“They’re the keys to an apartment I bought in your name,” he explained. “It’s only a short walk from North Shore Hospital where you’ll be working this year and I thought you’d like your own space in Sydney.”
Her jaw dropped in shock.
“It’s unfurnished,” he went on. “You can fit it out in whatever style pleases you and I’ll give you a credit card to cover the cost.”
She found her voice with difficulty. “Jack…I don’t know what to say. To think I was frightened of you…frightened of what you might do to us.” She shook her head. “You’ve done so much for us…”
“You can say ‘thank you, big brother.’ And promise never to be frightened of me in the future.”
“I never will,” she declared fervently, then laughed, lighting up with joy again. “Thank you, big brother. I can also promise I’ll get my diploma in midwifery this year so when you and Sally decide to start a family and she gets pregnant, you can count on me to make sure every care will be taken before and after the birth of your baby.” She clapped her hands excitedly at the thought of the addition to their family. “Our baby!”
“Oh, Lord! Save me from the mother hen!” Sally wailed.
Which set them all off laughing.
They went into the breakfast room in high good humour, and having eaten well, Jane headed off to laze the rest of the morning away by the swimming pool, and Jack suggested he and Sally go for a stroll around the property before joining her. They set off down the maple avenue, happily hand in hand, heading for the front gate, which had always been shut to Jack while her mother was here. The thought prompted Sally into wondering how much had changed for him this past year.
“Giving all this to me…I want you to feel it’s your home, as well as mine and Jane’s,” she pressed, glancing up hopefully, not sensing any of the old darkness in him but not certain it was completely gone. Had all the ghosts of the past been laid to rest?
“Home…” he repeated musingly, a whimsical little smile on his lips as his gaze swept slowly around the lush green pastures on either side of them. He squeezed her hand. “Home is where you are, Sally. I no longer think of this place as my father’s or Lady Ellen’s. It belongs to you, and you’ve always made me feel welcomed so I’m happy to be here.”
“I’m happy to be with you, too, wherever we are, Jack,” she assured him. “I don’t have to stay here, you know.”
He shook his head. “It feels right. I like the sense of continuity, the sense of family with you and Jane. I now have what my father didn’t give me, and I want to take it into the future with our children, Sally.” His vivid blue eyes blazed with conviction. “Children who’ll always know what home is because they’ll always be loved by us.”
“Yes. Very much loved,” she agreed, her heart swelling with love for him. “We’re going to have a future that will more than balance the scales, Jack.”
He laughed.
No darkness.
No danger.
No devil driving him.
Their first Christmas together…peace, love, joy.
They reached the gate and turned around to look back up at the big white house on the hill. Jack released Sally’s hand and lifted his arm to hug her shoulders, holding her close, remembering the bitter anger he’d felt at being denied entry to this property. It was gone now. Gone, too, was the black resentment stirred by the privileged lifestyle given to his father’s adopted daughters.
The material advantages of wealth did not make up for the total lack of caring by both parents. With a cruel, tyrannical mother and a father whose approval was hard won, it was no wonder that the two girls had stuck so closely together, Sally protecting her younger sister as best she could, both of them taking comfort in each other. He was glad all that rotten negativity was over for them, glad he’d forced it into the past.
They were his family now.
Unimaginable a year ago.
He might have been the driving power behind making it happen, but Sally’s heart had made it all viable—a heart that held the gift of love.
“You know what you’ve done for me, Sally?” He smiled into her eyes. “I’m not outside the gate anymore. You’ve brought me in from the cold.”
Then he kissed her and she kissed him right back.
A long, hot kiss.
A kiss that promised a wonderful, warm future.
The scales had already been more than balanced.
On his side, they overflowed with happiness and wellbeing.