‘Welcome to Kinshore.’ Sean caught her staring blankly into the darkness beyond the driveway lights. ‘It’ll seem better in the morning.’
‘Thank you. I’m sure it’s stunning.’
As he fetched their luggage from the boot of the car, Cherry stared at the solid, traditional Scottish home. For a second, she imagined standing at the window upstairs, a little baby on her hip as she gazed across the sands to beautiful lands.
‘It is. Listen, Cherry, it’s late, and we can talk after we’ve both had some sleep, but would you let me do one thing here, please?’ Sean unlocked the house door, placed the luggage inside, then came back down the steps towards her.
‘Um…sure.’ Briefly, she wondered if he was about to seize an entirely inopportune moment to kiss her. But before she had time to think further, Sean was sweeping her into his arms, striding up the steps two at a time and carrying her over the threshold into his home.
‘Whatever happens’ – he lowered her to the floorboards – ‘even if it’s old-fashioned, I need to do the right thing by you.’
Cherry’s heart nearly exploded, and she almost asked him to lift her up again and carry her straight to the bedroom. Despite all her personal misgivings, she had never felt as safe as she did in Sean’s arms. This man would care for her. Couldn’t she relent and let him? Have those barrel-making biceps at her disposal forever, ready to wrap around her whenever she needed them, like he’d vowed to do.For better or for worse.
How long would that last before the cracks appeared? She couldn’t destroy him, see him fall apart like Dale. Better to be alone than responsible for that. But she had let him do the traditional thing, because – if there was a sliver of a chance for them – she, too, wanted the old-fashioned memory of her husband carrying her into his home.
Their home.
Her husband who, despite the miles they had travelled over the past twenty-four hours, didn’t seem remotely tired or fazed by the journey or the distance she had created between them. He appeared as bright and energetic as the evening she’d met him.
‘So this is it.’ Sean switched on a lamp, illuminating the inside of the house. They were standing on the edge of a huge open-plan space with a modern cream and wood shaker-style kitchen to the right, a generous dining area with patio doors to the back of the kitchen. To the left was aspacious lounge with a huge pillowy couch you could curl up on, losing yourself staring out the huge windows to the sea. The whole place smelled of deep oak and salt air. It was homely and beachy at the same time.
‘This is stunning, Sean. It’s huge, but so cosy and cool.’
‘Cheers. It was a wreck, but I’ve tried my best to shape it up. Still needs some TLC – more paintings, rugs and stuff. And the garden is a state, but we’re getting there.’
‘You did all the refurb yourself?’
‘Aye. I like a challenge.’
‘I love it so much.’ Cherry moved around the room, gravitating to some photos on the mantelpiece. She picked up a framed photograph of what must be the whole Butler family, tapping with her fingernail at an older man in the middle, who a bore a strong resemblance to Sean and whom she recognised from some of the photos he’d shown her in New York. ‘This is your dad, right?’
‘Aye, that’s him.’ She saw Sean’s eyes brighten before darkening, as if remembering his dad was no longer around. ‘That was taken at one of the birthday parties my mum held for him every September. Won’t be one of those this year.’
Cherry scanned the photo and found Sean. The resemblance to his dad was even clearer when side by side. Same strong build, same heartbreaker smile, same warmth that radiated through a camera lens.
‘You all seem so happy, healthy and well-rounded.’The perfect family.
‘Aye.’ Sean’s breath was a little laboured, like he was pondering his next words. ‘My family’s not exactly how it looks from the outside, though, Cher. My dad didn’t marry my mum and seven healthy kids miraculously appeared. They went through the wringer on the way. As you know, Mum married his brother first and hadthree kids with him.’
‘Yes. Cal, Jamie and Niall.’ Cherry tapped at the faces of the three men she’d met at the wedding. ‘Yes?’
Sean moved a little closer. ‘Aye. Mum left Uncle Archie after all his shite, got together with Dad and they had me.’
‘And then they adopted triplets,’ Cherry continued from the memory of all Sean had told her. ‘Nate, Cara and Eilidh?’
‘Aye, so, we’re a mishmash. A blended family, I believe they call it. My idea of family might not be as black and white as you think.’ He barely blinked as he let her take this in. A sign he was deadly serious.
Cherry nodded. She knew what he was telling her. Things didn’t have to be cookie-cutter shaped. But she wanted that for him. He deserved straightforward.
Sean took the frame from her. ‘My dad had seven kids, six of whom weren’t his biological kids, but he loved us all with equal ferocity. I might look most like him, but his influence will stay in all of us forever…’ His voice cracked a little, and he scrubbed his jaw before putting the photo back on the mantelpiece, half grunting something indecipherable.
‘You okay?’ Instinctively, Cherry moved to him. ‘It’s still super new, Seany. You don’t have to always be Captain Coping, you know.’
A lopsided expression appeared on his face as he plunged his hands into his pockets and appeared awkward for the first time since she’d met him.
‘I love the way you call me Seany, like you’ve known me forever. As soon as we met, it was like we’d known each other all our lives.’
What else could she say to this? That was her experience, too. She simply smiled and tried to stem her tears.
