by Mandy Magro
Juliette looked to where the huge bay windows brought the outdoors inside. ‘Have you heard anything from Zoe yet?’
‘No, but hopefully on the weekend. She did mention it would be a few weeks or so before she’d be able to get to a phone, so I’m not too concerned.’
Joel’s father clomped in, bringing with him the lingering scent of grass and horse, with a tinge of manure. ‘Oh, hi, Juliette.’
‘Howdy, Mr Hunter,’ Juliette garbled through a mouthful of jam drop.
‘Gee whiz, it’s dusty out there today. Just look at the state of me.’ He banged his pants, to demonstrate just how dusty it was. ‘Can you pop the kettle on, please, Sherrie, I need to wet my whistle before I head back out.’
‘Oi, you bugger, I’ve just finished dusting and don’t need the likes of you bringing it all back in with you,’ Sherrie replied with a chuckle as she flicked the switch on the kettle.
Juliette loved seeing the two of them together, so compatible and so in love, even after thirty-odd years together. She wanted a love like theirs. A love like Joel gave her, and one she wanted to give him.
‘I just had a phone call from Wombat about the fence that was cut.’ William’s bushy brows furrowed even further as he grabbed the canister of coffee. ‘Apparently, someone reported seeing a silver Land Rover Discovery speeding down the road on the same day, around the same time.’ He shook his head as he put two teaspoons of sugar in his cup. ‘The weird thing is that the only person I know around these parts with a four-wheel drive like that is Levi Muller.’
Juliette’s breath hitched in her throat at the name. She fought to remain composed as Joel’s father continued. ‘This better not have anything to do with Joel being back.’
Juliette was thankful the attention wasn’t on her right now. She watched Sherrie, wide-eyed, quickly shake her head.
‘Of course it doesn’t, William.’ Sherrie busied herself grabbing the milk from the fridge. ‘Levi Muller is a well-respected man around town, and certainly not someone who would carry a grudge from eleven years ago.’
Juliette’s pulse pounded in her ears as she listened. Taking the milk, William regarded his wife. ‘You certain of that, Sherrie?’
‘My word, I am,’ Sherrie shot back, before offering Juliette an apologetic smile as she headed back to the table. ‘Sorry, love, you don’t need to hear all of that. Now, where were we?’
‘Oh, no worries at all.’ Juliette glanced at her watch. ‘I’d best be off. I’m going to call over and see Mum.’ Moving as if she’d been sitting on glass, she gathered her empty cup and went to the sink to rinse it out.
‘Oh, okay, love. We’ll catch you later on then?’ Sherrie looked a little confused but tried to cover it up with a smile.
‘Of course.’ She brushed a kiss over Sherrie’s cheek. ‘Thanks for morning tea and the chat. Bye, Mr Hunter,’ Juliette said, passing him as he was clanging his teaspoon noisily against his coffee cup, a habit he’d always had.
‘Catch you round, Juliette,’ he replied before slurping from his coffee, grimacing when he burnt his lip.
‘Bye, love,’ Sherrie said with a wave.
Her heart in her throat from what she’d just heard and what she was about to do, she headed outside, slipped her thongs back on, and wandered back to the cottage to collect her bag with the photos. Joel had gone and stirred up a hornet’s nest. She was fairly certain it was Levi Muller who had cut the fence, not that she could prove it. Nor did she have the mindset, or time, to try.
Hopping into her ute, she revved the engine to life and drove on autopilot, the trek to her parents’ house taking fifteen minutes because she was driving so slowly. Parking in the shade, she grabbed her handbag and hopped out, smiling when her mother appeared at the front door.
‘Hi, sweetheart.’
‘Hey, Mum. How are you?’ She kissed her cheek. ‘Yeah, you know, getting there.’ Joan stepped to the side. ‘Come in.’
Juliette cringed a little as she stepped inside, the scent of mothballs and Malcolm’s pipe tobacco overwhelming her senses. She didn’t come here often, as rarely as possible these days. The haunting memories that clung to every corner of the home were the ghosts that kept her away. Putting her imaginary blinkers on, she followed her mum into the kitchen, where two place settings were neatly arranged alongside a pot of tea and two matching cups. She pulled up a chair and sat, as did her mother. A warm, homemade bacon, leek and asparagus quiche – Juliette’s favourite – sat at the centre of it all.
‘You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble, Mum.’
‘Don’t be silly. It’s not every day my girl comes home to have lunch with me.’ Joan smiled, but there was sadness in her eyes.
‘I’m sorry, Mum, but you know why that is.’ She offered her a meaningful glance.
‘Mmhhmm, I most certainly do. One day, I hope you and Malcolm can smooth things over so I don’t have to be piggy-in-the-middle,’ she said, pouring them both a cup of super strong black tea. She eyed her daughter across the table while cutting generous pieces of quiche. ‘So, what do you need to talk to me about?’
Juliette spooned a couple of sugars into her cup. ‘A couple of things.’
Joan took her fork and dug in. ‘Okay then, go ahead. I’m all ears.’
‘I’ve left Lachlan.’ With it having dangled on the end of her tongue for days, Juliette spat it out. She cringed as she waited for her mother’s reaction.
‘You’ve done what?’ As though only just hearing her, even though a few seconds had passed, Joan straightened, spilling a little of her tea. She grabbed a napkin, mopping it off the table. ‘Why would you go and do something so silly, Juliette?’
‘Because he wasn’t treating me how I should be treated.’
‘You know men. Most of the time they don’t know how to treat women appropriately. Cut the man some slack.’ She sighed, smiling as though that was all Juliette needed to hear to renege on her decision. ‘You’re financially set for life being there, Juliette. You don’t want to throw that away. Believe me, struggle street isn’t pretty. I’ve been there, after your father died, and it was tough. If it wasn’t for Malcolm, I don’t know what I would have done to make ends meet. We both have a lot to be thankful for in him.’
Juliette had heard this speech a thousand times before, and she was tired of it. ‘Malcolm didn’t save us, Mum. He made a life of unjustly ridiculing and tormenting us.’
‘Juliette, don’t start please, not today.’ Her mother huffed. ‘I just want to enjoy lunch with you, without fighting.’
Juliette swallowed down her hurt, nodding. ‘Okay. I’m sorry.’
‘So, tell me this. Does you leaving Lachlan have anything to do with Joel being back in town?’
‘No, it most certainly does not.’ Furious that her own mother would insinuate such a thing, Juliette bit back an eruption of expletives. This wasn’t the direction she wanted this conversation to go. ‘Did you know that Malcolm pawned me off to the Davises to be Lachlan’s wife so you could get this house?’
‘Oh, Juliette, what a thing to say.’ Joan rolled her eyes. ‘Malcolm would never do such a thing.’
Her mother was like an ostrich with its head in the sand when it came to Malcolm. Yet Juliette breathed a silent sigh of relief. It would have damn near killed her if her mother had known all this time. ‘Mum, listen to me. It’s the truth. He’s not a man to be trusted.’ Her irritation with her mother’s ignorance rising, she plucked the photos from her handbag and pushed them across the table.
‘What’s this?’ Joan sat forwards, placed her cup down, and slowly picked them up. The realisation of what she was looking at played across her face and she covered her mouth. ‘Oh my goodness. Malcolm and Kathryn … but she wouldn’t … couldn’t. She’s my friend. And as for Malcolm, I … he …’ She glared back at Juliette, as though it was her fault. ‘Where on earth did you get these?’
Juliette was dumbfounded, but then, with her mother’s sense of obligation to Malcolm br
ed and fed by his control over her, what had she expected? ‘From Lachlan. He’s trying to use them to blackmail me, so I don’t try to get what’s rightfully mine in the divorce.’
Her mum’s tear-filled gaze flickered from her, to the photos, to her again. ‘I can’t believe it. I thought he was happy with me, that he loved me.’
‘Mum, a man doesn’t inflict pain upon a person when he loves them.’ She reached across the table and placed her hand over her mother’s. ‘You need to start seeing things for what they are, and how toxic your relationship with Malcolm really is.’
Visibly stung and shaken, Joan snatched her hand back and placed it in her lap. ‘He doesn’t inflict pain on me, he helps me repent my sins. He helped us both. There’s a big difference.’
Something in Juliette cracked. ‘For god’s sake, Mum, snap the hell out of it!’
‘Don’t you use god’s name in vain in this house, Juliette.’
‘Sorry.’ Juliette paused, drawing in a steadying breath. ‘Malcolm’s a bastard, and you’re letting him unfairly hurt you. And you allowed him to unfairly hurt me, too, when I was beneath this roof.’
‘No, I didn’t.’ Joan’s shaky voice wasn’t convincing, and neither was the heartfelt pain contorting her face.
Juliette could see she’d hit a raw nerve and, as much as she hated upsetting her mum, she had to run with it. ‘Yes, you did. But I don’t hold it against you, I hold it against him, for brainwashing you into believing it was okay, that his heavy-handedness is an act of god when it’s nothing of the sort, Mum. It’s abuse, hands down.’ She heaved a desperate breath, allowing her hushed, pale-faced mother a few moments to take it all in. ‘I honestly thought this would’ve made you see sense. You deserve better than him, way better. Just like I deserve better than Lachlan Davis.’
Tight-lipped, Joan turned the photos face down and pushed them back towards Juliette. ‘I don’t want to know about it.’
‘Are you serious?’ Juliette sat back, glaring at her mother.
‘Yes, I am.’ Joan straightened, sniffled, but quickly composed herself. ‘Where am I going to go if I’m not here?’
‘Go and stay with Aunt Janey for a little while.’ At her mother’s panic-stricken expression, Juliette felt bad being so forceful, and so hurt and angry, but she couldn’t help herself. She had to make her see sense, once and for all. It was for the best, for her mum and for her. And then it hit her like a tonne of bricks. This must be what Joel had felt like, desperately trying to get her to go to the police. The sudden realisation that he had only been doing what he had to in order for her to heal, even in the face of her resistance, overcame her.
Her mother was looking away now, blinking fast. ‘But this is the only life I’ve ever known.’
Juliette nodded gently. ‘I know how you feel, Mum, because I’ve just gone through the very same thing. But you have to take a stand and finally tell Malcolm that you won’t let him treat you the way he does.’ She went for what she knew her mother would understand – the Ten Commandments. ‘And besides all of that, infidelity is a sin.’
‘Yes, I know.’ A sob broke, and Joan dropped her head in her hands, weeping.
Knowing all too well what she was feeling, Juliette shot to her mother’s side and took her into her arms. ‘I’m so sorry, Mum. I know it hurts.’ She rubbed her back. ‘I’m here for you. If you want to leave this life, I will help you, every step of the way. I promise.’
Holding her tight, Joan nodded into her shoulder. They stayed like this for a few moments. Pulling back a little, Joan wiped at her eyes with a tissue she’d grabbed from her pocket. ‘Let me go and pack a bag. You can drive me to Janey’s before he gets home.’
‘Oh, Mum. Thank goodness.’ She looked into her mother’s fearful gaze. ‘You’re doing the right thing. He’s not going to hurt you anymore. I’m going to make damn sure of it.’
CHAPTER
22
Crickets and frogs chirruped, lured out by the late-afternoon shower. Staring at the star-studded night sky, Juliette ended the phone call with her mum and sucked in a shuddering breath. It had been a long and very emotional day getting her settled at Aunt Janey’s. Hopefully time was going to make it easier for all of them. After a venomous phone call from Malcolm, demanding his wife come straight home at once, and her mother courageously standing her ground with Aunt Janey by her side, Juliette could only pray time would help them all heal.
Hearing someone behind her, she turned and looked up to find Joel staring back at her, a tender, adoring smile playing on his lips. ‘Hey, you.’ Pushing her concerns of the day away, as well as all that lay before her now that secrets were being revealed, she drank him in. ‘How long have you been standing there?’ she asked softly.
He looked at her for a moment longer, twisting her insides electrifyingly. ‘Long enough to fall in love with you even more than I already am.’ Settling down beside her on the step, he tucked stray hair behind her ears. ‘I thought you could do with one of my famous mochachinos with a twist.’ He passed her a steaming cup and wiggled his brows.
‘A twist, hey? Cheers.’ The warm mug felt good in her hands. She peered down into its frothiness and, taking caution not to burn her mouth, took a tentative sip. ‘Wow, it is good, I’m impressed. What’s the secret ingredient?’
‘Lurve … and a little bit of rum.’ He slid his arm around her shoulders. ‘The least I could do after the stressful day you’ve had.’ He moved his gaze over her like a sweet caress. ‘How’s your mum doing now?’
‘She’s an absolute mess, but Aunt Janey’s comforting her as best she can.’
‘That’s good that Janey’s there for her. She’s a tough woman, your aunt, and your mum is going to need all the support she can get.’ He rubbed Juliette’s back. ‘And how are you feeling?’
‘Upset, angry, tired and relieved, in a weird way.’ She sighed. ‘It’s going to be scary, opening up to what happened that night, and then having to stand up in court and say it in front of everyone, but with you by my side, I know I can get through it all.’
He nodded, then offered her a reassuring smile. ‘I’ve got you, Jules.’
‘You always have.’ She smiled from the inside out. He hadn’t shaved for two days, and the rough shadow across his jaw made him all the more rugged. Feeling the hum of electricity deep inside, she fought to control her breath. ‘Thank you, for everything.’
‘You, Juliette Kern, are my everything.’ He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. ‘So, no need to thank me.’
In that very moment, Juliette felt more loved than she ever had. She smiled up at him, and his eyes were like looking into the sun. Searing. Overpowering. For a moment, all she could do was stare, caught between each breathless moment.
‘Would you like me to cook us some dinner?’ His voice weaved over her, inside of her.
‘No, thanks.’ She shook her head. ‘I’m not really hungry.’
‘You have to eat something, Juliette.’
‘Wow, Juliette hey? That’s when I know you mean business,’ she said with a soft chuckle.
‘And don’t you forget it,’ he said with a grin that faded to a look of pure, unconditional, love. ‘I wish I could take your heartache away, Firecracker.’ He sighed deeply. ‘I hate seeing you so torn and upset.’
His intense look lit fires along every inch of her skin. She gently placed a hand upon his chest and smiled through her tears. ‘You do take my heartache away, just by being near me.’
‘Ditto, beautiful,’ he breathed. ‘Now, come on back inside and let me whip you up something yummy.’
‘Oh, okay then,’ she said, standing, enjoying the way he led her, insistently but playfully, inside the cottage with Brute at their feet.
Five minutes later, the microwave beeped and he passed her a mug of pea and ham soup.
‘This smells delish.’ Her belly rumbled at the thought of tucking in.
‘Told you I could cook, even if it’s frozen leftovers from my sister�
��s deep freeze.’ His smile shivered through her, right down to her toes, as he popped his mug into the microwave and it beeped into action.
Half an hour later, their bellies full, and the pair of them relaxing on the couch watching telly, Juliette snuggled in closer to Joel, though she was more interested in him than the cooking show he seemed engrossed in. As though privy to her thoughts, he took her hand in his and casually brought her fingers to his lips, trailing a soft kiss over them. Then he brought his lingering gaze, filled with promise, closer until they were a mere breath apart, leaving his delectable mouth just shy of hers.
‘We shouldn’t.’ Caught in the moment, her breath became ragged, as if she’d just run a mile.
‘Yes, we should,’ he breathed as he leant in, claiming her lips in a no-holds-barred kiss. A plethora of fireworks exploding inside of her, Juliette let herself tumble, so wrapped up in him, the world could have fallen apart around her and she wouldn’t have even noticed.
* * *
Joel hardened in response to her quickened breath, to her demanding touch. Who had he been trying to fool, telling himself he could be her friend and be happy with so little of her? Her hair smelt of sunshine and flowers, her skin felt like silk. When she’d leant in and he’d kissed her, there’d been no going back. Her lips were soft and sweet against his and as she paused for breath, dizzy with their kiss, her eyes were hot on his. The passion within them aroused a primal need and he realised he’d rather die than not make love to her. His hunger for her was relentless. He wanted to touch her, taste her, all over, with adoring savagery.
Desire, warm and sweet, spread through him like wildfire. Her desperate touch was his undoing. Capturing her hips, he dragged her to him, his mouth meeting hers demandingly. She returned his kiss, quivering beneath his touch as he circled his tongue around hers. Pulling her from the couch, he slid her to the floor with him, upon the sheepskin rug. He positioned himself so they were side by side, her arms and legs entwined around him as he strained his body against hers. She curved into him so perfectly, as if made for him, and him for her. They were meant to be. Always had been.
