Читать книгу Road Trip with the Eligible Bachelor - Мишель Дуглас, Michelle Douglas - Страница 9

CHAPTER THREE

AIDAN TOOK THE first driving shift the next day. He’d thought he might have an argument on his hands about that but, after subjecting him to a thorough scrutiny, Quinn merely handed him the keys and slid into the passenger seat.

He surveyed her the best he could without alerting her to that fact. She looked a little pale, a little wan.

‘Okay, boys.’ She turned to Robbie and Chase in the back. ‘You have one hour of Gameboy time.’

Both boys whooped and dived into their backpacks. She shrugged when she caught Aidan’s eye. ‘I know it’d make things a whole lot easier and simpler, not to mention quieter, if I just let them play with their Gameboys all day, but I don’t think that’s good for them.’

‘I don’t either.’

Her brows shot up. ‘It’s something you’ve thought about?’

He might not have kids, he might not really know any kids, but it didn’t make him totally ignorant. ‘Only in the abstract.’ Besides, he hoped to have kids one day. ‘The rise in childhood obesity is worrying. I’ve been part of a government task force that’s been looking at strategies to combat it.’

‘That’s good to know.’ Yesterday she’d have asked him all sorts of questions about it. Today she stifled a yawn and stared out of the window with a mumbled, ‘Glad our taxes are being put to good use.’

Aidan had set their course on the Great Eastern Highway and the scenery grew browner and drier by the kilometre. All that was visible from the windows was low scrub, brown grass and brown dirt. For mile upon endless mile.

He glanced across at her again. ‘Rough night?’

She straightened and he wished he’d kept quiet and just let her drift off for a little while.

‘The bed was hard as a rock.’

She smiled but it left him vaguely dissatisfied. Quinn might spout assurances that this move across the country was the greatest idea ever, but he sensed a certain ambivalence in her.

That she doesn’t want to talk about.

Yesterday’s disclosures didn’t give him the right to pry.

‘I’ll sleep very well tonight, though.’ She sent him one of her buck-up smiles. ‘Whether the bed is made of rock or marshmallow.’

He determined in that moment to let her rest as much as he could. ‘Mind if I turn on the radio? I’ll keep the volume low.’

‘Sounds nice.’

Although he willed her to, she didn’t fall asleep. She merely stared out of the window and watched the unending scrub pass by. At the one hour mark she snapped to and turned to the boys. ‘Time’s up.’

There were groans and grumbles and ‘let me just finish this bit’ but within five minutes they’d tucked their Gameboys back into their bags. Quinn then asked them what games they’d been playing and received blow-by-blow accounts. She spoke her children’s lingo. She connected with them on every level and he suddenly and deeply admired her.

She was a single working mother, but she’d evidently spent time building a solid relationship with her children. It couldn’t have been easy, she’d have had to make sacrifices, but he suspected she hadn’t minded that in the least.

Robbie stretched out his arms to touch the back of Aidan’s seat. ‘How long is Aunt Mara going to be in hospital for?’

‘If all goes well, just a few days. But she’ll have to take it easy for weeks and weeks. Don’t forget, though, that her surgery isn’t scheduled until later in the year.’

‘I’ll read to her.’

‘She’ll like that.’

‘And I’ll play cars with her,’ Chase piped up, evidently not wanting to be left out.

‘Heavens! She’ll be back on her feet in no time with all of that attention.’

Robbie stretched to touch the roof. ‘What are we going to do for a car if we have to give this one back?’

‘We’re going to share Aunt Mara’s car for a while and there’s a farm ute we can use too. But we’ll buy a new one eventually. What do you guys think we should get?’

A lively discussion followed, mostly based on television ads that the boys liked. It made Aidan smile. And then he remembered Quinn’s words of yesterday and how she’d thought him unfriendly and the smile slid straight off his face. He had to do more than just listen. ‘What about a minivan?’ he suggested. ‘One of those bus things that can practically carry an entire football team.’

The boys thought that a brilliant idea. Quinn accused him of harbouring a secret desire for a shed on wheels, which made him laugh.

‘So,’ he asked when silence reigned again, ‘are you boys looking forward to the move?’

‘Yes,’ said Chase without hesitation.

In the rear-view mirror he saw Robbie frown and chew the side of his thumb. ‘I’m going to miss my friends Luke and Jason.’

Quinn’s hands clenched. He flicked a glance at them before turning his attention back to the road. ‘I know it’s not precisely the same, but you’ll be able to Skype with them, won’t you?’

Robbie frowned more fiercely. ‘What’s that?’

‘It’s like talking on the phone only on the computer, and you get to see each other.’

He stopped chewing his thumb. ‘Really?’ His face lit up. ‘Can I, Mum? Huh, can I?’

Quinn’s hands unclenched. ‘Sure you can, honey.’

She sent Aidan such a smile he was tempted to simply sit back and bask in it. But then he remembered yesterday’s impression. Unfriendly? He wasn’t having a bit of it.

‘And can I Skype with Daddy too?’

He swore every single muscle Quinn possessed bunched at that. ‘I...’ She cleared her throat. ‘I don’t see why not.’ She flashed Robbie a smile. For some reason it made Aidan want to drop his head to the steering wheel. He kept both hands tight about it, though, and his eyes glued to the road ahead. ‘You’ll have to ask him the next time he rings.’

‘’Kay.’

‘Look, kangaroos!’ Aidan hollered, pointing to the right and blessing Providence for providing them with the perfect distraction.

Both boys strained in their seats, their mouths open and their faces eager as they watched four large grey kangaroos bounce through the scrub beside the car.

Quinn leant her head back against the seat and closed her eyes.

Aidan pulled in a breath. ‘Okay, Robbie and Chase, I think it’s time I taught you a song.’

‘Is it a fun song?’ Chase demanded, as if that was the only kind of song he was interested in.

He scrubbed a hand across his chin. ‘It has a yellow submarine. Does that make it fun enough?’

‘Yes!’ the boys chorused.

Besides, it was a classic. If they were all so hell-bent on novelty songs they might as well learn the best. So he taught them the Beatles’ ‘Yellow Submarine’. By the time they’d finished they’d reached their first rest stop. While Quinn spread out the picnic blanket in the park area behind the lone roadhouse, Aidan grabbed his laptop and downloaded the song so the boys could listen to the original version. The three of them sang along at the tops of their voices.

When they’d finished, Aidan turned to find Quinn curled on the blanket, fast asleep. He thought of his exhaustion of the previous day. He thought about how she was turning her whole world on its head. He swung back to the boys. ‘How about we kick a ball around and let your mum sleep?’

‘I’m tired of kicking a ball around,’ Chase grumbled. ‘I wanna play hopscotch instead.’

Hopscotch?

Without a murmur, Robbie went to the boot of the car and pulled out a plastic mat which, when unfolded, formed a life-sized hopscotch...court, shape or whatever one called it.

‘Uh, guys...’ Aidan glanced at Quinn. He shook his head. ‘Never mind.’

So they played hopscotch.

And darn if it wasn’t fun!

‘Are you guys worried about making friends in your new home town?’

Chase hopped. ‘Mum said it’ll be really easy to make friends in school.’

‘I expect she’s right.’ Aiden patted Chase’s back. ‘Well done, buddy; that was a big hop to end with.’

Robbie took his turn. ‘Mum said I can play Saturday morning soccer in Pokolbin, just like I did in Perth.’

‘Sport is a great way to make friends.’ He stepped back to give Robbie plenty of room to finish his turn. ‘You’re quick at this.’

‘I know.’ Robbie nodded, but as Aidan took his turn he could tell the boy was pleased with the praise.

‘You’d be quicker if you had play clothes.’

Aidan puffed over the finish line. ‘Ain’t that the truth? I’ll have to buy some when we get to Norseman this afternoon.’

Robbie squinted up at Aidan, chewing his lip. Aidan mightn’t have a kid of his own, he mightn’t have friends with kids, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that Robbie had something he wanted to ask. ‘Out with it, buddy,’ he advised.

‘You gotta promise to tell me the truth.’

Jeez! He rubbed a hand across his jaw. ‘I’ll do my best.’

‘Is hopscotch a girls’ game?’

Aidan automatically went to say no, that anyone was at liberty to play hopscotch, which wasn’t really a lie, but... He closed his mouth. Kids could be cruel and, as far as he could tell, political correctness wasn’t high on their radar, regardless of what their parents tried to teach them.

He squatted down in front of Robbie and Chase, a glance over his shoulder confirming that Quinn still slept. ‘Okay, it shouldn’t just be a girls’ game, but it kinda is.’ He didn’t want these kids getting bullied. ‘So I wouldn’t play it at your new school.’

‘Right.’ Robbie nodded, evidently glad the question had been settled.

Chase leant against Aidan and the rush of the child’s heat against his arm did something strange to Aidan’s stomach. He had a sudden primeval impulse to take out anyone who tried to hurt these kids.

‘But,’ Chase whispered, ‘I like playing hopscotch.’

And nobody should be allowed to prevent these kids from enjoying such an innocent diversion. ‘That’s why I think you should play it at home whenever you want. If anyone finds out about it and gives you a hard time, tell them your mum makes you play it with her. In fact—’ a grin built through him ‘—when you have friends around, tee up with your mum beforehand to make you all play it.’

They’d all love it. He’d tell Quinn to make cake...or chocolate crackles. Kids would forgive any eccentricity for chocolate crackles. They might groan to their parents or other kids that Ms Laverty made them play hopscotch, but then they’d remember the chocolate crackles and still think she was great.

It’d be a win all round.

He beamed at the boys. They beamed back. ‘C’mon, who’s up next?’

* * *

Quinn woke to find Aidan playing hopscotch with Robbie and Chase. She blinked. She sat up and then had to blink again. He actually looked as if he was having fun!

She suddenly grinned, all trace of her thundering headache gone. The sun, the clear blue sky and the dry dusty smells of the rest area seemed filled with a promise they’d all lacked earlier.

She lifted her chin and pushed away the doubts that had spent the night harrying and hounding her. This new beginning should be savoured, not dreaded. Mindless worrying wouldn’t help any of them.

Aidan glanced around as if he’d sensed her gaze. Her heart did a silly little flip-flop. Actually, maybe it wasn’t so silly. Perhaps it was entirely understandable. Aidan looked a whole lot more...uh, personable without his jacket and tie...or his shoes and socks.

‘You lot must be ready for a drink and a snack,’ she called out, but her voice came out a bit higher and threadier than it usually did. She blamed it on the dust in the air. The boys raced over, full of reports of their game, but she only heard every second word. Her eyes never left Aidan. He packed up the game and then ambled over—practically sauntering—and it highlighted the leanness of his hips and the power of his thighs.

And it made her throat as dry as a desert. An ancient hunger built through her. Ancient as in primeval. And ancient as in she hadn’t experienced this kind of hunger in over five years. She dragged her gaze away, refused to let it dwell on a body that interested her far too much. Bodies were just bodies. Hormones were just hormones. And this was nothing more than a hormone-induced aberration. She handed out sliced apple, carrot sticks and bottled water and kept her eyes to herself as best she could.

Aidan fell down onto the blanket beside her, slugging her with his heat. The scent of his perspiration rose up, making her gulp. She tried telling herself she loathed man sweat. But it was clean sweat earned in the service of playing with her children and she couldn’t hate it. Beneath it threaded that woodsy spice that she’d like to get to know a whole lot better.

‘How are you feeling?’

His words rumbled against her. She grabbed an apple slice and crunched it, nodding her head all the while. ‘Much better. Thank you for letting me sleep—’ she glanced at her watch ‘—for a whole hour!’ He’d taken care of the boys for a whole hour? ‘Oh my word! What kind of irresponsible mother you must think me!’ What kind of mother just fell asleep in a strange place and—?

‘I think you’re a brilliant mother, Quinn.’

She had to look at him then. Her mouth opened and closed but no sound came out.