‘What could I possibly have to say?’
‘Well, you could say sorry too, I wasn’t the only one in the wrong. You could’ve told me why you didn’t leave with me.’
‘I had my reasons.’
‘And so did I.’ She watched his jaw twitch again. It happened whenever he knew she had a point.
‘I still love you, Harvey.’ Her feet were almost ice cubes in the temperature of the water than even for the bravest of souls would be a challenge. ‘You could tell me that you still love me too.’ Another wave crept up from behind. It wasn’t big but it unsteadied her and she was falling, about to get very wet, until suddenly she was up in the air.
He’d scooped her up in his arms, his stare fixed on her. ‘Now why on earth would I do that?’
And with a smile his lips found hers, her world went dizzy, and the salty tang of his kiss told her all she needed to know. Being with Harvey was like coming home as much as it had been to set foot in Heritage Cove all over again.
He pulled back, his gaze moving from her eyes to her lips and back again. ‘I love you, Melissa.’
She smiled at him, in his arms, safe, exactly where she wanted to be.
He kissed her once more. ‘You do know that even though I love you, I’m not carrying you all the way back to the barn.’
She gasped. ‘The speech!’ Barney gave one every year at the end of the Wedding Dress Ball.
He set her down and they ran across the sand, as fast as they could up the slope and the uneven steps, down the track that was now only lit by the moonlight, just enough for them to find their way.
Laughing as they reached The Street, Harvey told her to jump on his back. ‘I’ll piggyback you there, you’re too slow,’ he insisted.
She didn’t hesitate and with his strength he took her all the way there. When they finally reached the courtyard at Barney’s, she put on her heels, they both took a deep breath and went inside where the crowds were gathered and ready as Barney took to the stage.
Barney’s speech was a mixture of funny and serious. He spoke about his fall, the way he’d thought he was going downhill fast – his precise words – but that he knew everyone here was a friend, that he had so many in Heritage Cove, that he hoped he’d be able to live out his days in this very house. He paid homage to Harvey and Melissa for looking after him despite his attitude and then the game he had played, he asked Lois up to the stage and told everyone there that they’d been man and wife once upon a time. He shared their sadness, their pain, in a way that spoke of love and hope and had more than one member of the audience dabbing away the tears. He talked about White Clover and all the good work they continued to do for people like them, families hurting in the worst way possible.
A photographer had been snapping away throughout the event and with the help of a band member steadying a ladder, he climbed up to capture a final shot of all the guests as they crowded into a big group, everyone huddled up close – the village residents, visitors, friends and couples, the young and the old – representing this year’s Wedding Dress Ball, the event that brought people together and raised money for a charity that meant so much. Melissa got her dance with Barney, who muttered more than one I-told-you-so when it came to Harvey, and she left that night exhausted from the emotions of it all, hand in hand with the man she’d never really stopped loving. It had just taken her a while to realise.
*
The photograph of the crowd who went to the Wedding Dress Ball that night was developed and came through the door at Tumbleweed House courtesy of Barney a few days later. He hadn’t knocked, he hadn’t wanted to disturb the happy couple who hadn’t left the confines of Tumbleweed House much since the ball, except to pick up food or walk Winnie down at the cove.
Harvey climbed back into bed and pulled Melissa against him. Her head on his chest, he adjusted the sheet so her naked body didn’t get cold. He held the photograph he’d pulled from the envelope that had landed on the mat moments earlier.
‘It needs a frame,’ said Melissa.
‘Everyone looks really happy in this picture.’ Harvey was still admiring the shot. ‘This one will definitely go up on the wall of the barn.’
‘For sure.’
‘Do you think Barney meant it when he said he was thinking of doing two events a year?’
‘Either that or someone spiked his drink,’ she grinned.
‘I hope he doesn’t want me and you to organise them.’
‘I don’t know, it wasn’t so bad, was it?’ She looked up at him. They both knew that if Barney hadn’t kept up a pretence, if they hadn’t been thrown together to do the organising, she might well have returned to Windsor without ever sorting things through with Harvey. And she didn’t want to even think about what life would be like without him now.
‘He’s thinking of doing the second at Christmas time,’ said Harvey. ‘Maybe not this year but the idea is there, brewing, and the great thing is that he’s passionate about it. It’s good to see.’
Melissa suddenly thought of the village in the festive season, the lights along The Street, cosying up in the pub, the frosty rooftops when the temperatures dipped. ‘I love Christmas in Heritage Cove. Does the tree still get lit up on the little green behind the bus stop?’
‘Sure does, you can see it the moment you drive into the village.’
‘I’m looking forward to it already.’
