Chapter 13
Teddy was looking for toothbrush samples behind the counter when Adrian Arturo sauntered into the clinic.
“I’ve got an appointment at eleven with Dr Nolan,” the boulder of a man said, pushing his black designer sunglasses up onto his head. Like usual, his hair was in a buzz cut, and his expression had been carefully arranged to give off a clear ‘don’t fuck with me’ vibe.
“Amazing,” Kylee said brightly, her fingers clacking on the keyboard. “And you are?”
She was probably the only person in Wattle Junction or Somers Gully who didn’t know who Adrian was. The Arturos had dabbled in everything from petty crimes to running drugs for as long as Teddy could remember. Rafferty had been part of a task force investigating the family for years.
The eldest Arturo sibling’s expression morphed into a lecherous smile, his dark eyes glinting with interest. “Adrian,” he said, a smarmy edge infiltrating his tone. “I haven’t seen you here before.”
Kylee laughed and started twirling her blonde hair around a pen. “That’s because I’m new.”
“Tell me”—Adrian’s gaze dipped to her chest where her name tag was—“Kylee. What’s a pretty girl like you doing stuck behind a desk at a dentist’s? Shouldn’t you be walking a runway in Europe?”
“If only.” Kylee smiled at Adrian, her eyelashes fluttering.
Should Teddy intervene? Warn her?
“How long have you been in Somers Gully?” Adrian asked.
“A month.”
Adrian rested his palms on the high counter and leant towards her. “Is it too late for someone to give you a tour?”
“No.” Kylee giggled.
Teddy was going to have to say something. It wouldn’t be right not to because Adrian was the worst kind of dangerous: stupid.
“You tell me when, beautiful, and I’ll make myself available.” Adrian pulled a business card out of his pocket and passed it to her.
“I’m free tonight—” Kylee started, but Teddy interjected.
“Why don’t you take a seat, Adrian. Dr Nolan will be with you in a minute.”
He waited until Adrian had squished his stocky body into one of the plastic chairs. “Hey Kylee, could you help me find the spare toothbrushes? My treatment room’s running low,” Teddy said.
“Silly.” Kylee giggled, pushed to her feet and walked around the corner.
“You’ve been here longer than I have. They’re in the storeroom.
Come on.” She bounced across the waiting room.
Teddy didn’t miss the way Adrian’s gaze flicked up from his phone and settled on her ass.
Kylee opened the door and stepped into the small room filled with supplies.
She pulled it closed once Teddy was inside and stood too close to him.
Her sugary perfume filled his senses. It was the kind that automatically triggered a headache.
Kylee smirked. “Is someone jealous?”
“What? No.” He shook his head, trying to reinforce his words with actions.
“Please. I know what you’re doing. Here are your toothbrushes.” She made a show of pointing exaggeratedly at a box on the shelf next to him, where they were always kept.
“I don’t want to be overheard.”
“Okay.” She said it like she was humouring him. Jesus. He’d better cut to the chase.
“That guy out there. Adrian Arturo? He’s not a good guy. Maybe ask your uncle about his family.”
Kylee stepped closer to Teddy. “Jealousy looks good on you.”
“I’m trying to be your friend.”
“By dragging me into a supply closet the second another man shows even a whisper of interest in me? Teddy, I’m not an idiot.”
Teddy sighed. “Just ask Dr Nolan about the Arturos, okay?”
The door opened. “What’s going on in here?” Dr Nolan hissed. “There’s a waiting room full of patients out there. Is this how you’d run this place while I’m away, Theodore? Something tells me that your girlfriend wouldn’t be too thrilled about this, either.”
“That’s not what’s happening here,” Teddy said hurriedly. “I was trying to warn Kylee about Adrian Arturo. He wants to take her on a date.”
Dr Nolan’s eyes widened. “Teddy’s right. The Arturo family should be avoided.”
Phew. But also, clearly, the extra hours and effort Teddy had been showing around the clinic hadn’t improved Dr Nolan’s impression of him.
“Okay, now that that’s settled, don’t let me stop you from getting back to work, Teddy. I’d like a word with Kylee,” Dr Nolan said.
Teddy nodded, grabbed a box of toothbrushes and hurried away as Dr Nolan started lecturing Kylee about making good choices.
Teddy scooped up the remaining cones from footy training and carried them to where his brothers were leaning against the boundary fence.
“We’re going to grab a bite to eat. You two want to come?” Nate directed the question to Teddy and Raff.
“Eloise and Alice are meeting us at Tino’s,” Owen said.
That all sounded very cosy. No wonder Raff blanched and shook his head, his curls flopping sadly from side to side.
“Hard pass. You four are nauseating together,” Teddy said out of solidarity.
“I can’t wait for you to fall in love, Ted. We’re going to give you so much shit,” Owen said.
“More than you already do?”
“What’s to say he isn’t already in love? He’s got a girlfriend now.” Nate’s smile was soft, and Teddy was sure he was thinking about Eloise.
Owen picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. “Alice is especially excited about this development in your love life.”
“So is Eloise. And not just for you. Jessica deserves someone great too.”
Little did they know.
“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” Teddy teased. Nate winged a plastic cone at him in response. Teddy caught it easily and tossed it back at him.
“Where’s your car, Ted?” Raff asked when they reached the car park.
“Jessica’s got it tonight. Hers is in the shop, and Rob couldn’t come and get Sam for some reason, so she’d volunteered to drop him off.”
Nate, Owen and Raff exchanged smirks, and the hairs on the back of Teddy’s neck prickled.
“Shut up. It’s not a big deal.”
“I’ve never seen you blush before, Little Ted,” Nate said.
“And you’re not seeing it now. I don’t blush. I’m sweaty from the last round of sprints.”
“Why don’t you ask Jessica to join us for dinner?” Owen suggested.
Teddy checked his watch. It was almost seven. His answer slipped off his tongue before he realised how revealing it would be. “She’ll be working now. She teaches yoga online a couple of nights a week.”
That statement earnt him another look from his brothers.
“What about this weekend? You guys free for a meal sometime?” Nate suggested.
Teddy lifted his helmet off his bike’s handlebars. “We’ve got my work picnic thing, but maybe another time. I’ll ask Jessica later.”
He wouldn’t. But his brothers didn’t need to know that.
“I like this. A lot.” Raff smiled wistfully, and now, Teddy was sure he was thinking about Cassie and when things had been good between them.
“It’s about time too,” Nate added. “Happy looks good on you.”
“Are you guys channelling Mum right now? We’re just dating.” It was still weird to say that, and no sooner had the words left his mouth than his phone chimed.
Jessica: We’re booked in at the courthouse on 4 November.
“I like anything that makes you happy, Ted. That’s all I meant,” Raff said. “Not everyone gets to be happy, so if you have the chance, you should take it.”
The air around the brothers thickened, and even though no one spoke, Teddy knew exactly what Owen and Nate were thinking. Fuck it. Someone had to say it.
“You can’t just call Cassie? Make things right?”
“It doesn’t work like that,” Raff said and pulled his keys out of his bag and swung them around his finger. “Best thing I can do for Cass is leave her alone.”
Raff had been saying that ever since she’d left Wattle Junction.
“Adrian Arturo came into the clinic today.”
That got Raff’s attention.
“He’s not my patient. I wouldn’t do anything that would compromise your investigation.”
“It’s not that. Though it’s best if everyone keeps their distance. I’m just surprised because he was at a different dentist last week.”
“Maybe he’s looking for a second opinion,” Teddy suggested.
Raff spun his keys again. “Might’ve been. Thanks for letting me know.”
“You guys any closer to whatever it is you’re trying to get them for?” Nate asked.
Raff was always very tight-lipped about his investigation.
Occasionally, he shared snippets with their father, Wilbur, who was a retired detective, but it was rare for him to say anything much to anyone else.
“You know how these things go. One step forward, five steps back. We’re playing the long game. ”
It sucked that Raff had lost Cassie because of it. Not that there was any point in saying that now.
“Want me to let you know if he comes back to work?”
“Yeah, mate. That’d be good.”
Jessica should’ve known Rob wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “You can’t keep showing up like this,” she said, dragging him out into the car park behind the pub. Wyatt still wasn’t one hundred percent, and she didn’t want to leave him a staff member down for too long.
“Where’s Sam?” It was well after his bedtime. Why wasn’t Rob at home with him?
Rob stepped towards her, stopping when she shook her head. “With Mum. I wanted to talk to you about Sydney again.”
Jessica’s sigh echoed off the exposed brick wall behind her. “We’re not moving to Sydney, Rob.”
He tugged at his collar. “You wouldn’t have to.”
Her gaze dropped to the ground, and she counted bits of gravel until she could speak calmly. “What does that mean?” Jessica was pretty sure she already knew the answer, but Lordy, she hoped she was wrong.
“I’ve renegotiated, and they’ve agreed I can work from Melbourne. Sam could—”
Jessica’s hand slashed through the air in front of her. “Do not say that he could go with you to Melbourne and I could stay here. Don’t even think there’s a chance of that happening.”
The kid could barely survive a kindy drop-off without tears.
“You’ve been doing the bulk of the parenting work for years.
Maybe it’s my turn to give you a break? We could swap the custody schedule around?
I have him during the week, you have him from Thursday night to Tuesday morning.
Or just over the weekend if you can’t do the commute to whatever kinder he ends up at in the city. ”
No amount of deep breathing could help Jessica now. “Parenting isn’t work, Rob. It’s life. Sam is my life.”
Rob shrugged. “This could be huge for all of us, Jess. Am I supposed to say no to this amazing opportunity?”
Jessica jammed her hands into the front pocket of the apron tied around her waist. “You’re supposed to put Sam first. That’s what parents do. And what’s best for him is staying here.”
“According to you. I’ve been doing some research, and Melbourne has some amazing schools and kindergartens. There’s a Montessori one in Mornington that has a spot for him. I’ve been calling around.”
Jessica took such a deep breath she worried there might not be enough oxygen left in the world for anyone else.
I will stay calm.
She’d been up since five writing product reviews and trying and failing to compose a response to the barrage of texts from her mother asking for a loan. Cara had lost her bond and needed money for a new rental. And she’d wanted to know all the details about Jessica’s inheritance.
Rob crossed his arms. “I never expected this from you.”
Jessica tossed her head, arms itching to mimic his defensive pose. She settled on a clipped, “Expected what?”
Rob shook his head slowly, his lips twisting from side to side.
“Just say it.”
Rob straightened his shoulders. “I never thought you’d pick a guy over Sam.”
Jessica squeezed her eyes shut. Owen probably couldn’t get her off a murder charge. “That’s not what’s happening here.”
“Then why won’t you even consider moving to Melbourne? It’s only an hour down the road. If Teddy cares—”
“This isn’t about Teddy,” she screeched. Jessica jammed her lips together to stop herself from screaming. “And it wouldn’t be an hour if you’re in Mornington. That’s more like two to three hours.”
Jessica and Rob had never fought much when they were a couple.
Probably because Rob had been living a double life and Jessica hadn’t realised what was going on.
But her ex had never had a mean streak. She had never once doubted his love for Sam or—at least, in the beginning—for her.
Or, actually, a better way to describe it would be that she’d never doubted Rob’s love for the idea of her.
Because when she’d properly stopped and thought about it, they’d both been running from childhood trauma and used the other as life rafts.
The idea of fighting with him now was almost too much.
“Are you ever going to agree to this?” Rob crossed his arms.
Jessica didn’t pull any punches. She didn’t pause or need to consider what she was going to say.
“Sam and I aren’t moving. It’s just not happening.
I’m going to buy a house and put down real roots in Wattle Junction.
If you want to take the job, then you’ll need to keep that in mind.
” Noise spilt out from inside the pub as the rear door opened. “I need to get back to work.”
“A house? Here?”
He was probably itching to ask how she could afford to do that, but her finances were none of Rob’s damn business.
“Yes.”
“You know, you wouldn’t have to work if we did this. I could be solely responsible for Sam’s financial needs. You could do something for yourself. Go back to school, maybe? Is Teddy worth all this? Giving up on the chance to put yourself first?”
Rob just didn’t get it. Even if she and Teddy were madly in love—and it was a preposterous suggestion that someone like him could ever fall for her—it wouldn’t matter. “I’m never going to rely on anyone else but myself.”
“Then I want to revise our custody arrangement.”
“And I want you to leave. Now, please.” Her voice trembled, and she turned away from Rob.
Stars were scattered across the inky black sky.
She counted ten of them. Then twenty. Tried to find some of her favourite constellations.
When she’d been younger, the stars had been her only companions some nights, and she’d spent hours learning about them.
Imagining that they could make her wishes come true.
If only.
When she was ready, Jessica spun on her heel, marched back inside and locked down her emotions so she could do what she did best: get on with surviving.