A Heart Worth Mending

by Amanda Canham

  ‘Had a couple of wines, have you?’ Travis taunted his sister when she finally pulled away from Kelli.

  Ana poked her tongue out at Travis before turning back to Kelli. ‘Don’t mind him, he’s been a hideous bore all evening,’ she said as she looped her arm through Kelli’s and dragged her further into the midst of the party. ‘Ignoring all my friends,’ she continued over-loudly to ensure Travis, walking behind them, heard every word she said.

  ‘I’m here now,’ he informed his sister without a hint of remorse.

  ‘And not a moment too soon. Maybe you can stop Pierce, he’s—’

  ‘What am I doing, sister dearest?’

  The three of them turned towards the man who asked the question. He was tall, with sandy, sun-bleached hair and dark brown eyes, his skin mottled by numerous freckles. And he was smiling winsomely at Ana.

  ‘Nothing,’ she answered quickly, glaring at him.

  ‘And you must be Kelli,’ he turned the charming smile towards her. He was very smooth, with a body to match Travis, and yet his handsome face, his twinkling eyes left her completely unmoved.

  ‘Ah… yes. But how do you know?’ she asked, curious.

  ‘Ana has told me all about you,’ he exchanged a conspiratorial wink with his step-sister. ‘And it seems she was right.’

  Kelli squinted, eyeing the two of them suspiciously before turning her questioning gaze on Travis. He shrugged, clearly as clueless as she was.

  ‘No one else would have been able to tempt the old bear from his cave tonight,’ Pierce continued with a laugh, nodding his head towards Travis.

  Kelli felt her face heat up at the intimation, half-pleasure half-mortification. She dared not so much as look at Travis, but she could feel the waves of awkward embarrassment wafting off him as though a Tsunami was approaching.

  ‘I think I might grab a drink,’ Travis finally broke the growing silence. ‘Are you after anything, Kelli?’

  ‘Maybe a coke?’

  ‘Can do, be back in a sec.’

  ‘Aren’t you drinking tonight?’ Ana pouted even as she hooked her arm through Kelli’s again and drew her deeper into the party. ‘You’ll miss out on half the fun.’

  ‘No. I live down the Coast still. It’s a little too expensive to catch a taxi back.’

  ‘You can always stay here,’ she offered, eyes wide with innocence.

  ‘I’ll be right.’

  ‘Oh, don’t pay attention to what Pierce was saying. He likes to tease Trav.’

  ‘Mmm-hmm,’ Kelli replied evasively, not wanting to point out that Ana had been a party to the teasing as well.

  ‘Here we go. One coke for the lady.’ Travis appeared as though out of nowhere, thrusting the small bottle into her hand.

  ‘Thanks,’ she said, taking the bottle, ensuring her fingers didn’t brush his in the exchange.

  ‘Oh, look, I’m in dire need of a refill, too.’ Ana held up her near-empty champagne glass.

  ‘And you can’t handle five minutes without imbibing some alcohol?’ Travis drilled her, a sardonic eyebrow raised towards his sister.

  ‘Absolutely not, Trav. I must avert this imminent first-world disaster. You guys will be right together, won’t you?’ She asked, but had disappeared before Kelli had a chance to answer her either way.

  ‘That’s my sister for you, nice and subtle. Can’t say I didn’t warn you, though,’ Travis said, taking a swig of his beer.

  ‘Is she normally—’

  ‘Such a pain? Unfortunately, yes. Particularly since my divorce. Her and Pierce have made it their personal mission to ensure I have a “happy ever after”—whatever that means.’ The pained expression on his face made it clear exactly what he thought of such a plan.

  ‘Sounds dreadful,’ Kelli sympathised, making appropriate, if sarcastic cooing noises.

  ‘Thank you,’ he said, his eyes and voice exaggerating his gratitude.

  Delighted that he understood her brand of humour— not everyone did— Kelli struggled to keep the smile out of her voice. She furrowed her eyebrows together in faux anger. ‘Imagine having two people love you so much they would be willing to humiliate you and endless scores of women to ensure you don’t end up alone.’

  ‘It is dreadful, isn’t it?’ he agreed with a self-deprecating laugh, the initial pain in his eyes completely receding. ‘I know they mean well, it’s just—’

  ‘You need time to work things out on your own?’

  He looked up at her softly-spoken words, his gaze meeting hers, connecting. ‘Exactly.’

  ‘My mum’s the same. She keeps nagging me to go see a counsellor-’

  ‘Your mum wants you to date a counsellor?’

  ‘No.’ Kelli laughed as he’d intended her too. ‘She wants me to deal with… look, never mind. I promised myself I wouldn’t think about that tonight.’

  She could feel his eyes on her, coolly assessing, and she forced a smile. ‘So, nice yard.’

  He laughed at her rather too obvious subject change, but went with it. ‘Thanks. I did it all myself.’

  Kelli looked around the yard, taking in the perfectly manicured lawns, the tiered flower beds in full, colourful bloom, the paved outdoor dining area and the glamorously lit pool. ‘Really?’ she asked, turning back to him with a raised eyebrow.

  ‘No, of course not. Where would I find the time?’

  ‘I don’t know. Maybe you’re one of those people that only need three hours sleep.’

  ‘And what? I come out here with my pruning shears and my silent lawn mower and garden through the night.’

  Kelli laughed at the absurdity of the statement. ‘I guess not.’

  ‘A landscaper comes by once a week. Ashlee, my ex, hired him to design all of this,’ he indicated the entire backyard with his hand.

  ‘It looks good. At least, the yard does,’ Kelli teased, unable to help herself. It was nice to relax with someone who knew nothing about her past. She hadn’t thought it would be so easy to laugh and have fun. If it was just for the night, maybe it was okay. ‘Of course, I wouldn’t know about the rest of the place,’ she nodded her head towards the house.

  ‘You’re not angling for an invite are you?’ he laughed again.

  ‘Of course not,’ she said, widening her eyes the way Ana had earlier. ‘But I do think it’s a little odd that you’d have all these people over and not invite anyone in.’

  ‘Not my party,’ he answered with a shrug and a swig of his beer. ‘Besides, this way I’ll only have to clean up the yard tomorrow, and not the entire house.’

  ‘That’s one reason. But maybe you don’t want anyone to discover the stack of dead bodies you have stashed away in there.’

  Beer spurted from his mouth, spraying across the lawn as he choked on the mouthful.

  ‘You really want to see inside my house, don’t you?’ he said, once he’d recovered.

  Kelli let out an exaggerated sigh. ‘It’s not that I want to see inside, it’s just that I feel it’s my duty to the families of your victims, that I at least try and find their bodies,’ she finished, rather surprised she’d managed to keep a straight face through the entire conversation.

  ‘Come on then,’ he slid an arm around her back, and started guiding her to the wooden staircase at the back of the house. ‘Let’s see what you can find.’

  Tingles raced up and down her spine from the point of contact, and she had a moment of doubt that she’d taken this too far. But then they were in the house and he dropped his arm and she could breathe again.

  He reached towards a point on the wall and light flooded through the long open-planned living spaces. Kelli could see they’d walked in to the kitchen area, with stainless steel appliances lining the wall. A long, granite island bench filled the cavernous space between the walls, modern hard-backed stools dotted along its length. Beyond the kitchen she could see a glass-topped dining table, with fragile, designer dining chairs, and past there were plush, cream leather sofas arranged around the wall-mounted LCD telev
ision.

  ‘What do you think?’ He asked, gesturing around them.

  ‘It’s not really you, is it?’ she finally said, walking slowly through the kitchen her fingers touching a bench here, a pot there. ‘I mean, I know I said I didn’t really know you before. But this… it doesn’t feel like you,’ she clarified, turning around to check his reaction.

  He was staring at her, his eyes hooded, and it was impossible for her to tell what he was thinking.

  ‘You’re right. It’s not me. Ashlee and a designer worked on most of this together.’

  ‘Then why are you still here?’

  ‘It’s my son’s home. When he comes back, I want everything to still be the same.’

  Kelli looked at him, past the lies to the truth beneath. ‘It’s you that doesn’t want anything to change, isn’t it?’ she said softly. ‘Each piece of furniture, the arrangement of it, everything contains a memory, doesn’t it?’

  ‘Are you a witch?’ he demanded gruffly, pulling out one of the stools and sinking into it.

  ‘Not a witch,’ she moved towards him, covering one of his hands with hers, offering the only comfort she knew. ‘I know the feeling.’

  ‘How do I get past it, then?’

  ‘If I knew that, I wouldn’t be commuting from the Gold Coast every day.’

  ‘Why are break-ups such a bitch to get over?’

  ‘Mines not a break-up. My brother, Jimmy, he died recently,’ she said, her voice catching on his name. It was the first time she’d spoken of it, to someone who didn’t already know. ‘We were a sharing a flat. I was due to move out, while his girlfriend, Teegan, was going to move in. But now…I can’t. I can’t leave.’

  ‘You’ll know when it’s time,’ he assured her, twisting his hand beneath hers so he could squeeze her fingers. ‘At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.’

  ‘I hope you’re right.’ Kelli stared into the granite bench, indulging in the memories a moment longer before tucking them away. ‘Anyway, you haven’t finished showing me this house. There could still be some dead bodies lurking around here, somewhere,’ she looked pointedly towards the closed door behind them.

  ‘You want to go down there? I don’t think so,’ he answered, taking the sting out of the words with a challenging grin.

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘That’s my man-cave down there.’

  ‘So, the prime place to hide these bodies, then?’ She crept towards the door, pretending to look over her shoulder in fear of being caught. Resting her hand on the curved door handle, she slowly twisted it and the door swung towards her, revealing a deep cavernous hole and a darkened staircase.

  A large, firmly muscled bicep appeared beside her head, and she almost tumbled down the stairs in shock. Another arm shot out, grabbing her around the waist, pulling her tight against his firm body. She found herself consumed by his warmth, every inch of her wallowing in the feel of him against her, cradling her. She didn’t want to move.

  ‘You okay?’ He asked, his lips brushing against her ear.

  ‘Mmm-hmm,’ was all she managed in response. His arm, secured around her, was only inches from her breasts. All thoughts escaped her mind. All she was aware of was that arm and its proximity to her.

  ‘I’m just going to…’ He shifted as he spoke, his arm moving closer and closer to the bottom of her now-tingling breasts. They ached to be touched, demanding the feel of his hard body against them, too. ‘…Switch this light on,’ he finished, tugging on a cord dangling above her head.

  Light flooded the stairwell and with it returned Kelli’s senses. Deftly manoeuvring herself out from beneath his arm, she practically raced down the stairs, away from him and the unwanted feelings he provoked in her.

  What was going on? First she opened up to him more than she had to anyone since Jimmy passed, and now she practically came on the stairs from a simple arm across the waist. Talk about desperate! Had it really been that long since she’d been with a guy?

  Shuddering away from the answer to that question, Kelli focused on the room she’d stumbled in to. A large, polished billiard table dominated, balls lined up within the triangle, begging to be played. Well-worn timber stools were dotted against the wall, a rack of cues attached at the back. The entire room exuded a masculine warmth that was at once comforting and disconcerting and so wholly Travis that Kelli felt like she was intruding on his private place.

  She ran her hands along the edge of the table in appreciation, leaning close, examining the felt, pleased to see the weaves in the cloth that indicated this was a worsted surface - much better to play on.

  ‘Nice rack,’ she said, looking up from the table as Travis dropped down the last couple of steps into the room.

  ‘Thanks. I could say the same to you,’ he answered lightly, his eyes lingering on her appreciatively. Desire shot through her, hardening her nipples beneath his gaze, and her breathing was shot to smithereens.

  ‘You up for a game?’ she turned away from the table— and the warmth of his eyes— to examine the cues.

  ‘I’m game if you are,’ he said as he moved up beside her, his voice loaded with suggestion.

  ‘I’m talking about billiards,’ she assured him, although her voice was so husky and breathless she wasn’t surprised by the doubtful raise of his eyebrow. ‘I’m not…in the right place for anything but billiards,’ she told him, her eyes fixed firmly on the cues in front of her.

  ‘You sure?’ he raised a finger to the bottom of her chin, tilting her head till she had no choice but to stare into his eyes. ‘Because this...’ His finger trailed along her jawline until he found the pulse point beating frantically, ‘…Suggests otherwise. And if you need a more consuming distraction than billiards…’ His finger continued its journey over her skin, down the smooth arch of her neck to hover in the hollow of her clavicle. ‘…I could certainly oblige.’

  ‘How very… noble of you,’ she answered, a little breathless, her eyes sweeping down, encompassing all of him, fighting the desire to push herself up so his finger was touching more than just her neck. ‘Tempting,’ she continued, her eyes dropping to his lips, so soft and pillowy and so close to her own, but somehow she managed to drag her gaze back to his eyes. ‘But I don’t think… now… is the right time… for anything but billiards…’ she got out rather breathlessly.

  ‘No?’ His breathing was as ragged as hers, his gaze drifting down to her lips, desire spiking inside his endless oceans. His other hand drifted down, skimming her side but not touching until he settled it around her waist, the heat of his fingers burning through the thin fabric of her dress.

  ‘There are… people… right outside,’ she gasped, moving her hand to his with the intention of removing it, but falling just short and caressing it instead. Think. She needed to think. ‘They could… come looking…’ she got out as his head drew closer to hers, his lips a hairsbreadth away. ‘Anytime... they could come… in.’

  ‘And that… would be bad?’ he asked, his eyes glued to her lips.

  ‘Very bad,’ she assured him, finding the strength to remove his hand from her waist. ‘Your sister… you brother… our colleagues… everyone is… out there,’ she gasped out when he still didn’t move away.

  Finally her words sank in and he closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against hers for an infinitesimally small amount of time. ‘Very bad,’ he whispered, reluctantly pulling away from her.

  ‘Very bad,’ she said, putting more distance between them. ‘Billiards probably not a good idea, either,’ she added, placing the cue back in the rack.

  ‘No,’ he agreed with a shaky laugh, ‘perhaps not.’

  ‘We should get back to the party.’

  ‘Definitely,’ he echoed, all he seemed capable of at the moment. Taking the lead, she made her way up the stairs, Travis following close - but not too close - behind her.

  ‘Travis, there you are,’ Ana called out almost as soon as they’d merged back into the throng of the party. ‘Cam and Stacey are
here.’

  ‘Great,’ Travis smiled warmly at his sister, seeming to have more control of himself now. ‘You should come and meet my friends,’ he said, turning back to grab Kelli’s hand, tugging her through the close-knit crowd.

  ‘Cam!’ he called out as they approached a small knot of people standing near the pool fence. A short, heavily pregnant woman and a tall, suavely handsome, dark haired man turned from the group to greet Travis. The woman embraced him warmly, stretching up on her tippy-toes to place a brief kiss on his cheek, whilst the man held out his hand.

  ‘How was your trip?’ he asked when he’d finished pumping Travis’ hand enthusiastically.

  ‘It was great. The hotel was fabulous, very kid-friendly. Thanks for suggesting it.’

  ‘No worries. Nat loves taking Kaidee there; says it gives them all a chance to have a break.’

  ‘It certainly does, though Sean was rather devastated he couldn’t go scuba diving. Still, we did plenty of snorkelling round the reefs. But I did have to promise to take him back there in a year or two so he can have the “full experience”.’

  ‘Ha! That Godson of mine has you wrapped around his little finger, doesn’t he?’

  ‘Yeah, yeah, I know. Hey, have you guys met Kelli?’ he asked, drawing Kelli forward and in to the conversation. ‘Kelli, this is Cameron, one of my oldest friends and his lovely wife-to-be, Stacey.’

  ‘Hi,’ Kelli went to greet them with a little wave, but found herself on the receiving end of a hug from Stacey. ‘Whoa, okay,’ Kelli couldn’t help muttering as she awkwardly returned the embrace. She wasn’t usually a touchy-feely person when it came to meeting strangers.

  ‘Sorry,’ Stacey apologised and Kelli immediately regretted her slip of the tongue. ‘It’s the hormones,’ Stacey added, rubbing a gentle hand across her belly. ‘I get a little carried away sometimes. It’s just, I’m so happy to finally meet a friend of Travis,’ she said, with a special emphasis on the word “friend”.

  ‘What?’ Kelli’s eyes widened at the implication. She swung a quick glance towards Travis who appeared equally stunned, a slight flush creeping up his neck.