by Bowes, K T
Logan ran a hand over his face and rolled his eyes. “Great!” he bit. “We haven’t been here twenty-four hours yet and already they’re hunting us down like possums.”
Hana chewed her lip and stifled a laugh. “Drama queen,” she chided him, leaning against the front door to close it.
“Hey!” The shout sounded muffled through the heavy wood and Hana spotted a shape moving behind the stained glass beyond. She jumped in surprise and Logan stiffened and shielded her, his defensive stance offering protection. He snatched the door open and Caleb stood on the tufty mat, balancing on his crutches. His eyes widened in alarm at Logan’s balled fists and the determined look in his eyes. “You said I could come!” he insisted. His voice rose. “You invited me!”
Logan exhaled in a hiss and stood back with exaggerated aplomb like a doorman. “Course we did. Everyone’s welcome. All it needs now is...”
“Hi. There’s no room on the drive so we’ve parked near the school. Hope that’s all right.” Hana’s eldest son waited with impatience for Caleb to clack his way across the threshold and then he reached for her, drawing her into strong, brown hands. “Is there a party?”
“Kind of.” Hana accepted his embrace and greeted her daughter-in-law who carried their daughter. Hope buried her face in Amy’s shoulder, needing time to warm up to Hana after time away. Jas shoved his way between everyone’s legs and looked up at his grandmother, his mouth opening to issue immediate demands.
“I want Phoe to line up outside. We’re doing a parade and she’s my colour sergeant.” He leaned back so Hana could see the tee-shirt; designed to resemble an army uniform complete with green tie and epaulettes.
“She’s having breakfast,” Hana said, bending for a kiss and feeling disappointed as the child strode along the hallway.
“Everyone outside!” he bawled entering the kitchen and Bodie jogged after him to deal with the ensuing chaos.
As the crowd moved away from the door, Logan slipped outside and stood on the deck in his socks. Hana followed him and laid a hand on his shoulder with a light touch. “You’re not leaving?” Her face betrayed anxiety and he drew her into his side with a strong arm around her waist.
“I feel like it.”
“Me too. Can I come?” Hana listened to the hike in volume coming from the villa and felt her heart sink. “What just happened?”
“We got invaded,” her husband replied, shielding his eyes to stare at the school buildings scattered throughout the distance.
“Will you stay?” Hana turned and pushed her face into Logan’s chest, wanting the same security he offered the night before. “I know you’re avoiding Bodie but please stay this time.”
Logan shrugged. “It’s best if I’m not around him.”
“Why?” Hana heard the whine in her voice.
Logan planted a kiss on the top of her head. “Because smacking the snot out of a cop isn’t on my list of things to do today.”
“Stay with me.” The begging edge in her voice forced Logan to relent.
“Fine. I’ll try,” he sighed. “I’ll be the bigger man.”
Hana snorted. “You are the bigger man, idiot.”
Logan bent his neck and sought her lips, dragging her hips in to meet his body. Determined hands cradled her back and desire sparked between them as he made the kiss last long enough to leave Hana gasping.
“You’re always kissin’!” Wiri’s admonishment made Hana smile, her lips against Logan’s. He sounded sulky, the presence of Jaspal like salt in his raw wounds.
“We’re allowed to,” Hana retorted. “You’ll kiss lots when you get married.”
“No, I won’t!” Wiri squished his face into an ugly blob of mismatched features and stuck his tongue out. “Scustin!”
“What’s up, mate?” Logan pushed his hand into the back pocket of Hana’s jeans and she felt his fingers against her bum, warm and teasing.
“That kid’s bossing me. I don’t like it. And Caleb needs to pee but he can’t get up the stairs on his sticks. Macky’s crying and Nonie’s pissing me off already.”
“Wiri!” Hana gave him the benefit of her shocked expression. “No swearing.”
“Sorry.” He didn’t look sorry, eyeing the lush green grass of the soccer pitch in the distance. “Can I play on that?”
“Not by yourself.” Hana released herself from Logan’s grasp but kept hold of his hand to stop him bolting from the whānau overload. She yanked his fingers to make him follow her indoors and then closed the door behind them. She turned the key and put it in her pocket, glaring at her tall husband.
“There’re other doors,” he muttered, his grey eyes glinting with mischief.
“Use them at your peril,” Hana hissed and he wiped the smile from his lips.
“I’m whipped, Wiri,” he sighed, ruffling the boy’s dark hair. “Whipped by my kō. What’s the world coming to?”
“You love it, Pa,” the child chortled, catching Logan’s hand and skipping through to the kitchen.
Hana watched their progress, tasting the Du Rose testosterone in the air and scenting trouble already.
Leslie fed Mac at the table, pushing porridge between his pink lips and burbling baby talk into his face. He grinned and accepted the food from her, slapping the table top with his hands and balancing on her knee. Logan busied himself boiling the kettle for drinks and ignoring the visitors, casting a pall of grey cloud over the proceedings. Hana watched the hard set of his shoulders and saw the back of his neck stiffen as Bodie made his first demand of the visit. “It’s great that you’re here; Jas starts back at school tomorrow and Amy’s rostered on the same shift as me. Hope can go to her childminder as usual but we need you to pick Jas up and then get Hope. I’ll give you directions.”
Hana opened her mouth to speak but Logan turned wielding an ancient looking blue teapot and answered for her. “She can’t. Wiri starts his new school so she’ll be there.”
Leslie parted her lips to volunteer her services but one look at Logan’s raised eyebrow silenced her.
“Can I get Nonie’s car keys, Ma?” Wiri’s small voice came from the doorway and Hana looked at the distress on his face. She heard Jas bossing Phoenix around in the room next door, his voice raised as he delivered a series of barked orders. “Caleb’s got stuff in her car. Then can I go back to bed? I’m tired.”
Hana crooked a finger and invited the child onto her lap, pushing the chair back to accommodate him. She kissed the back of his head and wrapped her arms around him. “We’ll go for a walk later,” she promised. “We’ll take a ball.”
“Will Papa play footy with me? Can I go in goal?” He turned to look at Logan, comforted by whatever he saw there. Slipping off Hana’s knee he snatched Leslie’s keys off the counter. He strolled through the doorway, turning left away from Jas and his personal army. “I’ll just help Caleb, Ma. He’s got bags.”
Hana winced and met the accusation in her son’s eyes. “Why’s he calling you, Ma?”
Logan dumped the teapot on the table and clattered in a cupboard rounding up mugs. “Help yourselves.” He darted a quick smile at Amy and then made towards the door. “I’ll check on Caleb.”
“Why is he calling you, Ma?” Bodie demanded. “He’s not your kid. Doesn’t he belong to that other loser up at the hotel?”
Leslie hissed through her teeth at the insult and lifted a dozing Mac over her shoulder. “I’ll change this wee pirinihi.” She exited and Hana cringed, her body tensing in the faint hope that Bodie didn’t understand the Māori word for prince. He’d barely accepted Phoenix and Mac without hearing his baby brother elevated over his delicate ego.
“So,” Bodie launched, “you can’t get your grandson because you’re picking someone else’s kid up instead.” Statement not question. Hana felt her heart quail at the instant attack. “You hardly ever see your proper family anymore; you’re so consumed by the bloody Du Roses and their problems. What’re you doing, Mum? Is this what you want?”
“Stop
!” Hana’s shout took him by surprise and Amy turned to look through the window, bouncing her daughter on her hip. “Do you not have any other topic of conversation? I’d love to see more of you. I’m desperate to see my grandchildren but you do this every time; pick a fight over the same thing.” She stood and shoved her chair under the table with a loud scrape, not sure how to proceed with the air hanging around her like a choking mist. “If you’d given me some warning, I’d have done my best to accommodate you just like I’ve done the millions of other times I’ve helped you out.”
“Told you,” Amy muttered under her breath.
“So, you won’t do it then!” Bodie stood and let his chair skitter across the tiles. “Thanks for nothing and welcome back! I don’t suppose I’ll see much of you with all the other demands on your precious time.” He stalked from the kitchen, his dark skin contrasting with the whiteness of the paintwork. Hana felt her heart snap as he shouted to his son. “Jas. Come on; we’re leaving. Now!”
“Sorry,” Amy said, touching Hana’s arm as she moved past with Hope, who’d just warmed up enough to begin a smiling game with her grandmother.
“I don’t want to!” Jas yelled and Hana heard his little feet pounding along the corridor. He burst through the doorway and launched himself at Hana, clutching her legs. “Hanny, tell them I’m staying here! I’ve got stuff to do.”
Hana stroked his hair and held onto her nerve as Bodie appeared in the doorway, his face channelling hatred and rejection from a wounded ego. “The front door’s locked!” He held his hand out for the key Hana retrieved from her jeans pocket and placed into his brown palm, her heart quailing in her chest. Bodie grabbed Jas by the arm and hauled him away, glaring at his mother with venom in his eyes. “You’ve changed!” he snapped. “You’ve forgotten what really matters!”
The front door slammed and they left, the blood tie aching against the growing feud. Hana put her face in her hands and felt the wetness on her palms as she struggled to process the fifteen-minute disaster. Caleb’s crutches clicked into the kitchen but he hovered in the doorway before clanking away along the corridor. Hana heard him scrape his way to the classroom next door where Logan had lit a fire and put the TV on for the children.
Her husband gave her time before he scooped her up in his arms, enfolding her in his strength and trying to sap some of the pain. Hana dried her tears on his white tee shirt, seeing the mascara blotches arc out in strange lines. “You knew he’d start making demands, didn’t you?”
She felt Logan shrug against her. “I guessed. Every time you do what he wants it makes him feel like he’s gained ground; got an edge.”
“It shouldn’t be a damn competition!” Hana wailed. “Why can’t he just be pleased to see me?”
“Because of me, Hana.” Logan kissed her temple. “He won’t stop until he gets what he wants; me and my whānau out of your life.”
Hana shook her head. “He won’t win.”
Logan lifted her chin with his finger and his grey eyes looked stormy like grit, sadness in his face. “One day, Hana. One day he will.”
Her eyes widened in determination and she shook her head. “I’ve given him everything, Loge. Too much. I raised him the same as Izzie and yet they’re so different. He wants it all. I gave Amy my car, I sold them Culver’s Cottage, I’ve run around after them both and bent over backwards to be their instant babysitter. I’ve shown him unconditional love even though I disliked his choices. What else can I do?” She shook her head again. “I’ve had enough.”
“Do nothing today.” Logan threaded his fingers through hers. “He’s family; be careful not to make decisions you’ll regret.”
“I know,” Hana whispered. Her husband’s wisdom came from bitter experience; his own and those of others whose choices had shaped and distorted his world beyond what it could have been in an alternate universe. “What do you suggest?”
Logan stroked her hair and Hana looked up at his angular jaw and the long, majestic nose of his forebears, waiting for his royal pronouncement. In an older tribal structure Logan Du Rose would rule as chief, commanding respect and authority with his God given right as rangatira. The tribes clung to their heritage against the tide of pakeha law but Logan’s mana still sang of his birthright and nobility. “Let him cool off and then ring him,” Logan said, his voice low and confidential. “Write down how you feel about everything and then meet him somewhere neutral. Ask him to read your words and contribute. Find a resolution and walk through it.”
Hana smiled and sniffed away her tears. “A hui? Like in the old days.”
Logan shook his head. “Not just the old days, kōtiro. It’s how we still sort things out. We just can’t sit on the marae for weeks until it’s sorted anymore.” He sighed. “I’d love to go back to the old days.” His grey eyes fixed on her face and he brushed a stray curl from near her mouth, following it with a smoldering kiss. Hana’s lips trembled against his as he attempted to drown out the awful sense of loss and the knowledge that something valuable had cracked. Nothing but the strongest glue could repair its fractures.
“Will you come with me to meet him?” Hana asked, her green eyes troubled. She searched Logan’s face for help and salvation, quailing at the sad shake of his head.
“No,” he replied. “It’s best if I don’t.”
Chapter 27
Teasing Out the Details
“So, why did you leave Alfie?” Hana pushed another log onto the fire and watched Leslie rock Mac to sleep over her shoulder.
“I can’t tell youse.” The old woman pouted and Hana stared at her with curiosity; fear lit her features ahead of sadness.
“What did he do?”
“Never you mind.” Leslie pursed her lips and Hana felt a shiver of anxiety run through her damaged heart, accompanied by an awful foreboding.
“Now you’re worrying me.” She knelt up and eyeballed Leslie. “Tell me what’s happened.”
“It’s best you don’t know.” Leslie patted the baby’s back and eyed the door before lowering her voice. “But I’ve removed the problem so there won’t be any more of it.”
“Removed the problem?” Hana shook her head, hearing herself parroting Leslie’s words. “What problem? Stop talking in riddles.”
“Your phone just went off. I think you’ve got a text.” Logan covered the space between them on long legs and put the device into Hana’s hand. He ran his fingers through his hair. “Pete rang me. He wants me to pop over to his staff unit and look at some gadget he’s made.” Logan rolled his eyes. “It’s probably broken and he wants help to fix it.”
“That didn’t take him long,” Hana mused. “We’ve been here less than twenty-four hours and already it’s like we never left.” Her own words condemned her at the memory of Bodie’s meltdown earlier.
“Wiri and Phoe are in bed asleep. I’ve set up a single bed in the room to the left of the front door and there’s another bed in the attic room still.” Logan directed his last comment towards Leslie and she avoided his eyes.
“Thanks, Logan.” She rested her cheek against Mac’s and turned to face the fire.
“I can’t get the fire going.” Hana’s fingers reached for another log and Logan shook his head in irritation.
“You’ve put the paper on top of the kindling and added the logs too soon. It’s closed off the oxygen and there’s nothing for the flames to grab hold of once they’ve used up the paper.” He fished a ball of charred newspaper from the edges and wrinkled his nose. “And you used wet paper!”
“I didn’t know.” Hana sulked in the face of his superiority and jumped as Leslie stood and turned towards the door.
“This tamaiti tāne is tired. I’ll put him in his cot and take a shower if you don’t mind?”
Hana nodded. “There’s another bathroom downstairs if you’d rather have your own. It’s past the laundry and turn left.”
Leslie shuffled from the room without answering and Hana watched her retreating back. “Something’s going on,�
� she whispered and Logan glanced sideways at her. She leaned closer and watched his deft fingers place more paper in the fireplace at the bottom of the pile and stoke the ailing flame back to life. “She won’t tell me what happened up at the hotel or why she’s here. But she did say she ‘removed the problem.’ What could that be?”
“No idea.” Logan didn’t sound much like he cared. He unfolded two large sheets and stretched them across the chimney, holding them in place either side with his hands. Orange flames flared behind a photo of Fairfield Bridge and the fire roared as the newspaper drew the air harder through the flames. “Who knows how their marriage works?”
Hana laid her cheek against Logan’s bulging bicep. “Stay home with me,” she murmured and saw the corners of his lips quirk upwards.
“Why, babe? What’s the matter?”
“Dunno.” Hana sighed. “Bedroom’s cold and I don’t want to go up there by myself.”
Logan gave a low sound like a chuckle. “I’ll just nip to Pete’s and come straight home. I won’t be long.” He kissed the top of her head. “Then I’ll warm you up. Promise.”
“Hi there.” Caleb’s crutches clattered into the room and Hana watched Logan turn away from him with a look of distaste. Her heart sank.
“Hi. You settled in?” She fixed a smile on her face and summoned up a spirit of welcome, knowing from the set of Caleb’s shoulders; she’d failed. Logan stood up and stretched his long body, lifting his arms above his head and yawning. Hana admired his physique but a glance at Caleb’s face showed her he saw something different. The air crackled with testosterone as the powerful alpha male issued a silent, physical threat and the teenager quailed. Hana raised an eyebrow at her husband and watched the smirk begin on his angular face.
“See you in a while,” he said, leaning down to stroke her cheek with gentle fingers. The look he gave Caleb as he passed him was fierce enough to draw colour from the boy’s face.
Hana listened to Logan putting his cowboy boots on and the sound of the front door shutting with a click. “I’ll just leave the front door unlocked for you,” she said to Caleb. “We’re safe enough on the school grounds and besides, they only gave us one key. Everyone on site with a master key can get in so it’s just as well we brought nothing valuable.”