Chapter 12
Sophie gazed out the kitchen window as sausages sizzled in the frying pan, her eyes tracking the looping path of a sea eagle that soared above the cliff’s edge under a lilac sky.
In the distance she could see the lighthouse, its powerful beam sweeping across the surface of the ocean, gaining strength as night fell.
It was mesmerising, this view. She often found herself lost in it, staring across the ocean, watching the sweep of light then waiting for it to come again.
There was something soothing about its absolute predictability.
She reached for the tongs to turn the sausages and shuddered, nauseated by the slick of grease in the pan, the smell of fat. She took a breath through her mouth, trying to settle her stomach. She’d felt a bit off all day, but worse since Harvey’s appointment.
She recalled the moment Nel had noticed her flinch and asked about her wrist. Did Nel know who she was? Her link to Ryan? Sophie sensed she hadn’t made the connection.
Her pulse quickened as a car engine hummed on the street outside, but it passed by and disappeared down the street. Not Ryan.
She was on edge. There had been a few good days after the bar stool incident, but the energy had started to shift.
Her body always sensed it first. Ryan had been irritable that morning—swearing under his breath when he spilled his protein shake—so she hadn’t asked him about taking Harvey to the doctor, but now it felt like she’d gone behind his back.
Done something deceptive. That’s how he would see it anyway.
She startled as the front door slammed and Jasmine stormed into the kitchen, her eyes shining with indignant tears.
‘Charlie’s cheating! Every time he gets out he says it doesn’t count!’
‘It’s almost dark anyway, Jaz.’ Sophie looked at the clock on the wall. ‘Can you clear the table, please?’
Jasmine was gathering her dragon drawings into a neat pile as Charlie bustled into the kitchen and threw open the fridge door.
‘I’m starving!’ he said.
Sophie pushed it closed. ‘Dinner’s nearly ready.’
He groaned and peered into the frying pan. ‘Sausages! I hate sausages!’
‘Who hates sausages?’ Jaz wondered aloud.
‘Shut up, idiot!’ Charlie gave her a shove as he left the kitchen.
‘You need to have a shower, Charlie,’ Sophie called after him.
Her skin prickled all over as Ryan’s SUV growled up the driveway. She took a deliberate breath, listening to the car door closing, then footsteps, bracing herself for the slam of the front door. She still jumped when it came.
‘Jesus Christ,’ he muttered under his breath. ‘Shit everywhere.’
She closed her eyes, remembering the state of the lounge room. Harvey had made a cushion fort that afternoon when he was feeling a little better, and then gone back to bed. She glanced at Jasmine who sat motionless at the kitchen table, wide-eyed, as though she could sense the tension too.
‘I forgot to fix the couch,’ Sophie murmured.
‘I’ll do it, Mum,’ Jaz whispered, slipping from the room.
Sophie turned her back to the door and picked up the tongs, listening to Ryan’s footsteps behind her as he entered the kitchen.
‘Hey,’ she said, glancing at him then back to the pan.
He stood behind her and pushed her hair aside, kissing her neck. She felt herself stiffen slightly. Hopefully he hadn’t noticed. She turned to face him and kissed him on the mouth, then pulled back gently. ‘How was your day?’
‘Shit.’
She swallowed. ‘What happened?’
‘Hammond wants to buy the Grand.’
The Grand was the old pub on Manning Street. Sophie wasn’t sure why it was a bad thing that the Sydney pub baron wanted to add it to his ever-expanding Carrinya property portfolio, but she got the sense she was supposed to know so she didn’t ask.
‘Lachie’ll get all the commission,’ he said. Ah, brotherly rivalry. Lachie managed commercial listings. Ryan shrugged as though he didn’t want to talk about it, then leaned back against the bench. ‘What did you do today?’
‘Nothing.’ She turned off the burner under the sausages. When she looked back, he was glaring at her, eyebrows raised, asking an unspoken question. ‘I mean, nothing interesting,’ she added.
‘You didn’t go anywhere?’
‘Just the library.’
He held her gaze. ‘What for?’
‘I took Harvey to get some books.’
It was the answer she’d planned in case Ryan asked.
She’d been careful to park outside the library instead of the doctor’s clinic, and she’d left her phone in the glove box.
She’d even popped into the library after buckling Harvey into his car seat and grabbed a few picture books from the display shelf by the front desk, just in case.
She turned away, reaching for the frying pan. ‘Dinner’s ready.’