‘Don’t hold your breath.’ She smiled back. Her lips slackened as she became caught up in his intense stare. ‘What?’
‘Why did you leave that morning, Laura?’
‘Oh, Jack, it was a long time ago. Let’s leave it in the past, where it belongs.’
‘I need to know.’
‘Impatient as always.’
‘What would you know?’ His voice had a hard edge to it now. ‘How do you know what I’m like? You walked out, remember. You never gave it a chance. Me a chance.’
All the old feelings returned in a rush. It was as if he had stepped back ten years into the morning after. The sadness and disappointment at finding her gone felt as real now as it had then.
‘Are you angry with me?’ His outburst had surprised her.
‘I thought we had something going and then you walk out in the middle of the night and I never hear from you ever again. Yes.’ The hard edge remained. ‘I was upset with you.’
‘Well, I didn’t notice you trying to contact me,’ she pointed out, peeved by his tone.
‘I tried. Quite a lot, actually. I rang and you never picked up. I called around and you never answered the door. Eventually I figured you just didn’t want to be found, so I gave up.’
Laura was shocked at his admission. Her phone had rung hot, night and day, from the media. She’d stopped answering it. She’d stopped spending time at her flat, too. She’d never known when a journalist was going to show up. She’d rarely been at home those first couple of months and then she’d moved to Queensland to be nearer her mum and dad.
‘Look, Jack, you picked a really bad day for this. I have a headache, and dredging up the past is only making it worse.’
‘I’m sorry.’ He sighed, taking her hand, instantly contrite. He took a deep breath, trying to rein in his chaotic feelings. That he still felt so strongly surprised him. But looking at her closed expression, he knew now wasn’t the time to push. He had to bide his time on this one. He didn’t want to blow it with her. She would tell him one day. He hoped. He pulled her to him and gently kissed her forehead.
Despite what had just happened, Laura felt a strange awareness creep into her bones. Every part of her body in contact with his became alive at a cellular level. It unsettled her. She stepped back.
‘No doubt I’ll see you about,’ she said as she started to walk away.
‘Count on it,’ he called after her.
‘I won’t change my mind,’ she threw over her shoulder as she let herself out the pool gate.
Jack watched her retreat until the wiggle of her cute behind was no longer visible. Her movements aroused him. It may have been ten years but his body was responding to her as if it had been yesterday. He ached for her physically but there was a deeper ache that had nothing to do with her body.
She’d certainly convinced herself that she’d dealt with the events of that day in Newvalley. But despite her claim that she was over it, he could sense an inner vulnerability. Maybe it took someone like him, who knew her intimately, to see what she couldn’t.
He had a feeling she was a time bomb ready to go off. It was better for her to do that in an appropriate situation, like the service, with him by her side, than have something else trigger it at work or at home. That could be catastrophic for her. Somehow he had to get her to that service.
CHAPTER TWO
WHAT a day! Laura drove to her outer suburban home, not really noticing the route. She went through the motions—stopped at the red lights, went on the green. But she was not concentrating on the mechanics of driving. She was preoccupied with him. Jack Riley. Back in her life again after all this time.
To say it was a shock was a gross understatement. In reality, Laura had known that one day they would meet again. It would be a necessity. There’d come a time when Isaac would want to know his father and she would not deny him that. She had been prepared for that eventuality. But not yet. She hadn’t been prepared for it today.
So, what now? she wondered as she turned the small hatchback into the leafy street that had been her home for the last nine years. Seeing him again had dredged up some intense feelings. Laura felt sure that avoiding him was probably the wisest move…for a while anyway. At least until she figured out whether to tell him about Isaac or not. And how to go about it and… Oh, it all seemed such an insurmountable problem. Too complicated.
It had been simple ten years ago when she had first learned she was pregnant. They’d seen each other only twice and one of those times a building had collapsed on her! They hardly had a relationship at all. Yes, they had a special bond. He had been her rescuer, saving her from certain death and risking his life in the process. They were connected, in a cosmic sort of way, but…a couple? With a future?
They had talked a lot during her rescue. From this she had learned that Jack’s career was his priority. A marvellous opportunity had come his way to study surgery in Adelaide. She remembered the note of barely suppressed excitement in his voice, which even several layers of concrete couldn’t muffle, as he’d confided his dreams to her. She wasn’t going to dash them because they had been irresponsible when making love. She wanted no further sacrifice from him.
Laura knew that it probably wouldn’t have been that difficult to track him down, had she been so inclined. But she had not. How could she have done it to him? She had refused to dump what she was certain would have been very unwelcome news in his lap. Heavens! She didn’t want him to think that the whole experience had unbalanced her, turning her into an obsessed lunatic, stalking him, professing to carry his love child.
No. She had wanted the best for him. She had wanted for him what he’d wanted for himself. She owed him her life. She hadn’t wanted to ask him to give up his. She’d been, in reality, just a one-night stand.
Even so, she’d agonised over her decision. Keeping a child from someone, even one who didn’t want kids, was a huge call. Truthfully, she’d hadn’t been in the best place emotionally at the time to make such a momentous decision. But she’d made it, truly convinced it was in Jack’s best interests.
Laura opened the door, disturbing the quiet within the house. Normally she would have swung by her mother’s and picked Isaac up after work, but he was holidaying with his grandparents. They took him away every year at this time.
Usually they took him for a week to their holiday home at Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast. But this year they had decided to splurge and take him to Disneyland. They had gone for two weeks. Two whole weeks!
Laura picked up a photo frame with Isaac’s cheeky, nine-year-old grin smiling back at her. He looked so like his father. Same big, gentle, brown eyes with long lashes. Tall and olive-skinned. His hair closely cropped, courtesy of a number-two blade. Jack would have to be blind not to see the resemblance.
Isaac. He had kept her sane through the rough times. A baby’s needs had to be met regardless of how the mother was feeling. He had been a good distraction. Someone to focus on when coping with the aftermath of Newvalley and the guilt of being the sole survivor seemed too much to bear.
She traced his face with her thumb.
‘Oh, Isaac. What should I do?’ She missed him. She was looking forward to hearing his voice on the phone tonight. But there was a lot of time to kill between now and then. Too much time to dwell on Jack. She had to stay busy, keep her mind off Isaac’s father.
Laura passed the time pulling out weeds while music blasted into her head via earpieces attached to Isaac’s Walkman. She sang along loudly, determined not to let her mind wander.
The job took a few hours to complete and it was nearly dark by the time Laura stepped into the shower. She wished she could wash her problems