The Skye Collection, page 79
For the duration of the short drive to Lyle’s house, Caitlin’s palms sweated. Her heart kept skipping and her mouth, unlike her hands, was dry as a bone. She pulled up outside the house and turned off the engine, inhaling a deep calming breath.
‘Now, remember what I said about getting too excited. Just let Lyle tell us the news, whatever it may be, and whatever it is, be happy about it. If you’re not actually happy, pretend!’
Grace grinned. ‘I’m going to be ecstatic. I just know it,’ Grace said dreamily.
Caitlin shook her head and climbed out of the car to retrieve the cake from the back seat. They approached the front door, but before they could knock, it was flung open.
‘Yay! You’re here!’ Cora exclaimed before hugging Grace.
‘Happy birthday, Cora,’ Caitlin said as she fidgeted with the cumbersome box.
Grace added, ‘Happy birthday! Are you excited? I’m so excited.’
‘Oh, me too!’ Cora said. ‘I’ve been trying to get him to tell me all day, but he just won’t.’ She gave an overexaggerated, dramatic sigh. ‘We’ve got balloons and I can see you’ve brought a cake! Yay!’
Lyle appeared behind his daughter. ‘Cora! Let the ladies in for goodness’ sake,’ he said with a light-hearted grin.
‘Thanks for the invite,’ Caitlin said as Lyle kissed her cheek.
‘My pleasure. It’s nice to have something extra to celebrate alongside Cora’s thirteenth.’ He raised his eyebrows, but again gave nothing away.
Caitlin narrowed her eyes. ‘Hmm, whatever it is we’re celebrating.’
He cupped her cheek. ‘All will be revealed soon. Now, come on, I’ve made curry and all the trimmings.’ He took the box from her hands.
Caitlin followed Lyle through to the dining room, which was decorated with bunting, balloons and fairy lights.
He gestured to a chair. ‘Have a seat, darling.’ Then he took the box with him into the kitchen.
The girls were already sitting and chatting giddily at the lovingly set table. Lyle began to bring in dish after dish of aromatic food and place it on the mats in the centre, yet Caitlin’s stomach insisted on turning over. Was she going to be able to eat?
As the last plate was placed down, Lyle said, ‘Right, ladies, a veritable Indian feast at my gorgeous girl’s request. Get stuck in.’
The girls began to take little spoonfuls of every dish and munched away on poppadoms dipped in mango chutney as Caitlin sat rigid, becoming more and more nervous as the moments ticked by.
‘Come on, Caity, get some food,’ Lyle said with a nudge.
She nodded and spooned some Bombay potatoes onto her plate, followed by what she thought smelled like chicken bhuna. ‘It all looks so delicious. You must have been working all day to get this ready.’
‘You’re all worth it,’ he told her with a kiss to her cheek.
Her stomach knotted again, and she wished he would just tell her what this was all about and put her out of her misery.
After the meal was done and the girls had cleared the table, Lyle appeared from the kitchen with the birthday cake. He began to sing, and Caitlin and Grace joined in the rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’.
Cora blew out the number thirteen sparkler candle and clapped her hands. ‘Miss Fraser, this cake is absolutely wonderful!’
‘Please, Cora, just call me Caitlin, or Cait!’
‘Well thank you, Cait. I absolutely love it! It’s beautiful and you’re so clever.’
Caitlin smiled and hugged the girl. ‘I’m glad you like it.’
‘Right, Caity, you can cut the cake and I’ll be back in a second.’
Caitlin picked up the knife and cut four slices as Lyle dashed back to the kitchen and returned moments later with a bottle of Champagne and four glasses.
‘Now, girls, as this is a very special occasion, I think it’s okay for you both to have a tiny amount of alcohol.’ Caitlin was a little disconcerted by the way in which he had given permission for her daughter to drink alcohol without consulting her but there was so much going on in her mind she couldn’t form the words to protest, and he didn’t pause long enough. ‘And, Caity, I’ve ordered you a taxi for later on this evening so you can celebrate with us without worrying about getting home.’ He leaned in to whisper, ‘Or you could always stay the night.’
She tried to stifle the gasp that bubbled up from within her. They hadn’t even remotely got to the point of sleeping together, there simply hadn’t been an opportunity, and she wouldn’t rush into it anyway, so his suggestion came as a bolt out of the blue. Unaware of how to answer, she gulped and forced a smile.
Lyle popped the cork to gasps and cheers from the girls and poured the bubbling liquid into the glasses. When he was finished, he remained standing.
‘May I first of all say how wonderful it is to be surrounded by beautiful young women. I’m a very lucky man indeed.’ The girls giggled, but Caitlin felt the colour draining from her cheeks. Lyle smiled at his daughter. ‘Cora, you’re growing up to be such a wonderful girl and I’m so proud of you. Happy birthday, sweetheart.’ He raised his glass and took a sip before turning his attention on Caitlin. He sighed contentedly. ‘Caitlin, you came into our lives just at the right time. And we couldn’t be happier that you brought Grace too. Cora and I look on you already as family.’ Caitlin’s heart pounded at her chest, and she lifted her hand to rest it over the area in case her anxiety was visible to the others. Lyle raised his glass. ‘So, the second toast is to Caitlin and Grace.’
The girls giggled again and said in unison, ‘To Caitlin and Grace.’
Both girls slurped their drinks, and both coughed simultaneously.
‘Euw! The bubbles went up my nose!’ Cora exclaimed.
‘Mine too!’ Grace chimed in. ‘I don’t think I like it.’
Caitlin simply sipped once at the drink, the bubbles stinging her tongue. Then she waited for what was about to come. Her future could be resting on Lyle’s next words, and she had no clue what she would say, or do, when the truth was revealed.
‘Now, there are only so many times you can meet someone and know that you have something special. I had thought so with Cora’s mum, but… well… we’ll leave that there.’ He smiled awkwardly. ‘So, this is all a little fast, I’m aware, but I have some important news and a question to accompany it…’
The girls shared a wide-eyed glance and gripped each other’s hands.
Caitlin felt her throat tighten and her eyes began to tingle. She’d have to say no. Watching Lyle standing there, her own truth dawned on her. She didn’t love him. In fact, she didn’t feel remotely close to loving him. She liked him a lot, she was definitely physically attracted to him, and could possibly love him at some point, but that point was so far off in the distant future, she couldn’t even visualise it. And here she was, in front of their two girls, on his daughter’s birthday no less, knowing full well that she was potentially about to break all of their hearts. Her stomach churned and she was riffling through her mind for the right words to stop him from saying anything further, but the words wouldn’t come. She couldn’t speak.
‘So…’ Lyle continued, ‘as you know, I had a meeting with my boss who came over from Canada, and then several phone calls… and well, the upshot is… he wants me to relocate over there to take over as financial controller for the Canadian branch.’ His words came out in an overexuberant rush, and his eyes were bright and filled with excitement. ‘And… I want you to come with me.’
Caitlin scrunched her brow. ‘I’m sorry, what?’
Still beaming, he said, ‘I want you and Grace to come and live in Canada with me and Cora, as a family.’ He held up a defensive hand. ‘Now, before you say anything, I know it’s ridiculously fast, and I know there’s a whole lot to think about, but please say you will think about it.’ The hope in his eyes made her heart ache.
Cora squealed. ‘We’re going to live in Canada!’ And she hugged Grace, who sat statue still, watching everything unfolding with wide, terror-filled eyes, and a pale face. ‘Grace! It will be amazing! We’ll be sisters but in Canada! This is the best birthday ever! It’s amazing! Don’t you think it’s amazing?’
Caitlin realised she hadn’t replied, and she opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water. ‘I… erm… wow… you’re right, that’s such a lot to think about…’
16
Lyle sat beside Caitlin and took her hand in his. ‘Like I said, I know it’s fast. But I want to start the next chapter of my life with you and the girls. It all just feels right. Don’t you agree? I… I love you, Caitlin, I’m already in love with you, and I’m pretty sure you feel the same. We don’t have to get married right away, of course, but let’s do this. Let’s live dangerously and go on this massive adventure together. What do you say?’
Love? How could he talk so confidently about love? He hardly knew her, and she hardly knew him, yet here he was talking about starting a new life on the other side of the Atlantic. There was the bakery, Cleo, her friends, Grace’s education…
She glanced over at Grace whose eyes were now filled with tears, her chin was trembling, too, and Caitlin could tell they weren’t happy tears. ‘I… I think perhaps Grace and I need to talk. This is huge, Lyle. I can’t just make a decision like this at the drop of a hat. Please understand?’
Disappointment filled his eyes and Cora fell silent; her excitement suddenly quashed too.
Lyle nodded. ‘I see.’ He rubbed at his forehead and closed his eyes. ‘Girls, why don’t you go and get some ice cream to go with the birthday cake and take it out into the garden.’
Silently, the girls did as requested, but as they left the room, Grace paused and pleaded at her mother with her gaze, an unspoken but clear plea that made Caitlin’s eyes well with tears. This was not something her daughter wanted. Certainly not the relocating part, that much was evident. Grace had always loved Glentorrin. Skye was her home and it had been all she had known since she was born. Leaving wasn’t something either of them had ever anticipated.
Lyle huffed. ‘Well, that was subtle,’ he said, his face a blank mask.
Caitlin gave an incredulous laugh as anger began to bubble in the pit of her stomach. How selfish could one person be? ‘You can’t be surprised. I mean… it might have been better if you’d talked to me about this when we were alone, and then we could have discussed things rationally. Making such a huge announcement on Cora’s birthday seems incredibly unfair. This day should be about her.’ She sighed deeply.
He fiddled with his napkin. ‘It is about her. And all of us. I wanted it to be extra-special and I knew she’d be happy. Shame I can’t say the same about you.’
Caitlin fell silent for a moment, trying to figure out what to say to lighten the mood, but no appropriate words would come. ‘Is your mind completely made up about leaving Skye? Or is this something you’re in the process of considering?’
‘I’ve already accepted,’ Lyle replied in a monotone voice. ‘We – Cora and I that is – move in a month.’ He lifted his gaze and gripped her hand again. ‘You could follow on at a later date, say the month after? That gives you a little more time to sort things out, put the bakery on the market and—’
That thought horrified her. ‘Lyle, I… I don’t want to sell my bakery. I’ve built that business up from virtually nothing.’
He waved a dismissive hand. ‘Well, rent it out long term and then, when you’ve changed your mind, sell it at that point.’ He shrugged as if it was the most obvious and simple decision. ‘I want this for us, so much, Caitlin. I want you.’
‘But Lyle, we haven’t even…’ She checked to make sure the girls were out of earshot. ‘We haven’t even slept together, and you’re talking about us relocating to a whole other continent and living as a family? There are steps a relationship usually goes through, but I think we’ve skipped a few, don’t you? You must see how crazy that is, surely?’
‘The sleeping together part is easily remedied.’ He gave a sort of lascivious grin, but when she didn’t agree, he pulled his lips between his teeth and fell silent for a few moments. ‘I’m never impulsive, Caity. I’ve spent my life doing whatever Fenella wanted. Taking no risks. Living a staid life. Eating what she wanted, living where she wanted. But this time, I want to be daring. I want excitement and I have that with you. You and I feel right together. You know we do. The girls are already like sisters, it would be such an easy transition.’
She scoffed. ‘For whom? Certainly not for me. And not for Grace. Skye is all she has ever known. Her life is here.’
He huffed. ‘Yeah, well maybe it’s time to broaden her horizons. You can’t keep her a prisoner on this island for her whole life, you know.’
‘How dare you? I don’t treat my daughter like a prisoner.’ The anger that had begun to bubble now rose to a simmer. Her heart continued to hammer at her ribcage and her stomach roiled. How was this all happening?
Lyle sighed and stood to pace the room. ‘That’s not what I meant, and you know it. I just… I want this for all of us.’ His gaze was pleading once again. ‘I want us to be a family. We’re pretty much one already. It’s just a matter of relocating us.’
‘Lyle, we’ve been dating for a matter of weeks. I can’t move thousands of miles away and take Grace out of school on a whim. And there’s Cleo to think of, too, I’d need to look into all of that.’ In truth, however, she knew there would be no looking into anything. The fact remained that she didn’t want to go and neither did Grace.
Lyle gave an evidently exasperated sigh. ‘Cleo is a dog, for goodness’ sake. We can get a new one over in Canada.’
Caitlin gasped, once again aghast at his attitude and his intimation that Cleo wasn’t an important member of their family. ‘I don’t want another dog. We have Cleo and she’s an integral part of our family, mine and Grace’s. And what if we go through all of this and things don’t work out? What then?’
Lyle stopped pacing and glared at her. ‘Oh, it’s great to see you thinking so positively about our future.’
Caitlin stood, too, knowing full well her face was no doubt beetroot-red. ‘Lyle we may not even have a future. It’s too early to tell. I can’t rush into decisions this big so soon. I’m really sorry.’
Lyle clenched his jaw. ‘I’m offering you a new beginning, Caitlin. A wonderful new life in a new country with new experiences.’
New, new, new. What’s wrong with old? thought Caitlin. ‘But that’s just it, Lyle, I don’t want a new beginning. Not such a drastic one, and not like this. And I don’t want a new life either. I happen to like the one I have very much. I don’t need to go on an adventure and move to Canada. I love Skye, I love Glentorrin. And what’s more, I love Grace. I’m sorry, but she comes first, and I could see it in her eyes that she doesn’t want to move to Canada. This just isn’t right for us, I’m sorry.’
He rubbed his hands over his face. ‘How can you say that? How do you know it’s not right? You saw Cora’s reaction, she’s over the moon.’ He pointed in the direction the girls had gone.
‘For now, she is. But what about when she realises that she’ll be thousands of miles away from her mum?’
‘She’ll get over it. And Fen can come and visit if she wants to. I’ve no problem with that.’ He shrugged.
Caitlin couldn’t believe how matter-of-fact he was being. ‘Has Fenella even agreed to this?’
He folded his arms defensively across his chest. ‘Actually, yes. She’s all for it. I wouldn’t be doing it otherwise, would I?’
Caitlin couldn’t conceive of a mother agreeing for her child to be taken partway across the world and being – all for it. It just seemed wrong. It was wrong! ‘Oh… well it’s something I personally couldn’t do. And I’m not prepared to take Grace away from everything she knows. Again, Lyle, I’m sorry, truly I am.’
He clenched his jaw and rubbed at his brow. ‘Is this about Archie?’
She sighed and peered up at the ceiling. ‘Oh, for goodness’ sake. We’re onto this now, are we?’
‘Well, can you blame me? He’s every-bloody-where we go. He clearly fancies you. He’s obviously waiting around for you and me to not work out so he can swoop in.’
‘Lyle, get your head out of the clouds! This is about me and my daughter, and only me and my daughter.’
‘And your stupid dog,’ he mumbled.
‘And yes, our dog! And she’s not stupid!’
In apparent exasperation, Lyle lifted his arms and let them flop to his sides. ‘Okay, sorry for mentioning Archie. But you’re going to let a thirteen-year-old girl and a bloody dog make decisions about the rest of your life, are you?’
It shocked her that he was so easily dismissing Grace in all of this. ‘I have to consider Grace’s feelings, of course, I do. She is my number one priority, and she always will be.’
As if a veil had dropped, his eyes filled with a bitterness she had never encountered before. ‘That’s it, is it? As soon as a man gets serious about you, you run away. Couldn’t have a man in your life thirteen years ago, and can’t do it now, either. You’re just too scared to let someone else into your little party of two.’ His tone was mocking. ‘Using your child as an excuse is pretty pathetic. You’re just being a coward.’
Her nostrils flared and the simmer of anger became a boil. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. Have you heard yourself and how childish you’re being?’
He pointed to his chest. ‘I’m being childish, am I? Yet here you are playing it safe because your daughter doesn’t like the idea of a few changes.’ His use of a namby-pamby voice angered Caitlin to the point where, if she’d been a violent woman, she would’ve slapped his face.
She inhaled and exhaled roughly, infuriated, her stomach knotting with a tumult of emotions, none of them positive. ‘A few changes? You’re calling moving thousands of miles away from home a few changes?’ She gave a humourless laugh. ‘I’m sorry, but you’re being completely delusional.’
