She licked her lips. “Did I know this Greg? Was he a friend?”
I frowned, not expecting the question. “He was my club rugby coach, remember? Greg Prior. You got on well with him. He coached me right through juniors till the end of high school.”
Chloe’s gaze flicked on and off my face, her brow creased in concentration. “Oh... right.” But the look of confusion persisted. “I had no idea you’d left home. Travis never said, and he was still sending me photos of you. I thought— Well, I guess it doesn’t matter what I thought. But if I’d known you were staying with—” She hesitated. “—Greg? That’s what you said, right?”
I nodded, mystified as to why she didn’t remember him.
“If I’d known you were with Greg—” She closed her eyes for a long moment. “—maybe I could’ve tried contacting you through him. That’s probably why Travis never said anything. I’m surprised he let you go without a fight.”
I shrugged. “He came by Greg’s house a few times, ranting about me being there, but his drinking was really bad by that stage, and Greg’s no pushover. I doubt Dad even missed me, other than not having anyone to fetch him a beer or cook dinner. I knew there was no way I could ever come out at home, and since I had a boyfriend by then, I decided, fuck it, and left. After I came out, Dad pretty much left me alone. I figured Dad didn’t want anything to do with a gay son.”
My mother’s eyes widened, as did her smile. “Good for you. I—” She stopped mid-sentence when her phone rang. The name on the screen made her jaw tighten but she answered, nonetheless. The caller began talking before Chloe even had a chance to say hello. She listened with a put-upon expression, hergaze darting to me before she said, sounding cross, “Of course, I’m here. Where else would I be?”
My gaze shot to Mads. Whoever was on the other end, they were male and... insistent.
“It’s not a good time,” Chloe tried. “I have... plans. I’m—” She was interrupted again by the caller who went on for some time in a tone that sounded increasingly demanding. Eventually Chloe sighed and backed down. “Fine. Since I don’t seem to have a choice, I’ll see you soon.” She ended the call but continued to clutch the phone in a white-knuckled grip, clearly upset.
I leaned forward in my seat. “Is everything okay?”
“Fine.” She deposited the phone on the coffee table and drew a deep breath. “The bathroom extractor fan broke last week and my—” She hesitated, sending me an almost apologetic look. “—I suppose you’d call him my stepson, although Brendon and I were never married. Today is apparently the only day he can take a look at it. He’ll be here soon. I hate to do this to you, I really do, but maybe you could come back tomorrow? There’s so much more I want to talk about, and you must have more questions, I’m sure.”
I blinked, words failing me. Forty-seven years we’d both waited for this moment, and I was being bumped so her stepson could fix her extractor fan? Was she for real?
Not knowing quite how to respond, I opted for, “You have a stepson? And who is Brendon... again?”
She shot me a look. “I didn’t lie when I told you I didn’t run off with another family.”
I raised my hands. “I never said that. I’m just asking the question.”
She scowled. “Maybe not. But you’ve gone all prickly and sanctimonious.”
I almost laughed, mostly because she was right and because Mads had accused me of the same thing in the past.
Mads interjected. “I can see where you get your bluntness.” He shot me a wink to doubtless try and defuse the situation.
“Shut up,” I grumbled.
Chloe looked between us and smiled. “You make a good couple.”
I ignored her. “Brendon and your... stepson?” I almost couldn’t say the word.
Chloe eyed me warily. “Fine. Long story short because we don’t have much time. When I left the house that night, I spent a few days in a refuge, then headed to Kaikoura, for no other reason than I’d been there once and liked the town. I was a mess. But I guess you’d know all about that.”
I said nothing and Mads’ thigh pressed hot as Hades against mine.
Chloe sighed. “When your father found me so quickly in Kaikoura, I moved like I told you. First Nelson, and then Blenheim. After that, I figured I may as well stay put. I got a job in the vineyards and retrained as a teacher’s aide. Around the time your father died, I met Brendon Pattinson. He was an electrician with his own business.” Chloe’s cheeks pinked and her gaze slid to her lap. “Brendon’s wife died of a brain aneurysm a few years before we met, and they had a married son, Austin. Brendon and I got on like a house on fire and I moved in with him six months later. We stayed together until he died eighteen months ago.”
I blinked. “Did you . . . love him?”
She smiled, the unmistakeable spark of joy dancing in her eyes. “Yes.” She breathed the word with so much pleasure it made my heart squeeze. “Yes, I did. Very much. And he loved me too.”
And, oh God. Somewhere inside me a wall buckled and crumbled. I felt like I could breathe for the first time since we’d arrived, and I was smiling before I could stop myself. “I’m glad.”And I meant it. Unequivocally and absolutely. “You deserved to have that. We both did.”
Her expression softened. “We did, didn’t we? Go us.”
Yeah. Go us.“How old is Austin now?”
Chloe’s happy expression softened into that odd blankness I’d seen earlier. “He’s... ah... now, let me think.” She hesitated, frowning. “He’s forty-eight, I’m pretty sure. He teaches music at Holy Cross Secondary School. Austin and his first wife divorced not long after I met Brendon. He doesn’t see much of his two kids. His ex moved to be closer to her parents in Napier, and Austin didn’t fight it. I’m not sure he really enjoyed fatherhood, if I’m honest. Anyway, he has a new partner now. Belinda. She’s a nurse.” Another tiny smile. “A nice woman. Works part-time in the ER at the local hospital.” She brushed a cake crumb off her trousers and settled her joined hands back in her lap.
