Storm Shells (The Wishes Series #3) (39 page)

“Hello, Charli.”

He startled me so much that I jerked Bridget in my arms. I moved to rearrange her blanket, making sure I was completely covered.

“Hi Flynn,” I replied coolly.

He craned his neck, leaning forward. “Long time no see.”

I couldn’t work out if he was trying to get a better look at the baby or my chest. Either way, it creeped me out.

“I’ve been a little busy.”

“So I see,” he said quietly. “My Grandma told me the baby came early. Congratulations. I hope everything went well for you.”

“Fine, thank you.”

“And Adam’s back, right?” he asked. “That’s a bit of a coup. You get rid of one bloke and another turns up the next day. You must enjoy the company.”

I could feel bile rising in my throat. I had no idea what he was insinuating but felt sickened by the smarmy spin he’d put on it.

“You seem to know a lot about the goings on here, Flynn,” I muttered. “Perhaps you should stick to your side of the fence.”

He frowned at me. “I think you and I went a little off track somewhere.”

“There was no you and I,” I snapped. “I don’t know what you want from me.”

Flynn took a step back, having the nerve to look slightly wounded. “I don’t want anything. I came over here to congratulate you on the baby.”

I was tired of treading lightly where Flynn Davis was concerned. I decided it was as good a time as any to lay it all out there.

“Have you been in my house while I’m not there?” I asked.

“Excuse me?”

I knew I wasn’t going to get a straight answer. I studied his body language instead, which was pointless. He was nervous and fidgety on his best day.

“You heard me.”

“Why the hell would I do that?”

I looked straight at him. “I have no idea. But someone’s been going into my house while I’m not there.”

His face darkened. “What do you take me for?”

A creepy obsessed neighbour who frightened the hell out of me. I just couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.

I rearranged my shirt under the blanket, cutting Bridget’s lunch short. I stood up to leave, ignoring the fact that she’d begun to cry. “Stay away from me,” I ordered.

As I passed him, he grabbed my arm. “Charli –”

It was a stupid move on his part. I went from being marginally creeped out to hysterically terrified in two seconds flat. I burst into tears. “Get away from me!”

He held both hands in the air and backed away as if he was trying to escape a cornered animal.

“Don’t ever come near me or my house again,” I added, rushing to the veranda.

“You’re crazy,” he told me. “Absolutely mental.”

I carried Bridget inside and bolted the door, convinced that I wasn’t the crazy one.

* * *

I’d had enough where Flynn was concerned. When Adam arrived home that afternoon, I told him everything – from the very beginning.

“What makes you think he’s been coming into the house?” he asked, remarkably calmly.

I wasn’t sure I had a decent answer, but I tried. I told him about windows being left open, the flowers he’d sent me and the numerous attempts he’d made at asking me out.

“I would never leave windows open,” I told him. “At first I put it down to forgetfulness, but it’s happened a few times.”

Adam thought it through before speaking again. “Is anything missing?”

“No,” I conceded. “Nothing’s missing.”

He stood up and carefully handed me the baby. I called out as he got to the door, “Where are you going?”

“To sort this out,” he replied. “Stay here.”

I worried that it wasn’t going to end well. I spent the next few minutes trying to work out how much cash we had in the house in case I needed to post bail. Threatening a police officer would probably be costly. If he went a step further and belted him, I’d probably have to consider selling the baby to cover it.

July 3

Adam

Anger drove me as I marched across to the house, but by the time I stepped on to Flynn’s porch, common sense kicked in and I slowed my roll.

Charli had been through a lot over the past few months. It wasn’t much of a stretch to think she could have blown things out of proportion. A few windows left open hardly constituted a break and enter. She’d said it herself – nothing had been taken. And Flynn was a police officer. As smitten as he might be with my wife, breaking into her home was a little extreme.

By the time I knocked on the door, I was feeling slightly foolish.

Flynn looked less than pleased to see me. “I take it Charli sent you over here,” he said sullenly.

“Look,” I began. “I don’t really know what’s going on, but –”

He cut me off. “Nothing is going on. I went over to congratulate her on the baby and she freaked out and accused me of breaking into her house.”

I nodded. “Yeah, she did.”

“Has your wife always been crazy?” he asked.

“Have you always been in love with my wife?” I shot back. “Because I’m fairly sure that’s why she’s so sure freaked out by you.”

The tables turned in an instant. The look on his face proved that Constable Creepy had just lost the upper hand.

“Charli made it very clear that she wasn’t interested me. I sent her flowers once, that’s it.”

I stepped off the porch. “That was where you went wrong then,” I taunted. “She hates getting flowers. You should’ve sent chocolates instead.”

He called out as I walked away, “If Charli genuinely thinks there’s a problem, she should make a police report.”

I turned back. “Yeah, I’ll keep it in mind.”

“How long are you in town for?” he asked.

It was the million-dollar question that I was sick to death of hearing. I answered him anyway. “I’m here to stay, Flynn. My wife and daughter live here.”

* * *

I wasn’t looking forward to dealing with Charli. She truly believed that something underhanded was going on. The problem was, I didn’t.

She collared me the second I walked through the door. “What did he say?”

I took her by the hand, led her to the couch and sat her down. She didn’t appreciate the gesture one bit. She pulled her hand free the second she hit the cushion.

“I think you’ve been under a lot of pressure lately,” I said gently.

“I’m not imagining things, Adam,” she retorted.

“I didn’t say you were.” I smoothed my fingers through her hair. “I just think you might be mistaken about this.”

“I don’t think I am.”

I wasn’t going to win this one. I’d be lucky to escape the conversation unharmed. I continued trying to reason with her anyway.

“I think you should just take a breath and put things into perspective. Flynn is a police officer, Charli. Why would he risk everything by getting caught breaking into someone’s house?”

She was quiet for a moment. I hoped that meant she was thinking it through. “I don’t know,” she conceded.

“And nothing is missing,” I added. “It makes no sense.”

She nodded. “Did you tell him to stay away from me?”

I relaxed a little. “Yes. I’m sure he got the message loud and clear.”

“Fine.” She got up. “It’s over then.”

* * *

John Tate wasn’t an easy man to deal with but I was persistent. He’d initially refused to entertain the idea of selling us the disused bank but money talks, and I had plenty of it.

I knew I’d paid more than I should’ve but was still confident of making a profit when I resold it. The money didn’t matter, but making it a successful project did. That was the Décarie way. I wasn’t just passing time; I’d stumbled into a new career.

I managed to finalise the sale and get possession of the keys within a week. Work started straight away, meaning I’d created my own nine-to-five.

I couldn’t claim to have half a clue what I was doing. I knew nothing about renovating – but I’d known nothing about boat restoration, either. On days when I was at a loss, I called on Alex for advice.

On days when Charlotte was at a loss, she called on Alex too. Not only was he a dab hand at plastering walls, he could settle a screaming baby at a hundred paces.

Gabrielle ran hot and cold, and we did our best to make allowances for that. Some days she couldn’t get enough of Bridget, and other days she kept her distance. Either way, I knew that my little girl went a long way toward filling the hole in her heart until she could have a child of her own.

I could never get enough of Bridget – or her mother. Things were finally falling into place for us, and slowly but surely I was beginning to feel as if I deserved to be a part of it.

* * *

For such a little person, Bridget demanded a lot of attention. Her tiny cry was the loudest sound in the world, especially at four in the morning.

Charli sat up in bed, nursing our little girl. “I’m so tired,” she whispered.

I reached across and ran my fingers along Bridget’s cheek. “I know you are, but you’re doing an amazing job.”

“Do you miss sleep, Adam?”

“No,” I whispered, leaning across to kiss her. “I don’t miss anything.”

We had trouble settling Bridget. Charli was so tired that frustrated tears soon followed. “I just need sleep. You have to fix her,” she pleaded.

I lifted the baby out of her crib. “She’s not broken,” I said quietly. “She’s just a night owl.”

I carried Bridget back to the bed, switched off the lamp and leaned down and kissed her exhausted mother. “Go to sleep. I’ll take her for a while.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to teach our daughter how to make coffee.”

“Awesome,” Charli mumbled. “Just what she needs.”

I pulled the bedroom door closed and wandered down the hall with the mini queen of noise. The minute I started pacing the kitchen, she quietened down. “So baby, how do you take your coffee?” I wondered aloud.

I talked Bridget through the whole process of making the cup of coffee I didn’t really want – in French because that was our thing. The baby girl wasn’t paying attention. She was fast asleep in my arms.

I sat at the table until the first glimpses of the sun appeared over the horizon. It was so quiet that I could hear Bridget breathing. The sensible thing to do would’ve been to go back to bed and make the most of the peace, but I couldn’t move for looking at her. The picturesque view outside wasn’t even enough to draw my attention away.

I’d experienced love at first sight once before. I loved Charli from the first minute I laid eyes on her – then spent the next few years trying to get it right. Bridget was my second
coup de foudre
. It was different this time round. It was pure and uncomplicated from the start, which made me unafraid to feel it.

I loosened Bridget’s blanket, freeing her little hand. I uncurled her fingers and stroked her palm with the pad of my thumb.

She wrapped her fingers around my thumb and pulled a pouty face I hadn’t seen her make before. The new expression brought to light something else she’d been hiding.

Bridget had a deep dimple on her right cheek.

“Them’s the breaks, baby,” I whispered. “Just don’t let your mama see it.”

July 11

Charli

Nicole met Bridget for the first time when she was thirteen days old. When she showed up at the cottage armed with a teddy bear and an excited smile, I did my best to hide the fact that my feelings were hurt.

“Where is she?” she beamed.

“Sleeping,” I replied, taking the bear from her and ushering her inside.

Nicole walked to the bassinette and peered in. “Wow. She’s little, isn’t she?”

“Not as tiny as she was a week ago.” I turned back to the mound of washing I’d been folding.

Nicole picked up a shirt and started folding. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around earlier,” she said. “I’ve been stuck at the café most days. Alex has been taking a lot of time off lately.”

It was a perfectly acceptable excuse. Alex dropped everything to come running every time I called, which was often. It hadn’t occurred to me that Nicole was picking up his slack.

“It’s okay. I’m glad you’re here now.”

She dropped the shirt on the coffee table and reached for another. “So tell me everything. What’s it like?”

I glanced across at the bassinette. “It’s nothing like I thought it would be, and exactly what I want. Life is good.”

“Wow. That’s a bold declaration, Charli,” she teased. “How’s Adam coping?”

I felt myself cringe at her choice of words. Bridget wasn’t something we needed to cope with. She was our biggest joy; but maybe that was a secret that only parents could know.

“He’s great. You know he bought the old bank building, right?”

“Yes, Jasmine told me. What’s he going to do with it?”

“He’s doing it up to sell it,” I said proudly.

“Nice.” She grinned. “I’m glad he found a little pet project. It might keep your baby-daddy here a bit longer.”