“He was not in a ‘crazy’ situation yesterday—he just took advantage of me being distracted to have some fun. I’ll be the first to admit that I should have kept a closer eye on him and maybe reined him in earlier, but he was never in any danger, and the situation was not crazy. In fact, his behavior was typical of many young boys. Or perhaps you’ve forgotten what that’s like. In my experience, when children behave badly, it’s for a reason. Usually it’s a cry for help...or a way to channel their anger at the world. Children need stability and love in their lives if they’re ever to get back on track.”
“So now you’re telling me that I don’t love my own son?”
“No, of course not!” Kat felt as if she was going around in circles. “I just want to understand him better, and I thought you might be able to help with that.”
“Look...” Luke gave a slight shake of his head as if summing her up as stupid and exasperating. “I agree that Ben needs stability, and he has that here. The other thing he needs, though, is discipline—ground rules he has to learn to follow. I don’t believe your airy-fairy method of counseling is giving him that. Yesterday proved it. It seems to me that all you’re doing is letting the kids run wild.”
“Well, it seems to me that you and I will have to differ on that,” Kat said, holding her head high. “Oh, and by the way, I do happen to be the only one of us who is qualified to decide what a child needs.”
“You don’t need qualifications to bring up kids, just common sense.”
“And exactly what part has your ‘common sense’ played in your son’s life up until now?”
Luke paled, and Kat wished she could take back what she’d said. He glared at her then turned on his heel and slammed the door in her face.
Regretting her decision to talk to him, Kat walked slowly through the large gardens, needing time to calm down and think things through. As she reached the cliff top where the beautiful old house was perched, she stopped for a while to look out across the wide vista of the bay, breathing in the crisp, clear air before heading toward the front door of the school, feeling much calmer and more in control of her emotions.
As she stepped into the spacious hallway, she smelled the comforting aroma of roast beef and the fragrant lilies that stood on a side table beneath the window. She hesitated, listening to the sound of children’s laughter floating through from the kitchen. Despite the troubles that most of the children here had faced in their lives, Flight was in many ways a happy house, and she was very grateful to be a part of it. She just hoped Luke Travis would allow her to help his son thrive here.
Kat still had to talk to Mike, so she headed toward his study to see if he was still there. As she approached the half-open door, she could hear him speaking to someone. Could it be Luke, fueled by the confrontation they’d just had? She paused in the hallway, feeling guilty for listening in on a private conversation but unable to resist. If it was Luke, she needed to hear what he was saying about her.
“I think you just need to give her a bit more time,” Mike said. “She does have a lot of experience, and I’m sure that she knows what she’s doing. I’ll have a word with her, if you like.”
Kat didn’t wait to hear the other person’s response. It was obviously Luke complaining about her. She knew where she stood with him now and she definitely didn’t want eavesdropping added to her list of misdemeanors. When she met Gwen at the end of the hallway, her heartbeat increased tenfold; two minutes sooner and she’d have been caught red-handed.
“Hi,” Kat said in what she hoped was a bright, calm tone. “If you’re looking for Mike, I think he’s in the study. I heard his voice as I walked past.”
“Thanks,” Gwen responded with a puzzled frown. “Is everything okay? You look a bit flustered.”
“Yes...” Kat took a deep breath. “Of course, everything’s fine.”
“And your sea and nature sessions are going well?”
“Really well. I’m looking forward to expanding to animal therapy.”
“Good luck with that,” Gwen said. “Though it may take a bit longer to set up than your sea therapy.”
Now, what did that mean? wondered Kat as Gwen carried on down the hall. Had Luke already managed to put a spoke in the wheels? Well, her previous work with children and animals had been a huge success, and once she got this program all set up and running, it would succeed, too. Gwen was right that it would take some organizing; she needed not just the right animals, but a place to keep and care for them, plus feed and bedding and everything else they required. Not to mention risk assessments for absolutely everything. She’d better start making plans right away.
IT HAD BEEN ALMOST half an hour since he’d slammed the door on Kat Molloy and Luke was still seething. What did she expect, anyway? Obviously, he was going to watch out for his son, and if her sessions were in any way unsafe, he was going to interfere. She might be competent enough as a counselor, but her ideas about sea and animal therapy were something else. And now their disagreement had probably pushed Ben even further away from him.
All Luke really wanted was to make things right with his son, but everything he tried seemed to go wrong. And how she’d had the gall to turn up at his door and ask for help when she’d caused so much trouble was beyond him. He did feel a prickle of guilt for the way he’d ended the conversation, but she’d pushed him too far. How dare she insinuate that he didn’t love his own son?
With a heavy sigh, Luke went into the bathroom to shave and freshen up before dinner. He stared into the mirror and soaped his chin, his mind drifting over the past few weeks.
Since the moment he’d heard Ben was coming to Flight, Luke’s life had turned upside down—not that he’d have it any other way, of course. He remembered Mike calling him into his office and questioning him about Ben. Luke had tried to be totally honest, but as far as he’d known, Ben had been living a privileged and secure life in the care of his wealthy grandparents, Mollie and Jim Jackson, and his mother, Carly—Luke’s ex-wife.
Mike had frowned slightly, waiting for him to go on, and Luke had found himself making excuses for not being in his son’s life. When Ben was born, Mollie had promised him that she and Jim would make sure their grandson would be well taken care of, and he and Carly would have done nothing but argue if he’d stuck around. He’d believed he had nothing to offer Ben and that the boy didn’t need him, either.
“Did you want to be in his life?” Mike had asked, and he’d hesitated before replying. He wasn’t proud of that.
“I didn’t even know about him at first,” he’d said. “Carly and I were only married for a few months, and I hardly knew her family. Her mother called me a long time after we split up, totally out of the blue one afternoon. I was working down south. ‘I think it’s only right that you should know about Ben,’ she said.”
Luke genuinely hadn’t known that Carly was pregnant when they split up. Apparently, she’d insisted that she didn’t want Luke in her son’s life, but that hadn’t sat well with Mollie. After that initial call, Ben’s grandmother had promised to keep in touch and let Luke know how the boy was doing. And she had phoned him occasionally. When he’d moved nearer to where they lived, though, and pushed to have more contact with his son, maybe even
