Page 27 of Wedding Bells By the Creek

The words cut into her heart like a cold steel blade. Her shoulders sagged and she felt despair take hold of her heart …

‘I cut myself off from Dad too. Because of the past. I blamed him for so much. I heard the rumours about his affair. He didn’t deny it. I ran away as soon as I was able, because I hated Dad for breaking up your marriage. For destroying our family.’

Stephanie’s breath caught at the back of her throat. She looked at Ed, but his face was turned away. Why had he done that? she wondered. Why take the blame for something that she had done? Maybe she had a chance here to show some honesty. That might help both Scott and his father to forgive her.

‘Scott, it wasn’t your father’s fault. It was me. I was the one who—’

‘I know that, now,’ Scott interrupted her. ‘When I finally came back to the Creek, Dad and I were finally honest with each other. I learned a few truths about him. About myself. And about you. I know why you left, Mum.’

‘I …’ Hope began to fade. It would do no good saying she had been young and foolish, and bored by life in a small town. That she’d wanted one last chance for adventure, and taken it with a man who was not her husband. Scott was not going to forgive her. It was clear he and his father had formed a close bond, despite their years apart. If Scott wasn’t willing to forgive her, she would have no chance of winning Ed back.

‘Scott,’ she said slowly. ‘I made a mistake. I realise now how wrong I was to leave you. And your father. I wish I could take it back. But I can’t. I just hope you will give me a second chance. I might not deserve it, but …’ She let her voice trail off, very conscious that Ed was sitting next to her. Listening to her every word. She wanted her son to believe her, but even more than that, she wanted Ed to believe her. To forgive her.

‘Dad and I had some dark times, Mum. It took a while, but we got past it. I want to believe that you and I can get past it too.’

‘Oh, Scott …’ She blinked and a few tears ran down her face. ‘I hope so, Scott. I really hope so. I want you to know that I never stopped thinking about you. Or your father. I realised very quickly that I had made a mistake. I was just too ashamed to come back.’

As she spoke, Ed got to his feet and left the room. Stephanie wanted to follow, but Scott was talking again. She smiled and tried to concentrate on his words, while wiping the occasional tear away from the corner of her eye.

In the kitchen, Ed reached into the fridge for a cold drink then leaned back against the wall. He wasn’t eavesdropping as such, but he could easily hear the conversation between Steph and Scott.

He was glad he’d told Scott that Steph had returned, and glad that he’d helped the two of them reconnect. It was up to them now. Or, more likely, up to Scott. He could make his own decisions.

Just as Ed had to make his. Another envelope had arrived today from his solicitors. More paperwork that had accidentally been missed in the previous letter. Getting divorced was a complex procedure, as it should be. Marriage vows were something that should not lightly be tossed away.

He stepped to the doorway and looked through into the living room. Steph was leaning forward, smiling through her tears as Scott talked. She was no longer the pretty girl he had fallen in love with. Nor was she the woman who had been unfaithful to him and broken his heart. The years had taken their toll on Steph, just as they had on him. But she was still a good looking woman. Just then, Steph laughed at something Scott said. That laugh had not changed. It was as familiar to Ed as his own.

Something stirred in his heart and he turned away and stepped back into the kitchen.

He had some decisions to make. In a few weeks he would have to present himself at the court hearing that would dissolve his marriage. Was that what he really wanted? Ed was a serious man. When he took his wedding vows, he had meant them. And in all the years since Steph left; all the years he had been alone – he’d never fallen in love again. Not really. He’d become too bitter and too caught up in his own misery. He’d never even considered that he might fall for someone else. Not until Helen had looked up at him with those kingfisher blue eyes.

Helen.

He smiled gently to himself as he pictured her face, but the smile faded quickly as he thought of the expression on that face when she found out about Steph. She probably thought Ed was a liar and a cheat. He wasn’t, but he was a man who wanted … needed to get his life back. He was sick of being alone. He wasn’t young any more, but he wasn’t old either. Since his reunion with Scott, he had started to enjoy life again. It wasn’t wrong of him to want to share that life with someone.

Helen was off wedding shopping with her daughter. He wished she was here so he could explain that this situation wasn’t of his making. Explain that he was just as confused as she was.

‘Thank you, Ed.’

He put the glass down as Steph approached. Her cheeks were tear-stained, but her face was glowing and he could see a hint of the girl he had married all those years ago. Without a moment’s thought or hesitation, she stepped up to him and laid her head against his chest.

‘Thank you,’ she said again, very softly. ‘I cannot begin to tell you what that meant to me.’

He reached up to take her shoulders, and as he did, she raised her face to him. Then she raised herself up on her toes, as she had done so many times in the past, and kissed him.

Chapter Thirteen

Shopping had never been a big part of Helen’s life. She’d never had enough money for fancy clothes or expensive things. And after she lost her daughter, she didn’t have any desire for them either. It felt very strange and slightly intoxicating to walk into a store and find herself surrounded by mountains of fine silks and satins and a seemingly endless supply of bright jewels and sequins.

‘Oh my.’

Beside her, Tia nodded in agreement. ‘It’s all a bit much. Maybe I should just get married in a pair of jeans.’

‘I remember when you were very little,’ Helen said. ‘You had a doll that you used to dress up in a white dress. It wasn’t a wedding dress, but you pretended it was. I made you a little veil, and a bouquet out of tiny plastic flowers. You used to spend hours playing with that doll.’ Helen’s mouth curved with the memory.

Tia’s eyes softened. ‘Gosh. I remember. I must have been very, very young. I haven’t thought about that doll for years. What happened to her?’

‘I kept her after you left,’ Helen said. ‘For a long time. A couple of years ago, I was working at a shelter for women and children running from abusive homes. There was this little girl. She had red hair like you. And she had such sad eyes. I gave the doll to her. I hope you don’t mind.’

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