Echoes of the Past
Fermosa Bay Series #1
By Iris Blobel
Publication Date: February 16, 2016
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Emily Bradshaw
waited over twenty years to see Connor again…
When her childhood
friend, Connor Walsh, returns home to see his ailing father, Emily is elated to
be reunited with the handsome man who moved to London so many years ago. But
excitement fades to disappointment when he doesn’t remember her—or their first
kiss. With her crush on Connor still in full swing, she’s determined to enjoy
the short time he’s in Fermosa Bay, even though she knows her heart will break
when he returns to his life in London.
When Connor
receives news that his biological father is terminally ill, he returns to
Fermosa Bay, Australia.
With memories of
his childhood tucked fondly in the back of his mind, returning to the small,
coastal town leaves him to wonder how life would have been if his mother had
never taken him away. Would he have been married and had children? Perhaps with
Emily Bradshaw…
Secrets from long
ago begin to unfold…
As Connor and his
father grow closer, Connor learns his parents have a broken love story of their
own. Will the echoes of the past lure him into staying, maybe for good? Or will
he relive his parents’ tragic story and flee to London?
Walking away from a
real chance at true love…
Connor leaned against the window frame with his
arms crossed as he watched the waves crashing against the rocks. In front of
him, as wide as the horizon, was the ocean. With the clouds drifting in from
the sea, the sky had turned grey and dark, and he knew there’d be even more
rain coming later in the day.
He would’ve enjoyed the scene if it hadn’t
reminded him of his changing life. He’d been back in Fermosa Bay for two days
already, but the memories of the first seven years of his life he’d spent in
this small Australian coastal town were tucked away in the back of his mind.
Seemingly inaccessible. Nowadays, his life was in London and had been for the
last twenty-three years. He took a couple of deep breaths as he looked towards
the harbour in the distance, and the small town in the alcove with the hilly
forest in the background where he’d spend the first seven years of his life. It
was truly one very picturesque little place.
A noise from the other end of the house hauled
him back from his thoughts, and he stepped away from the window. Over the last
few weeks, since he’d decided to accept Jack’s invitation to Australia, he’d
had visions of what he’d find here. His mother hadn’t told him much about the
time she’d lived here, except about Jack owning a pub. Connor had been furious
for her lack of memory, but in the end admitted to himself it’d probably not
been a time she’d like to remember.
So he was surprised to find out that Jack lived
in this massive house just outside Fermosa Bay, on the top of the cliffs, with
a view over the ocean. The house had five rooms and a small study at the back.
The lounge room, with a high pitched ceiling, had wood fire heating and a big
window front. Connor had loved the house the instant he’d stepped into it.
When he entered the hall, he saw his father and
said, “Good morning, Jack.”
The old man sighed sadly. “You still can’t bring
it over your heart to call me Dad?”
Connor’s gaze wandered from his father to all
the many framed photos along the wall. Jack was in many of the photos, but most
them had people in them he didn’t know, except the biggest one, which showed
Connor as a child in Jack’s arms. A wave of sadness shook him. No, it wasn’t in
him to call him Dad. Or to even think of him as his dad.
After a moment’s silence, he turned to his
father and shook his head. “Sorry.”
Jack coughed, and Connor quickly rushed to his
side, holding him upright.
“Another bad day?” Connor asked.
“Son, there will be no more good days. One day
is like the other, until it will be the last.”
The words struck Connor deep enough to feel some
emotions for his father. He knew time was running out, but hearing it made it
sound final.
“There’s a front coming, but I think you’d be
able to sit outside for a little while. At least until the nurse comes.”
Jack simply nodded.
Connor helped his father out onto the deck where
the old man sat down on his swing seat.
“Thanks, Son.”
Without a reply, Connor stepped away and watched
the sea again.
“I couldn’t keep you away from the water when
you were a child,” Jack said.
“What do you mean?” Connor asked.
Jack didn’t answer, so he turned around to look
at his father. The old man stared into the distance, a withdrawn expression on
his face.
“You were constantly in the water. Whatever
opportunity you had, you grabbed your little board and spent most of the day
there.”
“So what happened?”
His father shrugged. “You left with your
mother.”
Sitting down on the chair next to Jack, Connor
let out a long breath. “Something must’ve happened. I never go near water, let
alone go in it.”
Still gazing into the distance, Jack said, “I
still have the blue board. Ethan’s little son sometimes uses it nowadays.”
Not sure where the conversation was heading,
Connor just went along. “Who’s Ethan?” he asked.
The reaction from his father wasn’t what he
expected. With his shoulders sagged, Jack closed his eyes. He looked so old and
frail. From what Connor saw in all the photos around the house, cancer had
taken a lot of life out of his father, leaving behind a haggard body with no
energy left. Initially, he’d been taken aback by their similarities in looks,
with their dark brown eyes and dark blond hair, including the stubborn curl
above the ears, but after all, Jack was his father.
Iris Blobel was
born and raised in Germany and only immigrated to Australia in the late 1990s.
Having had the travel bug most of her life, Iris spent quite some time living
in Scotland, London, as well as Canada where she met her husband. Her love for
putting her stories onto paper only emerged a few years back, but now her
laptop is a constant companion. Iris resides west of Melbourne with her husband
and her beautiful two daughters as well as their dog. Next to her job at a
private school, she also presents a German Program at the local Community
Radio.
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