by Lucy Clark
‘That’s understandable.’
‘I mean it, Logan. She’s very fragile.’ Rose gave him a pointed look and Logan raked his hand through his hair and stood.
‘I know, Mum. Don’t you think I know that?’
‘Yet you’re attracted to her.’
‘Yes. She’s an incredible woman.’
‘What you know of her,’ Rose added.
‘Yes.’ Logan shook his head and crossed his arms. ‘What a mess,’ he mumbled.
Rose came over and stretched up to kiss her son. ‘You’re a good man, Logan.’ She touched his cheek tenderly. ‘It’s your greatest strength…and your greatest weakness. Try and get some sleep, son.’
Logan stood where he was as his mother let herself out of his house. He didn’t move for a few minutes then tossed his drink down the sink, put his cup into the dishwasher and silently walked through the quiet, dark house.
He paused momentarily outside Charli’s room, before calling on superhuman strength and continuing on to his bedroom.
Logan hardly slept that night, or the next, or the next. By Saturday morning, he woke with his sheets in a complete tangle and his head pounding. Usually on a Saturday both children came into his room, but not this morning. He glanced at the bedside clock and was surprised to find it was almost nine.
He stood, pulled on a pair of jeans and made his way through the house. ‘Owen?’ he called. ‘Trin? Come on, kids, wake up. You’ve got a soccer game in an hour and a half.’ He opened Owen’s bedroom door while he was talking, only to be met by a messy bed but no child. He checked Trinity’s room—the same situation.
Perhaps they were watching television. He headed to the living room but it, too, was empty. Frowning, Logan headed back towards his bedroom and it was when he was walking past Charli’s room that he heard the squeal of a child’s laughter.
He froze, then raised his hand to knock before opening the door. He saw Charli, lying in bed with two ‘bumps’ on either side of her beneath the covers. Her hair was wild and messy, her eyes were glowing with delight and her mouth was curved into the biggest, brightest smile he’d ever seen. How could one woman be so incredibly beautiful first thing in the morning?
Logan was lost.
His willpower was gone.
The internal war he’d been fighting since meeting her was lost.
He took a step into the room, not breaking eye contact, and saw the expression in her eyes turn from one of happy delight to overwhelming desire. His heart was pounding fiercely in his chest and his breathing was shallow.
The squirming and giggling of the two bodies beneath the covers were what stopped him.
He cleared his throat and closed his eyes for a moment, before saying, ‘Where are my children? Have you seen them, Charli?’
‘Uh…’ She, too, cleared her throat. ‘I have no idea.’
‘I’ve checked their rooms, I’ve checked the living room because I thought they might be watching television but I can’t seem to find them anywhere.’
There were more giggles from Owen, with Trinity shushing him up. Logan knew they were about to burst and so he knelt at the foot of the bed, reached out a hand and brought it down on their bodies.
‘You appear to have some lumps in your bed, Charli. Let me get them out for you.’ Logan began tickling his children and Charli started yelping with pain as little arms and legs went everywhere beneath the covers. Finally, they both came up for air, wide grins on their faces.
‘We tricked you, Daddy,’ Owen said.
‘He knew where we were,’ Trinity added, although the smile on her face was as wide as her brother’s.
‘I was wondering where you’d got to. I was waiting for my cuddles as I do every Saturday.’
Trinity shrugged. ‘We thought Charli needed some, too, and she’s never had Saturday cuddles before.’
Logan was amazed at the insight of his seven-year-old. ‘You’re quite right.’
‘You could get into Charli’s bed, too, Dad,’ Owen said. ‘Then we can all have a cuddle together.’
His innocent words were enough to make Logan’s gaze swing to Charli’s. Her gaze was wide and filled with shocked surprise at Owen’s suggestion. Logan quickly stood and belatedly remembered to drag air into his lungs.
‘That’s OK, mate. I’m sure Charli’s had enough for one morning. Come on, you two. Time to get up and get ready for soccer.’
‘Aw, do we have to?’ came the chorus from both of them. As they said the words, they instantly snuggled into Charli. Logan watched as she hesitantly placed an arm around both of them and hugged them close. She looked at him, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. She was…touched, he realised, and again wondered about her background.
‘Charli’s going to be coming to your game today. Don’t you want to show her how well you can play?’
‘Yeah!’
That got both of them moving and they were up and out of the bed, faster than he’d seen them move in a long time. ‘Go get your kit on and I’ll get your breakfast ready,’ he called. Logan walked to the door and turned to look at the woman who’d been abandoned in the bed. ‘Are you all right? Not too many bruises, I hope.’
Charli sniffed. ‘I’m fine.’ She reached across for a tissue and dabbed at her eyes. ‘They’re so…’ She searched for the right word.
‘Encompassing.’ Logan nodded, knowing exactly how she felt. He gripped the door handle and tried not to clench his teeth. Now that it was just the two of them, the urge to take her in his arms and plunder her mouth was overpowering.
He cleared his throat again. ‘I’d better go.’ With that, he turned and went out of her room, closing the door firmly behind him. He waited a beat before heading to the kitchen and focusing on what he needed to do.
Two hours later, they were at Stawell oval, sitting on foldout chairs, cheering for their team. Wil was the coach and was busy calling instructions from the sidelines.
‘He gets really involved in the games, doesn’t he?’ Charli observed to Logan.
‘He comes across as this big, rough policeman and then you see him coaching these kids who really have no idea what they’re doing, and you realise he’s just a big softy.’
‘You’ve been friends for a while?’
‘Yes. We went to school together.’
‘Were you raised in Halls Gap?’
‘No. Inner suburb of Melbourne. But we came to the Grampians for holidays almost every year. Sometimes Wil came with us and we all fell in love with the area. My parents decided to retire here and when Trev came to visit them on holiday he met Alison, who was a Grampians native, and ended up staying.’
Sadness had crept into his voice when he’d mentioned his brother. ‘You were close?’
‘Yes. Very. Trev was always there to support me, or to kick my butt, if need be.’
Charli smiled. ‘Did he do that often?’
‘He did it about two months before he died. Told me I’d turned into a snob and to dig deep to find out who I was again before I lost myself completely.’
‘Harsh.’
‘But necessary. He was right. I’d got stuck on the money-go-round.’
‘Barbara?’
Logan laughed. ‘Yes. I don’t blame Barbara, it’s just who she is. She was my practice manager and she’d get annoyed with me when I spent too much time with my patients. She said it wasn’t cost-effective. I came here for a break and Trev told me to take a good look at who she was because he certainly didn’t want her for a sister-in-law.’
Charli shook her head. ‘He must really have loved you to talk like that.’
‘He did.’ Logan nodded. ‘He did.’
‘My brother died when I was twelve.’
‘Chuck?’ Logan said the name hesitantly, not wanting to break her train of thought, but it was becoming more and more urgent to find out exactly who Chuck was. He still hadn’t told Charli about the other night when she’d had that bad dream in the car, although he’d mentioned it to Wil.
Wil had been working overtime, trying to piece together the set of events that had brought Charli into their lives. No contact had been made with her mother and Wil had contacted the police in Los Angeles to try and discover Catherine Summerfield’s whereabouts.
‘I don’t like it that something seems to have happened to Charli’s mother, as well as her,’ Wil had said to Logan on the phone.
‘Coincidence?’ Logan had asked.
‘I’m not too sure. There’s nothing on this Chuck fellow you’ve mentioned but I’m still looking into it.’ Wil had paused. ‘You’ll let Charli know?’
‘Yes,’ Logan had agreed, concerned about Charli’s mental health. Still, she had the right to know. She’d taken the news well but he’d seen the worry in her eyes. That’s why he was so thankful for today. The sunshine, the soccer match—it was all an escape from the unanswered questions that surrounded them.
‘Chuck?’ The name didn’t sound foreign on her lips and she thought for a moment. ‘No. His name was Eddie. My father left not long after his death and my mother focused her attention on me.’ Charli shook her head as the memories poured out once more. ‘That’s amazing.’ She looked at Logan. ‘Just like that, the words come out and the memory is there.’
He smiled. ‘You’ll find that happening more often now.’
‘I know. That’s what the text said would happen but a part of me doubted it.’
Logan took her hand in his and gave it a little squeeze, before quickly letting go. Charli glanced over at him, the smile fading from her face.
‘It’s electric, isn’t it?’ she whispered.
He didn’t pretend he didn’t know what she was talking about. ‘Yes.’ Logan cleared his throat, feeling highly uncomfortable.
‘Do you think we’ll be able to control it?’
Logan took off his hat and raked a hand through his hair, glad he was wearing his sunglasses so she couldn’t see his eyes. ‘We have to. It isn’t going to do either of us any good.’
‘Logically, I agree, but you have to understand, Logan, that all I have to go on at the moment are my emotions. I’m stuck here, at least for the next three weeks until something can be done about getting me a new passport.’
‘I can’t believe it takes that long.’
‘That’s what Wil said the American Consulate said.’
‘I’m surprised he hasn’t been able to contact your mother.’
‘I know. It scares me a little. What if something’s happened to her, too?’
‘Is that what you think? Is that what your instincts tell you?’
‘Yes, and I just hope I’m wrong.’
He turned and looked at her, noticing she’d shifted her sunglasses down off her head to shade her own eyes. She was wearing a pair of navy shorts, which revealed far too much of her gorgeous legs, and a white cotton shirt. The gold love-heart chain was absent from her neck and he wondered if she had remembered something about Chuck but wasn’t willing to tell him.
An old sun hat of his mother’s was on her head and she looked relaxed, comfortable—and as though she belonged here. Now was not the time to bring up the subject of the mysterious Chuck.
A thud and then a loud scream snapped his thoughts back to reality and he realised that one of the players had been injured. Wil was waving his arms, motioning to Logan.
‘Looks like we’re on,’ he told Charli, grabbing the first-aid kit and heading over. ‘What’s the problem?’
‘Cameron’s leg is sore,’ almost every other player told him.
‘He scored the goal and then he got hurt,’ Owen said jubilantly. ‘Yahoo. Way to go, Cam.’
‘Is he going to be all right, Daddy?’ Trinity was crouching beside her father, concern on her face.
‘Let me have a look.’ Logan checked the six-year-old over, making sure his eyes were fine. His pulse rate was elevated, but that was to be expected. Then Logan carefully felt the boy’s right leg. Cameron was really crying, his mother leaving her post at the drinks table to rush over.
‘What is it, Logan? What’s happened?’ she asked urgently.
‘Ambulance?’ Wil asked.
‘Yes, thanks, Wil. It feels as though he’s broken his leg. I’d like to get him up to the hospital for an X-ray and we’ll take it from there.’
‘Does he need surgery? Will he be all right?’
‘It doesn’t feel as though it’s bad. Probably a cast will do the trick but I can’t say for sure until I’ve seen the X-rays.’
‘Why can’t you tell now?’ Cameron wailed.
‘Because I’m not Superman, mate. I wish I did have X-ray vision because it would certainly save the hospital a lot of time and money.’ Logan carefully lifted the boy into his arms.
‘You’re as strong as Superman,’ Cameron said, and Logan grinned at him, glad his tears were decreasing.
‘It’s very nice of you to say so,’ he told him.
‘Do I get to go in an ambulance?’
‘You most certainly do. I’m just going to splint your leg so we can get you out of the way and the game can continue. You don’t want to have a soccer ball rolling around you while you’re lying in the middle of the field, do you?’
Cameron shook his head. ‘Then everyone might stand on me as well.’
‘You don’t want that.’
‘No, I don’t want that,’ Cameron agreed.
Logan put him down on one of the benches and had a better look at his leg. Charli came over and introduced herself to Cameron and his mother.
‘Oh, we know who you are, dear,’ his mother said. ‘Everyone does. You’re the talk of the district.’
‘Feels as though his right tib and fib are fractured.’
Charli felt Cameron’s leg. ‘Greenstick.’
‘Yes.’
‘And you scored such a fantastic goal,’ she said to Cameron. ‘Well done.’
‘You talk funny.’
‘Cameron!’ his mother scolded.
Charli smiled. ‘I guess I do, but to me it’s all of you who sound funny.’
Cameron laughed and swallowed some medicine Logan gave him.
As the hospital was only a few blocks away, Bruce arrived with the ambulance in next to no time. Cameron was feeling much better and was disappointed he couldn’t stay and watch the end of the game.
‘I think he’s going to be as right as rain,’ Logan told the boy’s mother as they climbed into the ambulance beside the boy. When they arrived at the hospital, Cameron was taken for X-rays and, as Logan had suspected, the diagnosis came back as a greenstick fracture to the tibia.
‘What’s that?’ his mother asked.
‘It’s when the fracture is incomplete. If you look here at the X-rays…’ Logan held them up for her ‘…you’ll see that the bone is bent on one side and splintered on the other.’
‘Oh, yes. What’s next?’
‘As the fracture hasn’t broken the skin, we can realign the bone and put a cast on his leg. He’ll be on crutches for at least four weeks. Then I’ll do a check X-ray to make sure everything is healing all right, and after that he’ll have a splint on for a few more weeks.’
‘And that’s it? Apart from that, he’s all right?’
‘Yes.’
‘So no more soccer?’
‘No, not for the rest of the season.’
‘I’m glad he scored that goal, then.’ She laughed.
‘So am I. Poor Wil, though. With Mikey and Josie going to Melbourne to be closer to their sister, and now Cameron, his team members are dropping like flies.’
‘He’ll cope,’ Cameron’s mother said. ‘He always does.’
‘OK. Well, let’s get this under way so we can all celebrate the soccer team’s big win.’
Thankfully, Cameron enjoyed the sensation of the wet, gooey plaster being slathered onto his leg and sat still long enough for Logan to get the cast on.
When it was dry, they found him some small crutches and Logan showed him how to use them, making Camer
on squeal with peals of laughter as the crutches were way too small for the six-foot-three-inch doctor.
Logan wrote up the discharge notes and went in search of Charli. She was in A and E, talking to Maree. ‘Ready?’
‘Sure am.’
He looked around him. ‘Where are the kids?’
‘Wil took them home,’ Charli told him. ‘They were so bouncy and full of excitement that there was no way Owen was going to sit still.’
‘OK. Then I guess we’re ready to go. Thanks, Maree.’ Logan nodded to the nurse as he escorted Charli out. She handed him his hat and sunglasses before putting hers on. It was just after one o’clock and Logan felt his stomach grumble. ‘You hungry?’
‘Sure am.’
‘Seems to be your standard answer at the moment.’ Logan set off down the street towards the shops. ‘How about a hamburger? Or is that too American for you? Meat pie and sauce?’
Charli laughed. ‘After being winched over a cliff, I’m game to try anything new. Meat pie and sauce sounds…neat.’
Logan couldn’t help smiling. ‘That’s tomato sauce,’ he clarified. ‘Not gravy or anything else.’
‘Oh.’ She considered it for a moment. ‘That’s still all right.’
‘We’ll have to get some other Australian foods for you to try while you’re here.’
‘Such as?’ As she was walking, her hand brushed against his and she felt a current buzz up her arm, making her gasp. Logan turned to look at her, the smile slowly sliding off his face. He dragged in a deep breath and clenched his jaw. He tried to get his brain to work, to compile an answer to her question, but all he could think about was touching her, holding her hand, letting her know she was becoming vitally important to him.
‘I can’t do this,’ he mumbled.
‘What?’ Charli’s heart was pounding fiercely in her chest. She kept walking, keeping pace with him as they continued.
Logan shook his head again and reached down to grasp her hand. Charli jumped at the contact and stopped walking. ‘Sorry.’ He loosened his grip and she realised he’d misinterpreted her body language.
‘No. Don’t let go.’ The words tumbled out of her mouth in a rush as she squeezed his hand tighter.
‘I didn’t mean to startle you. I just…’ He raked his free hand through his hair again. ‘I just needed to touch you.’