AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Mm-hmm.’ She didn’t know where to look, so she kept her gaze out the windscreen.
His long pause stretched, and lingered. ‘How didn’t I know that?’ He shook his head as though baffled. ‘Roberto and Shanti haven’t said a word.’ He half shrugged. ‘Mind you, we don’t make it a habit, talking about you.’
‘That’s understandable, I’m not much of an interesting subject.’ She tried to make light of his comment, but knew exactly what he meant, because she and her brother and Shanti had made the same pact. It used to hurt way too much, hearing about Morgan, so they’d stopped talking about him altogether. Many years ago. She knew his parents had left Silverton Shores, and that he was a RFDS pilot, but that was it.
Silence stretched then lingered again, before he asked, ‘How old is she?’
Shit!
An image of her twenty-two-year-old self effortlessly slipped into her mind, and her stomach somersaulted with the recollection of what could have been his baby, their baby, cradled within her womb. ‘She’s nine.’ This was way too close for comfort.
‘Wow, okay, I suppose now I understand why you married Salvatore so quickly.’
His surmising made her anger flare, but she bit it back. ‘Mm-hmm.’ She reminded herself that if he only knew the truth of the dilemma she’d found herself in, and the uncertainty she’d chosen to ignore at the time, the angry shoe would be on the other foot.
‘What’s her name?’ His fingers were drumming the steering wheel now.
Shit shit shit!
‘Chiara.’ It was the one they’d picked, together, for when they had a little girl.
‘You used our name?’ His voice was laced with hurt.
‘It was a name I really liked, so yes, I did.’ She drew in a breath and sighed it away. ‘Can you please keep Chiara to yourself, Morgan, I don’t really want the whole town knowing my business.’ Being a topic of gossip, and scrutiny and judgement, was not on her agenda, especially when it came to her darling girl.
‘Yeah, sure, of course I will.’
Silence fell again, but this time she settled into it. She hadn’t lied. But she hadn’t told him the whole truth, either. Hell, how could she when she didn’t know for sure, either way. And she didn’t want to risk stepping into blatantly deceitful territory, so, while he navigated the curving road, she rested back into her seat and enjoyed the picturesque tropical landscape flashing past her window. She must have drifted off, because a little nudge from Morgan had her sitting up straight just in time to catch the township’s welcome sign out the window.
Silverton Shores, population 5322
Her heart squeezed as she wondered whether they changed the sign each year, adding the births and subtracting the deaths.Herparents’ deaths, particularly. ‘Sorry for crashing like that, I’m a little jet-lagged, I think.’ She rubbed her eyes and tugged her hair into a messy bun.
‘All good.’ His warm, genuine smile had returned. ‘Some things don’t change, huh, you were always a snoozing shotgunner.’
‘I can’t help that your driving always puts me to sleep.’ Their banter was familiar, comfortingly so.
‘Oi, fair play, I drive to the conditions, especially when I have precious cargo.’
‘Well, thank you for driving carefully.’ She liked to think he still considered herprecious cargo.
‘Does it still look the same?’ He glanced at her then back to the ocean-kissed horizon owning the entirety of the view out the windscreen.
‘It does, but somehow it’s even more beautiful than I remember.’ She relished the sight of the ocean crashing against the ragged rocks below, almost as much as she was relishing being in this man’s company again.
‘Well, here we are.’ Slowing as he reached the edge of town, he dropped from fifth gear to fourth. ‘Home sweet home.’
Like a free diver rising from the ocean’s depths to take a life-giving breath, she inhaled her first glimpse of the sleepy seaside township she used to call home. Silverton Shores was very much a throwback to yesteryear, familiar, comforting, welcoming. She recognised most of the shopfronts with their sun-faded awnings, and even the people walking down the street still had that Far North Queensland easy-as-it-goes swagger.
‘Gee whizz, not much has changed,’ she said dreamily.
‘Ha, yeah, people like things to stay as they are around here.’ His broad shoulders lifted ever so slightly. ‘And I have to say I’m in total agreement with them.’
And there it was, that slow, dangerous grin that had swept her off her centre axis all those years ago. ‘That’s a nice way to look at it.’ A sudden longing to be drawn into his big strong arms, so she could rest her head against his chest, made her a little breathless.
‘Actually, there are some fancy new cafés behind some of those old shopfronts, and crowds of tourists on the weekends these days.’
‘Hmm, modernisation I suppose,’ she replied, totally distracted by him and his charisma.
