Chapter 27
CHAPTER 27
Z ac nodded to the secretary, who smiled as she led him to the door.
“He was so excited to think you might wish to have a meeting with him.”
“I’m grateful he could find time to fit me in.”
“For Zac Parotti? Always.” She opened the door. “Sir, here is your two o’clock.”
“Zac Parotti!” The mayor shook his hand. “Please, take a seat. What is it I can do for you today?”
“Thank you for agreeing to see me.”
“For you, any time.”
The secretary had been right. Zac placed the file on the desk between them. “A while ago you said to contact you if there was anything you could ever do. Well, there’s something I could really do with some help on.”
“What’s that?”
He had to be careful here to not bend the truth. “Remember when we met at the White Night back in November?”
The mayor nodded.
“I have a friend who is partnering with the White Night organization and has recently bought a house to be used as a shelter for women and children affected by domestic violence. But even though she’s had the property for the last few months, there’s some major planning approval holdups. So I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of who we can speak to in order to see that resolved more quickly.”
“Why the urgency?”
“Because her aunt is dying, and her aunt and mother were the ones whose own mother was killed because of domestic violence. And she would like to get this resolved before her aunt dies of cancer.”
The mayor’s face softened. “That is sad.” Then he looked at him more fully. “Hold on. This friend of yours. It’s not Ainsley Beckett by any chance?”
No more lies. “It is.”
“I thought you two had broken up.”
“We have.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“Because it doesn’t change the fact that every day more women need help, and this is an important cause, with a deadline.” He winced at that last word.
“Why isn’t she here, pleading on her own behalf?”
“Because she’s with her aunt, who is dying .”
“Oh. I see.” The mayor glanced at him. “You know, I have to admit that I never really liked the sugary movies she’s always been in. They’re just a little too unrealistic, if you know what I mean. But then, when I heard about her plans to act in a movie about rescuing women from a brothel, I gotta admit my interest was piqued. See, I’d go watch that.”
Was now the time to admit that that wasn’t really what she’d planned to do? Or was that a step too far, and would kill any chance of the mayor helping to expedite matters? What could he say that was true? “I know that she really wants to get involved in productions that will make a difference in people’s lives.”
“Hmm. Okay, well, let me see what I can do.”
He made a call, and Zac waited, praying for favor. He tried not to listen too hard as the mayor spoke to one person, then another, then nodded.
“Okay. I’ll send him in now.”
Zac’s heart pricked. Was it really that simple?
“Zac, let’s go for a walk.”
“Uh, sure.” He collected his folder, smiled at the secretary on the way out, and followed the mayor from the spacious office and down a hall. A twist of corridors, then up a half flight of stairs, and he was in an area of the council administration that he guessed probably didn’t see too many celebrities visit.
“Dean?” the mayor called, before glancing at Zac. “He’s the planning officer. I suggest you speak to him.”
“In here.” A man dusted off his tie and drew near. His eyes lit up. “Zac Parotti, as I live and breathe.”
“Funny, that’s my name too.”
The mayor joined the laughter, before excusing himself thanks to an urgent meeting. “But we’ll talk soon, I hope.”
“Thank you, sir.” Zac turned to the planning officer, who gestured him inside his office. “Thanks for your time.”
The man stuck out his hand. “Hi, I’m Dean Karlsson.”
Pennies dropped as though from heaven. “Not the brother of—”
“The great Brent Karlsson.”
“No, I was gonna say Bree Karlsson.”
“I like you already.” He gestured for Zac to sit. “You know Bree?”
“A little bit. We met at Chris Thomas’s house a month or two ago. She was there with Mike, Franklin James, and a bunch of others.”
“I remember now, she was talking about you. She was really excited to meet Ainsley. Hey, I heard about that. Sorry you two broke up.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe she got fired from her own show.”
“Right? Actually, I’m kind of here on her behalf, which is why the mayor has sent me to talk to you.”
“Go on.”
Zac went on to explain the situation, giving virtually the same spiel as he just gave to the mayor.
Dean frowned. “I don’t understand. Isn’t this in the system already?”
“Yes. It’s been there for months. Her lawyer believes it had some holdup, maybe due to an objection made by one of the neighbors.”
“That’s something that can be overruled for community interest if necessary.” Dean’s head tilted as he eyed Zac. “And you want this sorted now because…?”
“It would prove a real blessing for that family at this time.” He swallowed. “Ainsley’s aunt is dying, and her grandmother was a victim of domestic violence. That’s what motivates her with this project.”
“Wow. I didn’t realize that.”
“It’s not common knowledge, and I’d prefer it to stay that way.” His lips tweaked wryly. “I probably shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Have you got the case number?”
Zac pulled from the file the sheet of paper Mack had given him with the relevant details. “I think you’ll find everything you need here.”
Dean looked it over and nodded. “Hmm. It looks like it’s just waiting for a sign off.” He glanced at Zac. “I’ll admit this is not the usual way we prefer things to be done, but I can understand the need to look into what’s happened.”
“Thank you.”
“Hey, would I seem like a real nut if I was to ask you for a photo?”
Zac laughed. “I can’t believe the brother of Brent Karlsson is asking me that.”
“Hey, it’s a completely different thing when it’s your brother. I knew him when he was a bratty kid. He still can be sometimes. It’s a good thing he married that Aussie. Holly brought him into line.”
Just like he wished Ainsley could do to him, so he could be the husband she needed.
They took the photo, and Dean promised to look into the matter tomorrow.
“Thank you. I really appreciate it.” They shook hands.
“I hope we can get a good result soon.”
“Me too,” Zac said. In all kinds of things.
* * *
Ainsley had just pulled into her apartment block when her phone rang through the car’s speaker. She glanced at the screen. “Hi Diana.”
“Ainsley, are you still on the island?”
“No, I just got home. I’m going back in a couple of days.”
“Oh, I need a really big favor. I have to go to the hospital with Tanner. Could you come to our house to babysit Jack and Faith? Chris is meeting me at the hospital.”
“Of course! I’ll be right there.”
She prayed all the way to Diana’s. In the midst of pain there were still moments that demanded she move out of herself and face reality.
Diana was loading Tanner into the car when she arrived. “Oh, thank you for coming. I’m fairly certain he’s broken his collarbone. Chris is meeting us at the hospital. Kids are inside. I’m sorry I need to go.”
“I’ll be praying.”
“Thanks.”
She hurried to the front door and wrapped an arm around Jack and Faith’s shoulders. And stood with them as they waved goodbye.
“Hey guys, what happened?”
“Tanner was being stupid,” Jack said. “He climbed up on top of the bunk bed and dropped down like he thought he was Spider-Man.”
“Oh. Poor guy.”
“He screamed so loud,” Jack said.
“That must’ve been scary.”
Faith nodded, her eyes welling up in tears.
“Oh sweetheart.” Ainsley picked her up and tucked her head into her shoulder. “You don’t need to worry. He’ll be okay. And Mommy and Daddy will be back soon.”
“I’m scared.”
“You know what? We should pray.”
Faith nodded. “Dear God, be with Tanner, help him get better soon, Amen.”
“Amen.” Ainsley hugged Faith again then smiled. “Now, do you know if Mommy had organized dinner?”
“She had chicken nuggets.”
“Okay. Do you want to have chicken nuggets now? Or is there something else you’d like for a snack?”
“Want nuggets now.”
“Okay. Let’s do that. Is that okay with you, Jack?”
He nodded, and she hugged him too. “Thank you for being brave for your sister.”
He straightened. “She gets scared, and I’m her brother, and it’s my job to protect her. That’s what Daddy says.”
“He’s right.”
Chris was a good father, a good man. Training his kids up in the way they should go. Not all men in this world were bad. Some at least could be trusted.
She readied the nuggets and had settled the kids at the table when there came a knock at the door. She moved to open it, then recognized the shape of the car. No. No way. Why was he here?
“Aunty Ainsley, are you gonna open the door?” Jack asked.
“Um…” She made no move. She couldn’t. It was like her feet had frozen to the floor, as panic rose. So much for praying for God to release her from her fears.
“Here. This is how you open it,” Jack said, putting action to his words.
Which left her standing, staring at Zac on the threshold.
His eyes widened. “What are you doing here?”
“What are you?”
“Chris asked me to come, and I dropped him at the hospital then came here…”
She crossed her arms. She was trying to be brave. Trying to be strong. But weariness seemed to have chased away all she’d learned on Thetis Island. So it was either her or him. And she couldn’t deal with him just yet. She might’ve prayed for him, but right now she had enough emotional capacity to care for the kids but not for anything else. “Well, as you can see, I’m here because Diana asked me. And we’re fine, thank you. So, you can go now.” She fake-smiled.
His posture sagged a little, and she felt mean. Hadn’t she prayed that God would have His way in her life? Hadn’t she prayed for God to bless this man? Except there was a difference between praying for someone miles away then facing the reality when they were mere inches apart. Lord, help me be strong. I’ve got nothing—except You .
“Ainsley, please—”
“Uncle Zac! Uncle Zac!” Faith raced to his side. “You’re here too.”
“Hey, pumpkin.”
“Are we having a party?” Jack asked.
“No. Why would you say that?”
“Because when you’re both here, we usually have a party or a nice meal.”
“We couldn’t have a party while your brother is in hospital, now could we?” Ainsley said, unable to look at Zac a moment longer.
“Ains—”
“Now, you probably need to go back and eat the rest of your food before it gets cold.”
“Ains—”
“Please stop calling me that.” She still couldn’t look at him. She might end up throwing herself at his feet or his arms just like one of those desperate women the internet scorned.
“Yeah, it’s Aunty Ainsley,” Jack said.
“Aunty Ainsley—”
“What? What is it that you want, Zac?”
“To talk to you.”
“Aunty Ainsley, we have to use inside voices when we’re inside,” Jack said.
Zac chuckled, the sound crawling past her defenses to tug at her, tempting her to join in.
She suppressed it. “Very well, I’ll use my inside voice, and say as nice as it is that Uncle Zac has called round, he should probably leave.”
“You know, I’m starting to see some Abigail vibes going on,” Zac said.
“Excuse me?”
“You know, that schoolteacher you play on As The Heart Draws ?”
“Used to play,” she muttered.
He stared at her. “Ainsley, why did they fire you?”
She shrugged, shook her head. “I can’t talk about it now.”
He glanced at the kids, who were looking between them, their eyes as wide as their mouths would likely be. They weren’t exactly well-equipped with filters.
“I’m really sorry.”
She blinked and looked away. She couldn’t do this. Couldn’t be here, with him being so kind. She didn’t deserve it. Not after how she had treated him, accusing him of lying. He hadn’t deserved it. He didn’t deserve her. More likely she didn’t deserve him. Except—hadn’t her time on the island reminded her that God’s love meant all her sins were wiped clean? Her heart panged. Yet it was one thing for God to forgive her; quite another for this man to do the same.
“Aunty Ainsley, why do you look sad?”
She dragged in a breath, dredged up a smile. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I’m a bit tired.” Tired of pretense. Tired of pretending she didn’t care. Tired of hurts.
“Ainsley, if you’re tired, I can look after the kids and you can go have a nap.”
“I don’t need a nap,” she snapped.
“Aunty Ainsley, we have to use inside voices,” Jack insisted.
“That is my inside voice.”
“No, it isn’t. That’s your outside voice but quieter.”
“Isn’t that what an inside voice is?” she asked.
“No, an inside voice is softer.”
“Like when you talk to me and call me sweetheart,” Faith said.
She drew in a deep breath, and silently exhaled. She couldn’t look at Zac. Couldn’t let him see how close she was to tears. She could not do tears with this man. She’d shed so many in recent months she couldn’t do any more.
“Hey guys, why don’t we give Aunty Ainsley some space and you show me what you were eating before?” Zac said.
“Do you want some chicken nuggets, Uncle Zac?” Faith asked.
Ainsley stayed in the living room, glad for this moment of space to try and pull herself together. Maybe it was better if she just left. The kids had Zac, they didn’t need her, and she sure as heck did not need him around, reminding her of just how perfect he was.
She kept an eye on her phone in case Diana messaged, or someone called that would provide an escape. There came various noises from the kitchen, the sound of plates being loaded into the dishwasher, then the patter of feet running out to join her in the living room.
“Aunty Ainsley, can you read us a story?”
“Yeah, you’re really good at stories,” Jack said. “She’s even better than you, Uncle Zac.”
“That wouldn’t be hard,” Zac said softly.
She swallowed, and looked at the book Faith had placed in her lap. Then almost laughed at the title. She peeked up at Zac. “Did you put them up to this?”
“Me?” That expression was too wide-eyed and innocent to be anything but a “yes”.
Laughter escaped despite herself, and she frowned to squash it.
“Don’t look like that,” Zac said softly. “It’s good to see you laugh. I know life has been really tough lately.”
She exhaled, and glanced away, blinking away unwanted emotion.
“Uncle Zac, why are you making Aunty Ainsley cry?”
“I didn’t mean to,” Zac said as she wiped tears away.
She dug deep and forced cheer to her tone. “So, Snugglepot and Cuddlepie , huh?”
“I loves this story,” Faith said, snuggling onto Ainsley’s lap. “They’re not wearing many clothes, though, are they?”
“How is this appropriate for children, that’s what I wanna know,” Zac mumbled.
She bit back a smile. And read about gumnut babies and banksia men and all kinds of exotic creatures from the Australian bush.
“I love their pink frilly hats,” Faith said, pointing to the floral crown one of the cupid-like gumnut babies wore.
“I think they’d get pretty cold in winter.”
“I’m not sure if it gets as cold there as it does here,” Zac mused.
Faith reached up and touched Ainsley’s hair. “Why don’t you have your beautiful princess hair?”
“Because I got it cut off so a little girl will have it.” Alistair had promised that once it was turned into a wig he’d show her the result. She’d post that on her socials. It didn’t matter anymore what Rosie would think.
“You gave your hair to a little girl?”
She nodded.
“Lucky little girl,” Zac murmured.
“Not so lucky if she needs my hair,” she countered.
“She’s blessed to have beautiful hair to wear instead of the alternative.”
True.
Her phone rang, and she glanced at the screen. Diana. She snatched it up. “Hey, how are things?”
“Good. We’ll be a few more hours though. Is that okay?”
“Uh, sure.” She eyed Zac.
“Oh, Chris said that he asked Zac to stop by, so maybe you can tag team.”
“He’s here already.”
“He is? Oh. Well, I didn’t know Chris had done that. It certainly wasn’t any kind of setup. I don’t want you to feel awkward.”
“It’s okay.”
She ducked her head, but she caught Zac’s smile on the way. “Would you like to talk to Faith and Jack?”
“That’d be great.”
Ainsley put the phone on speaker, then let the kids have their talks. Then Diana asked to speak to Zac. Ainsley handed him the phone and tried not to listen to his side of the conversation. Maybe it would be best to go.
He soon ended the call and passed back her phone, his fingers brushing hers.
Her fingers tingled, as awareness arced between them. No. She couldn’t do this. “Hey kids, want to show me what you do when it’s bedtime?”
“Can we watch a movie?”
“Is tonight a school night?”
“Yes.”
“Then no.”
“That sounds like something Abigail might’ve said,” Zac murmured.
“In the 1800s?”
He laughed. “Okay, maybe not quite what she would’ve said.”
There were plenty of things she could say right now. But it was probably best to not say any of them. “Okay, showers, teeth, and bed. Who’s going to be in the shower first?”
“Me!” Faith called, and ran up the stairs.
“You take her and I’ll deal with this one?” Zac asked.
“Okay.”
Half an hour later, she had tucked in a sleepy Faith, and kissed her forehead. “Good night, sweetheart.”
“Good night Aunty Ainsley. I loves you.”
Her heart clenched. “I loves you, too.”
She switched the bedside light to dim mode, then turned to see Zac standing in the door, half-smile on his face. Her heart thudded.
“They’re cute, huh?”
“Very cute.” She moved to go past.
But he stopped her, one hand on her shoulder. “Ains, I know you probably want to go home, but could we talk? Please?”
She swallowed.
Talk with this man she’d hurt? How could she deny him when he kept being so kind to her? She nodded, then whispered, “Okay.”