by Joan Kilby
Hayley hugged her. She could guess how excruciating it must have been for Summer to answer the doctor’s intimate questions. “Never mind, now. It’s over. You did good.”
“Thanks for coming with me,” Summer said, pressing her face to Hayley’s chest. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“If you ever need me again, I’ll be there for you.” She gave her another hug, then said, “Come on, let’s go.”
When they were in the car she put the keys in the ignition but didn’t start the engine. “You really should speak to your mother about this stuff, though. Next time you see her, talk it over.”
“I couldn’t. We always fight.” Summer slumped in her seat and stared out the side window. “She doesn’t care about me.”
Hayley’s heart twisted. “I know that’s not true. She stayed in Hope Mountain for you, even though there was nothing left for her here.”
Summer snorted. “She had nowhere else to live. Dad was at the apartment in the city. She wouldn’t have gone there.”
“Your mother’s a strong-minded individual, kind of like you. She would have found another place to live if she’d wanted to.”
“I can’t talk to her!” Summer burst out. “I can’t forgive her for what she did to my dad. And to you. She and Dad were still married when she started seeing Leif. If she hadn’t taken up with your husband, she and Dad might’ve gotten back together.”
Hayley closed her eyes on a stab of pain. She was almost tempted to ask for details of how and where Leif and Diane’s affair had started and was conducted. But besides the fact that it was inappropriate to ask Summer, what was the point in torturing herself? No ghosts. She would do herself more harm than good by dwelling on the past.
She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. “I don’t think that’s true from things your dad has said. I’m sorry. Every child wants his or her parents to be happy together. Sadly, it doesn’t always work that way.” She paused, then added quietly, “My parents divorced when I was ten. It was really hard.”
And maybe that was why she’d attached so strongly to Molly and Rolf, her ideal of a married couple. Her parents’ split had come after years of tension and fighting. Seeing Molly and Rolf so loving and strong together had given her hope and, yes, expectations, that she and Leif would have that kind of marriage. Hope that had lasted through multiple affairs. That’s how badly she’d wanted the dream.
To change the subject, she asked as casually as she could, “So what now for you and Steve?”
“He wants me to go to the dance with him tonight.” Summer’s face scrunched in confusion. “I like him, but I’m afraid he’ll think I want to go back to the way we were.”
“And you don’t want to.”
“No. He let Bailey go because he was a coward. I get that he was scared and everything...but Bailey died because of what he did.”
“He couldn’t have known that would happen. And you wouldn’t have wanted him to be killed in the fires, would you?” She’d already said this but it bore repeating.
Summer shook her head. “It’s my fault—”
“It’s not. You made mistakes, you’re human. You have to forgive yourself. The fires were a tragedy that was bigger than all of us. Lots of mistakes were made that day and some ended in death. We can’t let that poison our lives. Yes, Steve should have gotten his parents to pick him up, but that mistake doesn’t make him a bad person, right?”
Again Summer mutely shook her head.
“And you’re not bad because you sent him and Bailey out into the woods that morning. When you’re young, sometimes your judgment isn’t the best. As for what you and Steve did that night, it’s not my place to lecture—”
“The doctor did, don’t worry,” Summer said drily.
“I’ll just say this—when young people are intimate before they’re old enough to be responsible for their actions, it can lead to the kind of mistakes you and Steve made that night. And if you’d been older and not so concerned with what your parents would think, you wouldn’t have left it so long to see a doctor and find out if you had anything to worry about.”
Summer was silent, her head down.
“Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes. But how will I know when I’m old enough?”
“It’s hard to give a specific age because everyone’s level of maturity is different. The important thing is, when you do make love it should be because you want to, not because the guy pressures you, or all the other girls are doing it, or you think he expects it, or to please him. Or to keep him.”
“I don’t know if I can even be friends with Steve,” Summer said. “Every time I see him, I think of Bailey and I’m angry all over again. I don’t know what to do with those feelings. Working with the horse therapy has helped me control them, but they haven’t gone away completely.”
Oh, boy, could Hayley empathize. She felt like a fraud giving advice, but she had learned a few things recently. If her mistakes could help Summer, she had to try.
“It will take time, but you’re doing really well. Maybe it would help if you think about what Steve’s lost. You, for a start. Plus he’s got scars on his body. He probably feels guilty, too. His life will never be the same as it would have been had he not ridden into the woods that night.”
Leif had lost his life. There wasn’t a much bigger price he could have paid for his mistakes.
“What if he wants to, you know...” Summer turned pink.
“Tell him exactly how you feel. Be honest. You have a right to define your own life. It’s not having sex that empowers a girl—it’s being able to choose to have it, or not. If you just want to be friends and he loses interest, then he wasn’t the guy you thought he was.”
“I guess.” Summer sniffed and blotted her nose with a tissue. “Can we get ice cream now?”
Hayley didn’t take offense at having her little speech dismissed. She’d given Summer a lot to process. “Sure. After that we can pick up snacks for you and Zoe tonight.”
“Oh, Dad will do that.”
Hayley shook her head at the casual way Summer took her thoughtful father for granted. She started the car and pulled out of the clinic parking lot onto the highway. On the other hand, it was nice she knew she could count on her dad.
“You’re lucky,” she said. “Your father’s pretty great.”
Summer had the grace to look sheepish. “I know.”
Hayley smiled to herself. It must be tough being a parent. She only hoped that someday she would get to find out for herself. Maybe, just maybe, if things worked out with Adam...
* * *
ADAM CARRIED THE groceries and supplies he’d picked up for tonight into the house. Champagne and soda went in the fridge along with the first sweet strawberries of the season and handmade chocolates. Chips and other junk food for Summer and Zoe he stashed in the pantry.
Fresh flowers on the dining table and more on the dresser in his bedroom. He changed the sheets even though they didn’t need it and put fresh towels in the bathroom en suite. He paced through the house, making sure everything was perfect. The moon would be full tonight, so maybe they would have their champagne on the deck, looking over the moonlit valley.
It hardly seemed possible that only a few weeks ago he hadn’t even known Hayley. So much had changed in that short period of time—he’d changed. After he and Diane had split up he hadn’t thought he would fall in love again for a long time.
Love? Was that what this was? It would explain the buzz of anticipation as he prepared for the evening, how Hayley entered his thoughts a million times a day, the way his heart did that funny somersault whenever she came into the room. He was thirty-six but he was as excited as any eighteen-year-old.
It felt a little odd to be setting out Diane’s candles to romance another wo
man, but, hey, life moved on. She certainly had. When she’d moved out of the apartment they’d both known there was no turning back. He felt badly for Summer’s sake, but now he and Diane were free to find someone they were more suited to. He wasn’t sure they would ever be real friends. She’d had an affair with a married man, not caring if she caused the man’s wife heartbreak. Not acceptable by Adam’s standards. But they would be friendly, for Summer’s sake.
Now that he was free, would his choice be Hayley? She was very different from his previous women friends, but she had a knack of fitting in with anyone simply by being unapologetically herself. She would be a breath of fresh air among the city-centric architects and engineers he hung out with. And she and Summer had bonded. He was grateful his daughter had a female role model who was so grounded. Diane had her good qualities, but she lived in a bubble of money and privilege that allowed her to be self-indulgent and self-centered.
Tonight he would tell Hayley about Lorraine’s offer to head up the office in Shanghai. Maybe by talking it out with her he could come to a decision. He was really torn.
This was his reward, the prize for working long hours over the past decade. But seeing the community of Hope Mountain respond to tragedy with optimism and hope had been inspiring. The life Hayley had here was real. It was the kind of life he’d experienced as a kid on his grandfather’s farm. It was the kind of life he wanted for his daughter. Was he willing to give up everything he’d worked for careerwise to stay in Australia, to stay in Hope Mountain? To marry Hayley if she would have him? Or had he spent too long in the city to be satisfied with a simpler existence?
Adam went back downstairs. Everything was ready. He still had a couple of hours before the dance, so he went back to his drafting board and got to work. He’d put in every fireproofing feature known to man on Hayley’s house, including sprinkler systems and nonflammable building materials—and he’d done the same for the stables and outbuildings.
As a final touch he drew in a fire bunker where she could shelter in case of another bushfire. Whatever happened between them, he wanted her to never again have to share a dam with snakes while she watched her property burn. Hayley’s safety had become paramount to his own sense of well-being.
A couple of hours later Summer burst into the house with a clatter, bringing the aroma of pizza with her. She set the boxes on top of the counter. “Hey, Dad. We’re home.”
Adam put down his pencil. When was the last time she’d greeted him on entering the house instead of slinking upstairs without a word? “How was your afternoon? Where’s Hayley?”
“She’s coming.” Summer opened the pizza box and got out plates. “We’d better eat it while it’s hot.”
“I don’t know how she has an appetite after putting away a double fudge sundae,” Hayley said, coming through the back door carrying a small gift bag.
“What’s that?” Adam was dying to ask what they’d been up to all afternoon. Not shopping, if one tiny bag was all they’d come home with. And even the biggest sundae didn’t take Summer more than fifteen minutes to demolish.
“It’s for Summer.” Hayley passed the bag to the girl.
“When did you get this? What is it?” Summer was clearly surprised at receiving a present.
“I got it while we were at the café, when you went to the ladies’ room. You’ve worked so hard and done so well. Open it.”
Summer put down the slice of pizza and wiped her hands. “You didn’t have to get me a present.”
“I wanted to. And Molly agreed.”
Summer took out a small box and lifted the lid. Nestled on a black velvet square was a pair of garnet earrings. She looked up at Hayley and her eyes filled. “These are the ones I tried to steal. Is this a horrible joke?”
“No, sweetheart.” Hayley pulled her into a hug. “I thought you took them because you liked them.”
“I love them. But I don’t deserve them.”
“I think you do. They’re a gift from me.” Hayley hugged her harder. “Now stop crying. You don’t want your eyes to be red tonight.”
Summer wiped her eyes. “Dad, can I keep them?”
“Of course you can. What do you say?”
“Thank you, Hayley.” She hugged her again. “And thanks to Molly, too. I’m so sorry I took them. I’ll never do anything like that again. I’m gonna try them on.” Clutching her earrings, she ran upstairs.
“All’s well that ends well,” Hayley said.
“So, did you two have a good afternoon?” Adam asked.
“The best.” She wagged a finger at him. “Don’t ask because I won’t tell. I’ll just say we had a breakthrough today. I think from now on Summer’s going to improve rapidly.”
“Well, that’s worth celebrating. Do you want champagne before or after the dance?” He stole a kiss, his hand sliding down to linger on her butt. “I have a few other tasty treats to go with it.”
Hayley leaned over to open the fridge. “Ooh, strawberries and chocolate. You devil. Definitely after.” She went back into his arms and ran a hand up his chest. “I’ll try not to tire you out on the dance floor.”
“We’ll stick to slow dances.” Humming a Latin beat, he led her in a mangled version of a tango. Her breasts felt warm and resilient pressed against his chest and he pulled her hips in close to his, letting her feel just how much he wanted her.
Then he slowed and stopped and took her mouth in a long, deep kiss. He wanted her badly, not just in his bed but also in his life. Dancing in the kitchen, making love in the moonlight, watching her eyes open at sunrise, seeing her smile just for him. Finally he pulled away and kissed her nose, her cheeks, her eyes. “We’d better stop before I forget I have a young daughter in the house and drag you upstairs to my room.”
Hayley laughed breathlessly, her lips swollen and red, her eyes huge and luminous as their gazes held for a long wordless moment. “I should go get ready.”
“I should let you.” He kissed her again, his hand sliding up under her shirt to feel her warm skin, up further to cup her breast through her soft cotton bra. Her nipple hardened and he tweaked it between his fingertips. With his other hand he opened her shirt and pressed his mouth to the curving top of her breast, drawing down the bra to slip her nipple into his mouth. He sucked, eliciting a moan and he pressed his aching groin into her hips.
A noise upstairs made Hayley draw back and this time push Adam’s hands away. But before she turned for the stairs she gave him a heated look and whispered, “Tonight.”
* * *
HAYLEY DESCENDED THE staircase, a little wobbly in her high-heeled sandals. Her hair fell loose past her shoulders, curling slightly. In her new dress she felt like a princess.
Adam waited at the bottom looking incredibly sharp in a dark suit jacket over an open-neck shirt and tan slacks. Freshly shaven, hair combed, he was as hot as a model from the pages of a magazine. Simply wow.
“Don’t watch or I’ll stumble,” she said. “Jacinta made me buy these stupid shoes.”
“If you fall, I’ll catch you. At the risk of sounding sexist, those shoes make your legs look amazing.”
“Thank you.” She made it safely to the bottom, her cheeks warm from the intensity of his gaze. Self-consciously she twirled, letting the full skirt of her new dress flare out. “What do you think?”
“You’re beautiful.” He held out his arm. “Summer’s in the car, waiting impatiently.”
Outside, Hayley slipped into the passenger seat next to Adam. Summer was sitting in the back wearing a short skirt and a stylish but modest blouse. She’d stopped dressing to shock, Hayley noticed.
“You look very nice,” Adam said to her.
Summer beamed at him. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He started down the driveway. “What do you call a psychic little person who has escaped from pr
ison?”
“Oh, Dad, don’t ruin it.”
“A small medium at large.”
Hayley chuckled.
“See, someone appreciates my jokes.”
Hayley gave Adam instructions to Jacinta’s house and ran inside to get her friend when they arrived. Jacinta piled into the back with Summer.
“Cute outfit,” Jacinta said to Summer, then added to Adam, “Thanks for the lift. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Adam met her gaze in the rearview mirror. “Hayley’s been telling stories, has she?”
“The whole town has. Apparently you’ve single-handedly financed the rebuilding of the community center.” She gave him an arch glance. “But I notice you haven’t gotten a library card yet.”
“Jacinta!” Hayley winced. “Adam, turn left at this next street to park in back of the school. It’s closer to the gym.”
“Zoe and I helped decorate,” Summer piped up. “It looks awesome. The band is from Healesville, and they’re playing for free because it’s a fund-raiser.”
Hayley, Jacinta and Summer got out near the entrance and Adam went to park in the gravel parking lot. Hayley waited for him outside. Together they walked into the gym.
Murals of the forest and the town the way it had been before the fires had been painted on huge canvas cloths lining the walls. The lights had been dimmed and there was a bar, in addition to a table with nonalcoholic drinks. A band was setting up onstage. Tables ringed the perimeter of the room, enclosing a dance floor.
“Summer’s gone to sit with her friends, and Jacinta’s finding us a table.” Hayley scanned the room and then waved. “There she is. Oh. Molly and Rolf are at the next table.”
“Is that a problem?”
“No, it’s just that...” She bit her lip. “This is the first time I’ve been out with another man since Leif died. It will be tough on Molly, especially.”
