‘And it’s even neutral,’ Wendy said triumphantly. ‘No sex at all.’
‘Or not in front of the children.’ Shanni’s irrepressible twinkle peeped out, and Nick groaned. Heck, this was his weekend they were talking about. This was stupid. There was no chance he was staying.
And then the door opened and a small face appeared, peering around as if he expected to be knocked back again. Harry was wearing pyjamas a couple of sizes too big for him, his fibreglass cast made them look ungainly and awkward, and his eyes were way too big for his face.
‘My Nick’s here,’ he whispered, unbelieving, and Nick’s heart jerked with pain.
‘You should be in bed, young man,’ Wendy said, crossing to scoop him up in her arms. He held himself rigid, arching back in a pose of rejection that Nick was starting to know.
‘Why is Nick here?’ he whispered.
‘He came to invite you to lunch on Sunday. Would you like to go?’
Harry’s eyes swung to Nick’s. His face said he didn’t believe a word.
‘It’s true,’ Nick said weakly, because there was nothing else to say. ‘Sunday picnic. With Miss McDonald for her grandpa’s birthday.’
‘Shanni,’ said Shanni. ‘You can call me Shanni when we’re not at kindergarten. Would you like to come to the beach with us again, Harry?’
‘Yes.’ It was one simple word-but it was almost like a sigh of relief.
‘Then you have to promise to go straight to sleep, Harry, lad,’ Wendy said sternly. ‘Three more sleeps until Sunday and no protests.’
‘Three more sleeps-and then you’ll come?’ He was looking straight at Nick, his eyes searching for the truth.
‘I…yes.’
‘Would you like to tuck him back into bed?’ Wendy asked gently, and proffered the small body toward Nick
Nick froze.
But they were all looking at him. Wendy. Harry. And Shanni. He was on some sort of fence, he thought. One way was safety-the way he knew. The other-the other was the unknown, and the unknown scared the life out of him.
But still they looked at him, and Harry’s eyes said he expected nothing. Life had slapped him once too often to believe in happy endings. And he couldn’t bear it.
‘Okay, kid,’ Nick said resignedly, and rose and accepted Harry from Wendy’s arms. Harry’s arms swept around his neck and clung. ‘Where’s your bed? Show me.’
‘He’s gorgeous.’
‘You said that about John.’ Shanni poured herself more coffee and sank down opposite her friend.
‘I lied. John’s a meat-head. Pleasant, kind, but a bit…you know-the lights are on but no one’s home.’
‘And this guy?’
‘The lights are off and the door’s locked but he’s home all right,’ Wendy said. ‘He’s all in there but he’s not letting it show. He’s running scared.’
‘I’m not exactly chasing him.’ Shanni sighed. ‘Heck, the last thing I want is emotional entanglement. Especially not with some smart-alec city lawyer.’
‘Just one step at a time,’ Wendy said gently. ‘Just concentrate on Harry. But if you can kill two birds with one stone…’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘I mean that man in there has been badly hurt in the past,’ Wendy said sternly. ‘It stands out a mile. In my profession you know the look, and you can see it as well as me. I reckon our magistrate needs Harry as much as Harry needs him.’
‘I hope you’re right.’ Shanni looked dubiously at her friend. ‘And I hope he sees it.’
‘I know I’m right,’ Wendy said to herself later as she closed her door on the pair of them. ‘I also think there are more needs here than Harry’s-and I hope you’re both wise enough to see it.’
Shanni intended walking.
Nick expected Shanni’s car to be with his, but there was only his sports car parked outside.
‘Mum dropped me off here,’ Shanni told him. ‘My car’s got a cracked head, or something ghastly, and may be on its way to the car graveyard as we speak. The mechanics just shake their heads and groan every time I ask. So Mum drove me to the pictures, but I wanted to check on Harry afterwards. I’m walking home.’
‘Where’s home?’
‘A mile or so thataway.’
‘A mile!’ Nick looked out into the dark in the direction she was pointing. They were on the outskirts of town, and the road she was pointing to led northwards, into the dark ‘You can’t do that!’
‘Hey, this is Bay Beach,’ she said, laughing. ‘You don’t get mugged in Bay Beach.’
‘There are weirdos everywhere. Does your mother know you intend walking?’
‘I told her I’d call a cab,’ Shanni admitted. ‘But I want to walk. I need to think.’
‘You don’t walk.’
‘I’m a big girl now.’
‘And I’m a criminal lawyer. A magistrate. I know what’s out there.’
‘Oh, scare me stupid, why don’t you?’ She shook her head, half-laughing, half-nervous. ‘Cut it out.’
‘Get in the car, Shanni,’ he said heavily. He’d seen too much in this job to let anyone take stupid risks. Especially Shanni! ‘Do your thinking when you’re safe in your own bed. I’m taking you home.’
‘I don’t…’
‘Shanni, please…’
She stared at him for a long moment, hearing the trace of fear in his voice-and then she silently climbed into his car.
She didn’t know this man at all, she thought.
And she was almost fearful of the sensation.
Shanni’s family farm was set back from the road, between the main road and the coast. The country was moonlit, and Nick could see that it was magnificent-rolling hills, vast gum trees, and cattle standing peacefully in the moonlight.
‘It’s lovely,’ he said, and she cast him a wry look.
‘Hardly your cup of tea.’
‘No.’
‘Why did you come here?’ she asked. They’d been silent all the way from town, but now, as the car pulled to a halt before the farmhouse verandah, she seemed to find her tongue.
‘It’s the first step to becoming a judge. I don’t want to stay a lawyer for ever,’ he said, and unexpectedly she grinned.
‘Then you’ve taken the first step. You’ve stopped wearing your suit and tie. Congratulations.’
It was hard not to grin back. Her smile was infectious. ‘It’s back to suits tomorrow.’
‘Magistrates don’t need suits. They need…I don’t know. Knowledge. Wisdom. Compassion.’
‘Failing all that, suits will have to do.’
‘Hmm.’ She shook her head at him. He cut the engine-she should get out-but the night was still and warm and there was this thing between them that needed examining…
‘It’s a shame,’ she said softly, ‘to wear such severe suits, to flatten that gorgeous hair…’ Then, before he could do anything to stop her, her hand came out and touched his head. She was running her fingers through his tousled curls as if she couldn’t help herself. ‘It’s great hair. Lovely hair. Do you take after your mother or father?’
‘I have no idea.’ The feeling of her fingers in his hair was weird. It set every nerve in his body alight. He found himself clenching his hands on the steering wheel, staring out at the night beyond and trying to halt the flood of sensations coursing through his body.
‘I see.’ Silence. Then… ‘So Wendy’s right.’
