“Yeah?”
“Whether you’re right or not, whatever this love thing is or isn’t, I can’t figure it out right now. All I know is that this is deeply scary and I’m staying out here and I want your arm around me. Please. We can sort everything else out…afterward. Is that okay?”
“It’s fine by me,” he said, and tugged her to him and held her close.
SHE SLEPT.
She didn’t mean to, but Joe leaned back against the rock face, she rested on his shoulder, he held her close and she sort of slipped down so her head was on his knees.
He ran his fingers through her curls, gently disentangling twigs and then raking her curls over and over as if she were a child who needed comfort.
He was watching out over the clearing. The children were soundly asleep behind them. She figured she should be watching out over the clearing, too—she was!—but the feel of his fingers in her hair was doing strange things to her. Weird, lovely sensations that made her feel…made her feel…safe and cherished. Home.
Which was a really dumb sensation. She was as out of her comfort zone as she was ever likely to get. Somewhere out there in the night was Connor with a gun. She was as far away from her home as she was likely ever to be. But she felt herself melting into the sensations he was creating. She felt herself sliding….
SHE WOKE, startled by a sudden rush of movement. Joe jerked sideways. Her eyes flew open, adrenaline surging back.
“It’s okay,” he whispered, and pointed outward.
Their sentinel had turned into eight sentinels. Eight wallabies. There was a veritable army between them and danger.
One was staring back into the cleft in what looked like indignation.
“He stuck his nose in here,” Joe said. “I gave him a helluva fright. He jumped about two feet, and hit me with his tail as he did a one-eighty turn.”
She smiled, fear dissipating. Safer and safer.
“What time is it?”
“Just after five. An hour ’til dawn.”
She’d slept so long? “Joe, I’m so sorry. I should have stayed awake.”
“It was all my pleasure,” he said in that deep gravelly voice that said he spoke the absolute truth.
“You…you think…”
“I’m not thinking anything.”
“Hey,” she said, and wriggled in his arms so she could smile up at him. “Hey, it’s Christmas. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas yourself,” he said, and kissed her lightly on the nose, then went back to looking out past the wallabies.
He’d been watching all night as she slept.
He was still holding her, lightly, not possessively. If she wanted to move away, he’d release her in a moment.
She thought back to the night she arrived. He’d wanted her. She knew that.
But he’d backed off. He hadn’t pushed her.
He’d told her he loved her.
Until this moment the enormity of what he’d said hadn’t sunk in. She was too caught up in present terror and past tragedy. But it hit her now, not as a flash of knowledge, something cerebral, but as a sweeping tide of warmth that started somewhere deep within and grew and grew until it threatened to overwhelm her.
It was Christmas morning and this man had given her his love. Just like that. If she didn’t want it, he wouldn’t push it further. He was asking for nothing.
He was simply giving her his love.
There were complications. The Molly who’d been trained to stay impersonal, who’d been independent forever, who’d lost her baby, was screaming at her now. What sort of love could this be? Joe lives in Australia. He has three kids. He’s been a foster kid; he’ll know more than you do how to keep himself to himself.
But he wasn’t keeping himself to himself now. He was calmly watching the clearing, keeping himself in harm’s way while he protected those he loved.
Including her. His love included her. It was like a song, insidious in its sweetness. That this man might be her family…
And the knowledge was suddenly overwhelming, shoving aside all doubts. This was a risk worth taking. It was a leap into the unknown, but what a leap…
He glanced down at her, vaguely questioning. Concerned. “Hey, don’t look like that,” he said. “It was only a kiss on the nose.”
“So it was,” she whispered. “It wasn’t enough.”
His face stilled. “It wasn’t…”
“Enough. Do you realize you’ve given me your love for Christmas morning?”
“I’m not sure that you want it.”
“I wasn’t sure that I did, either,” she said, lifting her hand and running her fingers across the stubble of his chin. “It was all pretty much a blur last night.”
“Yeah. It was inappropriate….”
“See, I’ve just been thinking,” she whispered. “Is it ever inappropriate to tell someone you love them?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t know the rules.”
“Neither do I,” she said, and summoned a smile. It was time to be brave here. It was time to take her leap. “But I do know a couple of rules. And the biggie right here is that it’s Christmas morning and you’ve given me a gift and I need to give you something back.”
“I haven’t…”
“You don’t think your love is a gift?”
“Only if you want it,” he said gravely, and her heart seemed to turn over. With the first tentative acceptance of self-knowledge. How could she have been so blind? How could she have spent these last days with this man and not realized that he was so far apart from her previous life that he was a different world. A new and wonderful world that she needed to be a part of.
“See, I’ve been lying here and thinking,” she whispered, allowing herself the luxury of running her fingers down the harsh bone structure of his face. “I’m thinking I’ve been a bit of a coward.”
“You’re no coward.”
“Oh, but I am,” she said. “In the love department. But I’m thinking I need to be brave. So I’ve figured I’m starting now. On Christmas morning. I’m not exactly sure how to do it—how to go about this loving business—but if you could help me…”
“I’d love to try,” he said cautiously.
“So what to do about it?”
“I could kiss you,” he said. “Would that be a start?”
“That’d mean no one was watching the clearing.”
“We have eight wallabies watching the clearing.”
“That’s true,” she whispered, and smiled. “That’s very true.”
“So if I kissed you now?”
“Not on the nose.”
“Not?” He frowned. “Is that in the rules?”
“I guess it’s not,” she murmured, and linked her arms around his neck, then tugged his head down until his mouth met hers. “I’m not sure that the rules I’ve been working on are required anymore.”
“Sometimes rules are good. The kids need rules.” He sounded like he barely believed what he was saying.
“Then we’d better get started,” she murmured, but she was hardly audible for already his lips were brushing hers. “We’d better get a whole new rule book written before they wake up.”
THE TENSION WAS still there, but things had changed. By the time the kids woke, Molly couldn’t keep the great goofy smile off her face, and neither could Joe, and as they hugged the kids and wished them merry Christmas they had to fight to remind themselves to keep their voices to a whisper, to remember that there was still a threat.
“We’ve got strawberries and cream and mince pies back in our kitchen,” Zoe said mournfully.
“We’ve got stockings,” Charlie reminded her, and all three kids looked so sad that Joe and Molly felt guilty about smiling.
“Why are you so happy?” Lily asked suspiciously, and Joe thought about all the things he could say, but while he was trying to figure them out, Molly answered for him.
“’Cos I’ve decided to stay in Australia and help look after you lot.�
�
“Really?” Charlie asked.
“Yes.”
“For always?” Zoe asked, awed.
“Yes,” she said before she could think about it, before any of those damned rules that had been getting in the way of her life for so long could raise their ugly heads and shout her down.
“You’re kidding,” Joe said, and she cast him a wounded look.
“Don’t you want me?”
Dumb question. She had a sandwich squeeze from the four of them—which pretty much answered her question.
“But aren’t you a lawyer?” Charlie asked when finally they emerged from their very satisfactory hug. In fact, Joe was hugging her still.
“I guess people need lawyers in Australia.”
“Goody,” Zoe said, moving on. “We need a big house. Can we get a puppy?”
It wasn’t a bad way to start Christmas. And the thought of a potential pup—followed by decisions as to breed and name and collar color—kept them happy while Joe slipped away.
That was a hard call but it had to be made.
“I need to find somewhere I can get phone reception,” he told Molly, and she knew that he did. She also knew that for them all to go would expose them needlessly.
So she hugged him goodbye, and then she kissed him and then she held her breath for almost two hours until he slid back into the cleft to join them.
“Done,” he said. “No problems here?” He hugged her, holding her naturally as if she belonged right there against his heart. And that’s what it felt like. As if she’d slipped into her natural place. Home was where Joe was, from this day forward.
“I’ve been worried sick about you,” he said, and kissed her hair.
She held him tight against her. “And me about you. But you didn’t have to worry. Our wallabies kept us safe. You found reception?”
“I just headed uphill until it worked. Amazingly there’s what looks like a telecommunications tower on the next ridge. As soon as I got over the rise my cell phone kicked in fine. It’s okay, love. The police are on their way.”
“Can we trust…”
“We can trust,” he said. “There’s been all sorts of stuff going down.” He shook his head, still trying to figure things out. “My foster sister, Ellie, is involved. Remember I told you she tried to be friends with Erica? It seems the cop that Connor framed—a guy called Fitzpatrick—tried to talk to her about the connection. That blew apart when Connor came after them. Hell, if she’d contacted me…”
“She didn’t?”
“I don’t do family—remember?”
“That’s right,” she whispered, and smiled. “I forgot.”
He smiled, too, but his smile was a bit crooked as he hugged her tight. “There’s also been drama with your maid of honor, Jean, and your brother, Sam. No, they’re both safe, but they’ve been yelling at the authorities. Someone even said they were on their way here, but no one’s certain. Anyway, the upshot is that there was a tip-off to the Australian police last night that Connor might be in the country. There’s worry he’s targeting the kids. My phone call was put straight through to divisional headquarters in Cairns. We’ll have big guns out to keep us safe.”
“Jean and Sam…” she whispered, trying to figure it out.
“And Ellie,” he said. “And a guy called Fitzpatrick. It seems we have family worrying about us, my love. Family, whether we like it or not.”
She could scarcely take it in. She couldn’t. “So…so we can go back to the house?” she asked, deciding the big picture was too hard and concentrating on the here and now.
“Not yet,” he said ruefully. “We don’t know whether Connor’s still in the forest. We’re only about three hundred yards from the beach. When things are safe, someone’s going to come along here with a megaphone and a password.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope,” he said, and grinned. “Not as high-tech as James Bond but it’ll do. Are the kids hungry?”
The kids had been watching from the sidelines, not understanding but obviously appreciating the fact that Joe was hugging Molly. This, however, reminded them of something that had been occurring to all of them for a while. “Yes!”
“Then we have coconuts,” he said. “I know it’s not quite the same as roast turkey but let’s give it a bash.”
SO CHRISTMAS MORNING was spent splitting coconuts on rocks, telling stories, trying to remember old jokes from Christmas Crackers past, waiting, waiting. The wallabies were resting in the shadows at the edges of the clearing. They were a real comfort, Molly thought as the day wore on. They’d sense strangers before she and Joe could.
The kids were fantastic. Amazing. Wonderful. But by midday their patience was growing thin. There was a limit to how much coconut they could eat. But then…
“Joe!”
Joe’s head jerked up, his eyes widening in shock. It was a stern female voice, the voice of an older woman, booming through an amplifier from the direction of the sea and echoing against the rocks behind them.
What the…
“Joe, if you’re in there, come on out. Joe? Joe, I’m sick of stomping up and down this beach. It’s safe. The police are here. Come out now.”
“Ruby!” To say Joe looked astounded was an understatement.
“Ruby?”
“My ex-foster mother.”
“Oh,” Molly said. Faintly.
“Who the… How the hell did Ruby know I was here?”
“That might have been me,” she admitted.
He shook his head, bewildered. “What—you sent smoke signals?”
“I may just have contacted her a couple of days back.”
“You what?”
“I was worried about you. I knew I was leaving after Christmas. I knew you wouldn’t tell her you were caring for the kids.”
“But how…”
“All I did was call Foster Parents Australia,” she said. “They’re in the phone book. Ruby sounded like just the person you needed. The woman I spoke to wouldn’t give out any information. I knew she wouldn’t. But when I said I was looking for an ex-foster mother called Ruby, ’cos one of her ex-foster kids was in trouble, and I described you she seemed to know exactly who I meant. I gave her a message to pass on to Ruby. Where you were and what was happening.”
“You didn’t,” he muttered, stunned. “You’re planning on me being bossed forever?”
“I was,” she admitted. “I thought someone should do it. But now I’m planning on doing it myself so there’s no need.”
“Joe!” the voice behind the megaphone boomed again and Joe sighed and kissed his bride-to-be and gathered his brood together to leave their hidey-hole.
“Family,” he said, “it seems to be growing.”
“Don’t we need a password?” Molly asked.
“If there’re any villains out there with guns and Ruby’s on the case…heaven help the villains.”
RUBY WAS THERE, but she wasn’t alone. They walked out onto the beach, emerging from the cover of the palms with some trepidation to be met by the sight of half a dozen men in camouflage with serious-looking guns, one little old lady…and one young woman with black-and-silver spiked hair, tatty jeans and a skimpy top, and a really bewildered expression.
The kids took one look and yelled in stunned delight.
“Mandy! Mandy!”
“Hey,” the girl yelled back, and started running up the beach toward them. They met in a muddle of hugs and tears, and Joe stared at them in bewilderment.
“Mandy?” he said faintly.
“She’s the kids’ nanny,” Molly said serenely, tucking her hand in his. “I love it when a plan comes together.”
“My head hurts.”
She grinned. “It was supposed to be my Christmas gift to you all,” she explained. “Before I realized I was staying. I met Mandy last year and I knew she loved the kids. When the kids told me she’d been sacked, I felt dreadful. She’s little more than a kid herself, but she’s lovely. So
I phoned the kids’ grandmother, got the address of the agency Erica used, tracked Mandy down and offered her return flights and a year’s salary. She has no family of her own and has been missing the kids ever since Vincent sacked her. She said she’d try to get here as soon as she could.”
It was too much. He gave up. He hugged her tight and they made their way down the beach to meet…their future.
IT TOOK TEN MINUTES to walk back along the beach to the house and the kids whooped all the way. Even the state of the house when they reached it couldn’t dent their joy.
The place had been ransacked. But searching had obviously taken precedence over prudence, and in their desperation Connor and his allies hadn’t kept a lookout. The police had arrived before they found whatever they were looking for.
Connor and his companions were now in custody, but the kids no longer cared. Their stockings were intact. The refrigerator was still groaning. They had a snack the minute they got back to the house, then they attacked their stockings. Ruby and Mandy cleaned and rebandaged Zoe’s head while Molly and Joe showered, and then all of them settled down to Christmas dinner proper out by the pool. The turkey could be served in the evening—no one was prepared to wait for it to cook—but there was more than enough without it.
Molly was back in her bikini and sarong, serving Christmas pudding, feeling the warmth inside her grow and grow.
For her, too, Connor had faded to insignificance. She didn’t ask what was happening to Connor. As long as he was no longer a threat to the people she loved, she didn’t care about him.
She was sitting inches from Joe. What more could life hold?
There were two detectives at the table, as well—two senior detectives from Cairns who needed to interview the children. But Ruby had put her foot down. Christmas first, interviews second.
“So how did you get here?” It had taken this long for Joe finally to be able to ask. Ruby helped herself to the brandy butter and beamed.
“Easy. I got Molly’s message that you might need me. Yes, I was supposed to be having Christmas at Dolphin Bay but it sounded like you needed me more. Then Ellie contacted me and said she was coming here for Christmas, so that settled it. I rang Ellie just now, by the way. She’ll be here soon. Anyway, I left a note for the rest of my family, and I caught the last plane from New South Wales to Cairns. I got into Cairns and got lucky—I hired the last car in the hire car rank. I was just out of town when I saw Mandy on the side of the road with her thumb in the air. It seems there aren’t any buses on Christmas day so she’d decided to hitch. I couldn’t let a young girl risk hitchhiking so I picked her up and we talked and found we were coming to the same place. We got here and there were police everywhere. And those horrid men were being led away. I was so worried about you, but then the nice policemen said I could come with them on the beach with the megaphone.”
Christmas Getaway Page 23