The Secrets We Keep

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Hunter finished up his work at St Lucia for the day and made his way back home, Marron sometimes popped in to ask how life was treating him, they’d talk about wine and the new property at Deans Point, especially when Xavier joined them. Frequently she’d ask him to stay for lunch and sometimes he accepted but other days, like today, he wanted to go home, have a shower, a beer and chill out for a while. He drove up to the entrance of the cellar and entered, wanting to check a couple of items he’d put off from earlier in the morning.

“Dad?”

Hunter swung round and found Mason standing at the entrance of the cellar, Mason wore a half smile,

“Hey bud, don’t often see you in here.”

“I know and I’m kind of lame aren’t I? I mean according to anyone I talk to; they all say you’re an awesome winemaker.”

“I don’t know about that Mason, I learned from your grandfather, and everyone tells me he’s awesome.”

“Anyway,” he said moving further into the cellar, “Seeing as Leo is into this stuff, I wondered if you had room for two of us?”

Hunter blanched, Mason wanted to be involved in the vineyard and winery?

“Colour me surprised Mason, you’ve never shown any interest in the setup and to be honest it didn’t matter, kids don’t always have to follow in their parents footsteps.”

“Yeah, I guess. It’s not that I’m resentful or jealous of Leo, it’s not and I’m not lying or trying to make you choose between us. Honest.”

Hunter took a deep breath; pain clouded his son’s eyes, but did he understand the pain he’d cause Olivia and Leo? Even to Izzy. Hunter leaned on a wine barrel, processing what Mason said, not wanting to doubt his boy and yet the events over the past weeks made him cautious. Yes, he wanted to pull Mason into his arms and hug him, so what made him hold back?

“Are you getting a lot out of the counselling?” Hunter asked.

Mason shrugged, “Suppose so, I mean I’ve never been to counselling before.”

“Is it helping your anger, because I’m telling you Mason, that scared the s**t out of me.”

Mason nodded, but no eye contact, his eyes cast downward, “I’m sorry Dad,” Mason’s voice broke, he lifted his head to reveal tears in his eyes, “I don’t know what happened that day, honest I don’t, I don’t even know where all that crap came from, but I couldn’t control it and it scared the s**t out of me too.”

“How long have you wanted to be involved in the winery, is it a new idea or something you’ve considered for a while?”

Mason shrugged and what bothered Mason the most was his son’s inability to make eye contact.

“Mason, why can’t you look at me?””

“I don’t know Dad. I’m embarrassed, people are avoiding me, I want my friends to like me again.”

Hunter frowned, “Are you saying they’re cutting you out, ignoring you?”

“No, they talk to me but it’s not the same as before, I can feel it.”

“Feel what?”

“s**t Dad!” Mason exploded, “You’re as bad as the f*****g counsellor, questions, questions and more questions!”

He stared at Mason, saw the moment his son realised what he’d done. Hunter closed the gap between himself and Mason and hugged him before stepping back,

“Maybe there’s still a way to go Mason. If you’re interested in learning about grapes and wine, I’d be happy to have you onboard, but this,” he swept his arm around the cellar and the winery, “This is a commitment to hard work, you need passion and determination that not a lot of people can adhere to.”

“You’re not saying no?”

“Did you hear the word no? I didn’t say that I simply said to be a successful vintner, winemaker, oenologist, takes time and dedication.”

“But I need to get my anger under control?”

“You need to get that under control to do anything Mason and that applies especially to your friends. If you’re fickle if you blow up in a temper they’ll give up.”

Why didn’t Mason bring up the subject of the woman hanging around the school, that single fact bothered him as much as the anger and left him to wonder what she’d said to him that had him being secretive.

“I’m locking up here now bud, are you staying or going back to your grandparents?”

Hunter set the alarm and waited for Mason’s response,

“Mason? Are you staying?”

“No Pop said I have to go back; can you drop me?”

“Sure, ready to go now?”

Without responding Mason trudged toward the car, opened the door, and got inside, which had Hunter shaking his head, but he joined Mason in the car and dropped him back with his grandparents, Hunter’s mother gave him an apologetic look.

“He’s not giving you a hard time is he Mum?”

“No although I’m having trouble with him being sad, and I don’t know how fix it.”

“Me neither Mum, but remember what Nan Lewis would say, he has to come out if the same way he went in.”

He had almost reached the winery when his phone rang and Blake’s name appeared,

“Hey Blake,”

“Hunter, I’m out on Deans Point Road and this crazy woman launched herself at the car and I bloody near drove off the road with her on the bonnet.”

“I’ll be there in two minutes, doors locked?”

“Affirmative.”

Blake’s car was parked on the edge of the road while the crazy woman stood in the middle of the road. Hunter brought his car to a stop and sat for a few moments,

“f**k!” he yelled to nobody, was that Nina? or her twin, regardless she recognised him and once the woman recognised him, her lips drew back in a snarl,

“You! Get away from me! Bastard!”

Blake opened his door,

“Lady, how about calming down. What the hell are you doing here?”

“Him! Because of him!”

Hunter was now out of his car and striding purposefully toward them,

“Holy s**t!” he muttered savagely, “Nina or is it Lana or perhaps Holly?” He crossed his arms, his pose defiant.

“What is she doing here?” Blake asked.

“f****d if I know, but as you can see, she’s as mad as a cut snake.”

With hushed voices they decided to contact Dan Martin,

“I’ll call him,” he said, turning in the direction of his car, that’s when all hell broke loose.

“No!” the woman screamed, attempting to lunge at Hunter, a second sense alerting him to her action, Blake pulled her back,

“Hunter, go and get Dan.”

“I’m not leaving you with that batshit crazy banshee, let me get my phone.”

Again, an ear piercing scream filled the air, and without looking he knew she’d broken free from Blake’s grasp; he heard her steps crunching on the gravel, he heard Blake’s warning cry,

“Hunter!” he called, “Behind you!”

He turned in time to see Blake dive at the woman’s legs to tackle her to the ground, but she eluded his grasp and Hunter watched in helpless frustration and panic as Blake crashed to the ground, the action almost in slow motion. Lifting his gaze, he met her contorted features, tangled hair, and her eyes…Jesus it would be a long time before he forgot the hatred he saw in those eyes. He still believed he could take her, until she brandished a large hunting knife seemingly from thin air and plunged it hard into him, f**k that hurt! Still think you can take her big guy he asked himself. His vision doubled, becoming dark around the edges, he couldn’t see where she’d gone but the screaming had stopped, his shirt clung to his ribs, sweat most likely, he decided. He stumbled in the direction of his car, the pain in his side had ramped up to extreme, his hand moved to his side, the place where his shirt was wet, but not with sweat, with blood, his blood. A silent moan on his lips, he stumbled in the direction of his car, each breath he took more painful than the last. Reaching his car, he slumped to the ground, convinced he would die there and Nina or whoever the f**k she was would have the last laugh after all.

“Hunter?”

Blake was here? Were they both dead?

“Told you she was mad.”

“Yes, you did. I need to get you to the medical centre, you’re losing a lot of blood and I’ll be honest man, you don’t look good.”

“Thanks.”

He struggled to open his eyes, he couldn’t see Blake so maybe he’d imagined that conversation, the light dimmed again. Dammit! He didn’t want to die, not yet anyway, there were important issues to settle, and what if he never told Liv he loved her?

“Hunter? You need to stay awake, and you need to stay alive, think of Leo and of Olivia, I won’t be able to look them in the face if you die on me. Same goes with Izzy and Mason and your parents, s**t if anything happens to you I’ll never forgive myself!”

“Leo’s my boy.”

“Yeah I know. He’s a great kid and what about his birthday, that was the best time don’t you think?”

“It was. I love her you know, only I don’t know how to say it.”

He vaguely heard Blake respond with something along the lines of being in a club, but his head spun or maybe it could be the world that tilted, either way he kept losing focus.

“Hey Hunter? Hunter, are you scared of saying the words?” Blake was still here; oh Jesus please don’t let Blake be dead like me! The words? What words?

“Are you scared of telling Liv you love her?”

“Yep. I mean what if she laughs in my face?”

“She won’t. I worried about that also, but they’re nice people, they don’t laugh at others, even the pathetic guys who make a mess of expressing themselves.”

Could be true? Did he have a chance and if he did he certainly didn’t want to die now or any time soon where he had a chance of a future with Olivia. That crazy bloody woman would not have the last f*****g laugh. Something prodded him causing him to yelp with pain, he heard a woman’s voice, heard Blake say Gabriella.

“Blake?” Hunter slurred, “What the f**k happened to your knee?”

“Hunter, its Gabriella, you’ve lost a lot of blood and I’m going to try putting a couple of dressings in there.”

“Wish I had a sister instead of a brother, I’m sure my sister would be like you, kind and sweet. Why did you marry that bastard Kingsley?”

“That crazy thing called love, Hunter. Sometimes it removes our brain cells,”

After that Hunter failed to make sense of anything he heard or happened, there were hands poking and prodding at him, hushed voices, voices other thank Blake’s. He wanted to talk to Blake, to hear his voice instead someone placed something over his face, and he clawed at it, Nina or Holly or Lana were going to suffocate him right there in front of his friend.

“Hunter?”

“Jesus Blake, is that you?”

“Yeah. They’re taking us to hospital, you need to keep that mask on your face. Hunter? Can you hear me?”

Hunter did hear the words but something warm entered his veins, something that removed every painful thought he had and all the physical pain in his body. As he descended into a pit of darkness he saw a face, Olivia’s beautiful face with her kind eyes and sensual lips.

After teaching her last English class for the day, Olivia made her way back to her office. She enjoyed teaching the final year students, their enthusiasm for learning infectious and it fuelled her own desire to be the best teacher she could be. As she unlocked her office door, Dan and Lou approached her, their expressions making her heart dive. Oh God! Leo! Something had happened to Leo.

“Liv,” Dan’s voice was quiet, serious, a voice that delivered bad news more times than he probably wanted to admit.

“Leo?” she squeaked.

“No Liv, it’s Hunter.”

Hunter? That couldn’t be right. Their faces told another story, Hunter had had an accident, her perfect, strong, sexy Hunter. The man she’d always loved, even when he was being a total s**t.

“Come on, we’ll sit in your office Liv, the bell will go soon, and you don’t need an audience,” Lou pointed out.

Numbness claimed her body, so Lou gently nudged her through the door and into a chair. Lou stood behind her, hands gently rubbing her arms and Dan sat next to her,

“There was an incident out on Deans Point Road involving Hunter and Blake,” he said.

Blake? Oh God! Alex? “Blake as well?” she mumbled, her body now shaking.

“They were set upon by a woman who sounds a lot like our elusive Nina or whoever she is,” Dan moved closer, picking up one of Olivia’s hands, “Liv, she knifed Hunter pretty bad, he’s lost a lot of blood. Blake managed to call me and his sister.”

Dan’s words became tangled like strands of spaghetti although she did understand Hunter had been seriously injured. Her Hunter.

“Julie and Ted Lewis are taking Izzy home with them and Marron will collect Leo and Alex. Gabriella is with Alex who’ll meet you at her place so you can go across to Auckland together.”

“Right,” she murmured, “Can you let Mum and Dad know, Leo and I were to have dinner with them tonight.”

“Consider it done Liv,” Lou replied, “Now where’s your bag? I’ll drive you to Alex’s and we’ll leave your car there, Dan will take me home. Okay?”

“I guess.”

“I’m sorry Liv, this is the part of my job I dislike and in a smaller communities it’s harder.”

She did understand, sort of anyway. Her brain tried to process the information that Nina had been involved, that she’d stabbed Hunter. Why? What had gone on out there?

 “My bag’s behind the desk, I think.,” leaning forward Olivia put her head in her hands, “I can’t even think straight, I’m still trying to deal with the news that Nina is responsible or maybe not Nina, could be her sister.”

“Don’t trouble yourself trying to work that out,” Dan advised, “We’ll get to the bottom of it, right now we need to get you to Alex’s. Come on love.”

Lou put an arm around her, giving her a gentle squeeze,

“You can cry, you know. You’re like a daughter to us Liv and I know how much you love him, so if you want cry go ahead and let it all out darling.”

“I can’t,” she whispered, “If I do, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop.”

Lou wrapped her in a hug and held her while she cried.

Gabriella emerged from Alex’s house with two overnight bags and Alex followed.

“Hope you don’t mind Liv, but I sneaked into your place and put some toiletries and a change of clothes in here for you.”

“That’s so kind of you Gabriella.”

Her eyes moved to Alex, the sassiest of her best friends, immediately aware that the sass had been replaced with sadness.

“Are you two sure you’re okay to do this, I can come with you.” Lou asked.

“We’ll be okay, Lou. Thank you for everything, you too Gabriella.”

“Okay ladies,” Gabriella urged, “In the car otherwise you’ll miss the crossing.”

Dan’s car pulled up and he leaned out,

“All ready to go?” he asked.

“They are,” Gabriella said, “You will keep us posted won’t you?”

Alex hugged Blake’s sister and Olivia realised Gabriella had to be just as concerned as she and Alex were.

“We will. Now, make yourself at home here.” Alex released her and got behind the wheel.

They drove to Kennedy Point in silence, and it wasn’t until they were on the vehicular ferry that Alex spoke,

“I don’t know about you Liv, but I’m scared, I mean s**t, this is the second time Blake has landed in hospital in the space of a few months.”

“I know, I’m scared as well. Hunter came to visit me a few days ago and we talked. He apologised for not defending Leo and I when Mason and Izzy were being rude and disrespectful.”

“Did he talk about his feelings for you?”

“Indirectly I think he did. He talked about the second chance he’d been offered and had blown it; he doesn’t believe you get more than two chances.”

“Bloody men!” Alex grumbled, “Don’t they understand how emotionally invested a woman becomes when she practically screaming “I love you!” at them?”

Olivia laughed, “No, their emotional investment is based on far more simplistic ideals.”

“You mean like s*x?”

“Yeah, like s*x,” Glancing at Alex, “Have you been to the doctor yet?”

Alex shook her head, “No, I’ve been caught up with feeling sorry for myself and I didn’t even know Blake had returned to Waiheke.”

“Did Gabriella have any details of what happened?”

“Blake was on his way to see her, a crazy woman apparently launched herself in front of him, so he came to a stop at the side of the road, and he called Hunter. When Hunter got there the woman went ballistic, he was getting his phone to call Dan, but she took off after him and although Blake tried to tackle her she stepped out of his grasp.”

“Is that when she stabbed him?”

“Yeah. I’m so sorry Liv, you guys don’t need this.”

“Neither do you, Alex.”

Vehicles were already filing onto the ferry at Kennedy Point and Alex followed the cars making the crossing.

“Want a coffee?” Olivia asked.

“Don’t worry about getting one on here, on the back seat you’ll find a box full of food, in case the two of us starve on the way over, there’s a thermos of coffee as well.”

Olivia looked behind her and sure enough there was a box, and she could see the thermos,

“Who did this for us?”

“Your mum and Hunter’s. I always think Mum, Julie and your mum were sisters in a past life because they jump into action whatever the situation, they always know what to do.”

“They were in Guides weren’t they?”

“They were, Mum still has her uniform, she always wanted me to join but you guys weren’t interested so neither was I.”

Olivia laughed, noticing some of the tension leaving her body,

“I’ll get the coffee,” she said and stepped out of the car. The late afternoon air was cool, making her shiver as she pulled the rear door open and poured a cup of coffee for Alex, handing it to her through the gap between the front seats one for herself. Poking through the box she asked Alex if she wanted a snack.

“What is there?”

“Well, there are roast beef and chutney sandwiches, ham and cheese. Oh yum! Banana bread with choc chips!”

“Count me in baby!”

Olivia pulled two carefully wrapped slices from the box, handing one to Alex, she put her coffee in the drink holder on the console, picked up the remaining banana bread, closed the door and returned to her seat.

“Brr! It’s cool out there.”

“I have a spare jacket in the back if you need one.”

“I’m warming up now, but thanks anyway.”

“Dad’s going to be there as well, Mum is getting our rooms ready.”

“I hope she’s not going to too much bother, I can always check into a hotel.”

Alex speared her with a look reminding Olivia of Diana Porter,

“Are you for real? Olivia Wainwright, you are staying with us!”

They laughed together, drank their coffee, and ate the delicious banana bread and were soon driving off the ferry in the direction of Auckland City Hospital.