Page 26 of The Mistletoe Wish

“I can explain …” Sara started to say.

“Save it!” Celeste waved a hand in the air. “I’m not interested in your petty excuses. It’s probably more lies anyway. People like you don’t deserve to be listened to; you should be locked away from decent society for good.”

“Let’s take this discussion out of the public domain, shall we?” He wrapped a hand around Celeste’s wrist and tugged. Hard. Anger, doubt and disbelief began a war deep in his brain. He had a hard time processing exactly what was happening in front of him. “Skye. Sara. Grab our gear and head for the car park. We can talk there.”

Celeste wrenched out of his grasp and stalked off, saying over her shoulder, “By all means let’s hush up your stupidity, Darim. We don’t want anyone else realising how much of a fool you are.”

Gritting his teeth, he snatched up the esky and plucked a camp chair under his arm then waved the other two in front of him. No one spoke. Feeling as if he was escorting prisoners, he stalked to where they’d left the car.

There were only a few other people in the car park. A young couple piling three sleepy kids into the back seat of their vehicle; and a group of elderly citizens who climbed into a mini-bus obviously waiting for their driver to appear. They only had a few minutes before the concert ended and the lot would be flooded with people heading home.

He stowed their gear away in the back of the Land Rover then turned around and leant on the side of his car. “You’ll have to find your own way home, Celeste. Where are you staying?”

“Well.” She appeared to be taken aback by his lack of hospitality. “I thought I’d stay with you and Skye. Just like old times.” Apparently oblivious to the way she’d acted and her comments of a moment ago, she placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned close.

“That’s a definite negative.” He pushed her away.

“Have it your way.” She tossed back her salon-perfect mane of blonde hair.

Darim rubbed a hand along his jaw and looked to Skye who looked as if she was about to cry. He didn’t think he was ready to look at Sara yet. “I take it you’ve been talking to your mother.”

Skye nodded.

“It’s okay, Skye.” Sara put an arm around the young girl and gave her a brief hug before letting her go. “It’s natural that you would let your mum know what you’ve been doing and who with. No one is angry with you.”

“I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.” Skye’s voice shook. A tear dripped down her cheek as she stared at her stone-faced mother.

“You’re not the one who’s done anything wrong, darling. It’s your father. He never should have kept that woman’s existence a secret, and certainly not allowed a felon anywhere near you.” She shuddered. “God only knows what poisonous ideas she’s been drip feeding you.”

“I like Sara! She’s cool and is going to teach me how to make a llama rug.”

“Geeze, Celeste. Stop with all this melodrama!” Darim snapped.

Celeste shook her head. “See, Darim? Already that woman has influenced her.”

Head whirling, he battled the growing mistrust his ex-wife had seeded. Sara couldn’t be a criminal. He knew her. Knew her inner integrity and bone-deep kindness. He wouldn’t and couldn’t believe that she would keep such a terrible thing from him. He stepped forward, into Sara’s personal space and placed a finger under her chin. “I don’t believe a word of what she is saying, Sara. I know Celeste. She likes to make trouble.”

But the moment Sara met his eyes, his heart dropped to the bottom of his boots.

There was a deep sadness and shame shining there that couldn’t be mistaken.

“She’s correct. I was convicted and served time.” She spoke flatly as if she was talking about someone else not herself then fell silent. Her mouth had a mulish tilt to it he recognised.

“Sara. Oh, Sara, why didn’t you tell me?” He thought about that moment in the solicitor’s office when they had met again and how on edge she’d acted. She had obviously been afraid that whatever Ty had been about to tell them would reveal her record. Now Darim began to understand why she was so reticent about her past and why she was so aloof with other people. But whatever she had done, he still couldn’t believe that she was a bad person. But why then didn’t she say something in her defense? Why just stand there as if she was about to walk away? Was it because she didn’t care enough? Maybe she just didn’t care about him and Skye as much as he thought and hoped she did.

He stepped back, his hand dropping to his side.

As he did so, her face hardened. That inscrutable mask she wore so well cemented back in place as if the past happy days had never happened.

And something inside him withered.

He could feel his own walls bricking up. “Nothing to say?” he said coldly.

“There isn’t anything to say. I did the crime; I did my time.”

Eyes almost bugging from their sockets, Skye gasped and placed a hand over her mouth.

Even Celeste was momentarily shocked.

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