Bella kicked a linen bag and the automatic kickboxing hand posture that went with the kick made her laugh at herself. Her year of self-defence classes had turned out to be an absorbing challenge. She’d achieved many things in the last twelve months and Scott Rainford was not going to undermine her success with his bitterness.
She used that thought to insulate herself against the pricking pain she shouldn’t be feeling from mere words. Furiously she cleaned the instruments and wiped the trolley down. He had no idea what she was capable of.
When Bella unlocked her front door it seemed a year since she’d left the house that morning. As she put down her bag, she realised that with all the excitement of Lachlan’s arrival she’d forgotten she had to drive the youth bus tonight.
She stifled a sigh and hung her house keys on the hallstand. The chortling sound of a baby’s laugh made her smile as she wandered into the kitchen.
‘Your meal is on the stove, Bella.’ Vivie, Bella’s nineteen-year-old housekeeper, looked up from the last spoonful of vegetables she was trying to coax into her son’s mouth. She grinned at Bella’s appreciate sniff. ‘I made your favourite. Pumpkin and macadamia soup. And congratulations on being an auntie.’
Bella ruffled the baby’s hair and the little boy gurgled up at her. ‘Thank you, Vivie. You’re a treasure. I’ve just remembered I have two hours before my first bus trip. Do you want to slip up to see Abbey and baby Lachlan while I mind young Ro?’
Vivie’s baby had been named after Abbey’s husband, Rohan. They all shortened the baby’s name to prevent confusion. Bella lifted the lid on the pot and closed her eyes as the soup’s aroma filled the room. ‘You should be a chef, Vivie. Your meals are fabulous.’
Vivie shook her head vehemently. ‘I’m happy here, thank you. And I’d love to see Abbey and the baby for a few minutes if I could.’ Vivie put the spoon down and wiped her son’s mouth with his bib before she lifted him out and onto his play mat in the corner. ‘We saw Rohan. He dropped in to see Aunt Sophie after he left the hospital. He looked pretty blown away by being a father.’
Bella smiled as she ladled soup into a bowl Vivie had left out for her. Rohan had a soft spot for Bella’s elderly maiden aunt who resided in the front rooms of Bella’s big house. An avid punter, Aunt Sophie’s world revolved around her television set and penny-gambling on horse races via telephone.
‘I’ll take Aunt Sophie over to see them when they come home. She hates going out.’ Bella smiled as she imagined her aunt’s visit to Abbey and her baby in a few days. ‘Who’s home?’
Bella’s family home had grown into a self-sufficient refuge for young women in crisis, something Abbey had unintentionally started before she’d moved next door with her new husband. Bella had expanded that aim when she’d taken over the house.
Vivie ticked off the people on her fingers. ‘Melissa is still here, but she wants to go with you in the bus to the bowling club and needs to talk to you about a friend who wants to board.’
Bella looked up and mentally reviewed the rooms. There were three left. ‘We’ll see.’
Vivie nodded and went on. ‘Lisa is still feeling unwell from morning sickness and is lying down, and Aunt Sophie said she’s staying in her rooms until the last race. The twins have gone out but they did bring the washing in and put it away before they went.’ She pushed the high chair back against the wall.
‘Oh, and Dr Rainford rang and said he wanted to come on the bus with you tonight.’
The spoonful of soup on the way to Bella’s mouth stopped in mid-air. ‘Now, how the heck did he find out I was driving tonight?’
Vivie looked uncomfortable. ‘He said he’d ring back when you got home and I mentioned you’d be in and out after seven. And it went on from there. Sorry.’
Bella put the untouched spoon back into the bowl and forced a smile. ‘No problem. You go and see Abbey. Young Ro and I will stay here until you get back, then I’ll get organised.’
Vivie smiled her thanks and dashed off to change. Bella lifted the spoon again. She did not understand how Scott Rainford thought he could barge into her private life uninvited. Why would he want to when he was obviously unhappy about her presence in his professional orbit?
It was five to seven and Bella had backed the cumbersome bus out of the garage into the driveway to allow her first passenger to board.
Melissa, at eighteen, was thirty-four weeks pregnant, and her yellow chenille trousers made Bella blink. Melissa’s wrists jangled every time she moved her hands and her body piercing was nothing short of incredible. A sweet-natured girl, Melissa had been badly let down by the boyfriend she was still in love with.
‘Vivie says you had something to ask me?’ Bella smiled to convey that she was listening and waited for Melissa to explain. The girl drew a deep breath, as if preparing for the worst, and Bella looked back at her puzzled. ‘Why so worried? I’ve never refused anyone in trouble, have I?’
‘It’s just that this is different. But not different! Well, it is different but shouldn’t be.’
Bella blinked. ‘Run that by me again.’
‘My friend…’ Melissa wrung her hands and the jewellery rattled and pinged with the movement ‘…is staying at the pub and it’s expensive, and she’s a really nice person. I guess, like me, the earrings and tattoos don’t help people like them.’
‘So you’d like your friend to stay at Chisholm Road until she finds somewhere to live. Is that right?’
Melissa twisted her hands again. ‘Sort of. But different.’
Bella sighed. ‘We’re back to different. Different shouldn’t be a problem.’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘Is she not pregnant, doesn’t speak English, has two heads?’
‘She’s a he.’ Melissa shot a glance at Bella and rushed on. ‘His name’s Blake, and he really is a sweetie.’
Bella stifled another sigh. She knew this had to come up some time. ‘How old is your Blake?’
Melissa shook her head. ‘He’s not my Blake. I still love Thomas.’ Her head drooped. ‘Even though he doesn’t love me.’ After a few moments of wishful thinking Melissa straightened her neck. ‘But Blake is twenty and my very best friend. He hasn’t been in town long but he stood up for me when some people were giving me a hard time and we’ve spent heaps of time together since. And I said I’d ask if he could stay. Maybe he could work around the yard or something. He said he would.’
Bella smiled at the girl in the rear-view mirror and reached across to shut the door. ‘We’ll see. We’d need a house meeting. I’m not promising anything.’ She started the engine and the radio came on with the ignition and gave her a respite from further discussion. She needed to think about this.
At least she didn’t have to deal with Scott Rainford while she worked it out. Bella wasn’t sure whether she was relieved that Scott hadn’t come or annoyed that she’d wasted time deciding what to wear. Relief won.
Unfortunately, just as she pushed in the clutch, his car drew up at the end of the driveway. Bella sighed and opened the passenger door again.
Darn. She could have done without this. Her pulse skipped and she closed her eyes for a second to steady her nerves.
He was dressed casually in dark jeans and a yellow polo shirt that sat snugly across his broad shoulders and deep chest. To Bella, he looked disturbingly handsome and charged with a virility that she could more easily ignore at work—but not tonight. He seemed bigger and stronger as he loomed over her seat and he made her aware of how slight she was compared to him.
‘Were you leaving without me, Bella?’ Scott had climbed the two steps into the bus and chosen the front seat directly next to her