The Australian's Bride. Alison Roberts
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was sitting. A hunched figure scraping a meaningless pattern in the sand with a piece of driftwood, oblivious to the view of the ocean and small islands that advertised their presence in paradise. Beside her, with big brown eyes peering anxiously beneath golden dreadlocks, sat Garf. Close enough to cuddle but respectfully keeping his distance for now. The dog seemed, in fact, to be enjoying the view Stella was ignoring.
Susie slid down the side of a dinghy to a squat rather than a sitting position, being as careful as Garf not to intrude too forcefully into Stella’s space. She couldn’t assume she was welcome. Maybe it was only on her side that the relationship had become so much more than that of therapist and patient.
‘Hey,’ she said gently. ‘You OK, hon?’
The only answer was a sullen sniff.
Susie picked up a handful of the fine white sand and let it drift through her fingers. ‘Dr Wetherby’s taken your dad off to see the medical centre. He thought you might want a bit of time to yourself.’
‘I do. Go away.’
‘I think your dad’s had a stressful day getting here,’ Susie offered. ‘He got a bit of a shock seeing you all dressed up, that’s all. He’ll get over it.’
‘No, he won’t.’
‘We won’t let him stop you going to the disco.’
‘I don’t want to go.’
She didn’t really expect Susie to believe that, did she? Maybe she didn’t realise that her exchange with fourteen-year-old Jamie had been overheard that morning.
‘You going to the disco?’
‘Dunno. Maybe.’
‘You should. It’ll be choice.’
‘Yeah… OK…’
‘Cool. See you there, then.’
Even if she had been aware of Susie listening, Stella wouldn’t have known that, in the wake of Jamie’s grin, her face had been the picture of every teenage girl in existence who was experiencing her first crush.
And Susie had used that secret as an emotional key to get through the last barrier and get Stella walking properly. The day had snowballed from then on. The hugely successful physio session, the shopping and the make-over. A crescendo of excitement that had just been shredded.
A flash of anger resurfaced.
‘Your dad’s wrong,’ Susie said firmly. ‘He only said that about how you look because he doesn’t realise you’re growing up. It’s not what the other kids will think, believe me.’ Not what Jamie would think, but she couldn’t say that.
Stella hunched into a tighter ball. ‘It doesn’t matter. I don’t care.’
Using the side of the other dinghy as a climbing frame, Stella clambered upright awkwardly. She picked up her crutches without looking at Susie. ‘Who wants to go to a stupid disco anyway?’
The hunched shoulders, resentful tone and total lack of eye contact was achingly familiar.
They were right back to where they’d been at the start of this week.
Back to square one.
Susie watched miserably as Stella moved slowly over the sand.
Something wonderful had been happening in the last few days. Something that had filled a lonely space with magic and created more joy than she had known her career could provide, but that new, hopeful space had just exploded, thanks to a human bomb. Even Garf’s head on her knee wasn’t enough to comfort her.
Susie straightened her legs, giving Garf a quick scratch under his chin as she stood up. She watched as two boys ran onto the beach, past Stella. They weren’t camp kids but Susie had seen them hanging around in the last day or two and she didn’t like the look of them at all.
‘Hey, Zach, look!’ One of them shouted. ‘It’s one of those cripples from the kiddie camp.’
‘Crip-ple!’ His mate taunted loudly. ‘Hop-along! Go back to the forest with all the other freaky frogs!’
Laughing, the teens in their designer board shorts kept loping onto the beach, oblivious to the hurt they might have caused.
Susie’s hands bunched into fists. She started moving, intending to intercept the boys and give them a piece of her mind, but from the corner of her eye she could see another group of young people arriving. These were camp kids and Jamie was leading them.
He must have heard the taunting and Stella would have to know he’d heard it, which would only have made it even more cutting. The tall, lanky body of the teenager, bronzed by so many hours in the surf, was gathering speed. Tousled, blond-streaked hair bounced. Susie could see why he was catching the attention of the girls.
And not just the girls. With a delighted woof and an apologetic glance up at Susie, Garf abandoned her to join the fun.
She watched the way Jamie bent to welcome the dog by ruffling his soft coat. Should she try and enlist the boy’s help in boosting Stella’s self-esteem? Could she do it without making it look contrived? Should she even try? Susie knew the answer to that one but desperation might have tipped the balance if her thoughts had not been interrupted by the ringtone of her mobile.
It was Charles.
‘Could you spare a few minutes to come to my office?’ he asked. ‘Alex would like to talk to you.’
‘I’m not at all sure I would like to talk to him.’ Susie was still watching Jamie. He had caught up with the strange boys and was clearly saying the kind of things Susie had been planning to say. She smiled. Stella knew how to pick them, didn’t she?
‘Susie!’ Charles’s tone had a glint of amusement. Understanding. But it was also a reprimand. Charles wouldn’t have suggested the meeting unless he thought it would benefit the people he cared about.
Like her.
And Stella.
Susie sighed. ‘I’m on my way.’
‘IT’s the perfect solution.’
‘I agree.’
The latest arrival in the office wasn’t looking quite so convinced.
‘Let me get this straight,’ Susie said slowly, still looking at Charles. ‘You want me to spend the weekend in the penthouse suite at the resort that was reserved for Stella and Mr Vavunis? And Mr Vavunis is going to use my cabin?’
‘Call me Alex.’
He hadn’t noticed how astonishingly blue Stella’s physiotherapist’s eyes were but, then, he hadn’t taken much notice of her physical appearance at the jetty, had he? Or was it because they were now tucked away in the neutral décor of this air-conditioned space in the new medical centre and the competition from the vast blueness of the sky and ocean had been removed?
Whatever. The expression in those eyes was not impressed and she made no acknowledgement of the invitation to use his first name. Dammit! He knew he’d been rude earlier but it could hardly be considered unprovoked and he certainly wasn’t going to jump through hoops in order to call a truce.
‘It’s the closest eco-cabin to the girls’ dormitory,’ Charles said calmly. ‘A compromise that would allow Stella to spend time with her dad but still be close to her mates.’ An eyebrow quirked. ‘It’s also the last available two-bedroomed cabin.’
‘But what about Mike and Emily?’
Alex suppressed a sigh. He had anticipated a delighted acceptance of the plan he and