‘Oh?’ she squeaked as the breath hitched in her throat.
‘Yes.’ His hands slid down her arms, claiming her hands in his. Delicious shivers scuttled down her spine. ‘This last week felt like years without your cheery voice at the end of the phone or your smile or violin playing at the end of each day.’
Tears leaked from the corner of her eyes at his confession.
Nigel stooped his head and kissed one as it fell. ‘What do you say?’ he asked. ‘Will you forgive me for overreacting? I want you to come back to London and make me the happiest man alive.’
That sounded almost too good to be true, but … ‘Me forgive you?’ Had he forgotten what she’d done?
As if reading her mind, he said, ‘I’m still upset about what happened, but I know you are as well and I want to put all that behind us. I’ve been a mess since we split. I can’t think straight at work because all I’m thinking about is you and your damn violin. You don’t know how many times I’ve listened to that CD you sent me.’
She’d been biting her lip since he started talking but she finally allowed herself a smile.
But he frowned slightly. ‘Unless—’ his Adam’s apple moved slowly up and down as he swallowed ‘—you haven’t missed me?’
‘What?’ Panic struck. She shook her head. ‘I’ve never missed anyone or anything so much in my life. I just can’t believe you’re willing to take me back. This is—’
‘Crazy. You make me crazy, Abigail, and I don’t want anything to come between us ever again.’ And then he dipped his head and kissed her. Her eyes closed and ripples of pleasure flowed through her. He tasted of coffee, with the tiniest hint of salt from her teardrop. Nothing had ever tasted this good. His hands cradled her face as he deepened the kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and held him close. This was real.
She felt like a junkie, finally getting a fix after too long without, yet as much as her body begged her to take this further, she remembered they were standing in the lounge room with her big sister only a few feet away. Summoning every bit of willpower she possessed, Abigail pulled back but kept one arm wrapped around Nigel, unwilling to let him go.
She turned to introduce him to Madeleine, but Madeleine wasn’t there.
‘I guess she decided to give us some privacy,’ Nigel said, stroking her hair back from her face and kissing her cheek.
Abigail grinned up at him. ‘Unfortunately there’s not that much of that around here at the moment. The motel is fully booked and the rooms in the house belong to Dad, Charlie and Lucinda.’
‘Bugger. I suppose it’d be stupid to ask if there’s another hotel or something in town?’
She snorted.
‘Never mind.’ He chuckled as he drew her into his arms again. ‘Luckily, we’ve got the rest of our lives for violin playing.’
Chapter Forty-seven
Charlie couldn’t wipe the smile off her face as she settled into the passenger seat of Mitch’s ute. He looked over and grinned at her, his face brimming with all the emotions that were zapping through her body. Surprise. Excitement. Happiness. Contentment. There weren’t enough words in the thesaurus to describe how she felt.
Sure, getting pregnant hadn’t been on their agenda—not quite so soon anyway—but now that she knew she was carrying his baby, she couldn’t think of anything she wanted more. It felt unbelievably right.
‘We’ll go see Dad and then while we’re in Port Augusta we should pop in and tell your Aunt Mags in person too.’ Mitch put his hand on her thigh and squeezed lightly. ‘Don’t want her hearing the news second-hand or she’ll never forgive us.’
‘Good idea.’ She put her hand on top of his, wondering if she’d ever get sick of his touch. ‘Mags always gave me the impression she didn’t want to believe in the curse but that she couldn’t help it.’
Mitch chuckled. ‘That damn curse. Who’d have thought we’d be the ones to prove it wrong without even trying to?’
‘I know.’ Charlie sighed. ‘And I know it’s wrong, but I can’t help feeling a little smug about that. I feel bad for Lucinda and hope she means it when she says she’s okay, but I’ve always been the not-quite sister. Not quite as smart, not quite as talented, not quite as beautiful as them and—’
‘Not in my eyes you weren’t,’ he interrupted, his tone fierce.
She licked her lips and smiled despite the lump that appeared in her throat. ‘Thank you, but it was hard growing up alongside Madeleine and Abigail, who got top marks at everything they tried. Lucinda wasn’t far behind and she was so much more organised than I could ever hope to be. I can’t help feeling like the black sheep sometimes.’
‘Don’t you know how amazing you are? You’re the sexiest woman alive. You’re funny and courageous and giving, and when you decide to do something, you put your whole heart and soul into it. You might not have a certificate with letters behind your name, but neither do I, and you still love me, right?’
She nodded. ‘More than you’ll ever know.’
‘Well then, it’s time to forget this nonsense about your sisters being better than you. You’re not the black sheep of the family, you’re the shining star. Don’t get me wrong, I think your sisters are great, but none of them have anything on you.’
‘If you weren’t driving right now, I’d climb onto your lap and show you exactly how much you mean to me.’
Mitch made a choking noise and swerved the ute a little. ‘Don’t tempt me. I could pull over anytime. You just say the word.’
She laughed. ‘And get us arrested for indecent behaviour? We’re going to be parents, Mitchell. We need to grow up. Be responsible.’
‘I have to grow up?’ He groaned.
Still laughing, she said, ‘Oh my God, can you believe this? We’re having a baby. We’re going to be parents.’ They hadn’t had much time to digest the news after finding out because Charlie had wanted to go and catch her sisters before they stormed Wacky Wanda’s. She suddenly realised she hadn’t asked them about that. Oh well, whatever had happened, it was good to be able to put an end to the curse business once and for all.
Mitch chuckled. ‘Looks that way. What are we going to call it?’
‘Oh. I don’t know.’ Choosing a name was such a massive responsibility. She wanted something unique, something that meant something. ‘Have you got any thoughts?’
‘Yeah, I was thinking we should choose something traditional, in honour of your mum. She seemed to like all the old names. You know—Madeleine, Lucinda, Charlotte, Abigail. Or, if it’s a girl, maybe we could call it Annette.’
Charlie couldn’t speak. And dammit, she was crying again. Maybe it was pregnancy hormones making things worse but the thought of Mum never seeing their baby cast a shadow over her joy.
‘Aw, I’m sorry.’ Mitch did pull over to the side of the road now and he reached out and enveloped her in his lovely strong arms. ‘I didn’t mean to make you cry. I just thought—’
‘It’s a lovely idea,’ Charlie managed through sobs. ‘The best. I just wish she was still here to hear our news, to meet our baby, to be a grandma. She’d have made such a wonderful grandma.’
‘I know she would have. And we’ll tell the kid lots about her, make sure she’s not forgotten.’
‘Thank you.’ Charlie sniffed, wiped her eyes and then kissed him firmly on the lips. ‘Now, let’s go tell your dad.’
‘You sure you’re okay?’
She nodded. ‘Better than okay.’
Mitch pulled out onto the road again and Charlie said, ‘What about if we have a boy?’
They put in the rest of the journey discussing other names, arguing and laughing over the outrageous suggestions they came up with. They weren’t any closer to a decision by the time they arrived at the care facility where Rick McDonald lived but they’d ruled out a fair few.
‘Thank God we have nine months to choose,’ Charlie said as they walked up the path hand in hand.
‘Yes,’ Mitch agreed. ‘Do you want to find out the sex?
’
‘Geez … I don’t know. Let’s talk about that on the way back home.’
Rick was sitting in his recliner by the window in his bedroom, looking out onto the nursing home’s pretty courtyard garden and drinking tea from a plastic sipper cup when they arrived.
‘Hey Dad,’ Mitch said, striding across the room towards him.
Charlie followed and Rick looked a little confused as he glanced between them. ‘This is a nice surprise. To what do I owe the visit?’
Mitch sat on his dad’s bed and patted the space on the mattress beside him, indicating Charlie should do the same.
‘How are you feeling today?’ Mitch asked.
Rick shrugged as he put his plastic cup down on the small table beside him. His hands shook slightly as he did so and a pained expression crossed Mitch’s face. Charlie could tell he wanted to help but also didn’t want to make his dad feel any more useless than he already did. Her heart ached for both of them.
‘All the better for seeing you two.’ He glanced to Charlie. ‘How’s things at the motel?’
‘They’re good, thanks,’ she said, wanting this small talk to be over.
‘They’re better than good,’ Mitch said with a chuckle. Then he took hold of her hand.
A flicker of something like disapproval flashed across Rick’s face and Charlie’s stomach clenched in confused anxiety.
Mitch continued, oblivious. ‘And that’s because we have some news.’ He met Charlie’s eyes and grinned, before looking back to his dad. ‘Charlie and I are going to have a baby.’
Rick’s mouth dropped open, but no words came out. You could have heard a pin drop.
Charlie’s gut churned. Mitch might think her the sexiest woman alive but maybe Rick thought he could do better. This wasn’t the reaction they’d been hoping for.
‘Dad?’ Mitch asked, his tone apprehensive. ‘Are you going to say something? We hoped you’d be over the moon about being a granddad.’
‘I … I … I …’ Rick appeared to have developed a stutter and Charlie didn’t think it had anything to do with his illness. ‘I thought you were just good friends?’
‘Charlie’s my best friend, Dad.’ Mitch squeezed her hand. ‘And we’ve finally realised what that means. I’ve never been happier in my life.’
But Rick didn’t look happy. He looked like he was about to be sick. Charlie wondered if she should call a nurse.
‘Dad? What’s going on?’ Mitch let go of her hand, got off the bed and dropped to his knees beside Rick. ‘Are you okay?’
Rick slowly shook his head and the solemn expression on his face set Charlie’s heart racing. What the heck was going on? He didn’t dislike her that much did he?
‘I’m sorry.’ He looked to Mitch, his eyes brimming with tears. It was disconcerting to see Mitch’s father cry; Charlie could only remember her own Dad crying at Mum’s funeral.
‘What is it?’ Mitch put his hand on Rick’s shoulder. ‘Dad?’
‘I’m sorry.’ Rick closed his eyes a moment and then opened them again, looking sadly at Charlie and then back to Mitch. ‘We should have said something years ago but then Charlie moved to Melbourne and we didn’t think it was going to be a problem.’
‘Think what was going to be a problem?’ There was an edge to Mitch’s voice Charlie had never heard before.
‘It’s not something I’m proud of,’ Rick began, and then the alarm bells started ringing in Charlie’s head.
‘Annette was Theresa’s best mate, but there was always something between us.’
Mitch frowned. He asked what Charlie also wanted to know. ‘Between who?’
Rick looked up at her. ‘Between Annette and me. We went out a couple of times before Brian whisked her off her feet and I guess I never really stopped loving her. Theresa always suspected it, and although I tried to put aside my feelings and be a good husband, I never quite managed. I tried to stay away but there was one night—Brian was out of town and I went for a drink at the motel. Annette was feeling flat, she confessed that since she’d had the two girls she sometimes wondered if Brian was still attracted to her. Somehow I got set to show her how damn attractive she was. Things got out of hand and—’ he put his head in his hands ‘—we slept together.’
No! The air whooshed from Charlie’s lungs. He had to be making it up.
‘It’s not true. You’re lying. Mum would never have cheated on Dad,’ Charlie all but spat at Rick. Her body shook. It was ridiculous. It didn’t compute. They’d had the perfect marriage.
Mitch swore but somehow he sounded far away. ‘What are you saying, Dad? When was this?’
‘It was twenty-nine years ago,’ Rick confessed. ‘Therese was pregnant with you, Mitch, and threatening to leave me—take Macca and never let me see either of you. You know what she was like. Both Annette and I were feeling low and we … It was a mistake. It doesn’t mean she didn’t love Brian. Lord knows she did.’
Charlie squeezed her lips together. She’d heard enough. There was no excuse for infidelity.
‘I don’t need to hear excuses,’ Mitch growled. ‘Are you telling us … Charlie might be yours?’
Tingles prickled her skin at Mitch’s choked words and they weren’t the good kind.
Rick nodded. ‘I promise, it only happened once. We both regretted it immediately. It was a mistake. We didn’t want to hurt Brian or Theresa, but yes, we always knew there was a possibility, a very tiny one, that I was Charlie’s biological father.’
Charlie snapped. ‘You never thought to find out?’
Mitch glared at her. ‘Charlie, calm down.’ And then he turned back to Rick. ‘Seriously, Dad, you never checked?’
‘Don’t tell me to calm down!’ Charlie leapt off the bed and started pacing the room, her hands tearing through her hair. This was … this was … this was wrong, on so many levels.
‘We decided not to,’ she heard Rick say. ‘If it was the case—if Charlie was my daughter—it would have destroyed your father, and Therese. And neither of us wanted to do that. We were just good friends who overstepped the boundaries. Just once.’
Mitch didn’t say anything but the colour had bled from his face.
‘Maybe we were wrong, but I convinced myself that the chances of you being my daughter were very slim. I still think they are but—’
‘Maybe? What is wrong with people?’ Charlie turned on Rick, cutting off whatever he’d been about to say, but then a thought struck and she froze. ‘Hang on. What about blood types? Mum was O and Dad is A. I know because at one stage in high school Madeleine was obsessed with genetics and made all of us learn the basics. Anyway, I’m an A, so—’
‘I’m an A too, Charlie,’ Rick said gravely. ‘You could be mine or Brian’s.’
As his devastating words sunk in, Charlie stared at Rick, scrutinising him for clues. Any part of him that might resemble her. But while she couldn’t see herself in his eyes or anything like that, a sinking feeling settled in her gut. This made terrifying, heartbreaking sense.
Was this why she’d always felt like the odd one out amongst her sisters? Why they all had light coloured hair like their parents and she was a brunette? Like Rick McDonald. Was this why she and Mitch got along so well? Until recently, she’d always joked that he was like a brother to her … Maybe that wasn’t so funny. Rick warning her off at the St Patrick’s Day party suddenly made sickening sense.
Feeling as if she might vomit up the contents of her breakfast, she placed her hand on her stomach but it offered none of the comfort it had only an hour ago.
Angry tears welled in her eyes.
And if she wasn’t really a Patterson, maybe the damn curse did exist. So much for her being the family saviour. It looked like she might be the one to tear it apart. What would this do to her dad? Or rather to Brian—who knew if he was anything more to her than the fool who’d brought up another man’s child? She squeezed her eyes shut, her heart feeling ripped in two at the thought of how he would feel when he found out about
this.
Even if he wasn’t her biological father, she loved him and couldn’t stand to be the one to break his heart.
‘Charlie.’ She felt Mitch’s hand on her arm, but she flung it off, not willing to allow herself to seek comfort from him.
‘What?’ She glared at him, knowing this wasn’t his fault but unable to help herself.
‘We should take some time to calm down and then work out if we want to do anything about this.’
‘If?! Are you suggesting we just continue on as we were? Pretending life is fine and dandy and I might not be having a baby with—’
‘No.’ He shook his head, angrily ran a hand through his thick mop of scruffy dark hair. ‘Fuck, I didn’t mean that. I just meant we can’t think straight right now, we need time.’
‘Mitchell, I’m not going to be able to think straight until we know the truth. And we don’t have much time. If this baby is …’ She gestured to her still-flat stomach. ‘If we are, you know, I can’t have it.’
Mitch’s face fell and his shoulders slumped. He looked utterly broken, as if someone had just thrown a bomb into his world. Half of her wanted to take him in her arms and kiss him, to tell him everything was going to be fine, but she couldn’t … because maybe it wasn’t going to be.
‘Is everything okay in here?’
Charlie and Mitch spun to face the door to see one of the nurses standing in the doorway. She wore a crease-free white uniform and her hair was tied back in a high, neat ponytail. She raised an immaculately preened eyebrow as if annoyed they were disturbing her perfect world.
‘Fine,’ Mitch barked. ‘We’ll be going soon.’
‘Good. I don’t want Mr McDonald getting overtired.’ She smiled, but it felt like a warning as she turned on her heels and marched back out.
No one said anything until the sounds of her shoes click-clacking along the corridor faded. Then, Rick spoke again. ‘I’m sorry. I can’t change the past. God knows I would if I could. But what’s done is done. The question is, what are we going to do about it?’
The Patterson Girls Page 41