February Or Forever (7 page)

If only Mum was here to talk to, to ask her advice on motherhood. Chrissie's mind wandered, remembering her mother's soft eyes and sweet voice. Unfortunately, along with those memories came memories of the bags under her eyes and her voice straining to speak through the weakness of her final days. Hot tears threatened behind Chrissie's eyes and she clamped them tight.

‘Chrissie?' Melinda asked.

‘Yes, I'm here. Sorry, was just thinking.'

‘Look, I know you've been through a ton, but just take each day as it comes. You can do this. You're strong. You're a great mother.'

Chrissie's heart doubled over at her friend's kind words. She didn't feel strong sometimes, and if she was such a great mother then why was Kai so difficult and whingey?

‘And,' Melinda continued, her tone lightening. ‘You've got a damn good figure. I'd kill for your legs!'

‘Oh, stop it!' She giggled, walking around to the back of the house, her gaze wandering across the horizon over the large rocky hill.

‘So, plan of action: chips on Fridays, give him responsibility, and give him some kind of reward here and there to look forward to. Got it?'

‘Got it.'

‘Good.'

Chrissie wouldn't have been surprised if her friend typed up an action plan with tick boxes and emailed it to her.

‘So, how's the new job? Any cute guys there?'

Chrissie's toe caught on one of the loose floorboards on the verandah and she stumbled forward. ‘Um…'

‘Well, is there?'

‘There's a male yoga teacher, Damon, but he's, um, well I guess he's okay but I haven't really thought of him like that. He might even be gay, I'm not sure.'

‘And?'

‘And what?'

‘There's only
one
guy working in the whole retreat? What about the massage therapists? The chefs?'

The guests?

‘Well, there are a few other guys, but…' God, she so wanted to tell her. The words hovered on the edge of her tongue, tingling and twirling and desperate to be spoken. Maybe she could just mention there was a celebrity and not say who?
No, Chrissie! You signed a legal form, for crying out loud!
And Melinda was a journalist. Not that she'd betray a friend's trust in order to sell a story, but Drew obviously wanted his visit to Tarrin's Bay to remain private for some reason, and Chrissie had to respect that and stick to her agreement. ‘No. No one of interest.' God that was painful. The one person she was dying to tell and she couldn't even hint at it.

‘Oh well, keep an eye out, you might meet someone around town. And if you do, I'm the first to know, right?'

Chrissie hated being dishonest, but what could she do? Anyway, it's not like she'd ‘met someone'. She was just teaching him for the month, and then he'd be gone. Back to the States, out of her life, like he was never in it. She might not even be allowed to tell anyone about it, ever. ‘Sure, yep. Anyway, how are you going?' Her voice became high-pitched. ‘Kids well?'

‘All's good here. Nothing new to report. Just the usual chaos.' She laughed. ‘Damn, someone's at the door. Can I call you back?'

‘Don't worry, Mel. You better get back to your research. I'll be fine.'
And I can't handle talking to you another minute without spilling the goss.

‘Well, if you're sure. Text me if you need me.' Footsteps sounded through the line. ‘And I'll try to come down for a visit in a few weeks.'

‘Sounds good.'

‘Bye, hun.'

Chrissie ended the call and stepped back into the house. She held a hand to Kai's forehead to double-check he really wasn't sick, then took her laptop from its bag and placed it on the kitchen table.

She sat and opened up the search engine. Hopefully Google could find something for Kai to look forward to as a reward. The local paper would be out tomorrow and might have some ideas for kids' activities in the town, but she never usually read the papers. Not since leaving her journalism career. It was too easy to get sucked in again, and she couldn't risk that.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard. Without thinking she typed
Drew Wil,
then gasped.
What am I thinking?
She tapped backspace eight times, erasing her stupidity. She'd never succumbed to celebrity gossip and wasn't about to start now. If she wanted to know anything about Drew Williams she could bloody well ask him herself. Chrissie glanced around and shifted in her chair, as though she was a schoolgirl doing something naughty when the teacher wasn't looking. Then she typed
Fun activities for kids in Tarrin's Bay.

‘Mum?'

‘Yes?'

‘Do we have any packets of chips?'

Chrissie rolled her eyes and sighed.
Kids
. ‘No, and even if we did I wouldn't let you have any right now, young man. I'm either going to take you back to school or you can eat the grapes I put on the coffee table. What'll it be?'

Kai tentatively reached over and plucked the grapes from the plate, slinking back down behind the backrest of the couch as though pretending to be invisible.

She scrolled through the search results then clicked on a link.
Aha! This might be just the thing.

Chrissie walked up the stairs, each step in time with her heartbeat, then took a deep breath as she travelled along the hallway. She plucked her phone from her bag and turned it to silent. There was no way Kai was interrupting today's work. Besides, with any luck the bribe she'd offered him would do the trick and there'd be no morning dramas. At least for the rest of the week. She'd have to come up with a new bribe for next week. Chrissie returned the phone to her bag as she entered the yoga studio, then looked up to find Drew standing at the window.

‘Oh, good morning. You're early,' she said.

He turned to face her. ‘Glad you're here. I wasn't sure if you'd make it in today. How is your son?'

‘He's fine. All good now.' She would feel silly if she told him the truth.

‘That's a relief. Glad he's okay.' Drew stepped closer, genuine concern on his face.

Oh man. Who was she kidding? She didn't have a dishonest bone in her body. ‘Actually, he wasn't really sick. He was putting it on to get out of school.' Warmth flushed her face.

Drew's mouth opened and he tipped his head back a little. ‘Ahh, I see. A future actor, perhaps?'

‘Could be.' She grinned.

‘Well, he's not the first kid to pull the old “tummy ache” trick. I think I did that at least a dozen times when I was a little critter.'

‘Really?' Chrissie had never faked illness. She was always the good girl, going along with everything. ‘You don't seem like the type to try to get out of hard work.'

He chuckled. ‘Music and yoga are one thing. Mathematical equations and memorising the periodic table are a whole other matter.'

‘True.' She plonked her bag on the corner table. ‘Although I think I did have the periodic table memorised at one point. Not that I remember it now. I clearly didn't need it for my career.'

‘I'm impressed. I think I got as far as Lithium then forgot the rest.'

‘Beryllium. That's the next one, then…' What was she doing? Why act like a complete know-it-all nerd?
You're here for yoga, Chrissie. Do your job!
‘Um, some other element.' She released a laugh.

‘See, you didn't forget. It's amazing what we can remember years later. Let me guess, you still know all your times tables?'

Was he teasing her? The slight crease at the corner of one of his eyes glinted and that warm feeling rushed onto her face again.

‘I guess so. I haven't tried to recall them. Though I'm sure I'll be helping my son soon enough.' She absolutely did remember them all. Plus she had a times tables magnet stuck to the fridge, ready and waiting for Kai when the time came. Maybe it would filter into his subconscious in the meantime and help the process along. ‘But I do remember my yoga terminology and poses, luckily.'

‘I would hope so. Otherwise you could be feeding me a ton of gobbledygook and I'd be none the wiser.' Damn that glint in his eye, it was doing weird things to her insides.

‘Don't worry, you're safe with me.' She smiled, and thought she noticed a hint of something serious in his expression, like her comment had triggered a memory. He looked away, then back again, his gaze dropping subtly to her left hand.

‘So, does your son have any brothers or sisters?' Was that an indirect way of asking if she was married? Though if he'd overheard her talking to the teacher on the phone and correcting her last name, he probably suspected she wasn't.

‘No. It's just Kai and me.'

‘Nice name.'

‘Thanks, I think so. Short and sweet.'

Drew slipped his hands into his track pants pockets. ‘Does Kai see his father?'

This was one nosy celebrity, but Chrissie didn't mind. In fact, talking to him eased her mind. It was comfortable. Nice. She could just as happily forget the yoga sessions and chat instead. ‘Yeah, every second weekend and half of each school holidays. Probably more often than when we were actually together.' She snorted, then to distract from the fact she was probably sharing more than appropriate, she lit the candle on the small table underneath the mandala. The wick glowed to life, and the familiar scent relaxed her shoulders.

‘Well he has a great mum by the looks of things.' Drew smiled.

Chrissie flicked her hand. ‘I doubt he thinks that sometimes. I'm the mean mother who sends him to school and gives him healthy lunches he doesn't eat,' she mocked.

‘Ah yes, I had one of those. I mean, have. I
still
have one, but unfortunately she doesn't make my lunches anymore!'

Chrissie laughed.

‘He'll realise what he's got one day, don't worry.'

‘I hope so.' Chrissie withdrew a yoga mat from the storage shelf, then went to grab another but Drew beat her to it. They placed them on the floor, slightly closer than in the first two classes.

‘Have you thought about rewarding him for good behaviour?'

For someone without kids, Drew seemed knowledgeable about family life. Unless he had a child somewhere in the world and she didn't know because she'd boycotted the media in an effort to recover from her panic attacks.

‘Funny you should ask. I was talking to my friend on the phone yesterday and she said the same thing.'

‘Ahh.' Drew glanced towards the ceiling for a moment as though he was remembering something. ‘Well your friend gives good advice. A bit of bribery never goes astray, especially with us weak-minded males. Dangle a carrot and we'll do whatever we need to do to get it,' he joked.

‘Good to know! Although I figured it would take more than a carrot to get him to be a good boy and go to school, so I opted for something a bit more enticing.'

‘Do tell.' Drew crossed one foot over the other. By the sounds of it, Drew was more than happy to replace the yoga session with a chat session too.

‘I searched the internet for kids activities in the area, and turns out there's a country fair on this Saturday at Tarrin's Bay Hills.'

‘Ooh, I used to love those country fairs! Can I come too?' He laughed. ‘Just kidding.'

What must it be like, not to be able to go out in public without getting mobbed? Stardom was nice for the money and ability to do what you loved, but it did come at a price. She actually felt sympathy for Drew.

‘I remember they had pony rides, toffee apples, lucky dips, and — '

‘A jumping castle, chocolate wheel, and baby animal farm,' Chrissie chimed in.

Drew grinned. ‘If I'm right, I think you're as excited as Kai.'

She tilted her head forward, then up again, her thumb and forefinger pinched together. ‘Just a tad.'

‘He'll love it. If you go there in the afternoon, it won't be as busy. Mornings were always packed, but a lot of the locals head off to watch the football in the afternoon.'

‘Thanks for the heads up.' That would give her time to do the grocery shopping in the morning, and maybe sort through a box or two of Felicia's belongings, before heading to the fair.

‘So Kai went off to school happily today, I take it?'

‘For the most part, yes. He started out with his usual grumbling and huffing, but as soon as I reminded him of his reward at the end of the week, he put all his effort into behaving. I had to hold back a few laughs as he volunteered to put his lunch in his schoolbag.'

‘Problem solved, then.'

‘Until next week. I have no idea what I'll do for another reward!'

‘Take it one week at a time. One
day
at a time. Sort of like yoga, right?'

‘Exactly. You're learning well.' She smiled.

‘I have a good teacher.' He held her gaze, and a feeling that everything would be okay washed over Chrissie.
Yes, one day at a time. I can do this.

‘But maybe you'll have to bribe me if I slacken off in class, huh?' He playfully nudged at her arm. ‘A piece of chocolate for every correct pose?'

‘Hmm, that could work. Though I don't think chocolate is allowed in here.'

‘You could smuggle some in. No one has to know.' He winked.

This man was an absolute delight. He was like the cheeky, cute Corey from high school all over again. Only more suave and with much less acne.

‘Actually, I do recall that the kitchen makes a delectable-looking dark chocolate, almond, and coconut mousse.' She gave a brief, satisfied nod.

‘Oh yes, I think I've seen that on the menu. I'll have to order one up. Or two, if you'd like to join me for a post-yoga indulgence.' His lips practically twinkled with cheekiness, it was all she could do not to grab them with her own and eat them all up. This talk of food combined with Drew's delicious appearance had her salivating, and she turned her lips inward to quench the moisture.