Ember Flowers (6 page)

“So he won’t
take no for an answer? I noticed you don’t wear a ring?”

Jo looked down
at her hand, her nails were painted a translucent pink.

“No, I told him
I wanted a divorce. Months ago..it’s just..“ She looked over at the
older woman who was nodding, just listening.

“God, I don’t
even know why I’m telling you all this. I’m so sorry Jean, this is
so embarrassing.”

“It’s OK.
Nothing to be embarrassed about.” No judgement in her eyes, just
concern.

Jean looked
over Jo’s shoulder, sensing the blonde just needed a moment to
breathe. “Listen, would you feel better if I got you something?
Coffee? Tea?”

“Tea please.
Black, one sugar.”

She smiled
sadly. “Right, health nut. OK, be back in a minute.”

The older woman
got out and Jo watched her disappear into the building. She took a
moment to wipe her eyes
. It was so humiliating.
Owen had
gotten rough with her before, but never had it been witnessed by
someone else.

The stupid
thing was she spent time telling women not to tolerate behaviour
like this. It made her feel like a hypocrite, telling battered
women to seek help, not to stand for it. But that was work, when
her walls were up. The mask of a confident strut and the shining
badge. But when it was so close to home, it was easy hide herself
away, to rationalise excuses for it. This latest outburst would
only make things worse.

A creak and a
dull clank and the brunette settled back into the driver’s seat,
passing her a cardboard cup.

“Careful. Hot.”
A caring tone, watching her take a sip.

“Thanks.”

Jean watched
the cars go by. Morning peak hour. Soon Scott would be calling and
asking where she was. She pulled out her phone and tapped out a
quick text.

Jo had noticed.
“Jean, I’m sorry, you probably need to get to work, and I’m
bothering you with this. Take me back and I’ll let you get on with
your day.” That reminded Jean why she was there in the first place,
she pointed to Jo’s phone sitting in the centre console, it was
retrieved with a relieved sigh.

Jean smiled
gently. “Was just telling Scott I’m with a client, that I’ll be
late - he won’t bother me this way. Take all the time you need.”
Her phone went back into her denim pocket.

Bunched blonde
brows. “So I’m making you lie for me now too? Great.”

A snicker. “No,
just a very..casual use of the truth. Maybe I can talk you into
doing your house or something? Then technically you’d be a client.”
She looked away as Jo watched her. “No, if I said I was in the car
with you he’d want photos so..” Jean tried to make her smile.

A shake of a
blonde head and a faint grin despite her mood. Tapping her nails on
the door. An amusing thought came to mind.

“You know I
overheard you that time, right?”

Jean cringed,
pulling her sunglasses on, to help hide the blush, a rosy tint on
her light olive skin. “I thought you might have. You must get that
all the time?”

A raise of a
brow. “Not as often as you probably think. People are usually
intimidated, or they think they know me before I even say
anything.”

“I understand,
their loss. You’re a good person Jo.”

The blond felt
herself feeling flushed. “Thanks.”

Jean looked at
the folded tissue in the younger woman’s hand, the somber mood
returned. “Why don’t you get a restraining order?”

Another sigh.
“He’s aggressive sometimes Jean. But not all the time. It’s just
because I’ve been blowing him off.”

“That’s no
excuse to put your hands on someone.” Jo thought she heard a little
fire in the older woman’s voice. She obviously felt strongly about
it. Her new friend had stepped in when she could have just driven
away.

“He’s a cop too
Jean, and..well..he could make life very difficult for me.”

“Why?”

A deep breath,
she rested her arm on the upholstered door, fingers playing with
the lock. “Because no matter what I do, he’ll always be my
daughter’s father.”

Chapter
10

She sat
outside, long legs under a small table. The other chair had been
broken. Destroyed during some fight that replayed in perfect
clarity like the others.
Exhausting.
The grass was dying in
her yard. It had been a week since she’d been back here. No one had
watered. Her thoughts dwelled on yesterday.
Owen. Angry blue
eyes, spittle in her face. Their trip in Jean’s car.

She’d spent all
night tossing and turning. A restless mind that didn't sleep.

The gardener
had dropped her off here once she felt settled. Jo needed a moment
to gather her thoughts, to wash her face. Then she headed back out
to the marina. She wouldn’t let him ruin that for her. The
experience with Jean had been fun. It would be good to go out on
the water again. He’d been on another vessel throughout the day,
that was a relief at least. Competing precincts. It was unfortunate
that he knew her habits. Knew she would be there early.

The Sergeant
left quickly once the event was over, not giving him a chance to
upset her again. He was staying away, no calls on her phone. Relief
for the moment, worry for what would undoubtedly be coming. She was
glad to have her phone back, but had seen the thirty second call in
her history. Probably her friend thinking it was her.
If she’d
talked to Owen, she probably owed her an apology for that
experience too.

It was early
morning, but Jean had said she was an early riser. It seemed as
though she was a morning person. She should probably be courteous,
the woman had been kind and supportive. The whole experience had
been..
humiliating.

The gardener’s
card was in her purse. She pulled her phone out of her handbag and
sent a quick text, committing the number to her contacts list.

Jean,

Thanks for
being so understanding yesterday, and for your support.

Jo.

A quick tap,
hitting send. She wasn’t expecting a reply, though after a few
minutes, the soft ping got her attention.

Jo,

Anytime. Sorry
things are rough for you.

Are you OK?

Jean

The Officer
checked her watch, noting Jean must be getting ready for work.

Yes. Getting
better. Your support helped a lot. You have to understand he’s not
a bad man, despite what you saw.

Jo.

A pause before
she received a response. Her brow arched.

Jo,

I still want to
run him down with my car. Don’t tell the police. Oops.

Jean

Jo chucked
softly, it prompted another message. She sent it without
thinking.

Jean,

With the way
your car looks, a human sized dent wouldn’t be noticeable. You
would just call it ‘character’.

Jo

She frowned
after sending that last message. It felt a little too relaxed, too
comfortable for their blossoming friendship. She quickly got a
reply.

Jo,

What are you
doing next weekend?

Jean

She stared at
the message for a long time, not sure how to reply, whether she did
want to reply. The older woman was just being kind, supportive of
her when she saw her at her most vulnerable. That was all. And she
was just being nice, thanking her.
That was it. That’s all it
was. Right?
She wasn’t encouraging anything, the older woman
was just a friend. She needed more of those, they had dwindled in
the last couple years.

Jean,

No plans.
Why?

Jo

Her heart was
thumping in her chest.
It was stupid.
A ping of a response.
She held her breath, unlocking and reading it.

Was thinking of
taking the horses out. You still feel like riding?

Jean

***

The phone sat
like a brick in her pocket. She had yet to respond. A busy day,
mostly reports and paperwork. She ignored some emails, answered
others. Eventually, evening came, she had a quick phone call with
her little girl. Her mother was looking after her again while the
dust cleared.

Jo turned the
phone over in her hands. Long fingertips tidied blonde hair. She
sighed, deciding to err on the side of caution, and at least get
more information before giving her an answer. She was amongst the
last to leave the station, it was unmanned at night.

Jean,

What did you
have in mind?

Jo

A couple of
hours later she received a reply, her friend was probably busy
driving. Tonight Joanne was staying with her mother, the house was
too quiet. She was just exiting her mother’s guest room when the
phone pinged softly at her hip. Her little girl had fallen asleep.
She closed the door quietly, pulling the phone out of her
pocket.

Jo,

My property has
some amazing views. Was going to take the horses out, maybe
camping. Interested?

Jean.

Camping.
She hadn’t done that since she was a kid. When Dad was still alive.
She smiled to herself. She’d have to buy a tent.

Chapter
11

She was easy
enough to track down. Taking him by surprise like that, was
unacceptable. And the way she looked at Jo..filled him with
unease.

He watched from
across the road, she was talking to a younger guy, he was patting
her on the arm before walking away. He had a laptop, work boots.
Boyfriend maybe? Doubtful. Colleague. They had the same
shirt.

He’d run Jean’s
details as though she were a suspected felon. The decal on her car
had given him the address of her office.

Joanne
hadn’t always looked at him like that.
He couldn’t remember
exactly when it started. His father would have disapproved. Owen
was trying, but it was so hard.

When they met,
Joanne was a firecracker, she still was, sometimes. It took him a
long time to even get her to smile in his direction. She was
standoffish, guarded, maybe her disciplinarian mother made her that
way. He hated the old dragon, much as she hated him once she found
out the truth.

They’d been in
love, fuelled by passion for the job and passion for each other.
Gotten married. She was a beautiful bride. Then times got harder,
he’d been posted elsewhere. They didn’t see each other as much,
each coming home exhausted and stressed. When Jo fell pregnant,
things were already strained, his devotion to the job only made
things worse. He pined for the recognition a promotion would bring.
Detective.
Yet it always seemed to slip from his grasp,
blocked with some arbitrary reasoning along the chain of
command.

Despite that,
things were good, for a while. He was doting, loving, looked after
her, put up with her sass, knowing it was wild hormones talking.
Tried to spend as much time with her as he could, though sometimes,
he knew she missed him.

When his little
angel came along, he was never more in love with her. For a while
she stayed home and they played happy family. Then Jo went stir
crazy and went back to work part time. The old dragon looked after
his girl during the day.

He still didn’t
forgive himself for treating her like that. But it seemed every
time, he couldn’t stop it. Seeing his actions as an observer, not
in the moment. Left regretful afterwards. Didn’t know what came
over him. Possessive, obsessive. Flowers and chocolates couldn’t
make up for it. They ended up unopened in the trash. He went and
talked to someone, his colleagues wouldn’t have understood.

He tried to
change, finally, he knew he’d crossed the line.

She left. He’d
slapped her, thrown her against the fridge and his little girl had
seen. A finger pointed in his face. A mother’s protective
instincts. “Don’t you come near her!” “Don’t you dare!” Her grey
eyes were cold, like mercury.

They’d tried to
patch it up since. But she had a long memory. He hated himself, it
only made him miss her more. He saw less and less of his little
girl. Soon she’d be two, he didn’t want to miss her birthday. She’d
served him papers, he didn’t want to sign, sure there was something
else they could do. He still loved her, desperately. That hadn’t
changed. He wasn’t sure if she felt the same way. Sometimes he
thought he saw a glimmer, other times, it was just going through
the motions. Strangers.

He’d gone to
the marina knowing she’d be there early. Jo was precise, punctual,
controlled. She’d rolled her eyes as he’d approached. Looked like
she wanted to drive away. It started out civilised, pleasantries,
they were both attending the same event. It was acceptable for him
to be there.

Somehow, things
dissolved, and he was grabbing at her. Desperate to make her
listen.

Dark glasses
watched his side mirror. He saw the brunette get into her car.
Wondered if he should follow.
Probably no point. Jo wasn’t a
queer
. He knew that for sure. But he didn’t like her sniffing
around. He’d keep tabs.
Make sure she stayed away.

Chapter
12

She followed
her GPS, it led her up a winding road, vineyards, paddocks brittle
and golden. Her sedan was tinged brown with the spray up of earth,
wheels coated in the reddish dust.

Turning into
the driveway she felt a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Curiosity, trepidation, it was quickly dismissed. A beautiful home,
seated at the top of the gradual incline. Old world charm, a porch
wrapping around, and a thready wisp of smoke coming from one
chimney. She pulled up in front of a bed of red roses and shorter
cottage plants. Two horses looked her over from a nearby fence,
leather saddles slung over the railing.

As she stepped
out of the car, a face appeared at the front door. Jean was wearing
her customary denim and a well-loved cotton shirt. A smile as she
welcomed her in. Jo looked around, it was newer inside than she
imagined from the outside. Renovated, polished. A stairwell by the
entry went up to another floor. They walked together toward the
kitchen, through a wide hallway. Glancing to her left, Jo saw the
lounge room. A working fireplace and a leather recliner. It
explained the smoke when she pulled up. The house smelt like baking
bread and old wood. A set of glass French doors led out to a
beautiful view.