Yesterday's Sins (15 page)

Afternoon tea, served on delicate china, wafer thin sandwiches, the small sweet sugar biscuits, it was a ritual akin to taking a step back in time.

Kate settled to enjoy the rest of her visit.

Joe's keen wit and rapier sharp intelligence was a delight. He entertained her with wicked insights into prominent people's private lives. For the first time in years she felt alive and fully recharged. As he bid her farewell his old eyes were misty.

"You'll always be in my thoughts, Catriona." He gripped her hands tightly. "The debt I owe your mother is cancelled and I can die content. We won't meet again, my dear. Be happy."

Chapter Seven

O
n a cool winter's day, Kate stepped off the Qantas flight from Brisbane and shivered in the chill Auckland air. Walking from the terminal to the long stay car park, Kate knew she'd come home. Driving through the rain washed streets, the verdant greenery as she headed onto the southern motorway, heightened the sensation.

The first time she fled to New Zealand, it had been a hiding place.

Now after an absence of almost a year, it was dear and familiar, peopled with friends and more than that, welcoming.

Imperceptibly, but inevitably it had become her home place.

And every mile brought her closer.

She hummed under her breath. Paula had been right. She'd needed to return to Narrabeen. She'd mourned her family. And now, buzzing with anticipation, she looked forward to picking up the threads of her life.

She'd emerged from the shadows to walk the sunlight.

With acceptance had come healing.

There had only been one jarring moment.

When she'd finally worked up the courage to confront Jessica. To find closure, she needed to look her cousin in the eye, to vent her anger and hurt at the woman whose actions had precipitated her younger self into a nightmare.

Now, Kate shook her head remembering her aunt's reaction to her request for Jessica's address.

"Why do you want it?" An angry flush stained Aunt Grace's florid cheekbones.

"Jessica has the answers to a lot of questions." Not sure what to expect, Kate had never expected anger, an apology or justification maybe, but not anger. She glanced at her uncle and found him clenching and unclenching his hands.

"Why don't you leave well alone, Catriona? What Jessica did was wrong but she's paid with prison time for that mistake."

Maybe, but I've paid with part of my soul.

Before Kate had a chance to speak, Aunt Grace went on the attack.

"You vanished leaving us to pick up the flack," she said, her colour turning an alarming purple. "That man you ran crying to ruined all our lives."

This was so unexpected; Kate gaped at her aunt speechless. What possible reason had they to know about Alex? What
was
Alex to them?

"I don't understand," she said genuinely puzzled. "I've done nothing to Jessica."

Nothing?" Aunt Grace was beside herself. For one awful moment Kate thought the woman was in danger of having a stroke. "You set that fiend onto our daughter, onto us."

Was this yet another of her aunt's attempts to protect dear little Jessica? Kate's lip curled in derision.

"Calm down, Grace," Uncle John gripped his wife's arm. "You need to be careful."

Without giving her time to consider her uncle's strange words, Aunt Grace pushed Kate towards the door.

"Get out of our house and don't come back," she screamed, pulling at her arm in her haste to have Kate leave. "If you dare come near us again I'm going to the police, and have you arrested for harassment and blackmail."

Unnerved by her aunt's outrage and her uncle's agitation, Kate left, flinging a parting shot over her shoulder.

"Give Jessica a message from me Aunt Grace." Kate paused, giving them a contemptuous glance. "If she dares to come near me again, it'll be the last thing she does."

Grace and John Howard went ashen and she was left utterly bewildered.

Thinking about that strange meeting now, Kate was still unable to understand their reaction. Jessica was a cheating, lying, little bitch, and best forgotten.

A car honked. The lights had changed, and guiltily she concentrated on her driving.

At Paula's, she ran up the front steps knocking on the door, laughing when her friend stood there puzzled.

"Don't you recognize me?"

"Kate? It is you, isn't it?" Paula shrieked in disbelief. "You look stunning. Come in. Oh but it's great to see you."

Paula shook her head. Kate knew her friend saw what her own mirror revealed, gleaming honey brown hair, cut in a modern wispy cut, clear blue eyes and an extra twenty pounds to round out her limbs.

She had done with mourning.

"You were so right, Paula," she said huskily, hugging the other woman. "I needed to return home. Thank you for making me realise that."

"You did. But I did wonder if you'd ever come back."

"Clevedon is now home," Kate said simply, a shrewd glance taking in Paula's burgeoning pregnancy. "I thought you weren't having any more little Staines?"

"Brett wanted one last try for a little girl." Paula laughed the secret intimate sound sparking envy in Kate. "How could you dye such beautiful hair? Were you insane?"

"Close." As she made the sober admission Kate knew it was a little too close to the truth for comfort. It wouldn't have taken much to tip her over the edge.

"I've never seen you so vibrant. Have you fallen in love?"

"No." Kate looked away suddenly uncomfortable. "But I've done a lot of thinking and reorganizing."

Paula filled pottery mugs with coffee.

"Delicious." Kate savoured the cappuccino. "What's been happening while I've been away?"

"The usual, there's been gossip and more gossip. When does anything disturb the even tenor of life in Clevedon?" Paula smiled, her glance speculative. "Alex Korda bought The Birches
.
The man has spent millions refurbishing it to its former glory."

"I've already caught up with that news." Kate avoided Paula's eyes. "He's
liquidated his share of the Australian company and has set up his own company to New Zealand. A cousin is now CEO of the Australian Company. He's sold his house in Narrabeen and house we shared in Brisbane."

The pang of grief she'd experienced when she'd gone to see the home in Indooroopilly she'd shared with Alex, and discovered new owners, still surprised her.

And no matter how much she'd resented it, Kate knew her affairs were so intimately entwined with Alex's, she couldn't avoid keeping abreast of his activities.

"Rumours suggested as much. He's wants a more relaxed lifestyle."

"It was coincidence that brought him here." Kate shrugged, dismissing Paula's attempt to speculate about Alex. A brooding silence fell between them. Kate stared into the depths of her coffee before she drained the mug and stood up.

"I'd better get moving. Dave's expecting me back at work tomorrow. My house will need cleaning after being shut up for so long.''

"What about Alex Korda, Kate?"

"What about him? It was a fluke our paths crossed before. He's handed back control of my affairs."

"And what has he decided about your daughter?"

"He was correct." Kate grimaced on the admission. "She's his daughter. I have no visitation or access rights."

"And you're going to settle for that?"

"That remains to be seen." Kate saw her friend's raised eyebrows and chose her next words carefully. "Alex may meet me half way over Sarah. If not, there's not a lot I can do except get on with my life."

Paula's eyes gleamed with sudden mischief. "Brett's new assistant manager has arrived from down south. He's heart whole and fancy free."

"Are you matchmaking?"

"It's more than time."

As she drove home, Kate admitted it was time she found herself someone to love, to marry and have children with, unless she wanted to spend the rest of her life alone.

But she would never again be heart whole. Rightly or wrongly, Alex Korda owned part of her heart.

But passion without love would never be enough. She'd known this when she ran away.

Being pregnant with Alex's child had not been enough to make her accept what he offered eight years ago. And his having her daughter wasn't enough now.

She needed his co-operation to develop a friendship with Sarah. And she had no guarantee he would agree. He was thorough. She had to give him that. He'd closed every loophole to prevent her having custody or access to her child. And Gregori, in encouraging her to leave, had forced a choice on her.

A choice Alex never hesitated to exploit.

This added yet another reason for her to dislike Nicolaides.

Reaching her cottage, she sneezed as she entered, disturbing dust.

She opened all the windows and cleaned until it was again the gleaming place she enjoyed. Its uncluttered lines after the frou frou of her old room, so welcome. She relaxed with a coffee and put her mind to all she had yet to accomplish.

Alex Korda headed the list.

They had unfinished business. It was an encounter Kate dreaded, but necessary, if she was to achieve her goal. Peace of mind.

Tomorrow, I'll deal with Alex tomorrow.

In the morning she'd get her business life back on track. Then in the afternoon she would go and see Alex.

The phone shrilled as she finished her coffee and she wasn't surprised to hear Paula on the other end.

"Bret's bringing Bryce Bennett to dinner tomorrow night," she said without preamble. "Would you like to come?"

Kate closed her eyes a moment, a rueful smile curving her lips. Paula had wasted no time in beginning her campaign. "Okay. But keep it light."

"Trust me. I know what I'm doing." Paula laughed merrily.

If only I could be so sure.

Kate dismissed the wry thought and rummaged in the kitchen to make a light snack.

Her last thought as she dropped into sleep was now she'd stepped out of the rut, life had never looked so appealing.

*****

Kate woke, refreshed.

Preparing for the day, she took pains with her appearance.

As she looked in her wardrobe, her to-do-list grew.

The clothes she'd unpacked yesterday were a stark contrast to its drab contents. A visit to the Goodwill store would be necessary, that's for sure.