Families and Trouble

[TelephotoMarigold]

Story Title: Families and Trouble
Type of story: Long Fic
Main Characters: Roman and Ella, Mike & Danni, Aden & Belle, Nic & Geoff, Gabby & Jacob, Toby and Amy-Belle, Brett, The children,

Daryl Braxton, Heath Braxton, Casey Braxton, The River boys
BTTB rating: A (L SC V)
Genre: Drama
Does story include spoilers: No
Any warnings: Will warn at the beginning of each chapter if necessary
Summary: The River Boys move to Summer Bay and trouble follows them... First Roman and Brax go head to head with competing restaurants ... then Sophie dates one of them ...Georgie becomes one of them... but if that wasn't enough for Roman to deal with after everything that happened in 'Ghost Sight' & 'Debated Heart' things get worse when Ella becomes involved with one of them... Not only is he fighting for his livelihood and his family... now he is fighting for his marriage..... in a way he never expected.  Can he win the biggest battle he's yet to face?  

 

 

Chapter One

 

Roman Harris looked around the building for the final time before he leaned over and signed the year -long lease on the dotted line. He wasn’t surprised to see that his hand was shaking ever so slightly. Handing over a very substantial cheque and receiving the keys in return made him appreciate just how far he’d come to get here, to finally achieve his dream of his own restaurant. He knew exactly what his dad, Marco, must have felt when he’d taken on his first place. The heady and strange mix of nerves and exhilaration coursing around his veins was making him feel like he’d run a marathon.

There was only one thing that marred his day, the fact that Ella wasn’t around to share in it with him. The very strained relationship he had with his wife at the moment as a result from his actions when Mark Gillen had turned up saw them barely speaking sometimes. The lack of communication wasn’t the worst thing; no it was the lack of intimacy. Ella had her own room across the landing from his and even though they still co-parented it felt like they could be strangers. Maybe not strangers, more like roommates. 

Today though, Ella was in her studio on a photography shoot for a major fashion house. His daughter Nicole had wrangled herself an invitation, so there was that to look forward to later when there would be hours of her talking about the stitching on a skirt or the buttons on a blouse. Sure he talked about food and recipes but mostly with Leah or Irene and very occasionally with their daughter Sophie, the one child who’d managed to inherit his cooking gene.

“Congratulations Mr. Harris,” the estate agent murmured, “You have yourself a restaurant.”

“Still a lot of work to do but yeah,” Roman shook hands with the man before showing him out and then he took another long look around the place. Tall windows either side of the dining area let in natural light with the ones facing the beach able to be opened so that you could step straight on to the veranda. He would need a permit to place tables outside he noted, and opened an app on his phone so that he could take notes.

In amongst the frosted glass windows the exposed brickwork was bare, a deep red colour and he jotted down that he wanted to paint it white to freshen it up. Masonry paint then.

Top of the dining room next to the double doors that led into the building was the bar. A long mirror was behind where the bottles would sit and the dark wood of the bar top needed a sanding down. Another note on his phone. So far most of this he could do himself, he thought with a grin, but the hard part was next.  Along the corridor towards the kitchen there was the office, a storeroom, and staff room and each of them required modernisation if not redecoration. .

He planned to put in a shower alongside updating the toilets and changing area for the staff room. Being this close to the beach he expected his staff would probably make the most of it. The storeroom was next on his list, and although he wanted to put in state of the art refrigerators and freezers, first he was going to get someone out to service the ones currently there, his plan was to either use them until he’d started to make a profit and then upgrade or see if there was a decent resale value for them. Already he had a pile of kitchen equipment catalogues at home with notes of what he wanted and pricing that up had almost given him a heart attack.

Sure, if he asked Ella would give him the money to do what he wanted. He’d struggled to give her the $50,000 he’d borrowed from her which he’d used as bait set a trap for Mark and as a way of tracking down the other man’s finances. But this restaurant was something he wanted to do on his own, and if he made a go of it, use the profit to put towards the kids futures.

The turmoil of the past few years had highlighted to him just what a mess he seemed to make of his life. First there had been that year in Witness Protection, when he’d been away from his family and working in a small diner not so dissimilar to the one here in Summer Bay. Whilst the money he earned just about paid rent on the shack he’d lived in and covered bills he was very aware that he was no longer putting anything aside for the kids, let alone providing for Ella.

Following on from that, came their ugly divorce. Ella had never used their financial inequality against him until then and like a cornered alley cat she’d fought dirty, exposing an area where he was vulnerable, which was his pride. There was no way that he could provide for his family in the way she could and that humbled him making him so aware that he and Ella weren’t equals, weren’t partners. Even more so when he’d struggled with mortgages and bills afterwards, unaware of how much he’d taken for granted Ella’s money whilst they had been married. It was only with hindsight that he’d realised she’d chosen that course of action in order to spare him from more pain which he’d have to face in dealing with all of his past actions and choices from the period when he had been a soldier.

Sucking in a sharp breath at the random memories his mind was throwing up he turned his focus on to the list he was making as he walked into the spacious kitchen.  A long counter seemed to splice the middle of the room giving extra counter space for preparation of food, above it a shelf where the prepared dishes were placed for the servers to collect and take out.  Industrial ovens lined one wall and the other side were cooking hobs. The other end of the room housed the dishwashers and industrial sized sinks with one side was geared for food prep and the other for cleaning.

If he moved the largest of the dishwashers to the far end wall he could put an archway in to provide access to the refrigerators and freezers easier, plus it would leave the main doorway free for the serving staff.  Roman made a note to check the plans to see if that could be done and to get quotes for the work.

He found himself moving around to the ovens and inspecting them for what must be the fourth time. A part of him couldn’t believe that he was really going to open his own restaurant and he was shocked that he hadn’t even thought about what he was he was going to call it. His father’s restaurants were simply called Marco’s but he had no plans to call this one after himself. 

Lost in his thoughts he was shocked when he heard his name called out and moved quickly to the door.  He was even more shocked by the appearance of Ella at the double doors. 

“Hey,” he murmured to her as he looked down at his watch. More surprise at seeing just how late it had gotten whilst he was looking around the place.

“You said you were signing the lease today so I brought this to celebrate,” she murmured quietly flourishing a bottle of cava and a couple of glasses.
He watched as she placed them on the bar next to her handbag, her keys and phone were next, landing in separate little piles.

“Thought you’d still be in the city?” He asked her slowly.

“Yeah, got to go back tomorrow and tidy up, but I finished the shoot. It took longer to drag Nicole away from the clothes.”

His gaze slipped over her, “Just Nic? Because I don’t think I’ve seen that outfit before?” He mentioned the one piece black jumpsuit she had on. Pockets adorned top and bottom and a tie belt emphasised just how tiny her waist was.

“I may have bought a few things when I was in the city, but certainly not as many as your daughter was trying to.”

She smiled at him and all he felt was a detachment from her before trying to shrug that off.  She was here wasn’t she, and supporting him like always.

“I can imagine,” he gave her a smile before moving to the bottle and opening it quickly. He watched as Ella laughed when the foam bubbled up and trickled over the side of the bottle before he managed to pour it into the glasses she’d provided.  It wasn’t a full sized bottle; he suspected that there were a few of them chilling in the fridge at home waiting. The kids had a way of picking up on things that would make the CIA jealous.

“Thank you,” he said quietly.

Ella smiled at him as she accepted a glass of cava.  He watched her as she took a sip and wrinkled her nose up in that way she had.

“We have to celebrate this you know, not every day you open a restaurant!”

“It’s not quite open yet,” he knew he was grimacing. There was so much work to do before he could open, from redecoration to employing staff, buying supplies, devising a menu, and getting all the necessary permits in place.

Ella’s voice broke through his thoughts, “Give me a tour?”

Roman nodded at her and placed his glass next to hers on the bar top. It wasn’t long before he was telling her about his plans to redecorate and how he wanted to rearrange the kitchen.

“Have you told your Dad yet?”

He shook his head at her question. “I should do, I know he’d be thrilled but it’s still a long way off until I can open yet,” he murmured quietly unable to stop himself from imagining the look on his dad’s face.  His parents, Marco and Alyssa, having run a successful restaurant for years knew exactly what it took to get a place up and running, although their place was in a city and his in a small beachside town meaning different clientele let alone profit margins.

“Well don’t forget you have a lot of family here who are just as proud of you,” she told him in a soft voice.

Again, he gave her a searching look and stepping towards her he reached out and pulled her into his arms. It was just supposed to be a brief kiss but it had been a long time since they had been together, let alone intimate. She was so beautiful, long hair falling to her shoulders, and eyes the colour of distant seas.  Every moment the kiss went on he fooled himself into thinking that the months of distance between them were in the past.  He was shocked when she gave a cry against his lips and pushed at his arms and even more shocked when he heard a ripping sound followed by her calling his name sharply. Looking quickly down he saw that in his confusion he hadn’t quite been quick enough letting go of her when she began pulling away and that the tie belt of new and probably designer outfit now resembled a torn rag.

As he framed words of apology she stepped sharply away from him and swore as she inspected the damage.

“Look at what you’ve done!” she muttered with an equally sharp gesture. “I knew it was a mistake coming here,” she added.

“Ella… stop..” he tried to pacify her, putting his hands out towards her. She gave him a bitter look and slapped at his outstretched hands before they were anywhere near her.

“Don’t bother, I’m going home!”

Spinning around away from him she grabbed her handbag from the bar where she left it and stormed out. Within moments he heard her car start up and drive off. Looking around his new restaurant he began to have serious doubts about taking it on.  Surely he should focus on his marriage he thought for the hundredth time, it was glaringly obvious they were in trouble.  Problem was, he had no idea how to fix the mess he’d made in his efforts to get Mark, and then William Gardener out of their lives.  Then there was Catherine and his son, Jason.  Just too many secrets for Ella to deal with, as she kept telling him.

[pembie]

Roman ruined Ella's new outfit? blimey At least Ella didn't make a mess of the new state of the art kitchen as revenge Before Roman goes about hiring for staff I warn him to stay away from twits that call themselves Brax. Maybe he could hire Sophie 

[Inactive User]

Great start to this fanfiction  Really looking forwards to the next chapter. 

[D.B]

Really liked the start of this story, you described the background for Roman's life very well. Things didn't go well there between him and Ella, but hopefully they will sort it out. Really looking forward to where you go with this. 

[TelephotoMarigold]

Chapter Two

 

Roman pulled up outside his home and sat in the parked car looking at the front door.  He had no desire to get out of the car and go inside even though he knew his family were waiting ready to celebrate his signing the lease for his restaurant. As if by magic the door opened and Ella stepped out on the front porch. She gave him a small smile before stepping daintily down the three steps and on to the gravel drive. Then just a few more steps and she was by the car. He kept his hands perched on the steering wheel as she opened the door and climbed in beside him.

“Are you coming in?”

“I honestly don’t know,” he felt the words torn out of him.

“Is that because of us?”

“Where are we, Ella?”

“Sitting in your car,” she shot back a smile slipping on her lips.

He turned his head and looked at her. “You know what I mean.”

“I do, I’m your wife and I don’t plan on changing that status.”

“Your lawyer laughed at you when you mentioned divorce or something?”

She gave him a sharp poke in his ribs even as she laughed.  “No, Roman, I’m your wife. I want to be your wife. It’s just that it’s so difficult coping with…”

“Were you about to say hard there?” he interrupted, “Because it’s been a while since anything like that happened.”

“Who just got offended when I made a joke?” she huffed.

“I have to,” he felt forced into a confession, “Because when I look at you I feel so bloody guilty about Mark and William and especially Catherine that sometimes it makes me physically sick.”

“We can’t change anything, can we?

“No,” he gave her a long look. “But…”

“We’re waiting to celebrate so you have to come in.”

“I don’t know…”

“Roman just stop, we have to get past this. I have to. I want my family, my husband included, to move on. We’re starting a new chapter in our lives here. We are allowed to celebrate that.”

“How do I do that when every time I look at you I just feel…” She placed her hand on his knee and he sucked in a sharp breath before continuing, “so damned guilty that I can’t breathe. I should have protected you, Ella, I should have …”

“You want to wallow in guilt Roman then I can’t stop you.  In fact, if you want me to I’ll go inside and pack your things so you can go sulk in your house. But us, your family, we’re going to continue to celebrate because we’re looking forward.”

With sharp gestures, she opened the car door, climbed out and slammed the door behind her. He watched her stride into the house leaving the front door open. He glanced down at his clenched hands on the steering wheel before giving a loud groan.  There was no way she wasn’t still mad at him for the way he’d ripped her outfit earlier. He’d thought about buying a replacement but he suspected it would cost about the same price as the lease on the restaurant.  Not that he ever begrudged her spending her money, especially on herself, but he always acknowledged that she was in a different class to himself. In fact, maybe if the restaurant took off he should consult with her accountant.

Decision made he climbed out of the car and walked into the house where his family were waiting.

 

***

 

 

 

Across the Bay, a run down truck pulled up and parked in from of Rachel and Tony’s old house.  Three brothers climbed out pushing and shoving at each other before the eldest reached for the door key and unlocked the front door.  He stepped inside and looked around before he was joined by the others. Every wall was painted pale beige and the floor was covered by a basic looking carpet. Not that it’d last very long with his brothers in and out like proverbial yo-yos.  A bland looking table and couple of chairs marked out the dinning area next to the kitchen.  Stepping quickly away from his brothers Brax looked around the unit. Cooker, sink, cupboards, the utility off to the side he remembered from the estate agents details.  He knew from experience that he or Case would be doing all the chores because Heath couldn’t find cleaning equipment if it was placed in his hands.

“Bit bleak isn’t it? Are you sure you want to do this Brax?”

Brax nodded at his brother, “You need to finish school Case, unlike that knucklehead.”

Casey was enrolled in Summer Bay High to finish his HSC, the smartest of the lot of them and at the moment the only one not to end up either as a member of the River Boys or hassled by the police.  Something he planned to go on keeping, Case was going to make something of himself, he’d promised himself that, which was also the reason for removing him from Yabbie Creek so that the kid could make a fresh start.

“Hey, I more than make up for no HSC with my impressive street smarts!” Heath Braxton shot out on hearing him.

Brax turned and glared at his brother. “One of us is getting an HSC and unless you are planning to go back to Tafe…” he let the sentence hang.

“Only if the teacher is blonde and really hot!” Heath shot out disappearing back out the front door. He returned a moment later to prop his surfboard against the wall near the door.

“Is that you moved in then?” Brax pointed at the board.

“Just about, of course, I need to get the best bedroom,” Heath drawled pushing past him and down the hallway. “Eh, outta here, this one is mine.” Brax heard called out.

Looking up at the ceiling he said a couple of curses before going to break the usual fight between his idiot brothers.  Moving to Summer Bay would either be the best or the worst decision he’d ever made, and he had a feeling that it would be the latter.

 

***

 

Roman pretended to be surprised when he saw the banner that Lily had obviously had a hand in making, from the amount of glitter on there. To say their younger daughter was a fan of glitter was like saying Nic had a part-time interest in fashion.

“Do you like it, Daddy?” Meggy was asking him.

Roman nodded feeling a little cut off from the rest of them and caught Ella giving him a look from over the room where she was standing next to Danni and Gabby. He grinned over at her even if he didn’t feel like smiling at all and then went to her side. “So,” he began.

“There is a bbq planned for the weekend when the boys will be here. Jacko is bringing Dario to meet us,” she was saying.

“Dario? Really? Who are we going to marry him off too?”

He heard Nic snort from behind him and he smiled at his own joke especially when he saw Ella smiling too.  She was his world, didn’t she realise that yet?

“With the luck you’ve had with Jacko, I don’t think you’ll manage it,” Geoff, his son-in-law was saying.

“Want a drink?”

“Finally,” Roman murmured to his son Georgie after his offer, named for his grandfather and a mix of both him and Ella. Although perhaps a touch more him than his mother, he thought remembering how his son had looked wearing a uniform and drilling his brothers and Geoff in Army protocol just a short while ago. He gave a glance to the bar that his sons had set up on the veranda.  Every time they set it up it looked more and more like a real bar. They even had a mini fridge tucked away for cooling off the drinks.

“Beer?” Georgie was asking him.

“How come we don’t get offered those cocktail things that you do?” Geoff asked moving to stand next to them.

“Geoff, trust me, stick with beer mate because those things look lethal,” Roman murmured.

He felt Ella touch her hand to the small of his back in that gesture that he adored and he gave her a smile.

“Can’t handle them?” she said emphasising with a wave of the glass that contained a suspicious blue liquid.

“Probably not,” Roman murmured even as he reached for her glass and took a drink from it. He found the tropical fruit flavour of the drink not unpleasant and in the kick of alcohol hitting his taste buds he recognised Coconut rum, Bicardi rum, and Blue Cuaraco. The flavour wasn’t unpleasant but as he considered what he needed to get done the following day he resisted the urge to take another drink. “I’ll definitely stick with beer.” He decided.

Georgie sniggered at him and he had to resist the urge to change his mind. He was sure his liver and head would thank him in the morning.

“Beer for the old man…” Georgie called out to his brother Sammy.

Roman grimaced at the taunt. Normally they made a joke out of it, with some reference to his SAS training but today he felt strangely vulnerable, especially aware of how his past had come between him and Ella.  His eyes flicked around the room until he caught sight of Toby and then back to glance at  Gabby, the children that he and Ella should have raised together but didn’t because he had the Mark stuff and Ella’s mother had interfered.

“Slipping old man?” Aden taunted him out of his reverie.

“Just making a list,” Roman shot back as he accepted a beer from his son. Looking back around the room he saw how Lily had commandeered Mike into some mysterious task, Toby and Amy-Belle talking to Mia about something.  Brett was missing, off up the coast taking care of Toby’s bookstore until the new manager arrived. Nic was speaking to Danni about the photo shoot she’d invited herself along too and mentioning designer names that he’d never heard of.  Ella would know them, as soon as his daughter had found out what Ella did for a living she was suddenly his wife’s best mate not to mention a massive borrower of her clothes.

He could hear the sound a movie playing in the other room and knew the younger children were in there, probably lying all over the sofas amongst throws and pillows. Liam would be in charge, his younger son had inherited his protective genes, and he would be keeping a check on the younger children better than a paid babysitter.

“So you’ve finally took the plunge again?” The question came from Belle. She’d been working in the diner when he’d tried to start a restaurant the first time around.  That was way back before Ella had found him and he’d been mixed up with Martha and Jack Holden, not giving the restaurant the time or focus it really needed to succeed.

“I had too I think a few people would have lynched me if I hadn’t.” He murmured his eyes flicking to meet the sapphire coloured gaze of his wife as she gave him a minute glare before grinning back at him.

“It will be good for all of us,” Ella murmured, “I’ve got my photography again, the gallery in Yabbie Creek, exhibitions and a new book coming out.  So it’s only fair your Dad gets to follow his dream even if it means we have to juggle things around a bit.”

“Speaking of the gallery, I can start increasing my hours if that helps?”

He saw Ella give a nod before she prodded Gabby’s arm. “We could use extra help in the gallery,” she murmured to her daughter.

“Hey!” Danni muttered.

“You have a job working in the diner,” Mike pointed out.

“And probably a couple of shifts in a new restaurant opening up…” Georgie added from over near the makeshift bar.

“Shush, before he makes you head barman!” Sammy punned.

Roman laughed before he turned to face his sons, “Sorry guys, you’re too young. I’m sure I can throw some dishwashing work your way!”

There was a smattering of laughter around the room and he used the time to move over to the long dining table, pulling out the bench to sit down. He was joined by Mike, who’d finally escaped Lily’s clutches and then Aden, with the conversation carrying on around the room, different topics popping up until he saw Ella glance at her watch and then slip into the lounge to escort the younger children up to bed. He was about to jump up to help her when she smiled at him and gave a shake of her head. It wasn’t long before people began to make a move homewards after that and he joined in with the clearing up taking note that Sammy and Georgie took the time to sort out the bar and put everything away. 

Just as they went upstairs the front door flew open and a harassed looking Sophie rushed in. 

“I know, I know, I’m late! Steve’s mum’s car wouldn’t start so she had to wait for his dad to get back from the boat to use his car! Total drama. I texted mum and let her know…”

“I suppose I can let you off missing your curfew then,” he murmured.

“Oh, er, congratulations on the restaurant,” Sophie rushed over to give him a hug before sprinting off up the stairs.

Sophie dating, Georgie practically enlisted in the army, and here he was taking on the stress of opening a new business. Those second and third thoughts crept in again and he walked past the breakfast bar to reach for the cupboard with the whisky in.

“Nightcap?” Ella called out stepping down the last steps of the stairs and moving into the kitchen.

“Sophie’s home,” he responded.

“And that made you reach for the whisky? You didn’t have to give her the safe sex talk again?”

“Thank you, wife, no!” he grimaced as he remembered Ella’s sneaky trickery from before when he’d been dispatched to deliver a safe sex talk to his teenage daughter. She’d known of course that whilst his daughter was dating it hadn’t gone as far as to become physical but still make him talk to Sophie about sex. The resulting embarrassment had ensured that both he and Sophie never referred to that conversation again.

“Been a good evening, I think we should include Leah and Miles this weekend. Make it a real celebration.”

He gave a half shake of his head but he knew it was pointless than to argue and besides that, he knew Leah was feeling a bit bereft now that her son VJ had left the Bay. “Want a drink?”

“Why not?” Ella murmured surprising him, “just a small one though. Got a lot on tomorrow.”

Roman poured out neat vodka for her before handing over the glass and then collecting his own. He watched as she gestured to the lounge and followed her inside sinking on to one of the long sofas beside her.

He wanted to say so much but he felt hampered by how much they had to deal with.

“Been a good night,” she said quietly.

“It has. Been good to catch up with everyone. When is Marcus due back?” The little boy was spending some time with his biological father and brother much to Lily’s dismay.

“At the weekend.”

And there was the silence again, he noted, as though the only things they could talk about were the kids.  Struggling to find something to say he flinched when she put her hand on his knee.

“Sorry,” he shot out quickly at her look of pain, “I just wasn’t expecting it,” he reached out and recaptured her hand, placing it back on his knee and leaning back against the cushions. “You mentioned the gallery?”

“Yeah, well, I’ve had to stop calling it the studio. Everyone was getting confused. If Belle wants to co-manage the space with me it will free up some of my time. Don’t get me wrong, I love having the place and being able to …”

“Ella,” he interrupted her rambling with a small laugh.

“I’m nervous. I shouldn’t be, we’re married and…”

“I’m nervous too. I want us to be okay and normally in situations like this I do the big romantic gestures that cover up what is really going on.”

“I do happen to like those gestures…” she laughed.

“You just like toffee cheesecake,” he murmured.

They both laughed at that, especially as she flushed at his comment proving it to be true.

“I love you,” she said quietly.

“I sure as hell still love you,” he responded.

“But..”  He gave a big sigh as she spoke again. “But I can’t slip back into how we were. I need time and space. I haven’t dealt with the Catherine stuff and we need to sort out Jason.”

She mentioned the son he had with Mark’s wife, albeit by IVF donation. Guilt had trapped him into that action too.

“Jason wants nothing to do with us. I have reached out to him.”

Ella nodded at that before she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I’m glad you made that step. We can only keep doing that and maybe one day he’ll want to meet his siblings.”

“We’d probably need to make them wear nametags because he’d struggle to remember them all,” Roman found himself saying, knowing he was resorting to making another joke to deflect from a painful situation.

“Don’t let Lily design them we don’t have enough glitter.”

Her response kept the smile on his face and he turned towards her before leaning forward and kissing her. “I know,” he said after a moment, “You aren’t ready for anything more but do you think you’re up for some necking on the sofa?”

Ella laughed before kissing him back and he greedily took it as a sign that his marriage wasn’t completely dead before losing himself in kissing and holding his wife.

[Helena]

I loved the Braxton family arrival I find it funny that heath tried to steal braxs bedroom I loved the Braxton family in the show they are so funny

[Inactive User]

Great chapter

Liked the arrival of the Braxton family

Update soon please 

[Zetti]

I am so enjoying this, I like Ella calling Roman out on his BS in the car. 

Looking forward to more.

[TelephotoMarigold]

Chapter Three

 

Brax had finally unpacked all of the meagre possessions he’d brought with him. A dozen or so each of shirts, shorts, trousers now resided in his wardrobe. There was even a suit lingering towards the back of the closet, used solely for court appearances and funerals. More of the former than the later luckily.  Striding into the kitchen he saw the cardboard box still sitting on the top he’d asked his deadbeat brother Heath to unpack and with a heavy sigh moved over to do the task himself. Heath wasn’t a total loser he repeated to himself silently but as he looked around he saw more mess than before he’d started clearing away and knew that Heath was responsible for it.

If only Heath could get a job doing something that kept him focused, Brax thought for the hundredth time. Having a criminal record didn’t help any of them in that department, he counted the River Boys in along with himself and his brother. That was why they had moved away to here for Casey. Their younger brother was smart and deserved a shot at making a different sort of life for himself.

“I was actually going to do that as soon as I got back…” Heath called when he walked though the door, towel over his shoulder and surfboard under his arm. Brax watched his brother lean his surfboard carefully against the wall next to the door and pace over to the sofa. He took more care over that bloody board than he did anything else.

“How about doing it now? Or doing anything to actually help here? Com’on Heath stop leaving it all to me!” Brax grumbled still feeling resentment that he was the one who had to clean up his brother’s messes, and in this case, literally, watching Heath sling his used towel on the back of the sofa.

“I was scoping out the Bay,” Heath began.

“And it couldn’t wait until you’d done what I asked?”

“No, it couldn’t. I’m not some minion you can control Brax.”

Brax raised his eyebrow and stared at his brother. There were so many responses he could make to that and he bit back about a dozen of them before reaching over to the fruit bowl and picking up a banana.

“Heath, what’s this?” He asked throwing the yellow fruit at his brother grinning as he was forced to drop the remote to the TV to catch it.

“A banana?” Heath said with a puzzled frown before catching on. Minions and bananas.” Oh, very funny.”

“Mate, I know this isn’t ideal. But so far all you’ve done is moan about the move. We’re doing this for Case, remember.”

“I know but I said don’t expect me to like it Brax. I don’t know anyone here and there’s nothing to do.”

“Its only our first full day. We’re trying to get away from the crowd we used to hang with remember? You know get jobs and turn legitimate. Not just for Case’s sake. We need to do this for ourselves mate.”

“I know all that but it’s a big change. And Case…”

Brax looked at his brother and knew what was behind his reluctance about the move. Being forced to recognise that everything you’ve ever done is somehow wrong was a big thing to take in. Heath could handle just about anything from stretches inside to dealing with the crap from their parents but maybe he was asking too much of him in making him relocate away from everybody he knew.

With the box empty he flattened it down and placed it with the rest of them out the back door before turning to his brother once more.
“Come’ on let’s go let the Bay know the River Boys are here,” he said with a grin.

He watched as Heath slowly stood up and walked over to the door with him before snagging keys and heading out.  Their first stop was the diner. He saw Heath eyeing up the waitress behind the counter and could have told him there was no point from the wedding ring on her finger.

“What can I get you?” She asked.

“Well how about we start with your number and a date?” Heath asked giving her a grin.

“I’m sure my husband would be impressed with that,” Danni murmured quietly. “How about what I can get you from the menu?”

“We don’t have to tell him,” Heath said quickly as he caught hold of and held her hand.

“Forgive my idiot brother, he was always slow to catch on!” Brax said reaching out and pulling Heath’s hand away from her.

“Don’t worry about it,” Danni gave him a small smile before looking down at her pad.

“We’ll start with two coffees.” Brax murmured.

Heath glared at him, “You buying?”

“Usually do.”

“Then a burger with everything, fries and onion rings,” Heath said slowly reading from the menu.

Danni turned and “And for you?”

Brax sat scanning the menu before he nodded, “Same as that gallah,” he murmured.

“Hey!” Heath protested.

“Okay, won’t be long,” Danni said walking over to the counter.

Heath continued to look at her before he glanced back at Brax.

“I could have got her number,” he stated.

“It probably would have been printed on the restraining order at the rate you were going,” Brax shot back.

“She’s hot in that wholesome way.”

“My god Heath, I didn’t realise you knew a long word like that!”

Heath placed his phone on the table between them. “Word of the day app. Case put it on there as a joke. Jokes on him, I’m learning to expand my vocabulary.”

Brax let out a surprised bout of laughter and reached over to clap his brother on his back. “Case is in for a surprise!”

“Hey!” Heath muttered obviously detecting the second-hand compliment behind his words.

They quieted as the waitress brought over their coffees and he reached for his cup quickly needing the caffeine hit.

“So when are you planning to see the place?” Heath was asking as he drunk from his own cup. “That’s good coffee.”

“Diner has been here years according to my real estate bloke, got to be a reason why it’s always busy.”

“Good coffee,” Heath began before glancing behind him and over at Danni, “and good scenery.”

“Unless she got a divorce in the last five minutes it ain’t never going to happen!”

“Can’t stop a guy from looking,” Heath declared slurping coffee from his cup.

“He might,” Brax said with a laugh.

Heath turned and looked at the same scene as him.  A tall bloke, although wearing shirt and tie looked fit. He leaned over the counter and kissed the waitress.

“That may not be the husband,” Heath pointed out.

“With your luck, he certainly is! Give it up mate!”

“Like you haven’t looked at her.”

Brax sat back in his seat. “Nah, not my type!”

Heath laughed at him.

 

*****

 

 

They were seated around the patio table on Rachel's veranda having  resumed meeting for their usual lunch. They were shaded from the sun by the tall trees surrounding the property and in the distance was a playset that looked abandoned, indicating the growing ages of Rachel and Tony's children.  Ella tried to think how old they'd be now and gave up. The eldest one was in university studying pre-med of course, wanting to be a doctor like his mother.  

Rachel looked at the others before asking, “Have you seen the place where Roman’s going to open his restaurant yet?”

“I saw it the other day,” Ella murmured. “He’s chosen a good spot. Lots of parking. Beach front location.”

“How are you doing? It’s Catherine’s trial coming up soon,” Irene murmured quietly. 

Ella glanced around the table seeing identical looks of sympathy on Leah, Rachel’s and Irene’s faces.  She put her knife and fork down on her plate and sighed. “I don’t think about it.” She admitted.

“We couldn’t believe what happened when Irene told us,” Rachel said slowly. “For someone to have that much hate inside them.”

“It wasn’t hate exactly, it was envy certainly, but also I was a threat. Without me there she could approach Roman and get what she wanted from him. “

Leah chuckled softly, “I highly doubt that El, Roman wouldn’t have ..”

“Ladies, I’m not sure you know,” Ella sucked in a breath and then told them about Jason. Roman’s son he shared with Catherine.

“Biologically sure Roman’s his dad but in every other way, no.”

“Biologically?” Ella scoffed. “He’s the spitting image of Roman. “

“You sound jealous, Darl.”

“I am a little. I mean Roman made some stupid choices…”

“I hope you aren’t counting me in with them?” Leah murmured.

“Yeah, like I had forgotten you’d slept with my husband!”

As usual all of them laughed although Ella found she was still feeling a little raw about it. She knew Roman felt guilty about his womanising. They used to joke about it in the early days of their marriage but since Martha their trust was fragile. A part of her believed that Roman would never cheat on her but she still had doubts.  The Jason stuff managed to slip in past her guard and she didn’t know how to react half the time. 

“Darl,” Irene must have picked up on her emotions.

“Let’s finish this meal Rachel cooked.” Ella directed the conversation back to the food.

“Look, I know we can’t all have chefs in our kitchen but I tried my best,” Rachel defended.

“It’s lovely actually,” Ella took another bite of the asparagus Rachel had grilled feeling the distinctive flavour burst across her taste buds. Asparagus, new potatoes, green beans with a dressing for herself and for the others Rachel had added grilled salmon steaks.  The food looked and tasted good despite Rachel’s declarations that she didn’t cook.

“Yeah, you can get a job in a new restaurant that’s opening soon,” Leah said quickly.

The four women looked at one another and laughed again.

“I do have some gossip that I bet even Colleen doesn’t know,” Rachel said after they’d finished eating and were playing cards once more.

“Spill it darl,” Irene was the first to bite earning chuckles from Leah and Ella respectively. “Well,” she began defending herself, “I’ve been working in that kitchen with Colleen all these years and its addictive all this gossip. God, when you pitched up in the Bay and Roman suddenly started smiling again.”

Ella laughed. “Really?”

“Oh yes,” Leah confirmed. “He was so broken, I think is the right word. He looked after Nic, worked his shifts in the diner, hung out with Miles but that was it. He didn’t joke like he used too, certainly didn’t laugh.”

Ella felt her face growing hot with embarrassed colour, “Why did none of you tell me this before?”

“Strike me Darl, wasn’t our place to tell you. I remember when he got the letter from ya’s all those years ago. It had to have been the most emotion he’d shown in about a year.”

Rachel sighed, “And he ended up with pneumonia on account of it.  Apparently Nic caught him drinking a bottle of whisky down on the beach and couldn’t get him home so he stayed there overnight.”

“God this is nearly ten years ago.” Irene said.

“No, it’s seventeen years Irene. We’ve been together seventeen years.”

“On and off,” Leah pointed out making them laugh once more.

Ella sighed, “We’re kind of off at the moment,” she confessed. “I’m making him sleep in another room.”

“I wondered why you hadn’t been seen in maternity!” Rachel said before putting her hand over her mouth and gasping.

“It’s okay Rachel, we’re fine. Really. I just needed some time to process everything. We’d deal with one thing and then something else would creep up on us.”

“Do you still love him?” Irene asked her.

Ella felt the prick of tears in her eyes as she nodded her answer.  “I do, I don’t want to leave him or my marriage but…”

“Say no more Darl,” Irene patted her hand.  “Anyway back to the gossip…”

“Oh you!” Leah muttered before she too turned to look at Rachel.

“We have new tenants in our house. Three brothers apparently. The youngest has just been accepted into Summer Bay High so that’s why they moved here.”

“Lock up your daughters!” Irene called out.

“Stop giving Roman ideas about that!” Ella shot back. “I swear every time Sophie announces she’s got another date with Steve he looks up the quickest way to get to a convent!”

The women laughed once more before conversation moved around again and then it was time to head home. Ella had no children to collect for once, Gabby picking up the little ones for her and Mike bringing home the others so she headed for the beach, kicking off her shoes and walking along the sea front. She let the waves lap at her toes before turning and looking up the beach. Roman was sitting in his usual spot when he was thinking about things and she watched him for a time before heading up to where he was.

“Did you have a good lunch?” He asked as she sat next to him.

“It was good. We talked about you a lot.”

“Should I be worried?”

“I told them about Jason,” she confessed biting on her bottom lip the same way she always did when she was worrying about something.

“I wish I could make some joke here about the situation but we’re not there yet are we? We’re not…”  he stopped and lifted his head looking out at the ocean.

Ella knew what he meant. They were together but not really together. Communicating but not really speaking to one another. She hated they were reduced to this. Hated most of all that he was sitting here. 

There were only two places in the Bay that Roman came to when he was struggling with something. The lighthouse or here.  He could sit here for hours just looking out at the ocean and none of his friends would ever know the reason why but she did. She knew her husband’s soul and here looking out he’d see the waves splash on to the sand. The horizon. The sun setting and the moon rising. He’d taste the salt on the air. 

In Afghanistan it was endless sand and terrain, hot and dusty and no matter how much water you drank you could never quite get the taste of grit from out of your mouth.   As a boy Roman had been brought up in a town but every summer there would be trips to the beach and when he’d learned to surf whatever time he wasn’t cooking or training he’d been back at the beach.  Trudging through endless sand, your senses on overload for any possible booby trap, IED, landmine, insurgent, made you want to escape. For Roman he would think about the sea. The waves. The water.  

Which was why he came here. No longer reliant on a mental image of the waves he’d sit and watch them until his problems seemed to float away.  Here he sat with his knees up and his arms resting on them, hands loosely clasped.  He didn’t reach for her like he normally would she gave a small smile at that.  He was respecting her space.

There wasn’t a lot that could surprise her about her husband after all these years together.  His attachment to this place was also one of the reasons she’d never insisted they move to her studio in the city not that she ever let on about that. She knew he needed this expanse of nature to heal the darkness within him in some way.

“I love you,” she told him quietly.

“Is it enough for you to stay?”

“Yes,” she said and knew she was lying.

[Helena]

Love this story already the Braxton family are really funny can't wait to read more keep updating