because you wouldn’t have given Archer, the ultimatum to get the non-existent wedding business. In your twisted mind you need us here to carry on the legacy of the Turners.”

Jason knew he hit a nerve because Aunt Cynthia stopped squirting her bottle. She stayed perfectly still for a full minute before she carefully placed the green glass atomiser on a tall table. It looked older than she was. Everything in the morning room was older than she was.

Cynthia had the past around her like a comforting blanket. How lonely she must be.

Jason continued his questioning. “Why did you feed Keith lies?”

“They weren’t lies.” Her indignity straightened her spine, like she’d been caught out.

“Who the fuck was I supposed to be marrying?” Jason yelled.

He felt Archer at his back but he hadn’t touched him yet, but Jason knew it was a warning to go easy.

Cynthia waited a full minute before she spoke. It wasn’t without her fingers touching her pearls and a twist of her sapphire ring.

“Someone from the mainland.”

“What is it with this family and being forced into marriages?” Jason said to himself more than anyone else.

“It’s how we’ve done things for centuries.”

“But not dad. He chose his wife.”

“And she didn’t stick around,” Cynthia answered in a flash.

“Why was that?” he countered. “You have anything to do with that?”

The flicker in her steely gaze made Jason’s stomach turn. Did she chase off their mother?

“What did you tell Keith?” he said again.

“I’m sorry to hear Heidi experienced the still birth,” his aunt said more quietly.

Jason hadn’t recovered from his previous accusation and snapped at her. “What would you know about that kind of pain? Why do you care about Heidi? You destroyed us with a lie.”

“It wasn’t a lie.” Aunt Cynthia was raising her voice again.

“Heidi and Keith believed I was engaged to be married, and that I led Heidi on. That entire Shaw family cut me out of their lives. I loved Heidi, I wanted to marry her and your scheming plans put an end to that. You made me hate the island, hate my final summer before I started earning a living, to stand on my own two feet. You ruined it for me to come back with my dad to spend our down time together. Your selfish ways…”

He couldn’t go on, his mind was racing with all the hurt his aunt had caused. All the repercussions just to preserve the Turner line.

“It wasn’t my idea, I was the messenger,” she said in a quieter voice.

“Don’t you blame the dead, they’re not here to defend themselves. I’m not surprised my mother ran away,” Jason said in a low voice.

He looked up to check she heard and then left the morning room. Archer followed without saying a word and Bailey was waiting to open the door.

Jason took a glance and was astonished to see Bailey’s ashen face. He didn’t know either.

Too wound up to go anywhere near the kitchen, he threw open the front door and set off at a run. He had to expel his energy. Archer didn’t follow him as he sprinted across the lawns to the path that led down to the beach. By the time he got there, his heart and soul was filled with so much regret he fell to his knees in the wet sand, sobbing.

“So much wasted time,” he said to the ocean.