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Hailey wanted Beth to take back the invitation. She didn’t want to dine with him. She didn’t want him to be privy to the intimacy of her family. She wanted him to leave. But her sisters were right. He had been terrifically helpful and it seemed churlish to kick him out when they had enough food to feed an army. ‘Join us,’ she said, forcing a welcoming smile to her lips. ‘Please.’
Callum fought temptation for a few seconds and then succumbed. ‘Sure. Thanks. Tom loves pizza too.’
Tom cheered and startled Bridie, who protested the loss of her food supply before she found the nipple again.
‘How can I help?’ Callum asked Rilla.
‘You can grab some plates,’ she replied.
Hailey watched in dismay as Callum and Rilla disappeared into the kitchen, the feeling that things were spinning out of her control taking a firm hold. ‘So, Callum, you do house calls?’ she heard Rilla ask, and she groaned out loud.
Hailey didn’t taste a single morsel of the delicious gourmet pizza that was served. The conversation eddied and flowed around her and she felt as if she was in the middle of a whirlpool, sucked along, buffeted by the ripples everyone else was making with no control over their direction.
She nodded in the right places, murmured words that seemed to be required of her but inside her head her brain was spinning, sloshing from one side to the other, always a few seconds behind. She felt a slight headache take up residence and she massaged her forehead to relieve the building pressure.
‘Are you OK?’ Callum murmured, noticing the movement.
Hailey started a little at his deep voice so close to her ear and wished again that he’d decided to sit on the other side of the lounge. With her taking up one sofa and Rilla and Beth taking up the other, Callum had opted for the floor. He was currently propped up against the arm of her chair, his long legs stretched out in front, crossed at the ankles.
‘I’m fine,’ she dismissed quickly.
Callum didn’t think she looked fine at all but took that as his cue to rejoin the conversation. He glanced over at Tom, lying in front of the television, and then returned his attention to the women. It was fascinating stuff, trying to work out the dynamics of Hailey’s family. The sisters’ interactions were interesting, their verbal and non-verbal communication telling of a very close relationship.
Beth and Rilla teased Hailey mercilessly. They joked about her shopping addiction, her fondness for eighties disco music, her party-girl existence and her string of short-lived boyfriends. Hailey seemed distracted, responding automatically, but neither sister seemed to notice, the routine obviously familiar to them all.
Callum was surprised. The fun-loving Hailey that Beth and Rilla obviously knew and loved was not the Hailey he had seen. He remembered the New Year’s Eve party. She’d been serious—solemn even. And she’d most certainly been alone. The picture her sisters painted just didn’t fit in with the first impressions he had already formed.
What had happened to her?
His musings were interrupted by a cry of distress from Tom. He looked up to find his son wild-eyed in front of him, tears trekking down his cheeks.
‘My orchie, Daddy. I’ve lost orchie.’
Callum felt his gut clench at the distress in his son’s voice. He pulled him down onto his lap and cuddled him close. ‘It’s OK, Tommy, it was just here—it can’t be too far away.’
Hailey saw the look in Tom’s eyes and was surprised to see something akin to panic. She’d wondered about the connection to the rather austere object. Was it some kind of comfort toy? Like a favourite teddy or a soft blanket? She glanced at Rilla and Beth, who looked equally bewildered.
She’d been aware of a hard object pressing into her good foot for a while and suddenly it clicked as to what it was. Tom’s torch. He must have dropped it there when he’d been shining it on her injury earlier.
She bent at the waist to retrieve it. ‘Ahh! Look what I’ve found!’ Hailey exclaimed.
‘Orchie! Orchie!’ Tom beamed, grabbing it from Hailey and hugging it close.
‘Tom,’ Callum chided gently. ‘It’s not polite to snatch. Say thank you to Hailey.’
‘Oh, thank you, Hailey. Thank you!’ Tom said, and flung his arms around her neck.
The torch was squashed into her chest and Hailey wondered if there would be a bruise there in the morning, but Tom’s high little voice, full of gratitude, overrode any discomfort. His little skinny arms trembled as they clung to her and Hailey held him tight.
‘OK, Tom.’ Callum laughed, pulling him off Hailey’s neck. ‘You’ve got orchie, now go back and watch the telly.’
