The Kissing Season

by Rachael Johns

  HANNAH HAD KEPT vigil by the front door practically all morning, watching out for the arrival of Matt and his family, ready to quickly whisper in his ear, but Murphy’s Law had him landing while she helped her mother in the kitchen. She felt a gust of warm air travel through the house as one of her brothers opened the door and then heard the voices as Christmas greetings were exchanged. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the sight of him—hoping to avoid the usual jolt that came upon seeing him—and followed her mum out into the hall.

  Shaun, whose girlfriend was spending Christmas with her family, was making the Two Cs feel welcome, and her father, Ron, was giving Sarah a hug. An image of hugging Matt slammed into Hannah’s cerebellum but she resisted it, fearing if she so much as touched him, she wouldn’t ever let him go. He carried a pavlova and offered it to her father. “Here’s Mum’s pav. I’ll just pop back to the car and get the presents.”

  “Presents?” Ron stared bewilderedly at the platter. “You didn’t need to bring presents.”

  “Nonsense, we wanted to and...” Sarah beamed the kind of smile that looked to be permanently glued on her face as she shook her head. “I just can’t keep quiet any more. I have to tell you all. I got the best present ever. Matteo bought me a house.”

  “He what?” Luke’s jaw dropped. “In Wildwood Point?”

  “Yes, right on the beach. Cate, get out your camera. Show the Elliots the pictures.” Sarah waved her hand at her daughter.

  Hannah smiled at the look on Sarah’s face as she proudly showed off her new digs. Even if Matt did have a fair bit of money, it was the nicest thing she’d ever seen anyone do for their mother and it didn’t help quash her growing feelings for him.

  “Well done, son.” Ron patted Matt on the back and he actually blushed. If her family didn’t already have their eyes on Matt as the perfect man to settle Hannah down, they definitely did now.

  “Thanks.” Matt glanced helplessly toward the door. “I’ll go get those presents.”

  “I’ll help,” Hannah announced, pouncing on the opportunity to talk to Matt alone while the rest of the household was preoccupied.

  Sarah’s arm flashed out, her fingers closing around Hannah’s wrist like a vise. Photos seemingly forgotten, she tugged Hannah into her side. “No need, sweetie pie, they’re not that big. There’s no need for both of you to go out in that heat.”

  Hannah desperately wanted to disagree but if she made a fuss, onlookers would start to get suspicious. Sarah, who seemed to think her son was some kind of woman vulture, would make it her mission to keep them even more apart and her family would start getting ideas that she actually was interested in Matt. And yes, that was correct, but...oh, what a mess. Being swept down the hall by Sarah, Hannah looked wistfully over her shoulder as Matt retreated back out into the sun.

  “Now, tell me,” Sarah said as they settled in the massive cane chairs out on the back veranda, “what are your plans now you’re back home?”

  Plans? Hannah gulped. Right now her only plan was to get through the week, attend her first ever ultrasound and pray that in that time she’d be enlightened on the best way to drop the baby bombshell on her parents. They wanted so much for her—the spouse and kids that Troy already had and Luke was set to achieve. Even Shaun was closer to what her parents believed made for a successful adult than she was. They’d be resigned but accepting if she decided to become a career woman and stay single and childless by choice, but they were going to hit the roof about a baby out of wedlock. Well, technically this baby was conceived in wedlock, but they wouldn’t see it that way.

  “Um...I’m just playing things by ear.” She smiled at Sarah. “I’m enjoying working back at Elliot’s at the moment but I might do a course or something one day.” She shouldn’t stress so much anyway. Who cares what her parents said? She was a grown woman. She might not have a degree behind her, but she’d worked a zillion different jobs on her travels and if her family did disown her, she could look after this child all on her own. So why did she feel anything but confident?

  “That sounds lovely.” Sarah smiled at her. “I’m sure your mother is glad to have you back.” She glared at Cate and Claire, who both had jobs in Perth and were rumored to have escaped Wildwood Point for good.

  Hannah’s mum chose that moment to escape the kitchen. She padded onto the veranda and waved a bottle of wine in the air as though it was some kind of trophy. “Shaun’s bringing the glasses. How are you, Sarah? Girls? And, yes, I’m delighted Hannah is home again. Hopefully she stays close and I can keep her out of mischief.”

  Not wanting to cause a scene, Hannah swallowed the first phrase that came to mind and pasted a smile on her face. Pity she wouldn’t be drinking any of that alcohol.

  Shaun appeared and Matt followed a moment behind him. He caught her eye and winked as he laid an armful of presents under the ridiculously oversized Christmas tree that took pride of place on one end of the veranda. Her mum’s tree was too big to fit inside the house—or so her father said—but she needed it to hold the many decorations made by her kids, which she’d collected and kept lovingly over the years.

  “Ooh, presents,” Emily practically sang, “you shouldn’t have. Your company around our Christmas table is gift enough.”

  Hannah tried not to gag. Everyone else smiled. The thing was, although Emily sounded insincere, she really did mean it. This wasn’t the first year they’d had people other than family around the table. Her mother had a habit of collecting waifs and strays or people who would find Christmas difficult for one reason or another. Recently widowed Sarah was the perfect candidate.

  “Oh, nonsense,” Sarah scoffed. “It was the least we could do. Let’s open them now.”

  “Is there anything for me there?” Shaun asked, having handed round glasses and popped the cork on his mum’s wine.

  The two families gathered around the tree, the older people dragging along the cane patio chairs, Troy’s kids sitting on the deck by the tree and the Two Cs not far away, leaning back against the veranda railing. Not wanting to bring attention to herself, Hannah let Shaun fill her glass with wine, but didn’t plan on drinking it. Christmas carols wafted softly out from the stereo inside as Matt and her father took turns playing Santa.

  Hannah thought they were possibly the most unoriginal gift givers ever. Her mum gave the women perfume and Matt a bottle of port, while her family each received a box of chocolates. Granted they were expensive chocolates, but still. She was about to open her box and taste one, when Matt said, “And this last one is for you, Hannah.”

  She looked up at him, searching his eyes for a clue as her hands automatically closed around the small, soft parcel. Instead of the gaudy Christmas paper of all the other gifts, this one was wrapped in silver tissue paper and sealed with a delicate white ribbon bow.

  “Thanks.” She took the gift, not sure what to think of this extra present from him.

  “You’re welcome.” His smile melted her bones and she wished like crazy she could leap up and give him a proper thank-you. It would be much easier once he left town again and she didn’t have to deal with seeing him so often.

  “Well go on, open it.” Cate leaned forward, clapping her hands in anticipation. “I’m dying to know what it is.”

  “Yes, me too,” Sarah said warily, a stern glare tossed across to her son.

  Hannah bit her lower lip, slipped her finger under the bow and slid off the ribbon. She unfolded the paper and almost died at the tiny tie-dyed T-shirt that spilled out. Oh Lord. It was too late to stop the shock from showing on her face. Her mouth popped open and, as she glanced up at the faces surrounding her, she felt her eyes widen in terror.

  “Is that a doll’s top?” Troy asked, peering at it.

  “It’s a baby’s T-shirt,” his wife, Tina, answered matter-of-factly.

  “What would Hannah want with such a t
hing?” Hannah’s mum asked, her voice loaded with confusion.

  A silence fell; the only noise was the cawing of a couple of magpies high up in the eucalyptus trees. Even the CD went silent for a few moments as one song stopped to give way to the next and lightbulbs went off in everyone’s heads.

  “Are you pregnant?” Tina asked after what seemed to Hannah like the most awkward pause in the history of the world.

  “Yes.” The word slipped out on a whisper, her head offering a tiny nod of assent. She’d always been hopeless at lying and doing so now would only make an announcement next week harder. “I am.”

  Her mother swore, something she never did, downed the contents of her glass and said, “I tried my best with her, I really did, but is it my fault she had glandular fever the semester they did sex education at school?” She thrust her glass sideways. “Shaun, fetch me a refill.”

  “Congratulations,” said about five voices at once. All contained forced enthusiasm and none were from her immediate family.

  Suddenly the veranda seemed to close in on her. She had to get away from all the staring, judgmental eyes. “I’m sorry everyone.” Letting the T-shirt and paper fall onto the deck, Hannah turned and fled down the back veranda steps.

  She ran down the middle of the beautifully manicured garden, way down the back, past the work shed her father made furniture in before the business had grown too big, and headed for her old playhouse, which now stood deserted among some fruit trees. Man, it was hot. She wiped the pooling sweat off her brow as she ducked to enter the little house, wishing for a drink of water. The furniture she’d had in here as a kid was long since gone and she knew her nephews sometimes used the place, pretending it was an army hideaway. The scruffy camo-style cushion on the floor most probably belonged to them, but it would be the perfect place to rest her butt for a few hours because right now she couldn’t imagine wanting to go back into the main house any time soon.

  The look on her mother’s face and the acidic tone of her voice would be forever imprinted on Hannah’s mind. She’d anticipated the disappointment; it was why she hadn’t come clean straightaway and why she’d wanted to find the perfect time and way to tell her parents. She’d had time to gather excitement about this baby and she hoped, in time, they would see it as a blessing, not a curse.

  Hannah jumped about a mile in the air, somehow stopping short of hitting her head on the low ceiling, as a knock sounded at the door. As a child she’d longed for someone to come knocking and play—her brothers always favored the fort their father had built—but now she just wanted to be alone.

  “Can I come in?”

  Matt. Despite everything that had just happened her body tingled and zinged all over at the knowledge of how close he was. She didn’t know whether it was her mind or her libido that said, “Sure. Just push on the door.”

  Less than seconds later, she saw the top of his head as he stooped in through the door. “I’m so sorry, Hannah.” He knelt down beside her, his face a vision of anguish and regret. “I thought everyone already knew. I saw the lady who makes the tie-dyed stuff in town the other day and I remembered how much you liked it. Oh, I’m a dick.”

  She contemplated telling him she’d forgive him if he let her run her fingers through his thick black hair. If he kissed her as he’d done the other day. “It’s okay,” she said instead. “It’s totally my fault. I should have told them by now.”

  “Why didn’t you?” he asked, leaning back against the wall. He brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around as if he were settling in for the long haul. With two grown adults, there wasn’t a lot of legroom in her tiny playhouse.

  Hannah bit her lip. He was so damn successful he probably couldn’t understand what it felt like to be the black sheep of a family, the one who wasn’t driven or ambitious and constantly made crap decisions that led to stupid mistakes. But something made her try his listening ear on for size.

  “I guess I was putting off the lecture. Out of all the Elliot kids, I’m the disappointment. Luke did a business degree and has massive plans to expand Elliot’s. Troy and Shaun are amazing craftsmen, eager to help Luke put Elliot’s on the map.” She shrugged one shoulder and let her own back soften into the wall. “I’m proud of the family business but I don’t want to work there forever. In fact, I’ve never really known what I wanted to do with my life besides get out there and see the world.”

  “Nothing wrong with that,” he interjected.

  “Mum disagrees. It’s been a sore point between us for years. She thinks I should be at university or barefoot and pregnant to some boring, respectable guy who fits right in with our family.”

  Although the muscle at the side of Matt’s mouth twitched a little, Hannah continued. “And so far I’ve managed to fall in love with a zillion different men and none of them have made the cut. Probably why I married Larry before running him through the family test. He felt different from the rest and I didn’t want Mum and Dad to ruin that.”

  “Larry?”

  She tossed Matt a reproachful glare. “Come on, don’t tell me you’ve been in town a week and haven’t heard about my disastrous marriage to someone I’d known less than a week in Vegas.”

  He stopped fighting his smile. “Did you really use an Elvis impersonator as celebrant?”

  She hung her head in shame. “Yes. Mum and Dad were horrified. I’m surprised you didn’t hear them yelling all the way in Melbourne. But it was magic at the time. Larry worked with me in the casino and swept me off my feet with fun, smooth compliments and promises of eternal happiness. I thought I was in love and he was the one, but what did I know? Stupidly we never discussed having a family. Stupidly we never bothered with contraception.”

  “Shit.”

  Hannah had to laugh. “You’re not going to tell me what an idiot I am?”

  “Hey, we all make mistakes.”

  “Yes, some of us make more monumental ones than others.”

  “This Larry,” Matt began, his voice carrying an edge, “what did he do when you found out you were having a baby?”

  “He told me he knew the name of a fabulous doctor who could get rid of it real cheap.” She took a breath; the shocking memory of how cold and cutting he’d been threatened her tears to fall. “Apparently this wasn’t the first time he’d been in this predicament. Only he hadn’t married any of the others.”

  “Bastard.”

  “Yes, I’m good at picking them, but I won’t bore you with the other mistakes in my past. We’d still be here next week. I told Larry I was keeping the baby and he moved quickly to get our marriage annulled. Marriages are easy come and easy go in Vegas.”

  “Shit, Hannah.” Matt inched closer and placed a hand on her shoulder in a show of support. “But surely your family will want to support you. They might be surprised at first, but it’s obvious they love you in their own way.”

  She nodded. Despite their differences, there was no shortage of love in the Elliot household, but she just couldn’t bear to see the disappointment in her parents’ eyes again. “I planned to tell them after New Year’s. I didn’t want to ruin Christmas and besides, I have my three-month scan on New Year’s Eve. Three months—you’re not supposed to tell until then anyway, in case something happens.”

  “You’re not going to your ultrasound alone?” Matt’s eyes widened in what looked to be horror and Hannah wasn’t sure if this was a question or a statement.

  She nodded. “Bit hard to bring someone along to hold my hand when no one knows.”

  “I know.”

  Silence sat between them for a few long moments as she grappled to understand if those two words meant anything or if he was simply offering understanding. “And?” she said eventually.

  “Well, I suppose your family knows now,” he continued matter-of-factly, “but I’m gathering you’d rather not have
them there.” Before she could nod her reply, he added, “Still, this is a monumental milestone in your pregnancy and I’m sure it’ll be full of joy, but what if something isn’t quite right? You shouldn’t be alone at a time like that. I’ll come with you.”

  His offer knocked her sideways and the shock must have been spread across her face because he rushed to add, “That’s if you do want someone with you. I don’t want to overstep the mark.”

  Yes. Of course she wanted someone with her. And the sensible thing now that her family knew would be to tell Laura and Jayne as well and get one of them to tag along.

  “You’d do that?” she asked instead. “Aren’t you leaving straight after Christmas?” Just the thought of not seeing him for quite some time sparked a cramp in her heart.

  He shook his head. “I’ve extended my stay by a week. I’d like to see Mum settled into the house and I can do my work from anywhere. One of the bonuses of my job.”

  “Well...” She thought about the comfort of having someone like him along at her appointment. At least she wouldn’t stand out as being single and pregnant. As long as she didn’t start getting ideas about Matt being a permanent fixture in her and the baby’s life, it wouldn’t do any harm for people in the waiting room to jump to that conclusion. “Are you sure? My appointment’s in the morning, but I’m told there are sometimes delays.”

  He shrugged. “So we’ll bring snacks and I’ll make sure my phone is loaded with games.”

  She laughed. “I suppose it’ll be good practice for when you meet that special someone and have your own baby one day.”

  “I suppose so.”

  “How’s your mum doing this morning? First Christmas without Tony and all.”

  A hardened expression appeared on his face. “She’ll be fine. She might not realize it, but she’s much better off without that loser.”

  Hannah raised her eyebrows. “You really didn’t like him, did you?”

  “He didn’t give me any reason to.” He rubbed the patch of skin on his elbows and didn’t look at her as he spoke. “He was nice enough when he first met Mum, and I think he tolerated me up until the girls were born, but after that he never let me feel as if I was part of the family.”