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The third day he was even more restless. But it was more than Phoenix on his mind now. Hiding on the Gold Coast—and that’s what they were doing—wasn’t going to get them anywhere.
They’d undoubtedly needed time to adjust. Getting his head around the fact that he barely recognized his life anymore was a trip. Jake had never been so overwhelmed before. His entire universe had shifted, undergoing a radical transformation. One day he’d been working, trying to win over a man he was insanely attracted to. The woman he was falling for was helping; she wanted their man just as much. But then things changed, and although the woman of his dreams was still standing next to him, he’d lost the boy. He had no idea how to get him back. Add to that the fact that he was unemployed and about to be homeless, and Jake needed time to find his feet again.
His first priority needed to be getting back on some kind of track. There was no chance in hell he’d move back in with his father—especially after what he’d done. When he’d moved out, Jake promised himself he’d never step foot in the mausoleum he’d grown up in again, but to rent somewhere, even a room, he needed to have a steady income.
The time he’d spent waiting for Phoenix to call hadn’t been spent idle, though. Jake had done some soul searching and knew he was at a fork in the road. He could either choose the well-travelled path, or he could make some changes and forge his own way. Commercial real estate was never his passion. He’d been thrown into it and had put up with the tediousness because he didn’t really have a choice. With his father and Charles looking over his shoulder, he’d been stuck there. His father’s declaration that he was done was the closest thing to being disowned that Jake could hope for. There was still a conversation that needed to be had—his father needed to hear some home truths—but for once, Jake didn’t feel the weight of his father’s interference on him. He knew he was on his own, and the thought was freeing. Like a portal filled with a monster had finally been closed.
Was he brave enough to walk his own path now? To strike out into residential like he’d always wanted? If he played his cards right, he could get in with one of the smaller agencies, build up some experience and then start his own business. He could be his own boss one day.
Jake smiled. Yeah, his career was suddenly looking very different to what it had been only a week ago. But it was exciting too. He could now see a path that had been covered in brambles and overgrowth open up in front of him. It would undoubtedly be a bumpy ride, but the grass really did seem greener on this side.
Cassidy was affected by all this too. She’d been quiet. He could see that she was processing and needed time and space to come up with a Plan B for her life. Her landlord, while sympathetic, couldn’t assure her that her lease would be renewed if she fell behind in the rent. Unless she could find another job quick smart, Cassidy would be moving in with her parents and commuting to whatever job she landed. Add in the non-compete clause and it restricted the areas in which she could work. Jake hated that he was the cause of all her problems—thanks to his father—but walking away wouldn’t help her. He needed to make it right.
“What do you think of this?” Jake asked, spinning his laptop around to show her. They’d tweaked Cassidy’s CV earlier in the day, and he was now working on his own. Cassidy was onto her job search, finding positions she could apply for, but most of the ones she found represented a significant backward step. She wasn’t willing to travel that route yet, and Jake didn’t blame her.
“I like it.” She hesitated, and Jake looked over to her, noticing that she was no longer on the job search websites but on social media.
“Missing anything?” he asked, unsure of whether he really wanted to know her answer. It tore at his heart that she could be yearning for Sydney already.
She looked at him with a furrowed brow, confusion creating a line down her forehead. She opened her mouth before closing it again then gave a small shake of her head. “Huh?”
He pointed to the screen. “Your friends.”
She pursed her lips and shook her head, sadness radiating from her. “I know you said Phoenix would call, but I don’t think he’s going to. I started looking for him, and I might have found his account, but it’s private, so I can’t see anything. His photo isn’t the clearest, and I can’t zoom in on it to be sure it’s even him. I need his approval to follow so I can send a message.” She sighed, her eyes dull, devoid of the spark that made her larger than life. “I just feel useless, you know? Like here we are on holiday, and we don’t even know how he’s doing.”
Oh, Cassidy.He resisted the temptation to take her into his arms—they hadn’t done more than smile shyly at each other since their declarations in the airport—and he didn’t want to push his luck. Jake nodded, resting his elbows on his knees and lacing his fingers together to stop himself from reaching for her. “Maybe we should head home?”
“Yeah, maybe.”
Jake stared at the way the ripples on the water sparkled in the sunlight. “Do you want that? We can book tickets now if you like.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m kind of scared to go home. Your dad…” She shook her head. “Why did you give him a key to your apartment?”
Jake huffed, anger pulsing through him at the sheer number of fraudulent dealings his father was involved in. Cassidy was right—someone needed to shut him down. “I didn’t. The agent said that apparently I contacted them and asked for another set to be cut so I could give them to my father, and that he was collecting them directly. He walked in, showed his ID, and walked out with the keys.”
Cassidy looked at him wide-eyed, her mouth popping open. “You’re kidding?”
He shook his head and blew out a breath. “No, but nothing surprises me any more.” He paused, not wanting to talk about his father. He wanted to get back to what was important to him—to them—Phoenix. “I telephoned Grounds earlier.” He held his breath, waiting for Cassidy’s reaction. Her gaze snapped to his, and she leaned forward, mirroring his pose. “Figured I’d try one last time to get Phoenix’s number.”
“What happened?”
“I spoke to one of the baristas and then the manager again. I asked to pass on a message or for them to give me his number, but they wouldn’t. I practically begged them. They hung up on me.”
Her shoulders dropped, and she held her head low. “When I was a kid, Mum and Dad used to have these thick telephone directories they kept near the phone. Everyone we knew was listed. Anytime they wanted to look someone up, they’d just flip it open and call them. Now, there’s no hope of finding someone’s number. People don’t even have landlines any more.”
Jake smiled. “I remember that too. My aunt had a magazine rack that my uncle made, especially for them.” He picked up the bottle of water sitting on the concrete by his feet and took a swig. “We’ve called the university, Grounds, and the building he used to live in. None of them will give us anything. Not surprising given privacy laws. We know his name but don’t have any contact details, and he’s got my number but hasn’t called it. Where does that leave us?”
Cassidy turned to him, her lips pressed in a tight line and her brow furrowed. “Absolutely nowhere. It leaves us no closer to speaking with him.” She scrubbed her forehead with her hands, letting out a frustrated groan before tucking her hair behind her ear. Jake itched to run his fingers through those thick blonde waves. “The only thing we haven’t done is ask for his number from the police, but as if they’ll give it to us.”
“Yeah, let’s not go there.” He could just imagine how disastrously wrong that conversation could go, especially after the Senior Sergeant had accused them of hurting Phoenix.
*****
The sun was setting over the mountains, the air cooling as the shadows lengthened and darkness descended. They’d gone for a walk along the foreshore, ending it at the famous fish and chip shop near the swimming hole and kids’ playground. Families surrounded them, and Jake watched with a wistfulness that had never struck so hard. It wasn’t a desire for kids of his own—he didn’t want to be responsible for screwing up a kid’s life like his father had done to him. It was for his own upbringing. The broken relationship he had with his mum and the utterly toxic one with his father. One that he needed to do something about to be free from.
Pelicans flew in, landing and gliding smoothly along the water. They gathered in front of the doors, waiting to be fed. Their squawks and the excited, happy chatter of the kids around Jake brought him peace. It helped him pluck up the courage to make the call. He needed to cut the final ties with his father, but telling his only family he wanted nothing to do with him any more was proving more difficult than he’d anticipated.
Fear wasn’t making his gut churn, and his heart beat harder. The nervous energy coursing through him was from knowing he was about to leave his father with no one. Sure, he had his latest wife, but they never lasted long. The women his father latched onto soon lost their sheen, and his father would toss away his latest toy in favour of a new shiny object soon enough. It happened every time. His heart hurt for his only family, but when Jake thought about what Maxwell Denyer had done to him just in the last week, he stiffened his spine. The nerves turned to determination. His father had made his bed, and now it was time to lie in it. He couldn’t forgive him for hurting Cassidy and Phoenix. No matter how much his father thought him a failure, his lovers didn’t deserve the shitstorm that had rained down upon them because of the man.
