“Actually, I’ve changed my mind. I’d love some more of that wine, thanks, Brian.”
Cressa was back in just a few minutes. “I was right. She really wants to speak to you.”
As Brian left the room, her cell phone rang and she pounced on it. “Sorry, Alicia, but I’ve been waiting for this call.”
She exited into the hallway. Adam looked at his mother, who smiled and leaned forward to pat his hand. “I’m so glad you came, Adam. It’s lovely to see you again. I’ve loved being in New Zealand, but I’ve missed you.”
Funny, but he’d missed her and Sass, too, after they’d gone to New Zealand. Following years of seldom seeing one another, the three of them had gotten close while Alicia had been hospitalized with pneumonia and then had entered rehab for her alcoholism. Cole had been supportive, as well, sending letters and sketches from prison to entertain their mom.
“It’s great to see you, too,” he said, and was surprised at how truly he meant it. She’d fought amazing battles to get this far. He felt a flush of chivalric duty and again silently vowed to look after her any way he could over the next four weeks.
Brian and Cressa arrived back in the kitchen at the same time and took their seats. She was brimming with excitement and turned to Adam.
“You’ll never guess.”
He was beginning to learn surprises weren’t good in New Zealand, and couldn’t keep the suspicion out of his voice. “What?”
“I’ve got you some work on the set for the next few days. It’s only a bit part, but it may turn into more. Be ready for an early start tomorrow.”
He dropped his knife on the floor with a clatter and, in the few seconds required to retrieve it, tried to gather his scattered wits.
“I don’t need any work.” It was the best he could think of to say when he straightened.
Cressa leaned forward, eyes dancing. “I know you don’t need it, but Sass said you’d like it. It’ll save you from getting bored. She asked me to see what I could do. So I made a couple of phone calls and the powers that be were really pleased. We’re a warrior short because one of the stuntmen had to return to the States for a couple of weeks for his father’s funeral.” She leaned back, her triumph tangible. “You’ll get to meet lots of people and they’ll just love you! Isn’t that great?”
The same spacey sensation he’d suffered the day before descended on him, the feeling that everything was just out of focus, not quite real. “But,” he said, “I’m going to be busy.”
Cressa appeared surprised. “Doing what?”
Adam sensed Brian’s eyes on him. After their recent skirmishes, no way in hell did he want to admit in front of this guy that he was studying to get into medical school. He glanced at his mother, who appeared curious, a crease of worry between her eyebrows. This was so not the time or the place to tell her, either. Their relationship was too complicated and too fragile at this stage for offhand disclosure. It would kick up old history. So much best left unsaid.
Trapped, Adam uttered the first thing that came into his head. “I’ve got stuff to do.”
He could have kicked himself. Of all the lame excuses available, he’d managed to pick the lamest. Cressa was watching him and he could see questions backing up behind her lips, could feel the ground opening under his feet, so he said the one thing that would make the tense moment go away. “But hey, if it’s only a few days, then great. Yeah. Count me in.”
The brilliant smile Cressa beamed at him almost made the lie worthwhile, but Adam was too busy wondering how many grooms became widowers within their first month of marriage. Just wait till he got his hands on his well-meaning sister. Damn pain-in-the-Sass.
CHAPTER FIVE
IT WAS MIDNIGHT when Adam decided to call it quits. After all, he thought wryly, tomorrow was an early start. Although he was still pissed with Sass and Cressa, the heat had gone out of his anger as he’d become absorbed in his studies. He leaned back in his chair and scrubbed his face with his hands, tired but satisfied. Despite the upsets of the evening, and the lingering jet lag, he’d still managed to get a few hours’ work under his belt. Some days he felt as though he was tilting at the moon. Other times, like now, he felt his goal was almost within his grasp.
He’d spent six long years juggling work and study to get his degree. If he cracked the MCAT in a month’s time and did get accepted into medical school, the next decade would be even tougher. He was mad to even contemplate signing away his life like this, but the desire to be a surgeon burned deep and wouldn’t let him walk away, no matter how tempted he sometimes was.
Being pinned to the spot by Cressa earlier had left him in a devilish predicament. His gallant arrival in New Zealand to allow his sister to enjoy a long honeymoon should not have backfired on him this way. He had a tingling of uneasy presentiment, but damn it, he had the right to not tell anyone about his crazy dream. If it came off, all well and good, everyone would be delighted and he’d be happy to celebrate with them all. If not, he’d want to lick his wounds alone, especially away from Alicia. A man ought to be free to make a bid for the stars without the weight of his mother’s hopes and anxieties on his shoulders; and he ought to be allowed to fail without the burden of her parental guilt. Ideally, he had to admit, he’d also like to escape having to endure public sympathy and pity. Was that so much to ask? Authors wrote novels in back rooms at midnight; inventors experimented in the hidden shelter of garden sheds. Surely he was entitled to his own privacy.
Why, then, this guilt? Why this sinking feeling because he hoped to preserve his secret for a month? After all, he’d already succeeded for six years. How ironic that he should find himself so close to being outed just when the end was in sight.
And all because of Cressa and Sass and their infernal meddling.
Pushing these thoughts to one side, Adam stretched and became aware that the house was strangely quiet. Where were Brian and Cressa? Had Brian ended up staying the night? After dinner, Adam had left them discussing plans. Thirsty, he now prowled through the house to grab a drink before going to bed. Silence. The door to the master bedroom was shut. He had a fleeting image of Brian and Cressa tucked up in the double bed, which he immediately banished. He grabbed the juice from the fridge, a glass from the cupboard and poured himself a long drink, which he downed at the sink. Craning his neck, he looked out the window. The Porsche had gone.
He put the glass in the dishwasher and closed it quietly so as not to disturb Cressa, then padded to the bathroom. The door to her room stood ajar. He knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help glancing in. The room was empty. That is, its occupant wasn’t there, but her possessions had commandeered the space. Her helmet perched on the desk; her red jacket lay slung over the back of the chair. Her big black boots had been kicked off to one corner. Her bag occupied the lower bunk, its contents strewn across the duvet. An iPod and her cell phone out on the pillow of the top bunk.
Something caught his eye through the window and he moved into the unlit room to look closer. Moonlight illuminated the garden, casting shadows under the trees and turning the harbor to beaten silver. A shadowed silhouette stood by the water’s edge. She raised her arms to twist her heavy hair into a knot on top of her head, then waded into the silver water. It was too dark to tell if she wore a wetsuit or not. She got in up to her knees and hesitated. He wasn’t surprised. He’d dipped his hand in the water earlier today and it had been freezing. She waded deeper. When the water reached her hips, she slid down, and all he could see was a tiny black head with silver ripples widening about her. She was either brave or crazy.
At the same time she looked very alone in the beautiful scene. The vision stirred something in him. Then she turned and began to wade swiftly out. No wetsuit, then.
He shot out of her room, racing to the bathroom to brush his teeth and get out of her way. Her toiletries bag was already there, toothbrush set in the mug next to his. Her shampoo alongside his. And her towel, thrown over the