Chapter 9: Accusations and Emotions
Emma was upset by Allee's behaviour, but she did not dwell much upon her friend's words. Perhaps Allee had been jealous; perhaps she believed that Kane belonged with Kirsty. Whatever the reason, it didn't really matter to the young girl although what Allee had said about rape had startled her a little. Kane was her friend and she did like him, they could talk to each other, he made her laugh and he was always kind and considerate when he was around her. Besides there was no way that she about to let anyone, especially not her friends, tell her who she could and could not spend time with.
It had been rather late when she had arrived home and only her mum had been awake. The two exchanged a few words, Susan asked about her evening and Emma asked about Jordan, then the young girl went up the stairs and fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. She had to get up twice in the night to see to Jordan and so she was rather tired the next morning.
"How did it go last night?" Benny asked as she sat down at the table. "Have fun?"
"Yeah, it was good," Emma told them. "It was nice to get out and do something different. I'll have to do it a little more often."
"You should," Jess agreed, helping herself to a slice of toast. "You know that your mum and I are always happy to look after Jordan every so often. Just because you're a mum doesn't mean that you can't have a life. Right Susan?"
"Right," her mum said with a laugh. "So what do you plan to do today?"
"Probably go back to bed for a while," Emma said with a yawn. "And maybe me and Jordy will go for a walk on the beach after that. We could take the dogs and give them a run."
"Well I'm going up to Yabbie Creek to do some shopping," Susan said. "So I probably won't be back for a few hours. Remember that Lucy is grounded, so she is not to go out with her friends."
"Okay mum," the young girl finished her cereal, took her bowl and Jordan's bowl over to the sink and then went upstairs and put Jordan in his cot. He had been up for three hours and she hoped that he would have his morning nap then and allow her to get some sleep. He did finally drift off, after she put him in bed with her. Lucy's music was playing loudly next door, but even that could not keep Emma awake. About five minutes later, when Jess opened the bedroom door to let the dogs in, she found the young girl and her son both fast asleep. And she couldn't help noticing that Emma had a slight smile on her face…
It was early afternoon when she awoke and, when she went down to get some lunch, she discovered that the house was empty. There was a note from Jess saying that she and Lucy had gone to see Sally and they would be back later. After giving Jordan his lunch and having a sandwich herself, she got them both ready, put Shadow and Laddie on their long leash and left the house for the beach.
When she got to the beach, Emma was surprised to see that there was three or four stalls set up, with people selling their wares. The only person who Emma recognised was Hayley, who was doing chalk portraits for $25 dollars each. She smiled and waved as Emma passed. She had never seen the other people before, there was an old woman selling jewellery, a man selling music tapes and a young girl with a selection of posters. Emma noticed that Dani and Josh were strolling around, arm in arm. Leah was there too, pushing VJ in his pushchair with Jesse.
As Emma browsed through the jewellery, she heard laughing and giggling. She turned her head and saw Allee, Gina and a rather good-looking boy laughing and joking with Hayley. Emma watched them for a moment until they moved to the next stall, the stall right next to where she was standing.
"Allee?" Emma said carefully. Allee turned around and looked at her blankly.
"Hello Emma," she asked, her tone neutral. "Let me introduce you to my boyfriend Dylan. He's been away from town with his mother for the last couple of weeks, which is why you haven't met him yet. He is Dani, Kirsty and Jade's half-brother."
"Pleased to meet you," Emma told him, shaking the hand that he offered to her. She did remember Allee mentioning a boyfriend, but she had forgotten that his name had been Dylan. "Allee?"
"What?"
"Can I talk to you alone for a minute?"
"I suppose so," Allee looked at Dylan, who nodded and took Gina's hand.
"Come on, Gina," he said with a smile. "Let's go to the Diner and see if we can get an ice cream. It was nice meeting you, Emma."
"Well then," Allee said when her boyfriend and sister had gone. "What's the matter?"
"I wanted to talk about last night," her friend told her. "I really don't want to fall out with you over this Kane business."
"Neither do I." Allee gave a sigh. "I know that I came on a little heavy, but I am worried about you. Kane Philips is not a nice guy."
"What did he do that was so terrible?" Emma asked. "I don't understand why everyone hates him so much."
"I…" her friend looked rather awkward. "It's not really for me to say. All I'll say is that it involved Dani Sutherland and it turned almost everyone in the Bay against him, especially the Sutherlands. But most people won't talk about it anymore; even Dani wants to put it behind her. If you want to know then it's probably best if you ask him." Her eyes softened and she put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Just take care, okay?" she said slowly. "Kane…well he hurts people and I wouldn't want him to hurt you too."
"I'll be on my guard." Emma smiled and the tall girl managed a half smile in return. "But honestly, Kane and I are just friends. I…I don't want a boyfriend; I just couldn't handle it right now. We just talk occasionally, that's all."
"I believe you," Allee told her with a sigh. "Well, maybe I'll see you around."
"Yeah," Emma agreed as her friend turned and hurried off towards the Diner. "See you."
After her conversation with Allee, Emma felt a little better. She let the dogs off the lead and let them run across the sand while she and Jordan walked over to where the boats were. Benny was sitting on the docks eating his lunch and talking with Alf. Both of them looked up when Emma approached.
"Hello Emma," Alf greeted her. "How's the little one?"
"As energetic as ever," Emma said, reaching down and brushing her hand through her son's blond hair. "That's why we decided to come for a walk."
"Alf was just telling me that there's an old face back in the bay," Benny told her. "Kane Philips, wasn't it Alf?"
"That's right," the older man nodded thoughtfully. "Quite a bad one he is, but I doubt that it is entirely his fault. Rather a misunderstood kid, I've often thought. Still, I'd avoid him if I were you. He'll only land you in trouble."
"Emma will be okay," her brother grinned affectionately at her. "She's got her head screwed on."
"I'm glad to hear it," Alf said with a smile. "Well, I guess that we both had better get back to work. Take care of yourself, Emma."
"I will," Emma promised. "Benny, are you going to be around here for a while?"
"Next half an hour or so, yes," he told her. "Why?"
"I thought that Jordan and I might go to the Diner for a while." Emma said with a shrug. "Get Jordan a biscuit, I could do with a drink. But I don't want to leave the dogs outside because there are just too many people around this time of day. But hardly anyone comes around here, so…"
"Tie them up to one of the posts," Benny told her. "And extend their lead so they can move around a bit. They'll be fine there for a while. When you come back from the Diner, you couldn't bring us a muffin could you? I'll pay you back later."
"Sure thing," his sister agreed as she tied up the dogs. "Thanks Benny."
"No problem, little sister," he said with a smile as she kissed him on the cheek. "No problem at all."
The Diner was rather crowded, and there was no sign of Allee, but Alex helped her to get the pushchair through to a small table in the corner and offered to bring over her order. Around her, she could hear several people talking about Kane.
"I can't believe he has the nerve to show his face around here again," she heard Irene say from the next table.
"The only place for him in prison," Nick agreed. "He's the scum of the earth."
"That Kane Philips definitely belongs behind bars," Jude muttered as he passed Emma's table. "For everyone's sake."
Gradually people got up and left or began to talk about different things. Emma got Jordan out and sat him on her lap with a biscuit while she drunk her lemonade. Jordan wanted some too and a bit of it got spilt over the table, but finally they were finished. Emma took Benny's muffin back to him and got the dogs, before heading back home.
As they passed the stalls, Kane suddenly appeared by her side.
"Hi," he said with a smile. "You all right?"
"Not bad," Emma smiled back. "I see you've made your presence known in the bay. Quite a few people aren't very happy to see you back."
"I didn't expect anything else." Kane shrugged. "Maybe they'll come round in time, maybe not. But I'm staying whether they like it or not." He knelt down beside the pushchair. "And this must be little Jordan. He's a beautiful baby, just like his mum."
"Shut it you," Emma blushed slightly. "He's getting a bit restless. I had better get him out for a bit."
"I'll do it if you like," he said, glancing up at her. Emma hesitated, it wasn't often that she let anyone but her family hold Jordan, and then nodded.
"Go on then," she said. "Be careful."
Kane carefully unlocked the straps and lifted him out. Jordan seemed a bit frightened at first, but when Emma reached out and touched his head, he relaxed.
"I think he likes you," Emma said, rather surprised that her son wasn't beginning to scream. "He doesn't usually like strangers touching him."
"I'm glad that he likes me," Kane told her. "Are you going home now? Can I walk back with you?"
"If you like," the young girl called back the dogs, who had been running loose on the beach, and put them back on their lead, tying them to the pushchair to stop them running off. Then they began to walk back towards her house, with Kane still carrying Jordan.
"So," Emma asked him. "Is there any particular reason why the people around here don't like you?"
"There were a few incidences with me and my brother about a year ago," he told her, sounding rather awkward. "And I had a kind of relationship with Dani Sutherland, which her parents didn't like. And then there was the thing with Kirsty of course. It's all in the past now, but people don't tend to forgive easily."
Emma felt reassured by his words and the two friends talked of more light-hearted things for the rest of the walk.
They paused just outside Emma's house and Kane handed a very sleepy Jordan back to his mum. Their hands brushed briefly and Emma shivered a little.
"I…I had better go and let Jordy have a sleep," she said quickly. "I'll see you on the beach later."
"Count on it," Kane promised. "See you later."
As Emma watched him walk down the road, she felt strange feelings stirring in her stomach. Quickly she shrugged them off and went inside, shutting the door firmly behind her.
The two did meet up on the beach that night, with Shadow and Laddie. However, something seemed very different. Emma noticed that Kane appeared to be watching her when he thought that she wasn't looking and then turning away when she did look at him. Also he was walking a little closer than usual and his hand brushed hers once or twice. It felt quite nice, but Emma was very scared too, scared because she wasn't sure what he was thinking or what he expected.
"Look," she said suddenly, turning towards the ocean. "Aren't the stars beautiful tonight?"
"They aren't the only beautiful thing here tonight," Kane said quietly as he took one step towards her. For a long moment they just looked at each other, before he leant forward and gently brushed his lips against hers. Emma froze and pushed him away.
"Don't!" she stammered, shaking her head. "Please…please don't!"
Before he could reply, she turned and ran across the sand, back the way they had come, calling for the dogs as she went. She didn't stop until she was safely in her room, where she lay on her bed and cried, while the two dogs licked her and pawed her in a desperate attempt to comfort her…