Chapter 13 - Part 1
It had been a few weeks since Charlotte's christening, and everything was slowly beginning to get back to normal around Drover's. Claire had been busy trying to get as much done around the place as possible, before her and Alex were off to the city - It wasn't like she didn't trust Tess to handle it, but it still made her more comfortable to know, that the major things were done as she liked it to be done. Despite Claire's new mummy-role she still liked being in control, maybe even more now than ever.
"Okay, I've sorted everything out with the feed - But Becky you know what to do" Claire said and clapped her hands as she walked towards the rest. They were all standing at the car, ready to send them off, but Claire had insisted on checking the feed for the horses one last time - They were after all a very important key factor for the property's income, she wouldn't wanna take any chances. It was important they got the right mix of feed. "Claire come on, we are gonna miss the plane" Alex rushed her with his hands full of luggage. "Yeah yeah, righto" Claire said, knowing Alex was right - they really had to get going if they were to catch their plane. "Have a safe trip" Meg said as she placed Charlotte in the car seat and closed the door. "Oh Tess, don't do any major things around here, we'll be back in 4 days - if there is anything just call Killarney" Claire said and looked at her sister. Jesus Claire, have a little faith in me Tess thought to herself. She was aware of how things worked around here by now, they could manage - But it was typical Claire behaviour, she always wanted things her way, but that was part of why Tess loved her dearly. She couldn't help but smile and shake her head.
"Come on .. In" Alex said and grabbed Claire by her arm and forced her into the car, they really had to get going if they were to catch their plane. As much as Claire was looking forward to spend some alone time with Alex and BOM in the city, her mind wasn't completely at ease - she always hated leaving Drover's, even if it only were for a couple of hours. She liked being in control and being that far away from Drover's made it a bit hard to know what was going on. Halfway to Adelaide Claire finally gave in for her need to call Tess and see if anything was going as it should, it had only been about 3 hours since they left - but a quick phone call wouldn't hurt anybody. "Did you bring your phone?" Claire asked Alex as she rummaged through the glove compartment. He took his eyes off the road for a second to see what she was doing. "What do you need it for?" he asked, knowing exactly what she wanted with it. "You know, I just want to call Tess - see if everything is okay" she said and gave up finding the phone in the compartment. Alex shook his head and a small smile crossed his lips. Oh Claire, always in control he thought to himself. "You know, I reckon everything is fine. It's only 3 hours since we left - Even Tess couldn't have brought that much damage to place" he tried to joke, but Claire absolutely didn't find it amusing. Her mind was already going crazy about all the things that could go wrong - she hadn't even had those thoughts before Alex said anything. "Claire relax, okay? everything is fine". "If I could just give them a quick call I could relax" she said. "Well, I didn't bring it - so I guess you'll have to trust Tess and the others" Alex teased her. Claire frowned and leant back on her seat with her arms folded. Alex was probably right, everything was in perfect order back at Drover's - she just needed to let her guard down a bit. She looked back at her sleeping daughter and smiled. She was an easy baby, hardly ever cried and she was always so happy. "Wonder how she'll take the flight" Claire said and gazed out the window. "She'll be doing fine" Alex assured and looked at Charlotte in the rear mirror. "When are you meeting Bryce?" Claire asked and looked at Alex. "I'm .. " he stopped, didn't know how he should put it. Truth be told, he hadn't called Bryce - he was just kinda hoping to go and meet him and then introduce himself. He knew it wasn't the smartest idea, but he couldn't exactly present himself as his son over the phone could he? No, it was a conversation they needed to have in person. "Well .. I haven't actually called him yet" he finally said. Claire looked confused at him. "What do you mean?"
"Yeah you know. I figured I'll just go find him when we get to the city" he said and quickly looked at Claire to see her reaction. "So he doesn't know you are coming?" she asked surprised. Alex draw on his shoulder, he didn't know what to say. "You really think that is the best way to go around this?" she asked. "Well, I didn't quite want to present myself as his long lost son over the phone. This sounded like the best option". Claire couldn't argue with that - she couldn't put herself in his situation, so telling him what to do or what not to do, wasn't really something she had any say in. He could go around it anyway he wanted to, she would still support him every step of the way.
They finally arrived at the hotel, both very exhausted after the long drive and flight - BOM on the other hand was fully awake and had been it since they boarded the plane. She had taken the flight well, exactly as Alex had assured Claire about.
"I'm so tired" Claire said and a yawn followed her words, as she placed herself on the couch in the middle of the room. She took herself a couple of seconds to admire the hotel room Alex had booked - it was really big and had a separate bedroom, she was yet to discover. The view from the living area was great, you could see out into the big Melbourne city life. Alex interrupted her thoughts as he placed himself beside her with Charlotte in his arms. Claire studied her daughter in the arms of Alex, she was getting so big. She couldn't believe it had been 6 months since the birth of her, and both her and Alex's life had been blessed with an endless love. She smiled and reach a hand out towards Charlotte - She was busy babbling and playing with her favorite toy bunny that followed her everywhere. It was the one Alex had brought her on the day she was born.
"Should we go find some lunch, I'm starving" Claire said and felt her stomach rumble. "Actually Claire" Alex said and turned his head towards her. "I was thinking of going and see Bryce - I was told he'll be at his office around this time a day. You know how lawyers are" he didn't wanted to set her up for disappointment, but if he were to have a real shot at meeting him he had to do it now, today - before he missed his chance. "Oh okay, that's fine" Claire said and smiled at him - she really didn't want to be standing in his way. "I'll just grab something from the hotel and maybe take a nap along with BOM".
"You sure it's fine?" Alex asked. "Go, I'll be here when you get back" she assured him and reached out for her daughter. "We'll walk you out" Claire said and got up from the couch, followed by Alex. "I'm gonna miss you" she said and smiled at Alex, which made him sent her an even bigger smile. He walked closer to her and embraced her in a huge kiss before pulling himself away. He then turned his head to Charlotte in Claire's arms and kissed her gently on the top of her head, he couldn't wait to get back to them and tell Claire all about Bryce. "Bye bye daddy" Claire said and waved Charlotte's arm at him - she waited until she couldn't see him anymore before closing the door behind her.
He was dealing with a lot of nerves as he stood in front of the office building. He couldn't decide whether this had been a bad idea or a good one. Well, here goes nothing he thought and entered the building. It didn't take him long to find the floor Bryce's office was on and he gave the door a quiet knock before entering. He would have expected someone at the front desk but there weren't anyone in sight. He looked around for a bit, wondering if he should wait or come back - but he then heard a male's voice from the half closed door in front of him. He slowly opened the door and knocked on the doorframe - in front of him stood a tall elderly man with white hair, he was dressed in a suit which made him look confident and a bit scary. The man, he assumed to be Bryce got off the phone as soon as he had knocked on the frame of the door. "I'm sorry, I'm closed for office hours for today - Schedule an appointment with my secretary."
"There isn't any at the front desk" Alex said, not knowing what to say - He always had something to say, but right now he couldn't find the right words. "Well, what can I help you with then?" The man said and placed himself on the edge of his desk.
"Is your name Bryce?" Alex asked and took his akubra off before entering the room. "Yes, who are you?" Bryce asked a bit suspicious. "This might sound a bit strange, but I'm Alex. I'm .." he didn't get to say anything more before Bryce interrupted him. "Ah, Alex. I know who you are .. son" his words sounded so harsh and yet so familiar too him. "You mum said you might be stopping by" he said and invited Alex to take a place in one of the chairs in front of the desk. "I'm not quite sure what you are looking for - I can't offer you a dad, it's 30 years too late." Alex looked confused at him, that wasn't what he was after. "No, I'm not looking for a dad. I just wanted to see where I came from" Alex said and smiled nervously. "Well, here I am then" Bryce said and let out a confident laugh. "I tell you what. I was just on my way out to grab some lunch - why don't you tag along, then we can get to know each other?" Bryce asked. "Yeah, that sounds good" Alex said, surprised by Bryce's openness towards him - somewhere deep down he had prepared himself to be rejected by him, but he hadn't and that was a good first step. He hadn't really figured out what he wanted from all of this, but maybe time could tell.
"Shandy can you make room for one more at my table?" Bryce asked as they got to a fancy restaurant. Shandy was the host of the place and it looked like Bryce came here a lot, from the way he was interacting with her. "What do you want to drink?" Bryce asked as they both were seated at the table. "I could go for a beer" Alex said. "A beer and a glass of wine - and two plates of the seafood" Bryce said to Shandy - Alex noticed how Bryce studied her as she walked away, she was sure was pretty, but maybe a bit too young for someone like Bryce. "She is a real party animal that girl" Bryce said and smiled. Alex shook his head and laughed, of course he thought to himself - of course Bryce and her had something going on.
"Tell me a bit about yourself as we wait for food to arrive - Your mother didn't tell me much, other than you run a farm?"
"Well, I run one with my brother Nick just south of Gungellan. I also have a horse training business with Claire, who is my better half and also the mother of my child" Alex stopped and waited Bryce reaction. "You kidding, I'm a grandfather?" Bryce said and laughed. "You can't run from that" Alex said and smiled - if he didn't wanted to be a dad, would he even want to be a granddad?
"I would have loved to meet them" Bryce said as the food arrived. "Well they are back at the hotel, I can call them and get them if you like?"
"Yeah, just a quick meeting before I go back to the court wouldn't hurt" Bryce said and took a sip of his wine and dived into the plate of food.
"Claire this is Bryce" Alex said as Claire reached the bar of the restaurant where Alex and Bryce were waiting. He had called her after they had finished lunch and fortunately she had been excited about meeting Bryce when he called her. "G'day" Claire said and shook Bryce's hand. "And this must be little Charlotte" Bryce said and looked at Charlotte in her stroller. He stooped down and stroke her tiny hand. "She takes after her mother - A real treat I must say" he said as he got back to Claire and Alex. Claire was flattered but didn't know what to say, so she just answered him with a smile. "Well, it was nice to meet you all - but I have to get back to court" Bryce said and picked up his suitcase. "Oh Alex, maybe you can drop by tonight - we could get a glass of something and catch up?"
"Yeah, I would love that" Alex said and gave Bryce his hand before he went out of the door. "Well, he seems nice" Claire said and looked at Alex - Yeah he does, doesn't he Alex thought to himself.
"Let's get out of here" Alex said and pushed the stroller towards the door. "That I can agree on. I so need to try their bubble bath back at the hotel" Claire said and followed him out of the door. She was really exhausted from the last couple of weeks and she had been working herself too hard with the new horse, to get it ready in time. "I'm totally in favor of that as well" Alex teased her and kissed her on the tip of her ear, which made her body shiver. "Alex - We are in public" Claire laughed and pushed him away from her. "Just concentrate on the stroller will you" she smiled.
"I'm going now. Don't wait up" Alex said and popped his head in the bedroom. "Have fun" Claire said from the bed and smile to him. She was exhausted and all she wanted right now was a good night sleep, so even if she wanted to wait for Alex to get back, she probably couldn't keep her eyes open.
He hailed a taxi from the street and 10 minutes later he was outside of Bryce's office. He had expected the drive to be longer, but there wasn't that much traffic at this time of day. He payed the driver and entered the building. He was surprised to see a secretary at the frontdesk as he got to Bryce's office. "Ah Alex, there you are. Just give me a minute" Bryce said as he saw Alex in the doorway.
"Honey, can you call mum and tell her I'm not gonna make it home tonight. I'm swapped with a work case". The secretary was his daughter? Alex was a bit confused. "Is this your daughter?" he kindly asked and got a bit closer to them both. "Yes, this is Sabine - she also works for me here at the office. Sabine, this is Alex - my .. Client" Bryce said and pointed his hand at Alex. It was clear he didn't want her to know Alex was his son nor her brother, so he just played along with it - he couldn't expect anything from a guy he had just met a few hours ago, and he sure didn't wanted to create chaos in their family.
"Nice to meet you" she said and gave him a kind smile before making her way to the front desk once again. Alex pulled out the chair he had used earlier and waited for Bryce to finish tying his tie. "Where are we going?" Alex asked, eager to know the location. "Back to the restaurant. Shandy is bringing some good friends of her - you are going to have a such a good time" Bryce smiled. Wait what? Alex couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could he think Alex was interested in that when he had Claire at home. He shook his head. Bryce was a bastard as Harry - well not in the same way of course. He had no intention to let Bryce into his life, if this was how he went about his life. One bastard was enough to deal with. "actually. There is a place I need to be tonight. I have to go" Alex said and shook Bryce's hand before leaving the office, leaving Bryce with a confused look on his face.
All the way back to the hotel he couldn't help but think about the fact that both of his dad's were bastards - Well, Harry he could deal with since he had known him all of his life, and whether or not any of them would admit it, they loved each other like father and son.
"what are you doing back so early?" Claire asked as Alex walked in the hotel room - she had just put BOM down and was ready to find the bed herself. "Whata you know" Alex said and placed himself beside her on the couch. "He was a bastard - I seem to collect them as fathers" he said and turned his head to Claire. "I'm sorry" she said, didn't know what else she could say. "It's okay. I don't need him around anyway." he smiled - he had all the things he needed. Claire and BOM. The most precious people in his life.
Claire placed her head on his lap and made herself comfortable - They had been in Melbourne for a whole day and this was their first alone time. They had planned on the bubble bath earlier, but Charlotte had different ideas about her napping. Claire placed herself on her back so she could look at him, still with her head on his lap. "What do you want to do tomorrow?" she asked. There was only one thing he wanted to do tomorrow and that was being wherever Claire was. He smiled and placed his hand on her stomach. "Be with you - I'll follow everywhere you go".
Claire smiled and placed her hand on top of his. "Have I told you I love you?" she asked and looked him straight in the eyes with the look that always melted his heart - It was only her and Charlotte that could do that to him. "I love you too" he said and caressed the bare skin on her leg.
