‘It’s a bit early for me, but if you insist.’
‘Ha-ha.’ She stood in her hallway. ‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘Blake had a great night.’
‘So did I,’ Jack said. ‘Don’t I get a kiss?’
‘I smell of garlic.’
She could hear the phone ringing, wondered who it was this late at night, and the panic that was ever present flared just a touch as Jack carried on, oblivious.
‘I love garlic,’ he said as he moved in for a kiss.
‘Nina …’ Blake called. ‘They want to speak to you.’
She knew in that moment who it was and walked into the lounge with her heart thumping.
‘Nina Wilson.’ She closed her eyes, because Jack had followed her back into the lounge and now Jack had a ringside seat to her life. ‘No, she hasn’t been here.’ He watched her open her eyes. ‘No, I had no idea. Of course I’ll ring …’ She took a deep breath. ‘If Janey calls, I’ll let you know.’
And a lovely, albeit reluctantly lovely, Friday night disappeared in a puff. If she had thought her cheap, herby dinner might put him off and had been wrong, then this surely would.
‘Janey’s run away.’
‘Does she run away a lot?’
Nina shook her head. ‘She’s been skipping school and there’s been just that one time I told you about a few weeks ago when she came to my place …’ Nina headed to the window, looked out at the freezing night. She could feel panic squeezing her chest at the thought of Janey out there.
‘She’s probably gone to a friend’s,’ Jack reasoned. ‘Can you think of anywhere that she might go …?’ And then his voice trailed off as the door was pushed open and one very angry young lady walked in.
Jack watched as Nina ran over to her, but Janey pushed her off, anger marring her pretty features as she took in the scene—the scent of dinner still in the air, the popcorn on the coffee table, all evidence of all she had missed out on—then she scowled in Jack’s direction. ‘Sorry to break up your night. Looks like you’ve been having fun.’
‘Janey …’ Nina’s voice was strained. ‘This is Jack, he’s a friend from work. We were …’ She shouldn’t have to explain herself to Janey, so she didn’t. ‘Where have you been? Barbara’s frantic.’
‘I’m not going back.’
‘What happened?’
‘Barbara wanted me in bed at nine. It’s Friday night, for God’s sake.’
‘Why …?’ Nina was trying to stay calm, trying to be reasonable. ‘Why did she want you to go to bed at nine?’
Janey shrugged and then sighed out her answer. ‘I told you, she’s annoyed at me for what happened at netball. I’ve got to clean the basement.’
‘That’s not all, though,’ Nina broke in. ‘I’ve just been told that she grounded you for skipping school today.’
‘Yeah, well, I’m not five—I’m not going to bed at nine. I couldn’t even watch the game. Vince came in and told me to turn the television off.’
‘Because when you’re grounded you’re not supposed to be lying in bed, eating popcorn and watching ice hockey.’ Nina was struggling not to shout. ‘Janey, what do you think it’s going to be like when you live with me? There have to be rules …’
‘Yeah, well, you just carry on enjoying yourselves,’ Janey shouted. ‘I’m out of here.’
Jack said nothing, just watched, because trouble hadn’t just arrived, Janey was in trouble, a whole lot of it, and he’d dealt with enough to know.
‘Why don’t you ring them?’ Janey challenged. ‘And tell them I’m here? Then you can get back to your nice night.’
‘You know I have to ring them,’ Nina said. ‘If I don’t they’ll soon be here to check after last time. Janey, if I am to have any hope—’
‘We’ll go to my place.’ It was the first words he had spoken since Janey had arrived.
‘Jack …’ Nina was furious. ‘You’re just making things worse.’
‘Come on.’ He ignored her. ‘Pack some things.’
‘Jack, can I have a word please?’
She had more than a word, she had several heated ones, but Jack stood firm.
‘Janey needs to talk to you—she needs some time with you.’
‘She doesn’t want time with me—every time that I speak to her all she does is walk off,’ Nina said.
‘Because you get too upset.’
‘Of course I get upset! Jack, she came to my office today, moaning about Barbara. She was jealous that Blake was coming here tonight. I knew she was planning trouble …’ Nina closed her eyes. ‘I have to support Barbara in this. If every time she tries to discipline her, Janey comes running to me, things aren’t going to get any better. I’ll speak with Barbara and suggest that if Janey gets the basement sorted then she can come and spend Sunday night with me.’
‘She won’t and you know it,’ Jack said. ‘If you send her back now, or they put her in a temporary placement, she’s just going to be a whole lot angrier at you. Now, let’s go to my apartment and from there we can sort things, but any minute now you’ll have the department knocking, especially if they found her here last time.’
He was right, so Nina grabbed a few things and a few minutes later her little family was sitting in Jack’s car, Blake beside himself he was so delighted, Janey angry and silent. Nina just quietly panicked, embarrassed by the chaos of her life and unsure this was the right thing to do.
‘We need to ring them.’
‘And we will. We’re not fugitives.’ He turned and smiled at her. ‘You’ve got access to Blake, Janey’s nearly sixteen, you’re her sister …’
‘Could this get you into trouble?’
‘No.’ He shook his head. ‘I’m doing what I think is right and I’ll tell that to anyone who asks. I am not having her taken back just to run away again.’ He glanced in the rear-view mirror and met the hostile stare of Janey. ‘We’ll be there soon.’
As expected, she didn’t reply.
His apartment was huge, but not designed for children. Blake was at his most annoying, running around, while Janey just sat silently on one of his lovely white sofas. All Nina could think was that they were all so out of place in his perfect life.
Even Jack was wondering what on earth to do with them. Yes, there were spare bedrooms but somehow a luxurious bachelor pad wasn’t really conducive to talking, not with a messed-up teenager anyway.
He didn’t do the family thing, had never had the family thing himself. The only time he’d done anything remotely family-like had been … And it was then that Jack had an idea and he turned to Janey.
‘You’re to ring Barbara and tell her that you’re safe, that you’re with your sister, and that you’re going away for the weekend.’
‘Jack!’
He turned to an angry Nina. ‘And you’re to ring back Janey’s worker and tell her the same,’ he said to Nina’s rigid face. ‘She’s not in any danger, she’s with her sister who has access, so just tell them that you’ll bring Janey in on Monday morning to the office.’
‘So they can send me back.’ Janey looked at him.
‘I don’t know,’ he admitted. ‘But running away isn’t helping things.’