His Horizon - Con Riley Page 0,84

around Marc was awkward, that was all, tangled with Jude’s response to his dad’s avoidance, none of which was Marc’s fault in the slightest.

“Jude,” Rob said, patient. “Did you notice anything about the paintings in Marc’s studio when we were there?”

Jude shook his head. He’d been too intent on begging Lou’s forgiveness to pay much attention. Then he nodded slowly. “They weren’t seascapes, like in the gallery, were they?” Or like on the walls of each room at the pub. “The colours were different,” all soft shades of gold and rose. “Were they sunsets?”

“They were all of Louise.”

“What?”

“He paints seascapes for money, but he paints her because he’s in love with her.” How Rob could blend humour with a warning, Jude still couldn’t fathom, but he did it as he added, “Some of them are abstract, but in some of them he paints her like a French girl, so don’t ever look at them too closely,” and then let out a chuckle. “So, if he seems protective, remember who stayed in Porthperrin when their family went back to France, and who Lou ran straight to when she needed someone to trust.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll go see him.” Jude dug deep into that tender new place in his chest. “I’ll clear the air if I can. Explain why I was such a dick around him,” and stop any wedge from forming between Jude and his sister, if he was lucky. “What’s the second thing you wanted?”

Rob answered with a question. “Did you really help your dad build both of the bunks in the boat shed?”

Jude nodded, the memory of sawing the wood suddenly so fresh he could almost smell the sawdust. “Yeah, when Lou and I outgrew the first ones Dad built. We both helped, only I had to build hers and she had to build mine. It took us ages.” God, his dad had been so patient, only helping them fix their mistakes rather than take over.

Missing him at that moment had Jude clutching his package even closer. “I guess that’s why we’ve always got on when some siblings can’t stand each other. He made us think of each other, and then gave us the tools to do it.”

Rob’s tone was so soft. He said, “Good because I want you to take them apart all over again,” like another chore was good news. He continued with, “And then build one we can stretch out in,” and Jude cheered up in a hurry.

Much later that evening, after a successful service that should have made him happy, Jude’s mood wasn’t exactly lower, but his feelings were mixed as Louise sat down to read the postcards.

Watching her holding back tears was just as hard as he’d anticipated, but her turning her face into Marc’s shoulder, postcards spread out on the desk before her, only made him pull back, silent. Then he stopped at the office doorway, knowing now that his withdrawal response was a learned one, a legacy he didn’t have to continue when his dad had written as plain as day that he’d do things differently, in hindsight.

Jude came back and faced Marc. “I’m sorry about when you first came to Porthperrin.” Rob’s nod encouraged him to add detail. “Dad always withdrew from gay people.”

“But I’m not.” Marc’s arm tightened around Lou. “Gay, I mean. Wait. Was it the lip ring?” Marc pondered. “Or was it the black nail polish?”

“It was the eyeliner, I reckon.” Jude nudged the pile of postcards. “I’d had years of seeing the way he’d get all quiet, and look so….” He didn’t know how to explain it, but, thank goodness, Lou did.

“Marc, have you ever seen one of those ferns that curl up when you brush past its leaves?”

Marc nodded.

“He was like that. He was perfectly fine with tourists, but he’d kind of retract around anyone who pinged his radar.”

“Turns out it must have been guilt,” Jude said. Hauling such heavy thoughts to the surface was hard. “Back when it all kicked off for Trevor, Dad did what he told him. But Dad was a better man than that.” He knew that for certain. Every single lesson his father had taught him had been about pulling together. “He was a much better man, only he was pulled in two directions, and then lying as Trevor told him to only got him nowhere. All that guilt at what he’d said festered.”

“Until now,” Louise said.

Rob’s arm around Jude helped him let out more of his own poison. “That’s why I