by Wendy Smith
“Let go. I can’t breathe.” Max laughs loudly. A flurry of wings above makes us both look up as the owl flies from one tree to another, dipping before rising up to land on a branch.
“I think he got some food,” I say softly. “Let’s go and tell Mum about it.” I stand, and Max reaches for my hand. “Come on.”
As we approach the house, Max waves at Lily through the kitchen window. She’s at the bench and smiling at us as he gets her attention. Catching my eye, she sends me a look that tells me exactly how she’s feeling. She’s happy.
“Want a hot chocolate when we get inside?” I ask Max.
He nods.
“Me too. Let’s go get one and settle in for the night.”
“Dad?”
I look down at those blue eyes, so dark in the moonlight. “Yes, Max?”
“Can we come out again tomorrow? Maybe the owl will be there again.”
I grin, tousling his hair. “You bet.”
34
Lily
It’s been six months since the day I chased my son down the road as he ran from the bullies, only to come face to face with my past and my future.
I write off the nausea to something I ate, but when it lasts a week, I know there’s something else going on.
My periods have been regulated by the pill for so long that they’re almost non-existent. I’m left pondering the seemingly impossible.
The only way to know for sure is to get a test and see what happens. I drop off Max at school and head toward the small pharmacy that sits next to the doctor’s surgery. The pharmacist has two assistants, neither of whom I can trust to keep their mouths shut, but I just have to know.
I grimace as I spot Sasha behind the counter. Of the two of them, it had to be her this morning. I bite back my urge to run and walk along the aisles.
“Lily.” She smiles at me, and I give her a quick smile back before looking away. “Can I help you?”
My mouth goes dry and I nod. “I’m looking for … paracetamol.”
One of her eyebrows does this weird quirk, and I can see in her face my hesitation has probably given me away. “I wouldn’t buy that here. It’s cheaper at the supermarket. Are you okay? You look a bit green around the gills.”
“I’m just getting over a bit of a stomach bug.” What am I doing? I’m a grown woman. Thirty years old and I can’t just buy a pregnancy test and leave.
“Ahh.” She smiles widely. “Am I correct in thinking this is what you’re looking for?” From behind the counter, she produces just what I’m seeking, and I freeze.
“Uhhh, I ….”
“Adam saved my boy. I won’t tell anyone.”
I’m torn between crying and puking as my stomach roils.
She laughs. “I think I’d better ring this up for you right now before I’m cleaning up after you.”
I swipe my card through the machine when it’s time and take the package as the little screen comes up ‘accepted.’
“Good luck, Lily. I hope you get the result you want.”
“I really appreciate your help, Sasha.”
She gives me a wistful smile. “I’ll be forever in Adam’s debt for what he did.”
“I understand. Thanks.”
When I walk away, it’s with a lighter heart. I thought that what happened that day at the cove would have had a passing effect on Sasha. Clearly, it’s something that’s stuck with her.
It makes me happy, until the nausea hits me again.
Time to see what’s going on.
“Yuck.”
I step inside via the back door, and take a deep breath in relief that the entranceway and hall have wooden floors. There’s water everywhere.
It doesn’t take long to find the source.
One of the few things we haven’t yet replaced had been my washing machine. I’d picked up a decent second-hand one a couple of years before and hadn’t felt the need to spend money on a new one until we needed to.
Water flows from along the hallway. The laundry sits up it to the left.
I moan at the sight of the tube that leads from the washing machine to the water dripping. There’s a leak near the tap end, and as the machine refilled the water must have come flooding out. I twist the taps to make sure nothing more will come through and turn everything off.
Following the water, I discover it’s also entered the kitchen where it comes off the hall and I drop my bag on the bench, retrieving the mop from a cupboard and starting my clean up. The water’s everywhere. I’ll have to cut off the end of the tube and re-clamp it. It’s not the first time it’s happened, but in the old house the laundry was separate and there wasn’t so much of a mess.
Bit by bit the water’s emptied into a bucket, and before I know it, it’s nearly eleven and I’m starving.
Owen brought some pies last time he visited, and I grab one out of the freezer and throw it in the microwave. The warm scent of pastry and steak fills the air.
“Can you chuck one in there for me too, babe?” Adam stands in the doorway. He’s in his work clothes, and I grimace as he sits at the dining table all greased up.
“Are your hands clean?”
“I washed them before I came in.” He pokes his tongue out. “I just felt crazy hungry. How’s your morning going?”
Sighing, I pluck another pie from the freezer and place it on a plate. “Had to clean up after a washing machine leak. You’re lucky I didn’t float away.”
He frowns. “That bad? Maybe we need to replace it after all.”
I shake my head. “It wasn’t the machine. Just where it connects to the tap. I’ll sort it out.”
The microwave beeps and I pull out one pie, sliding the other one in. Opening the cutlery drawer, I place a knife and fork on the plate and drop it on the table in front of Adam.
“You’re amazing. Have I said that to you today?” He beckons me with his index finger, and I get a tender kiss in return for the pie.
“Not yet.” He smells of oil, and the scent is enough to turn my stomach again.
“If I wasn’t so busy, I’d stay for a little lunchtime fun.” Adam waggles his eyebrows.
I empty the microwave of the second pie, and grabbing a knife and fork I sit at the table with him. “While I love that idea, I’ve got to get this sorted and put the washing back through the cycle.”
He reaches across the table, taking one of my hands in his. “I know it’s still tough and we have to watch our money, but I hope I’m giving you a better life.”
Tears prick my eyes. “I wouldn’t give this up for anything.”
“I’m glad.” A smile crosses his face, and with a final squeeze he lets go. “Let’s have something to eat before my stomach eats itself.”
“Good idea.”
The test can wait a while longer.
Among my dreams are the ones about Max’s birth.
The fear that hit me when I realised there was no going back, the waves of agony as each contraction hit. I cried for Adam, I cried for myself, and I cried for my baby.
When they found the cord around his neck.
In that moment, I thought I’d lost everything I’d fought so hard to save. I’d only known about him a few short weeks, but already Max was the most important person in my life. Nothing and no one else mattered but him.
His birth caused me the most pain I’d ever had, and yet I’d happily go through it all again to end up with the child I now have.
With his Apgar score at birth being five, this tiny grey baby was briefly placed on my chest, and I cried all over again after he was whisked off to NICU. At least in the moments in between being born and going to intensive care, his score had changed to a much more respectable seven. Even then I knew Max wouldn’t be like other kids, but he was alive and he was mine.
With each successive day I swore that he would have my full attention, that I’d do whatever I could to give him the most normal childhood he could have, one light years from the childhood I’d had. Though what was norm
al?
As I sit in the bathroom today, staring at a positive pregnancy test, my stomach clenches at the thought of going through all that again.
Tears stream down my face, and I scrub my cheeks with my palms before burying my face in my hands.
Maybe if it wasn’t for what I went through with Max, I’d be over the moon. Adam and I have been back together for mere months, but he’s made his feelings clear. He wants to pick up where we left off and start a family together, or rather, extend our family. Looks like he’s getting his wish.
The garage is still in its infancy, but Adam’s busier than he dreamed. For the moment, James helps him, but when he leaves for university, Adam will have to find someone else to assist. Looks like Copper Creek missed having a local mechanic.
I check my watch. It’s nearly time to pick up Max from school, so I pat my cheeks clean with a washcloth and look at myself in the mirror. My face has filled out a little, and my eyes, though rimmed with red, look more alive than I’ve seen them in a while. Blonde hair sits piled on top of my head in a messy bun. Maybe it’s time for a change.
There’s a fancy hair salon not far from Callahans, and in my new car I’m not worried about the journey. Adam upgraded me to a little Suzuki Swift. It’s basic but it’s only had one owner, and I don’t need to worry about it breaking down. Max loves the crap out of it. Maybe I’ll go tomorrow.
Giving my face one last wipe, I head out to the backyard toward the car. It purrs as it starts, and I set off slowly down the driveway. Adam stands out the front of the garage, waving me down, and I pull up to a stop.
He bends and gives me a kiss when I open the window. “You off to get Max?”
“I sure am.”
His eyebrows twitch. “Are you okay?”
He knows. He sees the pinkness of my eyes, understands there’s something wrong.
“I’m fine. Just a bit tired.”
“Lie down when you come home. I’ll sort out dinner.” He reaches in the window and palms my cheek. “Just chuck Lego Batman on for Max. He’ll be fine until I pack up.”
Max is close to finishing that game; there’s just one bit he’s struggling to complete. He’ll spend hours playing it if we let him.
“See you soon,” I say. Adam waves in response.
School is a lot closer than it was from the old house, and I could have walked if I’d felt up to it. But I love my new car, and any chance to drive it brings a smile to my face.
Sasha waves as I pull up in front of the school. Max and Karl have settled into an easy friendship. I never thought that boy would ever sit at my dining table eating ice cream with Max, and yet it’s happened more than once.
When the bell rings, Max is first out the gate, and straight to my car. He loves it as much as I do.
“Did you have a good day?” I ask as I pull onto the road.
“I went up a reading level and I got one hundred per cent in my maths test.”
“Again?”
He rolls his eyes. “Every single time, Mum.”
I chuckle. “You’re right, Max. Every single time.”
“I’m always right.”
I leave Adam and Max playing some car racing game to go to bed a little before seven thirty p.m. My eyes refuse to stay open, and all I want is to curl up and go to sleep.
They’re so engrossed they barely notice me go, which is good, because Adam knows me well enough to know this isn’t my usual behaviour.
Yet, when I get to bed, all I do is toss and turn. These past months, I’ve shared a bed with Adam. Being alone isn’t what I’m used to.
Just after nine the bedroom door opens, and I smile at the sight of Adam.
When we moved in here, he made improvements on his night-light set up. Wall lamps give off a soft golden glow, which keeps the room dark enough to sleep, and yet it’s enough for me to not freak out in the night.
Adam strips off his shirt. The hard work he does every day has kept him in shape, and my heart beats faster at the sight of his solid, sculpted chest. Maybe it’s my raging hormones. Maybe it’s because he’s perfect.
And he’s all mine.
I reach out to rub Adam’s back as he climbs into bed.
“That boy is amazing. He’s so eager to learn,” he says.
“He loves learning from you. You’re everything he ever needed.”
Adam grins, turning his head to kiss my temple. “Don’t sell yourself short. The odds were stacked against you, but you did such an incredible job with him.
I suck my bottom lip through my teeth and lean against his arm. “Let’s hope next time it’s less of a challenge.”
He pushes me down onto my back against the bed, and I squeal with laughter. I melt as his lips linger on mine, as always.
“Next time?” he asks, his breath hot on my neck. “We haven’t talked seriously about this yet. Do you want there to be a next time?”
As he raises his head, I gaze into those dark eyes of his. “It’s not a matter of want. It’s a bit late for that.”
Adam’s eyebrows rise. “Late?”
“We’ll get a chance to see how it goes in maybe eight months?” I can’t help the grin spreading across my face. This time he’ll be by my side from start to finish. No misunderstandings, nothing to come between us.
His eyes are so full of love and excitement. We have our family, the business, and now this.
It’s scary, but I’ve never been happier.
Nothing and no one will ever keep us apart.
We’re all home.
DID YOU KNOW?
I also write as Ariadne Wayne.
Claim your free copy of In an Instant and Three Days by joining my mailing list by clicking here.
Book one of the Friends series is Loving Rowan. Available free at participating retailers. Click here for the list.
Book one of the Lifetime Series is In a Lifetime. Available free at participating retailers. Click here for the list.
Also by Wendy Smith
Writing as Wendy Smith
Coming 2016 Coming Home
Writing as Ariadne Wayne
The Friends Series
Loving Rowan
Three Days
Something Real
The Right One
Unexpected
Chances Series
Another Chance
Taking Chances
Lifetime Series
In a Lifetime
In an Instant
In a Heartbeat
Coming 2017 In the End
Lifetime novella series
Coming 2017 At the Start
Coming 2017 In the Middle
Coming 2017 At the Finish
About the Author
Wendy Smith published as Ariadne Wayne for three years before deciding she didn’t want to be someone else all the time. Heavily influenced by stories in the media, she decided to try something new, and the Copper Creek series was born. With lots of love and a touch of darkness, her stories will twist their way into your heart.
Find me online
@wendlesnz
wendysmithauthor
www.authorwendysmith.com
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