Page 49 of Sharing Forever in Hope Creek (Hope Creek #2)

Callie shifted forward a little in her seat while her left hand rested on the twenty-seven-week bump of her stomach.

She peered through the window as the aircraft made its descent towards Sydney Airport and even though her stomach was unsettled due to nerves, she was amazed at the vista.

‘I didn’t know we’d have such a top view of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. It’s like a postcard shot.’

‘You won’t get this every time you fly to Sydney,’ Jack told her as she reached for the seat pocket to retrieve her phone and take a photo. ‘It depends on which runway is being used and the approach air traffic control gives the pilots.’

‘I haven’t been here since I was a kid and all of us came up to watch Stella play in a tennis tournament, but I certainly don’t remember getting this view.

Of course, I could’ve been sitting on the other side of the aircraft.

’ She was talking too much because the knot of anxiety twisted her insides up.

Jack appeared to know exactly how she was feeling as he glanced over at her. His deep blue eyes warmed her with his reassurance. ‘Are you okay?’

Although her nerves were stretched to the point where she felt jittery, Callie gave him a half-smile. ‘You know I’m nervous.’

It was why she’d left it so long to make the journey to Sydney—left it until the last minute, really, because another week into her pregnancy and the airline would’ve needed a doctor’s written permission to allow her to make the flight.

‘We’ve spoken about this and you know there’s absolutely no reason for you to be.’ He reached across the armrest and gave her hand a squeeze. ‘I bet Jacinta is trying to run around and make everything perfect and James is trying to steady her nerves as we speak.’

Callie rolled her eyes at him. ‘Good try, but as if I buy that. Your sister’s a top criminal barrister, for heaven’s sake.

I’ll bet her nerves are made of steel.’ She cleared her throat.

‘But I am glad you’ve filled her in on my parents.

At least I know she’s still prepared to have me in her home knowing my background. ’

‘Callie—’

She held up her hand. ‘I’m not exactly the type of fiancée a barrister wants for her brother.’

‘Hey,’ he protested. ‘You’re exactly the sort of fiancée Jacinta wants for me because she knows I love you and that you make me happy.

’ When he guessed she needed further convincing he challenged her.

‘Think about it. If this was our son or daughter arriving home with their future wife or husband, wouldn’t the most important thing be that you knew they were going to be happy? ’

Callie sighed. ‘You’re right.’

‘Then don’t judge Jacinta harshly.’

She gave a small nod of agreement but still felt as though she was about to walk into a world where she didn’t belong.

Although she lived and worked in Melbourne, she still felt too unsophisticated to be meeting high-flying legal counsellors and could never completely shake off the long shadows of her parents’ sins.

With Jack’s encouragement, she had spent several sessions with a psychologist digging into her feelings about her parents and she felt more at peace with everything.

She was focused on looking forward not backward and if she did glance back through time, she was determined to remember the good times with her parents even while she realised they had done bad things and she wanted no part in their world.

Jack had done something that had touched her deeply. He hadn’t told her about it—probably wouldn’t have told her about it except that the envelope had dropped out of his inside coat pocket one morning as he’d headed out to work in the Melbourne office.

Callie had frowned as she’d bent to retrieve the envelope and seen it was addressed to her mother, care of the prison.

‘Ah. That.’ He’d gestured awkwardly towards the envelope that she held tentatively. ‘I thought it was appropriate.’

‘Appropriate?’

‘Go ahead and read it.’

She’d lifted the unsealed flap and taken out a small card to read the single simple message:

Thank you for your help. I promise I’ll make her happy. JM

‘Thank you,’ she’d told him.

He’d shrugged. ‘If it hadn’t been for her help I may well have been convicted.’

For all that Jack had acted as though it was almost inconsequential, it had meant a lot to Callie.

He’d acknowledged her mother’s help, but by promising to make Callie happy he’d also acknowledged that her mother did care about Callie’s future.

She suspected it had also been a message that was a way of underlining to Julie that even when she was released from jail, she wouldn’t be involved in their lives.

That her help was appreciated but that was as far as it went.

Callie was at peace with it all.

The wheels of the aircraft jarred against the tarmac of the runway.

‘Welcome to Sydney, darling,’ Jack told her before leaning over to give her a kiss.

An hour or so later, they were turning from a leafy street in an upmarket neighbourhood down a long, paved driveway that led to a veritable mansion.

As if reading her mind, Jack chuckled. ‘The house where you live in Toorak is no less impressive, you realise?’

Callie laughed because she’d never really dwelt on it but he was right. The home Margaret and Jim owned was located in one of Melbourne’s most well-heeled suburbs. ‘I’d never thought about it I guess because it’s always been another home.’

‘There you go. There’s another reason I love you so much. You’re not out to impress and you’re never caught up in material things.’ He reached over and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. ‘Are you ready?’

‘As I’ll ever be,’ she said, recognising and trying to draw strength from the pride on his face.

They walked up the stone stairs to the house, but before they even reached the top step the front door was flung open.

‘Hey! Welcome to Sydney!’

The woman was unmistakably Jack’s sister with the same colouring yet her eyes seemed sharper. Both, though, possessed the same natural and unmistakable aura of authority.

Jacinta pulled Jack into an all-embracing hug, then turned to Callie with a warm smile. ‘Welcome, Callie, and whatever he’s told you about me, don’t believe it.’

Before Callie could stumble through any awkward response, Jacinta surprised her by giving her a hug too. It was so warm and so spontaneous that it felt right.

‘I’ ve been dying to meet you and thank you in person for everything you did for Jack.’ Jacinta pulled away and her eyes settled on Callie’s bump. ‘Ooh! This is such an exciting time. Are you feeling okay after your flight?’

Callie nodded.

‘Come in anyway. I’ve forgotten my manners keeping you on the doorstep like this.’ She waved them inside. ‘Eden is terrorising James somewhere, but that’s fairly normal for a Saturday morning.’

The house was elegant but had a lived-in feel and a family warmth that was instantly welcoming.

‘Coffee’s on,’ Jacinta told them, but Callie had already smelled the brew. ‘Mind your step!’ Jacinta bent over and picked up a couple of toys that were in their path. ‘Come through. I can hear them in the kitchen.’

A man in a casual pair of chinos and a polo shirt was trying to coax a giggling toddler into handing over a pair of kitchen tongs.

‘Good grief, James, how on earth did she manage to get hold of those?’ Jacinta asked.

‘Jack! Good to see you,’ Jack’s brother-in-law said. ‘Hi, Callie. Welcome to weekend chaos.’

‘Hi,’ Callie said, finding her voice at last.

‘See what you’ve both got in store for yourselves?’ James moaned.

‘No way. I’m sure our child will be much better behaved.’ Jack bent down and picked Eden up. ‘Hi, Angel, I’ll take those.’

‘Well, now I’ve seen everything.’ Jacinta gasped as Jack took the tongs from his niece without any fuss and she reached up to wrap her chubby little arms around his neck. ‘What have you done with my brother, Callie?’

‘Is this the same guy who could hardly wait to give our daughter back last time he visited?’ James asked Jacinta in a tone of mock fascination.

With Eden under control, James stretched out his hand to greet Callie properly. There was such kindness in his smile that all the assumptions she’d had that the barristers’ welcomes would be stiff and forced completely crumbled.

‘Eden, say hello to Uncle Jack and Aunt Callie,’ Jacinta directed.

‘Huwo,’ came the endearing response.

‘She’s been a right royal terror this morning,’ Jacinta told Jack. ‘James and I went out to the theatre last night and his parents were here to babysit. I’m sure his mother fed her chocolate because Eden’s been bouncing off the walls all morning and it looks very much like a sugar high to me.’

‘That’s right, go ahead and blame my mother,’ James teased.

Jacinta laughed. ‘Believe it or not, Callie, I absolutely hit the jackpot with my mother-in-law. She’s wonderful and I love spending time with her.’

‘She’s telling the truth,’ Jack said as he picked up one of Eden’s toys from the floor and offered it to her. ‘James’s mother is a vast improvement on ours.’

Callie realised that she’d relaxed in the midst of the natural chaos and the teasing banter, even as the conversation had turned to mothers.

‘Coffee or tea?’ Jacinta asked.

‘Tea, please,’ Callie told her. ‘Thankfully I can enjoy a cup of tea again now, but I’ve never been much of a coffee drinker.’

Eden, who had recently turned two, kept everyone engaged as Jacinta made the hot drinks. Jack was totally monopolised by his niece. The little one pointed to a picture book. ‘Read book.’

‘Wow, she can put two words together now!’ Jack exclaimed.

‘Often three to four words. What can I say?’ James puffed out his chest. ‘Clearly she takes after her father.’

Jacinta uttered a humph of protest as James took the tray of hot drinks from her and she ushered them into the lounge area.