The Reunion Of A Lifetime: The Reunion of a Lifetime / A Bride to Redeem Him. Fiona Lowe

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СКАЧАТЬ in my line and I’ll help her.’

      She grabbed his rod. ‘Slowly, Charlie. Slowly.’

      ‘I reckon you’ve caught a brick, Shaylee. Put your hands over mine.’ Charlie played the line, his hands looking large under the little girl’s.

      ‘Bricks don’t bite hooks, silly.’ But she was gazing up at Charlie as if he was some sort of hero.

      Lauren knew that look—a long time ago she’d been guilty of it herself. Now she was wiser. She was never putting a man on a pedestal again. ‘Don’t break the line,’ she instructed—her shame and regret about Jeremy making the words more brusque than necessary.

      ‘Like that’s my intention,’ Charlie muttered, as he gave the line some slack.

      A small crowd of anglers and onlookers gathered around them, many offering suggestions and pondering out loud what Shaylee might have caught.

      ‘Could be a flathead,’ a tourist offered.

      Spiros Papadopoulos rolled his eyes at the ill-informed holidaymaker. ‘Have to be a bloody big one to bow the rod like that. More like salmon or whiting.’

      ‘What if it’s a shark?’ Shaylee asked, eyes wide.

      ‘Then we’ll get our picture in the paper.’ Charlie’s excitement matched the little girl’s.

      As Charlie followed Spiros’s instructions, Lauren’s gaze fell to the play of muscles on his back, easily seen due to the combination of his current lack of weight and the thin and worn T-shirt. Ever since he’d told her about the cyclone, she’d found herself worrying about him. Being caught up in a natural disaster was bad enough but adding in the car accident made him a prime candidate for PTSD. That was, if he didn’t already have it.

      I have a counsellor. But was he telling the counsellor the real story?

      Lauren knew smart people were more than capable of using smoke and mirrors to lead counsellors away from the real issue or issues. She had a gut feeling Charlie was doing exactly that to her, let alone a counsellor. Each day at lunch he’d lean casually against the counter and draw her out. ‘Any flashbacks? You sleeping okay? Come on, eat a bit more than that.’

      Yesterday, after three days of sitting around doing nothing, she hadn’t been hungry, and after eating half her sandwich she’d handed him the plate. ‘You have the rest.’

      He shook his head. ‘Gran’s got lunch waiting for me. I’ll put some cling wrap over this so you can have it later.’

      She wanted to believe he ate a late lunch each day with Anna, except the only problem with that was his grandmother was diabetic. If diabetics indulged in late lunches, they risked collapsing. When she added in the fact that Charlie was underweight for his height and breadth, she was certain he wasn’t eating enough. It was the reason that eluded her and brought her full circle back to PTSD.

      Or cancer. Or a million other possibilities.

      The doctor in her itched to examine him and run a raft of tests. The woman in her wanted to—what? Feed him? Help him? Hug him? Despite trying hard not to want to do anything, she was leaning towards all three.

      ‘Get a net,’ Charlie yelled. ‘Whatever it is, it’s big.’ He heaved and his back leaned into her—his warmth and enthusiasm giving her a rush.

      She grabbed the net and scurried to his left, ready to scoop the flailing fish the moment it broke the surface.

      ‘Yuk!’ Shaylee shrank back into Charlie. ‘What’s that?’

      Charlie laughed. ‘It’s a cracker of a squid, sweetie. It looks yuk but it will taste amazing.’

      Lauren caught the prehistoric-looking cephalopod in the net to the cheers of the crowd and plunged it into the bucket to avoid being inked. Charlie stood up and held Shaylee’s arm aloft, as if she was a champion boxer. ‘Shaylee, the squid wrangler.’

      One of the anglers sighed. ‘I’ve got a state-of-the-art squid jig and you caught it on a hook.’

      His friend slapped him on the shoulder. ‘You gotta give her the luck, bro.’

      ‘She deserves it,’ Lauren said, thinking about Shaylee’s mother. ‘Hold it up, honey, and I’ll take a photo.’

      Charlie helped Shaylee hold what looked to be about a two-kilogram squid. As Lauren lined up the yellow square in preparation for the photo, she read unadulterated joy on both their faces. It struck her that it wasn’t an emotion either of them wore very often. Tears pricked the backs of her eyes. Don’t be pathetic...again! ‘Smile.’

      ‘Ian! Sue!’ Shaylee called after the photo was taken. ‘Look!’

      Lauren turned and waved to her parents, who were strolling along the pier arm in arm.

      ‘That’s a beaut, Shay. Looks like you’ve been having fun.’ Ian winked at Lauren before swinging the little girl around. ‘We’ll be eating well tonight.’

      Lauren’s heart rolled. Her father had so much love to give and she was fortunate to be his daughter, even if there’d been times growing up when she’d wished she didn’t have to share him with quite so many other children. She loved her parents, but their well-developed sense of social justice sometimes left Lauren feeling unworthy. Although neither Ian nor Sue had ever said anything, she knew they were disappointed they weren’t already grandparents. Lauren was disappointed for them too. For herself. The sad memory of that long-ago miscarriage suddenly rushed her and one lone tear resisted her rapid blinking and spilled over. She was thankful she was wearing sunglasses.

      There was a whirlwind of packing up, of Sue and Ian making a fuss of Shaylee and pumping Charlie’s hand, thanking him for being there to help, and then her parents and Shaylee were in the car, driving away. Suddenly she was standing alone with Charlie under the Norfolk pines.

      ‘Still think fishing’s like watching paint dry?’

      He grinned. ‘I think it’s more like being on call. There’s a lot of boring hanging around waiting and thumb-twiddling and then, wham! An adrenaline rush.’ He gazed down at her, the shadows cast by the sunlight pouring through the tree branches dancing on his face. ‘Of course, the best part of today is that you’re cooking.’

      ‘Hah! In your dreams. Shaylee caught it.’

      His head dropped closer. ‘I reeled it in.’

      Her stomach fluttered as his crisp, fresh scent circled her. ‘I netted it to stop it from slipping away.’

      ‘I see a problem.’ He tucked some strands of her hair behind her ear before his fingers lazily caressed it then slipped along the length of her jaw.

      Mini-explosions of delight fizzed in her veins before seizing control of her mind and making all cogent thought difficult. It’s not Charlie making you feel this way, she quickly reminded herself. Ben or any other nice guy would generate the same buzz, because it’s been such a long time since you’ve been touched like this.

      Lost in the bliss of his touch, she dug deep to find her voice. ‘You...you do?’ she said huskily.

      But СКАЧАТЬ