“Twelve months.” The glance he gave his daughter was worried, but she returned it with that fixed smile.
“His company donated a new computer system, Dad. He came over for dinner, so we could catch up on the gossip. It’s been a while.”
With a thoughtful look that encompassed both of them her father nodded. “Seven years. A lot can happen in seven years.”
For a man in his early sixties, he looked older. Careworn. The pale hair like Harriet’s flecked with silver. The cost to the family had been high. Lucas took the hint. “Look, I’ll just get my things together and head off.”
Harriet didn’t look all that pleased but Jack looked relieved as Lucas entered the hallway. Minutes later, bag in hand, he paused as he left the bedroom to judge what stage the conversation was at. Jack’s voice carried clearly. “After all that’s happened, what are you doing having dinner with him?”
“It’s only a catch-up dinner. Simple, Dad. We bumped into each other at work, we were curious about each other’s lives over the last seven years and we had dinner to talk about it. Isn’t it natural? We were good friends for a while back then. We probably won’t even see each other again after this.”
Lucas felt his throat tighten. Good friends wasn’t half of it, Harriet Emerson. He wasn’t finished with her by any stretch of the imagination. Jack Emerson obviously didn’t know the half of it either. Another lie on Harriet’s part. Or an omission. Which came to the same thing.
“Just remember what happened last time, Harriet, that’s all I ask.” Jack’s voice was pleading, and Lucas found that the most disturbing thing of all about the conversation.
When he first dated Harriet, Jack had taken him under his wing. It had been a revelation after his own dysfunctional family life, to be absorbed into Harriet’s small family. He’d been eleven when his father died and not much older when his siblings left home, driven away by the bitter recriminations of their mother. Caro was difficult at times but there was no doubting her love for Jack and Harriet. He never really found out why she was occasionally moody. The only explanation had been an offhand comment about a nervous condition. He could understand her reservations about him dating her daughter. That’s why he’d tried so hard to comply with their rules and made sure she was home every night.
Closing the bedroom door firmly he heard the sudden silence as they registered his imminent return. “I’ll just finish cleaning up in the kitchen,” he announced as he put his backpack on one of the kitchen stools. Jack nodded, but Harriet’s face was unreadable with the fixed smile she was wearing for her father’s benefit. It only took a few minutes and Harriet dried up and put away. Jack waited at the doorway to the hall, studiously looking at his blackberry as if to give them an illusion of privacy. Now was his chance.
“I should have told you earlier, about Sondra.”
Harriet hung the tea towel over the handle of the oven. “You don’t have to tell me, Lucas.”
“I think you have a right to know this.” He glanced over at her father before fixing his gaze on her upturned face. “I sold Sondra the spare ticket. I needed the money.”
“Sold it to her? But she said…What about the bike?”
“A write off. The insurance didn’t cover anything like what I would have got selling it.”
“So that’s why you had to sell my ticket. To make up the difference.”
“I didn’t see her after we landed.”
“You went with her to Vegas. She sent me a photo.”
“I went to a convention for work. Vegas is a major conference centre. She was working there, and we bumped into each other. She latched onto the group of guys I was with. You probably saw the movie. A group of guys, a lot of booze, a few willing women.”
“I bet she was willing…”
He barely heard the mutter, but he leaned closer. “I wasn’t.” She stared, and he put a finger to her chin, lifting her jaw to shut her gaping mouth. “Catching flies?”
Jack pocketed his phone with a gruff goodnight to his daughter. “I’d better get back. Caro will be wondering what’s keeping me.”
Lucas nodded. “And worrying, I suppose.”
“It’s what parents do.”
Once in the lift going down, Lucas turned to Jack. “You should know, I had no idea Harriet hadn’t made a full recovery after the accident.”
The older man smiled tiredly. “I know, son. I remember what she said she told you at the time.”
A curious turn of phrase. “What did happen after I left? Did something go wrong? Was there some damage that wasn’t picked up at the time?”
Stepping out of the lift, Jack moved to one side and Lucas followed. “Whatever she may have told you when she saw you, the fact is that Harriet knew from the first night before they even took her into surgery that she would never walk normally again.”
“How could they be so sure?”
Jack rubbed his chin as if debating what to say. “I suppose now you know the truth there’s no harm in telling you the details. Her knees and the bones in her legs were totally shattered and all the ligaments were either snapped or crushed. She has enough metal in her to rebuild the Storey Bridge holding what’s left of the bones together, but the repaired ligaments will never have the strength to support the joints.”
“Is there nothing else they can do?”
“This is the best they can do. When Harriet spoke to you, even that was considered unlikely. They wanted to amputate both legs completely. Harriet refused and we supported her. If we’d known what it would cost her at the time, I doubt we would have done the same.”
“Surely keeping her legs was the best possible thing for her.”
“One swift operation and learning to walk on prosthetics as opposed to thirteen operations and a lifetime of pain? I don’t think so. But it was her choice. She was eighteen, so it was up to her.”
With a strangled groan, Lucas sat on the couch opposite the lifts. He’d seen it, that first moment when she’d stood, the sharp breath, the perspiration beading on her upper lip and forehead as she shuffled her way to the wheelchair. The tension that came from being in pain.
Jack sat beside him. “You really did care about her, didn’t you?”
“You knew my position. I was upfront with you right from the start, Jack.”
“I know. It worries me. Because I know what Harriet’s feelings were. I wonder whether any of us did the right thing.”
“It’s not too late to fix some things.”
The faded blue eyes sharpened and Lucas kept his gaze steady. With a shrug, the older man turned away. “We shall see.”
6
She couldn’t believe it. Maybe the thing about Sondra. It had the ring of truth, knowing her former friend. But Lucas, back in her life for however long. That was something she’d consigned to dreams…or fantasies. For once the bedtime routine didn’t bother her. Because tomorrow or the next day, sometime soon, she would see Lucas again. Not just see him.
She pressed her fingertips to her mouth, revelling in the tenderness of the still swollen flesh. It didn’t make sense that he wanted her broken body. There must be an element of pity, perhaps of nostalgia in his desire. Whatever his motives, she wasn’t so full of pride that she would reject the opportunity of one more chance of making love with Lucas. Sex. It would be sex. She mustn’t forget.
“Your father tells me that Hall boy is hanging around again.”
“Hardly a boy, Mum. He’s nearly thirty.” Harriet carefully kept her voice level. She’d know this was coming ever since the other night. A sigh from her father only added to her annoyance. “And I wouldn’t say hanging around. We met at work and he came to dinner. Once.”
“Is that so? Thirty? I suppose he’s married by now.”
“He doesn’t wear a ring.” Harriet had wondered about that. He kept fiddling with his fingers but the skin at first glance seemed uniformly tanned.
“Probably a de-facto relationship in that case. Although some men don’t like
to wear a ring. He might be one of those.”
“One of those…what? You’re the one always preaching about giving people the benefit of the doubt.”
Her mother’s thin face flushed. “It’s easy to see he isn’t the type to hang around when trouble comes.”
“Don’t be such a revisionist. I sent him away remember. You thought it was the right thing to do at the time. You told me it was the right thing to do.”
“He never would have married you. It was all for the best in the long run.”
“You don’t know that. His sister and brother are both married. Maybe it runs in the family.”
Flustered, Caro concentrated on serving up the chicken casserole. “Is that enough for you?”
“More than enough. It’s not like I have to run marathons.”
Seating herself at the table, her mother pursed her lips, glancing sideways at her husband. “You shouldn’t have given up the ballroom dancing. You were so good at it. Basketball isn’t quite the same thing.”
“It took up too much time. While I was a university it wasn’t a problem, but now I’m working I can’t commit to three nights a week and most weekends. Not to mention the travel for the competitions.” She poked at her chicken leg. “Besides, I still help out with the beginner classes. Enough to keep my hand in.”
“You know you don’t have to work.”
“I do. We’ve gone through this before. Tell her Dad. I’m not going to use my legs as an excuse to become a sponge.”
“Leave it, Caro. The girl needs to use her brain.”
Harriet smiled gratefully at her father. At least he understood that much. Even if he was too anxious about his wife to argue with her. Harriet couldn’t remember a time when Caro hadn’t been frail and nervy. Not that she hadn’t a good reason. Things hadn’t been easy for her for so many years. If only she could get over the whole protective thing. It was almost an obsession. She wouldn’t leave it of course. Her next words proved it.
“Very well. All the same I hope you aren’t encouraging Lucas Hall to hang around. He was a bad influence the first time. Distracting you. Men like him only want one thing.”
Seething, Harriet pushed her plate away. “If Lucas wants sex I’ll be glad to give it to him. God knows it’s been long enough. There are worse things people can do. He at least made me feel good about myself.”
The clatter of her mother’s cutlery on the glass top table jarred. “Harriet Emerson. This isn’t like you. I can see his influence already. Until he came along your behaviour was always exemplary. Speak to your daughter, Jack.”
Spinning away from the table, she shook her head. “Don’t bother. I’m going home. I’ll be back when you remember I’m an adult. I make my own decisions. I choose my own friends. If I want to have sex, I’ll do that too. I may be a cripple but I’m a woman, not a child.”
“Well don’t come crying to us when he loves you and leaves you. Do you really think someone like him would hang around for the day to day grind like we do? Take you to hospitals, help you when your knees play up. If it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t have had the accident in the first place.”
“It wasn’t his fault. Even the police reports said it wasn’t his fault.”
“He’s no good for you, Harriet. He won’t be there for you when you need him.”
“At least he wouldn’t want to harvest my organs. He might break my heart, but I’d get to keep the pieces.”
The sudden silence that greeted her angry words settled over her, dark and heavy. Slowly she turned the wheelchair to face her parents. Guilt sucked the air from her lungs at her mother’s white face. “I’m sorry. That was a low blow.”
Jack sighed. “We shouldn’t have pushed you about Lucas.” His arm was around her mother’s shoulders. The guilt clawed at her again, knowing the grey in her mother’s soft brown hair, the white in her father’s, owed something to her own actions.
“I thought you liked him. You always welcomed him when he came around.”
“We did, your mother is just worried. We know how hurt you were last time when he left.”
“I don’t blame him for that and you shouldn’t either. He wouldn’t have gone if I hadn’t lied to him. He’s really not that kind of person. In fact, the whole reason he came back to Australia was to look after his mother. Surely that proves he has some sense of responsibility.”
“You know Lucas and I spoke after we met at your apartment?”
“I supposed you would.” She’d been wondering whether there’d been some kind of confrontation. Especially as Lucas hadn’t called since.
“He was shocked at your injuries. You must have been very convincing.”
“You paid for the drama classes. They had to be good for something.”
“All the same. I’m still a little surprised he left so abruptly and didn’t come back. He was only supposed to be gone a year. He seemed keen at the time. A fact he confirmed the other night.”
“He didn’t want to go without me. He told me he would relinquish the scholarship. I had to be really awful to him to convince him I wasn’t worth it.”
Her parents shared a glance, her father’s voice gruff. “We didn’t realise you were thinking of going to the U.S. with him. When were we going to find out?”
Biting her lip Harriet shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now. The point is, he’s unlikely to want any relationship with me, even if he could adjust to my disability.”
“Why not? He’d be very lucky to have you.” Her mother was funny… and illogical. Up in arms because a boy she disapproved of and a relationship she’d been arguing against only minutes ago might be unwanted by the boy in question.
“I said some things no man could forgive. I made fun of him. Lots of things. Horrible things.”
Her father shook his head. “That was wrong of you. Very wrong. You’ll have to apologise.”
“I did. But I don’t know if he believes me.”
“Maybe you’ll get the chance to prove it to him.”
Harriet stared back at her father. “I’d like that. I’d like us to be friends again. Even if nothing else.”
Reaching out, he stroked her hair lightly. “You do the right thing and something good will come of it.”
As the ball left her fingers, Harriet rocked with the impact from another chair. Grabbing the wheels, she spun away, with a last glance to check the ball went through the hoop. The cheer from her teammates confirmed the score just as the buzzer went for full time. They’d won, but only just. She’d missed an easy goal early in the game.
It wasn’t precisely because of Lucas being in the stands. It was the unexpectedness of it. After not coming near her for almost two weeks, she’d resigned herself to not seeing him. So halfway through the first half when she spotted Jimmie and beside him Lucas, she’d fumbled the ball as she sent it towards the target.
Luckily the other girls in the team were on it instantly and they retrieved the situation. Stealing another look at Lucas, a surge of anger burned low in her belly. He couldn’t do this. Just waltz in and out of her life as he pleased. Throughout the men’s game she stuck close to her teammates, careful not to look in his direction. When she did look, at the end of the game, he was gone.
“That was close.” Jimmie’s voice brought her from her reverie. The tall figure behind him looked down at her unsmiling.
“Hello, Harry. An exciting game.”
With a shrug, she edged away. “Nerve wracking is more like it. I thought we were bound to lose.”
“I saw you miss the first shot. Did you get distracted?”
He knew, dammit. “Probably. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get someone to take my other chair down to the car.”
“I’ve got it.” Jimmy stood with the sporting wheelchair, a beaming smile on his face. He immediately turned away, steering between the diminishing crowd.
“He’s a nice young lad.”
Harriet looked up at Lucas, resenting his easy assumption of intimacy. “He
is. Considering his background, he’s amazing.”
“Not good?”
“Foster care and a lot of moving around.”
“I knew that. He told me when I took him home after the last game. What happened to his family?”
“No father and the mother relinquished him to the state when he was six. I’m not breaking confidentiality with this. It’s common knowledge. He doesn’t know how to keep secrets.”
“A nice characteristic.”
They’d reached the car and Jimmie quickly hopped out of the wheelchair. “It’s okay Jimmie. I don’t mind you having a ride.”
With a sheepish grin, he took the keys and Lucas helped him load the chair into the car. “It’s fun. For me I mean.” He flushed with embarrassment and jogged off to the only other car in the isolated car park. A black Lamborghini. Harriet looked at Lucas with a wry expression.
He nodded. “Yes. I still like big black beasts with powerful motors.”
“Do you still ride?”
“No. Motorbikes lost their charm for me a long time ago.”
“Well, I guess that thing would be just as much of a chick magnet as the Ducati was.”
“You think so?” His emerald eyes glinted wickedly. “Does that mean you’ll come on a date with me?”
“No but thank you anyway.” She moved away to open the door of the Focus.
“What’s with the chill factor, Harry? I thought we’d reached an understanding. To be friends at least.”
His long fingers ploughed his hair, leaving it standing up in ragged spikes. For the first time she looked at him closely. “You look tired.”
“I just flew in from Sydney. That’s why we were late for the game.”
“You’ve been in Sydney all this time?” The anger dropped to a low simmer. All the same, he could have told her, rather than leaving her wondering.
“Hell, no. That would have been easier. I’ve done the rounds, Washington, New York, London and Dubai. But you know that.”
“How would I know? I haven’t seen you for weeks.”
Tell Me No Lies Page 8
