Lean on Me (The Mackay Sisters) (4 page)

Matt immediately swung into
action.  “Let’s go.”  Only at the door did he hesitate ever so briefly to
glance back at Lori, then he was gone, the door shutting behind him.

Standing at the window, she
watched as the ambulance lights flashed on and the ambulance pulled out onto
the road and disappeared into the drizzle.

Wondering what Matt had been going
to ask her, she picked up the mop and mopped up the combined water and dirt
from their boots, rinsing the mop in the bucket before resting the handle
against the wall.

Whatever he’d been going to ask,
she wouldn’t know now.

The rest of the night passed with
only a couple of trucks pulling in on their way through to their destinations.

It was six in the morning when
Shaun ambled out from the backroom, rubbing his eyes and yawning.  If the man
had of had hair, she had no doubt it would have been sticking up in all
directions from sleeping.  As it was, he bore the indent of a pen on his cheek.

“Quiet night,” Shaun observed.

“Yep.”

“Huh.”  He glanced at the clock. 
“Time to go home.”

Lori nodded.  “See you tonight.”

“Yep.”

Neither needing to say anymore,
Lori got her umbrella and keys and headed out into the dawn.  The rain had
stopped, but it was still cold.

She was halfway home when the car
hiccupped several times, shuddered, and threatened to die.  “Oh, crap.”

Pulling over onto the side of the
road, she stepped out, walked around to the front of the car, lifted the bonnet,
locked it up into position with the metal arm and peered down at the engine,
though she didn’t know why she bothered because apart from a few little things
she’d picked up from the mechanics at work, she hadn’t a clue about engines.

Biting her lip, she glanced
around.  Sunday mornings were always quiet, there was no one around.  It looked
like she’d probably have to walk home, leaving the car locked on the side of
the road.

After one more hopeful glance
around to see a friendly face out and about early, she caught sight of a
familiar ute in a driveway on the other side of the nearby small park.  And the
driveway didn’t belong to the owner.  Lori’s brows rose. 
Hello
.

No sooner had she blinked than the
door of the house opened and Tommy ran out, pulling on a thick jacket.  He
glanced around, spotted her and froze for several seconds before looking
briefly back at the house.  Then, unlocking the ute, he got in and started it.

Lori looked back at the house but
the door was shut, not a sign of life from the occupant.  If she hadn’t seen it
herself she’d never have known that it was from there that Tommy had exited.

The ute pulled out onto the street
and drove off. 

Okay, that had been interesting,
very
interesting, but it didn’t help her predicament, which was being broken down on
the side of the road.  No mobile phone because she didn’t like them and refused
to buy one, but right now it did have its attraction.  Too late now.

Knocking on anyone’s door to use
the phone wasn’t something she’d even contemplate, not when everyone would be
sleeping in on a cold Sunday morning.  Leaving the car and phoning the service
station for the part-time mechanic later was the only thing of which she could
think.

No sooner had she resigned herself
to that fact than a car travelling in the opposite direction slowed, the driver
spotting her.  With a smile and a wave, he turned the steering wheel and pulled
around in front of her car, braking and turning his engine off.

“Hello, Lori.”  A smile wreathing
his pleasant face, Chris Smith climbed out of the car.

Relief washed through her.  Her
guardian angel must have been watching out for her, because it was one of the
mechanics from the job.  “Hi, Chris.  What are you doing out and about so
early?”

“Heading to the city to visit my
parents.”  He gestured to the open bonnet.  “Little care trouble?”

“Don’t know what happened, she
just shuddered and died.”

“Hmmm.  Let me have a look.”  He
bent over the engine.  “Have you checked your oil recently?”

“Every week, just like Dad taught
me.”

“Water?”

“I do check the basics.”  Lori
inwardly rolled her eyes.

“Last service?”

“Eight months ago.”

“Hmmm.”  He started fiddling with
some of the wires, checking the connections.

Stepping back from the front of
the car, she folded her arms and glanced around.  Hopefully he could fix the
car enough for her to get home, at least.

Glancing back at him, she tried to
squash the little churn of annoyance she always felt when around him.  The
confrontation he’d had with her sister a while ago in regards to her weight and
employment prospects still needled, even though it wasn’t her problem and
hadn’t been Ali’s either, since she’d upended a jug of water over his head and
soundly slapped him with his apology-proffered flowers.  But any man who
figured a woman’s success was based on her weight was a jerk.

Okay, it didn’t stop her feeling
self-conscious about her own overly generous curves when around people she’d
just met, she was only human, but she certainly believed that a woman made her
own success and should be judged for who she was, not what she looked like. 
Unfortunately, she also had to acknowledge that many people were judged by
looks, it was a fact.

Some facts sucked lemons.

Shaking her head, she caught sight
of something in her peripheral vision and turned her head to see a cop car pull
in behind her car.  The brawny cop got out, his face relaxed, his smile quietly
confident and pleasant.

“Lori.” Adam Moor drew to a stop
beside her.  “Problem with the car?”

One of the few people she really
felt comfortable with, Lori smiled widely.  “Wow, your powers of deduction are
awe-inspiring.”

“Thank you.”  He looked at the
open bonnet.  “What happened?”

“Shuddered and died.”

“Picked a bad time.”  Walking to
the front of the car, he braced his hands on the metal and leaned in, the
raised bonnet cutting him from sight.  “’Morning, Chris.”

“Hi, Adam.  You’re out bright and
early.”

“Could say the same for you.”

“Oh, I’m on the way to the city to
visit the oldies.”

Disliking the term intensely, Lori
screwed up her nose.

“Right.” Adam grunted.  “So,
figured out the problem?”

“Think so.  I just need to…”

Not understanding a word he said
except for the ‘think so’, Lori leaned back against the side of the car, her
arms folded, her breath coming from between her lips in little puffs of cold
air.

No sooner had she relaxed than an
ambulance appeared around the corner and pulled in right behind Adam’s cop car.

Holy cow, anyone coming past was
going to think there’d been a major accident.  Lori straightened and walked
towards the ambulance, being met partway by both Sally and Matt.

Matt swept her face with a
concerned gaze before looking past her to the car.  “Everything okay?”

“Fine, just fine.”  Lori waved in
the direction of the car.  “It’s just acted up a little and Chris is taking a
look at it.”

“Chris?”

Was it her imagination or did
Matt’s eyes narrow just a little?  “Yes.”

“Lucky for you the mechanic found
you,” Sally said cheerfully. “And not a bad looking one, either.”

Matt cast her an expressionless
look.

“Yep, lucky.”  Tucking her hands
into her pockets, Lori glanced back at her car before turning her head to look
back at Matt and Sally, only to find Sally texting something on her mobile and
Matt looking steadily at herself.  Unnerving.  “Uh - so I’m fine.  Are you on
your way home?” 
Dumb question, bozo.  He doesn’t take his ambulance or his
volunteer home. 
Though for all she knew, maybe he did bring Sally home.

No sooner had the thought crossed
her mind most unwelcomingly than she knew it was untrue.  She’d never once seen
Matt bring anyone home.

Blushing, she added, “I mean, are
you on the way back to the substation?”

Matt nodded.  “Got some paperwork
to do and the ambulance to re-stock, then its home time.  So you are sure you’re
okay?”

“Oh, I’m fine.”  She smiled.  “I
have a cop and a mechanic here.”

Pocketing the mobile, Sally
shivered.  “All right then, Matt, let’s head for the substation and warmth. 
See you, Lori.”

Lori could see the reluctance to
leave in Matt’s eyes, which surprised her, but then he nodded and started to
move away.

Another car passed without
slowing, then a ute came into sight.  It slowed down and pulled in right beside
Lori.

Tommy nodded to her.

“Hi.”  Not wanting to acknowledge
that she’d seen him leave a house not his own in the early dawn of Sunday
morning, Lori returned his nod.  For all she knew, he could have shifted house
and now lived there.

Tommy’s regard of her was sharp. 
“Everything all right?”

“Car died.” 

He didn’t even look towards the
front of the car where Adam had straightened and was now regarding them both. 
“Yep.”

Not knowing what else to do - it
hardly seemed appropriate to say ‘out and about early, aren’t you?’ - Lori
cleared her throat and just looked at him.

Tommy held her gaze for several
long seconds, only breaking it when Adam started forward.  “Seeing as how
you’re all right, I’ll go.”

“Fine.  Thanks.”  Lori stepped
back, relieved to see the ute disappear into the distance.

Standing by her side, Adam said
quietly, “Lot of people out and about early today.”

“Yep.”  Shivering as a cold gust
of wind ruffled her hair, Lori glanced away, only to find the ambulance had
started to move forward but had now stopped, Matt gazing at her with concern
through the windshield.

There was no doubting he’d seen
Tommy and her exchanging stares.

Lori gave him a little wave and a
mouthed ‘thank you’, relieved when he had no choice but to leave.

She could feel Adam’s gaze on her
but she steadfastly watched the ambulance drive away without saying anything
further.  Adam didn’t pry, but no way was she going to say what she’d seen,
even though she had to admit she was a little unnerved by Tommy’s reaction to
her seeing him.

No sooner had the ambulance gone
than Chris stuck his head around the corner of the bonnet.  “Try to start it
up, Lori.”

Wanting only to get home and away
from everyone, Lori hopped behind the steering wheel and started the car.  It
coughed once before purring to life.  She almost slumped in relief.

Coming around to the driver’s
side, Chris leaned down.  “Book the car in when you’re on day shift and I’ll
look at it.”

“Is there much wrong?”

“Nothing I can’t fix.”

That’s all she wanted to hear,
that and - “Will it keep going until then?”

“No worries.  Just have it in by
the end of the week.”

“I have a couple of days off after
tonight, then day shifts.  I’ll book it in for Thursday.”

“No worries,” he repeated.

“Thanks, Chris, really.”

“He nodded and straightened.  “I
better get going.  Have a good day, Lori.”

Politely, she waited for him to
leave, watching in her side mirror as Adam approached.  Leaning down, his elbow
resting on the frame, he studied her.  “Everything okay, Lori?”

“Everything’s just fine now the
car’s going again.”  She smiled reassuringly at him.  “I’m going home for a hot
shower and bed.”

He regarded her for several
seconds before nodding.  “You know where I am if you need me.”  Straightening,
he walked back to the cop car.

Knowing he wouldn’t leave until
she did, Lori indicated and pulled out onto the road, heading for home.

Oh yeah, Adam hadn’t missed
Tommy’s weird regard of her, and for that matter neither had Matt. Lori could
only hope that it would all blow over.  Peace and quiet were her preferred
state, not ripples that directly affected her.

She just hoped this particular
ripple wasn’t going to touch her.

As she pulled into her driveway,
she saw Tommy’s ute at the end of the road.  He looked once in her direction
before pulling away and driving out of sight.

It wasn’t that easy to shrug away
the unease that went through her.

Chapter 2

Standing in line at the grocery
store, Matt’s quiet contemplation of his surroundings were interrupted by,
“G’day, Matt.”

Turning, he smiled down at Mr
Parker, or as the elderly man was known in Peeron, ‘Old Man Parker’. 
“’Morning.”

Eyes bright, Old Man Parker leaned
closer.  “Heard about the big crash yesterday.”

Matt’s eyebrows shot up.  “Crash?”

“Quite a to-do.  Involved Lori
Mackay.”

The blood in Matt’s veins went ice
cold.  “
What?
”  Lori had been in an accident and he hadn’t heard about
it?  What the hell-

“Yep.  Harry Dunsley saw it all
yesterday morning when he was on his way back to bed from the bathroom.  Looked
across the park to the highway and there he saw it, plain as day.”  Old Man
Parker shook his head.  “Adam was there, the ambulance, the car that belongs to
that idiot mechanic Chris Brown.”

Oh, for
… Matt’s shoulders
sagged in relief.  “That wasn’t a crash.”

“Metal everywhere,” Old Man Parker
continued with relish.  “I heard that Lori almost had to be given the kiss of
life.”

“Mr Parker, I was there-” Matt
began.

“
You
gave her the kiss of
life?”

“No.”  Though he wouldn’t mind
kissing that mouth of hers, those plump lips that curved into such a shy smile.

“So who did?  Chris Brown?”

“No one gave Lori the kiss of life.”
Matt ignored the little flash of anger at even the thought of the mechanic
getting anywhere near Lori’s mouth.  “It was all exaggerated.”

“Oh?”  Old Man Parker was
quivering with curiosity.  “So why was the cop there, the ambulance?”

“Her car broke down, that’s all.”

“Sure she wasn’t almost carjacked? 
‘Cause I hear that happens in the big cities all the time, and considering that
all of you were there-”

Matt mentally rolled his eyes.  “Carjacking
doesn’t happen all the time in the city.”

“Huh.”  Old Man Parker grunted. 
“Guess you’d know, coming from the city and all.”

“Lori’s car broke down, Chris
stopped to help her, Adam happened along and saw the cars on the side of the
road and we came upon them as well.”

“So you suspected someone was
hurt?”

“Well, we didn’t know.  It was a
precaution to see if they needed help.”

“Because someone
was
hurt?”
another voice behind him piped up.

Looking around, Matt did a mental
groan.  Mrs Swanson was watching him as avidly as Old Man Parker.  In fact, he
realised as he glanced around, there were a few people nearby watching him, all
listening unashamedly.

“Must have been Lori hurt.”  Mrs
Hubble, who lived across the road from Matt and the Mackay sisters, nodded her
head wisely.  “When I first heard of the accident, I brought a container of hot
soup across to the house but no one was answering the door.”

“That’s because Lori was probably
asleep,” Matt explained.  “She worked the nightshift.”

“Or maybe, if she had a broken
leg, she couldn’t get to the door fast enough,” Mrs Hubble said.

“If she had a broken leg, Mrs
Hubble, she’d still be in hospital.”

“Still?” Mrs Swanson leaped upon
that word like a hungry dingo on a hapless sheep.  “So she
was
in
hospital!”

“No!”  Matt lowered his voice when
they all stared at him.  Christ, he was starting to get a mild thumping in the
back of his head.  “Nothing happened.  Lori is fine, Chris fixed the car, she
drove home, she slept.  That’s it. 
Nothing
happened.”

Mrs Hubble raised one over-plucked
eyebrow.  “No need to get testy, son.”

“Sorry.”  Matt took a big breath. 
“A few things on my mind.”

“Really?” Old Man Parker queried. 
“You live here by yourself, don’t you?”

“Yep.”  Glad for a change of
subject, Matt watched in relief as Mrs Swanson went through the checkout.

“I reckon young blokes need a
father figure to talk to.  You can talk to me.”

Oh, that was so not happening. 
Matt took one look at the eager expression in Old Man Parker’s eyes, followed
by the avid gleam of Mrs Hubble right behind him, and didn’t know whether to
laugh or cry.  Or run.

However, he was made of sterner
stuff.  He’d lived with his sisters, after all, and they’d never managed to
break him, even when they’d dressed him up like a girl and used him as their own
real live doll.  The perils of being a three year old boy with eight year old
twin sisters.  His cousin had rescued him many times until he grew old enough
to realise he didn’t have to do as the twins told him.  Unfortunately, not soon
enough to stop his mother taking photos of him with the twins - them in their
pretty frocks, him in his.  The family still chortled about it.

“I appreciate the offer,” he told
Old Man Parker seriously.  “If I ever find the need, I know where to go.”  Not
to Old Man Parker, unless he wanted his heart-felt talks spread around the
neighbourhood.

Mrs Swanson had passed through the
checkout and the checkout chick, a teenage girl named Hallie who wore braces
and flirted with the Goth scene, waved him forward.  Placing his items on the
counter, he eyed the door covertly from his periphery vision.  Not long now and
he could escape.

Not yet, however.

“Guess you do a lot of chatting
with that young Ghost,” Old Man Parker continued.

“Oh, he does.”  Mrs Hubble nodded,
her tightly curled hair not moving an inch.  “I see him go over there
sometimes.”

“We’re mates.”  Matt handed over
money to Hallie, who tried to keep the blank expression on her face though her
eyes sparkled with mirth.

Matt couldn’t help but grin at
her.

“Must be good friends with the
Mackay sisters, too,” Mrs Hubble said.

“We’re friendly.”  Taking the
change, Matt pocketed it while Hallie packed his items into a plastic bag.

“Friendly enough to jump their
back fence.”

“Short cut.  It was raining.”

“Up onto their veranda?”

Turning to face her, Matt raised
his eyebrows.  “Mrs Hubble, you live across the street.  How could you see into
the back yard?”

She smiled triumphantly.  “I was
visiting Shirley, who lives right behind the Mackay house.  I saw you jump the
fence.”

Good grief.  Taking the plastic
bag from Hallie, who was now grinning openly, Matt said hurriedly, “Well, gotta
go.  Nice talking to you all.  Have a lovely day.”

Making his escape out into the
sunshine, he drew a relived breath.  Small towns were friendly, everyone knew
everyone, but sometimes it made things a little hard, especially with a couple
of dedicated gossipers with way too much time on their hands.

Driving home, he couldn’t help but
start laughing.  This was what he’d wanted, a small, friendly town.  The
business and stress of the city was something he’d chosen to leave behind, so
he’d have to suck up the good with the bad.  Besides, even he had to admit that
sometimes the gossip was really entertaining.

Pulling into his driveway, he glanced
over at the Mackay house.  All was quiet.  No doubt Lori was still sleeping, it
was only eleven in the morning and she’d have gotten home about seven o’clock
and gone to bed after feeding Ghost’s cats.

Ali and Ghost were away for the
week on one of the ghost hunting expeditions that his friend enjoyed, so
Ghost’s furry horde were the responsibility of Lori’s, though Matt had a spare
key as well for emergencies and to help out as needed.

Knowing the furry horde were a
menace at the best of times, he decided he might as well go over and check what
mayhem they’d been up to while left alone.

After packing away his purchases,
he headed over to Ghost’s house on the other side of the Mackay’s home, letting
himself in the front door.

Yep, the furry horde had managed
to get into mischief between the time Lori had fed them and now.   Four hours
alone and the vase of flowers that Ghost’s mother insisted he needed was lying
on its side on the floor, the flower petals of some unknown flower had been eaten
and then unceremoniously retched up on the carpet - no doubt Abraham’s doing,
the big tabby did love his flowers - and the feather duster was now somehow
jammed up under a picture that hung over the sideboard.

Mort loved the feather duster but
how the hell the cat had managed to jam it under the painting was beyond Matt. 
He got it down and tossed it near the stairs leading up to Ghost’s writing room
on the second floor.

Mauve poked her nose out from
under the blanket on the sofa, eyed Matt through crossed blue eyes, gave a
dainty sniff and withdrew her head back under the blanket, effectively
dismissing him.

It wasn’t finished.  Noticing
shredded paper on the floor, Matt followed it into the kitchen.  Yep, the
perpetrator was fast asleep on the shredded magazine.  Millie sighed, rolled
over and got comfortable again on the magazine.

Deciding she might as well keep it
now, Matt went in search of the last furry hellion, Max.  He found him in the
front bedroom fast asleep, looking the picture of total innocence.  Abraham was
curled up close against him and they both opened their eyes to blink sleepily
at Matt.

A box of condoms had been ripped
open and packets lay strewn over the floor and bedside table.

“Seriously?” Matt asked.  “Condoms? 
No bloke likes to touch another bloke’s condoms, guys.  Please, don’t do this
to me again.”

Abraham yawned and Mort tucked his
head between his paws and went back to sleep.

Tidying up quickly, Matt checked
the litter trays in the laundry.  All were clean, no doubt attended to by
Lori.  The food bowls in the kitchen were empty, so Matt washed them and left
them on the draining rack.

Apparently cleaning bowls meant it
must be time for a snack because the furry horde descended as if by magic from
their various places, eyes bright and bodies all aquiver with excitement. 
Mauve wove her way between Matt’s legs, and Mort almost tripped him up when he
tried to escape.

The only thing he could do was
fill several bowls with cat biscuits and run while he could, leaving the furry
horde ploughing into the biscuits as though they’d never been fed in weeks. 
Locking the front door behind him, Matt shook his head.  If Ali and Ghost ever
had kids, no one would survive.  He could just imagine the furry horde running
amok with little Alis and Ghosts.  It was almost a nightmare.

Sniggering a little at the image,
he returned to his own house.

Pouring a cup of hot coffee, he
went through to his back veranda and sat down, enjoying the quiet of the day. 
Several days off and he planned to do some gardening, wash the car and figure
out the best way to approach Lori for a date.

Yep, he’d decided he’d put it off
long enough.  He’d almost managed to ask her the other night at the servo but
the emergency had interrupted.  Maybe he’d go over later this evening before
she went to work.  That’d be the go.  Ask her in a friendly manner, let her
know he was no threat, though why anyone would think he was, was unbelievable. 
His sisters would die laughing if they heard that, precisely why he’d never
tell them.

But Lori was so different to the
women he’d dated in the past.  Shy, sweet, she invaded his imagination as no
one had ever done.  It was as though there was something between them,
something he couldn’t see but feel, something that drew him to her. 

At first he’d thought it had been
his imagination, that he just found her attractive anyway with her glossy brown
hair, big green eyes, soft lips, and those curves that every night somehow
crept into his dreams to tantalise him.  Even now, if he closed his eyes, he
could just about imagine those bountiful breasts overflowing his palms, those
generously curved hips pressed to his lean hips, those rounded limbs entwined
with his own, her scent invading his senses, her sweet taste on his lips…

Christ, he was getting a hard on
just imaging it.  The real thing would have to be a hundred times better.

It had never taken him this long
to ask a woman out, either, but Lori wasn’t the easiest woman to get to know. 
Hard to know when she was so quiet around him, only speaking to when spoken to,
and if he hadn’t heard her arguing and laughing with Ghost, he’d never have
believed her capable of much else, which just went to prove that hidden waters
run deep.  And he had no doubt that Lori was a deep pool waiting to be
discovered.  Kind of like a rose bud spread open and her petals exposed.  Which
kinda led to more erotic thoughts-

A sudden cry jolted him from his
musings, his coffee spilling out of his hand as he jumped to his feet. 
Lori!
 
There was no doubt that the cry was hers, and it came from her backyard.

Leaping off the veranda, Matt
bolted across to the side fence, hauling himself up and over within seconds to
land in the Mackay backyard.  Immediately his gaze fell on where Lori was
sitting in the grass, one leg drawn up as she gingerly cradled her ankle.

“Lori?  What happened?”  Swiftly
he crossed to her side, dropping to his knees beside her.

Startled, she looked up.  Her face
was white, her eyes dark pools of pain.  “Matt?”

“Yeah.”  His experienced gaze
swept down to where she cradled her ankle.  “Tell me what happened.”

“I think I twisted my ankle.  I turned
and slipped, and it really hurts.”  She bit her lip. “But I’m okay.”

Brushing her hand aside, Matt
started to feel gently along her calf and down to her ankle.

Quickly Lori stretched her leg out,
drawing her nightgown down to cover her rounded thighs, but even though aware
of the soft flesh briefly bared to his gaze, Matt was more concerned with her
ankle.  Probing gently, he looked at her.  “Hurts?”

“Yes, it hurts, but honestly, it’s
not as bad as I thought it was.  I’ll be fine, really.”