LITMIR.BIZ

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her tee-shirt to ride up, exposing creamy flesh that curved into well-fitting denim shorts. Desire shot through Mark, taking him by surprise, but his emotional reaction was even more startling. Julie had always been his friend, he'd always cared about her, but this surge of desire, coupled with an almost tangible tenderness, was new. Very new. He barely remembered that he was supposed to reply to her question.

      'Coffee. No, make that tea, thanks.' Fresh cakes, a pot of steaming tea, his father and Claire and Susan chatting and laughing as he'd told them about his first few months in his chosen career. The memory of the warmth and love of family swept through him with an aching poignancy. So did the knowledge that because of his father's death his family would never be the same.

      Julie's hand on his shoulder made him realise that he'd been staring at the mugs while his thoughts focused inwards. He felt the gentle squeeze of her fingers and the brush of her lips against his cheek.

      'I've always been your friend, Mark,' she said softly, 'and I always will be. Anytime you want to talk, just let me know.'

      The scent of her hair lingered as she moved away, and he had an almost overwhelming urge to wrap his arms around her and hold her until the pain inside him had eased. She was the only one who'd ever been able to read him. At the agency he'd once jokingly been called 'Inscrutable', not so much for his knowledge of Asian affairs but because he rarely exposed his feelings. When it became obvious that he saw no humour in the nickname it swiftly disappeared.

      'Let's sit out on the back verandah.' Julie put four muffins on a plate and placed it with the tea things on a tray. Mark moved quickly to take the tray from her. They walked out onto a large covered deck overlooking an in-ground swimming pool where several young teenage boys were playing an erratic game of water polo. Mark placed the tray on the glass-topped table and he and Julie sank into the cushioned chairs.

      'Nice pool,' Mark commented.

      'Yeah.' Julie's reply had an uncharacteristic tinge of derision, and she looked at the landscaped pool surrounds of rocks and shrubs and ferns as though she'd like to demolish the lot. 'Another example of my father's benevolence.'

      'Ray built the pool?'

      Julie poured tea into the mugs. 'I came home from work one day and found a huge hole in the ground and men delivering pipes and reinforcing for the walls. I didn't know a thing about it. He'd even lodged plans with the council in my name.' She handed him a mug and the plate of muffins. 'Don't be fooled, Mark. He hasn't changed. He's still the same egotistical bastard he's always been. He didn't give us the pool out of the goodness of his heart. He's trying to buy my son.'

      There was such bitterness in Julie's eyes that Mark replied, 'Tell me about it.'

      'It's a long story.'

      'I have all day.' He bit into a muffin and tasted liquid chocolate on his tongue. 'And all night if you keep feeding me muffins like this.' The words were hardly out of his mouth when he realised they sounded more flirtatious than friendly, but Julie smiled at him and sipped from her own mug.

      'Like I told you yesterday, I thought I loved Luke when I married him, but looking back I think I loved the way he needed me. I'd spent so many years looking out for my mother I'd slipped into the role of nurturer. What I didn't know was that Luke was hopeless with money. I found that out when he left me.'

      'Left you?' Mark's interest heightened. 'Claire said you'd split up.'

      'Luke quite literally disappeared. He was a computer sales rep with a large territory and he'd be away from home for days at a time. The day he was due to come home I received a call from him saying he was sorry, but he couldn't cope any longer and he was leaving me. Andy was eight years old at the time. He adored Luke and it took a long time for him to come to terms with the whole mess.'

      'What about you?'

      'In a way I'd been expecting something, but certainly not that. I guess I fell to pieces for a while. Then I discovered he hadn't made any house payments for ages and the bank was threatening to repossess. Other bills were also overdue, including the car payment. He'd been lying to me for months. I've never been able to find out what he did with our money.'

      'So what did you do?'

      'I couldn't ask Mum and Derek for help, they'd just invested their savings in a business, and I certainly wasn't going to ask Dad. My part-time wages barely paid the overdue accounts - there was no way I could cover the house repayments. I tried desperately to get full-time work, but didn't have any luck. I'd just about reached rock bottom when my father called around. He was on one of his "magnanimous grandfather" visits. Andy wasn't here, I was feeling depressed and … it just all came out. I told him everything.'

      'Did he offer to help you out?'

      A plastic ball banged against the pool fence and Julie called to the boy chasing it not to run on the wet tiles. She picked up a muffin from the plate, took a bite and chewed well before replying. 'You know Dad and his bully-boy tactics. He told me that he would lend me the money to pay off the mortgage on condition that I came to work for him. I tried to get him to agree to lend me just enough money to get me out of my financial hole but he wouldn't be in it. He wanted to control my life.'

      'So you agreed.'

      'I had no choice. This was Andy's home. He'd already suffered enough heartache without having to move. And all his friends live here. Besides, renting was as expensive as making house payments, and I didn't have any money for a bond. So I signed the loan agreement and took the job. Then Ray told me that no-one was to know I'm his daughter. He didn't want me to receive special consideration.' Anger sparked in her eyes as she continued. 'I also discovered he expected me to spy on my fellow workers and report to him.' A smile teased her lips and she gazed into Mark's eyes with mock timidity. 'Shame I have such a bad memory when it comes to relating things I hear in the office.'

      This spirited, determined woman was the Julie Mark remembered. Somewhere inside him he registered a faint glow of gratitude that she hadn't changed. 'How's he treating you?'

      'I don't see him a lot, thank God, but he comes here at least once a week. He's trying to groom Andy to be like him. Andy thinks he loves him, but with Ray it's an ego thing. I disappointed him by being a girl, so he's pinning his hopes on his only grandchild. His mistresses never fell pregnant to him, so poor Andy's it.'

      As though aware he was being discussed, one of the youngsters in the pool climbed out, grabbed his towel, and yelled for his mates to come up for something to eat. Mark noted the flashing grin that Andy had inherited from Julie.

      Four wet, laughing boys trooped up the back stairs and onto the deck.

      'Hold it right there, gang,' Julie laughed. 'I'll bring out some muffins and drinks.' She gestured to Mark. 'This is Mr Talbert,' and introduced Andy and his friends.

      Mark nodded in reply to the chorus of 'Hellos', then stayed silent as the boys chatted among themselves. After a while Andy left the group, placed his towel on the table and sat in the opposite chair. 'That's really bad about your Dad,' he said.

      'Yeah,' Mark felt the word drawn out of him. 'Yes, it is.'

      'I missed my Dad a lot when he… left.'

      'I bet you did.'

      Andy nodded, seemingly satisfied that they'd said the right things to each other. Just then a gust of hot wind whirled through the yard and across the deck. The towel flipped up. Mark grabbed it before it could drop onto the milk jug. He pushed the towel over to Andy. The boy was staring at his forehead. Mark realised that the wind had blown his hair aside. Almost as though he couldn't help himself, Andy asked, 'How did you get that scar?'

      Mark hesitated. He wanted to lie, and he was good at deception, but somehow it was important to him not to lose the fragile thread of respect he felt growing between them. From the corner of his vision he could see Julie walking onto the deck. 'I was shot,' he said softly.

      Glasses clinked as Julie set the tray down hurriedly. 'Come on boys,' she called. Mark saw the whiteness in her face, and realised he'd probably said the wrong thing. Mothers usually don't want their young sons learning about things

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