Burnt (12 page)

As they gathered together shoes, coats and belongings, Rebecca thanked Angus and kissed his cheek gently. Stepping away, she glanced up to see Seb watching from the doorway, a strange look crossing his face at her farewell, and she averted her gaze quickly. His expression had seemed far too much like regret, and right now, when she felt so vulnerable, acknowledging it was only asking for trouble.

Walking out to the car with them, Seb held open her door while she slid into the driver's seat and fastened her seatbelt.

‘Thanks again for having us. The kids had a ball.' Her eyes strayed to the rear-view mirror to check on the two faces looking weary from their big day, and she smiled.

‘What about their mother?' he asked quietly.

‘I had a lovely time as well. Thank you.'

He grinned, his gaze probing at her own like a physical touch. ‘I'll call and check on your wound,' he said and she knew he was taking delight in being able to throw her words back at her.

‘I think I'll survive,' she said dryly.

‘Humour me. I'll call you tomorrow.' He closed the door on any further protests. He lifted a hand and waved, taking a step away as she turned the key in the ignition and reversed her car.

It was a quiet trip home, and when Rebecca pulled up in her driveway, she realised with a start that she'd been so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed both girls had fallen asleep.

True to his word, Seb called the next day and asked about her shin.

‘I think I'm going to make it. It was touch and go there for a while, but things are looking better today.'

He ignored her sarcasm and went on to invite her and the kids for a drive to Nambucca, to take a walk along the famous V-Wall, a long break wall of massive square-cut blocks of concrete lining the walkway that followed the river out to where it ran into the ocean. The bar that was created at the entrance was a dangerous rip that often claimed the lives of those foolish enough to try to cross it in small boats or in bad weather.

She hesitated before accepting. Was it really a good idea? She was uncomfortably aware that they were playing with fire here. After yesterday, he'd have realised she wasn't as immune to him as she'd tried to make herself believe.

She knew from the notes in his file he'd be returning to where he was based in Western Australia upon completion of his recovery. The sensible
thing would be to say no, and just stay away from the man until he was safely back in Perth, far away from temptation.

‘Sure. That would be nice,' she heard herself say. It seemed some habits were hard to break – like taking notice of that little
sensible voice inside her head, for instance.

When they arrived, the sun was out and it was a beautiful day, despite the cool weather. The roar of the ocean always managed to awe and inspire her. It was frighteningly picturesque; there was simply no way you could ignore its power, and as they walked along the wall, she watched the breakers crash against the rocks below and shuddered at the thought of being out there in it. The sun felt warm and heavy on her shoulders and she breathed deeply, filling her lungs with the salty tang of ocean. The girls ran ahead, stopping to look at the drawings and paintings on the rocks: legal graffiti, a way for tourists and locals to leave their mark on the place.

On the way back, Seb was quiet as they walked, holding out a hand to help her down the track that led from the sea wall to the small beach. They sat down on the cold sand as the girls ran along the tide mark, chasing the waves in and out; their squeals of delight carrying on the wind among the hungry cries of seagulls.

‘A few months ago, I wouldn't have imagined this is how I'd be spending an afternoon,' he said, leaning back on one elbow.

Rebecca took her eyes from the girls for a moment to look down at him. ‘Probably not doing your tough-guy image any good,' she agreed.

‘I can't help but get the feeling you have something against my career.'

Rebecca turned back to her children once more as she considered his observation. ‘I don't have anything against your job. I just think it's odd that Sunday walks along the beach and picnics by the creek seem to be how you're happy spending your time here.'

‘What else am I going to do? I'm hardly up for a spot of abseiling or running a marathon at the moment.'

He had a point. His injuries did limit what he could do, despite the fact that he was healing at an impressive speed. No, that wasn't what she'd been referring to; it was the way that all this domestic bliss seemed to fit him so
well
. It was becoming far too easy to picture him like this, when she knew that all
this
was only temporary.

‘I've never really had the opportunity to relax like this before.'

She glanced over and saw that his gaze was on the girls as they drew pictures in the sand with a long stick they'd found on the beach.

‘It's nice.'

‘But it's not something you'll be doing once you return to your unit,' she said matter-of-factly.

She felt him watching her as she scooped the white, powder-soft sand into her hands, letting it slowly trickle out again.

‘Is that why you've been giving me the cold shoulder today?'

‘I haven't been giving you the cold shoulder.' She frowned a little at his observation.

‘Seems to me something's spooked you, and we both know what it was, don't we?'

‘I have no idea what you're talking about,' she said dismissively, dusting her hands and wrapping them tightly around her knees as she drew them up in front of her.

‘There's still something there, isn't there, Bec?' he said softly.

Rebecca shut her eyes briefly and fought to get her pulse back under control. She wasn't ready to deal with this yet. Maybe sometime, in say, oh, the next millennium,
she might be, but one glance at his set jaw and she knew he wasn't going to let her avoid his question.

‘Well, that'd be rather pointless, wouldn't it? It's not as though there's anywhere for it to go,' she muttered.

When he didn't comment, she forced herself to look at him. Even though he wore a shuttered expression that hid what he was thinking, his silence gave him away. The fact that he hadn't discounted the idea and he wasn't agreeing that the whole notion was completely ridiculous surprised her enormously. If she were brave enough, she would ask him what he was thinking, but somehow she had a feeling he wasn't thinking any more clearly than she was right now – and further conversation was definitely not going to be helpful to her peace of mind.

A few minutes later, the girls came back, saving them from having to discuss the subject further and it was decided – despite the cooler weather – that ice-creams were definitely needed to complete the day.

Seb declined to stay for dinner as he dropped them back at her house and she breathed a sigh of relief, deciding that, on this occasion, ignoring a problem was the best course of action for the time being. Surely it would work itself out and go away … eventually.

Rebecca couldn't remember the last time she'd slept in past six a.m. on a weekend, although not for lack of trying. One of the girls was always awake and the TV on, and the thought of someone burning themselves in the kitchen (or burning down the house, for that matter) as they tried to cook breakfast by themselves always forced her from her nice, warm bed far too early.

Which is why, when someone knocked on her door this particular Saturday morning, she was already up and sitting at the kitchen table drinking her coffee and flipping through the junk-mail catalogues, checking out kids' clothing she was very soon going to have to update.

Still in flannelette pyjamas dotted with black and white cows and a pair of large, fluffy, oversized cow slippers, she opened the door and groaned to find Seb on her doorstep, smirking at her.

‘Wow, Bec, You sure know how to whet a guy's libido with that get up.'

‘I happen to love my cow PJs, and I haven't had to worry about libidos for a long time now.'

‘Is that so?' His deep drawl wiped the amused expression from her face and made her mouth go dry.

A loud ‘Uh-oh,' from the kitchen interrupted, followed promptly by, ‘Muuuuuuum, Sarah spilt the milk!'

With a slow breath, Bec took a step away from temptation and smoothed down the front of her oversized pyjama shirt, trying for as much dignity and decorum as possible. ‘Come in, if you dare. But prepare yourself, this is going to get messy.'

In the kitchen, milk covered the counter, but thankfully the mess was not as bad as she'd feared. She reached for a paper towel to soak up the worst of the spill as she packed away cereal and took down a cup for Seb, flicking the switch on the kettle.

Seb stood against the bench and watched her, arms folded across his chest and wearing a bemused expression that made her pause as she spooned coffee into his cup.

‘What?'

Shaking his head slowly, Seb gave a small chuckle. ‘You're like a mini tornado.'

‘Oh. It's just habit. The kids usually clear out when I'm in a cleaning frenzy.'

‘I can see why. Here, sit down, you're making me tired just watching you.'

‘Why are you here? It's not even seven.'

‘Are you always this grumpy in the morning?'

‘I'm not grumpy, it just takes a while for the caffeine to kick in.'

‘Well, since you asked. I came by this early for a reason.'

Rebecca leaned back in her chair, folding her arms and arching an eyebrow as she waited for him to explain.

‘I thought we could go camping.'

Two small bodies all but tumbled through the doorway, squealing and jumping around Seb excitedly. ‘Mum, can we? Can we,
please
?'

‘Nothing like having a private conversation,' Rebecca groaned, knowing she was outnumbered and had no real alternative but to agree, unless she wanted to face two sets of accusing eyes for the rest of the weekend.

‘Mum, please,
please
can we go camping?' Sarah begged.

‘We don't have any camping equipment,' she protested weakly.

‘No problem – I've dug out my old stuff I found in the shed at Dad's. We have everything we need. We'll just stay one night,' he said, looking every bit as anxious as the girls, who were staring up at her expectantly.

‘Oh, for goodness' sake,' she muttered, realising she was defeated. ‘Fine. We'll go camping for
one night.
'

‘Come on, Bec, it'll be fun.' Seb grinned at her across the table, sending her a wink that made her shake her head and give a sceptical chuckle.

She sent the girls to their rooms to fill a backpack each with warm clothes, and then had to spend a further twenty minutes unpacking most of their wardrobes from the bags and overruling Sarah's stubborn resolution to take along her fairy wings and the sparkly, hot pink dress her grandmother had given her last Christmas. They compromised on the fairy wand for the sake of Rebecca's sanity and finally made it out to where Seb had wisely decided to wait for them after the hysterical crying over leaving the hot pink dress at home had started.

Once they'd piled into the four-wheel drive – already full of camping gear, Rebecca noted, giving away Seb's confidence in her saying yes – Seb headed back to the Taylor farm and down to the creek.

Why did people feel a need to disregard their comfortable, warm beds for a crazy urge to sleep on the hard ground inside a paper-thin triangle of fabric? Still, she'd grit her teeth and make the most of it; surely after this, the girls would have gotten it out of their system. Oh god, she hoped so.

Setting up the campfire, Seb bit back a smile as he recalled Bec's face when he'd announced the camping trip. He knew she hated camping – she had never been the outdoorsy type – but he also knew that, deep down, if he gave her enough encouragement, she'd try anything; she just needed a little push sometimes to get her out of her comfort zone. They'd gone on regular bushwalks when they were younger and she'd accompanied him countless times when he'd gone out rabbit shooting. Obviously, her ex had never seen that spark of adventure in her eyes. It was there if you looked hard enough, and god knew, he'd spent enough time gazing deep into those brown, doe-like eyes in the past.

Whenever he allowed himself to think about her ex, his jaw clenched instinctively. He had absolutely no right whatsoever to feel betrayed or annoyed over the fact that she'd had a life with another man – he'd given up that right a long time ago. But in his defence, he'd been a stupid kid too caught up in his own grief to think about what he was losing. Didn't stop it hurting any less, though.

He knew he shouldn't feel glad that she was divorced – he saw how the girls missed their father, and it wasn't something you ever wanted to see kids going through – but from a purely selfish perspective, he was relieved. It was like receiving a second chance at something he'd never dared to hope for again.

Watching her now as she helped her children gather sticks and bits of wood for their fire, he felt something shift inside him, something that had been blocking his ability to feel for a long, long time. She glanced up, catching him as he watched her, and he saw her tilt her head slightly, the small, hesitant smile touching her lips growing broader as he summoned a smile of his own to reassure her everything was fine. Right at this moment, everything was more than fine – everything was perfect.

And it scared the living hell out of him.

Rebecca had to admit she was enjoying herself more than she'd thought she would. Seb was easy to be around; he was patient with the girls as he let them help put up the tents and build the camp fire. The national park backed onto the Taylor property and they'd spent the day exploring the bush tracks and swimming holes along the way. As the sun sank behind the hills, they cooked a barbecue and huddled around the fire. The active day of hiking, swimming and excitement wore the girls out faster than anything she could have thought up, and they were struggling to keep their eyes open by seven o'clock.