Return to Riversleigh

by Anne Ashby

  That’s okay, what dork takes notice of how a person smells anyway? What else had Jake asked? What Dad’s laugh had sounded like when he played with me?

  How the hell would I know? I don’t ever remember him playing with me. I sure remember him laughing though. Thomas’s arms tightened as he remembered the odd occasions when his father drove him to sporting fixtures. I wasn’t good enough, I should have done better, and I should be the best. He sucked in a wobbly breath. My sailing was going to make him proud. I was going to be the best sailor in the whole country.

  He buried his head in the pillow. Only Dad stayed away from Auckland the whole of last summer preparing for his stupid climb, not even asking how I was going.

  As tears dampened his pillow, Thomas forced himself to remember his father. In short flashes he remembered the rare times they were together—his dad was hardly ever home, he was always off chasing some adventure or other.

  Thomas had loved it on the odd occasions when they’d traveled together. They’d been to some really cool places—although they’d always done whatever his dad wanted, not anything he or his mum might want.

  Thomas’s idea of fun things to do weren’t close to what his father had chosen. He’d been terrified free-falling down water tunnels or riding huge roller coasters; clinging to kayaks and rafts in swollen rivers, riding a high cable car, a galloping camel, a race car.

  Thomas stiffened as his father’s laugh echoed inside his head. He’d laughed himself silly over how frightened I was. Thomas’s fists clenched at his father’s voice. Grow some balls, Thomas.

  Thomas had heard the advice many times, repeated in different contexts but always the same tone. The words were always a put-down, voiced to show up Thomas while his dad laughed at his fears.

  I was going to show him. Thomas gritted his teeth. Maybe it wasn’t as dangerous as jumping off a mountain, but it still took guts to sail. He’d been sure his father would have been impressed had he won a national title.

  Thomas flung himself over onto his other side. So much for that flash idea. Dad’s dead and now I can’t prove anything.

  Another face obliterated his father’s. As Luke splashed into the creek and took in what happened, he hadn’t laughed. He hadn’t suggested I need to grow some balls. Thomas touched his shoulder, remembering the warmth of Luke’s hand, even through the cold water. Luke had been pleased with my actions.

  With the memory of Luke’s approval rolling around inside his head, Thomas relaxed, closed his eyes and soon drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

  ****

  Three days later, when Shannon arrived at the hospital, Amy showed no obvious signs of her ordeal except for the bright pink cast on her leg. The little girl greeted Shannon with a huge smile and submitted to her hug. On the other hand, Luke didn’t appear to have fared so well.

  “You resemble death warmed up,” she teased as they headed toward the car.

  A grunt and a sour look was his only response as he crawled into the passenger seat. He curled his head up against the door as soon as he’d placed Amy into her seat.

  Shannon grinned. She’d once over-nighted with Thomas at hospital. The experience hadn’t allowed for much sleep. She imagined Luke had some to catch up on.

  “Did you choose the color for your cast?” she asked Amy as she helped belt her in.

  “Pink’s my favorite color.”

  Shannon’s breath caught in her throat. Instead of the nod she expected from the little girl, Amy had spoken for the first time in Shannon’s hearing. Hoping she’d covered her surprise, Shannon smiled. “Mine, too. And purple and yellow.”

  “I like purple.”

  “Purple is very cool.”

  “Where are Jake and Thomas?”

  “They’re at school, honey.” Shannon nipped around the car and jumped in behind the wheel. She spoke over her shoulder. “They’ll be home soon after us.”

  Her gaze left Amy and slid across to Luke. He opened his eyes and gave a minute shrug. Out of his niece’s sight a brilliant smile covered his face. Even through his obvious tiredness, it conveyed his innermost joy. Something momentous had happened.

  Shannon wanted to question him; to find out how he’d got Amy talking, but the chatter from the back seat took her attention as she responded to everything Amy asked.

  Luke curled up and appeared to have gone to sleep while Shannon and Amy discussed at length the little boy in the bed next to hers before heading onto hospitals in general, and dolls, and Santa, and what might have been happening at kindergarten during her absence.

  The change of sound as she drove onto the farm’s gravel driveway roused Luke. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to go to sleep.” He swung around. “You okay back there, pumpkin?”

  Miraculously Amy answered with a mute nod.

  “Marcia rang this morning.” Shannon shot a smile at Luke. “She wanted to rush home, but I convinced her to hold off making any bookings until you talk to her.”

  Shannon’s eyebrows rose at Luke’s lack of concern.

  “We’ve managed up until now. I’ll give her a call later.”

  “Her daughter’s improving every day, Marcia said. The caesarean really knocked her about.” She glanced across at him. “I think she’d stay a little longer to help if you don’t need her here.”

  Shannon suspected Marcia wouldn’t be needed so much when she returned home. For all his initial grumbling, Luke had coped well—cooking and caring for the children during her absence.

  “Much progress around here?” Luke’s gaze lingered on the reception building gleaming in the afternoon sun. Two workers’ vans sat close by.

  Shannon swung the car in front of the house. “The electrician arrived yesterday. The plumber has everything in place ready for whenever the drainlayer has finished. They assured me they’d be out of the way before the weekend.”

  Luke rubbed his hands together. “Good, good.” He reached into the car for Amy and paused, with her in his arms, in front of the garden gate.

  The warmth in his gaze as his eyes caught hers sent a tingle through Shannon.

  “Thank you for your help, for looking after Jake, for running around after us. It wasn’t part of your job―”

  “Friends help in an emergency, Luke.” The words tripped out of Shannon’s mouth as she put her hand on his arm, and gave a sympathetic squeeze.

  Shannon stiffened as the tingle manufactured flutters deep in her stomach. She sucked in an astonished breath, her eyes widening. Her gesture had been automatic, a spontaneous show of understanding and support.

  She hadn’t expected her hand to adhere to his bare skin like a suction cup. She hadn’t grasped how his warmth could sear a pathway from her fingers, right up her arm and into her chest.

  Time stopped. The wind blowing across from the west stilled. The twittering of birds in the trees disappeared. Even Amy lay statue-still against Luke’s shoulder.

  A change in his expression caught the breath somewhere in her wind pipe. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth as she couldn’t escape his gaze. The moment became fraught with sizzling tension.

  Even the young, interested spectator, whose gaze now darted from one adult face to the other, caught the bouncing sparks.

  Luke’s hoist of Amy higher into his arms broke their contact and the tension.

  Shannon scurried past him and threw open the back door, searching for something mundane to see them over what shouldn’t have been an awkward moment at all.

  The delicious aroma floating through the kitchen would do. “I put a stew into the slow cooker this morning.”

  “Smells great.”

  Luke’s voice didn’t sound strained or emotional. Whatever she had suspected she’d seen in Luke’s eyes must have been wishful thinking.

  Shannon ignored the heat whizzing up her body. It’s not wishful thinking. I was just mistaken, that’s all.

  She turned away, praying disappointment wasn’t showing on her face. “I’ll
finish dinner then, while you settle Amy. The boys will be home soon.”

  She gripped the edge of the bench and allowed her chin to flop against her chest. Closing her eyes, she slowly counted to ten. Then she counted again, to twenty this time, in the hope her erratic heartbeat might return to some level of normalcy. What’s the matter with me?

  She’d been playing happy families for the last couple of days. Yesterday, she’d even gone grocery shopping to replenish Luke’s pantry. The boys will be home soon. She cringed and gave herself a mental kick in the butt. I’ve allowed myself to slip into some ridiculous dream world.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Despite the time away from his park preparations, Luke surprised himself by admitting he wasn’t fazed. He’d discovered he didn’t mind the slower pace, chiefly as Amy’s presence filled his days.

  He’d fallen in love with the little girl and judging by her responses, she was now at ease with him. He felt almost disappointed the kindergarten teachers had suggested she should return next week. He enjoyed having her around.

  With the earthworks completed, Luke’s attention had progressed onto the rope walkways and zip lines. He had rigged up ropes and pulleys in the implement shed to experiment with a few different designs. It was a task he could do with Amy, or now during the weekend, all the children, close by.

  Taking Amy into the bush wasn’t an option and he needed to progress the park. Having a couple of bike tracks wasn’t all he wanted available for their open day.

  With Thomas an eager and willing guinea pig to make trial runs on the lines, Luke was checking his harness when Shannon appeared with a bunch of papers in her hand.

  She stopped.

  Exasperation flooded through Luke at her tight-lipped expression. Here we go again.

  “Luke’s going to let me test out the zip lines.”

  Can’t she hear the excitement in her son’s voice? Evidently not. Or she doesn’t care.

  “Get out of that harness, Thomas.” Her voice was as cold as Luke had ever heard it.

  His gaze flicked between Shannon and Thomas, hurting for the boy. He took a step closer as the excitement drained from Thomas.

  “It’s only a couple of meters above the ground, Shannon. He has a harness.”

  “I told you to get out of that, Thomas. Right this minute.”

  Thomas’s face flamed bright red as his gaze settled on Amy and Jake. He clambered up the makeshift ladder to where the ropes lay.

  “Thomas, get back down here.” Shannon’s tone had dropped.

  Luke almost felt the icicles dripping from her mouth. Another glance at the desperation on Thomas’s face was enough for Luke. He took a step toward Shannon. “For heaven’s sake, Shannon,” he snapped. “Stop mollycoddling the boy. He’s strong, he’s agile, he’s safely harnessed. Nothing can happen.”

  She didn’t spare him a glance. “Back off, Prescott.”

  “Be reasonable.” He lowered his voice, attempting to reassure her. “He wouldn’t get hurt even if he did fall.”

  She spun around with eyes, in effect, spitting like a cornered feral cat. “Mind your own business, Luke. This is your fault. You have no right to continue tempting him, encouraging him, letting him think he can do things you know very well he shouldn’t. You—”

  He grabbed her arm. “For crying out loud, woman. Give the boy some room to grow.”

  She shook off his hand. “He’s growing just fine, no thanks to you.”

  “You need to open your eyes, Shannon. Cut the boy some slack. He’s—”

  She sucked in a deep breath. “I’ve told you before,” she snapped, “Thomas is no concern of yours.”

  The simmering anger boiled over. His voice dropped as he leaned close to her. “And if I make him my concern?”

  The color draining from Shannon’s face told Luke he had overstepped the boundary she’d put in place. Nevertheless a glance at the agitated youth high in the shed firmed his belief. Someone has to stand up for the poor little blighter. If his mother has her way, he’ll grow up afraid of his own shadow.

  “You wouldn’t dare.” She thrust her head forward and glared into his face. “You wouldn’t bloody dare.”

  Luke sighed. It took an effort but he kept his voice low, hoping the children wouldn’t hear what was being said. “I never took you for a fool, Shannon. You’re making a huge mistake here.”

  “I’m not having him turn into someone reckless.”

  Like you…or his father. The words remained unsaid, but Luke heard them.

  “Get back down here, Thomas, and get that harness off.”

  Nobody moved. Shannon’s words hung in the air but Thomas clung to the rafters, intent on continuing to defy his mother.

  “Do as your mother says, Tom.”

  For long moments Thomas remained still before he began a slow descent to the ground. He kept his back to everyone while he struggled out of the harness.

  Luke applauded his care when, despite shaking hands, he carefully folded the straps and lay them on the ground.

  When he turned, his face was redder than a sunset over the Takitimus and his lip curled in that surly way he’d had when he arrived on the farm. A look Luke hadn’t seen for weeks.

  He stomped right up to his mother and glared at her. “God, I hate you.”

  Luke wanted to reach out for the boy and comfort him in some way, but Thomas whirled away and ran, not toward the house but around the back of the shed and out of sight.

  Shannon turned chalk white. Tears gathered in her eyes but none fell.

  Luke needed to ease her visible pain. “He was angry, embarrassed. He didn’t mean—”

  “I don’t need you to explain my son to me.” Her words were ice cold. “And I’ll thank you to keep away from him in future.”

  Luke watched her storm away. How the hell am I supposed to keep away from Thomas? He retrieved the harness and sighed as he spied the children sitting dead still, their eyes enormous.

  Shannon needed space to calm down.

  “C’mon.” He lifted Amy into his arms. “Let’s go for a drive.”

  “What about Thomas?” Jake’s gaze followed the direction Thomas had disappeared.

  “Thomas will be fine,” Luke reassured them, even as he doubted his own words.

  ****

  There had been no sound from the other end of the house since their return. Luke had taken Jake and Amy into a movie in Invercargill and treated them to dinner. He’d expected the entertaining afternoon would help them forget the earlier altercation, but they’d both asked after Thomas when he’d put them to bed.

  He was sprawled out in the lounge half watching a comedy on TV when a white-faced Shannon appeared at the door.

  “Thomas didn’t come back.”

  Dread caught Luke tight in the throat. He leapt up. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me sooner?” It was dark now.

  “I’ve been out searching for hours. Something’s happened.”

  He strove to ignore the wobble in her voice. “Of course something happened. You embarrassed the hell out of him by treating him like a baby.”

  He stormed through the kitchen to the back door, knowing she trotted close behind. Throwing on a coat, he spun around. “How do you think he feels about facing Jake and Amy after that?” Or facing me?

  He grabbed a torch and strode out. “You stay here.”

  But she followed him out the door and across the darkened yard. “I’ve looked everywhere, I can’t find him.” Her voice dropped. “He doesn’t answer me.”

  Anger consumed him. Why didn’t she come to me earlier when I’d have had a chance of finding him? “Are you surprised?”

  He took a saddle from the tack room and whistled across the fence for his horse. “Despite your warped view of your son, he’s a smart, resourceful kid. In all likelihood, he didn’t come home because he didn’t want to, not because anything’s happened to him.”

  Her whimpers had hurt like salt in an open wound but he ignored them. Per
haps I’ve been a little harsh with her.

  He’d been disappointed with her attitude, but now he was angry enough to think she could bear a little pain, too. She’s determined for that poor kid to suffer.

  Luke rode in the general direction Thomas had taken hours earlier. He had little concern for Thomas’s safety. He had faith in the boy’s common sense, even if his mother didn’t.

  During the many conversations he had had with the children over the weeks, getting lost in the bush had been something they’d talked about. With bush on their land Luke had considered it a real hazard. Wandering off and losing one’s way could happen to the best bush men. Knowing what to do then made the difference.

  Luke was confident Thomas was fine. But he’s still about to get a clip under the ear for staying out. No matter the provocation, this is stupid behavior. Luke would make sure Thomas regretted it.

  With no idea where Thomas might have gone, Luke left the horse at the tree line and made his way higher up the hill, picking his way along a rough track in the torchlight. Calling out every minute his hopes of hearing an answer faded the farther he walked.

  As the track petered out, he paused. No use us both getting lost. He called one last time, shouting in four directions. The oxygen rushed from his body when a faint response filtered through the darkness.

  “Where are you, boy?”

  “Over here,” whispered a hesitant reply.

  Luke swung toward the sound. “Where? Can you see the light?”

  He heard thrashing around and soon a bedraggled Thomas stood in the gleam of the torch.

  Mixed emotions swirled inside Luke. Relief Thomas was safe was paramount, but the reduction of his concern also allowed his exasperation to surface.

  He gathered up the front of Thomas’s shirt in one hand and shook the boy. “Don’t you ever do anything like this again,” he growled. “You hear me?”

  Thomas’s head bobbed up and down. Luke shone the torch into the boy’s face. “You’ve scared your mother half to death.”

  When the boy’s head dropped, Luke hugged the taut body close for a moment.

  “S-sometimes I get so mad at her I get s-scared,” Thomas mumbled into Luke’s chest. “I’m scared my head’s going to explode.”