of papers, copies of an agenda, Cam discovered when Mike handed him one.
Lauren, now, was different. One look at her face when Tom walked in was enough to tell Cam she was attracted to his old acquaintance, which made the fact that Tom studiously avoided looking at Lauren even more interesting. Lauren was a beautiful woman, and Tom was a man who collected beautiful women. Had he tried and been rebuffed?
The attraction between them seemed apparent to Cam, a newcomer, looking in from the outside, but one was resisting and one was ignoring—interesting!
‘Did you come to try the chairs or are you going to get involved?’
Jo’s teasing remark brought him out of his analysis of the vibes in the room and he smiled at the people he was finding so intriguing.
‘Thinking of something,’ he said, then knew he’d made a mistake. Jo wasn’t one to let an opening like that slip away.
‘So tell,’ she demanded, and Cam had to sort some vague thoughts he’d had while out on his board this morning into sensible order. But not before he’d snapped a ‘Yes, boss’ and a crisp salute at her, and watched the delicious colour rise in her cheeks.
Business! his head reminded him.
‘I think long term we—or you lot—need to get the men’s programme up and running, and we can start planning it and working on how best to get men to attend. As far as attendance goes, we can contact people who already run these programmes to see if they’ve any ideas. But … ‘
He paused, aware he had their attention.
‘While outlining what we’re doing to get that up and running might impress the people who hold the purse-strings, maybe another project, one we could begin right now, would show we’re serious about running an integrated programme against domestic violence in the Cove. For a start, get the local council involved. I’ve noticed as I’ve travelled north that many towns have big signs on the highway where the town begins, saying domestic violence isn’t tolerated in this town, and a toll-free number to call for help.’
‘That’s a great idea,’ Lauren told him. ‘I’ll get on to the council.’
‘Actually, I can do that. I’ll talk to the mayor about it,’ Cam offered.
Jo was smiling at him—like a teacher pleased with her pupil?—but she wasn’t letting him stop there.
‘And?’ she prompted.
‘We should begin awareness programmes in the high schools—right now. This time of year, the final-year students have gone, but the lower years are still there and teachers are at their wits’ end, trying to keep their pupils occupied. I know this because army recruitment officers were always welcomed at the end of term time. We could offer to do a school programme focussing on violence.’
Jo caught on first.
‘You’re right. We need to get kids, especially adolescents, not only aware of DV but thinking seriously about how they handle anger. What do they see of violence? How do they think about it? How does it make them feel? We could do some role playing of appropriate and inappropriate behaviour, get the kids involved, the older ones in doing role plays and the younger ones making posters.’
‘We started working on something like that last year,’ Lauren said, looking directly at Tom for the first time, and colouring slightly.
Definitely something there, Cam confirmed to himself.
‘Just before schoolies,’ Tom offered. ‘Then all hell broke loose. We had that low off the coast, gale-force winds and rain, and some of the kids’ tents were blown away and both the hospital and the refuge became hostels for wet, stranded teenagers.’
‘Better weather forecast for this year,’ Mike said, but in such gloomy tones Cam had to ask.
‘Are they so bad, the schoolies? After all, they’re legally adults, most of them. They’re over eighteen when they leave school. Surely they don’t all run wild?’
‘Wait and see,’ Jo warned him, green eyes pinning him in place—distracting him. ‘Explaining schoolies is impossible, although, as an army man, maybe you can imagine it. Picture a couple of hundred new recruits turned loose for a week, alcohol flowing freely—binge drinking is apparently what you do to prove you’re an adult—some drugs, although Mike and his crew are very vigilant and we have a great sniffer dog wandering through the gatherings, and then there are hormonal girls and testosterone-laden youths and all the problems of love and lust.’
Cam rather wished she hadn’t mentioned testosterone and lust, but he set that distraction aside to concentrate on what he was learning.
‘We have a chill-out zone staffed with volunteers where kids feeling sick or lost or just in need of a hug can go. We have bottled water available all over the place, the council provides entertainment on the esplanade, local and imported bands, most nights, and generally speaking we’re really well prepared and organised,’ Lauren said, and Cam heard the but hanging at the end of the sentence.
‘Anyway, let’s tackle schoolies when we have to. For now, can we discuss Cam’s idea?’ Jo said. ‘He’s right in thinking we’d be welcomed at the high school. Lauren, have you got time to work with him on a rough outline for a programme? And maybe the two of you could do the first run, then whoever is available could do the other classes. I think having a man and a woman running each session makes it easier to do some simulated violence scenes and maybe if there’s time, we could talk about control issues as well—equate it to bullying, which is a big issue in schools these days.’
So, Jo’s palming me off onto Lauren, and from the look on Tom’s face he’s no happier about it than I am, Cam realised.
Than I am?
For crying out loud, what was happening to him?
I’m going soft on my boss, that’s what, he admitted to himself, and for some bizarre reason the admission sent a rush of heat through his body.
Jo was watching Cam’s face and, no, she wasn’t going to think about why her gaze had drifted that way, so she saw his reaction to her suggestion about him working with Lauren.
Puzzled? Yes, puzzlement was there, but also present was something that looked like suspicion. She hadn’t deliberately suggested they work together, had she?
Of course not, she’d suggested it because they both had psychology training so were the best suited for the job. Of course, Lauren was beautiful, and Jo had felt for a long time that Lauren needed a man in her life. No harm in bumping them together.
No harm at all and the squelchy feeling inside her at that thought actually confirmed it was a good idea. She’d had enough internal disturbances over Fraser Cameron.
‘We need get the programme organised first,’ Lauren suggested, then she smiled at Cam. ‘Your boss ever give you time off? If we’re going to put our heads together, it would suit me better during the day. With the cutbacks in funding I’m doing the night shift at the refuge. It’s not a late night for me, but after it I’m too drained to do any logical thinking.’
Cam turned to Jo and raised his eyebrows.
‘Tell me what time suits you, Lauren,
