Page 40 of Seduction Under the Southern Stars

I suppose it’s a natural enough reaction after what happened, but it sometimes annoys me that he always thinks I’m calling with bad news. I can’t blame him, though. I know how much the assault shocked him, and that it’s continued to influence his belief systems and faith.

“Everything’s fine,” I say. “Just touching base before I go to work.”

“Ah, okay. What are you up to today?”

“Possibly finishing off cleaning an iron cannon from a shipwreck in Kaipara Harbour. Then I’m going to do some work on my dissertation.”

“Busy girl,” he says. “Got anything planned socially for the weekend?”

“I had a kind of dinner party last night,” I reply. “Fraser and Joel came over with Hallie and Zoe. And we had a special guest.”

He’s quiet for a moment. Then he says, “Oh?”

Anger flares inside me. “I think you know who.”

He doesn’t reply.

I sit there stiffly. Even now I know what he did, it doesn’t stop me loving him or respecting him. I would never yell at him or be rude. But because of that, I don’t know how to vocalize my anger and frustration.

“He told me,” I say eventually. “That you sent him away.” My throat tightens. “All this time, Dad, I thought Linc was the one who walked, and Fraser and Joel were the same. We all believed that Linc didn’t care enough to say goodbye. How could you do that to us?”

“He betrayed us all,” Dad says, his voice hard. “I invested a lot of time and affection in that boy, and he repaid me by violating my daughter.”

“Jesus, Dad! It was one kiss!”

“Don’t curse.”

“I didn’t… I can’t…” I grit my teeth. “I need to express my frustration, Dad. I feel…” As if I’m trying to lever a tight lid off a tin, the barrier holding in my words suddenly pops, and they come tumbling out. “I feel incredibly let down. Linc was… very special to me. I know I was only fourteen, and you’ll say it was just a crush, but looking back, I loved him, at the time, and you know what? I think he loved me too. And it wasn’t crude and vulgar and sordid. I know what those words mean now; I’ve experienced them firsthand.”

“Ah, sweetheart…”

“But what we had was clean and bright and innocent. He told me I was his first kiss, the same way he was mine.”

“And you believe him?”

“Yes, I do. Just for one second, Dad, imagine that you got it wrong.”

He falls silent.

I continue, “He told me yesterday that when he kissed me, he had no intention of doing anything untoward. He said we were close, and it seemed like a natural transition to move from friends to something deeper.”

“He had no right—”

“Dad, I really, really appreciate the wonderful father you’ve been to me, and that you’ve always looked out for me, and protected me. I know that’s what fathers do for their daughters, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I understand why you were angry when you saw him kissing me. But you were wrong. He would never have hurt me. I wasn’t Jeannie, Dad, and he wasn’t Evan. And there is no connection between that kiss and what those other men did to me.”

“Elora, don’t…”

“No, I have to say this. Linc has a tattoo on the back of his neck—two angel wings. He said they refer to people you’ve lost, and he said he got them because of me, and Joel, and Fraser, and you and Mum, and all the kids at Greenfield. It was his home, Dad, and he was devastated that you sent him away. You invested four years in him, and then just abandoned him.”

I wait, but he doesn’t say anything. I bite my lip. I’m sure I’ve shocked him and hurt his feelings, and that makes me feel awful, but it had to be done.

“He came back to New Zealand to go to his father’s funeral,” I tell him. “He came to the museum to see the guys, and he didn’t know I’d be there. It was a shock, but it was so good to see him. You’d be proud of him, Dad. He’s done so well for himself, and he’s such a nice guy, and that’s all down to you.”

He still doesn’t say anything.

“He saw his mum at the funeral,” I say softly. “And she told him that Don Green wasn’t his father.”

I hear an intake of breath, and then he says, “What?”

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