A Risk Worth Taking

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.

“Brian!” Cressa exclaimed. “What on earth are you doing here?”

CHAPTER FOUR

ADAM NOTICED CRESSA’S EYES widen, and she hesitated before rising to hug the man. Then they stepped apart and the guy glanced at him with curiosity before extending his hand to Alicia.

“I’m Brian McKenzie. I hope you don’t mind me intruding.” He smiled at Cressa. “I haven’t seen Cressa for a while and wanted to catch up.”

Ex-boyfriend or wannabe?

“I’m delighted you did,” said his mother. “It’s lovely to meet you. I’m Alicia.”

“And I’m Adam.” He rose and shook Brian’s hand. “Just passing, were you?”

Aroha Bay was the end of the road, thirty minutes out of Whangarimu. Brian’s rueful smile acknowledged Adam’s dig. “Not exactly. Mike and I flew in this morning and Juliet mentioned Cressa was staying here. It’s been a long time since I was up this way so I thought I’d use Cressa as an excuse to visit Northland again.”

Cressa smiled, but her shoulders were rigid and she didn’t say anything. Ex, Adam decided, and wondered why that was. Brian was good-looking in that Harvard kind of way that comes from generations of wealth interbreeding with beauty. His clothes were expensive and his manners seemed nice. All in all, he appeared the perfect package for a woman.

Adam, this isn’t easy to write, but I’m leaving you for someone else. He’s rich and successful and really nice. You’d like him. I promise he’ll make a wonderful father for Stella. You needn’t worry. Please don’t try to find us. It’s better for everyone if you let us go.

Crystal, as usual, had been wrong. He hated that unknown bastard who, all these years later, still made him feel inferior. Since then, Adam had also found it hard dealing with men who were like him—Brian, for instance.

“You’ll stay for dinner, of course,” said Alicia.

“I couldn’t impose—”

“You aren’t imposing. We’d love to have you.”

“Well, if you are sure…?” Brian looked at Cressa, who shrugged, but this time her smile appeared genuine.

“Of course. I’ll lay another place.”

Wannabe, Adam decided, noting the expression in the poor sap’s eyes. Poor, successful, rich, nice sap. Not that any of this was his business, of course. He’d woken this morning with the brain he’d misplaced somewhere in transit lodged firmly back in place. Cressa’s presence in the house needn’t be the disaster he’d foreseen last night. She’d be out all day working, and he’d be in his room at night, studying. They’d hardly run into each other at all. And mealtimes would be fine. She’d be a buffer between him and his mother, and his mother would be a buffer between him and Cressa. Simple.

He still writhed to think about Deirdre’s suit, but thank heavens he’d noticed her and been prevented from taking things too far with her daughter. Now nothing more than a dance—a close one, granted—lay between him and Cressa. If she mentioned anything, he would apologize, blaming jet lag and champagne. Which was true.

At least, it had all made sense when he’d been lying in bed with only a ceiling to stare at. Now that he had Cressa in front of him, he realized things weren’t going to be quite so easy. Her tight jeans and T-shirt showed off her curves. Her hair was in a long braid down her back and he remembered how it had felt sliding through his fingers. Outside the window, her bike sat parked next to his, and they looked pretty good together.

But if he’d required reminding that Cressa was a complication he didn’t need in his life right now, Brian’s arrival certainly helped to slap his resolve into shape. As Adam struggled to carve the chicken his mom had done her best to kill a second time, Brian produced two bottles of white wine. “I hope you like them. The wine is a new varietal.”

“Brian’s parents own a vineyard,” Cressa explained.

Why was Adam not surprised?

“None for me, thanks,” said Alicia, busy serving up the vegetables. “I don’t drink.”

Adam felt a flare of pride. It would be coming up five months since she’d stopped. Maybe Sass was right and she had changed. Then he watched the way the potatoes bounced as she tipped them into a serving bowl. Her cooking skills, it seemed, were the same as ever.

As Brian poured the wine into the other three glasses, he said with elaborate unconcern, “So, Cressa, I hear you’re seeing a French archaeologist?”

“Danish, and no, we finished a few weeks back. The French guy was a tour leader.”

“Ah. And wasn’t there a skier?”

Adam wondered why Brian would torture himself in this way but supposed it was like having a bad tooth—you just couldn’t help prodding it to see if it still hurt.

“Canadian.” Cressa smiled. “He was cool, into all that freestyle stuff. You’d have liked him, Adam.”

She certainly thought she had him pegged, he decided grimly. People always did. “I’ve never been skiing.” He’d never had the money for it.

“Really?” Both she and Brian spoke together, and exchanged equally surprised looks.

“I’m sure you’d enjoy it,” said Brian. “Cressa and I have had some wonderful times together on the slopes.”

Nice one. He might have polished manners and a vineyard, but Brian wasn’t above getting in the odd jab. It made him a bit more real. But Brian didn’t need to concern himself about Adam. For years after his divorce, Adam had kept all his relationships clean and easy and short. These days he was hanging out for something deeper, more permanent. Right at this moment, with his MCAT exam just weeks away, any sort of involvement was out of the question. Whichever way you looked at it, Cressa was a no-go zone.

They settled down to the meal. The extra setting cramped the table and the dinner was past saving, but the wine was excellent, as far as Adam could tell. His budget kept him well out of range of top wines. Alicia stuck to orange juice, and though he saw her glance at the bottle, she showed nothing of the cravings she might be fighting. She was gentle and soft, but she also had a tough core. Funny, he’d forgotten that.

When Brian tried to top up Adam’s glass, he covered it. “It’s great, but that’s enough for me.”

“So, Adam, I heard you used to do motorbike stunts, too. How did you get into it?” Brian looked interested, and tried to spear a potato with his fork. Now, how had he heard that? Cressa’s family? That would explain his unexpected appearance. The fork pinged off the potato. Surprised, Brian eyed the potato as though seeking a way to break into it. Hammer and chisel, Adam felt tempted to suggest.

“A misspent youth.”

“He bought his first motorcycle when he was thirteen,” said Alicia, covering for his abrupt answer. “I had no idea, but he got himself a job walking dogs and saved all his money under his mattress. I was appalled when he said he’d bought a bike off his friend’s brother.”

Cressa looked at him. “Only thirteen? You were a determined little chap.”

He could see admiration kindling in her gray-green eyes and for a second he felt tempted, cursing his exam.

“Nothing stops Adam,” said Alicia, “once he’s got an idea in his head. He’d visit Calvin, his friend, and ride that bike around and around their farm. Bert, Calvin’s father, assured me Adam had more natural instincts than any other kid he’d ever met. He knew what he was talking about, having four sons of his own.”

She still sounded proud of his riding skills, even though for years they’d caused her nothing but anxiety.

“Yeah, Bert was great. Took me and Cal to all the dirt bike events.” Adam laughed. “Now Cal drives an SUV with baby seats in the back.”

What had he said? Cressa’s face didn’t change at all, and neither did Brian’s, but Alicia must have felt the sudden stillness because she immediately chimed in. “What do you do, Brian?”

“I’m a doctor.”

Adam choked. Then patted his chest and peered reproachfully at the potato on his plate. He so should have guessed! Not content with movie star looks and being rich and nice, he had to go be a damn doctor, as well.

“Really,” said Alicia. “What branch are you in?”

“I’m a GP, but I’m thinking of specializing in pediatrics. There was this speaker at the conference I’ve just been at….” And Brian went on to talk about new discoveries in child cancer. Alicia was interested, but Cressa seemed to tune out of the conversation. Was it medicine or children she didn’t like? Adam noticed her glancing at her phone several times. Was she waiting for the skier or the archaeologist? Not that it was any of his business.

“Where did you two meet?” Alicia asked after a few minutes, turning to include Cressa.

“Brian is Juliet’s husband’s best friend.”

She said it so offhandedly that Brian looked as if she’d just slapped him.

“I’ve known Cressa since she was eighteen,” he added, staring into her eyes as though daring her to repudiate the fact. He wore his heart on his sleeve as if it were a fashion accessory. Adam couldn’t work out whether Brian was the bravest guy he’d met or the stupidest—despite being a doctor.

“Yeah, we went out for a few years, nearly married, but realized the folly of our ways.” Cressa was obviously making a big effort to keep her voice light. Against his will, Adam felt a tiny pull of sympathy for Brian. It appeared he wasn’t over his folly at all.

“So, Adam.” Brian focused on him again. “What line of work are you in these days?”

“Construction.”

“Really?” Brian sounded as though he hadn’t known, but if the family had talked about Adam’s stuntwork, he felt sure Deirdre would have mentioned his current occupation. “Was it hard to get leave to fly out here?”

“I quit the project.”

“Hmm. Anything lined up for when you return?” Brian sipped his wine, his eyes on Adam. What was he actually trying to find out?

“Nothing definite.” Whatever it was, Adam wasn’t going to supply the answer.

Cressa nodded. “Adam’s like me. He takes things as they come.”

She smiled at him across the table and Adam smiled back. His bad-boy smile that always worked. But he was relying on it for all the wrong reasons and he knew it. Part of him just wanted to rattle Brian’s cage. Which wasn’t fair—his beef wasn’t with this guy at all.

“More potatoes, Adam?” Brian smiled blandly as he passed the dish. Mom’s potatoes, a new weapon of war. “I’ve always had a sneaking envy of anyone with a Peter Pan complex—you know, no commitments, no steady job.”

Adam rose to the challenge and put another two potatoes—God help him—on his plate. Equally blandly, he replied, “Well, you only live once.” Steam still rose from the bowl as he set it on a mat between them.

“I’m curious, though,” Brian said. “Have you never wanted anything a little more permanent, now that you are getting older?”

Cressa rolled her eyes. “Oh, Brian, everything for you always comes down to making things safe and secure, doesn’t it?”

He looked at her. “As it turns out, not all my choices prove to be safe.”

Her eyes glittered with annoyance, but at that moment the phone in the living room rang, saving him from a sharp-tongued rebuke.

“That’ll be Sass,” said Alicia, beginning to rise. “She said she’d call when they arrived.”

Adam, though, wasn’t about to be deserted in the battle zone, and he pushed his chair back. “I’ll get it.”

He picked up the receiver, ready to give his sister an earful for catapulting him into this situation. “Hello.”

“Adam? It’s Deirdre.”

He slumped against the wall. “Hey, Deirdre. Look, I am so sorry about the suit. I’ll pay for—”

“Not at all. These things happen.” He’d never heard someone manage to sound both brisk and glacial. “Is Cressa there?”

“Yeah, we’re having dinner with Brian.”

“Brian?” Her voice warmed by ten degrees. “Juliet said he might drive up. What a nice gesture, especially as he must be tired after the conference.”

“He’s a nice guy,” Adam offered. He knew Brian’s hackles were up only because there was a stray in his territory.

“He is.” A slight pause followed, then her voice changed. “He’s part of the family. We all adore him.”

Adam straightened the picture hanging beside him. “Oh.”

“When Cressa comes to her senses, she’ll realize they are perfectly suited. Until then, Brian’s proving to have the patience of a saint.”

She sounded confiding, but Adam could tell when he was being warned off.

“Would you like me to get Cressa?”

“That would be lovely. Thank you, Adam.”

Class dismissed, he thought, and went back into the dining room. “Your mom’s on the phone.”

Cressa rolled her eyes, then glared at Brian as she pointed her finger. “This is your fault. I bet Juliet told her you’d be here. She really wants to talk to you and is only talking to me first to be polite.”

Brian laughed. “Rubbish. Your mother is devoted to you all. Now, go. Don’t keep her waiting.”

He shooed her off and Cressa, mimicking teenage surliness, pushed back her chair with an exaggerated sigh and went through to the other room with slumped shoulders and dragging feet. They all laughed at the performance.

“Perfected by her and her sisters over the years,” Brian said.

As is your closeness with Cressa and her family, Adam thought. If he hadn’t already decided Cressa was off-limits, if her mother hadn’t made it clear he wasn’t welcome, he might have felt jealous.

“Actually, I’ve changed my mind. I’d love some more of that wine, thanks, Brian.”

Cressa was back in just a few minutes. “I was right. She really wants to speak to you.”

As Brian left the room, her cell phone rang and she pounced on it. “Sorry, Alicia, but I’ve been waiting for this call.”

She exited into the hallway. Adam looked at his mother, who smiled and leaned forward to pat his hand. “I’m so glad you came, Adam. It’s lovely to see you again. I’ve loved being in New Zealand, but I’ve missed you.”

Funny, but he’d missed her and Sass, too, after they’d gone to New Zealand. Following years of seldom seeing one another, the three of them had gotten close while Alicia had been hospitalized with pneumonia and then had entered rehab for her alcoholism. Cole had been supportive, as well, sending letters and sketches from prison to entertain their mom.

“It’s great to see you, too,” he said, and was surprised at how truly he meant it. She’d fought amazing battles to get this far. He felt a flush of chivalric duty and again silently vowed to look after her any way he could over the next four weeks.

Brian and Cressa arrived back in the kitchen at the same time and took their seats. She was brimming with excitement and turned to Adam.

“You’ll never guess.”

He was beginning to learn surprises weren’t good in New Zealand, and couldn’t keep the suspicion out of his voice. “What?”

“I’ve got you some work on the set for the next few days. It’s only a bit part, but it may turn into more. Be ready for an early start tomorrow.”

He dropped his knife on the floor with a clatter and, in the few seconds required to retrieve it, tried to gather his scattered wits.

“I don’t need any work.” It was the best he could think of to say when he straightened.

Cressa leaned forward, eyes dancing. “I know you don’t need it, but Sass said you’d like it. It’ll save you from getting bored. She asked me to see what I could do. So I made a couple of phone calls and the powers that be were really pleased. We’re a warrior short because one of the stuntmen had to return to the States for a couple of weeks for his father’s funeral.” She leaned back, her triumph tangible. “You’ll get to meet lots of people and they’ll just love you! Isn’t that great?”

The same spacey sensation he’d suffered the day before descended on him, the feeling that everything was just out of focus, not quite real. “But,” he said, “I’m going to be busy.”

Cressa appeared surprised. “Doing what?”

Adam sensed Brian’s eyes on him. After their recent skirmishes, no way in hell did he want to admit in front of this guy that he was studying to get into medical school. He glanced at his mother, who appeared curious, a crease of worry between her eyebrows. This was so not the time or the place to tell her, either. Their relationship was too complicated and too fragile at this stage for offhand disclosure. It would kick up old history. So much best left unsaid.

Trapped, Adam uttered the first thing that came into his head. “I’ve got stuff to do.”

He could have kicked himself. Of all the lame excuses available, he’d managed to pick the lamest. Cressa was watching him and he could see questions backing up behind her lips, could feel the ground opening under his feet, so he said the one thing that would make the tense moment go away. “But hey, if it’s only a few days, then great. Yeah. Count me in.”

The brilliant smile Cressa beamed at him almost made the lie worthwhile, but Adam was too busy wondering how many grooms became widowers within their first month of marriage. Just wait till he got his hands on his well-meaning sister. Damn pain-in-the-Sass.