Page 19 of Strictly Friends
Oh God, I wish Griffin was here!In that moment, all Ruby wanted was her best friend by her side to talk her down from the ledge of her rising panic. But Griffin wasn’t here, and Kenny was her problem to handle alone. Which was only right since she was the one who had blithely ignored Griffin’s and her parents’ words of caution against rushing into a serious relationship with a man she had known for a matter of months. She was the one who had used Kenny’s seductive charm and passionate declarations to soothe the hurt of childhood taunts about her appearance and the resultant lack of romantic interest in her from the boys she had grown up around. It was she who had let Kenny coax her into trying for a baby to reassure him of her commitment, feeling so gratified that a handsome and successful man had fallen head over heels in love with her that she had questioned nothing else. Now, she was the one who had to deal with the consequences of that choice.
Zeke turned off the main highway to drive down a steep road and Ruby smelled the salty sea air before she caught her first glimpse of the marina. Under different circumstances, she would have found the sight of scores of white boats bobbing on crystal-blue waters in bright sunshine a delight. As it was, the only sensation Ruby felt – aside from her mounting dread – was the grip of Jake’s hand.
Zeke turned into a gravelled clearing where cars and trailers were parked in neat rows, slowing to avoid people unloading items from vehicles and carrying ice coolers and equipment up and down a path that traced the curve of the marina.
‘This is Sugar Bay,’ Zeke announced, pulling up near the footpath and switching off the engine. He pointed towards the far side of the marina. ‘If you’re looking for Kenny, you’ll find his boats moored over that way. Jus’ follow those folks on the pathway and keep going round till you see the sign for Sugar Bay Tours.’
He restarted the engine and Ruby opened the car door and waited for Jake to scramble out behind her. She handed some notes to Zeke through the open window, and he tipped his hat cheerily and drove off. Now they were left to their own devices, Ruby was hit by the enormity of her decision to bring Jake here, and her legs suddenly felt like they had lost their strength. She should have begged Griffin to come with them;hewould have known what to do! As if sensing his mother’s unspoken panic, Jake took Ruby’s hand in a firm grip and urged her forward.
They set off down the walkway and Ruby shortened her stride to keep pace with Jake, drawing strength from the hand so trustfully holding hers. From the hum of activity all around, it was clear the marina was a working community, and continuing along the path, they went past a huge yard with rows of boats propped up on wooden structures for repair. Seeing them pass, a couple of men in khaki overalls paused from their task of hammering the hull of a large boat to shout a cheerful good morning.
‘Mum! We’ve been walking for ages! Are you sure we’re going the right way?’ Jake tugged on Ruby’s hand, the hint of a tremble in his impatient tone.
‘Zeke said to follow the path and, as far as I can tell, this is the only one,’ Ruby said reasonably. She could hear the tension in Jake’s voice, and she tried to sound reassuring. ‘Look, there’s a café over there. Maybe someone inside can tell us if we’re on the right track.’
As they walked into the café, Ruby was hit by the strong aroma of freshly brewed coffee, and she would have loved nothing better than to sit down outside with a mug of black coffee and enjoy the view of the stunning marina. Anything would have been preferable to the impending meeting that had her stomach tied up in knots. Mindful of Jake watching, she tried to stay calm as she waited for the woman behind the counter to finish serving coffee to the man in front of her.
The woman placed some change on the counter for the man and then turned to Ruby with a pleasant smile. ‘Good morning, miss. How are you today?’
‘Good morning. I’m fine, thanks, and how are you?’ Ruby responded, having quickly picked up on the local social niceties.
‘I’m doing great, thank you. Can I get you a snack or something to drink?’
Ruby shook her head. ‘I wonder if you can help me. I’m trying to find Sugar Bay Tours and I’m not sure if we’re going in the right—’
‘You lookin’ for Kenny?’ The man who had just paid for his coffee cut in, and Ruby nodded, wondering if there was anyone on the island who didn’t know her ex.
The man pocketed his change and picked up his drink, gesturing to Ruby to follow him. Once outside the café, he pointed towards a docking bay about a hundred metres away where a row of boats was anchored to concrete posts.
‘I’ve seen him this morning and his boats are all moored, so he hasn’t taken anyone out. Go on over there and holler for him – he’s more than likely up on one of the boats. You folks have yourselves a good day, now.’
The man ambled off in the other direction and Ruby looked down at Jake and pretended to adjust his cap, while breathing in deeply to pull herself together. Jake looked up at her, his face solemn, and once again reached for her hand as they set off in the direction the man had indicated. Just as Zeke had said, there was a large blue signboard with the words ‘Sugar Bay Tours’ emblazoned in bold white letters.
As they drew closer, Ruby raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sun and scanned the decks of the tethered boats. There was no sign of anyone on board, but she would have died before announcing their presence by shouting for Kenny, as the man fromthe café had instructed. She looked around and spotted a building a short distance away with a smaller version of the blue signboard on its frontage.
Suddenly, Jake nudged her sharply with his elbow. ‘Mum!’ he hissed urgently.
Turning back, Ruby followed his gaze and froze. A tall figure in jeans and a baseball cap had emerged from below the deck of the boat nearest to them and was clearly about to disembark. Her pulse racing, she stared as the man bounded lithely from the boat on to the docking walkway and headed straight towards them, whistling cheerfully. As he approached, he glanced their way and tipped his cap with a muttered greeting before continuing past them towards the building.
Ruby’s heart was thudding with the frenzy of an unleashed jackhammer as she watched him stop abruptly in his tracks. Clinging on to her son with the desperation of a drowning swimmer, she watched the man slowly turn around.
13
Ruby stared dumbly at the man returning her scrutiny, barely registering the pressure of Jake’s equally desperate grip of her hand. Every nerve in her body was on high alert as she watched the man’s eyes widen and his mouth fall slightly open, and she hardly dared blink as he retraced his steps until he was within touching distance. He was tall – one of the first things that had drawn her to him – and even in her high wedged sandals, he topped her by a couple of inches. His white polo shirt clung to broad shoulders and muscular arms, and through the open-necked top she could see the glint of a thin gold chain against his dark brown skin. All the imagined scenarios and well-rehearsed speeches vanished as her eyes drank in the familiar face with its strong jaw and deep-set dark eyes identical to Jake’s.
‘Ruby?’ He sounded so incredulous that she couldn’t help the wry smile that tugged at her lips.
‘Kenny,’ she echoed faintly.
Kenny lowered his gaze to Jake. He drew in a long, shuddering breath and pressed his fist hard against his lips. The sound of a suppressed sob escaped as, slowly shaking his head, Kenny dropped on to one knee to come face to face with the boy.
‘Jake?’ he whispered.
Jake’s eyes were enormous in his face as he nodded dumbly. For a long moment, the three of them remained frozen in a tableau,and then Kenny held out his arms. Without hesitation, Jake let go of Ruby’s hand and walked into his father’s embrace.
Ruby felt her breath leave her chest in jagged bursts as she watched her son wind his arms around his father’s neck, and it took every bit of her strength not to burst into tears.
Kenny held on to the child for a long moment before releasing him. ‘Jake!I-I don’t even— You’re so big now... My God, look at you!’ he stammered, shaking his head as if trapped in a dream and willing himself to wake up. ‘I can’t believe you’re actually here...’
