Seth swore violently after he heard December’s car drive away and punched the wall, swearing as the pain vibrated through his arm. He swore yet again as he looked at the hole in the freshly plastered wall that would now need to be repaired.
He was usually in control of his emotions—he prided himself on his ability to remain cool under pressure—but where December was concerned, he lost it, he always had.
He dropped his hands and looked up at the mountain range outside the big bay windows. They stood dominant, proud and majestic against the brewing storm clouds.
He wasn’t proud of the way he’d thrown McPherson’s death in December’s face. He’d taken his anger out on her and that was unfair. She had enough to deal with, living with the knowledge of her bastard of a husband’s betrayal and left to pay off his debts.
What had he expected? That after all this time she’d drop everything and run to him with open arms? After he’d sent her away and told her he never wanted to see her again? He was nothing if not optimistic. He’d proven that by thinking he could come back to town and stop her wedding all those years ago. When would he learn?
He remembered the pain of watching her disappear into that church. The strength it took to keep driving out of town instead of turning back. Then and there he’d vowed he’d never let anyone make him vulnerable again.
Seth scrubbed his face with his open palms. He should be feeling elated. Everything was happening just the way he’d envisioned. He had put the people of Christmas Creek in their place, yet the knowledge did nothing to fill that cavern of loneliness inside. Deep down, under the ruthless persona he’d honed to perfection over the last decade, he was still the kid from the wrong side of town with the no-hoper father and druggie mother.
On some rational level he’d known he would never make anyone here respect him, no matter how many companies he owned or how far he’d travelled beyond the vast metropolis of Christmas Creek. It would have been cheaper just to go and get therapy, but revenge—the burning hatred that simmered inside him—was the only thing that had driven him on, pushing him to succeed and prove them all wrong. Prove to them that he was better than the loser they’d all pegged him for. Now they despised the man he’d become, but the irony of the situation was that they’d created him. All those years of staring down their noses at him, putting labels on him before he’d even been old enough to understand them. Oh no, the good people of Christmas Creek deserved everything that was coming to them.
Seth sat with his back against the brick wall as he ate an apple and waited. The bell had signalled the end of the day a few minutes earlier. No one approached him, and he liked it that way. He had nothing in common with the rest of his senior year. They all seemed to cruise through the classes, while he sat in the back and tried not to look like he was drowning. He knew he was kidding himself to think he would actually get anywhere by staying in school. But he had nothing to lose; jobs were hard to come by in Christmas Creek. He had nothing better to be doing with his time. Any of the old friends he’d had were long gone now. They’d all left school as soon as they were able—heading for the city, even though they had no jobs to go to. Life on the streets was better than spending the rest of their lives hanging around this place doing nothing. He probably would have eventually joined them had it not been for meeting December. His mood lifted as he spotted the dark-haired girl across the quadrangle, smiling as she listened to something a group of her friends were talking about.
Seth knew he was playing with fire where December Doyle was concerned, but what hope did he have of staying away from something so perfect in his less than perfect life? She was the light and he was the moth. It was instinct that kept him coming back; he was drawn to her from the very beginning, despite the fact he knew there was no way in hell they’d ever have any kind of hope for a future together. How could they? He was the kid from the wrong side of town, a juvenile record as long as his arm, and no idea what he was going to do with the rest of his life. She was the sun in his bleak, grey life and he needed her light and warmth to survive.
However, there was no way December’s father was going to allow his only daughter to end up with someone like Seth, and seeing as practically the whole town was related to the Doyles in one way or other, there were plenty of eyes watching and reporting back. It didn’t matter what they did, Jack Doyle was always there glaring. Seth knew he should stay away from her—they couldn’t even have a semi-normal teenage courtship, they had to resort to sneaking around just to see each other—but he loved her. He may not have had much experience with love in his life, but he knew that’s what this was. December was the first thing in his life he’d ever actually cared about. Before he met her, he’d been heading along the same path the rest of the Hunters had gone down; on probation for stealing a car, this was his last chance to avoid a stint in juvie. He only had a few months before he turned eighteen. If he screwed up after that he’d be headed for prison, just like his old man. Before December he really hadn’t cared one way or another about his future. Now he had something to live for. He tossed the apple core into the bin across from him with more force than had been necessary. He understood why her father didn’t want his only daughter hanging around him, but December was good for him. He needed her.
She made him want to be better, do better. She saw the good in him when everyone else only saw trouble. He could be himself around her, not put up the wall of hostility he used to keep everyone else away.
No matter how hard he tried to become the kind of man who deserved December Doyle, her family and the rest of the town were just waiting for him to make a mistake so they could crucify him. Seth’s eyes hardened as he watched the group of boys December and her friends had just waved to as they walked past. Her parents wanted her to be with someone like McPherson.
Seth had never liked Daniel McPherson. He was a blow-in from some place down south, sent to live with his grandmother, and from day one he had set his sights on December. His gran lived on the other side of the Doyles and Daniel had spent a lot of time with the family, becoming part of the furniture in the Doyle household. Seth never could understand how everyone else could be so blind to the guy’s true nature. Everyone seemed to think he was king shit, but something about him wasn’t right. For one, Seth couldn’t work out why the guy spent so much time hanging around the Doyle brothers. It was almost as though he was trying to be some kind of big brother figure. He practised footy with them and hung out after school at their place, acting like they were best mates. It wasn’t like the guy was lacking any friends his own age. At school he was part of the ‘in crowd’, playing on the school football team. He was popular with the girls, too, and Seth had heard rumours that he and his footy mates rated girls on how easily they put out. Seth wouldn’t have cared one way or the other what the wanker did, except that he’d seen the way McPherson looked at December and Seth’s instincts were telling him that McPherson was a threat.
He knew Em thought his distrust stemmed from jealousy, and maybe in part it did. After all, the guy had somehow managed to win over every male Doyle in town. They’d welcomed him into their family where they’d slammed the door in Seth’s face.
December looked across the quad, searching for someone, and his heart rate accelerated momentarily as her gaze locked onto his. A slow smile spread across his face as she drew level before she lowered her eyes. He felt the barest touch of her fingertips on his palm as she brushed past, and Seth itched to grab hold of her arm, spin her around and kiss her right here and now in front of everyone. But he wouldn’t, because that would seal their fate.
Ten minutes later, Seth pulled up behind the old sale yards and saw Em waiting for him. He’d wanted to surprise her with the bike. It had been left half built in the garage, a long forgotten project. He’d managed to get it working over the last few days and couldn’t wait to take her for a ride.
He took the helmet off and swung his leg over the bike, catching Em in his arms as she flew towards him with a grin. ‘Whose bike is that?’
‘Mine. I’ve been working on it for the last few weeks. Like it?’ he asked.
‘It’s great. But you’ll be careful, won’t you?’ she said, her face suddenly serious.
‘Always,’ he promised, kissing her deeply. God, he loved kissing her. He couldn’t get enough; he doubted he’d ever get enough. After they finally broke apart Seth glanced around at their surroundings and shook his head. ‘I hate this, Em,’ he said. ‘I hate bringing you to a place that smells like cow shit. I want to take you to the diner like normal people and hang out wherever we want instead of sneaking around all the time.’
‘I know,’ she said, resting her forehead against his with a weary sigh. ‘I want it to be different too . . . but we can’t take the risk.’
‘Christ, Em. Risk? How am I that much of a threat to anyone?’
‘You’re not. It’s my dad. You don’t understand what he’s like.’
‘Yeah. I do. But he’s not the Godfather, and, despite what the Doyles think, they aren’t royalty.’
December gave a frustrated sigh. ‘All I know is if Dad finds out about us, we won’t be able to be alone anymore. I don’t want to risk not being able to see you like this, Seth.’ She held his face between her hands. ‘I couldn’t bear it if I couldn’t see you.’
He saw tears well up in her eyes and instantly hated that he’d upset her. ‘It’s okay, Em. They won’t find out. We’ll be careful.’
She searched his gaze silently before reaching up to kiss him again. ‘Will you come somewhere with me? I want to show you something.’
‘Sure,’ he shrugged, digging the keys out of his pocket. Em eyed the bike uneasily. ‘I promise it’s safe. And we’ll stay off the main roads, so no one will see us. Come on, Em, live a little.’
‘You do remember my uncle’s a policeman, right?’
Seth flashed her a grin, ‘He hasn’t caught me yet,’ he chuckled as she stared at him in horror. She was such a goody-two-shoes. Part of him liked the idea of tempting her over to the dark side, watching her eyes light up in excitement as she broke a few rules here and there, but part of him also knew it was that innocence which had attracted him to her in the first place, and he didn’t want her to throw away anything that made her special either. ‘I’m kidding. This is the first time I’ve taken it out. I promise it’ll be fine.’
‘Okay.’ She gave in with a nervous grin and gingerly accepted the helmet he handed her, allowing him to help tuck her hair in before fastening it securely.
‘Where we going?’
‘It’s a surprise. Just head out the back road along the old highway and I’ll tell you when to turn.’
Riding out on the open road, with December’s arms wrapped tightly around his waist, Seth didn’t think he’d ever felt more alive than he did at that very moment. The trust she put in him was humbling, and his throat tightened momentarily as he wondered again how it was possible that someone like Em was in his life. A few kilometres along she pointed to a road up ahead and he slowed down to take the turn. The track was clearly not often used, and he had to concentrate to keep the bike out of the deep ruts in the road that had been washed away by rain over the years. Seth knew where they were, although he’d never been here himself, and he hadn’t even known about this little-used back road. Everyone knew about the old abandoned mansion that had been built by the Hartmans, before the old guy and his three daughters had vanished into the bush and his wife went crazy. He helped Em slide off the bike and instantly missed the contact of her body pressed tightly against his back.
‘Follow me,’ she said, her eyes lighting up as she took his hand and led him around the back of the house.
She opened a window and climbed inside, turning to wait for him to follow. Seth finally managed to squeeze in through the window with a bit of effort—he wasn’t as small as Em and it was a tight fit—but as he straightened and looked around, his mouth just about hit the floor. ‘This is . . .’ He was lost for words.
‘I know,’ she grinned, taking his hand. ‘Come on, I’ll give you a tour.’
Seth stumbled over broken floorboards and discarded furniture, too busy gaping at his surroundings to watch where he was going. It was like nothing he’d ever seen before. A massive staircase wound its way up to the floors above them, the railings broken in places and steps missing. Grime covered everything, and the musty scent of decay lingered around them, and yet Seth saw past all that. In his mind he saw gleaming timber and polished marble tiles, and for one crazy moment he swore he heard the sound of laughter and music playing somewhere in the distance.
He followed Em as she navigated her way carefully up the staircase, holding onto her in case she tripped, but it was obvious she knew her way around the old place with her eyes closed. ‘How long have you been coming in here?’ he asked.
‘Ever since I was a little girl. This is my favourite room,’ she said, pushing open a solid timber door which opened into a large bedroom, complete with its own open fireplace. Large windows overlooked the mountains beyond, and the afternoon sunlight streamed into the centre of the room, capturing the dust mites as they swirled and danced in the beams.
‘It’s amazing,’ he said finally, dragging his eyes from the room and looking down into Em’s upturned face.
‘It always makes me so sad seeing it like this. I wish I could see the house how it used to be.’
‘One day you will,’ he said quietly, a strange certainty filling him. He had no idea how he was going to do it, but even if it took his entire life, he would somehow make it happen.
The smile Em sent him made him feel a thousand feet tall. Anyone else would have laughed at him, but not Em. She just smiled and accepted it. No one had ever believed in him the way she did. His heart felt like it was ready to explode as he tugged her forward and into his arms. When he was with her, he felt like he could do anything, be anything. She made him believe in himself and gave him hope. ‘I love you, Em,’ he said quietly.
His pulse leapt at the light he saw glowing in her eyes.
‘I love you, too,’ she said, ‘and nothing will ever tear us apart.’