Chapter 7: Trouble with Lucy

While Kane was out of town, Emma realised with a start that she missed him. They had become good friends in the short time that they had known each other and walking the dogs just didn't seem the same without him. It was strange to her, she hadn't been able to trust a man since the rape and the end of her only serious relationship, but she was beginning to trust Kane. But she busied herself with caring for her son and hanging out with her friends. She had coffee with Leah and the two discussed their children and how adorable they were, even if they were hard work, she went to the Diner with Allee and when Jess offered to look after Jordan for a few hours, she went to the beach with Allee, Lucy, Max, Nick, Seb and the twins. The twins and Nick were trying to help Max with his surfing technique and, at their insistence, Emma borrowed Kristy's board and Allee borrowed Jade's board and the two of them went into the water with Nick. They didn't do very well at first, but it was a good laugh and Emma was glad that she had made so many new friends. Lucy seemed more relaxed and happy too, not nearly as troublesome as she had been before the move. Or at least that was what Emma thought…

Susan was always happy for her children to have their friends over, both for dinner and overnight, and Shelley was the same. The two mothers had become very good friends and Lucy and Kirsty regularly stayed over each other's houses. Sometimes Jade stayed too, but mainly it was just Kirsty. Allee stayed once or twice, but Emma couldn't stay over there before Jordan didn't like sleeping in strange places. So Emma thought absolutely nothing of it when, two days later, she heard Lucy asking her mum if she could stay over at the Sutherland's that night. Their mother was busy making lunch and was rushed off her feet, so she just nodded. Lucy, Jade and Kirsty looked at each other and Emma was sure that she saw them wink at each other. Then Jordan spat all his peas out and she forgot about it as she dealt with her son.

That day, she, Allee, Leah, Gina, Jordan and VJ went to Yabbie Creek to do some shopping. Emma and Leah brought some lovely baby clothes for the children and Leah and Allee talked Emma into buying a little black bikini and some shorts, although usually she never wore things like that. After they had finished, they had something to eat in a little café and had a long talk.

"How are you holding up these days, Emma?" Leah asked, sipping her tea. VJ was getting quite fidgety, but Emma gave him some of Jordan's toys and that calmed him down a little. Leah knew about the rape, Emma had told her when they had coffee and she was one of the few people in the Bay who did know. Emma really liked her, because they both had children of a similar age, they had a lot to talk about and they understood each other.

"Better," the girl answered at once. "Mum was right, moving here was a good idea. I still have the memories and everything…but they are a little easier to deal with now."

"I'm glad." Leah said sincerely. "You know that if you ever want to talk and you don't want to worry your family, you can always come to me. I'm a good listener, Allee will tell you that."

"She is," Allee agreed, glancing up and smiling at her cousin, before going back to helping Gina cut up her sausages. She didn't seem to mind that Emma was getting along so well with Leah. That was the good thing about Allee, Emma privately though. She was so easygoing that very little seemed to bother her.

It was growing dark when they finally arrived back in the Bay. It had been a good day and Emma felt rather happy as she said goodbye, first to Leah and then to Allee. However, when she let herself in and her mum rushed into the hallway, a worried look on her face, she knew that something was very wrong.

"What is it?" she asked, lifting Jordan from his pushchair and dropping her bags on the hall floor. "Mum, has something happened?"

"Lucy's gone," Susan said weakly. "You know that she said that she was staying at the Sutherland's tonight?"

"Yes?" Emma nodded and then suddenly guessed what was coming next. "She's not there?"

"No," her mother shook her head. Her daughter sighed.

"Are you sure that they are not just late back home or something?" she asked.

"Shelley called here," her mother explained. "She wanted to speak to Kirsty. Kirsty and Jade both told their parents that it was all right for them to stay here tonight."

"Oh no," Emma clutched Jordan tighter to her and sunk to the floor. "So Shelley thought that they were here and we thought that Lucy was there. What are they playing at?"

"I have no idea," Susan said quietly, sitting beside her daughter. "Shelley has spoken to Seb and Nick, but neither of them have seen them since this afternoon. Rhys and Dani are searching the beach, Josh has gone out in the boat and Benny and Jess are checking the Surf club and the Diner. If they aren't in any of those places then…"

"I'm going to help them," Emma said at once. "Take Jordan, mum, and put him to bed for me. And please, try not to worry too much. I'm sure that we'll find them soon."

She whistled for Laddie, deciding not to take Shadow because he could be rather energetic and was too much of a handful at a time like this whereas Laddie was older and easier to handle, plus he didn't need a leash. Then she pulled on her jacket, kissed her mum and her son and went out into the night, shutting the door gently behind her. Lucy was going to be in such big trouble this time, she thought grimly. Of all the stupid stunts she had pulled over the years, this was by far the worst…

After thinking for a moment, Emma realised that she had recently heard Lucy talking with the twins about how much fun it would be to camp out overnight by themselves. And then she remembered with a start that there was a tiny woodland area just north of the caravan park. The family had passed it on their way into the Bay and Jess had pointed it out to the rest of them. It couldn't have been very big, but it would be the prefect place for three girls to camp out. They were there, she was almost certain of it. The question was what was she going to do? It had been about twenty minutes away from the caravan park by car; it would take her almost twice as long to walk it. And if she found the girls there how was she supposed to get them to come home? Then she shrugged her thoughts aside and decided to see if they were there first. She would worry about the rest later.

She followed the narrow road through the caravan park and discovered that there was a muddy track for vehicles on the other side. Although Emma could not remember exactly where the wood was, and it was too dark to see very far in front of her face, she figured that if she stuck to the track she couldn't get lost and she would come across it eventually.

After fifteen minutes of stumbling along, falling into holes and wishing that she had thought to bring a torch, Emma noticed the brightness of car headlights coming towards her. She paused, as did Laddie who had been stuck by her side like glue all the time, keeping her eyes fixed on the car. It didn't go past however, instead it stopped just beside her and a familiar figure leant out of the window.

"Emma!" Kane sounded very surprised to see her. "What are you doing all the way out here by yourself. And at this time of night."

"Kane!" Emma was pleased and relieved to see him. "I'm looking for my sister, Lucy. She and the Sutherland twins have disappeared and everyone is looking for them. I know that it's a long shot, but I thought that I might try that small piece of woodland that's supposed to be around here somewhere. They were talking about camping out, so…" she trailed off and shrugged. Kane looked at her for a moment and shook his head.

"You're mad," he said plainly. "Stumbling around here in the dark just because you thought they might be there." Emma blushed and he gave a weary smile. "I know the place you mean," he told her. "I've just passed it. Jump in and we'll go take a look."

"Are you sure?" Emma asked hesitantly. "I don't want to be any trouble…"

"Just get in the car," Kane insisted. "It can be dangerous out here, especially at night. It isn't any trouble."

"Okay," Emma agreed, pulling open the back door and ushering Laddie in, before going around to the front seat. "Thank you."

"No problem." After Emma ordered Laddie to lie down on the back seat, Kane turned the car around and they set off. For a moment or two, there was silence.

"So," Emma said finally. "You're back, I see."

"Yes." Kane nodded, his eyes focused on the road as he searched for the correct turning. "I'll be staying in the bay for a while now."

"That's great," she blurted out, and then blushed as she realised how it must of sounded. "I missed you…I mean I…"

"I know what you meant," he turned to her for a second and flashed her a brief smile. "I missed you too. You and the dogs. I haven't had many friends in my life and it isn't often that I find someone who I can talk to as well as I can talk to you." He stopped suddenly and silence once more fell over the car. Emma felt rather embarrassed and it was obvious that he felt the same, he didn't seem at ease talking about his feelings and she could understand that for she was exactly the same. Sometimes it amazed her how much they were alike in some ways.

A couple of minutes later, Kane stopped the car and Emma saw that they were right in front of the trees.

"Come on," he said, opening his door. "Let's go and see if they are here."

The girl nodded, let Laddie out of the car and together the three of them walked into the woods.

Emma had been right, the wood was not large and they didn't have to search for long. They had only been walking for a couple of minutes, when they heard giggling.

"That's Lucy," Emma said at once. "I'd know her laugh anywhere."

"Lucky guess," Kane gave a short laugh. "It's coming from over here."

When they followed the giggling to a small clearing, they were both shocked at what they saw. Lucy, Kirsty and Jade were all sitting in a circle giggling away and three empty wine bottles lay on the ground next to them. It was immediately obviously that all three of them were drunk. Lucy was the first to notice her sister and Kane.

"Hello Emma," she said, her voice slurred. "Who's your friend? He's hot."

"You're drunk," Emma scowled at her younger sister and had to fight back the urge to give her a good shake. "Do you have any idea how worried we have all been?"

"Kane!" Kirsty had gotten unsteadily to her feet and stumbled into his arms, while Jade just grinned stupidly to herself. "I didn't know you were back."

"Just arrived back recently," Kane said awkwardly. Kirsty slipped her arms around him and tried to kiss him on the mouth, but he quickly turned his head away so that her lips just brushed his cheek.

"I'm so pleased to see you," she told him, too drunk to notice his discomfort. "I've really missed you."

"Right," he said carefully, removing her hand from his chest and putting an arm around her to support her. "Emma, I think we should get these three back to the car."

"I think we had better," Emma agreed. The sight of Kirsty draped all over Kane was causing a funny feeling in her stomach. Jealously, her brain screamed, but she just shrugged it off. Sure, Kane was attractive and she liked him, but she didn't like him in that way and it was none of her business who he chose to date and who he had been with in the past. He was just a friend to her and that was all.

She helped up Jade, who seemed slightly more far gone than the other two, and passed her over to Kane, who was struggling to stop Kirsty kissing his neck. He firmly pushed her away once again and latched his other arm around Jade's waist so that he was supporting both twins. Emma pulled Lucy to her feet and together they staggered to the car and managed to get the three girls in the back seat.

"Well at least they are safe," Kane said with a sigh. "Let's just get them home to bed."

"Good idea," Emma agreed, slipping into her seat. Laddie sat on the floor between her feet and rested his head on her leg. In the back, Lucy and Kirsty were giggling at nothing in particular and Jade had slumped against the door, her eyes closed.

They drove back in silence, except for the occasional groans and constant giggling coming from the back seat, for about five minutes until Emma couldn't keep silent any longer.

"What made you do such a stupid thing?" she asked her sister. "Going off like that…anything could have happened."

"But it didn't though," Lucy said at once. "We just wanted some fun, that's all. I'm sick of being treated like a baby…" she broke off and her older sister suddenly realised what was going to happen.

"Open the window," she said urgently, but it was too late. Lucy threw up all over herself and the back seat of the car. Kirsty quickly followed suit and Emma groaned.

"Kane," she said quickly. "I'm sorry…"

"It's not your fault," he told her at once. "Besides, I think most of us have done it at some time or other. I'll hose it down later, it's no big deal."

"Well it shouldn't be," Kirsty said quickly. "We have done worse in this car, haven't we, Kane?"

"Shut up!" Kane scowled and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "You're drunk, you don't know what you're saying." Before she could say anything else, he pressed a button on the tape player and the car was filled with loud rock music. The rest of the drive was completed in silence and Emma, who was beginning to feel the strange feelings of jealousy rising again for reasons that she couldn't understand, was glad of that.

Kane parked just out of sight of the Sutherland house and helped Emma to get Jade and Kirsty out of the car. Kirsty tried to give him another kiss and told him that she would 'see him soon' before Emma dragged them both to the front door. It was opened by Rhys, who looked relieved to see that both of the girls were alive and annoyed to see that they were both very drunk. Dani, Josh and Shelley quickly joined them and Emma briefly explained what had happened, although she left out the part about having help from Kane. Luckily they didn't ask many questions and Emma was soon able to make her escape. Just a few moments later, Kane stopped the car outside her own house and Emma got Lucy out. The young teenager was so exhausted that she could barely keep her eyes open. Emma did her best to support her with one arm and bent down to Kane's window, which he had open.

"Thank you so much for your help," she told him. "You have been great and I'm so sorry about your car. If there is anything that I can do to repay you for all your help…"

"There is actually," he told her. "Come out to dinner with me tomorrow."

"Well…I…" for a moment, Emma was lost for a words. Kane obviously sensed her discomfort, for he gave her a reassuring smile.

"Just as friends," he went on. "Nothing serious, nothing heavy. Just two friends having dinner together."

"Okay," Emma agreed. "That would be lovely."

"Great," he sounded pleased. "I'll pick you up at seven."

"I'm looking forward to it." Emma waved as he pulled away, before turning her attention back to her sister. "Well, troublemaker," she said quietly. "Time for you to face the music."