The sound of their voices wounded him more than he thought possible. Cade, the football star, the all round sporting hero lay half drunk on the sofa, incapable of upholding the farce his life had been for so long. It was all over and he’d lost it in front of the last person he wanted to see that he was infallible. He’d had a front to keep up and now it was gone.
Chapter 21
After a lousy day at work, Russ was relieved to be home. He grabbed his briefcase, slammed his car door harder than necessary and headed for the house. As he passed Kate's cottage, the front door opened.
"Hi, Russ, can I have a minute?"
She stood at the door with the light from inside shining brightly into the dark night. He sighed. The last thing he wanted was polite conversation. What he needed was a drink and his bed. Russ turned to her, his briefcase in one hand and the other in his trouser pocket toying with his car keys, trying to keep his agitation under control. "What can I do for you, Kate?"
"It's not me that needs help. It's your stupid brother." She headed out toward him. "Silly fool tried to be a hero today when I was breaking in a young colt. He jumped off the fence and did his leg in. I think he has done more damage to his knee and won't go to hospital. He's waiting for you."
"What am I supposed to do about it? He's a big boy. I can't make him do anything he doesn't want."
"Can you at least try, Russ? I feel responsible because he was trying to help me. It was kind of sweet of him even if he is a jerk." She shrugged and looked at him with hope in her eyes. "Can you please talk to him about getting it checked out properly?"
"I'll see what I can do, not that I can promise anything."
"Thanks, Russ." She tucked a long red lock behind her ear. As she turned away, Kate looked over her shoulder. "Good luck with him." She walked back to her cottage, shutting the door behind her.
Russ sighed. After the day he’d had, dealing with his younger brother wasn't appealing. He didn't need the grief or someone else's problems. The lights in the kitchen were on when he pushed the door open. The smell hit him before he saw the woman leaning over the kitchen sink. Essie, his faithful Essie had cooked his favourite meal, Thai beef curry. It was as though she knew the kind of day he'd had.
With gratitude, Russ walked over and leaned his chin on the shoulder of the only woman who had never let him down. "You are awesome."
"Bad day? You look terrible, Russ. Are they working you too hard already?" She dried her hands on the tea towel and turned to take his dinner from the oven. Walking over to the island bench, Essie placed the hot plate on a mat and told him to sit.
He leaned on the bench and looked at the meal in front of him. "Everyone else in bed already?"
"Yes, Rooney had an early night with the little one. It was Tam's first day of school and she was pretty worn out. You need to eat your meal and t go and sort Cade out. Kate is worried about him, Russ. He came to her rescue today and she's worried he’s hurt himself more than he's letting on."
"Yes, I know, she stopped me on the way in." He took a succulent piece of beef and popped it into his mouth, delighting in the flavours. He swallowed before looking across at her. "You know he won't listen to me, he never has." Russ speared another piece of meat and scooped up some rice. He ate and thought at the same time. "I suspect there is more to his injury than he was letting on anyway. From the amount of pain he’s in makes me think he’s holding back on us."
"Well, that may be but the fact is, he has injured himself again and you need to go and talk some sense into him. Try and get him upstairs into his own bed too. I don't approve people sleeping on the couch when a perfectly good bed is right upstairs."
He scooped up the last piece of meat and lined up his knife and fork before pushing the plate away. "Thank you, Essie, I needed that."
She came over and sat in front of him. "Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?"
Russ sighed and leaned his arms on the counter top. "I had a visitor at the hospital today. My ex fronted up and announced to all and sundry I'm not divorced after all." His gut twisted with pain. "Seems as though she’s decided not to sign the papers. I hadn't given it a thought once I'd done my bit and sent them back."
"Why would she do that to you? Isn't she the one who initiated proceedings in the first place?" Essie frowned.
Russ reached over and patted her hand. "Yes, she did. But apart from finding out about Father dying and thinking there was something in it for her, she is pregnant."
If it wasn't so serious, the look of shock on Essie's face would have made him laugh out loud.
"Oh dear, well, I suppose you'll have to help support the little one then. You can't turn your back on a child, Russ."
"It's not mine, Essie. I know that for a fact. My wife and I haven't slept together for months. I suspected she was having an affair but I didn't want to deal with it. Now I have to." He stood and
