Page 16 of Sharing Forever in Hope Creek (Hope Creek #2)

Callie felt helpless watching the anguish Morgan was suffering. Her sister cried uncontrollably for minutes before she started to pull herself together.

‘He could hardly talk … but he looked me straight in the eye. I had to strain to hear him speak but … he said … “Tell them I love them. Tell them to live and forgive.”’ Morgan’s words were barely understandable between her sobs and her voice being muffled against Margaret’s shoulder.

‘Then he went into cardiac arrest and I started CPR but …’

‘His were wise words,’ Margaret said as she rubbed Morgan’s back soothingly with one hand. ‘They’re words we should all heed, and you, my darling, should honour his words and start right now by forgiving yourself—especially when there’s nothing you have to forgive yourself for.’

‘Oh God, I’m sorry I’ve been so hard to live with lately,’ Morgan said.

Callie suspected that while Morgan was deeply upset over the man’s death, her grief may be compounded by a flashback to the trauma she’d suffered as a young girl.

And she’d bet that Morgan had kept everything bottled up when she and her boyfriend had broken up and never allowed herself to have a good cry.

It was no wonder the tears were gushing out now like someone had opened the spillway of a dam.

‘We know you haven’t been yourself—that you’re still hurting over your breakup with Dean,’ Stella said.

Morgan sniffled loudly and Callie grabbed a couple of tissues and thrust them at her. Being sympathetic hadn’t worked to stem the tears, so Callie tried pragmatism. ‘Here, blow your nose before you ruin Margaret’s clothes!’

Pulling back from Margaret, Morgan grimaced as she saw the wet fabric of Margaret’s dress. Then she took the tissues and blew her nose. ‘Sorry!’

Margaret made a dismissive sound and shot a frown Callie’s way. ‘As if my dress matters!’

‘I feel such a mess,’ Morgan said. ‘It’s true Dean hurt me, but I never imagined I’d be so heartbroken—so weak—for so long.’

Callie noticed that Morgan dwelt on her breakup with Dean, ignoring what must have been flashbacks for her today to her parents’ deaths. But she understood that some experiences from the past were too raw to share—even with those who were closest to you.

‘It’s not weak to be heartbroken,’ Stella said quietly.

Callie said, ‘Better to be heartbroken than heartless.’

‘It proves you’re capable of deep love, Morgan—not that any of us need reminding.’ Margaret moved to Morgan’s side again and wrapped her in another warm embrace. ‘Oh sweetheart. You’ve always taken so much on yourself and have wanted to save everyone.’

‘Look at the way you turned down opportunities with the big airlines,’ Callie said admiringly.

‘You could be flying jets around the world, earning a load more and living a glamorous lifestyle seeing the world and staying in five-star hotels. Instead, you’ve stayed true to your goal of helping country people. ’

‘You’ve always been soft-hearted, Morgan,’ Stella added. ‘You were always the one out in the barn feeding the poddy calves at ridiculous hours with Blue and bringing home every injured animal—’

‘Even ones that were half-dead and had no hope of being saved,’ Margaret put in.

‘You’ve always been strong, too,’ Callie added. As soon as she said the words, though, she realised that it wasn’t completely true. Yes, Morgan was strong, but her tough facade was deceptive, covering up her vulnerabilities.

‘Although I’m the oldest,’ Stella said, ‘you’ve often been the big sister—the one who goes into bat for us.’

‘I do feel protective of you both,’ Morgan admitted. ‘That’s why I was so worried when you started getting involved with Mitch again, Stella. I knew he’d already broken your heart and I didn’t want to see you go through that again.’

‘ I know,’ Stella conceded. ‘But neither of us was aware of the true circumstances until recently.’

‘And I can see how happy he makes you, and I want that for you—for both of you—but now I’m worried about you, Callie.’

‘Don’t worry, Morgan. Jack and I will figure it out.’

Morgan hung her head and the long strands of beautiful red hair that had come loose from her ponytail partially hid her features.

‘I’ve been worried about you both, but I’ve also been broken and bitter and I don’t want to be like that anymore.

Life’s short and today … Today I realised how important it is to let go of the past.’

‘Oh love.’ Margaret squeezed her again.

‘I don’t want to spoil your happy day, Stell, by having you worry that I’ll be snarky—’

‘Snarky?’ Stella laughed. ‘That’s one way to label it!’

‘Oh, alright. I’ve been a bitch.’

They all laughed and Margaret said, ‘You’ve been worried about everyone but we’ve been worried about you.’

‘We understood where your attitude was coming from,’ Callie told her. ‘We love you no matter what, and we’ve been more worried about you than we were worried about how our men would handle your attitude.’

‘Our men?’ Stella picked up on her wording straight away. ‘Is Jack your man, Cal?’

She felt the heat flare through her cheeks. ‘Well, I’m still very attracted to him.’

‘And he is to you,’ Margaret said. ‘Blind Freddy could see that he was delighted to see you again. And, despite his initial shock, I think—and this is my gut feeling, I’m not simply going on Mitch’s glowing recommendation of his character—that he’ll not only be there for you and the baby, but that he’ll be good for you. ’

Stella went over to the teapot and started pouring the steaming liquid into the deep mugs she’d set out.

‘Good in what way?’ Callie asked Margaret.

‘Yes, how will he be good for her—apart from satisfying all that chemistry that steams between them?’ Stella asked with a wink.

Callie felt her cheeks burn hotter but hoped at least that the change in direction of conversation would help distract Morgan from the trauma she’d been through.

Margaret pulled back from hugging Morgan and sent Callie a considering look. ‘You’ve always been so hard on yourself, Callie. Always wanting to put your best foot forward.’

‘You think Jack will make me lower my standards? That’s hardly a compliment to him.’

‘That’s not what I said and it’s not what I meant,’ she admonished.

‘No, I think he’ll adore you for who you are and that you’ll relax a little and realise you don’t have to be perfect for people to love you.

Hopefully, you’ll come to understand that you can cut corners sometimes and it’s not the end of the world. ’

‘You think he’ll make her more secure in herself? More accepting of herself?’ Stella asked as she gave the first mug of tea to Morgan.

Margaret tilted her head slightly as she considered the question. ‘Yes.’

Callie was a little indignant. ‘I’m secure in myself.’

‘Oh, you present confidently—all three of you do. But, and this applies to all of you, from time to time Jim and I still see the lost little girls we first met.’ Margaret thanked Stella for her tea before continuing.

‘How can there not be a bit of residual uncertainty in every one of you? What each of you went through would be traumatic for anyone at any stage of life, but you were all at impressionable ages.’

‘Our past shapes who we are.’ Callie went to the table and collected her own mug and they all sat down on the well-worn but still very comfortable leather lounges that were arranged around the low coffee table in the centre of the room.

‘Of course,’ Margaret agreed. ‘We’re a product of all our experiences and all three of you have moved forward beautifully, but don’t let the trauma of your past haunt you.’

‘We were lucky to have you and Jim to nurture us through the worst times,’ Morgan said.

‘We were,’ Callie and Stella agreed simultaneously.

‘We nurtured you, but each of you has to come to terms with who you are in your own way. You, Stella, were always on a mission to fulfil your parents’ dream for you to be the number one women’s tennis player in the world but now you have to live life on your terms and live your dreams rather than theirs. ’

‘I think I’m doing that,’ Stella said. ‘I’m so glad to finally be home, and I’m invested in developing my tennis centre.’

‘I know you are, and I know you’re giving back to the tennis world after all you’ve gained from the sport, but I can’t help thinking there might be a new direction you want to explore,’ Margaret told her. ‘Something that’s totally unrelated to the tennis path that your parents steered you onto.’

Stella looked thoughtful and Callie knew she was mulling Margaret’s words over as their foster mother continued.

‘Morgan, you’ve always wanted to help anyone who’s sick and save any injured animal you come across.

It’s obvious why you chose to be a pilot with the RFDS, but you have to learn to be content that you’re playing your part and come to terms with the fact that not everyone and everything can be saved.

‘And, Callie, what can I say? You’ve imposed such strict standards on yourself and with almost everything you say and do, it’s as though you’re trying to set out to prove to the world that you’re not like your parents.’

Callie took a deep breath and cradled her mug, enjoying the comfort of the heat seeping into her hands. ‘I know that’s true.’

‘Well, you’re not like your parents,’ Margaret said sternly. ‘Never have been. Never will be. So, now you have to stop trying to prove who you’re not and start finding out who you are .’

Wow. Margaret wasn’t holding back. ‘You think Jack will help me do that?’

‘I think he already has,’ Margaret said with a small smile. ‘The last thing I ever expected was for you to come home and announce you were pregnant from a one-night stand! I’d say he’s already unlocked something within you that’s allowing you to be yourself.’

Although Callie wasn’t enjoying having her behaviour dissected, particularly if Margaret believed she harboured some deep desire to experiment with sexual relationships, she was at least pleased to see Morgan looking a bit brighter.

‘Callie told Stella and me about her fling with Jack when we were all in Melbourne after Jim’s heart surgery,’ Morgan said. ‘We couldn’t believe it—especially when she told us she didn’t even know his name!’

‘I knew his name,’ Callie said defensively.

‘Only his first name!’ Morgan shot back. ‘You didn’t even know what line of work he was in.’

‘Morgan immediately thought the worst of him and declared he was probably married,’ Stella told Margaret.

‘Yes. Okay.’ Morgan put her tea down and placed both her hands up in surrender. ‘I’ve just admitted I’ve been bitter and twisted. No need to keep reminding me about it.’

‘Callie, you’ll be welcoming a child of your own in six months. You’ll officially be a stepmother in a few days, Stella, and Morgan, you’re certainly old enough to have children of your own. You all need to move on from your childhood traumas,’ Margaret said firmly.

Callie tilted her head. ‘Have you got a psychology degree you’ve never told us about?’

Margaret laughed. ‘It’s called life.’

‘It’s called love,’ Stella said. ‘You’ve loved us all so much, you’ve bothered to get to know us better than we know ourselves.’

‘And you, Jim and Blue have loved us for all our strengths as well as all our flaws and failings,’ Callie added.

‘We’ve loved every second of it, and we’ve loved seeing how you’re all there for each other, but back to you, Morgan,’ Margaret said. ‘I know it’s easier said than done but give your broken heart a chance to mend and don’t take out your disappointment in Dean on the rest of the male population.’

Morgan nodded. ‘I’m going to start straight away, and I promise, Callie, I’ll be nicer to Jack and try to get to know him.’

‘If I were you, Cal, I’d advise Jack to do something drastic,’ Stella suggested with a cheeky grin. ‘It’d probably be easier for her to like him if she saw him drowning or something so all her “have-to-save-him” instincts kick in.’

Morgan picked up the cushion from the seat beside her and pretended to throw it at Stella. ‘Thank your lucky stars you’ve got a hot cup of tea there, or I would’ve thrown it!’

As their laughter rang around the room, Callie hugged herself and thanked her lucky stars this was her family.

Even if she and Jack didn’t end up as a couple, their baby would know the love and support of a close family. A family and a broader community that did all they could to be there for each other whenever they were needed. It was a blessing she’d never take for granted.