Free Echoes Of The Past (Fermosa Bay #1) by Iris Blobel Page A

him which he wasn’t able to handle, yet.
    Calling Jack Dad had been a slip of the tongue, yet, most possibly a Freudian slip of the tongue.
    He’d been in Fermosa a week, and although the conversations with Jack were short and most of the times frustrating as he had a tendency to wander off in his mind, they’d talked a lot. He’d learnt a lot, yet still not everything. They’d sat in front of the television and watched some of Jack’s favourite movies or TV shows. They’d laughed, screamed at the TV when watching the cricket as opponents, or shook their heads at some criminal TV series. Something he couldn’t remember having ever done with his mother, let alone Duncan, the man he’d called Father for such a long time.
    Yet, it’d nearly brought tears to his eyes as well to see Jack’s reaction.
    Emily stepped closer. “Are you okay, Jack? What happened?”
    Connor saw the smile on his father’s face as he replied, “I was just given my Christmas present. And I’m loving it.”
    And hearing those few words, Connor had to take a deep breath and blink a couple of times, amazed at the effect his word had on Jack.
    She looked down to his hands, then to Connor, and back to Jack, obviously not understanding what he meant.
    Jack gave her a little wave with her hand. “Let’s go and sit down. I can’t wait to hear all the Christmas songs the children have prepared.”
    Still puzzled, Emily looped her arm through Jack’s and walked with him to a free spot where they were going to sit. “Ethan brought a few chairs as well. Niall’s coming and so is Sabrina.”
    Jack nodded. “Let me sit next to Sabrina.”
    Connor unfolded a chair. It took him a minute to figure out how to, and wasn’t impressed at all when Emily had already unfolded the second chair within seconds. “Show off,” he said to her.
    She laughed.
    “Where is Ethan?”
    Emily pointed into the distance. “Over there, smothering Nick with suncream.”
    He looked up.
    “It seems he’s also checking out the new teacher,” she added with a soft laugh. Placing a hand on his arm, she whispered, “What was the Christmas present all about?”
    Something inside pulled at his heart. “I called him Dad. ”
    She let out an aww and a deep sigh. “Best present ever, I reckon.”
    Before he was able to say something, someone slapped him gently on his shoulder. It was Niall.
    “Ready for the event of the year?”
    Connor chuckled. “Ready as I’ve ever been.”
    Emily leaned in, gave Niall a kiss on his cheek, and Sabrina a hug. “Good to see you.” She pointed to Niall. “You, my best friend, are in trouble.”
    Niall’s eyebrows shot up. “Me?”
    “You went to the waterfalls without me,” she said nonchalantly.
    “Men’s business. And what about the other three?”
    “Ethan is in trouble as well.”
    He nodded towards Connor. “And him?”
    Emily lifted her shoulder in a slight shrug. “He doesn’t know the rules, yet.”
    “There are rules?”
    “What’s up?” Ethan asked as he joined the group.
    Connor placed a hand on Ethan’s arm. “Hold back for a moment, buddy. This is hilarious.”
    Emily turned around and weighed him with a critical glare. Connor wasn’t sure whether to laugh or to be worried that he’d said the wrong thing. But then again, he didn’t believe Emily was a hundred percent serious about the whole scenario.
    Hands on hips, she asked, “Men’s business? That’s not fair. I’m part of this group. Next time you talk men’s business, I want to be part of it.”
    She looked from Connor, to Ethan and Niall. “Understood?”
    Connor whispered to Jack, “Is that the inner vixen coming out?”
    Jack’s laugh turned into a cough and everyone gathered around him as he sat down. Sabrina turned to Connor. “I know we’ve met, but since everyone’s a bit side-tracked with men’s business , I have to introduce myself. I’m Sabrina, Niall’s grandmother and Jack’s long-time friend. You’ve seen me at the