your family to say goodbye?’
He grinned at her cool delivery, spoiled by her healthy blush.
‘You assume right.’ He ducked down to whisper in her ear. ‘The sooner I get you naked the better.’
Her blush intensified and he was chuckling, as Izzy bowled up to him and careened into his legs, almost upending both of them.
‘Hey, Iz, where’s the fire?’
‘You’re leaving,’ she said, hanging off his leg in a similar way he’d seen her do to her dad. ‘And I don’t want you to go.’
Hell.
Intuitive as usual, Callie squeezed his hand and released it so he could squat down to Izzy’s level. She transferred her death grip from his leg to his arm.
‘I’m not going far, Iz, just up the road.’
Her blue eyes narrowed, pinning him with the retribution of a child he’d let down too many times in the past. ‘You sure you’re coming to the wedding on Christmas Eve and everything?’
‘I’m sure.’
Her wariness didn’t ease, and he half expected her to give him a kick in the shins for all those times he’d sidestepped her too-astute questions about his early departure.
‘Okay, then,’ she said, but she didn’t let go, and as she stared at him with wide-eyed suspicion it hit him.
Izzy didn’t believe him.
And that more than anything Callie had said or his family could say got through to him. He needed to stop thinking about making amends and actually start doing something about it.
‘Hey, Iz, I know things are kinda busy around here, with everyone getting ready for Uncle Trav’s wedding, but if it’s okay with your dad why don’t I take you surfing tomorrow?’
She stared at him in disbelief for a good five seconds before an ear-splitting grin indicated he’d done the right thing.
With a loud screech that had every guest in the place looking their way, she released him and ran towards Tom, about six feet away, yelling loud enough to be heard in Melbourne. ‘Uncle Arch is taking me surfing! Yay, yay, yay!’
His family stared at him in unison.
Tom’s warning glare spoke volumes: You’d better not let my kid down this time.
Trav was giving him a thumbs-up of encouragement.
His mum’s soft smile was warm and appreciative and hopeful.
His dad gave a brief nod of approval before he glanced away, unable to look him in the eye as usual.
Well, he’d make Frank Flett look him in the eye before he left this time. If the surf school didn’t show his dad he was worthy and responsible he’d face this situation head-on regardless.
Callie’s pep talk had got him thinking. He’d spent too many years being an outcast in his own family—his choosing. Time to discover the truth about what had happened during his dad’s illness, and why they hadn’t deemed him fit to know at the time.
And he had Callie to thank for giving him the push he needed.
‘Thanks.’ He caressed her cheek with his fingertips, a fleeting gesture he hoped conveyed even half of what he was thinking.
‘For what?’
‘Everything,’ he said, pulling her in for a quick hug to the sound of embarrassing applause from his family.
She laughed as they disengaged, and as he took in her flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes and smiling mouth he realised how much he’d given up in walking away from her all those years ago.
And he’d end up doing it again.
He didn’t want to lose her, but he didn’t trust himself to make her happy. He’d analysed it at length: if his family didn’t trust him when the going got rough, was it him?
Was it because he didn’t inspire trust in people? And if his own family didn’t trust him, how could he connect emotionally with a woman like Callie?
Where did that leave them?
Damned if he knew.
While Izzy alternated between dancing around Tom and tearing towards him, he grabbed Callie’s hand and tugged her towards his family.
He made arrangements with Tom to pick up Izzy in the morning, slapped Trav on the back and hugged his mum.
When it came to Frank, the inevitable questions bubbled to the forefront of his mind.
Why didn’t you tell me, Dad?
Why didn’t you let me be there for you?
Why did you trust the others and not me?
He didn’t ask. Now wasn’t the time. But before he left this trip he’d discover the truth behind all the pain.
They stood there, self-conscious and ill at ease. Archer wanted to say so much, yet he was plagued by the same discomfort that inevitably occurred around his dad these days. When Frank tried a tentative grin Archer shook his hand and mumbled something about seeing him at the wedding. He wanted answers, but right now he was plain exhausted.
This emotional re-bonding took it out of a guy, and hot on the heels of his realisation that he didn’t want to lose Callie...well, Archer knew he had some serious thinking to do.
* * *
When Archer had invited Izzy to surf he’d envisaged the two of them having a little uncle-niece bonding time.
What he hadn’t imagined was the entire Flett clan descending on the beach for an impromptu picnic. Izzy loved the attention and the mayhem and the laughter. Him—not so much.
As he watched Trav elbow their dad and share a laugh with him on the foreshore, regret strengthened his resolve to put the past behind him and move on.
Regret that he’d missed out on being there for his dad when he’d needed him most.
Regret that he’d missed out on so much with his family because of his deliberate withdrawal.
Regret that he hadn’t confronted the issue sooner because of his damned pride.
‘Hey, you’re not watching me!’ Izzy’s yell refocussed his attention on where it should be: refining her pop up technique.
‘I am now, squirt.’
As she sprang from her knees to a standing position, arms stretched out sideways, her grin wide and proud, some of his residual tension whenever his family were around eased.
He’d wasted enough time hanging onto old hurts, and he had missed out on spending time with Izzy as a result.
No more.
