Page 30 of Wedding Bells By the Creek

Tia triumphantly produced a dress. It was a simple affair, with a pale blue sheath overlaid with cream lace.

‘No.’ Helen shook her head. ‘That’s lovely but I couldn’t wear something like that. It’s too …’

‘It’s too what?’

‘Well. It’s beautiful.’

‘And so are you, Mum. Come on, give it a try.’

Helen reluctantly stepped into the dressing room. It was the work of just a couple of minutes to change. Hesitantly she looked in the mirror. The dress was gorgeous. She twirled slowly. With her new hair colour and style, she suddenly felt ten years younger. Her heart gave a little leap, wondering what Ed would think if he saw her like this.

Ed! She suddenly slumped down onto the seat.

What was she thinking? Ed was a married man. Here she was helping her daughter prepare for her wedding, and in the next heartbeat she was thinking about some sort of relationship with a married man. Guilt and despair crashed down on her.

‘Mum? Are you there?’ The curtain was tentatively pulled back, and Tia appeared. ‘Mum, what’s wrong?’

Seeing the concern in her daughter’s face, Helen reached a decision. ‘Tia, honey. There’s something I never told you. And I should have. About your father.’

‘What about him?’

‘I told you he left us before you were even born. Well, that’s true. But there’s something else …’ Helen’s voice trailed off. This was so hard.

Tia crouched down in front of her, and placed her hand on Helen’s arm. ‘What is it, Mum?’

‘Your father and I. We were never married.’

The words hung in the air, as Helen braced herself for Tia’s reaction to learning she was illegitimate. In the parlance of Helen’s parents’ generation, Tia was a bastard. In fact, those were the exact words her father had used when he threw Helen out of his home, telling her never to return.

Tia cocked her head slightly to one side. ‘I’m so sorry, Mum.’

‘No. I’m the one who is sorry, Tia. It’s wrong that you never had a chance to have a proper family life, with a mother and a father. And it’s my fault. I guess I just wasn’t good enough for him. Or for you either.’

‘No. Don’t even think that. It’s not your fault,’ Tia said firmly. ‘He ran out on you. I’m sorry you had to go through so much alone. And I’m sorry that you never got to have a wedding. I am not at all sorry for not knowing him. In my book, anyone who would do what he did to you is not worth knowing. He’s not a part of our lives – and that’s his loss, not ours. He wasn’t good enough for you. Or for me either!’

Helen sobbed silently. Tia took her hand. ‘Don’t you cry for him, Mum. He’s not worth your tears. And don’t cry for me. I’m fine. I have you back in my life and I have Max. Very soon I’m going to have a wedding. And I’m going to make sure it’s just as special for you as it is for me.’

Her daughter’s words slowly sank home. Helen sniffed loudly and nodded.

‘Come on,’ said Tia. ‘Let’s go buy you that dress. You look lovely in it.’

Helen hugged her daughter so hard, she thought she might break. Tia was more than she deserved. And as she slipped out of the beautiful blue dress, Helen vowed that she would wear that dress for herself and her daughter. And as for Ed … well, Ed was married. She might never have been married herself, but she believed in the importance of marriage. She could never be involved with a married man. She liked Ed. Liked him a lot. But that was as far as it would ever go.

Because Ed deserved better than her. Better than a woman with her past. He deserved a second chance with his wife. A chance at something Helen had never had.

She picked up the dress and her bag and stepped out of the changing room.

Chapter Fourteen

‘Hi, Dad. Is Mum there too?’

Ed glanced from the computer screen towards the doorway across the room. ‘She’s just put the jug on. She’ll be back in a minute.’

‘How’s things?’

Even from the other side of the world, Ed heard the unspoken question in Scott’s voice. He glanced at the doorway again. ‘Fine. Good.’

Scott frowned. ‘Is something wrong? Something I should know about?’

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