‘It must’ve been hard for you when none of us did.’
He didn’t want to lie. Now seemed a good time for honesty. ‘I resented all of you for a long time.’
‘And now?’
If it had only been Nina to leave he might’ve found it even more difficult to think about it logically, but over theyears, especially watching Adrian’s life evolve as he became this different person to the brother he knew, he’d managed to see that they had all coped in whatever way they could. It hadn’t been easy to think of it in those terms; it had taken a bit of coaxing from his parents to understand everyone else’s points of view, a bit of accepting he might need to think more deeply about the very people who’d left him to it. Eventually he’d come to realise that his way of coping had been to stay, whereas theirs hadn’t been, and thinking that way kept him relatively sane.
‘Now I’m not interested in going backwards and making demands.’ Not with Maeve anyway. ‘I’m not going to give you a hard time, don’t worry.’ When she looked relieved, rather than question her and her motives he offered up more details about his own life, his brother’s. ‘Adrian wanted the business once upon a time.’ He shrugged as though he couldn’t do much about it. She’d always been easy to talk to and it was one of the things he’d missed when the group of friends fragmented. Maeve might not have been a close friend prior to that night but talking to someone else who had been on the boat was always going to mean more than talking to someone who hadn’t witnessed the same tragedy.
She set down her mug, the tea all gone. ‘It’s sad he no longer wants it. I know you’re both close. Everyone in the bay kind of assumed you’d both be running it together for the rest of your days.’
He smiled. ‘Me too. But it was always something there for us in the future. You know what it’s like when you’re young, you’re having fun, you’re not making solid plans. It’s as though we all took tomorrow for granted, then with one night, one terrible night, we all got to seewhat a privilege growing up actually is.’ They shared the understanding that Rhianne hadn’t got the promise of tomorrow, her life was over before she got to do much at all.
‘After the accident I was numb,’ Leo confided. ‘I didn’t know what to do, but staying in the bay was easier than going. And then my parents were heading into retirement and it was time to take the reins. And so I did it solo.’
She fiddled with the handle of her mug. ‘You must be glad Adrian is back in the bay though.’
‘Yeah. The family is pretty happy.’
‘But …’
Leo met her gaze. ‘He’s here, that’s the main thing for now, but he’s not back to his old self. I’m not sure he ever will be.’
She cleared her throat. ‘When I was in Canada my mum heard that he was in a really bad way after what happened.’
Word had travelled across the miles. ‘He was a mess, I can’t deny it. Don’t tell him that if you see him – even though he knows it, he won’t like gossip.’
‘I get it.’
‘He took a long while to get his head straight, a really long while, and as I said, he’s not totally back to the Adrian I remember, it’s as though he’s being cautious even after all this time.’
She contemplated what he’d told her. ‘I suppose the only advice that feels right is to not give up on him.’
His words to Steve echoed in his ears, the way he’d thanked the man for not giving up on his brother. ‘I won’t.’ He relaxed some more. ‘Coming here was a massive step, so it tells me he’s going to be right in the end.’
‘It sounds like it,’ she smiled back at him.
‘I’m hoping he’ll come into the boathouse business eventually.’
‘Isn’t he a teacher these days?’
With a grin he said, ‘Yeah, and I think he’s probably good at it. But I never thought he’d take an inside job when he could be out there.’ He tilted his head towards the window that had an idyllic sea view no matter the season. ‘I worry about him all alone in his flat, not venturing out much.’
‘Alone?’ She seemed confused. ‘I heard he got married.’
‘He did. Divorced now though.’
She pulled a face. ‘I’m sorry to hear that.’
‘Don’t be, it wasn’t the best match with his wife.’ Adrian and Rhianne had never been a good match either. Rhianne was a bit of a wild card and she’d even given Leo a few clear signs she was interested in much more than friendship with him despite her involvement with his brother. She might have meant it as harmless flirting, but Leo hadn’t been comfortable with it at all and it wasn’t exactly the makings of a relationship when one of you was attempting to play around with someone else in your group of friends, never mind their brother, no matter whether it was only ever meant to be a bit of fun.
Talk turned to Maeve’s parents, his mum and dad, extended family and then Stepping Stone Bay and Salthaven and what had changed, as well as what had stayed the same, as though frozen in time. ‘This place for one,’ said Maeve looking around them both. ‘It’s had a bit of a facelift but it’s as sturdy as the pier. I hear the town still gathers to watch the fireworks on bonfire night every year.’
‘That they do,’ Leo smiled. ‘I usually make it down here, but the boathouse is a pretty good vantage pointto watch too and I can also see the big bonfire up in the fields beyond the bay.’
They moved on to talking about the boathouse, the shop part of the business and the tuition he offered.
‘You must think I’m helicopter parenting with Jonah,’ she said, a bit embarrassed.
