Page 31 of A Cornish Wedding Retreat
Chad munched on a hot greasy chip, doused in salt and vinegar by Maggie who’d insisted it was the only way to eat them. He dangled his long legs down over the sea wall and stared out across the inky black sea twinkling with shimmering jewel-bright reflections from the lights strung around the harbour.
They’d walked all around St. Ives, vying with the crowds of tourists packing the narrow streets. Maggie insisted they avoided the gift shops full of Cornish knick-knacks and steered them instead towards the wide array of unique local arts and crafts. He’d bought her a fascinating driftwood figure she’d admired as a memento of the day. Created by a St. Ives artist its flowing hair and enigmatic expression reminded him of Maggie herself. Eventually the aroma drifting out from the numerous pasty shops stirred his appetite back to life but she’d made him wait until the streets began to empty for a fish and chip supper.
‘I’d miss this,’ Maggie murmured. ‘It’s not easy, is it?’
He shook his head and broke off a piece of battered fish, popping it into his mouth and chewing to give himself more thinking time before he replied.
‘What’s Tennessee like?’
‘We have four seasons same as you do except the summers are hotter and more humid. Fall’s probably my favourite time of year, the colours are incredible especially up in the Smoky Mountains. We’ve no coastline of course but there are a ton of beautiful lakes for swimming, boating and fishing.’ There was so much more he could say but Chad didn’t want Maggie to think he was trying to hard sell her on his home state.
Maggie pinched another of his chips. When they’d placed their order at the shop she’d insisted she didn’t want any but had promptly proceeded to eat at least half of his. ‘I’ve never had theopportunity to travel apart from a couple of cheap weekend trips to France.’
‘I’ve been lucky. My folks took us all over the States, plus we did several trips to the Caribbean and two summers we roamed all over Europe. I’ve done more on my own too. I love seeing how other people live, the differences and the similarities binding us together.’I want to show you the world, Maggie.He shoved another chip in his mouth to keep from speaking his undisciplined thoughts out loud.
‘Are you close to your family?’
‘Yes and no.’ Chad shrugged. ‘My folks get on at me sometimes for having too active a social life. The way I look at it is I’m single, I’m not in debt and I don’t have any addictions beyond the occasional shot of Jack Daniels plus an unhealthy fondness for good fried chicken. Don’t get me wrong. I admire their long marriage and that of all my grandparents.’ He hesitated over how to express his reservations. ‘I don’t want to be the one to break the Robertson track record. I guess I’m scared of screwing up.’ Maggie frowned and he was afraid he’d been too honest. ‘You’ve made me see it’s a cowardly way to live.’
‘I have?’ She took his last chip out of the paper bag and put it in her mouth, chewing slowly. ‘I still can’t see how this thing between us is going to work.’
Chad wrapped up the grease-stained paper and set it on the wall next to him before putting his arm back around Maggie.
* * *
‘Do you remember what Audrey said before we left?’ she asked, needing to know if she’d been the only one affected.
‘Yep, I sure do, and she’s right. Life’s too short not to grab it with both hands and make the most of every minute.’
Maggie swallowed the lump forming in her throat, the one she always got thinking about her mother.
‘It’s the main reason Josh went to live in the wilds of Colorado. My folks wanted him to settle back in Nashville and run the family business. He turned them down flat because he said he’d seen so much ugliness he needed to be surrounded by good, beautiful things for the rest of his life.’ Chad pushed a loose strand of Maggie’s hair back out of the way and kissed her neck. ‘I need to go and see Josh. I let him down badly when he left the army. I should’ve helped him to stand up to our parents and made them see their way of life wouldn’t suit him after what he’d been through.’
‘I take it you didn’t?’
He shook his head. ‘No. I stood back and let them push him until he couldn’t take it anymore and left. At the time I didn’t try hard enough to understand his motives, but I want to now. You’ve helped crystallise it in my mind.’
Maggie frowned. ‘How?’
‘By seeing how you are with Emily. You never gave up on her no matter how difficult it became. Hey, you haven’t been perfect, no one is, but you’ve always tried.’
She was stunned. No one else had ever understood her complicated relationship with Emily. Chad saw that it wasn’t guilt that made her persist with her often difficult sister, it was love.
‘Will you come with me to Colorado?’ Chad asked, ‘I’m not asking for anything beyond your company.’ His eyes gleamed in the fading light. ‘Of course, I won’t object if you choose to share my bed.’
‘Oh, won’t you?’ Maggie said archly, poking him in the ribs.
‘I’d love to show you something of my country. You could come to Nashville and meet my folks too, but only if you want to. No pressure. No expectations.’
‘Hopes?’ she whispered.
‘Yeah, I’ll definitely have those. I’ve had them since the moment I set eyes on you, Maggie Taylor.’
The breath left her body and tears prickled at her eyes. She wanted this man so badly her heart ached to think of him leaving.
‘Am I way off base?’ Chad’s soft-spoken question shot directly into her heart and she managed to shake her head. ‘Good. How about we head back to Trewarnock now?’
‘I suppose we should. Emily might be getting worried,’ Maggie said. ‘That is if she’s even home to notice I’m missing.’ She gave him a shy smile. ‘Do you know what I’ll always remember you saying to me at the wedding?’
