Page 86

‘She’s right,’ Jake agreed. ‘I’d pick someone like you a dozen times over someone like that vapid, manipulative Yvette.’

‘Should you be saying things like that in front of your intended?’

‘Well I certainly wouldn’t say them behind her back.’ He grinned. ‘And Evelyn knows the only other girl in my life is Summer.’

‘I do.’ Evelyn shrugged. ‘And I happen to agree with him. You, Angela, are worth a dozen — maybe a hundred Yvettes.’

‘I don’t think Rick agrees.’ The words were sour in her mouth. ‘If I meant all that much to him, then I can’t believe he would have walked away as easily as he did. Maybe we could have stood a chance of working something out, but he barely tried. Even with this news, I don’t know how we, if there even is a “we”, can come back from that.’

‘I’m so sorry, Ange.’ Evelyn wrapped her arms around her shoulders.

‘It’s OK.’ Angela wasn’t sure if she was reassuring her friends or herself. ‘And I’ve had enough of this conversation, if it’s all right with you both.’

‘Just so you know all the facts,’ Jake pressed on, ‘he only found out today. He’s asked Yvette to leave, and he seemed pretty upset by the whole situation.’

‘Thanks for telling me that.’ She forced a smile for Jake. ‘But I don’t think it changes my answer. The very fact that it’s you telling me this, and not him, just proves my point. Come on, can we just drop this now? Please?’

‘Yeah.’ Evelyn nodded firmly, but Angela suspected she wasn’t done on the topic. ‘Let’s enjoy dinner. We’re supposed to be cheering you up. And by the sounds of those footsteps, help is on the way.’

‘Sounds good to me.’ This time, her smile felt a lot less forced.

* * *

Ryan rolled over in bed and gave his pillow another good whack, trying to find some level of comfort. Not that it mattered really, as he was pretty sure there wasn’t anything he could do — other than get pissed — that would help him sleep.

His mind was spinning from the events of the day. He was furious with Yvette for what she’d done — for lying to him and for taking so much away from him.

Maybe it was spending time around Sarah and Summer at Bill’s, or maybe it was meeting someone who he’d actually started to envision a future with, but much to his surprise he’d found himself getting excited about the prospect of being a dad one day. And, for a little over a week, he’d been just that — or at least an expectant father. Once he’d gotten over the shock, he’d started to feel excited about the little life that he thought he’d been part of creating. And he felt cheated now that had been stolen from him.

But far worse than that was how badly her lies had hurt Angela. It was bad enough that she’d hurt him — he would deal with it. But to hurt Angela, and physically attack Mallow? That he was never going to be able to forgive. He still couldn’t forget the pain in Angela’s eyes when she’d told him to go, and — like the biggest idiot on the planet — he’d walked away. He should have stayed and fought for her, for the future they’d started building, for all the feelings that he knew they shared. But instead, he’d run after Yvette, like Ruby chasing a chew toy, and by the time he’d stopped to think about it, he realised he’d crushed Angela’s feelings into the floor.

He thumped his pillow again, and stared up at the ceiling. What he really wanted to do was find a way to make things up to Angela — not that he expected her forgiveness. He certainly didn’t feel like he deserved it, not when he’d hurt her so badly.

And he was haunted by the image of Mallow on the floor, flopped out on one of the few areas he hadn’t padded, panting and barely responding. Again, Yvette’s fault, and another thing he’d struggle to forgive her for.

Not that she really seemed to want forgiveness — she certainly hadn’t shown an ounce of contrition. But, then again, the more he thought about it, the more he realised she probably never would. As far as Yvette was concerned, the sun, the moon and the stars revolved around her, and nothing and no one else really mattered, except for how they could service her.

If anything, he was lucky to have broken free of that. He glowered up at the ceiling again, waiting impatiently for sleep to arrive.

* * *

‘Morning, Jake.’ Ryan staggered into the surgery, feeling like he was owed a bloody good night out. Usually it took a full weekend of partying to feel as bad as he currently did. He grinned in relief when a familiar volley of squawks and whistles welcomed him. ‘I guess someone is feeling a lot better.’

‘Oh yeah, she’s given us all plenty of beak this morning.’ Jake laughed. ‘Not to mention trying to take a lump out of me.’

‘Sorry.’ He cringed.

‘It’s fine. I’m glad to see her attitude back. But I won’t say no if you want to come through and collect her yourself.’

‘Sure. I’m all ready.’ He held up the travel cage he’d brought with him and followed Jake through. Mallow was on the bars, bouncing up and down and squawking as soon as he entered the room. She flung herself at his chest as soon as the door was opened. ‘Hey, sweet girl, I missed you too.’ He snuggled his fingers into her feathers, which were improving almost daily. ‘She looks so much better. Thank you, Jake.’

‘I’d love to be able to take the credit for this, but we really only offered supportive care. She’s done this by herself, haven’t you, Mallow?’ He yanked back the finger she snapped at.

‘Mallow, don’t be ungrateful!’ Ryan scolded. ‘Sorry. She can be a bit territorial.’

‘It’s a good thing I don’t take offence.’ Jake chuckled. ‘And at least she hasn’t peed on me. I can’t say that of all my patients.’

He followed Jake back through to reception, Mallow still snuggled against his chest. He skimmed over the bill Kiran — Jake’s nurse/receptionist — handed him, then read it again more carefully. ‘This doesn’t seem right. I was expecting to see a charge for the overnight care at least.’