AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘You could move in straight away,’ the old man told her. ‘Once the papers have been signed, of course,’ he added with a full, dentured smile.
It suited her perfectly and she promised to let him know soon. When they returned to Jasper’s house, he sent Lola off to find Lilly then turned to Jennifer, eager to ask her opinion.
‘You obviously liked the house.’
‘Yes.’ She sat down on the lounge, shifting slightly to face him as he sat next to her.
His eyes were clear yet unswerving. ‘There’s more to it than that, right?’
It was on the tip of her tongue to deny his words, to tell him to mind his own business, to freeze him out, but when she looked into those powerful grey eyes, which were so gentle yet highly intelligent, she realised Jasper Edwards was someone she could come to trust. He’d been through his own misery, his own grief and no doubt that was why he was picking up on her body language and out-of-synch emotions. ‘Yes.’
‘You teared up when you saw the window-seat.’
She thought he hadn’t noticed. ‘Yes.’
‘Why?’ The question was soft yet his curiosity about her was evident in his expression. It showed her he wanted to know more about her and she knew in getting to know someone better, that inevitably meant talking about the past. Her past.
‘I like bay windows. I always have.’ She sighed and shrugged when he didn’t question her further. She knew he was waiting for more, waiting for the explanation he could no doubt sense was there. He was too clever and too sweet for her to evade any longer.
‘My father was in the army and, as you might guess, that meant we moved quite a bit during my childhood. Usually, the houses we lived in were either on the army base or else provided for my father in a suburb close to his work. One of the houses we moved to when I was twelve had a bay window. It had curtains which you could close to make a little hiding hole, where the whole world would be locked out, and I would sit there and read or just think and imagine.’
Jasper watched as she spoke, watched the wistfulness on her face as well as hearing the veiled pain in her voice.
‘My parents didn’t have a happy marriage. My father was a very oppressive man and my mother was the epitome of a military wife. When I was twelve my father was forced to retire due to ill health. We moved from the bay-window house into the first home my parents had ever owned. In one way it was good because I was finally able to settle down and make real friends and complete my schooling in one place.’
‘Where you met Sara?’
‘Yes.’
‘It couldn’t have been easy for your father, being forced to retire so early.’
‘No. It wasn’t. He was almost fifty and had trouble settling into a world where barking orders at people didn’t seem to work any more. Instead, he decided to turn to alcohol for support. Life…sort of changed after that.’
Something in her tone made Jasper wary. ‘Did he hurt you?’ Jennifer didn’t answer, sitting still, staring into nothingness. He put his hand on hers, his gentle touch bringing her back to the present. His tone was urgent. He needed to know. ‘Jennifer. Did he—’
‘No.’ She shook her head emphatically. ‘He never hit us, never touched us.’
‘Us? You have siblings?’
‘No. I meant Mum and I.’
‘Where are your parents now?’
‘Darwin. We don’t speak. Too much water under the bridge and all that. Enter Sara.’ She pushed her natural smile through the pain. ‘Sara came into my life and showed me what a real family was like. I spent a lot of time at her place and not once did her parents quibble about it. My mother only needed to know where I was. My father cared about nothing but himself and his depression.’
‘And you and Sara have been friends since.’
‘We have.’ Jennifer looked down at where his hand lay on hers, amazed at how incredible it felt to have such a caring touch offered. It was what she’d missed the most. Not having that one special person there to confide in. Not having the simplest of touches to let you know that someone cared about you. The companionship. The friendship. The deep, abiding relationship. Was it possible she could find something resembling those missing parts of her life with Jasper? She took a deep breath and slowly let it out.
‘And through my friendship with Sara…’ Her words were soft and a little shaky but she persevered. ‘You’ve come into my life.’ She slowly lifted her eyes to his and when she was finally looking into his grey depths she saw an desperate need, a need which she knew was mirrored in her own. It was as though she was powerless to look away, mesmerised by the way he was allowing her to see so much of him. Not only was there a physical need but a mental and emotional one as well. It was as though he needed to connect with someone and he’d chosen to connect with her.
