Outback Blaze (33 page)

‘No such luck.' She raised her eyebrows at him expectantly.

He sighed. ‘Okay. I went to visit him last week after we'd questioned your parents again and I didn't think they were guilty. I needed to rule him out.'

She opened her mouth but no words came. She wasn't sure how she felt about Drew talking to Jonas. As if sensing her discomfort he took her hand, linked their fingers and squeezed.

‘And did you uncover anything useful?' she finally brought herself to ask.

He shook his head. ‘No. Like you said, I don't think he has it in him. He seemed more aggro than action to me and he has a failsafe alibi, well about twenty-five of them actually.'

She screwed up her nose, wondering what he meant.

‘Jonas was best man at a family friend's wedding,' he explained. ‘The night of the fire was the rehearsal dinner and the bridal party and both their families vouched for his presence. But I wish it had been him – he's an arrogant, nasty so-and-so. It would be very therapeutic to wipe that smug smile off his face and throw his sorry arse behind bars.'

She tried to laugh but found she couldn't quite make it. ‘I suppose you wonder what I ever saw in someone like that.'

‘It has crossed my mind.' He didn't say any more and she knew she didn't have to either. This could be the end of the conversation, but she didn't want Drew thinking badly of her, thinking she was some weak, silly female.

‘He wasn't always like that. We met in high school,' she began. ‘My girls' school was sister school to his boys' one. We didn't go out then, but he was gorgeous and I lusted after him big time. The fact that his family bred racehorses only amplified the allure. He was nice too. He'd open doors for the girls, encourage the younger members on the football team, help female teachers carry heavy boxes.'

She took a breath. ‘I did a public relations course at uni and I continued to ride my aunt's horses and do dressage events. When I finished my degree I got a job with a company who did the PR for a number of racing events. I met Jonas at the Ascot Cup a few years back and he remembered me. He bought me a drink and by the time I'd finished the glass of champagne, we'd organised a date for the following night.'

‘Let me guess,' Drew interjected dryly, ‘his dating techniques involved lots of big, flashy romantic gestures.'

‘On the morning of our first date, a dozen red roses were delivered to the unit I lived at in Perth. An hour later, another dozen. They kept coming throughout the day so that by the time by time he arrived in a limousine to pick me up, you could barely turn around in the lounge room without bumping into a bouquet.'

‘Geez. That
is
impressive. But I guess when money isn't an issue, it's easy to be romantic.'

‘It wasn't just the stuff.' She didn't want Drew to think her love had so easily been bought. ‘He was gentle, caring and loved horses as much as I did. Within a couple of weeks of that date, we were joined at the hip and I got offered work in their family business – it was my dream job, organising their servicing schedule. Within a couple of months he'd asked me to marry him and I moved in with him.'

‘You never did get married, did you?'

‘No, thank God. Every time we tried to set a date, we'd find it clashing with something important on the horse calendar and the actual wedding kept being put on the back burner.'

‘And you liked living with him? He never hurt you until the end?'

‘Not physically.' She took a deep breath. Talking about this made her feel stupid, but something inside her wanted Drew to hear it. ‘But looking back, oh, the benefit of hindsight, I was never enough for him. We'd constantly have to be going out to parties and events; he never wanted a quiet night in with me. Then the sex thing became an issue. I don't know if there were drugs involved, although I suspect there was something, but he started asking more from me than I felt comfortable giving and, well, you already know the rest.'

‘I wish I didn't.' He let go of her hand but replaced that small connection by drawing her into his chest. She leant against him, relishing the warmth and comfort, which he topped off with the gentlest of kisses to the top of her head. ‘I wish you'd never met him.'

‘You and me both,' she said, but her words were muffled against his jumper. They sat like that for a while. With her ear against his chest, she could hear his heart thumping and it relaxed her mind and body. She forgot about Jonas and started to wonder more about Drew. Or Connor.

She pulled back slightly and looked up at him, ‘So now you know my torrid relationship history, I think I deserve a brief rundown of yours.'

He raised one eyebrow, then shrugged. ‘Sure. My longest relationship – just over a year – ended about a year ago. Her name was Belinda and she was a shoe designer.'

‘Glamorous,' Ruby muttered, a shot of jealousy stabbing at her heart.

He laughed. ‘She liked to think so. Unfortunately she liked the idea of being with me a lot more than she liked the reality. I think those American cop shows made it out to be more glamorous than it is. In reality, I worked long hours and, in her opinion, loved the job more than her.'

‘Did you?'

‘Let's put it this way, when she asked me to choose between her and the job, I refused. We didn't actually break up then, we had a big talk and decided we'd both make more of an effort to compromise. Unfortunately her idea of compromising was to find another guy who could be there for her when I was working. I walked in on them in bed together one day.'

‘Ouch.' She had no idea how anyone could contemplate cheating on Drew.

‘To be honest it wasn't as painful as I thought it should be. I realised Belinda was right; I am a workaholic. That's just part of who I am. I know so many police marriages that end in divorce, but luckily we never got that far.'

She was about to ask if this was before or after he fell out with his family, but Roxie stepped up to them and shoved her muzzle between their faces. They both laughed.

‘I think that's our cue to stop all this maudlin talk.' Drew stood. ‘What say we take these two back to your place, then head on into Geraldton for a helmet and maybe a bite to eat and a movie?'

She could tell Drew wanted to move the conversation on from the personal and, quite frankly, discussing Jonas and his ex hadn't made her feel good either. Maybe he was right. The past was gone and much of the future was out of their control so why not enjoy the present?

After two days of bliss, both Drew and Ruby found it difficult to drag themselves from bed and face Thursday. But he had a long shift ahead and Ruby had to see to the horses before facing the possible wrath at the Bunyip Bay Festival committee meeting. With only a couple of weeks left until the big weekend, the ladies of the main committee were meeting with the Undies girls to ensure both events would run smoothly alongside each other. As Ruby went through the morning's chores, she prepared herself for the inevitable questions about her parents. Questions she wished she could answer but in the absence of any communication from them was ill-qualified to do so.

After eating a peanut butter and jam sandwich, which had quite possibly become her favourite food of all time, she was on her way out when the house phone started to ring. She stopped, hope rising. She'd had a few hang-ups on the answering machine and couldn't bear the thought of missing a call from her parents. Surely they'd try to contact her sooner or later. Running back through the house, she snatched up the phone and tried to swallow her disappointment when Simone spoke.

‘You're coming to the meeting, aren't you?'

‘I was on my way until I had to stop to answer your call.'

‘Oh good, was just worried you wouldn't want to face everyone.'

‘I've got nothing to be ashamed about and I'm not letting down the Hospital Auxiliary by dropping out at the last minute.'

‘Good, I'll see you soon.' There was a smile in Simone's voice. ‘Frankie's bringing cupcakes.'

Even if Ruby had been a little fearful about attending the meeting, the lure of Frankie's famous cupcakes gave her courage.

The meeting wasn't as terrible as it could have been. The majority of committee members were more interested in last-minute details than the scandal of Ruby's parents absconding. The fact that she could give them the latest registration numbers for the run, which were up twenty per cent from previous years after all the publicity they'd been doing, and explain that the money had already started to come in from the internet donation system they'd set up this year, helped.

She'd overheard Mrs Brady speak a few harsh words behind her hand to another woman but Ruby accepted that was just the way it was. She could have glared back, thrown a few choice words and made a scene but someone mentioned something about Drew and all her anger evaporated. Some things just weren't important when you were having great sex. She felt sorry for the small-minded Mrs Brady and her friend because it was likely they weren't having much sex at all, good or bad.

‘You did well today,' Simone said, patting Ruby on the back as the volunteers started leaving. ‘Fancy dinner at the pub with Frankie and me tonight? And before you ask, the girls are both going to friends' houses for sleepovers and, yes, I've checked that it is all legit.'

‘Yes, that sounds fabulous.' Ruby hadn't been out since before her parents left and Drew was working lates again. ‘I'll see you there.'

*

‘I'm so full, I don't think I'll ever eat again.' Frankie flopped back against her seat and groaned.

Ruby understood where she was coming from. They'd both had the vegetarian lasagna but portion sizes at The Palace could rival any American diner and it was hard to stop eating when something tasted so good.

‘I still want dessert, though,' Simone said. ‘I made a vow many years ago not to have a meal here without following it with Liam's famous apple pie if I could help it.'

‘Oh.' Frankie groaned again. ‘Please don't mention that – Liam's pastry even gives mine a run for its money.'

Ruby laughed, which she'd been doing all night. It was hard not to enjoy yourself around these two. So many times this evening, when they'd grilled her about how she was currently coping with life, she'd been tempted to take them into her confidence about Drew. But they were female. They would blow the fact she was sleeping with him into something more than it was and she was having a hard enough time not doing that herself.

‘Let's have one more drink and then order dessert,' Simone concluded.

‘Good plan. And it must be my shout.' Ruby pulled her purse out of her bag and stood, only a smidgeon nervous at the prospect of facing the bar on her own.

She bumped into Tilley O'Neil with two bottles of beer on her way back from the bar. ‘Oh, I'm glad to see you, Ruby. How are you doing?'

‘Okay, thanks Tilley. How about you?'

Tilley sighed and took a quick sip of one of the beers. ‘A bit tired to be honest, Macy won't quit going on about getting her own horse. In fact, I know you've got lots on your mind, but I was wondering if I could drop her round some time this weekend and you could go through with her all the things you need to do to look after a horse. I think she thinks it's all brushing their manes and riding fun.'

‘Sure. How about just after lunch Saturday? I haven't got anything planned and she's good company.'

‘Thank you.' Tilley looked as if she could hug Ruby. ‘She'll be stoked and I must admit, I'll be glad of a few hours reprieve from horse talk.'

Thinking about Macy's enthusiasm, Ruby smiled as she headed for the bar. She guessed Tilley hadn't been a horse-mad girl, but Ruby could most definitely relate to Macy's obsession.

As she waited for Liam to finish serving a young couple, the front door opened and instinctively she looked over. Maybe in her heart, she hoped to see Drew, but what she saw made her mouth drop open. Ryan Forrester stood in the doorway, his hand firmly gripping another man's.

‘Well, I never,' Liam said, coming up behind her. All eyes in the pub seemed to snap to the entrance.

Holding his head high, Ryan started towards the bar, his ‘friend' in tow. He nodded at the open mouthed, wide-eyed faces of the locals as he passed by and Ruby looked at Simone still sitting at their table. Surprisingly, a massive smile shone from her face.

Confused, Ruby tried to collect her thoughts as Ryan approached her at the bar.

‘Evening, Ruby.' He nodded, but she saw a little twitch in his neck, telling her he wasn't totally comfortable. ‘I'd like you to meet my friend, Grant.'

The way he said the word ‘friend', the way he looked at Grant and the way he kept a firm, protective grip on his hand, told Ruby this man was much more than a mate. She found it difficult to concoct a reply and not because she had any problem with the situation, more because she'd never once contemplated the idea that Ryan was gay. Had Faith? Or Simone?

‘Good evening, Ryan. Nice to meet you, Grant.'

‘And you too.' He offered her his free hand. He had a firm, friendly grip that matched his kind, easy smile.

‘Well, I never.' Liam leaned against the bar. ‘Tongues are gonna wag round here tomorrow.'

Ryan half smiled. ‘Thought it was high time I took the heat off Ruby. You can thank me later.' He winked at her and pulled Grant into his side. ‘What do you reckon the old biddies will think of this scandal?'

She raised her eyebrows. ‘I reckon your good name is cactus. Do your dad and Faith know about…about Grant?'

‘Yeah.' He nodded. ‘I broke the news to them earlier this week. They were a little shocked but they're happy for me. I've been wanting to bring Grant up to meet the family for a long time, but fear held me back. There aren't many blokes that bat for the other team in Bunyip Bay. Luckily he put up with my lack of backbone.'