“Tess can stay with me for as long as she likes,” Ed said. “I’ll support her.”
Tess jolted. Did he mean it? He’d done so much already. “You don’t have to, Ed.” She’d get another job, figure something out. She would make it work.
“I want to, Tess.” His love showed on his face.
Tess’s heart hitched, and she flung her arms around him, almost knocking the phone out of her hand. “I love you.”
“No,” her mother said. “You can’t live with a man, without being married.”
Tess had had enough. “You can’t control me any longer, Mum. You lost that right when you almost had me killed.” She looked at her sister. “Be careful talking to Dylan. Let me know how it goes.”
Joy nodded. “Take care. And you take care of my sister, Ed.”
“I will,” he promised.
Tess ended the call and turned to Ed. “Did you really mean it about me moving in with you?” If she could do that, she could use the money she’d saved to go towards her university fees.
“Yeah, I did.” He kissed her. “I like having you around. But I have to warn you, I have a house mate who’s a little odd.”
She chuckled. “As long as he doesn’t try to kill me, he’ll be much better than my previous house mate.” She could deal with anything now.
She kissed him and for the moment everything felt right. Tess would figure out her fractured relationship with her parents at some stage, but that was for another day.
“Come on. The others will be waiting to hear the full story.” Ed tugged her back towards the house.
This time there was no uncertainty as she walked into the kitchen, where everyone sat around the table. They turned to her, making her the centre of attention, but all she felt was their overwhelming support. This was what family was supposed to be like, and Ed was right by her side.
Chapter 23
“You could both do with one of these.” Brandon handed Ed and Tess a shot of whisky each as they entered the kitchen, and Ed drank it in one gulp. The burn felt good after the terror of the morning, and the warmth mellowed him. He was still reeling from the news Tess’s mother had put her in harm’s way on purpose. He’d wanted to tell her what a miserable excuse for a mother she was, but it wouldn’t have been a great first impression, and Ed was mindful he planned to be in Tess’s life for a long time.
Ed pulled out a chair for her to sit.
“So what happened?” Georgie demanded.
Ed exchanged a glance with Tess. “Do you want to start?”
“There’s not much to tell. Tan arrived by boat, told me my mother had lied, and my father was fine, and he was going to kill me before he left Australia.”
Georgie blinked. “What now? Your dad wasn’t in danger?”
Tess shook her head.
“Tan told her mum that Tess wouldn’t be hurt, he just needed to talk to her,” Ed explained.
“And she believed him?” Amy stared at her, wide-eyed.
Tess shrugged.
Ed took over, wanting to take the attention off Tess’s family’s questionable actions. “When I arrived, I spotted Lee lying in the grass watching.” He handed Tess the salad bowl and explained his conversation with Lee. “It was weird. Lee admitted to working for Stonefish, but not Tan. He didn’t know if Tan had any other backup there.”
“If he killed Tan, why didn’t he hurt you?” Darcy asked.
“I got the feeling he didn’t want Tess or me to be hurt,” Ed told him. “He said the police should check out Retribution Island when all this was done.”
Sam picked up his mug. “What’s out there?”
“I don’t know.”
