CHAPTER SEVEN

      ‘BIT COLD FOR the park today, isn’t it, Doc? They’re sayin’ it could snow.’

      ‘I know, but the boys are desperate for a bike ride. We haven’t been able to get outside to play for days.’

      Jack brightened at the prospect of leaving the tiny space that was his office by the front door of this apartment block.

      ‘Stay here. I’ll fetch those bikes from the basement. Could do with checkin’ that the rubbish has been collected.’

      ‘Oh, thanks, Jack.’ It was always a mission managing two small boys and their bikes in the elevator. This way, he could get their coats and helmets securely fastened without them trying to climb on board their beloved bikes.

      As always, he cast more than one glance towards the door at the back of the foyer as he got ready to head outside. He remembered wanting to knock on it when Grace had first moved in and that he’d been held back by some nebulous idea of boundaries. He didn’t have any problems with it now.

      They’d come a long way since then. Too far, perhaps, but they’d obviously both decided to put that ill-advised kiss behind them and focus on a friendship that was growing steadily stronger.

      And Charles had news that he really wanted to share.

      So he knocked on Grace’s door. He knew she had a day off today because he’d started taking more notice of her name on the weekly rosters.

      ‘Charles... Hi...’ Was it his imagination or was there a glow of real pleasure amidst the surprise of a morning caller?

      He could certainly feel that glow but maybe it was coming from his own pleasure at seeing her. Especially away from work, when she wasn’t wearing her scrubs, with her hair scraped back from her face in her usual ponytail. Today, she was in jeans tucked into sheepskin-lined boots and she had a bright red sweater and her hair was falling around her face in messy waves—a bit like it had been when he’d come home to find her sound asleep on his couch.

      Horse sneaked past her legs and made a beeline for the boys, who shrieked with glee and fell on their furry friend for cuddles.

      ‘I have something I have to tell you,’ Charles said.

      Her eyes widened. ‘Oh, no...is it Miranda? Helena texted me to say she was involved in that subway tunnel collapse—that she’d been trapped under rubble or something.’

      Charles shook his head. ‘She’s fine. She didn’t even need to come into the ER. A paramedic took care of her, apparently. No, it’s about Toby. I just had a call from PICU.’

      He could hear the gasp as Grace sucked in her breath. ‘Toby?’

      ‘Yes. He woke up this morning.’

      ‘Oh...it’s been forty-eight hours. I was starting to think the worst... Is he...? Has he...?’

      ‘As far as they can tell, he’s neurologically intact. They’re going to run more tests but he recognises his parents and he’s said the few words he knows. And he’s smiling...’

      Grace was smiling, too. Beaming, in fact. And then she noticed Jack as the elevator doors opened and he stepped out with a small bike under each arm.

      ‘Morning, Jack.’

      ‘Morning, Miss Forbes.’ His face broke into a wide grin. ‘Yo’ sure look happy today.’

      ‘I am...’ There was a sparkle in her eyes that looked like unshed tears as she met Charles’s gaze again. ‘So happy. Thanks so much for coming to tell me.’

      ‘Can Horse come to the park?’ Max was beside his father’s legs. ‘Can he watch us ride our bikes?’

      The glance from Grace held a query now. Did Charles want their company?

      He smiled. Of course he did.

      ‘Wrap up warm,’ Jack warned. ‘It’s only about five degrees out there. It might snow.’

      ‘Really?’ Grace sounded excited. ‘I can’t wait for it to snow. And I’m really, really hoping for a white Christmas this year.’

      ‘Could happen.’ Jack nodded. ‘They’re predicting some big storms for December and that’s not far off. It’ll be Christmas before we know it.’

      Charles groaned. ‘Let’s get Thanksgiving out of the way before we start talking Christmas. We’ve only just finished Halloween!’

      Except Halloween felt like a long way in the past now, didn’t it? Long enough for this friendship to feel like it was becoming something much more solid.

      Real.

      ‘Give me two minutes,’ Grace said. ‘I need to find my hat and scarf. Horse? Come and get your harness on.’

      The boys had trainer wheels on their small bikes and needed constant reminding not to get too far ahead of the adults. Pedestrians on the busy pavement had to jump out of the way as the boys powered towards the park but most of them smiled at the two identical little faces with their proud smiles. Charles kept a firm hand on each set of handlebars as they crossed the main road at the lights but once they were through the gates of Central Park, he let them go as fast as they wanted.

      ‘Phew...I think we’re safe now. I’m pretty sure the tourist carriages don’t use this path.’

      ‘Do they do sleigh rides here when it snows?’

      ‘I don’t know. I’ve seen carriages that look like sleighs but I think they have wheels rather than runners. Why?’

      Grace’s breath came out in a huff of white as she sighed. ‘It’s always been my dream for Christmas. A sleigh ride in a snowy park. At night, when there’s sparkly lights everywhere and there are bells on the horses and you have to be all wrapped up in soft blankets.’

      Charles smiled but he felt a squeeze of something poignant catch his heart. The picture she was painting was ultimately romantic but did she see herself alone in that sleigh?

      He couldn’t ask. They might have reached new ground with their friendship, especially after that oddly intimate case of working to save little Toby, but asking such a personal question seemed premature. Risky.

      Besides, Grace was still talking.

      ‘Christmas in Australia was so weird. Too hot to do anything but head for the nearest beach or pool but lots of people still want to do the whole roast turkey thing. Or dress up in Santa suits.’ She rubbed at her nose, which was already red from the cold. ‘It feels much more like a proper Christmas when it snows.’

      The boys were turning their bikes in a circle ahead of them, which seemed to be a complicated procedure. And then they were pedalling furiously back towards them.

      ‘Look at us, Gace! Look how fast we can go.’

      Grace leapt out of Cameron’s way, pulling Houston to safety as Cameron tried, and failed, to slow down. The bike tilted sideways and then toppled.

      ‘Whoops...’ Charles scooped up his son. ‘Okay, buddy?’

      Cameron’s face crumpled but then he sniffed hard and nodded.

      ‘Is it time for a hotdog?’

      ‘Soon.’ He was climbing back onto his bike. ‘I have to ride some more first.’

      ‘He’s determined,’ Grace said, watching him pedal after his brother. ‘Like his daddy.’

      ‘Oh? You think I’m determined?’