The Reunion, Bk 2

By B C Austen

After Mike returns and convinces Ursula to join him in Esperance, Western Australia they plan to open up a joy flight enterprise in place of his late uncle’s crop dusting business. After a promising start a major problem resurfaces between his long-lost brother and his father, that threatens to derail the entire venture. Can they resolve years of distrust and find some compromise for their future well-being? Ursula fears the turmoil within the Turner family is too deep to resolve.

• Language: English
• Publisher: B C Austen
• Release date: Feb 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005443733

B C Austen

Barbara is a retired medical receptionist and a learner blogger. She is a native of Western Australian country towns, but has now joined the city rat race. Among her hobbies she has a small but fascinating collection of weird and wonderful teapots.She has been learning creative writing for a few years now and her first novel has just hit the ebook market.Her family is her life, but movies and coffee with friends are all important.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

ADELAIDE

Thursday May 27, 2010

Mike came through the entrance door of the Grosvenor Hotel, paused for a few seconds, then walked slowly through the foyer towards Ursula, smiling at her all the way. He groaned as he lowered himself into the overstuffed settee beside her.

‘And there you are,’ he said, trying not to give away that his body ached all over. ‘A sight for sore eyes. I’m so sorry about last night.’ He looked at her, waiting for a response.

‘Are you really ok? You were looking so fragile when they wheeled you into the ambulance. You’re not going to be an invalid for the rest of the day, are you?’

He shook his head and spent the next few seconds looking at her. She met his gaze.

‘What?’ she asked, fidgeting with her book.

‘We can’t go on like this. I’m not letting you out of my sight ever again.’

‘But I’m due to fly back to my life in New York on Sunday afternoon, and I suppose you have to get on with yours.’

‘Will you change your mind about leaving? Will you stay here and be with me?’ She’d been waiting for what seemed like an eternity for him to say those words again. ‘To see if we can build a relationship?’

‘I want to, Mike. It’s just that my previous relationship wasn’t that good, and I can’t deal with another break-up.’

He leaned back in his seat and crossed his legs, an action that made him stiffen and give a wince of discomfort. His hand went to his hip to give it a brief massage, after which he checked his watch.

‘What? Do you have to be somewhere?’

‘No, I’m just wondering how long it’s going to take you to say yes.’

‘How long has it been now?’

He looked at the watch again. ‘Almost three minutes.’

‘Ok,’ she said, ‘that’s long enough I suppose. I’m saying it then - a big fat yes.’

Mike leaned his head back and closed his eyes. ‘Thank god,’ he whispered to himself. He stood and pulled her out of the couch for a kiss.

‘Come on, let’s go somewhere so we can celebrate. We have a lot of catching up to do. But first….’ He led her towards the elevators. ‘Come this way, I want to run something past you.’

The doors slid back seconds after Mike had pressed the button to go up. They rode up to their floor in silence and went into Mike’s room. Ursula stood just inside the door with her arms folded over her book while Mike sat on the bed.

‘Come here, sit next to me.’

She grinned and threw the book on the floor. When she’d sat herself beside him, he reached for one of the pillows and gently pushed her backwards so she was lying on it, then he stretched himself out beside her, propping himself up on his elbow, facing her.

‘What is it you want to run past me?’

‘Our future. Can I interest you in starting up a tourist business in Western Australia with me? In Esperance?’

‘Esperance? Where on earth…?’ She studied his face as she racked her brains about its location. ‘Isn’t that in the back of beyond? Western Australia? Where has this business venture idea come from? Is the concussion still messing with your head?’

‘No, Ursula. I think I’d better fill you in on what happened in Esperance while I was away.’

‘Yes, the missing ten days. I’m still not sure if I can forgive you for that. I watched you drive away into the darkness that night to go home, then all I get is a short phone call the next day, and then nothing else.’

‘I know.’ Mike closed his eyes and laid back. ‘Give me a minute, will you. I’m still vague about some things from that trip and everything is rushing around in my head. There is such a lot I have to tell you, but I can’t even figure out where to start.’

‘Have you eaten anything this morning?’

‘What?’ Mike blinked for a few moments, leaving Ursula to wonder if he should have stayed in the hospital. Something didn’t seem right with him. He looked at her, then his eyes seemed to glaze, and the words he was trying to say wouldn’t come. He rubbed them with the heel of his hand, then blinked a few more times.

‘I said, have you eaten….’ Ursula stopped talking as she could tell he was drifting off to sleep and gave up on any further questioning. His breathing had slowed down into a sleep pattern. A minute later his eyelids opened and he looked at her.

‘What did you say?’ he asked.

‘Kick your shoes off and get under the blanket. You need some more rest.’

Mike raised himself on his elbow and looked for the pillows, then yawned as he attempted to stand up. Ursula helped him up and then pulled the blankets aside and let him ease himself into the bed. She pulled his shoes off, then looked at his belt, wondering if she should help him undress, but decided against it. He drifted into a deep sleep within minutes as she sat on the end of the bed watching him.

She wondered about their sleeping arrangements. They had two rooms booked and she had no intention of spending the nights by herself anymore. With Mike now sound asleep she figured she could leave him there for an hour or two and amuse herself by doing some shopping, or to just wander around the town.

She put her book in her bag, picked up the room key and went out. In the lobby she toyed with the idea of cancelling their second room, but decided against it. It was Mike’s idea to have the two rooms, and she didn’t want to do things behind his back; not now that she was so glad to be with him again. She felt neglected that he had gone off to sleep and not said anything about what he’d been doing, or even asked her about her fracas with Goran.

Her phone dinged and she pulled it out of her bag.

"Where are you? I’m worried (a frown emoji)"

She rang her mother back.

‘Hi Mum, sorry I haven’t kept in touch. I’ve had some dramas.’

‘What sort of drama? You haven’t gone off to Perth with Nathan, have you?’

‘No, I haven’t. He’s gone back with Josh. I got apprehended at the airport and was marched off by their security.’

‘Oh dear. What on earth for?’

‘It turned out to be a ruse that Mike had instigated. He was at the airport and saw me kissing Nathan goodbye. He thought it was me going back to the States, so he engineered for me to be detained.’

‘Are you serious? Can he do that?’

‘I don’t think so, Mum, but it was just a bit of fun. Anyway, I was so overjoyed to see him so we spent the night in a hotel, but no sooner had we got there when he collapsed on me and ended up in the hospital. He’s only now been discharged and has come back.’

‘What made him collapse?’

‘I don’t know the full story yet. We haven’t even had a proper reunion. I want to tell him about the dramas we had with Goran, but its all got to wait.’

‘Oh, my poor darling. Why don’t you both come back here to the farm and he can recuperate here?’

‘It’s probably going to come to that, but for now, I’m ok and Mike is recovering.’

‘When are you going back to work? Are you still going back?’

‘I’ve decided not to.’

‘Because of Mike? Look, darling, that’s probably not a good idea. Why don’t you just get an extension of your leave instead of resigning? I know you think the world of this man, but isn’t it rather early to put all your eggs in one basket? Your previous marriage was rather spur of the moment too if I recall.’

Ursula didn’t reply. She sat in one of the overstuffed chairs in the lobby and was staring at a family coming in through the doors to check in. Nathan’s face flashed before her eyes. She remembered when her marriage was over and he was gone; and the struggle she’d gone through to get over it. She was already invested in a life with Mike, but her mother’s sensible words were like a stab to her heart.

I can’t let him slip through my fingers. I have to give this a chance.

‘Ursula? Are you still there?’

‘Yes, Mum, I am. Just thinking about what you said. There are more reasons than just Mike.’

‘Such as?’

‘You for starters.’

‘As much as I like to hear you say that, we both know that us two living together will not end well, despite what I whinged about after the Goran business. I’ve been working on a plan to keep the farm running on my own.’

‘That’s encouraging, but I’ve not liked my job for months now. It’s getting more dangerous, and I don’t know why it’s happening, but passengers are becoming so demanding. It’s getting to me and is hard on my nerves. I don’t enjoy being so far from home, and the reunion reinforced my feelings about having real friends close by.’

‘You mean, Stella and Patti. I thought you were dreading meeting them.’

‘I was, but we’ve all grown up and changed.’

‘Take my advice. Ask your boss for more leave and then go back to work. Give it another go. You’ve just been through a big crisis in the space of a few weeks. Firstly with the Goran business and finding out he was responsible for Aled’s death, then meeting your father. I know you felt unsettled when Nathan turned up, and now with Mike in the picture your life has been thrown a curve ball.’

‘I know he loves me, Mum.’

‘And how much do you love him? Enough to give everything up for him?’

‘He’s asked me to join him in a business venture in Western Australia.’

‘What? You can’t be serious? That’s just….’

Elvira went quiet and Ursula could tell this news had floored her.

‘Are you going to join him?’

Ursula didn’t know how to answer her. She could picture her mother’s look of despair and hear the anguish in her voice. She wondered how she could soften the blow.

‘It’s not as far away as New York.’

‘Well, it might as well be,’ was her retort.

‘Mum, I haven’t given him a yes or a no yet. To be honest, it’s a scary thought for me too, but it sounds exciting at the same time.’

‘My advice is, don’t rush into anything.’

‘My head is spinning with excitement right now, but I’m glad we've had this talk, because I needed to be grounded. I’ll keep you posted about it when I learn more.’

‘You’d better.’

‘Another thing, Mum. Will you keep this under your belt, about Mike and me being an item?’

‘Why?’

‘Because despite what I just told you it might not come to anything.’

‘Ok. Not even Stella or Patti?’

‘Especially those two. Bye now, Mum.’

‘Bye, darling. Now that I have a bit of a clearer picture of what’s going on with you, I’m comfortable that you’ll make the right decision.’

‘Thanks, Mum. Bye.’

Ursula put the phone down and checked the time. With the ridiculous time difference between Adelaide and New York it was best she send an email to the airline sooner rather than later.

An hour had passed since she’d left the room, and now she wasn’t in the mood to read the book. Just as she was about to walk out of the hotel another text message came through.

"Where are you?" It was Mike.

"Down in the lobby."

"Wait there for me. I’ll be down in 20mins."

A smile grew on her face as she read it.

‘What am I doing to do, Mike?’ she thought. ‘Mum’s right. As much as my body is screaming out to be with you, I have to be rational. I’ll hear him out, but I must keep my head clear of any feelings I have towards him. About how gorgeous he is and how I want to rush into bed with him. On second thoughts, perhaps it would be good to just dive into the sack and get that out of the way, but somehow I don’t think he’ll change his mind about that. The two separate rooms imply that.’

When she saw him walking towards her, all she could think of was tearing her clothes off and making a beeline for him.

I’ve got no idea where this thing with him is going, but I need to go back to work, to have that time away from him to sort my head out. Mothers tend to be right about such things.

She reached her hand out to him as he came to the seat. He sat on the armrest and caressed her shoulder.

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you. I’ve treated you quite badly this past twenty-four hours.’

‘It’s fine, Mike. You’re looking a lot more relaxed and I’m just glad we’re together again.’

‘What do you want to do today?’

‘Can we go somewhere so we can talk? We have a lot of stuff to sort out.’

CHAPTER TWO

MIKE GOT UP and Ursula followed suit, but the deeply cushioned chair seemed to possess her and the effort of getting out of it had her grasping his hand for help.

‘Gosh Mike, I’m stuck. Can you give me a hoist?’

As he did so she tried to smother the smile that was giving away her delight that they were together again. Standing beside him she felt his warmth radiating over her. He looked around the foyer.

‘I’m needing some caffeine,’ he said. ‘Let’s head towards the lounge.’

‘Tell me you’ve recovered, please, Mike. I’ve been left hanging and worrying since yesterday.’

‘Honestly, I am. That power nap made all the difference, and I feel better now. Would you find somewhere to sit while I order?’ he said.

Ursula found an armchair in the corner near the enormous windows overlooking the city. Mike joined her five minutes later. He stood for a few moments while he put his wallet into his pocket, then he sat down opposite her.

‘Tell me what’s happened that’s left you all battered and bruised.’

‘In short, I was testing out one of my uncle’s small planes. The flight was going well until I was bringing it back down, and then suddenly it lost power and crash landed.’

Ursula’s brow furrowed on hearing of his misfortune. ‘How frightening.’

‘It was. I thought I was a goner. It was lucky that I could walk away from it. The only thing that could have caused it was most likely a fuel blockage.’’

‘You didn’t black out?’

‘I don’t think so. Luck was on my side that day. I got myself out of the wreckage and minutes later the police turned up and they got me to the hospital.’

‘How come they were there?’

‘I’d phoned them earlier to report that someone had stolen some fuel from the hangar. They were coming out to make a report. Anyway, I should start from the beginning about why Dad and I went there, but I believe you had a horrible thing happen too while we were apart.’

‘Yes, I did. I got to the bottom of what had happened to my brother and the culprit was living right under our roof. Goran did it.’

‘Really? Goran? How on earth did he get away with it?’

‘By bullying my mother and being an A-class liar. But, Mike, I have to ask, why didn’t you stay in contact with me….?’

The arrival of their coffee interrupted Ursula. When the waiter left, she drew the mug closer and took a small sip. It was too hot to have anymore than that, so she put it down and leaned back in the chair.

‘I was convinced you had lost interest in me,’ she added. ‘Tell me why you left me hanging.’

‘I would never lose interest in you after waiting so long, believe me. The problem was that somehow my phone got mixed up with my mother’s things as she was leaving to go back to Goolwa. It was lying in the boot of her car the whole time. I couldn’t remember your mobile number, but I rang the landline a couple of times and never got an answer.’

‘Looks like karma wanted to keep us apart. By the way, I think I left my laptop behind on that flight to Perth. Any chance of getting it back.’

‘Oh, I have it back already. I got in touch with the pilot and he handed it over to Bruce, who kindly left it in my locker at the airport.’

‘Thank god for that. I’ll relay my story about Goran to you later, but right now can you to clarify what you meant when you asked me if I was interested in joining you in a tourist business. What’s that all about?’

Mike cleared his throat and his hand went up to the back of his neck, giving it a rub.

‘Well, the basis of it is,’ he paused nervously, then continued, ‘that I’d like you to stay here and not go back to the States. I want us to be together and see if we can make a go of it.’ He waited a few more seconds, then added. ‘I was hoping we could build a good relationship, and have a long-term future…,’ he stuttered some more, ‘… living and working together, forever, in Esperance.’

‘So you want me to give everything up and go to some lonely outpost in an unfamiliar state and start a new business with you? That’s your plan?’

Mike took her hand in both his and his face took on an earnest expression.

‘Don’t jump to conclusions just yet. Esperance is a fantastic town. Granted it is isolated, but it’s such a great place. It’s becoming popular as a tourist destination, and I can see an opening for a flying operation to take people on joy flights and stuff like that.’

‘What’s my role supposed to be?’

‘You’ll be the face of it. The manager, handling the administration side and in charge of the finances. Or if you’re any good at mechanics, I’ll be needing someone to help with that?’

‘Not funny, Mike. And you? Are you going to be the pilot?’

Mike shrugged and let go her hand. ‘I don’t know.’

‘You don’t know?’

He shook his head. ‘I might have to hire someone to do that in the beginning.’

Ursula leaned forward. ‘This last accident was too soon after the previous one, wasn’t it? You’re not keen to get up there again, are you?’

‘I’ll be ok,’ he interjected.

‘You know what, Mike. If I’m staying to go into a business venture with you, I want a better assurance from you than a pilot who’s lost his nerve.’

‘It’ll come back, Ursula. This last escapade is still raw, but flying is what I do. I love getting up in the sky, as free as a bird, and looking down at the wondrous world. Once we get the business set up, which could take a few months yet, I’ll have made a full recovery. There’s a guy in Esperance doing up a viability plan for me, and I’ll show it to you when I get it. This plan will work for both of us. We’re both in the industry of flying, dealing with passengers and the like. I think it’ll work. We’ll both be doing something we like, just on a smaller scale.’

Ursula didn’t answer right away. She gazed out the window and tried to envision the idea. It was appealing, and a lot of what he’d said made sense.

‘I’ll give it some thought. Once we finish our coffee, can you take me back to the airport to collect my laptop? I need to contact work and get an extension of my leave. I’m sure they’ll agree when I tell them there was a death in the family.’

‘Who’s died?’

‘My father died.’

‘Oh, no. I’m so sorry.’

‘It’s ok. I’m supposed to be flying back tomorrow night to start work again.’

Mike looked at her, not sure if he wanted to hear anymore, and by his expression Ursula felt as though she had wrenched his heart out.

‘I have to go back, Mike. I’m torn both ways. Staying here with you or going back to work affects my future, and I have to know what I’m letting myself in for with you. Apart from my marriage to Nathan, I don’t want to do impulsive things anymore. I just want extra time away so I can think. My marriage was a disaster and two people were badly hurt. You might see a sweet attractive air hostess sitting in front of you, but hidden underneath is a feisty, jealous and suspicious woman. I’m not good when I venture into the unknown. You realised that we don’t know each other that well.’

‘Ursula, I wouldn’t ask you to do anything risky with me.’

‘If I go into this with you, what else will I find hidden inside that handsome pilot sitting in front of me?’

‘I’m not sure what you are asking, but how about we drop all this heavy stuff for now and spend what time we have left together and go sightseeing somewhere. Do you fancy a wander around the zoo this afternoon?’

Ursula smiled. ‘Yes, I’d love that.’

Later that night she and Mike retired into their separate rooms. Ursula hadn’t brought up the subject of cancelling it and felt disgruntled about being alone. She had her laptop back and was sifting through the mountain of emails that were clogging up the inbox. She fired one off to her HR department requesting another two weeks leave, then answered the ones she felt needed a response, then closed the laptop and turned the light out. Still propped up on her pillows she cast her mind back to the afternoon.

There was no doubt she loved being with Mike, and he was in his element with her. The afternoon had been wonderful, having a man for company again and having him all to herself. It had been a long time since anyone had fussed over her, especially when he would spontaneously hug her and hold her hand.

It was going to be hard to tear herself away when she went back to work. She would have to give a month’s notice and work it off. Having that time away from Mike was bound to give her a clearer focus on whether she could live without him, because now all she could think about was that she was being denied spending the night in his bed. Was that petty? She’d had a long drought without a man and with Mike being so near, but making himself unavailable was almost driving her crazy. Was that his plan? To deny her any lovemaking so he could control her?

Ursula laughed at her suspicions, but then she remembered Nathan and how moody she’d been with him. Was this what happens when you have a man?

Stop it, Ursula. Stop it. Stop it.

She continued to mull over Mike’s new business venture, and even though he didn’t have a lot of information for her, it seemed a good alternative employment option to what she was currently doing.

She opened up her laptop again and started a google search about Esperance. The first line that came up showed a range of images of the area. Clicking through them she was impressed, and could almost picture Mike’s idea of flying tourists around the coastal region. It was a pretty location.

She scrolled further down and came across a headline from one of the local newspapers:

"Crop duster dies in tragic circumstances. Esperance has farewelled Mr Guy Grimwade, a well-known identity, who died tragically in the North Dalyup National Park. A sizeable crowd gathered to say their farewells at the Anglican Church, and afterwards he was interred in the local cemetery. His business will continue to service the district with his nephew, Mike Turner, taking over the reins. Mr Turner hails from Maryville in South Australia and has connections with Country Fire and Rescue."

Ursula pushed the laptop aside and rushed to the door to talk to Mike about it, but stopped herself from turning the knob. It could wait till the morning. She was too tired now to get into a long discussion.

She googled further into the Grimwade tragedy but was unable to find out anything about what happened. Then she googled Mike’s name and found a small article about his helicopter crash, which had happened a year earlier. She decided not to