Page 63 of Beneath the Sapphire Sky

How would they be able to trust her now? She’d latched on to something Jack had said months ago, and it had triggered an action. They’d have to lock the shed when Adelaide wasn’taround to keep an eye on her, something they’d never had to do in the past. Sure, they rolled down the massive roller door that faced the driveway at night, but they never locked the rear access door that led to the house.

Belle closed her eyes and grimaced.

Somehow Jem had slipped past their notice and managed to dump kilograms of sulphur into the vats.

Dammit.

She leaned forward and kissed her mother’s cheek. It couldn’t be helped. What was done, was done. Financially and emotionally, the toll was huge.

But the knowledge that some random person hadn’t deliberately tried to ruin their business helped.

“Do you want me to go ahead?” Mac’s quiet question to her father caught her attention.

Jem looked up at the unfamiliar voice. “Oh, hello. Are you a policeman?”

Mac smiled sadly and nodded. Belle’s heart twisted. Her mother had loved Mac and his brothers, who’d often hung around with Jack.

“Yes, Mrs Davis. I just came by to say hello.”

Belle breathed a sigh of relief. He was such a thoughtful person. Kind. Considerate. Qualities getting rarer, seemingly each year.

Her father touched Mac’s forearm and shook his head. “I think we have our answer.”

Mac nodded. “I’ll head out then and add this to the report.”

Jem looked at Belle’s hands still holding her own. She looked up into Belle’s face and smiled.

“Hello, dear. You look just like my Isabel, but older. Are you her cousin?” Jem frowned, confused. “What was your name again?”

Belle bit her lip and closed her eyes for a moment to draw strength.

She didn’t think she’d ever get used to the times her mother didn’t recognise her. It hurt too much.

Jack leaned forward to kiss Jem’s cheek, taking her attention. “We’ve come to take you home! You’re all better now.” He stood up and grabbed the bag sitting beside Jem’s chair.

Her father took his wife’s hand. She smiled beatifically up at him, still so obviously in love with her husband. Belle thanked the stars that she still recognised him. Her father patted her hand and led her out of the hospital room and into the noticeably aging hallway.

Belle followed them at a short distance as they made their way toward her dad’s car. She wrapped her arms around herself, cold despite the warmth in the air.

The one person she needed right now was Dante. Seeing his wide smile, the happy glint in his eyes when he looked up and saw her, the massive hug she knew he’d fold her in without thought—that’swhat she needed.

He’d always been there. Her constant; her shadow, who had her back no matter what. She’d never needed to turn around to know he was there to catch her.

And she’d almost thrown it all away.

On top of everything that had happened with her mother and the revelation Mac had exposed, it was all too much. The tears she’d tried so hard to suppress in her mother’s hospital room hit.

She leaned against the concrete block wall leading to the car park and slid down it to wrap her arms around her knees. Shudders shook her body with the force of her tears. Her teeth chattered.

Belle buried her face in her knees and cried.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Belle walked intothe Happy Valley Vineyard Café, which in reality was an extremely upmarket, city-styled restaurant. Lots of gleaming chrome and glass looked back at her. It was lovely, but felt cold.

Jack nudged her shoulder and nodded toward the other side of the rapidly filling room.

Dante.

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