closed her eyes and hauled a lungful. What if he’s got a wife now? Or a live-in partner? But the answers to the few questions she’d felt safe asking of a colleague from Otago Hospital, Mitch’s old stomping ground, had reassured her he was still single and playing the field as hard as ever. But what if the information was incorrect? Maybe she should ask around some more before dropping her bombshell. Maybe she should go and hide from the truth—again. That would help heaps. Not.
In truth, she didn’t want to hurt Mitchell—at all. Too late. You already have. He just doesn’t know it. Yet. But if there had been another way around the problem she’d have found it.
‘I need to do this,’ she said under her breath. ‘It’s life or death. Jamie’s life—or death.’ Bracing her shoulders, she pressed the bell again. And gaped at the waif-like woman who tugged the door wide.
An open face with a beautiful smile, long black hair falling down her back, big brown eyes filled with friendliness. ‘Hello?’
Jodi’s fingers combed her own straggly tufts that looked as though she’d taken the wool clippers to them. No time or money to spend on caring for inessentials such as hair. A twist of envy wound through her as she studied this woman. She’d been fooling herself. Mitch wouldn’t be alone. Good-looking, highly sexed, streetwise men like him never were. ‘Hello, I’m Dr Jodi Hawke. Is Mitchell at home?’
The woman smiled easily, apparently not at all concerned with a strange female’s sudden appearance on the doorstep. ‘Sorry, but he’s at work, even though it is Saturday. I’d say come back later but who knows what time he’ll get home. He puts in long hours, always doing extra shifts.’
I know. That was the problem. One of the problems, she corrected herself. ‘He works at Auckland General Hospital, right?’ Just checking she had that fact correct.
‘Isn’t he wonderful? Helping all those sick kids? He’s got such a lovely way with them. When our Lilly broke her arm Mitch fixed her up as easy as, and even made her laugh while he was doing it.’
Our Lilly. Mitchell had a daughter? The guy who’d sworn off having his own kids for ever? Jodi’s head spun and she groped for the wall to gain some stability as darkness crashed down over her eyes. This was turning out an even bigger nightmare than she’d believed possible.
‘Hey, careful. You’re going to fall in a heap.’ A hand gripped her elbow firmly, propelling her over the doorstep and into a small entranceway. ‘What’s the matter? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Or as our Lilly would say, seen a vampire. Here …’ The woman pushed her onto a chair. She was surprisingly strong for such a small woman. ‘Sit and put your head between your knees while I get you a glass of cold water.’
‘I—I’m s-sorry,’ Jodi whispered to the departing woman. ‘I never faint. Must be something in the air.’ Yeah, something called cowardice. ‘Toughen up. You’re a mother and mothers do anything for their children. Anything.’
A shadow crossed the floor in front of Jodi. Carefully lifting her head, her eyes met a sympathetic gaze.
‘Here, drink this. My name’s Claire, by the way.’ The woman knelt beside the chair and held the glass to Jodi’s lips. ‘What happened? Gee, one minute you’re asking about Mitch, the next you’re dropping like a sack of spuds.’
‘I’m not sure. Must be the heat.’ Heat? In autumn? ‘Or something I ate earlier.’ Her voice dwindled off as she sucked in her lie. The half piece of toast at six that morning would hardly do this. Taking the glass from Claire, she sipped the refreshing water, and met the perplexed gaze of this kind woman. ‘I’m sorry, truly. I’ll get out of your way.’ Suddenly in a hurry to leave, she stood up, and swayed on her feet. Once more Claire grabbed at her, pushed her down on the chair.
‘Not so fast. You can’t walk outside like this. You’ll fall and hurt yourself.’
Embarrassed at her unusual situation, Jodi drained the water and forced her brain to clear away the furry edges brought on by her near faint. In an attempt to divert her mind she looked around the entryway, then, through an open door into the lounge. Something wasn’t right. Too neat and tidy, impersonal. No toys or children’s books. Nothing to show a child resided here. ‘Your daughter doesn’t live with you?’
‘Of course she does.’ Then understanding dawned in Claire’s eyes. ‘I don’t live here.’ She chuckled. ‘I’m Mitch’s cleaning lady. Not his girlfriend.’ She went off into peals of laughter, crossing her arms over her stomach. ‘As if. I’m married to Dave, a long-haul truckie. We’re saving to buy our own house.’
Relief poured through Jodi. ‘I’ve got it all wrong, haven’t I?’ Thank goodness, because she really didn’t want to upset this woman who’d been so kind to her. ‘I’d better get going. No point in waiting for Mitch.’ Back to the motel and Jamie. Mum would be busy working on her latest financial report, hoping Jamie stayed asleep while Jodi was out. But at least she’d come up with them to help out over the first few days until Jodi knew what would happen. Totally unlike her hardworking mother to be away from her corner grocery store for even a day, let alone a whole week.
Concern clouded Claire’s eyes. ‘Hey, I wouldn’t let you stay here without Mitch’s say-so. He doesn’t know you’re visiting, does he?’
How had she figured that out? ‘No. I, we, flew up from Dunedin today. It’s a surprise.’ Surprise? If what she had to tell Mitch was a surprise then she’d hate to think what a stealth bomber was.
Claire headed for the front door and waved her through. ‘That’s all right, then. I like the guy. He’s kind and always pays me more money than I ask for, and never leaves a huge mess to clean up. I wouldn’t want to muck up what I’ve got going here.’
Once a charmer, always a charmer. Jodi squeezed past her. ‘Thank you for the water.’ The path wavered before her and she concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other as she headed for the car.
‘Excuse me. Jodi, wasn’t it?’ Claire called after her.
She paused, glanced over her shoulder. ‘Yes.’
‘In case you want to know, as far as I can see, Mitch hasn’t got a woman in his life at the moment. When he’s here he only uses the bathroom, one half of his bed and the kitchen.’
Relief made Jodi feel wobbly again but she kept focused on that footpath and finally made it back to the stuffy car. Inside she rolled down the window to let some cooler air float across her face. Phew. The fact she’d all but fainted showed how much of a pickle she’d got herself into. The prospect of facing up to Mitch had given her endless sleepless nights. And now, after getting mentally prepared, her moment of reckoning had been delayed. It was killing her.
Nothing compared to what’s happening to Jamie.
She reached for the ignition. Glanced at the house. Saw Claire wave before she closed the front door. Claire, the cleaning lady. Not the wife or girlfriend. Mitch really was single.
Something akin to excitement bubbled through her, warmed her from the inside out. Mitch was single. So what? He was toast, had been since the night he’d done his usual no-show. Except that time she’d been sitting in the swanky restaurant, at the table he’d booked for her birthday, drinking the champagne he’d pre-ordered, tossing up between roast salmon on fennel or venison steak when she’d seen his brother come in with his current glamorous
