Chapter 29

Kane looked at his watch. Kirsty had been in there for over an hour. He looked up at the house, unsure of whether he should knock on the door. No. Kirsty told him to let her handle it. He just had to be here for her.

* * *

Dani was walking over to see Hayley and Noah at the Palace. She'd not seen them in a while, all the stuff with her sister and had taken over and she'd totally ignored her friends. It was about time she made an effort to move on, starting with a good old girly chat with Hayley. She walked past the Bayside Villas, where Alf lived with Seb. There was a car parked with a guy standing outside; maybe he had broken down and needed help, a phone or something. She sped up to go and help but as she got closer she realised she recognised the car. This was the one person in the world she didn't want to help. Kane Phillips.

Kane heard footsteps approaching, and when he turned around he saw Dani Sutherland. She looked as though she was going to turn and run in the other direction. But to his surprise she didn't, she slowly walked closer till she was only a few feet from him.

"Hey" Kane said uncomfortably. He didn't want to overstep the mark with Dani. He knew better than that.

"Hi"

"I'm waiting for Kirsty" Kane explained, trying to explain his reason for being in the area.

"She's visiting Seb? Surely she can do that by herself." Dani said sarcastically.

Kane swallowed. "Um, it's a bit more complicated than that." He was trying to sound polite but Dani's expression showed that he wasn't being too successful.

"Why? What's happened?" No matter what her sister had done in the past, if Kirsty was in trouble she wanted to know about it. Even if it did mean having to talk to Kane.

"She got a letter, a weird one. She thinks Seb sent it, and is trying to talk to him now."

"Seb and Kirsty are friends. I doubt it's anything more than a bit of fun. Are you sure you're not blowing it out of proportion because you're jealous." Dani's remark was cutting; it was an attempt to make Kane look small.

"No. I thought it was a practical joke, but she's been in there an hour. I'm actually quite worried about her" Kane said with a nervous laugh. Dani looked at him then turned away. She was still unable to look this man in the eye, but there was something about his expression which showed he was truly concerned for Kirsty.

"Do you think there's something going on?"

"I, um, I don't know. Kirsty said she'd handle it. I don't want to go running in there in case nothings wrong. I have to respect her wishes."

Dani looked at Kane as he fidgeted with his car keys. He sounded genuine, but was it just all an act? He looked truly worried for Kirsty.

"You love Kirsty don't you?" Dani finally asked. It was something she had to hear from him.

Kane gave a weak smile. "Yeah. I do. And right now all I want is for her to be okay, to protect her. I can't bear not knowing if she's okay" Kane felt uncomfortable pouring his heart out to Dani. The only person he was ever able to do that with was Kirsty. Was this a sign? An indication that things were getting better?

Dani looked at the floor. She didn't want to believe Kane. After what he's done to her, she just wanted him to just say he didn't love Kirsty and leave them all alone. She wanted him to admit that he was only there for fun and to hurt her family. But no, Kane truly loved her sister. Dani's stomach churned. Thinking Kirsty and Kane weren't really in love had made things easier, as Dani could tell herself that it would all blow over eventually. But she was slowly realising that this was never going to happen. No matter how much she wanted it.

They both looked at each other. If nothing else, they both had Kirsty's welfare to think about. If it meant working together to ensure her safety, then that what they would have to do.