‘If you don’t want to talk about it, fine,’ Melody had countered one night after she’d tried everything she could to get him to go and see a psychologist. ‘But don’t think you can push me away. I’m your sister. I love you. I care about you. Deal with it.’ And she’d been right. He was fortunate his family loved him and now he was starting to realise how horribly he’d treated them, especially during those first few years after the tragedy.
Being out of Sydney, away from the frantic pace of life he’d forced himself to live, was really giving him time to think. He didn’t like to admit it, but he was also coming to realise that he’d ignored his pain for so long that it had actually affected his health.
‘I don’t want to die,’ he’d told Melody the night he’d returned home from hospital. After his ‘hiccup’, he’d been hospitalised for a few nights as a precaution and when he’d been released, Melody had insisted on staying that first night at his apartment with him. ‘I miss her. I miss the baby, even though I was only a father for less than a day.’ Ethan had shaken his head. ‘I don’t want to talk about it and I don’t want to think about it, but neither do I want to die.’
And it was then his sister had voiced the plan of coming here, of getting away, of doing something productive but relaxing with his imposed six-month break. The fact that he’d managed to breathe more easily in the past forty-eight hours than he had in the last six years was clear proof that being here was the right thing.
But was being near CJ the right thing? Why was he so concerned with her? With her unborn child? Why had he felt that overwhelming urge to protect her and her child? Was it just because she was pregnant and looked the picture of radiant health? Her blonde hair, her smiling eyes, her mouth that would easily quirk at the corners, a smile always at the ready.
Ethan breathed in deeply, then out again as he thought about her.
Being with her, hearing the sound of her voice, enjoying the small memories of her father that were scattered around the house, the openness of this woman was encompassing him and helping him to slowly unwind.
He opened the curtains and gazed out at the night sky, the half-moon providing slivers of light. Ethan lay back down in the bed, propping his head up on some pillows, staring out at the stars. He reflected on how CJ had worn the scarf around her hair in the car, about how she’d fallen asleep on the way back and how she’d sleepily murmured his name. Even though he wasn’t sure why she had, he couldn’t hide his delight that she’d been thinking of him as she’d drifted off to sleep. Why he’d been delighted, he wasn’t one hundred percent sure, only that...it had been a long, long time since any woman had sighed his name in such a way and it gave a much-needed boost to his ego.
At six o’clock, he was astonished when his alarm woke him up. He’d slept and, apart from the slight crick in his neck, he felt fairly well rested. As he headed to the bathroom to shower, the hot water helping to soothe his neck, he felt determined to try and enjoy the day CJ had planned for him. Networking was good. Networking was necessary if he wanted to break into the tight-knit community of the town, and this would be the way to do it. The last thing he needed was to be ready to help out in the clinic but have no patients booked in to see him because they didn’t trust him.
Walking into the kitchen, he was surprised to find CJ sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal. ‘Have you been up all night?’
She looked up at him and smiled that sweet and lovely smile he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about. She shook her head as she chewed her mouthful of food. He had to admit that she looked glowing, in a pale green knit top with three-quarter–length sleeves, the colour making her eyes more vibrant. Her blonde locks were once again in pigtails, making her look vulnerable and...adorable. She swallowed, her smile widening.
‘No. Not all night. Junior let me get some sleep because...today is grape picking day!’
‘Do you really plan on picking grapes or are you going to sit and put your feet up and let everyone else do the hard work?’
CJ laughed, the sound settling over him like sunshine. ‘Not you, too. You’re starting to sound like every other over-protective person in this town. I might help out a bit but only with the vines at chest height. My brain hasn’t completely turned to mush.’
‘Glad to hear it.’ He took the cereal down from the cupboard.
‘You don’t need to eat. Breakfast is provided and it’s a lavish spread.’
He put the cereal away and looked at her bowl.
‘Junior was hungry.’ She grinned and carried her bowl to the sink. The black skirt she wore swished around her legs and she adjusted the hem of her top so it wasn’t crinkled over her stomach. ‘So, does the fact that you’re up and ready to shake, rattle and roll mean you’re coming grape picking with me?’
‘Someone’s got to keep an eye on you.’
‘Ha. Trust me, Ethan. Everyone there today will be keeping an eye on me.’
‘They really are
