The Temptation Test

by Meredith Webber

  Which was a reaction she’d have to give some thought to.

  ‘Implants?’ she prompted, to give her mind alternative thoughts right now.

  ‘Apparently the older child is due to have an implant in the new year. It works by bypassing the damaged part of the ear, and children with an implant can hear a pin drop.’

  ‘But is it enough to change them from hearing impaired to whatever counts as “normal”?’ Jena asked.

  ‘Normal?’ he echoed. ‘Yes, I often wonder what that is myself. However, as far as these children are concerned, the operation is only the start. I imagine that’s what’s worrying the family. The costs of the actual operation are usually borne by the state, but I’ve a feeling there’s a lot more to it than the implant.’

  ‘You don’t know the half of it,’ Rose said, coming quietly through the door and slipping into a vacant chair. ‘Imagine the effect that hearing sounds for the first time can have on a child. They’ll both need special programmes to teach them how to listen, and how to make sense of what they’re hearing, how to interpret the sounds and how to develop speech.’

  ‘Have you been signing to them from when you first found out?’ Jena asked, and when she saw Noah’s head turn in a reaction of surprise she chuckled. ‘I saw Rose sign earlier and I’ve a friend who started signing to her baby when he was born, though he has no hearing impairment. It’s apparently the trendy thing these days.’

  ‘We’ve signed to them since we learnt there was a problem. Of course, we didn’t know with Ruby, not until she was nine months old when enough strange things had happened to make us suspect. Then we had her tested and because what had caused her deafness was congenital, something she was born with, we had Lily tested far younger.’

  ‘And once they’ve had the implants, you’ll need programmes which integrate signing and speech?’ Noah asked

  ‘And need to spend a lot of one-on-one time with them.’ Rose’s sigh echoed in the darkness. ‘At least with Greg at home, that should be easier.’

  ‘But he’ll get another job,’ Jena protested. ‘Someone who’s worked for the same firm for fifteen years must have a good work record. He’ll be snapped up.’

  Was she being supportive, or plain naïve? Noah wondered. Or didn’t she know about the unemployment situation?

  ‘Where are you from?’ he asked Rose, more to break the silence than for any other reason.

  ‘We’re from Brisbane,’ she replied. ‘Though we’ve talked often enough about moving to the country. We thought it might be better for the girls. Of course, there’s no hope of moving for a while. They’ll be hospitalised in the city and all the support services we’ll need for them are down there.’

  ‘It’s a problem,’ Noah agreed. ‘For your family and for all people who need specialised help to get through illnesses or rehabilitation. At least while we still have some country hospitals operating, they can provide a base for visiting therapists and counsellors, and staff at the hospital can provide ongoing monitoring and support.’

  ‘In a general way,’ Rose said, her voice strained as she tried to pretend this was a normal conversation. ‘Once the programmes have been set in place.’

  There was a rustle in the bushes and they all tensed then laughed as a possum dropped from a tall tree beside the breezeway onto one of the beams above the deck.

  ‘Wretched thing, frightening us like that!’ Noah scolded it. ‘But I guess I can find you a piece of fruit.’

  As he left the deck to find a snack for the possum, Rose studied the little animal, sitting without fear above them, though its bright eyes were alert for any movement which might spell danger.

  ‘We’ve seen them in the park,’ she said. ‘The ranger took us out at night and spotlighted the nocturnal animals for us.’

  She was speaking softly, but her voice wavered at the end of the sentence, and Jena left her chair to kneel beside the distressed woman and put her arms around her.

  ‘I’m sure your husband’s OK,’ she murmured. ‘He needed to let off a bit of steam and now he’s done it he’s probably feeling more foolish than anything else.’

  ‘But that’s just the trouble,’ Rose wailed. ‘What if he feels so foolish he doesn’t want to come out of hiding? He’d have seen the police arrive, and he must be frightened of what they’ll do—whether they’ll charge him.’

  ‘I don’t think they will,’ Noah said, returning with slices of apple which he placed on the beam close to the possum. He was acting casually but Jena realised he was speaking quite loudly, perhaps hoping the absent Greg might be close enough to hear. ‘After you explained the circumstances, Rose, I’m sure they saw it as an isolated incident that doesn’t require any follow-up. They’re making no attempt to find him—at least, not tonight.’

  Was he right about the official reaction, or merely being reassuring? Jena wasn’t certain but, then, she wasn’t certain about anything that had happened on this strange day.

  The talk became more general—about the lake, the national park and the holiday visitors.

  ‘There are so many people from other countries camped near us,’ Rose said. ‘We were surprised but pleased the young people were seeing a different side of Australia. We thought they must be visiting all the national parks, until we learned they come to pick eggplants and capsicum.’

  Noah chuckled.

  ‘All kinds of vegetables,’ he told her. ‘Catering to the itinerant pickers has become a growth industry in the town. It’s one of the reasons—’

  He stopped suddenly and Jena wondered if he’d heard a noise but, even straining her ears she could hear nothing.

  The possum, apparently satisfied with his snack, scampered away, and Rose decided she’d check on the children—perhaps go to bed.

  ‘I think we should all get some sleep,’ Noah agreed, for all the world as if he hadn’t left a sentence half-finished.

  Well, he was the host, Jena reminded herself, and if he wasn’t staying out on the deck, there was no way she intended lingering there, although there’d been a special ambience in the night air, as if the lightly lemon- and eucalypt-scented bush was promoting relaxation. Closeness.

  She followed Rose inside, not wanting to be lured into considering closeness and Noah in the same thought. She pondered instead his half-finished sentence. She’d ask him about it tomorrow. It would give them something to talk about on the way to work.

  Noah gave the women time to use the bathroom and do whatever women things the limited facilities would allow. Realising Jena had nothing to wear to bed—and not happy to think the beautiful woman might sleep naked so close to him—he crossed to the sleeping pavilion and dug through his old beach clothes, eventually coming up with a large T-shirt, soft from too many washes, which he felt might be comfortable night attire. Then he found some respectable boxer shorts for himself. Not a night for him to be sleeping nude either!

  By the time he returned, Rose was in bed with the two children, and Jena was standing uncertainly in the middle of the room.

  ‘I pinched some of your toothpaste and used my finger for a brush, but I don’t fancy sleeping—’

  She broke off and smiled her delight when he waved the T-shirt at her.

  ‘Thank you!’ she said, and obviously meant it. ‘The shirt’s hardly decent without my swimsuit underneath it and sleeping in it wouldn’t be too comfortable.’

  He left the room to give her privacy, though some testosterone thing tempted him to take a peek.

  Not that he did, of course. It’d be a sad day he couldn’t control his testosterone!

  Or so he told himself, talking away in his head as he brushed his teeth, stripped off his clothes and donned the boxer shorts.

  He returned to find all his house guests tucked into bed, eyes closed either in sleep or in preparation for it. Though he doubted whether Rose would sleep. Her body must be concentrated on her husband, her nerves strung tight, her mind haunted by what might be happening.

  And what about Jena
Carpenter? If he felt wrung out after a particularly unusual day, how was she feeling?

  His mind threw up more questions about Jena but he put it down to hormonal interference again and refused to give them brain space. Wondered about the little family under his roof instead.

  Wondered, also, whether Lucy had been right about him becoming soft in the head—giving up a good job in the city, collecting ‘lame ducks’, as she’d called his young friends, and now taking in more strays.

  Thinking about Lucy and her refusal to accompany him to Kareela was depressing. He’d been so certain he’d known her as well as any man could have known a woman, then he’d realised, when he’d mentioned his plans, he hadn’t known her at all. Especially when she’d brought up the subject of a more open relationship, admitting she’d had the occasional affair during their time together. He shut her away in another corner of his mind—a different corner to the one where Jena lurked. He didn’t want any confusion!

  He thought about his new ‘strays’.

  Who did he know in the city who might give Greg a job? He’d worked as a maintenance man on machines in a factory.

  But what kind of machines? The kind they had in hospitals?

  Though big hospitals had all kinds of machines, from vehicle engines through to specialist equipment. He’d contact the maintenance manager at the Great Western and see what he could find out…

  He smiled into the darkness.

  He should have told Lucy it wasn’t so much helping lame ducks as doing what he could for fellow human beings.

  Which was, after all, a basic tenet of medical practice.

  Soft noises from one of the children woke Jena, who sat up and looked around, surprised to find sunlight flooding the room. Rose was also awake, although one look at her pale face and darkly shadowed eyes suggested she hadn’t slept well—if at all.

  There was no sign of Noah, though his swag was still stretched out on the floor.

  ‘I didn’t hear him go. I must have fallen asleep just as the sun was coming up because I could see the sky lightening, and hear the birds, then I don’t remember any more.’

  ‘I’m sure things will work out all right,’ Jena said, although she wasn’t sure at all. ‘Do you want to use the bathroom? I’ll sit with the kids.’

  Rose’s answer was a tired smile which made Jena’s throat tighten.

  ‘You go first,’ Rose insisted. ‘That’s the least I can offer after you and your boyfriend have been so good to us.’

  Jena was about to deny the ‘boyfriend’ tag when she realised Rose had more to worry about than the relationship between two strangers. She slipped out of bed and hurried to the bathroom, using her finger again on her teeth and borrowing Noah Blacklock’s brush to untangle her hair.

  She kept his T-shirt on—it was far more comfortable than getting back into her swimming costume and shirt—and was in the kitchen, opening cupboard doors in search of breakfast cereal, when Noah returned.

  Noah and a stranger who, from the way he greeted Rose and his children, must have been Greg.

  Jena decided it was a good time to leave. With all the emotion in the air, no one would notice her absence.

  ‘Sneaking away?’

  Noah’s voice halted her as she made her way around the side of the house.

  She turned to see him standing on the back deck, seeming ten feet tall and very good-looking in his rough-hewn way.

  ‘Definitely!’ she said, then she grinned at him, hoping to defuse the beginnings of an inner reaction. ‘Actually, I’m getting a lift to work and it wouldn’t do to be late. From what I’ve seen of my chauffeur he’s a bit testy in the mornings.’

  Noah returned her smile, and Jena felt a dangerous fizz of excitement in her blood.

  No way! she told herself. Not now when the job you want means you’ll be away for months at a time. You know from experience what frequent absences do to a relationship.

  ‘Drive you home.’

  She’d missed the first bit but assumed it had been an offer. Not wanting to spend more time than absolutely necessary with the man, she held her arms out wide to embrace the bushland.

  ‘On a glorious morning like this? No way! I’ll walk back along the lake.’

  He studied her for a moment, as if deciding whether to do the macho thing and insist, but Jena wasn’t taking any chances.

  ‘You’ve house guests!’ she reminded him, then she waved and hurried away.

  Noah watched her go, knowing she was right and he had to deal with his visitors, though they were of secondary importance in the decision-making process. Mainly, he should have let her go because not letting her go could cause problems.

  Or exacerbate those already in existence.

  Stupid to deny a physical attraction towards the woman when his body reacted every time he saw her—or even sensed her presence nearby. But he could ignore it. Wasn’t being in control of one’s body one of the advantages of maturity?

  He sighed as he walked back into the house, hoping to find the reunion over so he didn’t have to witness more emotional scenes. Listening to Greg’s story when he’d found him in the torn tent had been as heart-wrenching as Noah could deal with in one morning.

  The family was sitting on the couch, the parents arm-inarm, the two children nestled between them.

  ‘Why don’t you stay here for the rest of your holiday?’ he heard himself saying. ‘I’ve been worrying about Jena being on her own in her friend’s shack, so I’ll bunk down over there. I haven’t been here long, so it will only take a few minutes for me to throw my stuff together, then I’ll drive you back over to the camping ground, Greg, and you can pack up and drive back here in your own time.’

  He hesitated, then put the obvious into words.

  ‘You might feel more comfortable here, away from the park. You’ve a phone if you need it, and no one will be using the place until New Year’s Eve when my sister and her family will arrive.’

  Greg disentangled himself from his family and crossed the floor. He stopped a metre short of Noah, and put his hand out.

  ‘I don’t know who you really are, or why you’re doing this, mate, but you won’t regret it, and I won’t forget it.’

  They shook hands as if it were a deal they were sealing, then Noah excused himself.

  He didn’t know why he was doing it either. In fact, six months ago, if he’d heard himself making the offer, he’d have considered seeing a psychiatrist.

  Or Lucy would have had him certified and saved him the trouble.

  But that had been before the death of a young girl he’d barely known, a girl called Amy—

  He switched off thoughts of Amy, Lucy and the past. He had to pack. Jena Carpenter wouldn’t let him forget it if he happened to be late.

  Jena Carpenter! Hell! He hadn’t for a minute considered how she was likely to feel about his decision to share her accommodation.

  His lips twitched into a smile. Now he thought about it, he was quite looking forward to seeing it!

  ‘You can’t stay here!’

  Jena didn’t yell or scream the words, throw a tantrum, or even, now he studied her more closely, seem unduly upset.

  Just definite.

  Very definite.

  ‘I don’t want to leave Greg and Rose without any back-up. Not for a day or two, anyway,’ he explained.

  ‘And?’ she demanded, obviously not believing this weak excuse.

  ‘I told the police I’d assume responsibility for them—for Greg, actually—if they didn’t press charges against him for what happened. I can hardly go off to town and leave them out here.’

  He peered into the blue eyes, hoping for a sign of understanding—of weakening.

  No luck! They were as unyielding as sapphires—dark, glittering sapphires.

  ‘If you’re worried about your virtue…’ he held up his hands in a surrender signal ‘…rest assured you’ll be quite safe. I’m off women, if not for a century, at least for a decade or two.’

&n
bsp; Ha! A reaction! The slight sardonic lifting of an eyebrow reduced his jokey remark to ashes.

  ‘As if!’ she muttered, in case he hadn’t got the message.

  Noah shifted uneasily. The bag was growing heavier and he was going to end up late for work. Perhaps if he tried another tack…After all, his family and Matt’s had been friends, back when they’d all holidayed here.

  ‘I realise it’s not your place, but if I phone Matt—explain the situation to him…’

  That got a reaction. She stepped towards the steps, missed falling through a hole in the floor by a millimetre and grasped his arm.

  ‘Don’t phone Matt!’ She all but shrieked the words this time. ‘Oh, don’t do that. Stay here if you have to. I understand about the family, how they wouldn’t want to go back to the camping ground, about responsibility and all…’

  The words died away as if the implications bothered her, then she straightened and looked him in the eyes.

  ‘But you can’t tell anyone. None of the crew, and none of the staff at the hospital who might tell the crew. No one. It has to be a secret.’

  The words had tumbled out in such an impassioned tone there was only one interpretation he could put on it. She did, as he’d first suspected, have some relationship going with Matt.

  Yet his reaction wasn’t the satisfying feeling of being right, but something more suggestive of disappointment. Which made no sense at all.

  ‘Well, after that warm welcome, I guess I can drop my bag. I’ll leave the swag in the car until tonight,’ he said, stepping up onto the shaky verandah to deposit his canvas carryall on the floor just inside the door.

  One brief glance was enough to tell Noah the exterior impression of the dwelling’s deterioration was mirrored on the inside.

  ‘It’s got to be a penance of some kind,’ he said, turning back to where Jena, still radiating tension, now waited at the bottom of the steps.

  ‘Why couldn’t you have stayed with them, with Greg and Rose? Especially if you’ve some kind of official responsibility?’ she demanded. ‘To just walk out and leave the family in your house is mad. You don’t know them and only last night the man was running around in the dark with a gun and a knife.’