It would not be time wasted.

She would be better equipped to continue a journey with Jake Freedman when they met again-older, stronger, more his equal in everything. She could wait for that.

CHAPTER TWELVE.

STAY STRONG...

Laura repeated those words to herself many times as she tried to minimise her father's savagery over the next few weeks, protecting her mother from it as best she could. She had half expected a vicious blow-up about her visit to Jake's house, but that didn't eventuate. Either there hadn't been a surveillance man at all, or he hadn't reported the incident, not seeing anything significant in it.

Strangely enough her mind was more at peace with Jake's promise. She didn't fret over his absence from her life. It was easier to concentrate on her landscape projects than when she was seeing him each week. Knowing what he was doing, knowing why, helped a lot, as did good memories when she went to bed at night. Besides, there was hope for a future with him, which she kept to herself, not confiding it to her mother or Eddie, both of whom would probably see it as an unhealthy obsession with the man.

She spent as much time with her mother as her uni studies and part-time receptionist work would allow. Nick Jeffries seemed to be finding a lot of maintenance jobs that had to be done, coming to the house two or three times a week. Laura wondered if he knowingly provided a buffer between her parents, giving her mother an excuse to be outside with him, supervising the work. He was a cheerful man, good to have around, in sharp contrast to her father, who was never anything but nasty now.

One evening she was in the kitchen with her mother, helping to prepare dinner, when he arrived home bellowing, 'Laura!' from the hallway, the tone alone warning he was bent on taking a piece out of her.

Her heart jumped. What had she done wrong? Nothing she could think of. 'I'm in the kitchen, Dad!' she called out, refusing to go running to him or show any fear of his mean temper.

Stay strong...

She kept cutting up the carrots, only looking up when he announced his entry by snidely commenting, 'Good sharp knife! You might want to stick it into someone, Laura.'

Like him? He had a smug smile on his face, in no doubt whatsoever that she wouldn't attack him physically. He was the one who had the power to hurt and that knowledge glittered in his eyes. He stood there, gloating over whatever he had in mind to do. Laura waited, saying nothing, aware that her mother had also stopped working and was tensely waiting for whatever was coming next.

'I've had Jake Freedman under surveillance,' he announced.

The visit to Jake's house! But that was so long ago. It didn't make sense that her father would keep such a tasty t.i.tbit until now.

He waved a large envelope at her. 'Hard evidence of what a slime he is.' He strolled forward, opening the envelope and removing what looked like large photographs, and laid them down on the island bench in front of her.

'Thought you'd like to see Jake Freedman's steady screw, Laura,' he said mockingly, pointing to a curvy blonde in a skimpy, skin-tight aerobic outfit, her arms locked around Jake's neck, her body pressed up against his, as was her face for a kiss.

It was like a kick in the gut, seeing him with another woman.

'Meets her at the gym three times a week.'

Every word was like a drop of acid eating into her heart.

The pointing finger moved to the next photograph. 'Goes back to her place for extra exercise.'

There was the blonde again, the pony-tail for the gym released so that her shiny hair fell around her face and shoulders in soft waves. It was a very pretty face. She was opening the door of a house, smiling back invitingly at Jake, who was paused at the foot of the steps leading up to the front porch.

'Woman works at a club on Sat.u.r.day nights,' her father went on. 'Very handy. Left him free to have his delectable little encounters with you. Shows what a two-faced b.a.s.t.a.r.d he is in every respect.'

She didn't speak, couldn't speak. Sickening waves of shock were rolling through her. It was a huge relief that her father didn't wait for some comment from her.

'Need a drink to drown the sc.u.mbag out,' he muttered and headed off to make his usual inroads into a bottle of whisky, leaving the d.a.m.ning photographs behind to blast any faith she might have in Jake's love for her.

Laura stared at them. It was only a month since her meeting in the park with him-a meeting he hadn't wanted, a meeting to ensure she wouldn't pester him again, coming to his house where she had never been invited. She had accepted his reasoning, believed in his promise, and here he was with another woman, enjoying her company, having s.e.x with her.

Two-faced...

Of course he had to be good at that-brilliant-to fool her father.

Fooling her, too, had probably been a fun exercise in comparison.

A dark, dangerous man... She should have trusted that instinct, should have said no to him, should never have allowed him to play his game with her because it had been his game all along, his arrangements, his rules. She had read into them what she wanted to believe and he had let her with his rotten promise.

Tears welled up and blurred her vision. She shut her eyes, didn't see her mother move to wrap her in a comforting hug, only felt the arms turning her around, a hand curling around her head and pressing it onto a shoulder. She wasn't strong in that moment, couldn't find any strength at all. She gave in to a storm of weeping until it was spent, then weakly stayed in her mother's embrace, soaking up the real love coming to her from the rubbing of her back and the stroking of her hair.

'I'm sorry you've been so hurt by this,' her mother murmured. 'Sorry you were caught up in your father's business, in past deeds you had nothing to do with. So wrong...'

'I loved him, Mum. I thought he loved me. He promised me we'd meet again when this was all over,' she spilled out, needing to unburden the pain of the soul-sickening deception.

'Perhaps that was a kinder way of letting you down than telling you the truth. You're a wonderful person, Laura. Even he had to see that, care for you a little.'

'Oh, Mum! It's such a mess!' She lifted her head and managed a wobbly smile. 'I'm a mess. Thanks for being here for me.'

Her mother returned an ironic little smile as she lifted her hand to smear the wetness from Laura's cheeks. 'As you are for me. But please don't think you always have to be, my dear. I want you to have a life of your own, away from here. Like Eddie.'

'Well, we'll talk about that when I'm through uni. Now let's do this dinner. I don't want Dad to know I've been upset.'

Pride lent her strength again. She s.n.a.t.c.hed up the photographs. 'I'll just take these up to my room as reminders of my stupidity, clean myself up and be right back down to help. And don't worry about me, Mum. I'll be okay now.'

She dumped the photographs on her bed, bitterly thinking how easy she had been for Jake, how vulnerable she had been to his strong s.e.x appeal, how willing to go along with his journey, letting him call all the shots. He'd probably had this other woman all along. Even if the pretty blonde was only a more recent acquisition for his s.e.x life, the very fact of her spelled out that he felt no deep attachment to Alex Costarella's daughter.

Washing her face, she wished she could wash Jake Freedman right out of her head.

Stay strong...

Oh, yes, she would. She had to. n.o.body was going to wreck her life; not her father, not Jake, not any man. This steadfast determination carried her through dinner, sharpening her wits enough to dilute her father's barbs with good-humoured replies. It also formed her resolution when she returned to her bedroom and was faced with the photographs again.

She scooped them up and shoved them straight back into the envelope her father had left with them. It was a blank envelope and she wrote Jake's address on it, grimly pleased that the search for his house had not been completely wasted time. She wanted him to know that she knew about his other woman and he would not be sucking up any more of her time.

To underline that fact, she wrote an accompanying note- As for any future meeting between us, you can whistle for me, Jake. I'm moving on. Laura.

No angst in those words. She liked the whistle bit. It carried a flippant tone, as well as implying he was just another jerk to be ignored.

Having slipped the note into the envelope, she sealed it and put it in her briefcase to be posted tomorrow. Over and done with. Her life was her own again.

Jake sorted his mail, frowning over the business-size envelope with the handwritten address. It wasn't standard practice to handwrite anything that wasn't personal these days. Curious about its content, he slit it open and drew out the photographs and the d.a.m.ning little note from Laura.

A lead weight settled on his heart.

He'd been sucked in by the dancer at the gym. She'd been Costarella's tool. That was bleeding obvious now. He hadn't suspected a set-up when she'd grabbed at him as he was leaving the gym, expressing what seemed like genuine fear of being stalked and pleading with him to walk her home-just a few blocks to where she knew she'd be safe. It wasn't much to ask, wasn't much to do-a random act of kindness that was coming back to spike him with a vengeance.

Then the embrace of gushing grat.i.tude a week later, an over-the-top carry-on that he'd backed away from, not wanting it, not liking it, certainly not encouraging any further involvement with the woman. But that didn't show in the photograph. It didn't serve Costarella's purpose to give Laura shots of his reaction.

He carried the mail into his house, despondently dumping it on the kitchen bench on his way to the small backyard, which provided a sunny haven from the rest of the world. He slumped into one of the deck chairs he'd set out there, still holding Laura's note that brought their journey to a dead end.

He stared at the words-I'm moving on.

It was what he had meant her to do, advised her to do, and most probably it was the best course to chop him completely out of her life. Costarella was not about to tolerate any future connection between them. Even if he explained this photographic set up to Laura and she believed him, Costarella would look for other ways and means to drive wedges into their relationship. It gave him a focus for getting back at Jake for bringing him down and he'd relish that malicious power.

Definitely best that what he'd had with Laura ended here and now. No future.

He folded the note and tucked it into his shirt pocket.

He'd known all along that this was how it would have to be, but it was still d.a.m.ned difficult to accept. Achieving what he'd set out to do to Alex Costarella felt strangely empty. Like his life after his mother and stepfather had died. But he'd picked himself up then and moved forward. He could do it again.

There should have been warmth in the sunshine.

He couldn't feel it.

The emptiness inside him was very cold.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

FOR the rest of the year Laura applied herself so thoroughly to her uni course, she not only attained her degree, but also graduated with honours in every subject. This gave her an extra edge over other students entering the workforce for the first time. She was snapped up by a firm of architects, wanting a landscape specialist to enhance their designs. It was a wonderful buoyant feeling to know all her hard work had paid off and she was actually going to begin her chosen career.

The phone call notifying her of her successful interview came in the first week of December and her new employers wanted her in their office the following Monday. After revelling in the news for a few moments, she rushed out to the back garden to tell her mother, who was trailing after Nick Jeffries as he checked the sprinkler system.

'Mum! I got it! The job I interviewed for!' she called out, causing both of them to turn and give her their attention. She grinned exultantly at them as she added, 'And they want me to start next week!'

Her mother's face lit with pleasure. 'That's fantastic, Laura!'

'Fantastic!' Nick repeated, grinning delight at her. 'Congratulations!'

'And before Christmas, too,' her mother said with an air of relief, turning her face up to Nick's and touching his arm in an oddly familiar manner. 'Can we do it?'

He nodded. 'The sooner, the better.'

'Do what?' Laura asked, bemused by what seemed like an intimate flow of understanding between them.

Nick tucked her mother's arm around his and they faced Laura together as he told her their news. 'Your mother is leaving your father and moving in with me. We've just been waiting for you to have some freedom of choice, Laura, and now you're set.'

She was totally thunderstruck. Her mother and Nick? She had never imagined, never suspected there was anything beyond a casual affection between them, born out of sharing the pleasure of a lovely garden. She knew Nick was a widower, had been for years, but he'd always been very respectful to her mother, caring about what she wanted but never taking liberties that might not be welcome. When had their relationship moved to a different level?

'I can see you're shocked,' her mother said on a deflated sigh.

Her air of disappointment jolted Laura into a quick protest. 'No! No! Just surprised! And pleased,' she quickly added, beaming a smile at both of them.

'It's not good for Alicia here,' Nick said, appealing for her understanding.

That was the understatement of the year!

'I'm sure Mum will be a lot happier with you than with Dad,' Laura said with feeling. 'Both Eddie and I have always liked you, Nick. And appreciated how much you've lightened Mum's life. I think it's brilliant that you're stepping in and taking her away, but I've got to warn you, Dad's bound to be horribly mean about it. He's not a good loser.'

Which was another huge understatement.

Nick patted her mother's hand rea.s.suringly. 'Alicia doesn't need to take anything from him. I can provide for her.'

'There's very little I want to take from this life, Laura. Nick can fit it into his van,' her mother said, looking brighter now that her decision had been so readily accepted by her daughter. 'But you'll have to move on the same day. Either come with us or go to Eddie's until you can afford a place of your own. I can't leave you here, not with your father finding out I've walked out on him.'

'No, that would not be a good scene,' Laura heartily agreed.

The biggest understatement of all!

'I'll go to Eddie's, let you two start your lives together on your own,' she decided. 'It won't be for long. As soon as I get my first pay cheque, I'll look around for an apartment close to my work.'

'We must tell Eddie now,' her mother said anxiously, looking to Nick for his support again.

'Yes, he has to be brought into the plan,' Nick agreed.

'No problem. I'll call him, let him know,' Laura suggested. 'And don't worry, Mum. Eddie will be all for it.'

She shook her head. 'I must tell him, dear. It's only right.'

'Okay. Just trying to save you trouble, Mum.'

'I know. It's what you've been doing for years,' she said sadly. 'But no more, Laura.'

'That's my job from now on,' Nick said with a cheerful grin. 'All you have to do, Laura, is choose what you want to take with you, pack it up and be ready when Alicia nominates the day.'

'A day when I'm sure your father will be out. I'm not going to face him with this. I'll leave him a letter. Let him rage to an empty house.'

'Best course,' Nick said decisively. 'I wouldn't put it past him to stoop to physical violence and I won't have Alicia subjected to any risk of that.'

'Definitely the best course,' Laura agreed. 'What about Friday, Mum? I'm sure Dad said that was when he was meeting with his barrister to plan the counter attack to the accusations against him.'

Give him some dirt on your lover-boy, Laura, he'd jeered. Jake Freedman won't come out of this clean, I can promise you that.

None of my business, Laura had firmly recited to herself, determined not to encourage her father into elaborating on the dirt, refusing to go anywhere that involved Jake. Despite all the intervening months, she hadn't been able to bury the hurt of her disillusionment with him and it was quite impossible to become interested in any other man.

'Yes, Friday!' her mother cried excitedly.

The day of freedom.