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‘Of course she will. You’re her mother.’

If only it were that simple.

‘You didn’t see her face, hear what she said.’ Cleo buried her face in her hands. ‘What have I done, Will?’

‘What you need is a glass of brandy,’ Will said, when they’d reached Cleo’s house and were in the kitchen. ‘Where do you keep it?’ He started opening cupboards till he unearthed the bottle of Napoleon brandy Cleo kept for medicinal purposes, and a couple of glasses. ‘I’ll join you. I had a bit of a shock myself tonight.’

‘Oh?’ but Cleo couldn’t bring herself to ask anything more.

‘Get that down you.’ Will handed Cleo a glass of brandy and watched while she took a sip. ‘Feel better?’

‘Mmm.’ She took another sip. The strong spirit did help numb the distress she was experiencing. It helped sufficiently for her to ask, 'What happened to you?'

Will tossed back a mouthful of brandy before replying. ‘Bloody Joy Taylor. That’s what. I hadn’t seen her for a bit. Thought she’d left Bellbird Bay. Gone home.’ He sighed and tightened the cap on the brandy bottle. ‘But there she was, large as life, when I came down from the podium, just waiting to pounce. That’s what held me up, why I wasn’t there to see what happened with you and Hannah.’

‘What did she have to say this time?’ Despite herself, Cleo was curious. And maybe it would take her mind off Hannah.

‘She was full of praise for our position, wanted to help, offered to do whatever she could, tried to wriggle her way into my life yet again. The woman has the hide of a rhinoceros. She just won’t take no for an answer. Luckily, Martin came up and dragged me off. Don’t know what happened to her then. But let’s not waste time talking about her.’

Cleo forbore mentioning it was Will who’d brought up the woman’s name, but she knew he’d only been trying to distract her. It had worked.

‘Come here, you.’ Will took the now-empty glass from Cleo and pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head. ‘What you need is a good hug.’

Cleo leant into his embrace, the embrace she’d yearned for in the school hall. It made her feel safe, cocooned, as if nothing could touch her when she was in his arms. Hannah, Kerri-Ann and all the angst involved disappeared. She felt his kiss on her hair, then his finger under her chin, lifting her face to his. Their lips met.

Thirty-two

This was getting to be a habit – a very pleasant one, Will thought, as he eased himself out of Cleo’s bed just as the sun was rising. She muttered something incomprehensible and turned to face him as he stroked her hair and planted a kiss on her brow. ‘Sorry, sweetheart. I need to go.’

All of a sudden, Cleo was wide awake. ‘What time is it?’ She reached for her phone.

‘Almost six. I promised to meet Owen on the beach. Now his ankle is better, he’s back to training. It’s less than a month till the carnival. I didn’t mean to wake you.’ He kissed her again, on the mouth this time. He could never get enough of the softness of her lips.

Cleo wound her arms around his neck. ‘Mmm, what a lovely way to waken. I need to get up, too.’ Then her expression changed. Her eyes clouded. ‘Han,’ she said. ‘I need to talk with her.’

‘Not right now, surely.’

Cleo pushed herself up. ‘Probably not. She’ll still be asleep.’ She rubbed her eyes. ‘Thanks for last night, for bringing me home, for staying, for…’ She blushed.

Will loved it when she blushed like this. It made her look like a teenager again. It made him want to climb back into bed with her and… But he needed to get home and change, pick up the van. Owen would be waiting for him.

It wasn’t till he was outside, that Will remembered leaving his scooter at the school hall, and that Coop had promised to drop it off for him. He blinked. There it was, sitting at the kerb waiting for him. He slid the keys out from where Martin had hidden them under the mudguard – a trick from their teenage years – hopped on and headed home.

*

The parking lot by the beach on the far side of the headland was filling up by the time Will arrived to see Owen and Nate waiting for him.

‘Hey, Dad,’ Owen called. ‘Thought you’d forgotten. I tried to call.’

‘You did?’ Will took his phone from his pocket to see he had three missed calls. In his hurry to help Cleo last night, he’d forgotten to change it back from silent. He frowned to see two of the calls had been from Joy Taylor.Why couldn’t the woman leave him alone?He put it into the glovebox and took his board out of the back. ‘Let’s go.’

It was sometime later, and the sun was beating down, the hot sand scorching their bare feet when the three men emerged from the ocean and made their way back up the beach.

‘You did well, son,’ Will said to Owen. ‘Keep this up and there’s a good chance you’ll match Ted Crawford’s three-year winning streak.’

‘Do you really think so, Dad?’ Owen didn’t sound sure. ‘Some of those younger guys are pretty skilled. Missing those weeks of training have really held me back.’

‘You’ll be fine,’ Will said, with more confidence than he felt. But Owen needed his reassurance. ‘What are you guys doing for breakfast?’ he asked, his stomach feeling hollow, reminding him he hadn’t eaten since early last night.

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