“I miss you too, boo,” I replied.
“Me three,” David announced. “This here bestie of yours is a little lost without you,” he said, beckoning me to sit with him. “So by default I miss you too.” He placed a reassuring arm on my shoulder to comfort me.
Shania managed to laugh in response. “You only miss me ‘cause you have no buffer now.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he joked. “No, seriously. Maybe we are due for a visit?” he asked, turning to me.
I nodded in agreement, though how we would manage a visit, I didn’t know. Shania had no idea Daniel was still alive. Jonah most likely did. Maybe we were due for a visit. Then I thought of Daniel, and how he’d be alone in Tasmania. He could always stay here while we were gone, I thought. Now that he was back, I worried about him leaving again.
Squeezing my hand lightly to get me out of my thoughts, David said, “Shania, tell your man I’ll be talking to him. And we’ll be seeing you in a matter of weeks.”
We said our goodbyes and ended the call. As I turned to put the phone back in its unit on the wall, I noticed Daniel standing there, leaning against the wall. “So, you’d rather go to Texas than Switzerland, ey?”
David looked at me, confused. I hadn’t told him yet. “Switzerland?”
“Yep, Switzerland,” Daniel confirmed.
“What’s this about?” David asked.
“Take a lucky guess mate. Don’t act like you don’t know what this is about. Goin’ back to Texas now isn’t a smart move,” Daniel said sharply. “Y’all need to get to Switzerland, not Texas.”
“You know, there’s a relatively painless way out of this,” David mentioned.
“Relative is the operative word. Enlighten me,” Daniel challenged.
“Declan. You forgive him, apologise to him for what you’ve done, and he’ll forgive you and drop all the charges against you,” David suggested.
Daniel shook his head in response. “Are you for real? Oh man, he’s got you wrapped around his finger.”
David frowned slightly at the suggestion.
“After everything Daddy Dearest done did to you, to them, to us, you’re on his side?” he asked, enraged. “Man, I never pictured you for such a wuss.”
David let him have his piece. Daniel went on about Declan, his deeds and misdeeds. “The moment he found out I was on to him, he offered to pay me to go away. He offered to pay those women and girls to go away. Bad to the bone he is, and you’re sitting here asking me to make peace with him? If I had to do it all over again, I would’ve shot him cold and dead. He doesn’t deserve to live.”
A chill ran down my spine as I heard Daniel talk about ending life as though it were not a thing.
“So, you’re judge and executioner now, are you? Have you thought for one moment about redemption, and how it’s not up to you to determine the punishment?” David asked.
“Redemption? Ha!” Daniel scoffed. “I’m here worried about serving time for retaliating against him, while you’re here defending him, saying he’s redeemed, yet I see him walking free, I see him doing everything but act remorseful for what he done did in the past. He’s the type of man who’s sorry he got caught,” Daniel alleged.
“No one’s perfect,” David said in response. “I understand your need for vengeance but that won’t make things better.”
Daniel laughed nervously, looking at me now. “Is he for real?” he questioned.
I shrugged in response. “He has a point.”
“So do I!” Daniel insisted. “I can forgive a lot of things. But the things he did, I just can’t. I can’t bear the fact that I’m related to him. That he’s my father. Our father.”
“So, you’d rather do time than do as David’s suggesting, and get him to drop charges?” I asked.
“I’d be doing time for a greater cause. I’m not bailing out on this here mission just because he’s my father. In fact, because he is my father, I will not back down.”
“Well, no one asked you to be a martyr,” David said.
“No greater love,” Daniel stated. “Isn’t that what the Brotherhood stands for?” he asked. “Oh, no, wait. You don’t care about the Brotherhood any more. You’re too busy livin’ it up as a Rock Star Minister,” Daniel claimed, clearly resentful.
“Okay, guys, you need to stop. You’re not doing this right now. Cool off, and come back and talk,” I told them.
“I’m not changing my mind over this,” Daniel said, turning to go.
“You’re setting yourself up for a lot of hurtin’ then,” David replied. “It isn’t just you that you need to consider. You need to consider your family.”
“My family?” Daniel retorted angrily. “You mean the family you now have? The family I let you have?”
“Your family.” David replied calmly. “My family.”
Daniel closed the kitchen door behind him. “He tried to kill you, you know? As if it wasn’t enough to attempt to do it the first time, he had to go and do it again,” he claimed.
“You’re not making any sense Daniel,” David replied.
“That truck, heading directly towards you, you think it was a coincidence? You, feeling out of sorts in the lead up to the accident, you think that was a coincidence? The kids talking about the nice man at school who gave them sweeties, you think that was a coincidence?”
“What nice man at school,” David asked, absently. Stunned, I dropped the plate that I was carrying. Declan. He’d been to the school. He’d talked to the kids without us being there. Daniel quickly rushed to my aid.
“That can’t be true,” David said, clearly unnerved.
“Well it is,” Daniel said. “Want to know what else is true? Jonah, Craig, Duayne and Scottie, we’re all brothers.”
David sat down again, this time head in his hands. “Why are you telling me this now? Couldn’t you have told me the moment you found out?” he asked.
“I dare say Craig’s known all along,” Daniel intimated. “He could’ve told you at any time. And, by the way, Claudette’s our baby sister,” he added. I watched David’s expression change from disbelief to shock.
“This is too much to take in all at once,” David said, nervously stroking his chin which was peppered lightly with a day’s stubble.
“Mate,” Daniel said in an Aussie accent that was becoming oddly convincing and natural to him. “The sooner you can build a bridge and get over yourself and him, the better.”
“This changes everything,” David said, ignoring Daniel’s comment.
“Damn straight it does!” Daniel stated.
Rising to his feet with anger visibly surging within him, David exclaimed, “What the fuck is he doing at our kids’ school when he was told to stay away!”
Raising a brow slightly at the sudden profanity, Daniel replied, “Your guess is as good as mine, brother.”
“And what on God’s green earth was he thinking when he decided to bed every woman he could?” David questioned.
“Probably fixin’ to populate God’s green earth!” Daniel said in jest. “But hey, look at the silver lining. Our mates are really our brothers. And sister.”
“He best be staying away from our kids,” David said.
“This is outrageous,” I interjected, putting the bigger pieces of glass straight in the bin. Daniel reached for the dustpan to sweep up the smaller pieces. “He can’t be turning up at the school, tryin’ to get access to our kids…what are we going to do about this - this can’t happen again.”
“It won’t,” Daniel replied. “Not on my watch.”
“I want in on this,” David stated. “I want in on whatever you’ve got planned to set him straight.”
“Good,” Daniel said, managing a sly smile.
“Whatever you’ve got planned, I can’t lose either of you,” I insisted.
“I can tell you now baby girl, you won’t lose him. I’ll make sure of it,” Daniel promised. “As for me, well, I’m the one on the run. I’m the one who
’s a wanted man. I’ll do my best to be here for you. Might be tricky to do that being behind bars, but the best guarantee I can give you is my love, protection and devotion. I’m doing this all for the love of you. I’ll do anything and everything I can to protect you.” Pausing for a moment, hand on his heart, he added, “God as my witness, I’ll make the ultimate sacrifice and give my life up for you and the kids. I hope you know that, Temwani. I truly hope you do.”
I stood there, staring into the eyes of the man who loved me so much. The man whose love I paid no mind to when we were together all those years ago.
I stood there pondering the depth of his love before David interjected, “Daniel, you’ve given up so much already. Hopefully you won’t have to make that sacrifice,” he said coolly.
Despite what he’d said a day earlier about knowing where we stood, I knew it made him feel ill at ease to be witness to Daniel’s repeated declarations of love and reminders of days in love gone by.
A warm breeze swept through that afternoon. “Storm on the way,” I mentioned to Daniel, who was busying himself with the kids, finger-painting. They’d been on the swings earlier, then the bikes. I could tell they’d be tuckered out relatively quickly, and naptime might arrive earlier than expected.
He nodded in response. “At least I’ll be inside this time,” he said, making reference to the times he’d had to weather the storm in all its elements, outside.
After a hearty lunch which comprised of chicken kebobs, salad and spiced crinkle chips, Daniel put on a movie for the children to distract them while we talked out on the front porch. The children remained within earshot.
“Thank you for lunch, it filled a hole,” he stated. “How are you feeling today? Any morning sickness?” he asked.
“Fortunately, no. A bit in the beginning, but nothing now.” It seemed strange talking to him about the children I was having with someone else. Had he not left, we would have been talking about his children. Our children. He’d always wanted to have a “tribe” as he put it.
“Any idea what you’re having?” he asked.
“David wants it to be a surprise, but you know me, I had to find out as soon as I could,” I replied. “Please don’t tell him,” I begged. “We’re having two boys,” I revealed.
He dropped his gaze for a moment before turning back to me and saying, “Well, isn’t that ironic. Congratulations!” he said with enough enthusiasm to convince me he was happy for me. “May I?” he asked, placing his hand on my belly as though it were a good luck charm of sorts. “Genie oh genie, grant me my three wishes,” he joked.
I slapped his hand off in jest, and he laughed in response.
“Daniel, you’re a trip,” I said.
“I’m starved for compliments these days, so I’ll take that as one,” he said, placing his hand back on my belly. “It feels like it was just yesterday we were here, expecting our babies. But what with all the drama I caused, you weren’t able to fully enjoy your pregnancy,” he said. “I’m sorry for all that,” he apologized.
“It’s in the past, you’re forgiven,” I told him.
Out of the blue, he asked, “Does he give you a good foot rub the way I used to?”
I stopped for a moment and recalled us as we were, when I was pregnant with Adalia and Josiah. “No, I don’t let him,” I advised. “Reminds me of you,” I added. “Anything that reminds me of you is off limits for him,” I said, slightly feeling sorry for David. Not many things were not off limit.
“I see,” he said. He examined his hands, which were rough, slightly calloused and weather worn. “Can I give you a foot rub? Just for old time’s sake?” he asked. “Ignore how my hands look,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I’ve still got that tender touch that you loved so much.”
I opened my mouth to protest but he was already on his knees. I felt my heart soar when he gently held my feet, rotated my ankles clockwise and anticlockwise, before taking my right foot in his hands and walking his fingers over the sole of my foot.
“I don’t want to violate you,” he said, pausing momentarily. “I don’t want to do anything untoward, bearing in mind the fact that I’m no longer your man. We can’t go back to the past, but I sure wish we could,” he confessed. “I may not be your man any longer, but you’ll always be my lady. You’ll always be my woman,” he declared.
I sat there in silence, searching for the right words to say. I wish you’d never left, I wanted to say, but I couldn’t. My obligation was to David now, and there was no room for looking back into the past.
“Talk to me,” he urged. “Sugarpie,” he said, pulling at my heart strings. “Talk to me.”
Tears threatened to fall, but I held them back when I heard the pitter patter of small feet making their way out towards us. Josiah. He was probably hungry and after a snack.
Somewhat surprisingly, he walked towards Daniel instead of me. “Can you come inside and watch with us?” he asked, sneaking a smile my way, and bounding over towards me to plant a kiss on my cheek. That done, he asked again of Daniel, “Can you?”
Without hesitation, Daniel got up and replied, “I sure can.” He gave me a tender squeeze on the shoulder before walking into the house with Josiah. I worried about the bond they were forming, and of how Josiah would cope when Daniel eventually had to leave.
We were still on the front porch enjoying our Sunday afternoon when the arrest happened. A crew of police officers appeared at our doorstep and asked to see Daniel. We all knew it would happen, it was just a matter of when. Storm howled wildly in the background, slamming himself against the screen door in an attempt to get to us. “Settle boy, settle,” Daniel said in a firm but reassuring tone, standing up to face the policemen. Storm continued to howl, albeit, lower.
“Daniel Josiah Brennan, you’re under arrest for the attempted murder of Declan Cooper, for the murder of Logan Archer, and for conspiracy to defraud the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of Texas in the United States of America. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to a lawyer. Should you not have one, a legal aid lawyer will be appointed to you.”
“Just give me a chance to say goodbye to my kids. Please,” Daniel begged, in a tone that was submissive and so unlike him. The officer in charge nodded his head in approval with the precursor, “Make it quick, mate.” A younger looking officer followed Daniel and I in, so as to keep Daniel in his sight.
The kids were asleep on the couch. Daniel knelt down and gave them each a kiss on the cheek. I should have seen the next part coming, but I didn’t. Standing up to face the police, he tipped his hat to me then took it off his head. “Take care of our family,” he said, placing his hat on my head. I couldn’t stop myself from crying. Gently cupping my chin in his hand, and wiping away a teardrop, he leaned forward and into me for a deep and imploring kiss.
“Hands up where we can see them mate,” one of the officers called out.
His breath and my breath one, I didn’t push him away when I should have. Instead, I stood there and let him savour me, in a brief moment that felt like forever. “Mmmm,” he murmured before bringing our kiss to an end. Unabashed, he held my gaze. “Tell David I’m sorry,” he said. “For the kiss, and for still loving you. You and our babies, it’s all I’ve got now.”
“A few steps forward mate, hands above your head,” the same officer commanded.
Daniel did as was requested and walked towards them.
Making a quick turn back to me, he winked. “No greater love, baby. I’ll be seeing you,” he said, before confidently strutting up to the closest officer, hands above his head. He was cuffed instantly and read his rights again. I watched in slow motion as he was led out through the front door, silently, without words. He turned to look at me again, this time a little less confident than he’d appeared a moment ago, and mouthed, “I love you,” before being roughly shoved into the back of the police paddy wagon.
I stood at the front d
oor in tears as he was driven off. Hands shaking, I sat at the doorstep, not wanting to wake the children up as I cried. David pulled up not long after. He knew from the look on my face that Daniel had been picked up. He held me for a while, in silence, before asking where Daniel had been taken. “The Watch House at Lenah Vale,” I replied, in between tears. Lenah Vale was also home to the only maximum security prison in the Greater Hobart and Southeastern Tasmania region.
“Okay, David said, thinking on his feet. “He hasn’t formally been charged yet, surely there’s a chance he’ll be allowed out on bail?”
“Attempted murder and murder? Chances of that are pretty slim. The fact that he’s been on the run indicates that he’s a huge flight risk. It won’t happen,” I told him.
“I’ll call Craig,” he said immediately. “He’ll know what to do,” he said. Craig was the last person I wanted to talk to or hear from, but David was right, he’d know what to do. “I’ll call Allistair as well,” he promised. Allistair McQueen was a high flying criminal barrister, well known within local circles for his work with clients facing life sentences. “I’ll also go and see him at the Watch House. You get some rest and together we’ll work on getting him out of this mess,” he promised, planting a kiss on my lips. For a moment, my mind flitted off to the memory of the kiss between Daniel and I. For a moment. I had to tell David sometime. Just not now.
“I know what he’s like,” David said intuitively, interrupting me mid thought. “I knew he couldn’t resist,” he said, gesturing at the camera overhead which I’d completely forgotten about. “I’m with you now, and that’s all that matters,” he said, slipping Daniel’s cowboy hat off my head. “Let’s go inside,” he urged, protectively ushering me in.
“David, I didn’t mean for it to happen…” I started explaining, wanting to apologize.
“Shhh,” he said, silencing me with a kiss. “Already forgiven,” he declared. “I know what I mean to you, and I know what he means to you. Most importantly, I know where I stand with you,” he confirmed. “Water under the bridge. Let’s not dwell on it. I’m with you now, he’s not. He can try to stake a claim on you now, but he won’t win, not while I’m here loving you, not while we’re having children of our own,” he promised, placing a tender hand on my belly. Our babies fluttered within ever so lightly.
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