Chapter 8
When Heather turned off the main road onto the long drive that led to Homestead House, Marshall looked surprised. “Where are the gates?”
“You mean that ugly stone gate that used to be here?” Heather asked, surprised by the question.
“Yeah, that one.” Marshall said, laughing, the gate had been horrible, but had stood at the end of the drive for his entire life.
“Seth tore it down a few summers ago.” Heather said, then asked, “How long has it been since you’ve been home?”
“I haven’t been back since Seth and Lauren got married.” Marshall said, shrugging his shoulders.
“They got married two years ago. You haven’t been home since then?” Heather was shocked, she’d known that things between Seth and his brothers weren’t great, but had no idea they were that bad.
Marshall looked out the window thinking about the word home, “I don’t really think of this as home, I never did. I spent most of my childhood away from here. My visits to Montgomery mansion were few and far between, and none of dad’s wives wanted a little kid hanging around. I didn’t even have my own room.”
Heather didn’t know what to say at first, she may not have grown up with the wealth that Marshall had, but she had the love of her family. “I’m sorry Marshall, that sounds very lonely. I can’t imagine growing up like that, my family drives me crazy but I know that they love me.”
“Well, I survived.” Marshall said, waving his hand, the conversation was getting way too personal.
Heather let it go, clearly Marshall had said all he wanted to on the subject. When they reached the spot on the road where it dipped down to the shore and Homestead House came into view, Marshall sucked in a deep breath. The entire property could be seen from that height and what he saw looked nothing like what he remembered. It seemed impossible that it could have changed that much in only two years.
“It looks so different, almost like a little village.” He finally said, as they passed new housing that had been built to accommodate the people who worked for Montgomery Renewable and Reclamation.
“It more or less is. We’re basically self-sufficient out here — it’s important to Seth. We raise or catch most of our food, all our power is from the solar panels you’ll see everywhere, and there’s even a school.” Heather said proudly, she’d been a part of building what he was seeing and was very proud of what they’d accomplished.
“But who are all these people? Where do they work?” Marshall asked, wondering how Seth had gotten so many people to move out to the middle of nowhere.
“They work here, or at least they’re based here. There are biologists, ecologists, forestry experts and all the people who support them. Then there are all the people who work on the renewable energy project. Not everyone lives here, some only spend the summer, but as you can imagine there was a need for housing and Seth decided that it made sense to make this home base.” Heather said, pulling the SUV up in front of the main house. “I think you’re going to find that the house has changed a lot too.”
Marshall was speechless as he helped Chloe out of the car, several people greeted them as they walked up to the house, including his brother and his wife, who stepped out of the front door just as they started up the steps. It was impossible not to see how happy his brother was, how good the last few years had been to him and Marshall was a little bit jealous.
“It took you two long enough.” Seth said, then pulled Marshall into a big hug, shocking him speechless. “Is this my niece? Hi, Chloe. I’m your uncle Seth.”
Chloe was hiding behind Marshall, but when Seth knelt down to her level, she peeked out. “Hi.”
“Are you ready to go on a big adventure? We’re going to have so much fun together. This is your aunt Laruen and she has a special room all ready for you.” Seth said, pointing to Laruen.
“I heard that you like pink.” Laruen said, holding out her hand.
Chloe looked up at Marshall and then over at Heather who nodded her head. “I love pink. Can I see the room please?”
“You bet.” Laruen said, holding out her hand. “Marshall, we have a room ready for you as well. Seth couldn’t remember which room was yours when you were kids so we picked one in the family wing. If you don’t like it let me know and we’ll make what ever changes you want.”
Marshall was touched by her offer, “Thank you, honestly I don’t remember which room was mine either.”
“Well come in and see the house, it’s probably nothing like you remember it.” Lauren said, then turned when Tyler came barreling around the side of the house and threw his arms around Heathers legs.
“Mom, you’re home.” He said, jumping up and down once he’d released her.
Heather laughed and said, “We just got here.”
“We saw you from the barn and Ms. Jenkins said I could run over and see you. There’s a mare getting ready to foal and she said we could watch if we got our parents permission, but you weren’t here so Seth said I could. Can I still watch?”
“That’s exciting, of course you can watch.” Heather said, ruffling his hair.
“Will you come too?” Tyler couldn’t stand still, he was so excited.
“Let me get unpacked and I’ll be there.” Heather said, giving Tyler a push back toward the barn.
“Okay.” He yelled over his shoulder, then took off at a run for the barn.
Marshall could only stare at Tyler, shocked to find that Heather not only had a child but had one so old. When she turned back to him, the smile still plastered on her face, he asked, “Is he yours?”
“Yes, that’s Tyler, he’s eight.” Heather said, not sure what to make of the look on Marshall’s face.
“But… You can’t be… You didn’t tell me…” Marshall trailed off, not sure if he should be mad that she hadn’t told him about her son.
“You never asked.” Heather said, narrowing her eyes at him, “Is it a problem?”
Marshall hesitated, he wasn’t sure what to think about Heather having a child that old. He’d just assumed that she was single and unattached, she seemed much too young to have a child that was eight. But the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea, and it explained why she was so good with Chloe.
“Well, no. I guess I’m just surprised, that’s all.” Marshall said.
Heather opened her mouth to reply, but a woman who was crossing the front yard called her name. She turned from Marshall to greet the woman. “Hello Ms. Jenkins. I hear that we’re about to have a new foal.”
“It’s probably going to be hours yet, maybe not until later tonight.” Ms. Jenkins said, “The kids all want to watch but I’m afraid it might be the middle of the night when it happens.”
“Oh, they’re going to be so disappointed.” Heather said, then she and the teacher walked away preventing Marshall from hearing any more of their conversation.
Lauren and Seth watched Marshall watching Heather and exchanged a look, something was going on between them but neither was sure what. “How about I show you and Chloe to your rooms. I can’t wait to show you what I’ve done with yours, Marshall.”
Marshall let them pull him into the house, but before he stepped through the door, he looked over his shoulder at Heather one last time. She’d surprised him once again, and he wasn’t sure he liked it at all. He liked his women to be predictable, to fit into neat little roles but every time he turned around Heather did something that surprised him. It threw him off guard, but it was also exciting to never know what she might do next, it also made him want to get to know her better, to hear her story and see if it compared with his at all.
When he turned back and stepped into the house, thoughts of Heather fled his mind. His childhood home looked nothing like he remembered, gone was the harsh modern furniture, the walls had been stripped back to their original logs, and everywhere he looked there was comfortable furniture. The one thing that hadn’t changed was the view out of the wall to wall windows that faced the sea and he couldn’t help heading straight for them.
Chloe who had been silent since they’d gotten out of the car, reached out and took his hand as they stood there together. “Daddy, I want to go to the beach.” She said, tugging on his hand.
Marshall loved the beach, it was the only thing he’d looked forward to when he came home, and he now realized that at least that hadn’t changed. “Maybe tomorrow sweetheart.” He said to her, then turned to Seth. “It’s changed so much, but I’m happy to see that the beach is still the same.”
“I remember how much you loved the beach.” Seth said coming up behind him and putting his arm over his shoulders, surprising Marshall with not only the memory but the physical contact.
“Your room has a wonderful view of the shore.” Laruen said, “Are you ready to see it?”
Simone picked up her phone and looked at the screen again. She was becoming worried as Marshall hadn’t called or sent her a text message in days. When Marshall had called to say that he had to go home for a few weeks, she’d tried to be supportive at first thinking that he’d invite her to go along, but the invitation had never come. He’d explained that his brother wanted to discuss the purchase of the theatre with him and a cold wave of dread had washed over her. If Seth Montgomery got involved it might not be so easy to pull this off. Especially if she wasn’t around when he was talking to Marshall.
Several times she’d considered just getting in the car and driving to Homestead House, but managed to stop herself. Showing up there unannounced wouldn’t gain her anything, might even send up a red flag, so she’d squashed the urge and stayed put. But her frustration was growing by the hour, making her snap at Marco, who had moved into her hotel room since Marshall was out of town and wouldn’t know. It had been the only thing keeping her sane, but now he was just another annoyance she had to deal with.
After all the work they’d put into this scam it looked like it was in danger of falling apart. Their story would hold together unless someone did a lot of research into the old theatre and owner, but she hadn’t been worried when it was only Marshall they were dealing with, sure that he wouldn’t go to all that effort as long as they had the paperwork and the play to wave under his nose. But just this afternoon, she’d done some research on Seth Montgomery and found that he was more of a worry that she’d at first thought. Marco had blown her concern off, “I don’t know what you’re worried about. Do you really think that anyone in that family is going to be alarmed by the money we’re asking for? They have billions of dollars, a million is just a drop in the bucket.”
“Then why is Marshall there and not here?” Simone asked, sarcasm dripping from her words.
“Marshall explained that, his brother wants him to go on that stupid trip and won’t approve the theatre purchase unless he does. It’s a pretty simple case of blackmail if you ask me.” Marco said, taking a beer out of the mini-bar and cracking it open. “Just relax, think of these two weeks as a vacation.”
She wished she could be as confident as Marco, that was part of his charm, no matter what terrible thing was happening he always kept a positive outlook. Setting her phone down, she vowed to stop worrying. “Let’s go do something fun.” She said, going to the closet and picking out an outfit for the day.
“In this town, good luck. I have a better idea.” Marco said, coming up behind her and putting his arms around her middle, then sliding his hands up to her breasts.
Heather took a deep breath of the salty air and sighed happily. “It’s funny I’ve only lived here for two years but I can’t imagine living anywhere else.” She said, her eyes following Tyler who was busy searching the beach for life, Chloe trailing behind him.
“The beach was the one thing I loved about coming here. I spent hours out here, looking for shells, dreaming of being on the stage, and avoiding my father.” Marshall said, bending to pick up a shell.
“You’ve had the same dream for a long time, that’s pretty amazing.” Heather said, feeling sad for the boy Marshall used to be.
“I think acting helped me avoid how lonely my life was. It gave me a chance to be someone else for a little while, to forget that my family wasn’t interested in me.” Marshall said, surprised that he was telling Heather so much about himself, but very aware that it felt good to talk about it with someone.
Heather’s heart went out to the lonely little boy that Marshall must have been, but knew that dwelling in the past would only hold him back so she offered some unasked-for advice. “I’ve known Seth for over two years and watched him change from an unsocial recluse into a man who cares very much for those around him. I think if you give him a chance you’ll see that all he wants is to connect with you.”
They’d come to a big log that had been brought in with the tide and Marshall sank down on it, looking like the lonely little boy he’d once been. “I just don’t know what to think. All my life it’s been me and me alone who worried about my happiness, now my brother has suddenly decided to worry about me, it feels like too little too late.” He said, a touch of anger in his voice.
“Marshall, you have every right to be angry, but that anger isn’t going to get you anywhere. Maybe it’s time to let it go and move on, take what’s being offered and enjoy it. Wouldn’t you like to have a relationship with your brother?” Heather knew all too well that sometimes the only thing you could do to save yourself was to forgive those that had hurt you.
Marshall wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but he was saved from answering when the kids came running up, each with a dripping wad of kelp in their hands. “Daddy, daddy look what we found.” Chloe shouted as she ran across the rocky beach.
Just as she got to Marshall, she tripped and both she and the kelp landed in Marshall’s lap. He jumped to his feet, knocking Chloe on her butt and the kelp landed on top of her making her scream. When he picked her up, she had kelp hanging off her shoulders and down her back, Heather was trying her best not to laugh, but Marshall couldn’t hold back when he saw his daughter.
Chloe was on the verge of tears but when she saw her father’s face, the emotion quickly changed to one of confusion. “I love your new hairdo.” Marshall said, then started laughing.
Heather and Tyler burst into laughter as well and for long minutes that was the only sound on the beach. When they’d all calmed down, Chloe said, “I’m sorry daddy. Tyler showed me these little snails that live on the kelp and I wanted to show you.”
“It’s okay sweetheart.” He said, setting her on her feet. “Let’s look at them now. Then I think you and I better go home and take a shower unless you like smelling like a fish.”
Chloe looked down at the dress she was wearing and the tears began to form in her eyes again. “I ruined my dress. Mommy is going to be mad.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll buy you a new one and maybe we better think about getting you some different clothes to wear while we’re here.” Marshall said, shooting Heather a questioning glance.
“I think that’s an excellent idea. You can go into town tomorrow and do some shopping.”
Chloe cheered right up, “Oh good, I like shopping.”
It was almost midnight and Heather felt strange knocking on Marshall’s door, she’d been thinking about him since the four of them had split up to go to their rooms for the night. The images that had been fliting through her mind were definitely not clean, nor were they productive since they were completely one sided. If she’d known when she agreed to do this favor for Seth that she’d become so emotionally involved with both Chloe and Marshall she might have refused. Her life was fine just the way it was, she and Tyler had found a home they loved and a life that was fulfilling. If she occasionally got lonely, it was a price she was willing to pay.
But Marshall had turned all that upside down and he didn’t even know it. Her attraction to him had only grown after their talk on the beach earlier that night, an attraction that was bordering on obsession since she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him since then. If it had only been a physical attraction, she could have dealt with that, but it was more than that, underneath Marshall’s shallow exterior there was a kind and caring man just waiting to emerge. It was that man that she couldn’t stop thinking about.
Taking a deep breath, she knocked softly on the door, part of her hoped he was so sound asleep he wouldn’t hear her, but another part hoped that he’d open the door. It was only a few second before he opened the door, his hair was ruffled as if he’d been running his finger through it and all he was wearing was a pair of pajama pants. A bolt of desire shot through her at the sight of his naked chest, and it was all she could do not to step up to him and run her hands over the bulging muscles.
Realizing that she was staring, she blushed and managed to say. “I just heard that the mare the kids have been watching is just about to foal. If you and Chloe want to come, Tyler and I are heading down there as soon as we get dressed.” Then she turned and fled back to her room, her face on fire.
When she walked in the door, Tyler was just pulling on his coat, he took one look at her face and asked, “Mommy what’s wrong?”
“Nothing sweetheart.” She said, trying to shake off the desire she was feeling. “Are you ready?”