CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
"This place is great," Macca told Martha as they walked up the beach towards the diner. "If I didn't love the farm so much, I could definitely see myself living here," he said.
"Hey, well at least you have a good excuse to come here for visits. I'm here, and soon you'll have a niece or nephew to visit aswell," Martha smiled at him.
"You've done well for yourself here. You've got great friends, Alf and Ric, and not to mention a guy who adores you. I'm really happy for you Bug," Macca smiled back at her.
"Speaking of Jack," Macca started to talk again. "What happened last night at the bar? The two of you went into the storeroom, and then a few minutes later Jack came out looking all flushed with a big grin on his face. Not to mention he looked pretty happy with himself. But then when you came out, you looked like you wanted to kill someone. What got you into such a strop?" he laughed.
Martha groaned. She wanted to forget that last night ever happened. She still couldn't believe that Jack had done that to her. And he had said it was pay back. Pay back for friggin what? Sure she had flirted with him a lot over the last couple weeks, but she had never left him hanging like he did to her last night.
"Oh, it was nothing. Just Jack being a jerk," she shot out.
"Touchy," Macca smirked. "Sounds to me like someone didn't get their way".
"Shut up," Martha grinned and pushed him. She then grabbed hold of him again and pulled him into a hug. "I'm so glad you and dad are here. I've been feeling a little down these past weeks, but having the two of you here has really perked me up," she told him.
"I'm glad we could help," Macca hugged her back.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" a voice rudely interrupted them. Martha pulled away from Macca, and found Megan standing in front of them.
"What do you want?" Martha snapped at her.
Megan smiled. "I was just walking past and I noticed that you were pretty friendly with……….whoever he is. New boyfriend is he? What would Jack think?" she smirked.
Martha laughed at her. "I don't know about your family, but in my family, we don't believe in dating your brother," she smiled sweetly at Megan. Martha heard a small snicker come from Macca.
Martha watched as the smile faded from Megan's face, and turned into a frown. "What?" Megan asked, sounding a little confused.
"Yeah, this is my brother Macca," Martha told her. Megan just stood on the spot; not really knowing what to say.
Martha and Macca just looked at each other and laughed, as they watched Megan walk off in a huff.
"Let me guess, that's the annoying blonde who already has a daughter with Jack," Macca assumed.
"That's her," Martha stated.
"It must be pretty rough having her around all the time causing trouble," Macca said.
Martha nodded. "Yeah, it is. But I know how to handle her, so don't worry about me," she insisted.
"If you say so," Macca smiled. "Now, let's go and get one of these famous milkshakes you keep raving on about," he said, as he pulled Martha into the diner.
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Jack sat in the sand as he watched Grace making sandcastles. This was the first time that he had been alone with her, and it felt strange. He had thought that after nearly two months, that he would have at least grown a bond with her. But there was nothing. He still couldn't think of her as his. He guessed that if he had of been in her life from the start, it would have fine.
The baby that he was having with Martha hadn't even been born yet, and he already felt a connection with it. Why couldn't he feel that with Grace? What kind of father had trouble bonding with their own flesh and blood? He felt so bad about it. That's why he had asked Megan if he could start spending some time alone with Grace. Maybe then he would start to feel something.
Jack was in a deep thought that he hadn't even realised that somebody had sat down next to him. He looked up; it was Martha.
"Hey," she smiled lightly at him.
"Hey," he smiled back.
"She's such a sweetie," Martha said as she looked at Grace playing.
"Hmmm," was all Jack could say.
Martha looked at Jack; he seemed worried about something. And he was a bit too quiet for her liking. "What's wrong?" she asked him.
"Should I feel bad about not feeling a bond with Grace?" he asked her.
Wow, Martha definitely wasn't expecting him to say that. She didn't really know what to say to that.
"I don't think so. You haven't really spent much time with her. Maybe after a while you'll start feeling it," she replied. "Look at me and my real dad, I've known him for nearly two years, and I don't feel anything towards him," she explained.
"Great, that just makes me feel heaps better," Jack said sarcastically.
"Ok, so maybe Brett and I wasn't a good example. But hey, at least you're not a selfish jerk like him," Martha sighed.
"I feel like a jerk," Jack muttered.
"You shouldn't. It's not your fault that Megan kept her away from you. If you had of been there right from the start, then I'm sure everything would be different," Martha started. "Just give it some time; I'm sure it will come".
"Thanks," Jack smiled at her.
"So, Macca and I took a walk this morning, and we ran into Megan. She, ah, thought Macca was my new boyfriend," Martha started to laugh.
"Are you serious?" Jack laughed with her.
"Yeah, I think she felt like all of her Christmas's had come at once. Well, until I told her who he really was. Then she walked off in a huff," Martha told him. "She probably would have got a thrill telling you that I had a new boyfriend" she grinned.
"Probably," Jack laughed. He then paused for a few moments. He really wanted to apologise for what he did last night. He wanted her to know that it was just a bit of fun, and that he hadn't done it to hurt her.
"Listen, about last night. I'm sorry," he finally told her.
"Don't worry about it," she tried to tell him, but he kept talking about it.
"I just want you to know that I didn't do it to hurt your feelings. It was just a bit of fun. I hope you don't think that I was rejecting you, because I wasn't. I still want to be with you," he explained.
"I know. And don't worry, you didn't hurt my feelings. I was a bit angry at first, but only because you left me hanging," Martha smiled.
"How much longer do we have to do this? Stay apart, I mean," Jack then asked; turning serious again.
"I don't know. But I'll be honest and tell you right now that I miss you heaps. And I'm starting to find it very hard to stay away from you," Martha said truthfully. "So maybe it will be soon. Do you think you can wait for me a bit longer," she smiled.
"Of course," Jack reassured her.
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Martha sat down next to her dad. He smiled at her and pulled her into a hug. "What's going on?" Ray asked.
"I've just been talking with Jack," Martha told him.
"He's a top bloke Martha. I really like him, and I can tell that you do aswell," Ray said.
"I love him," Martha smiled.
"I'm glad you're happy. You deserve it. And I'm so proud of you," Ray exclaimed. "And you know who else would be proud; your mum," he continued.
Martha could feel the tears starting to well up in her eyes. She missed her mum a lot, and she wished that she was still around.
"She would have loved to have seen you happy, and she would have loved to have seen you bring your own baby into the world. She would have loved to be a grandmother," Ray said, as he brushed some tears away from Martha's cheeks.
"I miss her so much," Martha cried. "I wish she was here".
"She is here. You may not be able to see her, but she's always around; watching over us," Ray assured her.
Martha smiled through her tears. She knew her dad was right. She may not be able to see her mum, but she was definitely around. Martha swore that she could feel her presence sometimes; and it always made her feel calm.
"Come on, wipe those tears away. I told your brother that we'd meet him at Noah's for a drink, so why don't we head off," Ray announced.
"Actually, I have a shift starting there in an hour. So why don't you head off now, and I'll see you when I get there," Martha told him.
"Alright, I'll see you later," he kissed her softly on the cheek.
Martha was so lucky she had him.
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