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p; ‘You would have been right,’ she replied, but with a scowl. ‘I’m wearing knee-highs.’ She sat up and rolled up her trouser leg to reveal a stocking that ended above her knee.
‘Oh. Well, I’m sure they’re very practical but—’
‘Not essentially seductive? No, they’re not. Ouch,’ she added as he rolled the offending stocking down over her ankle, but said immediately, ‘Why would you be so sandbagged if you’ve known about Nicky for a month?’ She stared at him. ‘I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help overhearing and—’ She paused. She’d been about to say it was actually common knowledge anyway, but decided not to.
He didn’t reply immediately. His fingers were cool on her skin as he started to massage again and there was something curiously mesmerizing about it, Alex found, as the pain began to subside.
There was also something entirely unreal about the situation, it suddenly occurred to her. Here she was, extremely annoyed with a man she found diabolically arrogant, but not at all annoyed with his handling of her. She was sitting back with her ankle in his hands being restored by the pressure of his long, strong fingers.
It didn’t take a great leap of imagination to imagine those same fingers exploring her body and imparting a sense of well-being if not to say sizzling sensuality—she went hot and cold at the thought.
‘I didn’t want to believe it at first,’ he said eventually. ‘And even when it proved to be true I—I just couldn’t visualize it. I hadn’t seen Cathy for over six years. She moved to Perth, which is a hell of a long way away. It’s almost like a different country, WA, and my headquarters are up here.’ He grimaced.
He stopped massaging and looked into Alex’s eyes. ‘I couldn’t believe it was true at first but I couldn’t argue with the tests. And I was still furious with Cathy but I kept thinking—a son. So I was set to fly to Perth immediately but Cathy asked me not to. She said she needed a bit more time to get Nicky used to the idea.’ He paused and shrugged. ‘I’ve been living on tenterhooks ever since.’
Alex absorbed this and thought a little more charitably about Nicky’s mother. ‘And … now?’ she queried quietly.
‘Now? It was like being punched in the guts. The first words he said to me last night were, “Are you really my father? I didn’t actually believe I had one.” Now?’ he repeated with a nerve flickering in his jaw. ‘I won’t rest until he knows he has a father he can rely on.’
It had all been said quietly, but Alex could see the intensity behind it and the resolution. She looked away and blinked back a tear.
‘So that’s why,’ Max Goodwin said as he resumed massaging her ankle, ‘I’m prepared to go to quite some lengths to make this work out. And you—’ he gazed at her thoughtfully for a moment ‘—seem to have an intrinsic way with kids. How come?’
She explained. ‘We used to get kids from way out west, boarders from Dirranbandi, Thargomindah and so on who were terribly homesick at first—it just seemed to come naturally to me.’
‘Would it be so difficult for you to help me out at least with Nicky?’ he queried. ‘Would you feel it was an awful comedown from your position as interpreter, perhaps?’ He smiled faintly.
Alex shook her head. ‘No, of course not. It was just the way you did it.’
‘I had to think fast and on my feet,’ he murmured, ‘but I apologize.’
‘The only thing is—’ Alex looked uneasy ‘—it’s no good letting him come to rely on me.’
‘No. But by the time this is over, his grandmother should be out of hospital, his mother available and he and I will have got to know each other better.’
Alex reclaimed her foot. ‘Thank you. That feels better and I think an ice pack will fix it. Uh—no, I don’t mind helping out with Nicky for a few days. So long as you understand it—it can’t be more than that.’
Max Goodwin stared at her narrowly and thoughtfully. ‘You say that with more conviction than seems necessary. Why, I wonder?’ he queried.
Alex drew a discreet breath and made a little gesture. ‘It’s just that these things can … balloon. That’s all.’
He stood up and walked over to the window with his hands shoved in his pockets. ‘I guess you’re wondering how this could have happened in the first place.’
‘Not really.’ She had no intention of going into the obviously tortured relationship that had existed between Max Goodwin and Nicky’s mother, although … ‘Is there no hope of you putting your differences behind you—for Nicky’s sake?’
He turned away from the window and his face was set in harsh lines. ‘She was right. It was either heaven or hell and very little in between. Anyway—’ he lifted his shoulders ‘—it’s quite conceivable I may never have got to know about him. Would you find that easy to forgive?’
Alex stood up and put some weight on her foot. It didn’t seem to be too bad. ‘Uh—I don’t think it’s a question of that now, it’s a question of what’s best for your son. But, look, it has nothing to do with me. So if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go and find him.’
She got to the door before he spoke, and it was a question that caused her maximum discomfort.
‘What are you running away from, Alex?’
She turned back very slowly and her surprise, although it was surprise that he should have guessed her emotions, not surprise at the question, was not feigned. ‘What do you mean?’
He rubbed his jaw and frowned. ‘I don’t know. I just get the feeling you can’t wait to get away.’
‘No.’ She swallowed. ‘I’m not—I’m fine—I mean I’d just like to get changed, maybe have a cup of tea, that’s all.’
