Sins of the Father (26 page)

“
I know that,
honey, and I’m grateful for it. I can’t help the way I feel. But I
will promise I’ll try to handle it better. Just go easy on the
fuss, okay.”

Sarah smiled slyly.
“That’s good enough. Now we’ve got rid of the serious business,
let’s compare notes. I happen to have a few interesting stories to
tell about a sexy doctor and some incredible hands.”

It was lucky Alicia had
swallowed the mouthful of wine; otherwise, she would have choked on
it.

Chapter
19

Alicia looked
at her mother expectantly; it was her fourth birthday and she had
promised something special.

“
What do you
want?” her mother demanded, throwing a sour look in her
direction.

“
It’s my
birthday today,” Alicia’s small voice forced out, ashamed to have
to remind her.

“
So what do
you want - a medal?”

Alicia awoke with a
start; the tears rolling down her cheeks were a remnant of the
dream. She had the same one every year, and every year she woke
with a dark cloud over her head – but not this year. The note from
Sarah obliterated any of the remaining shadows. It was pinned to
her lampshade and was the first thing she saw when she clawed her
way back to reality.

Your mother was useful
for only one thing – producing you and Jack.

Now she’s irrelevant and
not worth a single thought.

It was a dream. Get up.
Get dressed. Embrace this special day.

Love ya, Sarz
x

p.s. There’s a present
for you in the drawer!

The note made her smile,
even though she wanted to cry. The ‘gift’ made her laugh so hard
that tears came into her eyes. The box of protection was nestled on
a velvet cushion, no doubt Sarah’s attempt at irony. It was a
beautiful start to her day.

She was humming as she
dressed, her mood so light that she went to look for some company;
a serious step up from wanting to bury her head under a
pillow.

As soon as she opened her
door, she caught the whiff of pancakes. It made her mouth water and
led her all the way to the kitchen. When she saw Brad at the stove,
busily preparing breakfast, she couldn’t help the dopey grin that
spread across her face.

“
How did you
manage to commandeer the kitchen again?” she asked.

He looked up in surprise,
matching her smile with one of his own. “I’m very persuasive when I
want to be.”

She walked forward and
took a seat at the table. There was a jug of coffee in the centre,
so she reached for it gratefully and watched as Brad piled pancakes
onto a plate.

“
For the
birthday girl,” he said, setting the food in front of her. “Happy
Birthday.”

She almost choked on a
mouthful of coffee. “Thank you.”

He gave her one of his
speculative looks. “From the show you and Stuart put on last night
I was expecting an ogre this morning.” He took the seat opposite
and watched her over the rim of his own mug.

Her eyes dropped to his
hands – they dwarfed the pale ceramic. An image flashed into her
head of those long fingers wound into her hair. She had to blink
away the memory, thankful he couldn’t read her thoughts.

“
I could say
I’m an ogre most mornings, but I see your point. I promised Sarah
I’d work on it, and I got an instant reminder as soon as I opened
my eyes.” When he arched a brow, she grinned and took another sip
of coffee. Damn it was good.

“
I have a
recurring dream, a memory really, which usually sets the tone for
the rest of my day. Sarah counteracted it. She left me a note.”
Alicia shrugged her shoulders. “I’m trying. What can I
say?”

“
Good for
you.”

They ate in companionable
silence. It felt nice – a little too nice.

“
The first
thing I’d like to do today is see my brother.”

“
I thought
you might. Justin’s on his way.”

She stretched to hide the
smile. Her coffee wasn’t the only thing that was good. “Great. I
think I’ll walk these pancakes off. I won’t go far, I
promise.”

Brad topped up his coffee
and grabbed a paper from beneath the table. He followed her out as
far as the patio; he had a good view of the grounds from
there.

He watched on as Alicia
followed a path down the garden. She was really trying to fight her
demons; it was a valiant effort. He could see the tension in her
body, and wished for a moment he could help her work those knots
loose. The thought had his stomach tightening and his mind
wandering into a wonderful, yet dangerous place.

The image vanished as
soon as he heard the footsteps approaching. He turned to see Justin
walk through the conservatory.

“
Hey, BM, I
nearly didn’t make it past your centurions at the gate.”

“
And I gave
them your description and everything.”

Justin eyed him
suspiciously. “That comment can go either way.”

“
You choose,”
Brad said, grinning. “And it’s not centurion, you’re getting your
ranks confused again, its sentinel.”

“
So how’s the
birthday girl?” Justin purposely ignored his dig.

“
Holding up,”
Brad said dryly.

“
Glad to hear
it.” Justin turned to send a cheeky salute in Alicia’s direction.
She mimicked the action as she walked towards them.

“
Happy
Birthday, Alicia. We are allowed to say that, right?”

She glanced at Brad with
a rueful expression. “Didn’t I tell you to fire him?”

“
He’s
slippery. I’ll work on it.”

It made her laugh, which
was a mighty fine thing. She winked at Justin, enjoying the joke.
“Thanks, it’s feeling pretty happy so far.”

He grinned back at her.
“Then let’s move on to the next phase. Are you ready to rock and
roll?”

“
I was born
ready.”

Brad laughed, a little
envious of their easy banter. They didn’t stop teasing one another
until they arrived at the hospital. Then Justin was too busy
boasting about his evasive driving skills.

“
I have an
errand to run, but I’ll be back in a few hours,” Justin said,
holding the door open for Alicia. “Tell Kel it’s beginning to feel
like his virtual counterpart has taken over the show.”

Brad patted Justin on the
shoulder and walked Alicia towards the entrance. He knew his
partner well; Kelvin would not leave Jack’s side until it was safe
to do so. He’d been at the receiving end of that loyalty a few
times.

He was more amused than
surprised to discover a full argument was in progress when they
reached Jack’s room. It was mostly in jest so Brad didn’t have to
step in to save Jack’s life.

“
That’s an
illegal move,” Jack said, throwing his hands up in
outrage.

Kelvin huffed, getting up
to pace the room. “The hell it is. These are your rules, so suck it
up and rack em…” He stopped when he noticed them in the doorway.
“We have company, dear, better pack that away.”

Jack’s face lit up when
he saw Alicia. “I’m so glad you came.”

“
And not a
moment too soon, you sound like The Odd Couple.” She moved forward
when he stood and gathered him into a hug. “You’re looking better
every day.”

“
I feel great
- as good as new.” He reached for a pair of crutches propped
against the wall. “I just need to make a quick visit down the hall,
can you tag along?”

“
Sure I can.”
She looked across at Brad with a shrug and then met Kelvin’s eyes.
“Hi, Kel, Justin wanted me to let you know he misses
you.”

Kelvin’s laugh was rich
and strong. “He actually say that?”

“
Well not in
those words, but it’s what he meant.”

She followed Jack out of
the room and down the hall, thrilled now that she had proof of his
progress; he was handling his crutches like a pro. He stopped
before a closed door and paused with his hand on the doorknob.
“Just remember, I love you,” he said, and pushed it
open.

The room seemed to spring
out at her like a life-sized version of a pop-up card. There were
banners and balloons in every corner, a colourful representation of
her next milestone.

The barrage of emotions
that welled up was so strong she doubted her ability to control it.
But then Becky stepped out of the shadows with a silly grin on her
face.

“
Happy
Birthday, sweetie,” she said, rushing to give her a hug. Alicia
held on longer than she needed to give herself time to
recover.

Becky seemed to
understand and continued talking in the same sunny tone. “If you’re
mad, it was Jack’s idea. If you’re not… it was mine!”

Alicia gave her a firm
squeeze and stepped back, wiping a stray tear. “Am I really that
bad?”

Jack made the sign of a
cross behind her back. “There’s usually a bit of bite...mwah ha
ha.”

She turned and drew him
in for a hug. “Thank you, it’s perfect. I love it.”

“
Thank God!”
He gave an exaggerated sigh as he stepped back.

“
What do you
want to do first?” Becky asked, guiding them towards the main
attraction. “We have gifts, we have cake, and we have birthday
messages from just about everyone on the planet.”

“
Ha. I bet
Sarah had nothing to do with that.”

“
Actually
people have been sending them for years now, so I commandeered some
of Kel’s cool equipment and thought we’d have a bit of a slide
show.” Jack’s grin was wicked.

“
I think
we’ll start small and work our way up.” Alicia pushed away the
panic trying to take root and managed a smile. It was going to get
worse. She knew her family – as soon as she opened the door to
possibility, they would come bounding right in.

Brad watched from his
position beside Kelvin, content to observe from a distance. He knew
it wouldn’t last; as soon as Alicia recovered from her shock she
insisted they join the party. It wasn’t that he was opposed to fun
– it was the intimacy of their small group.

Kelvin had always been
better with people, and though he normally held a certain amount of
restraint, that vanished in Jack’s company. He couldn’t blame his
partner – Jack was as charismatic as Alicia. They drew you in. It
wasn’t anything obvious. It just kind of snuck up on
you.

Brad had always been an
observer, yet he was powerless against the charming duo. It was
easier than he realised, keeping a part of himself back so that he
could fulfil two roles. It was how he spotted the telltale signs of
stress when he watched Alicia. He didn’t question why he read her
so well; part of it was his job. But it did sometimes unnerve him
that he could read every emotion she felt just by looking at her
face.

It didn’t matter how, he
just knew she was fighting against the fatigue – he could see it in
every line of her body. ‘If she were mine,’ he pushed the thought
away before it formed. She wasn’t his no matter how much he wished
it. The fact that she was ignoring the warning signs in her body
shouldn’t have made him angry, but it did.

He almost swore when he
heard Alicia’s sharp intake of breath, until he saw what caused it.
As she looked down at the gift nestled inside a pale box, her face
held such sadness it tore at his gut. His next breath was painful
until, like a breaking dawn, happiness lit her face. She looked at
Jack with tears in her eyes.

“
It’s
beautiful, thank you so much.”

Brad glanced at the
bracelet she held up. It caught the light, showing off a series of
charms all glittering like the tears on her cheeks.

“
It’s to
signify every year we were apart.” Jack’s voice was gruff with
emotion. “I love you, Al. Thanks for letting me do
this.”

She hugged him close,
struggling to find the words. What she did say was for her brother
alone so Brad tuned out, allowing them their privacy. Kelvin wasn’t
as tactful.

“
Okay, break
it up, the big man’s gonna start blubbering any second.”

Alicia laughed, wiping
her eyes. “I think you’re the sentimental one.” She wafted a card
at him. “But your secret’s safe with me.”

Jack saw the funny side
too. He chose to ignore the scowl from Kelvin. “Let’s cut the cake.
You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted some of Becky’s chocolate
fudge delight.”

“
Now that
sounds like a mighty fine plan.” Alicia moved forward to do the
honours.

It felt like the perfect
moment for a picture. Without really thinking about it, Brad pulled
his phone free and took the shot. On the screen, he saw Jack and
Alicia laughing as Becky held up her offering, and knew he’d
captured just the right moment.

It felt right that he was
part of it.

She was quiet on the way
back to Burton House, and it wasn’t until they arrived he
discovered she’d fallen asleep. She looked so content he didn’t
have the heart to wake her. He surprised Justin and the others by
scooping her into his arms and walking towards the
house.