Chapter 19
The happy couple must be about to return, Tessa realised, as Tim turned away from the lounge room window and pestered Noah again—with much less subtlety.
‘Please don’t take this the wrong way,’ he begged, ‘but I have to know before I leave. What’s the deal with Lainie?’
Tess rolled her eyes at Noah’s pleading look. Her husband was a terrible liar. She would have thought he would be better at it if it helped to keep Eden a secret, but he was just too obvious when he tried to hedge. She tugged Tim’s sleeve and drew him back to the kitchen to help finish cleaning up the mess from breakfast. Noah followed, throwing her a grateful smile.
‘Lainie’s been away for a few years,’ she explained, opening the clean dishwasher and handing Tim the cutlery basket. ‘She had a very traumatic experience not long after finishing school and didn’t come out of it too well.’ Out of the corner of her eye she saw Noah blanch as he started to wipe down the kitchen table. Okay, so ‘not well’ was a massive understatement, given that Lainie had died in a gruesome spray of blood.
There was a knowing and compassionate feel to Tim’s nod. ‘Mental illness?’
‘Of a sort,’ she lied, her voice sounding only slightly squeaky. She was fairly confident that Lainie would forgive her for that, but Noah looked like someone had just stolen his ute. She knew that in his perspective, everyone outside of Eden was mentally ill to some degree compared with the people born of the Garden, who never so much as shed a real tear.
‘And she’s okay now? Bane seems to be pretty confident that she’s back for good. I’d hate for him to be wrong.’
Wouldn’t we all, Tess thought, grabbing a tissue. She was so emotional these days. It was like being back in high school. ‘We’ll do everything we can to help her. Don’t worry about Bane. Those two are meant to be together. It will all work out fine,’ she said with as much confidence as she could fake. Noah’s look was grateful. Those were words he needed to hear too. She hoped she was right.
‘So. You all went to school together?’ Tim asked, changing the subject. She supposed that crying pregnant women were not his cup of tea.
Noah nodded. ‘Nalong College. Best soccer team in the region,’ he boasted, showing Tim where to stack the clean plates.
‘If Bane was on the team, I believe you. He is one tough player.’
‘Tell me about it. I once had the bite marks to prove it.’
As the conversation deteriorated into the latest English Premier League gossip, Tess let the guys take over the cleaning while she put her feet up and appraised Bane’s friend. He was a year younger than they were, and had met Bane on his first deployment. His open friendliness must have been good for her fellow Guardian, who had been sullen ever since she had known him. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what Bane must have been like to hang around with over the last three years. Tim was obviously a loyal friend to have stuck by him all this time, let alone nurse him halfway across the country in the state he’d been in yesterday.
A tiny foot pressed against her ribs, making her wriggle around in her chair. Her ankles ached. She only had a few weeks to go before the baby was due. Of all the times to have to chase after a citizen of Eden, this had to be the worst. She was ecstatic to have Bane and Lainie back, but she was also terrified that Noah would be called on to help find Dallmin. She couldn’t let him go without her. That simply wasn’t an option, and yet how was she supposed to keep up? And what if it took too long? She narrowed her gaze at the eager soldier.
‘So what are your plans, Tim?’ she asked when there was finally a break in the conversation. ‘How long can you stay?’
‘I’m supposed to take the rental car back tomorrow, and I should really be back for work on Monday. I haven’t booked a flight yet though. I’d better get on with it, I guess.’
‘Is there any chance you could stay a bit longer? There’s something we could use some help with. It’s okay if you can’t, I just thought I’d ask.’
Noah looked at her sideways. She glared back at him. She knew what she was doing—she hoped.
‘Well, I do have a bit of leave owing, and it’s a boring enough job that I won’t be missed, sadly, so I suppose I could stay for a few days. What is it you need?’
‘We need to find someone. I was thinking that with your army training you might be able to help. Hopefully it won’t take long.’
‘Well, sort of. He’s a bit of a drifter. I’m sure he’s fine but we haven’t seen him for a while and I’d feel better if I knew he was okay. I was going to send Noah to search …’
The affable man smiled at her. ‘But Noah needs to stay around here. I understand. I’ll see what I can arrange, don’t worry.’
A smile formed and settled itself smugly in Tessa’s chest. She’d been right in thinking he was probably a decent bloke.