Claire had felt a little bad that this had meant the end of Harper’s relationship with Samuel, but that feeling had been short-lived. Sometimes one door closes because there’s something better behind another one.
That had certainly been the case for Harper.
Claire gazed down now on the scene unfolding on the ground below. Harper was standing there watching as the envelope of the balloon filled with air. She leant into the tall, dark, handsome man beside her—clichéd perhaps, but there are reasons for clichés—and placed her two hands protectively on her growing bump. Her face shone with a happiness that rivalled the glow of the rising sun behind her.
Harper had met Regan the first day she’d started a new job in Newcastle. He was a technician at the radio station and she couldn’t believe it when he told her that he too lived in the Hunter Valley, not far from the little unit she’d just purchased to be closer to Anaya and Jasper. After that they carpooled whenever they could, and during those journeys to and from work, a wonderful friendship had blossomed. It had taken almost two years for Regan to work up the courage to ask Harper on an actual date, by which time her divorce had come through from Samuel. In the meantime she’d been contemplating trying online dating.
Lilia still hadn’t had much luck in that department, but she persisted—saying it was fun kissing toads in pursuit of Prince Charming—and Harper had to admit, her body was craving a little action.
And damn the action had been good—Claire had overheard Harper telling her sister and had twinged a little with jealousy. Aside from motherhood there were a few things she really missed from earth—companionship, her cats, her garden, hot air ballooning and sex.
Anyway, back to Harper.
She and Regan had both been burnt by love before and took their time easing into a relationship. By the time they realised they’d finally found the one, Harper was almost thirty-nine. Regan wanted kids and although he doted on Anaya as if she were his own, Harper found she wanted to have a baby with him. So they’d had a lot of fun trying, but to no avail. Six months and then a year passed, and when they consulted Dr Ballantine for assistance, he’d done his tests and then suggested she could perhaps use an egg donor of her own.
The irony of this hadn’t been lost on her but a few months later Regan’s sperm had fertilised the eggs of a yoga teacher from Byron Bay. Due to Harper’s age, they’d transferred two embryos to her uterus and both had taken hold. The twins were due on Christmas Day, but whether or not they were born on that date, they’d be a gift to everyone in their extended family.
‘Is it ready yet?’ Anaya’s angelic voice tore Claire’s gaze away from Harper and Regan. Her little girl was jumping up and down beside the almost fully-filled balloon while Jasper poured air into the envelope.
Like her daddy, Anaya had grown up in a world where hot air ballooning was as natural as breathing, yet this would be the first time she was allowed to go up herself and her excitement was uncontainable. Jasper had tried to make her have an early night but she’d barely slept a wink and had leapt out of bed the second he’d crept into her bedroom to wake her up.
‘Very close. Are you ready?’ Jasper asked as he shot another burst of hot air into the balloon. Orange flames glowed within it.
‘I was born ready!’ Anaya exclaimed and Jasper chuckled.
Then Paul, Mike and Regan helped him lift the basket off its side and the bright multi-coloured balloon rose off the ground. Anaya held her breath, her big brown eyes wide as she looked on. Claire had never forgotten her first flight and she knew Anaya was about to have the best fun of her life. She only wished she could be properly present to experience it with her.
The moment was also bittersweet for Jasper. As he climbed into the basket, he held his hand out for Anaya and she scrambled up over the side to join him, while Claire’s mum stood by with a box ready to hand to him.
A box with Claire’s ashes inside. Staring at that was a weird feeling indeed.
Jasper had waited five years—until Anaya was old enough to join him in the air—to finally let Claire go.
‘Thanks, Joanne.’ He took the box, placed it carefully by his feet, and then gave his parents the nod to unlatch the ropes that tied the basket to the ground.
‘Stay still,’ he told Anaya. ‘You don’t want to fall out before we lift off the ground.’
‘I don’t want to fall out once we’re in the air, either,’ she replied.
Jasper smiled. And Claire knew he was thinking that although they weren’t biologically related, Anaya had some of her traits. A feisty nature and stubbornness being two of them. ‘That you don’t,’ he said. ‘Now, hold on tight because we’re about to lift off.’
As they floated up, their family and friends growing smaller beneath them, Anaya was silent for almost the first time since she’d learnt to talk. Jasper did his stuff, watching his daughter as she soaked up the experience; he’d explain the ins and outs to her next time.
When they were about as high as they could go under today’s weather conditions, he spoke. ‘You know who is in this box, don’t you?’
She nodded. ‘My other mum, Claire.’
‘Yes, your other mum.’ Jasper’s voice was choked and Claire could tell he was fighting back tears. She hoped he would cry in front of their daughter—it did little girls good to know that big, grown men also hurt from time to time. ‘She loved you very much you know.’
‘I know,’ Anaya said solemnly. ‘Even though she never met me, even though I came from Harper’s egg, Claire loved me before I existed.’
‘She did. Ballooning is something your mum and I loved to do together, so I decided to scatter her ashes up here. That way, whenever I fly, I’ll feel like she’s with me.’
Oh!
If Claire could still cry right now she would, but that was one thing they didn’t think necessary in the afterlife.
‘And because we were a little family of three,’ he continued, ‘I wanted to wait until you could come up with me and do this. Are you ready?’
‘Yes. Do you want me to pick up the box, Daddy?’
‘That would be great, sugar.’
Anaya did so—handing it to him as if it were the most precious thing she’d ever carried. Jasper checked the direction of the wind again, and then, with Anaya’s little hand holding his, they lifted the lid on the box and tossed its contents over the side of the basket.
Silent tears streamed down Jasper’s cheeks as what looked like tiny particles of sand were carried away on the breeze.
Goodbye, my love.
‘Daddy? Are you all right?’ Anaya asked. She was gazing up at him with a worried expression on her face.
‘Yes.’ He sniffed, put the lid back on the box, placed it on the floor and then wiped his eyes on his sleeve. ‘Yes, I am, because I’ve got you.’
As he pulled her into his arms and kissed her head, Anaya said, ‘You know how Harper has Regan, and Aunty Polly has Uncle Scotty, and Uncle Tim has Aunty Hannah …’ She went right down the list of all Jasper’s sisters and all the other couples she knew. ‘Do you think you’d be even happier if you had someone grown up to talk to as well?’
Jasper spluttered as if this was the last thing he’d expected her to say. ‘Do you … do you have someone particular in mind?’
‘I was thinking Mum’s friend Lilia was nice. And she told me last time I saw her that she’d really like to go up in a balloon as well.’
‘Did she now?’ A slow smile spread across his face at Anaya’s innocent-sounding suggestion, when in actual fact Claire had been the one to put the idea into her little girl’s head.
It was time for Jasper to move on—he was still young and there was no reason for him to miss out on intimacy and companionship simply because she could no longer share it with him. Lilia was a genuinely kind-hearted person and had had such terrible luck with men so far that she deserved a little fairy-dust as well.
And she was gorgeous but totally different in looks and personality to Cl
aire, which made it easier to bear the thought of her and Jasper together.
Anaya nodded.
‘Thanks for looking out for me, precious,’ Jasper said. ‘I promise I’ll give it some thought.’
Acknowledgements
Thanks as always must go to the wonderful team at Harlequin and HarperCollins Australia, with a special mention to Sue Brockhoff, Annabel Blay, Adam van Rooijen and Natika Palka who have worked super hard to bring Gift to readers!
In addition to the in-house team, I want to thank my editor, Lachlan Jobbins, for putting up with my stubbornness when it came to certain aspects of the plot and also my agent, Helen Breitwieser, for always being in my corner.
One of the main issues in this book is egg donation and I want to thank Mel Holman for inspiring this aspect of the story and also for being so incredibly generous with her time and information about her experience.
Egg donation is the serious issue in this book and hot air ballooning is the fun one! My first hot air balloon ride was in Northam, Western Australia, with the fabulous crew at Windward Balloon Adventures. Thanks guys for that first taste—I’m now totally hooked. Also special thanks to Martine Scattini who came with me to ‘research’ this aspect of the story.
A shout out to my dear friends Kristen Francis and Leila Noble who helped me with the neonatal care research and answered my other baby and hospital questions. And also to Louisa West who answered my stupid questions about the legal profession.
Thanks always to my writing support team—especially my ‘writers camp’ gals (you know who you are) who help me get the words down with our sprinting sessions. And also to my writing pals who help me procrastinate with Voxer; what did we do before we discovered this fab app?
My writing career would not be possible without my wonderful readers—so I thank everyone who has bought one of my books in the past and has chosen also to buy this one. I wish you the happiest reading experience and don’t forget to let me know what you thought of the book. I’m always happy to hear from readers via Facebook, Instagram or my website: www.rachaeljohns.com.
Thanks also to the bloggers and journalists who review and help spread the word, and to the wonderful folks who champion the books in those magical places called ‘libraries’. Cheers to the booksellers across Australia and New Zealand—you guys rock!
And last but never least, my cheer squad at home—to my husband, Craig, my mum, Barbara, my mother-in-law, Ronice, and my three sons for helping out and putting up with all the craziness that comes with living with a writer.
THE PATTERSON GIRLS
by Rachael Johns
Winner of the ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year
How can four sisters build the futures they so desperately want, when the past is reaching out to claim them?
When the Patterson daughters return home to Meadow Brook to be with their father after their mother’s death, they bring with them a world of complication and trouble. The eldest sister, obstetrician Madeleine, would rather be anywhere but her hometown, violinist Abigail has fled from her stellar career, while teacher Lucinda is struggling to have the children she and her husband so desperately want. The black sheep of the family, Charlie, feels her life as a barista and exercise instructor doesn’t measure up to that of her gifted and successful sisters.
Dealing with their bereft father who is determined to sell the family motel, their loves old and new and a series of troublesome decisions doesn’t make life any easier, but when they go through their mother’s possessions and uncover the shocking secret of an old family curse, they begin to question everything they thought they knew.
A warm and wise novel about secrets revealed, finding your soulmate and the unique bond between sisters.
‘Reminds me of Monica McInerney’s family-focused narratives ... a great book to curl up with on a lazy Sunday afternoon.’—Australian Books + Publishing on The Patterson Girls
THE ART OF KEEPING SECRETS
by Rachael Johns
Little secrets grow up to be big lies…
They’ve been best friends since their sons started high school together, and Felicity, Emma and Neve share everything … or so they thought.
But Flick’s seemingly perfect marriage hides a shocking secret which, with one word, threatens to destroy her and her family’s happiness. Emma is in denial about a potential custody battle, her financial constraints, the exhaustion she can’t seem to shake off and the inappropriate feelings she has for her boss. And single mum Neve is harbouring a secret of her own; a secret that might forever damage her close-knit relationship with her son. When the tight hold they have each kept on their secrets for years begins to slip, they must face the truth. Even if that truth has the power to hurt the ones they love, and each other.
Perhaps some secrets weren’t made to be kept.
‘A compelling and poignant story of dark secrets and turbulent relationships ... The characters were funny and flawed and filled with the kind of raw vulnerability that makes your heart ache for them.’—Nicola Moriarty, bestselling author of The Fifth Letter on The Art of Keeping Secrets
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ISBN: 9781489241238
TITLE: THE GREATEST GIFT
First Australian Publication 2017
Copyright © 2017 Rachael Johns
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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