He rested his forehead against mine and remained silent for a beat. When he finally lifted it, he said, “I swear, I’m gonna make this asshole pay for dragging me away from you.” His tone made it clear he would follow through on that promise.

I squeezed his hand. “Okay, you should go before I try and stop you from leaving.”

He hesitated for another minute and then blew out a long breath. “Yeah,” he said gruffly.

After saying goodbye to Lisa, and after giving me one more kiss, he left us. My heart constricted and I wondered again how I would get through the next six or seven days.

You’ll be fine and he’ll be home soon.

And yet, a sense of foreboding had lodged itself deep in the pit of my stomach.

What if he isn’t as invincible as he thinks he is?

I was supposed to work at the café that day and then at Indigo that night. My dilemma over this centred on the fact Lisa and Michelle were both sick. If I’d believed Michelle was well enough to care for Lisa, I would have had no problem leaving them to go to work. But she was far from being well enough to do that.

My saving grace appeared in the most unlikely form.

Scott’s mother.

She phoned me a couple of hours after Scott left, to see how I was doing.

“Madison told me that Scott and J left for Adelaide this morning. I’m just calling to see if there is anything I can do to help you while Scott’s away,” she said.

I sighed as I slumped down into a chair at Michelle’s kitchen table. I’d just gotten Lisa back to sleep after giving her more Advil. My weariness caused my tongue to loosen in a way it never had around Sharon. “Can you work some shifts for me at my mum’s café and then at Indigo? That’s my biggest worry today,” I blurted out, not really meaning for her to do what I’d asked – it was more a way for me to get my frustrations out.

She was silent for a moment, probably trying to process my strange request. And then she came through for me. “I’ve got the day off today. I can help however you need me to, Harlow. What’s going on?”

I sat up straight. “Really? That would be awesome, because Lisa and Michelle are really sick and I feel like they need someone to stay and help them. Maybe you could do that while I go to work.”

She didn’t hesitate. “I can be there in half an hour.”

Relief coursed through me. “Thank you so much, Sharon. I really appreciate it.”

“I’ll see you soon,” she promised and hung up, leaving me staring at my phone with a mixture of surprise and gratitude.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” I murmured before dragging myself off the chair so I could go home and get showered and dressed for work.

Just after half an hour later, Sharon turned up and I let her in as I combed my wet hair.

“You look exhausted, honey,” she said as I led her into the kitchen. I’d spent a little bit of time with her since she and Scott had started rebuilding their relationship, but the awkwardness I’d always felt remained. I wished it away, but figured that would just take time.

I finished combing my hair and gave her my full attention. “I do feel really tired. I’ve been working a lot of double shifts lately because Indigo is short-staffed and need me.”

She turned thoughtful. “You know, I could take on some of those shifts for you, if you want.”

I stared at her. She could definitely do those shifts because she knew everything about working a bar after Layla had trained her. “That would be great. I’ll mention it to Wilder today and get him to contact you to see which ones match up with your schedule.” Why had I not thought of this already?

Her face spread into a smile as if I’d made her day. “Okay, I’m glad we got that sorted. Scott would never have asked me; he doesn’t like to involve me with the club much any more.” Sadness weaved its way through her words and touched me. I’d noticed that about Scott also.

A flash of boldness overtook me and I acknowledged the elephant in the room. “Sharon, why have we never taken the time to get to know one another?”

Uncertainty filled her features and she hesitated with her reply. “That’s on me, Harlow. I know you tried to reach out to me a few times over the last year, but for one reason or another, I was reluctant to get close. My relationship with Scott went to virtually non-existent while I was still living in denial over Marcus, so I kept myself away. Probably because deep down I knew Scott wanted to push me into facing who his father really was, and I wasn’t ready to face that. And now after Marcus’s death, I’ve struggled to find myself. It’s stupid, really, because you’d think his death would be the perfect opportunity for me to start over, but change and me don’t do well together.” Her honesty and willingness to be vulnerable inspired me to lay myself out there for her, too.

“I’ve learnt that finding yourself is hard work,” I said softly. “It’s like this never-ending struggle with doubt, and fear, and hope. And it’s like a rollercoaster ride of feeling good about yourself one day and then down the next. God, some days I can be up and down five times in one freaking hour. Drives me insane.”

She smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I know that feeling all too well.”

I cocked my head, feeling reflective, and glad to be having this discussion. Not everyone liked to admit their struggles; I always felt relief whenever someone opened themselves up like this. “Why do we do it to ourselves?”

She sighed. “I have no idea. And you’d think that by my age I should, but I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll ever get to a point where I’ve got all this shit about myself figured out.”

“Let’s start over,” I suggested.

“You and me, you mean?”

“Yes. Let’s put everything that has happened over the last twelve months behind us and start afresh. I want you in our lives, and so does Scott.”

Her face creased in a frown. “I think Scott and I have a lot of work ahead of us before he’ll let me back in fully. But I’m happy that you and I can get to know each other now.”

“Scott’s a moody bastard, you know that. Take my word for it – he might not tell you or show you very well, but he wants you in his life. He might need some gentle encouragement, though, to acknowledge it.” I gave her a huge smile and then added, “I’m so glad we got to have this conversation today. I’ve been a little nervous about our lunch date.”

The tense set of her shoulders disappeared and she returned my smile. “Me too. Now, tell me what you need me to do today.”

I filled her in on Lisa and Michelle, and took her over to their house. They were both sleeping, so I woke Michelle up to let her know what was happening. She was so ill that she only nodded her agreement and then fell straight back asleep.

After I made sure Sharon had everything she needed, I headed back home to finish getting ready for work, and then drove to the café while ignoring the tickle in my throat. I had no time to be sick.

“I spoke with Sharon,” Wilder said to me that night after I arrived at Indigo for my shift. I’d told him that morning to call her. “She’s gonna pick up some of your shifts at Indigo.”

“Thank God.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Are you coming down with something?”

“No, I’m just tired, that’s all.” I followed him into the office and asked, “Have you heard from Scott or any of the boys?”

“No. You?”

I shook my head. “No.” I’d tried not to think about them all day, but it had been a futile attempt. I’d also struggled to think about anything else besides Lisa and her mother.

Wilder stopped what he was doing and came to me. “Harlow, you don’t need to worry about Scott. He’s got this shit covered.” Wilder was a good guy and the way he spoke to me, with care, just reinforced what I already knew.