Page 54 of A Matter of Trust

She’d begged him not to leave her once, all those years ago. He’d gone away and made sure not to come home for more than twelve years.

‘It’s not just about a relationship. I can live with the fact that you don’t want me. I want someone I can rely on not to run when things get tough. For the children’s sake.’

She could almost hear him clamping his mouth shut.

So. Damned. Controlled. What she wouldn’t give to see him out of control just once.

Spinning on her heel, she turned to face him. His mouth was pressed into a thin line and his jaw pulsed with tension.

‘Look, Morgan. You need to stay. You have your contract here. You’re getting the clinic up to speed, you have your parents’ health to consider. It’s easier if we leave. We have nothing to keep us here with Dan gone. I can easily afford to resettle with what I’ll get for the house. Maybe in Bialga.’

Something shifted in his expression, a bleakness in those enigmatic eyes. ‘I wondered if the money from the house might influence your decision. I know how independent you are.’ He flicked something invisible off his cuff. ‘If you think moving is best in this situation I have no objection. I know you’d considered it before I came home. Naturally I’ll give you all the assistance I can.’

‘I don’t need your help. I … we … don’t need anything from you. I’ll call the real estate agent and let her know the house is available if the buyers are still interested. They want to settle as soon as possible so they can clear the site and start building.’

He wanted to protest. She could see it in the flicker of a nerve on the side of his jaw. Instead he inclined his head. ‘As you wish.’

She hesitated at the door. ‘I suppose you want to cancel the Winter Festival launch tomorrow night?’

It took him a moment to answer, his expression oddly unfocused. ‘No. No. We can go ahead with the outing. The children are looking forward to it. I’m sure we can be civil to each other for a few hours.’

Chapter 14

Morgan locked the car and pocketed the keys. Civility was overrated. You could freeze to death from civility. More so than the bitter weather that sent the temperatures plummeting along with the dense cloud cover. There’d been sleet earlier in the day but the afternoon had been overcast but clear.

The two children were bundled up in puffy jackets over tracksuits and wearing knitted woollen hats with earflaps extending into long braided tails. Gabby in her signature pink clashed spectacularly with her hair and Edward in a light blue. Becca wore her slightly shabby black woollen overcoat with green leggings tucked into fleecy boots in deference to the Christmas theme.

He’d gone to buy a ski jacket at the local drapery, his wardrobe lacking anything for this level of chill after his years away in warmer climes. Mrs Dibble, after discussing her granddaughter’s condition at length, found him a bright red coat that clashed with his hair almost as badly as Gabby’s pink. But it fitted and it was warm.

The two children were already dancing away, keen to join the celebrations in the park. Becca followed; her hands shoved into the pockets of her coat. The twins both wore gloves but she’d come out bare headed and with bare hands. He would have liked to offer her his pair but they would swamp her.

He’d miss her, miss them all. Pain stabbed at his chest, taking his breath.

While the two children grabbed their jackets, she’d informed him the buyer signed the documents of sale that morning, giving her until the end of the month to move out. Morgan hadn’t expected things to move so quickly. He certainly hadn’t expected her to tell him she’d be handing him her notice on Monday because she planned to get the children settled into their new school at Bialga for the beginning of next term.

Pulling his leather gloves on, he followed the small group, wanting to make the most of what was probably going to be the last family outing he’d be a part of.

After this, there’d only be occasional weekends with the children, depending on his clinic commitments and when he was on call. At least Bialga wasn’t far away for picking them up. He’d been afraid she might go further, to Brisbane or Sydney or one of the other larger centres further away. It would have made visitation almost impossible, restricted to school holidays. Jeanette had been through it all with Tory’s father. At least while the girl was in hospital she’d be able to see her dad, who’d moved to Sydney before Tory was born.

Morgan swallowed the ache in his throat. After the years without knowing he had children, and the hope of building something closer, it would have been too much to give up seeing them altogether.

The parklands glowed with the trees sparkling with lights. Down near the creek the reflections turned the scene into a fairyland. Gabby was enraptured, her eyes darting everywhere as they made their way through the crowds. His parents travelled in separately, intending to meet them near the bandstand at the centre of the park. They were almost there when a touch on his shoulder attracted his attention.

‘Morgan?’

He halted and Becca and the children turned too, rushing to give Thackery a hug. He was wearing the fur-lined coat with jeans and sheepskin boots. His hair was tucked up into an oversized striped beanie in red, yellow and black. Morgan was starting to get used to the younger man with his passion for recycled clothing. Thackery would miss the children too and they’d miss seeing him.

Morgan pushed away a twinge of something in his chest that might have been guilt.

Had he pressured Becca into making a hasty decision she might regret? He’d regretted it the moment she’d announced her intentions, but how could he ask her to stay? She’d sold her home and there was no way she’d choose to live with him.

The two children were dragging Thackery with them towards the lovely federation era bandstand with coloured lights outlining the posts and the octagonal shape of the peaked roof with the finial on top. The sound of the local brass band tuning up was drawing the audience and Morgan found himself beside Becca as the movement pulled them forward.

Without thinking, he grabbed her hand, afraid he’d lose her in the surging motion of the crowd. She stiffened and then relaxed, allowing him to link his fingers with hers as they followed in the direction of the rest of their group. Even through his glove, warmth flowed from her touch.

Typically, Edward towed Thackery and Gabby to the front, immediately below the stairs. The moment they reached them, Becca tugged her hand from his, leaving him feeling chilled.

A local identity performed the welcome to country and once they’d finished the band broke into the theme music of a well-known soap opera. Tony Field jogged onto the stage looking every inch the star yet retaining that homegrown quality that reminded everyone here he was a local lad.

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