‘It’s also proof that there’s usually a way to make things up to someone, if you’re truly sorry and you want a second chance. The important thing is to make the most of that second chance in every possible way.’ He held her gaze and she was sure that everyone around the table must be able to hear her heart beating. She’dwanted a second chance more than anything, and she seemed to have been given it. Asking for more than that would have been incredibly greedy, but she did want more. She wanted something like what Matt and Bex had, and maybe even a family of her own. And she wanted the chance to see whether she and Tristan could be more than friends. Pushing down the urge to reach out and grab his hand, Briony looked down at the table and tried to tell herself that it would be stupid to rock the boat when she’d only just begun to re-establish a place for herself in the family. Acting on instinct had caused her so many problems in the past, and she couldn’t risk jeopardising everything she’d only just found.
Donna’s recovery from the operation had been steady, but Bex and Briony had bonded further over their determination to keep it that way.
‘I want you all to come over for a Sunday roast. It’s so long since I had both my girls around the table for a family dinner.’
‘As long as you don’t think for a minute that you’re doing the cooking.’ Bex had raised her eyebrows, as her mother had stared back at her from the screen of her phone during the video call she’d instigated to summon her daughters to dinner.
‘I’m perfectly capable of whipping up a roast. I could do it with my eyes closed.’ Donna’s tone was tight. She was clearly getting fed up with being told to take things easy.
‘Unless you can do it sitting down with your feet up, it’s still a no from us,’ Briony had said, peering over Bex’s shoulder at the phone screen. The words ‘from us’ had made a warm sensation spread through Bex and it had clearly gladdened their mum’s heart too, because she’d laughed instead of biting back.
‘Okay, okay, someone else can cook. I don’t mind, as long as I’ve got you both here. This Sunday.’
‘In that case it’s a date. We can sort out the details later.’ Bex’s had mirrored the huge smile that had appeared on her mother’s face. She and Briony had made so much progress since coming home to Cornwall and it almost felt as though they were back to a time when the only thing there’d have been any risk of them arguing about over dinner was who had the most roast potatoes.
As it turned out, not even that had been a cause for any discord. Ken had insisted that everyone ought to have the day off from cooking and he’d arranged to collect a full Sunday roast from one of the local pubs. Donna had wrinkled her nose at the sight of the tin foil trays and Bex had to admit she’d wondered if the roast potatoes would be up to scratch, never mind the Yorkshire puddings, but it had been delicious. More than that, it had been the company that had made it such a wonderful afternoon.
They’d all decided they needed a break before dessert, and Matt, Triss and Ken had taken the boys off for a walk to burn off a bit of energy and work up a renewed appetite, leaving Bex, Briony and their mum alone.
‘When I was about to go in for the operation, my biggest fear was that something would happen to you.’ Donna looked as if she was trying not to cry as she reached for Briony’s hand, and Bex swallowed against the huge lump in her throat at the thought of her mum being so scared, and just how close they’d both come to losing Briony. ‘I wanted to wish for a day like this, but I didn’t dare. I promised God, or whoever was listening, that I’d never ask for anything again as long as you were okay, but this, today, just all of us together, has made me happier than you could ever imagine.’
‘Oh, I think I can imagine it, because I feel the same way.’ Briony looked towards Bex, her other hand moving slightly in herdirection, but then stopping, as if she was afraid to reach out and get rejected.
‘Me too.’ Bex put her hand over her sister’s, closing the circle by reaching towards their mother with her other hand. It had been the three of them against the world for so long when they’d been growing up. It didn’t need to be that way any more, they had so many other wonderful people in their lives, but if felt as if they could be that strong unit again one day in the not-too-distant future; the solid foundation they could always lean upon. All they had to do was keep building on the progress they’d already made and not let anything or anyone come between them again. Right now, Bex couldn’t imagine that ever happening, and she didn’t have the words to express just how grateful she was for this second chance. All she could do was to squeeze her mother and sister’s hands and silently thank whatever force had brought them all back together.
Before Briony even moved into the farmhouse, Bex had decided that keeping the Liam-shaped skeleton locked in the closet was the only course of action. There was no point raking over old ground and dragging up past hurt. It couldn’t undo what had been done and it might even have set things back if Briony said anything to contradict the conclusions Bex had reached about her having had the best of intentions. It was too much of a risk that could have derailed all the progress they’d made in getting their relationship back on track. Their mother’s illness and Briony’s brush with mortality had undoubtedly been the catalyst Bex had needed to try again, but her boys had been the ingredients they needed to make so much progress in such a short time. Sharing their memories with Henry, Ollie and Tom hadreminded Bex of just how close she and Briony had been, and the huge amount of love there had been between them. Yet despite how far they’d come in such a short time, Bex knew it was all still fragile and talking about what had happened with Liam was a sledgehammer they couldn’t afford to wield anywhere near their fresh start.
A couple of times Briony had tried to broach the subject again, but Bex had shut her down, telling her it was in the past and that it didn’t matter any more, because this was the life she was supposed to have. It was true, Matt had been so right when he’d reminded her of that, and it was easy now to focus on how grateful she was that Briony’s actions had ended her engagement to Liam. But talking about it again would have brought back her sister’s deceit, and that was the bit that would always hurt if she allowed herself to think about it. She didn’t care about Liam one little bit, but she cared that her sister had been willing to do whatever it took to stop the wedding. Bex didn’t want to know the details and part of her still couldn’t make sense of it, so it was easier not to think about it too deeply. How could Briony risk her relationship with Bex even if she’d been convinced that she was doing it for the right reasons? Bex could never have taken that kind of risk, because she’d always loved her little sister more than she could express, even in all those years of silence and the thought of losing her would have been far too unbearable. She could admit that now, because she was no longer trying to convince herself and everyone else that she didn’t miss Briony.
A therapist would probably have told her it was unhealthy to keep Liam’s skeleton locked up, but she didn’t care. It was working for them and, even though she might never fully be able to forget that it was lurking there somewhere, taking some of the shine off this second chance they’d been given, it was a hell of a lot better than risking her relationship with Briony again bygoing into the details of exactly what had happened. Bex was scared that it would only take one unexpected revelation to tear them apart again and there was no way she was willing to jeopardise their reunion. She just wished it didn’t all feel so fragile and complicated. The boys adored their auntie, but they weren’t the only ones to be completely enamoured by her. It was obvious Tristan had feelings for her too. Lots of them, and Bex had no idea what to do about it.
‘I don’t think you should do anything about it.’ Rowan rested a cup of tea against her baby bump, which was far too round to provide the kind of shelf she needed. ‘They’re both fully grown adults and any kind of interference from you probably isn’t going to go well.’
Her friend’s tone was kindly and Bex knew she was right, but she was struggling to accept that she needed to let things play out. ‘I’m just worried because I’ve got a horrible feeling Tristan has fallen quite hard. You know what Briony’s like. She’s never had a boyfriend who lasted more than a couple of months, even when we were younger. Her lifestyle these days means she’s never in one place for any length of time. I just don’t want him to get hurt, and I feel like I need to tell him what he’s getting into before he makes a move.’
‘I do understand why you want to protect him.’ Rowan set her cup down on Bex’s kitchen table. Sun was streaming through the windows, and summer seemed to have elbowed spring out of the way. Life on the farm was getting busier and busier, and the campsite was also doing a roaring trade. So managing to grab a cup of tea and a catch up with her best friend felt like a huge treat to Bex, especially as Rowan was so busy at school too. Bex hadn’t wanted today to be all about her problems yet again, she’d leant on Rowan and her other friends more than enough over these past couple of months. She’d wanted to talk excitedly about thebaby, and what plans they could make for the summer holidays to entertain Bex’s boys and Rowan’s older children, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of impending doom that gripped her every time she thought about Tristan and Briony becoming more than just friends.
‘You’re right, I do want to protect him. Triss is like the brother I never had, but it isn’t even just that.’ Bex breathed out slowly. ‘Briony is the sister I’ve finally got back again, after years of missing her more than I could let myself acknowledge. I’m worried that if they get into this, and she decides it’s not for her, she’ll feel shehasto disappear again. Even if that doesn’t mean her breaking off contact completely, it’ll mean she’s back on the road, going who knows where for who knows how long. She told me, before she found out Mum was ill, that she’d been planning on going to Europe for the summer and then Morrocco for the winter. The boys will be devastated if she just takes off and we don’t know when we’ll see her again.’
‘You’ll be devastated too.’ Rowan gave her a level look, not breaking eye contact until she finally nodded. ‘I don’t know if anything you do can really prevent someone getting hurt, but you could be honest with Tristan and tell him that you’re worried about how they’ll handle things if they start something that doesn’t work out. Maybe they just need to be clear on that first. If they make a plan about how to handle the situation if things fizzle out, it might be far less dramatic than you’re imagining it to be.’
‘Yes, and I’m probably just blowing it out of all proportion. It might end before it’s even begun and I’ll just have wasted energy worrying about something that’s never going to happen. It’s one of my superpowers!’ Bex laughed. ‘Talking of superpowers, I think you might have Elastigirl growing in there, the way elbowsand knees keep suddenly appearing out of nowhere on your bump when the baby turns over.’
‘It feels more likeAlien vs. Predatorthan a superhero scenario, but even if the baby has got tentacles, Nathan’s still going to think she’s the cutest thing he’s ever seen.’
‘That’s because she will be.’ Bex reached out and touched her friend’s hand. ‘I can’t wait for the baby to arrive, and I want to reserve first dibs on cuddles and any babysitting duties that might need doing. It seems like forever since we had a baby in our lives, with Matt being an only child and me… Well, even if I’d never stopped contact with Briony I still wouldn’t have been an auntie.’
‘Maybe it’s not too late.’ Rowan raised her eyebrows, but before Bex could respond, her friend gasped. ‘This little lady is either going to be a high-kicking chorus dancer, or a premiership footballer.’
‘You’re almost making me broody.’ Bex kept a straight face for all of about two seconds before laughing. ‘If I ever say I want another baby it’s because my body really has been taken over by an alien, but I know I’m going to love being an honorary aunt.’
As excited as Bex was by the idea of her friend having a baby, she couldn’t shake off the wave of regret that washed over her when she thought about all the things Briony had missed out on because of the decision she’d made all those years ago. It wasn’t that Bex thought that everyone had to have children to be happy, she knew that wasn’t true. It was just that she had no idea if her sister had ever even wanted children and she should know that about her. Then there was the fact that until very recently Briony had missed out on the joys of being an auntie too. She’d just have to learn to let those feelings go.
‘Do you think you’d be up for taking the dogs for a walk on the beach?’ Tristan raised his eyebrows slightly, a smile playing around his mouth as he looked at Briony. ‘I can drive us down in my truck so we don’t have to walk all the way through the woods. We both know what happened last time you did that.’
‘Oh, and there I was, hoping you’d carry me down to the beach in your arms,An Officer and a Gentlemanstyle again.’ She tried to respond in the same casual, slightly flirty style as he had, but her face had gone hot at the thought of being in his arms. The last time she’d been in agony, but her heart had still been thudding against her ribs because of her attraction to him. Back then she’d been fighting it as hard as she could, because she’d thought she had to, but now the rules of the game seemed to have changed and that was exciting and terrifying all at the same time.
‘I’m sure it can be arranged once we’re down on the sand, if you get tired. Although I still think it would be a good idea to take the truck down to the beach, because you’re recovering from a major operation and Bex will kill me if anything happens to you.’ Tristan’s tone was far more serious this time, but she still couldn’t help smiling at his words. The fact that Bex was so protective of her showed how much she cared, and it had been a long time since Briony had felt as though anyone but her parents really cared about her.
