The Secrets We Keep

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

All eyes were on Hunter, reminding him of the first time he spoke at a conference for vintners. He’d been so nervous, fully expecting to get himself in a muddle but, as the talk went on and he got into a rhythm it all worked out in the end. Today, he wasn’t so sure, this was a tougher audience.

“Guys, as you know, I’m always telling you that secrets ruin our lives, our happiness and our chance to live and love without darkness being held over us. I also know you would prefer to be anywhere other than sitting here with me, listening to me drone on and on.”

He turned over a photo he had placed on the table and handed it to Izzy.

“Bizzy Izzy, that was the first moment I held you in my arms and while I was blown away by the perfect little peach that you were, you looked right at me. I know they say babies don’t focus, so they’re not really looking at something, but I know you were looking at me. I told your Gran and Pop that when they came to the hospital. I made a promise that I would always be there for you, love you, protect you, drive away loser boys who break your sweet precious heart. But above all, I promised to be honest with you.”

From beside him, Olivia reached for his hand and clasped it tight,

“You can do this,” she murmured.

He scanned Izzy’s face trying to gauge whether he was making her either sad or confused or downright angry. He saw none of those emotions because she was smiling at him and gave him her hand.

“Daddy, is this about Nina?”

From the other side of the table his mother gasped and put her hand to her mouth.

“In a way. The thing is Bizzy Izzy, Nina lied to me.”

“I know. I know she was with someone else, had an affair or whatever you want to call it. I know I’m not your biological kid.”

“Holy Jesus, Iz!”

“Hunter, language,” his mother warned, and he nodded in acknowledgement.

“Izzy, how long have you known?”

“Forever.”

“Izzy darling,” Julie Lewis began, “What does forever mean?”

“Before we came back here. Valentina told me, she said Uncle Marcus told her and it was wrong of everyone to keep it from me.”

fucking Valentina, Hunter fumed and how the hell did Marcus know? He never mentioned Izzy’s paternity to Marcus. He glanced across the table at his parents.

“Mum, Dad?”

“Absolutely not!” his father exclaimed, “Once you told us we made a decision not to bring it up again until such time as you were ready to tell Izzy.”

“Geez Izzy, you might have let me and Leo in on it. I’ve been crapping myself because of the note!” Mason cried.

“What note?” Izzy asked.

“This one.” Olivia pulled the envelope from her pocket and passed it to Izzy.

“Oh, one of those. Somebody put one in my locker at school.”

Right, so now he was completely pissed off!

“Izzy?” Olivia began softly, “You know everyone at this table loves you don’t you?”

Izzy frowned, tears welling in her eyes, “I guess. But I’m sort of a third wheel because Mason and Leo are Dad’s. I don’t have anyone and sometimes I get worried -,” she broke off.

“Worried about what Izzy?” Olivia persisted.

“That there isn’t room for me. That I can’t be Izzy Lewis anymore because I’m not a Lewis. I’ve been worried about that stuff and I didn’t want to talk to Dad about it because he gets that sad look on his face and I didn’t want to pester Gran and Pop because Mason and I have pestered them enough. I didn’t want people getting sick of my questions and stuff.”

“You have all of these wonderful people in your life, Iz and guess what? If you need a non-Lewis to talk to, you can come to me. You know that don’t you?”

Izzy nodded and Hunter could see his mother was bursting to get something out into conversation, so he nodded to her, encouraging her to go ahead.

“Isabella Katherine Lewis, your father’s heart is big enough for all three of you! When he was younger he had the biggest, most open heart and then, well it all came apart.” Julie cried Hunter saw his mother dab at her eyes with a tissue,

“Thanks, Mum. You did good.”

“Thank you. You always were kindhearted Hunter and I have to say both your father and I have noticed a difference in you over the last few months which has been heart-warming.”

“I think Olivia has a lot to do with that,” he murmured.

“I can still call you Dad, can’t I?” Izzy asked.

“What else would you call him, Izzy?” Leo inquired.

She shrugged, “I’ve been worried. He’s the only Dad I have unless anyone knows who my biological father is?”

“Unfortunately, not Izzy. But that guy was only a sperm donor. Hunter is your father in every way that it counts so I think he would be a bit upset if you were to stop now,” her grandfather added.

“Cool. I was hoping for that.”

“Are we done now?” Mason asked.

“No!” the four adults chorused in unison.

“Sheesh, okay then.”

Olivia squeezed Hunter’s hand, “Let me do this one?”

“Sure. Thank you.”

“Right, this is complicated so listen up. The rope from Leo’s swing had traces of DNA from six people, you three, Lucas and Jack.”

“That’s only five,” Leo offered helpfully.

“Thank you, Leo. Yes, there are five of you, but a sixth person’s DNA was on the rope. It was the reason your DNA was tested a second time. It showed Mason and Leo as a half sibling match, a match between Mason and Izzy as half siblings and then a match between the sixth person, Mason and Izzy, the match being that of a parent.”

“But that could only be Nina unless you touched the rope, Dad?”

“No, Mason I didn’t touch the rope. We had Pop, the boatyard guy and me all test so we could be eliminated which we were. That means the only other person with a genetic link to both Mason and Izzy with a parental match is Nina.”

“But isn’t she dead?” Izzy cried, “I don’t want her to be alive! I don’t! She ran out on me and Mason, that’s why I can’t even call her my mother.”

“Me too,” Mason agreed, “What sort of person abandons their kids?”

Olivia watched Hunter lean forward, his arms resting on his knees,

“Thing is that Nina might have been mentally ill so some of her actions could have been influenced by that.”

“I can’t believe you’re making excuses for her!” Mason exploded angrily.

“Not excuses Mason,” Olivia was quick to head off any potential confrontation between Hunter and his kids, “It’s possible she had post-natal depression and not that I’m an expert on personality disorders, but I think she might have a personality disorder.”

Reading the expression on Mason’s face, Olivia recognised the conflicting emotions he tried to deal with. He wanted to lash out at his mother which she understood, Nina had abandoned her children and teenagers weren’t going to give you a free pass because a person suffered from a condition nobody can see and certainly not the children she abandoned.

“Mason? You’re right about Nina abandoning you because she did and if she were able to think in a rational way she might have sought help, but she couldn’t rationalise her thoughts and probably still can’t. There is no excusing, abandoning a child, I agree wholeheartedly with you on that, but you need to look outside the square and consider the bigger picture.”

 Olivia waited for any change in Mason’s demeanour but there wasn’t. She had lost him and if Izzy followed she wouldn’t be surprised.

“Why are you making excuses for her as well?” Izzy demanded and Olivia saw the surprise on Leo’s face before his surprise turned into anger,

“Hey! You can’t talk to my mum like that! She’s helping you guys just in case you missed that news flash!”

She tried to capture Hunter’s gaze, but he refused to make eye contact with her and while she slowly crumbled inside, she refused to let them see the hurt. Leo was right, she’d given them assistance and had become too involved, but it was too late to change that now.

“I’m going to head home now because I think it’s best if you sort this out for yourselves.”

She pushed her chair back,

“Olivia!” Julie exclaimed, “Please dear, stay. Despite what my ungracious grandchildren think, we do need your guidance and support.”

“Thanks Julie, but this is something Hunter and his kids need to sort out and I’ve crossed the line by getting this involved anyway. Leo, grab your things.”

“I’ll just collect my bag,” she said to Julie.

Olivia’s heart broke a little more when she retreated to the room she’d slept, the room she and Hunter had made love in for hours and he didn’t even follow her. He had nothing to say, and it wouldn’t surprise her if he didn’t issue one of his Hunter Lewis demands that she stay away from his kids. Message received loud and clear, there were only so many times you could let your heart be trampled wasn’t there. Leo was waiting for her at the end of the hall,

“Ready?”

“Yep. What a bunch of schmucks,” he said, paused then turned and went back to where the Lewis family sat, Olivia followed.

“And FYI you two morons, it was your crazy mother who cut that rope and she probably intended to kill me and Hunter? I don’t care if I ever touch a grape vine again, I’m going to make sure I don’t turn out like you and FYI Hunter, I’m not calling you Dad, you don’t deserve me, Mum and I did fine before you came back.”

“Leo -,” Hunter started, “I -,”

“Save it, Hunter.” Olivia replied, “As Leo said, we did fine, and we’ll do fine again.”

With Leo beside her, they walked back to the sanctuary of their own house and Leo, sweet Leo, gently rubbed his hand over her back when she deactivated the alarm and pushed the door open.

“Will you be alright?” he asked.

“Been dumped on by Hunter Lewis before, remember, I’m a pro but I thank you for caring.”

“If you need to cry or something, you can or better still should I call Alex, she can probably arrange a hit on him.”

At that Olivia laughed, her son wasn’t too far off the mark because Alex had already warned Hunter off. But right now, she just wanted to have a cup of coffee, make a shopping list and unload on her parents.

“Do you want to help with the shopping list?” she asked him, knowing he would rather see the dentist than step inside a supermarket let alone make a list of things needed. Instead, he surprised her,

“Does it mean I can request items of interest?”

“Maybe.”

“Cool. Are we going now?”

“I need to make a list first.”

“Right. I’ll shoot some hoops while I’m waiting,” turning to leave he looked back over his shoulder, “I’ve made a decision about rugby,” he added.

“Leo don’t make decisions that you later regret. At least give it a couple of days. I don’t want you to give up something you live for and I don’t think -,” she had been going to say “your father” but stopped short. Leo was in all kinds of pain and saying what he did to Hunter, Mason and Izzy had taken guts. She knew how much he loved Hunter, loved having a father in his life and walking out the door would have been as hard for Leo as it was for her.

“Just sleep on it. Okay?”

He sighed, “Sure.”

“Shoot the hoops, I’ll be down in a minute.”

“Mum?”

“Yes?”

“I think you should start dating, you’re a nice person, guys say you’re hot but I’m not going there and of course there’s me. We come as a package don’t we?”

Olivia reached out to him and without hesitation he came into her embrace,

“We are indeed a package deal, Leo. Can’t have one without the other.” She extended her arms slightly, holding him from her, “I would have kissed the top of your head but dang it all, you’ve gone and got so tall I can’t reach it anymore!”

They completed the grocery shopping in record time, partly because Leo only had one speed and wanted his exposure to a supermarket to be as brief as possible and her own desire to get out the supermarket before she bumped into Julie Lewis. She knew she would have to talk to her soon but right now she needed a bit of Lewis free time. Leo helped put the groceries into the car then returned the trolley to a trolley bay. During that time, she received a text from her mother, and she wondered whether Julie and Ted had beaten her to relay the drama of earlier in the day. Once Leo was back in the car, she fired the ignition and reversed from her parking spot,

“Grandma’s made peanut brownies and wants to know if you’re interested.”

“Did you tell her what happened?”

“Not a word, Leo. But I can’t promise that your Gran didn’t get in first, I suppose she and your Pop will be worried they won’t see you or can’t see you.”

“I still want to see them but it will have to be when the others aren’t there. I’m not ready for that.”

“Fair enough. Peanut brownies or home?”

“Knowing Grandma, she’ll have made hundreds and then she’ll get pissed with Granddad when he eats too many, so we ought to go.”

“Good thinking and your right about Granddad, but Grandma only monitors his sugar intake because of that heart issue he had last year.”

“But he’s okay now isn’t he? He told me he was, and you said so.”

“Relax, he’s fine and you know neither of us would lie to you. The Wainwright family do not do secrets.”

He rewarded her with one of his lovely smiles and her heart clenched at the notion of not being able to get Leo through this. The island was small and gossip whether it be good bad or something in the middle, spread from end to end like wildfire. School would be a challenge for her and for Leo because in a small school it was almost impossible to dodge the people you were trying to dodge.  She reached the turn off to Rock Bay and drove down towards her parents’ home, smiling when the front door opened,” and both her parents tumbled out like a couple of excited puppies.

“Sheesh,” Leo mumbled, “What are they on?”

“High on concern I’d bet. Come on, prepare yourself for excessive hugging although on the upside, think of the peanut brownies.”

There was a lot of hugging, mainly from her mother who seesawed from tears to hugging and back to tears. Eventually, it was her father who called Leo to the kitchen for a bit of man to man, no doubt.

“How did you know?” Olivia asked her mother as she dropped her bag and keys onto the sideboard.

“Julie. She was beside herself, so upset and Ted was there in the background trying to calm her down. I’ve never heard her like that before,” her mother cried a little, “Oh my! What about you and Leo? What can we do?” She wrapped her arms around her and hugged tight, recalling what they called a “mum hug” when she was a little girl.

“Bit raw at the moment, Mum and I feel for Leo because he attached himself to Hunter so completely and now he doesn’t want to talk about him, wants to pull out of the rugby team and I’m already dreading Monday because I’m not sure how I’m going to get him to school.”

“Come on, we’ll sit down in the kitchen, have a cuppa, things always look better with a good cup of tea or coffee.”

Olivia followed her mother into the kitchen where there was no sign of Leo or his grandfather but outside she could hear the bounce, bounce of a basketball, followed by the sound of the ball hitting the backboard of the hoop. Glancing around the kitchen she noted the pile of peanut brownies on a cooling rack.

“How many peanut brownies did you make?” she asked.

“About three batches, I thought Leo could take some home. Do you want to have dinner here tonight?”

“Actually, Mum I think Leo and I will have a pizza delivered and I’ll have an early night. I’m completely zonked out.”

With a cup of coffee in front of her and two peanut brownies on a plate, Olivia savoured the flavour her mother’s peanut brownies were famous for.

“Wish I could make them like this,” she said, “Mine never have quite the same consistency.”

“Are you using my recipe?”

“Of course. It would be unconscionable to do otherwise.”

They laughed, although for Olivia the pain of the morning’s events was still there.

“You’re hurting too,” her mother’s statement caught her by surprise.

“I am but I can’t let Leo see, he’s already a little broken, if he sees me crying it will only add to the load.”

“Promise me you will have a good cry in the shower, the bath or under the covers of your bed. You didn’t cry enough fifteen years ago, and I don’t want you to do that again.”

Olivia bit into another cookie at the same time as Leo burst into the kitchen,

“Mum, Grandma, can you come out and help Granddad, he doesn’t feel well.”

Rushing out of the house Olivia’s heart was in the mouth,

“Dad?”

Jeff Wainwright was sitting on the ground, his face an awful grey colour, perspiration beading his forehead. Reaching for his arm, she placed her fingers on his wrist only to find his pulse erratic and thready. Her mother sat on the ground next to her dad, rubbing his back.

“Too many peanut brownies Sara Wainwright,” he murmured, his voice suddenly tight as though he couldn’t breathe properly. Olivia looked around for Leo and found him leaning against the outdoor setting, tears streaming down his face.

“Leo? Come here sweetie, I need you to help grandma call Dr Bennett, tell them your granddad might be having a heart attack and then you need to help her pack up a small overnight bag. Okay?”

He nodded, “We’re having a totally s**t day, Mum aren’t we?”

“We are, but we’re not going to let it get to us.”

Once Leo and her mother disappeared inside she looked at her father,

“Tell me how bad it is, Dad.”

“Tightness, a bit of tingling down my arm and damn, I managed to shoot two three pointers.”

“The doctor or paramedics will be here soon. I’d help you to somewhere more comfortable, but I think it’s best for you to stay where you are.”

“Agreed. About Hunter..”

Olivia put her hand up to stop him, “We’re not talking about Hunter Lewis, this is about Jeff Wainwright who is here with his family. Mum’s freaking out, you know that don’t you?”

He nodded, reminding her of Leo when she was reading the riot act.

“She’ll have me on kale and tofu,” he grumbled.

She gave a soft laugh, “No she won’t, I don’t think you need to alter your diet or your exercise levels, this might just need a change in medication.”

At least that was what she hoped, it was what she was going to focus her energy on.