The Lawson Boys: Alex by Angela Verdenius Page B

further. Getting out, he
closed the gate, glancing briefly towards Harly’s house as he did
so. She was standing there in the glow of the house lights,
watching silently. She didn’t call out, or if she did, he didn’t
hear it. He waved once, curt and brief, then got into the jeep and
drove back towards Paul’s place.
    Pushing away
his troubling thoughts, his sudden doubts, his disturbed
feelings.
    Because Harly
had just prodded a wound he hadn’t realised was still very
sore.
    And he was
starting to wonder… No, he couldn’t wonder, couldn’t think about
it, because it wasn’t possible.
    It had nothing
to do with it, nothing.
    Nothing .
    ~*~
    Sitting on the
sofa with her foot propped up on the foot rest, Harly carefully
stroked the lilac nail polish onto her toenails. The lounge was
cosy, one lamp near the sofa casting a pale glow, another lamp near
the doorway doing the same. The heavy brocade curtains were drawn
against the chill night air, the mantle clock ticked the minutes
away, and Buffy and the cats were sprawled in their usual sleeping
places, the cats over the furniture and Buffy on her cushion in
front of one half of the sofa. The TV played one of her favourite
British cop mysteries, she could smell the lavender scented body
talc she’d used after her shower, her flannel nightgown was
comfortable and warm against her skin, the little bar heater warmed
the immediate area, she had a hot Milo steaming on the coffee
table, and tomorrow she was working on her sewing orders and didn’t
have to go into the café.
    Wiggling her
toes, Harly studied the colour approvingly.
    For the first
time since Alex had come to town she felt light, as though a huge
load had been lifted from her shoulders. He knew about the
pregnancy, he accepted it, he wasn’t mad at her anymore…she
guessed. He’d seemed okay, understanding, and the shock on his face
when he’d realised that she’d been scared of him had warmed up a
little part of her heart.
    Life right now
was good. Oh, she thought about the baby now and again, she even
had a little cherub statue out the back amongst the roses in
memory, but the reality was it had happened sixteen years ago. Her
unknown baby would always have a special place in her heart, and
she sometimes wondered what life would have been like if her body
hadn’t spontaneously aborted the baby, but again the reality was it
had happened, and she’d accepted it. Time had healed her wounds,
and this last part, the facing up to Alex, had closed the chapter
in her life peacefully.
    Twisting the
cap back onto the nail polish bottle, Harly placed it onto the
coffee table and retrieved the hot mug of Milo, leaning back to
comfortably stretch her legs out to rest on the foot rest while she
sipped at the hot liquid.
    Yes, she felt
at peace.
    Alex, however…
She frowned. Okay, he possibly wasn’t going to get over it as fast
as her, but the reality was that he hadn’t known about the baby
until five months ago. He’d be mad, sure, and his acceptance had
been there when she’d told her story, she’d seen the
acknowledgement on his face, but there was still a tightness around
his eyes, a feeling of something not right.
    When she’d
asked him, his expression had changed, going from puzzlement to
shock before he’d yanked down that inscrutable mask he wore so
well, and then he’d left her like a bat out of hell.
    So there was
something else going on, but whether it was to do with the baby or
more, she wasn’t certain. It was linked, that much she was figuring
out, but what, how, and why?
    Taking a sip of
Milo, she started unseeingly at the TV screen, not even noticing
the chase scene playing out in the bright glow.
    Maybe Paul
would know? Did she have a right to ask him? What if whatever was
wrong, he didn’t know and it brought up questioning that Alex
wouldn’t like and might even make him leave early? She certainly
didn’t want to cause trouble between two friends.
    And really, was
it any of her