Fergus and Clarissa were both obviously gleeful. As was Old Lady Kilbride.
And Mikey was practically crowing.
Some of the villagers seemed wary but most of them went with the flow.
It was only Bella who seemed to swing between puzzled and alarmed. The only time she seemed sure of herself was when she was with Jason or Sally (which went a long way at helping the villagers to decide to go with the flow).
And Fiona didn’t get it.
Clearly, she had a purpose for being on earth with her family. To make certain that everything was going to be all right. Now she figured that purpose was gone and her still being there was just plain mean. Or, perhaps, whatever powers that be were busy and she was low on the priority list.
Sure, she supposed she was happy that her family was healing and moving on.
But did she have to have her nose rubbed in it?
She understood when the dancing started.
The first dance was for Dougal and Annie and, again, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Then Annie danced with Fergus and Dougal danced with Jennifer.
As they were taking their seats, Annie grinning for some reason nervously, Fiona materialized behind her. She was seating herself beside Bella and as the DJ asked the best man and maid of honor to take the dance floor, Annie quickly turned to her friend.
“I’m sorry, Bella. I arranged this a long time ago and –”
She didn’t get to finish, Prentice, never far from Bella, claimed her.
Wordlessly pulling her out of her seat, he guided her to the dance floor and then he took her in his arms.
And they danced alone on the dance floor, everyone watching, to Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer”.
For those who didn’t get it, watching Prentice and Bella sway barely moving, they would get it.
Even Fiona had to admit they fit perfectly. Prentice’s handsome dark head bent, his cheek pressed to hers, his lips at her ear. Bella’s beautiful white-blonde head tipped back, her cheek against his, her eyes carrying a sheen of tears, her lips trembling. Prentice’s arm was around her waist, noticeably tight. Her arm was around his shoulders, holding on as if that hold was the only thing keeping her standing.
His fingers, laced in hers, were lifted and pressed with Bella’s hand twisted and resting against his heart.
The room had melted from existence and everyone in it knew they were superfluous to what was happening on the dance floor to the sweet words of a sad, sad song.
It was a Scottish fairytale come alive, right before their eyes.
And Fiona could take no more.
She had a soft heart but this was ridiculous.
Then, on the closing notes to the song, a cold, imperious, loud voice sounded across the room.
“I should have known.”
Bella went still as a statue, almost like she was made of marble.
Prentice’s head shot up.
Fiona drifted so she could stare toward the edge of the dance floor.
An older man with impossibly good posture stood there wearing a suit and a venomous expression on his face.
Fiona had never seen him in her life and she still didn’t like him.
Bella slowly unlaced her hand from Prentice’s and turned around.
“Dad,” she whispered in a horrified voice, “what are you doing here?”
Oh God.
That was Bella’s father?
He took a step forward and raked scathing eyes down Bella’s body.
“Dressed as a whore, acting like a whore. Again,” Carver Austin said.
This time, Prentice’s body turned to marble.
Gasps were heard around the room.
But he had yet to do his worst.
Bella came unstuck and walked swiftly to him.
“Dad, let’s just go outside and –”
She didn’t finish.
When she got close enough, Fiona and everyone else was shocked to see, his hand came back and he slapped her, sadistically. The fierce crack of his palm hitting her cheek sounded revoltingly throughout the room.
She was wearing hopelessly high heels and lost balance, falling to all fours at his feet.
The air in the room turned static and nobody moved.
Except Prentice who was there in a flash, bending low, his arm around Bella’s waist, he pulled her gently up in front of him and took five steps back, his face a mask of rage.
“Get out,” Prentice growled, voice rumbling with fury and Fiona feared he’d do harm to the older man, not that the old tosser didn’t deserve it, just that it wouldn’t have been a fair fight.
Bella’s father barely glanced at Prentice, his voice went high and mocking when he taunted, “Dad, I love him. He’s not just a fisherman but even if he was, I wouldn’t care. I love him. I want to marry him. I want to spend the rest of my life in that village with him.”
When he was done, everyone in the room, including Fiona, knew Mr. Austin was taunting Bella with her own, heartbreaking, long ago uttered words.
Most especially Prentice, whose face had gone white and whose arm around Bella had tightened.
But Carver Austin wasn’t done.
“And here you are, first chance you get, throwing yourself at him like a common tart. What is the matter with you?”
“Carver, I think you should leave,” Fergus was close, Dougal and Annie at his back.
Carver glared at Fergus then his eyes scraped over Dougal. “You should know better,” he said scornfully, speaking to Fergus but referring to Dougal.
“Carver, leave,” Fergus demanded.
“I’ll go and I’m taking Isabella with me. I should have never let her spend time with your daughter.”
Prentice opened his mouth to speak but Jason was suddenly standing in front of Carver Austin, close in front of him.
“You’re not taking Miss Bella anywhere!” he shouted and Carver didn’t hesitate. He shoved Fiona’s son aside, striding toward his daughter.
Fiona prepared to launch a ghostly attack but she didn’t get her chance.
Bella wrenched free of Prentice’s arm and she took two angry steps toward her father, switched directions and caught Jason with an arm around his chest. Pulling him roughly so his back was against her front, she backed up, dragging Jason with her.
Her hold and actions fiercely protective, her words, spoken in a tone so harsh, it was scratching and hard to hear, seconded her actions.
“Don’t you dare touch him. Don’t you dare. Hit me, humiliate me, criticize me, but don’t you dare touch Jason.”
She backed into Prentice and stopped. His arm slid around her waist instantly. Sally, face full of fear, ran through the crowd and threw her arms around Bella’s thighs. Burying her face in her own arm, Sally held onto Bella as she trembled.
Bella’s hand not around Jason went to the nape of Sally’s neck.
Carver took this all in, not missing a thing, especially not the fact that Jason shared his father’s unusual eye color.
“Well done, Isabella. Ready-made family. You claimed your fisherman and now you can finally play house like you’ve always wanted.”
The cruelty of his words sent Fiona reeling back several inches.
Was this man actually Bella’s father?
Prentice had a different reaction.
Again in a growl, this one as frightening as it was threatening, he demanded, “Fergus, I swear to Christ, get him the fuck out of here.”
It was Dougal that strode forward stating, “You’re done, mate.”
Carver glared at him. “Don’t lay a hand on me.”
“Allow me to lay a hand on you,” Mikey said from behind Carver then he bunched Carver’s suit jacket in his fist, turned and hustled the older man inelegantly out the door.
Fergus and Dougal’s father, Hamish, followed.
Bella and Fiona’s family stood still on the dance floor, the eyes of everyone in the room were on them.
Bella moved first. Pull
ing free of Prentice’s arm and gently disengaging from Sally and Jason only long enough to crouch down, she brought Sally in close with her arm and, with her other hand, she cupped Jason’s jaw and looked in his face.
“Are you okay, Jason?” she asked softly.
“Is that your Dad?” Jason asked in reply.
Tears threatening to roll down her cheeks, Bella didn’t answer. She just nodded.
“He’s a wanker,” Jason announced.
Fiona thought her son was not wrong.
Bella gave him a trembling smile.
Then she stood, letting go of the children, face pale, tears now rolling silently down her cheeks, she took in the assemblage gazing at her with varying degrees of sadness and compassion.
Her eyes caught on Annie.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“Oh Bella,” Annie whispered back and started to walk toward her but Bella’s hand shot up.
“No,” she said, taking in a breath. “It’s me. That dark cloud follows me. I shouldn’t have come.”
Fiona’s heart squeezed.
Bella wrote a lot about her “dark cloud” in her journals.
A lot, a lot.
“Bella,” Annie breathed, obviously knowing about the dark cloud.
But Bella looked away.
She laid a hand on Jason’s head, sliding it down to rest on his cheek, she allowed herself that minute touch and then her hand dropped away.
She turned to Sally, cupping Fiona’s daughter’s cheek in her trembling hand, her fingers curled and she stroked that cheek with her knuckles before she turned to Prentice.
“Elle,” he murmured, his hand moving to her waist but she scurried away.
“I shouldn’t have come.”
“Baby.”
That was something else Fiona could do without. Prentice called Sally “baby” and Fiona had heard, a long time ago, him calling Bella that same endearment.
He’d never called her anything but “Fiona” or, when he was feeling affectionate, which she had to admit was often, he called her “Fee”.
She could do without hearing her husband’s deep brogue calling Bella “baby” in the same way he held her in bed that morning, like she was precious.
“I shouldn’t have come,” Bella repeated.
Then she turned on her hopelessly high heel and she gracefully ran.
Fiona always knew she could run gracefully in those heels.
Prentice didn’t hesitate, he went after her.
“Watch the children,” he ordered Debs when he passed his ashen sister.
Fiona sped behind them.
He caught her at her rental car.
Hands to her hips, he pulled her from the open door, slammed it, twirled her around, took a step into her and pinned her against the car.
“You didn’t leave me,” he declared, his voice hoarse.
She shook her head, those silent tears sliding down her cheeks.
“What did he do to you?”
She shook her head, refusing to answer.
Prentice’s hands went to either side of her neck and gave her a gentle squeeze.
“Did he hit you?”
She stared up at him, mutely crying.
Prentice dipped his face to hers and his voice got soft, “Baby, did he hit you?”
She bit her lip and her eyes slid away.
Prentice’s head came up.
“Christ!” he swore so viciously, Fiona was surprised the windows on the cars didn’t shatter.
Bella winced.
“He kept you from Annie, didn’t he? When she got hurt. Because she was here. He kept you from her to keep you from me.”
She closed her eyes slowly.
Then she opened them and nodded.
“I can’t fucking believe this,” Prentice growled.
Bella finally spoke, her voice timid and soft, a voice Fiona had never heard, a voice Prentice (by the looks of him) never heard.
Nor did he like.
“It was for the best.”
“It was for the best?” he repeated, sounding appalled.
“I’m… you…” she stammered. “You wouldn’t have Jason. You wouldn’t have Sally.” It was Prentice who closed his eyes then and Bella went on, her voice getting stronger. “You wouldn’t have had Fiona.” Prentice’s eyes opened and pain was there, Bella saw it and she swallowed. Then her hand lifted and she touched the laugh lines at the sides of his eyes with her forefinger. “You wouldn’t have those, Prentice, because you wouldn’t have had the laughter I know Fiona gave you.”
Fiona felt her throat close as she watched Prentice bend his neck and rest his forehead against Bella’s.
“I have to go,” she whispered and his head shot right back up.
“Sorry?” he asked in a dangerous tone.
“I have to go,” she repeated.
Fiona watched Prentice’s eyes narrow. “What the fuck are you on about?”
“I have to go,” she said yet again.
Fiona got close and shouted, Don’t. Don’t Bella. This isn’t you. You aren’t the dark cloud. That was all your father. Don’t do this. Don’t go.
“You aren’t going,” Prentice declared.
“I am. I have to,” she told him.
“You aren’t and you can’t,” he shot back.
“Don’t you see?”
“No, I fucking well do not.”
Her body jolted. “Annie and Dougal’s wedding, perfect, except for me.”
“You didn’t ruin their wedding.”
“No? Who did? Me being here brought my father here and –”
“This is insane, Elle. You aren’t –”
“Insane? Like my mother?” Fiona watched Prentice’s head jerk but Bella wasn’t done. “She was insane, Prentice. People in their right minds don’t kill themselves.”
“People in their right minds find reasons to kill themselves every day,” he returned.
“You don’t know.”
“You don’t either.”
“I know my mother wasn’t in her right mind. I know that for certain.”
“Elle –”
“And you don’t need that in your life or in your children’s lives.”
Prentice’s face grew stunned. “Are you saying –?”
“I’m saying I’m a product of her and him and that is what you’ll have around your children if we carry on with this madness.”
“You may be a product of them, Elle, but you’re you.”
“And who’s that, then? You said yourself you don’t even know me!”
“Yes, I do. You’re the girl I fell in love with twenty years ago. That girl came home drunk two nights ago. Last night, she let me make love to her, telling me it’s never been that good, and later, she slept in my arms.”
“That girl isn’t me.”
Prentice glared at her.
Bella glared back.
Then he tore his hand through his hair and, at that gesture, Fiona knew he was losing patience because she’d seen him do it many times before.
“This is ridiculous,” he clipped.
Yes, losing patience.
“I agree, just let me go.”
His eyes narrowed. “I told you, this time I’m keeping you.”
She put her hands to his chest and gave a hearty shove. Prentice’s torso rocked back but then came in closer.
“You can’t keep me,” she snapped. “I don’t want to be kept.”
He put his face close to hers. “Bollocks.”
She pulled in breath through her nose and looked at the heavens.
When she looked back at him, she asked, “Prentice, don’t you see?”
Fiona shouted, No! No, he doesn’t see! You have to tell him. You have to tell him so he can sort you out. He has no idea. You HAVE GOT to TELL him.
Bella shook her head to clear Fiona’s words.
And then she said, “It’s for the best. It was twenty years ago, and you can’t deny that.” His mouth g
ot tight at that and Bella went on, this time quietly, “It will be again. You’ll find happiness, Prentice. It’s just never something you’d find with me.”
Prentices eyes got hard. “Elle, you get in that car and drive away, that’s it. You leave me and the children this time, if you get second thoughts and you come back, I’ll no’ make you work for it. There’ll be nothing to work for.”
To Fiona’s shock, disappointment, anger and sadness, although Bella’s face paled and her throat convulsed, her head nodded.
Prentice felt those same four emotions and he didn’t hide them.
His voice was gruff when he stated, “The last time, even though I didn’t know it, you were taken from me. This time, if you leave, it’s all you.”
Fiona saw Bella’s eyes flash with indecision.
“Prentice,” she whispered.
Don’t get in that car, Bella, Fiona shouted, Don’t do it.
Then, seeing Bella make her decision (the wrong one) and shift toward the door, Fiona tried yelling at Prentice.
Don’t let her go. She needs you to save her. She needs her knight in shining armor, not a man who’d let her go. This is twice, Prentice, and you don’t even know this is all on you. Twenty years, and it’s all YOU. You should have gone to save her the last time and you let her go. This is the same. She isn’t leaving you, she has this idea that she’s saving you. This is NOT her LEAVING. This is YOU LETTING HER GO!
As usual, Prentice didn’t hear a word Fiona said.
And by the time she was done yelling, Bella was in the car and she didn’t even look at Prentice’s angry, tight face as she reversed the rental out of the spot and she didn’t look back as she drove away.
Chapter Ten
Isabella’s Return
Isabella
The next three weeks went by in a fog for Isabella.
Well, not all of it.
She remembered texting Annie and Mikey repeatedly to let them know she was okay and not about to drive her car over a cliff.