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I walked the insuranceassessor to where his sensible white sedan was parked on the street in front of my apartment and shook his hand before he drove away. Tucking his business card into the waistband of my yoga pants, I sat on the edge of the gutter and pulled out my phone.
A deep, harried voice picked up after a single ring. “Dr Ellison.”
“Hey, brother.”
I could sense the long, silent exhalation on the other end of the line and heard Adam dropping the patient file in his hand onto the desk. I stretched my legs onto the warm bitumen of the empty road and imagined my tall, broad big brother relaxing in his high-backed leather chair, rubbing the heel of his palm over his eyes, and putting the doctor part of his personality on hold for as long as I needed him. He’d always said a little Abigail was as good as a holiday, and my brother took none of those. He never forgot he was a doctor for anyone but me.
“Hey, Little Bug.” There was a grin in his tone. “I was wondering when you’d call.”
“I—” I groaned and fell back onto the soft grass behind me, closing my eyes as if that would make the inevitable easier to bear. “What do you know?”
Adam chuckled. “I know about the flooding at your studio and apartment.” His tone turned serious. “Do you need money?”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks, but no. The assessor from the insurance company was just here. My policy will cover all the damages.”
He grunted. “Good.”
Next, as always, he’d ask what was new in my life, which was my cue to tell him about Will and the baby. When he remained quiet, my intuition tingled. “You know, don’t you?”
“Know what?”
“Adam!”
“God, I miss that little sister whine.”
I stomped my foot on the road as he laughed, a reflex to the big brother torment. “Tell me now, or I’m hanging up.”
“No, don’t hang up,” he ordered between chuckles. “I know about Mama manoeuvring you into Will’s place.”
I paused, unsurprised that my secret was out but unsure how Adam would take it. “She told you?”
“Yep. She also told me that you’re helping Will with the baby.”
I sat bolt upright, heart pounding and all thoughts about how protective my big brother would be flying out of my head. “Mama doesn’t know about Seb!”
There was the laugh again, the one that came from deep in Adam’s gut. I heard it so rarely that I usually loved listening to it, even if it meant Adam was laughing at me, but I was too stunned at the speed of the Valentine Bay rumour mill to spend any time basking in the sound.
“I assure you, she does.” Adam had left the Bay straight after high school, studying in Sydney and going on to practice there. He insisted he hated living in Valentine Bay, where everyone knew everyone else’s business, but I could tell from the smile in his voice that he got a kick out of the gossip. You could take the boy out of a small town, but not the small town out of the boy. “She’s already knitting him cardigans for the winter.”
My heart settled a little, still beating hard, but now back in my chest instead of my throat. “She’s… happy about it?”
Adam snorted. “Are you kidding? I spoke to her about an hour ago, and she called herselfGrandmaat least twice.”
“Oh, Jesus.” I collapsed back onto the grass and slung an arm over my face. “What the hell am I going to do?”
Adam’s chuckle faded into a sigh. “I’ve told you a hundred times this arrangement between you and Will was an idiotic idea.”
“Harsh,” I mumbled.
“But true.”
“Maybe.” I flopped my arm down by my side and sighed loudly. “But what else was I supposed to do?”
“Tell him how you feel? Have a real relationship for once?”
I scowled at the sky overhead. “You’re one to talk, Mr Married-To-His-Career.”
“Touché.”
