A Risk Worth Taking

“Mom’s been living in the sleep-out these past couple of months—Sass put her there to give her some privacy. So you’ll be in the house with me. You’ve got a choice, but I expect you’d like Sass and Jake’s room. It’s the biggest and has a double bed. The twins’ room is another option, but it has bunk beds and is a mess.”

He pushed open the door. “Here you are.”

But the sight of the double bed, the almost tangible sense of intimacy, had her backing out.

“You know, I’ll take the boys’ room.”

“Sure,” said Adam in his easy Texan way, but she’d seen his curious glance. She covered up with an explanation.

“That’s where I always used to be. I haven’t slept in the bunks for years. Now I won’t have to fight sisters for the top one.”

“You’ve been here before?” Adam was surprised.

“Yeah, we used to have family holidays here when I was a kid. That was how Jake got to rent it now, and why he and Sass invited me to stay. Jake thought I might like to enjoy the place one last time before the resort goes in.”

She felt sad at the thought of the house being taken away so the eco-resort could be built, but as Jake had said with a wry expression, it was time for other people to share the beauty of Aroha Bay. To have this final opportunity to experience the serenity of the bay was wonderful, and she’d have leaped at the chance, anyway. Adam just happened to be a bonus.

The room at the end of the hall felt like home. She’d forgotten how lovely it was, with windows on two walls and a view over the harbor. Teenage detritus was scattered about, but nothing she couldn’t chuck into the cupboard in a couple of minutes.

“It’s perfect.”

She unzipped her jacket. She saw Adam’s eyes follow the movement as he propped a shoulder against the top bunk. So she hadn’t been wrong. The currents weren’t as edgy as yesterday, but they were definitely running between them, however much he might pretend they weren’t.

“Really? Even the artwork?”

The walls were covered in posters of waves and girls in impossibly tiny bikinis. She stuck her hands into her back pockets as she looked around. “Makes a change from the pop posters we used to paper our rooms with. Except for Des. She had this thing for kitten posters. What did you have?”

“I shared a room with my brother, Cole. He’s into art, so we had all his drawings on one wall and my posters of motorbikes on the other.”

Cole. The one in prison. Moana hadn’t known much about why he was there. She’d said the Walker family had lots they chose not to talk about. Adam had mentioned his brother casually, but Cressa decided now was not the time to go into it. Although Adam seemed the same easygoing Texan of the night before, she could sense his defenses were up; his face gave nothing away.

He straightened. “Where’re your bags? I’ll bring them in.”

“Hey, no need. I can manage on my own.”

“I’m sure you can, but Mom would kill me if she saw you carrying them by yourself. She’s a feminist, but still doesn’t see why a gentleman shouldn’t be a gentleman.”

“Indeed I do not.”

They turned at the soft voice, and Alicia came forward to kiss Cressa on the cheek. “Welcome. Sorry I wasn’t here to meet you. I was out in the garden. Dinner’s nearly ready. We’re so pleased you’re joining us. We’ll eat in the kitchen, since there’s just the three of us. It’s cozy in there. Adam, you get Cressa’s bags while we set the table.”

“See what I mean?” Adam raised his hands in humorous resignation and departed. Cressa smiled.

“It’s very kind of you to have me, Alicia.”

“The pleasure is ours. The house will be so quiet now that Sass and Jake and the boys have gone. I know Adam will appreciate having someone other than his mother around. Wasn’t yesterday wonderful?”

Cressa followed her down the hallway to the kitchen just in time to find one of the pots on the stove boiling over.

“Dear me,” said Alicia, lifting it off the element and setting it to one side. She opened the oven door. Smoke and the smell of burning chicken filled the room. “Oh, my. That’s not good.”

Cressa went to set the table, and was astonished to find that the place mats and cutlery were kept exactly where they used to be. It gave her an eerie feeling of déjà vu. As she and Alicia chatted about the wedding, Cressa checked out the older woman. She was as neat as a pin, in white trousers and a blue jersey, and Cressa found it difficult to believe she had been cleaning all day. Her shoulder length hair fell in a silky curtain the way Adam’s did. Otherwise, they couldn’t look more different. It was as if a dove had given birth to an eaglet. An aura of femininity surrounded Alicia. Her soft voice and graceful movements were a far cry from Deirdre’s quick efficiency.

Hard to imagine Alicia an alcoholic. Hard to imagine her the mother of a convict. She’d had a blond husband and had taken a Cherokee lover. There was a lot more to this woman than her sweet, vague Southern mannerisms might suggest.

Adam came in. “Ah, I’d forgotten the smell of home cooking.”

His mother swatted him with the oven mitt. “I was distracted by Cressa’s arrival.”

Cressa thought about the untended pots and held her tongue, but she and Adam exchanged glances. It was the first time he’d looked her in the eye today, and Cressa immediately found Alicia’s cooking methods endearing.

“Now tell me, why are you up here for the filming? Is it just coincidence?” Alicia asked, draining a pot over the sink and disappearing into a cloud of steam.

“Not really. We were going to be on location in the Coromandel, but it got flooded out in the storms last week. I know the assistant director—he’s a friend of Dad’s—and suggested up here. Our family has been friendly with one of the local farmers for years. He can always do with some cash and his land has everything we need—so here we are.”

Alicia turned and smiled at her. “Well, I’m very pleased. It’s lovely for Adam to have another young person around. Me, too! What’s the show about?”

“It’s a pilot for a fantasy apocalypse series. Nuclear holocaust, the collapse of civilization, ongoing battles. Enter the Valkyries, who complicate things when they fall in love with fighters on different sides.”

“Sounds like you are enjoying it,” said Alicia, collecting the plates from the cupboard.

“Oh, yeah. The Valkyries are great—real kick-butt chicks. The warriors they fall in love with are also seriously cool.” Cressa dug in a drawer for serving tongs. As though he’d read her mind, Adam retrieved them from the dishwasher. “Alas,” she added, putting on a woebegone expression. “Only a few more weeks and then I’ll have to find a real job again.”

Adam and Alicia laughed.

“Are you looking for another stunt gig?” Adam asked as he got a jug of water out of the fridge.

She loved his voice—deep with long, slow vowels. She remembered the huskiness when they’d danced together. Before he’d pulled away.

She shrugged. “No, it’s been fun, but now I’m ready for something different.” She gazed at Adam. “What about you? Why did you stop doing stunts?”

“I broke my back.”

He smiled but glanced away, and the finality in his tone shut down that line of conversation. Was this how the Walkers got around topics they didn’t want to talk about?

“And there’ve been no jobs to tempt you into a career path?”

“Construction suits me for now.”

There it was again. You could almost hear the big fat period at the end of his sentence. His black eyes were unfathomable, his long eyelashes shuttering them. Cressa was impressed and intrigued. He smiled easily, but his expression was strangely impassive.

Alicia cut in. “Sometimes it takes some people longer to know what they want. I must confess I was relieved when Adam gave up his horrible show. Construction is much better, even if it isn’t the ideal job. You’re both still young and have lots of time to find something you love one day.”

She smiled brightly at her son as they all took their seats at the table, but Cressa saw concern in her glance. The same as she’d seen in her own mother’s eyes.

“Yeah, people like us aren’t in a hurry to get to a final destination. We’re enjoying the journey—isn’t that right, Adam?”

Before he could answer, there was a knock on the door, and they all turned to see a man through the glass panels.