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‘You said most of the time. I kind of get the impression you’ve not said everything you need to. Were you with Ryan when he died?’
His fingers clenched again, hiding themselves inside his fist. Abby wanted to pull the words back into her mouth. A dark and heavy cloud loomed over them. She knew the answer to that question without him even having to formulate a sentence.
‘I wasn’t allowed to be with Ryan. It was about the only time my parents did finally come home.’
Her mind tried to make sense of what he’d just said. ‘What do you mean, you weren’t allowed?’
She could see his heavy eyelids. She knew that behind them there were tears forming. Please don’t let me see him cry.
‘That’s when I had mumps. I couldn’t be near Ryan when he was immunocompromised. So I had to phone my mom and dad and ask them to come home.’ He ran his fingers through his hair. ‘They were their usual busy selves. I don’t think any of us realised just how sick Ryan actually was.’
Abby stretched her arms across the table and took both his hands again. He could see the pain in her eyes, the empathy from a mother who could find herself in that position too.
‘I hope you’re both hungry.’ Diego appeared, placing sizzling platters of chicken and beef on the table. Abby drew her hands back, fixing a smile on her face as he added the additional pots of guacamole, salsa, sour cream and cheese. The fajitas came in a covered dome to keep them warm. ‘Enjoy!’ he announced, oblivious to the tension at the table, as he retreated towards the kitchen.
She fixed her eyes on Luke as his eyes took in the spread on the table. Had he been about to say something else? What a terrible burden for a teenage boy, to feel as if he’d let his brother down when he’d needed him most.
She watched as he lifted one of the side plates and started to ladle food onto it. ‘You know it wasn’t your fault, right?’
He stopped, a spoonful of salsa between his plate and the serving dish.
‘You know that it wasn’t your fault you were sick? Anyone can get sick at any time.’
Luke set the spoon down on his plate. Abby had never seen his pale blue eyes so serious. ‘I know that the last time I saw my brother I promised him I would teach him how to play poker. I didn’t get the chance.’
‘But you were a teenager, Luke. You couldn’t have known how seriously ill he was.’
‘Actually, I could have. I was the one having all the conversations with the doctors. I was the one that saw him on a daily basis and could see the deterioration in his condition. You know what the first words my mother said to me were? Why didn’t you tell me he was so sick? From my mother!’
Abby took a deep breath. Luke had never really spoken about this before. And she didn’t want him to stop. This was good for him. This was good for them. The thought came out of nowhere. Why was she thinking about them? There was no them. There hadn’t been for five years.
‘Luke, your parents should never have left you in that position. As an adult, you must see that now? You must realise how unfair that was.’
He shook his head. ‘I don’t want to talk about it any more,’ he mumbled as he bent to spoon some of the chicken and salsa mixture into his mouth.
A smile crept across her face. In part, to welcome the light relief that was about to come. She watched as the realisation hit Luke as the taste receptors in his mouth went into overdrive. He started to choke and splutter, tears forming in his eyes and streaming down his cheeks.
She pulled his glass over and refilled it with icy water, pushing it towards him and folding her arms across her chest. ‘Hot enough for you, Mr Smarty Pants? I’ll have what she’s having.’
Luke covered his mouth with his napkin as he continued to choke, grabbing the glass and drinking thirstily. He thumped it back on the table and eyed her suspiciously. ‘You knew, didn’t you? You knew exactly how strong it was going to be?’
‘I did warn you my tastes have changed. Why do you think Diego brought us a pitcher of iced water?’
His brain went into overdrive. She’d just said it again, her tastes had changed. Did that mean him? ‘I just thought he was being polite. I didn’t think he was trying to set me on fire!’
‘Do you want me to ask him for something a little milder for you?’ The words were like a challenge being thrown down. ‘You were the one, after all, who used to say I didn’t have the palate for spicy food.’
‘No, of course not. This will be fine.’ The glint appeared back in his eyes. ‘I can out-eat you anywhere. I just need another pitcher of water.’
Abby gave a smile and signalled to Diego. ‘Then let the challenge begin.’
CHAPTER SIX
WHEN they got home a very excitable Reuben had crept back out of bed.
Lucy gave a shake of her head. ‘I’m sorry, Abby, but he seems to be full of energy tonight.’
Abby smiled. ‘Don’t worry, Lucy. Thanks for looking after him.’
It took almost an hour to persuade him to get back under the covers. Abby had to read him four stories before he finally nodded off.
By the time she got downstairs Luke had lit the fire in the front room and opened a bottle of wine. Abby slumped down into the nearest armchair and they sat for a few moments in silence, watching the flickering flames.
She took a sip of her wine and studied him carefully. He could still pass for a male model with his surfer-boy looks. There might be a few more lines around his eyes and on his forehead but they didn’t detract from his good looks, only added character. She lifted her hand to her face. Did the lines around her eyes add character? Or only make her look older than her thirty years?
She remembered the way that all the females in the hospital where they’d been interns together had flocked around him, batting their eyelids and reapplying their lipstick. And he hadn’t shown the slightest bit of interest. In fact, he’d made a point of introducing his girlfriend Abby to them all.
Loyalty had always been Luke’s strong point—that and a few other things that took place behind closed doors. She felt the colour rushing into her face at the memories that flooded her mind.
‘Penny for your thoughts?’
‘What?’ Abby gulped. The last thing she wanted to do was share those kinds of thoughts with him.
‘You looked lost in your thoughts. What’s up? Are you tired?’
She leaned back a little further into her chair, hoping he wouldn’t notice her reddening cheeks. ‘It’s certainly been a big day. It’s not every day your ex turns up with the First Lady in tow.’
He smiled and nodded slowly. ‘I decided to make an entrance.’
‘You certainly did.’
Luke set his glass down on the table next to him. ‘I honestly nearly died of shock when I saw you sitting there, with your feet on the desk. Good shock, that is. If ever anybody could get me out of a pickle …’
He left the words hanging in the air as he threw a cheeky grin at her.
‘I kept expecting someone to jump out from behind a set of curtains with a camera and shout, ‘Fooled you’!’
Luke heaved a huge sigh. ‘You’ve no idea how much I wish that had happened.’ He pointed to a pile of stuff in the corner. ‘What’s with the old DVDs and romance novels? I didn’t know you were into that.’
‘They’re for Jennifer Taylor.’
‘What?’ Luke had just taken another sip of his wine, which he spluttered down the front of his shirt.
‘She asked me for them earlier, she’s bored out of her mind.
I meant to take them along to her …’ she glanced at her watch ‘…but time’s just gotten away from me.’
‘I’ll take them for you.’ He looked outside at the inky-dark night. ‘I wouldn’t want you walking along that path at this time of night.’
‘Which is exactly what I have to do when I’m on call. You don’t have to protect me, Luke, I’m a big girl now.’
‘I know that.’ Something flickered across his mind. ‘What happens to Reuben wh
en you’re on call?’
