AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Tom nodded and they went back to the armchair. Callum lingered. He could see Hailey had relaxed. She had begun reading to Tom again, putting on a funny voice as she read the words.
Hailey read on aware of his scrutiny. ‘You’ll miss it,’ she said as Tom turned the page. She didn’t bother to look up.
Callum took her cue and left but the uneasy feeling persisted. The trouble was it didn’t have much to do with Hailey’s moment of doubt and everything to do with how good it felt to see them snuggled on the chair together, their heads close, laughing like they’d been doing it for years.
After her initial insecurities Hailey took to babysitting Tom with all the ease of someone very used to minding children. She allowed him to push the boundaries of his bedtime and they read for nearly an hour after Callum left.
When it came to calling a halt, Tom, obviously struggling to stay awake, didn’t protest. She pulled back his bedcovers, shut his window and tucked him in. He looked very cute, snuggled into the bedclothes, his torch held securely in one hand.
‘Can you lay with me till I go to sleep, Hailey?’ Tom asked drowsily.
Her heart squeezed in her chest. How could she resist such a request when Tom was looking at her with his big blue eyes? Eyes that had seen too much in his short little life.
‘Move over, then.’ She smiled hoping she wasn’t breaking any house rules. She had often lain with Eric as he had drifted off to sleep and a small part of her heart desperately wanted to feel a little body snuggled into her again.
Tom wriggled over and Hailey curled her body around his, one arm around his waist, her other elbow bent, her head propped up on her hand. Hailey watched him fall sleep.
She’d always been nuts about kids, hence her interest in midwifery then paediatrics. The fact that she was now an aunt and due to become so again in the very near future had been a major cause for excitement in her life.
Not that long ago she’d even looked forward to having her own tribe to dote on. But the incident with Eric had made her realise that the loss of a child was utterly devastating. And she never wanted to leave herself open to that kind of hurt again. Ever.
She yawned. Sleep had been elusive since the ball. Last night’s slumber had been worst of all because of her ankle and Callum’s revelations. Her eyelids felt heavy. Surely it wouldn’t matter if she shut her eyes for a moment? She dropped her head onto the pillow, nuzzling the back of Tom’s head, his locks tickling her nose. She burrowed in closer to his little body, sighing contently as she fell deeply asleep.
Callum arrived home to a darkened house at nearly nine o’clock. He carried a bag of Chinese take-aways. He wasn’t sure if Hailey had eaten already or even if she was allergic to MSG, but the least he could do was feed her for helping him out of a tight spot.
‘I’m home,’ he called as he shut the door. There wasn’t an answer and Hailey wasn’t in the lounge room. He frowned, feeling a needle of unease prick at him. He dumped the bags of food in the kitchen and wandered towards his son’s room, urging himself to stay calm.
He pulled up short when he discovered a sleeping Hailey curled up in Tom’s bed, her arm around his son’s waist. He felt his heart flop in his chest and his breath stutter to a halt. They looked like they belonged together. A stranger could be forgiven for pegging them as mother and son.
His chest hurt and he realised he hadn’t taken a breath. He ordered himself to do so and allowed fresh air to fill his lungs. It felt weird to be looking down at something that should be a natural sight. Tom, curled up with his mother. But apart from those precious first few months of Tom’s life, Callum had no memories like this. And Hailey wasn’t his mother.
Callum turned on his heel, hightailing it out of Tom’s room, his mind spinning. He unpacked the take-aways, trying to wrap his head around the twists of his life. He’d been so certain the move from Melbourne had been exactly what they’d both needed. A change of pace. Putting the past and all its tragedies behind and forging a new future in a new town together. The job at the Brisbane General had been perfect. And Annie had always wanted to move to sunnier climes.
He’d known too that her parents had always hankered to retire in Queensland. But he’d also known they’d never move so far away from Tom. So far away from their one tangible connection to their daughter. So the decision, in the end, had been an easy one.
But he hadn’t expected this. A girl called Hailey coming into his life, kissing him on a balcony and cuddling Tom, getting under his skin, making him want things he hadn’t thought about in for ever. Tonight she looked as if she belonged here in his apartment.
