The Lawson Boys: Alex (2 page)

He waited
beside the Jeep while Paul got changed, then he followed his
friend’s Ute as Paul led him through town to his house.

Paul’s wife was
waiting at the door when they pulled up, and she gave Alex a hug as
he neared the door with his bag in one hand. “About time you came,
stranger!”

“Becky.” He
gave her a kiss on the cheek, feeling the warmth of old friends
surround him. “How could you desert me and marry this jerk?”

“He was getting
into too much trouble.” Becky gave Paul a peck on the cheek.

“Really?”
Paul’s eyebrows rose, a wicked gleam entering his eyes. “That’s all
the greeting I get?”

Becky shrieked
in delight as Paul swept her into his arms and dipped her low to
one side, holding her as he almost devoured her mouth. When he
finally pulled her upright, she was flushed and gasping for
air.

“Oh my.” She
panted, straightening her blouse which had come free of her
skirt.

Paul
leered.

“Nothing has
changed, I see,” Alex observed. “Still the same horny
teenagers.”

“Teenage
sweethearts.” Sliding her arm around Paul’s waist, Becky smiled up
at him. “Horny teenagers.”

“Horny adults,”
Paul added cheerfully. “She’s pregnant.”

“My
congratulations.” Alex gave Becky a light kiss on the cheek.

“Proved my
manhood.” Paul stuck out his chest.

Becky laughed
and slapped his arm before turning to Alex. “I’ll show you to your
room. Here, let me take your bag.”

“No worries.”
Alex pulled it out of reach of her hand. “A gentleman never lets a
lady carry heavy things.” He glanced slyly at Paul.

“Hey,” said
Paul mildly, “I don’t let her carry anything heavy.” In one move he
swooped Becky up into his arms and carried her laughing and
protesting through the doorway. “I carry all the heavy stuff around
here.”

“You jerk! Are
you saying I’m heavy?”

“Honey! Never!”
Lowering her legs to the floor, Paul leaned against the wall and
with exaggerated panting, wiped his brow. “Jesus, think I’m gonna
have a heart attack.”

Seeing as Becky
was a petite woman in both height and build, and Paul towered over
her and was built mostly of muscle, Alex shook his head.

Unconcerned,
Becky reached up and patted Paul’s cheek. “Oh, sweetie. Never mind,
I hear abstention from sex is good for heart conditions.”

“Like hell.”
Lifting his arms, Paul flexed his muscle. “Built like an ox and
make love like a wild man.”

“I don’t think
I need to be hearing this.” Alex laughed.

“We’ll try to
keep it down tonight.” Paul winked. “Becky put you in the
furtherest
bedroom just for such
reasons.”

“Ignore the
moron, Alex.” This time Becky did blush, but her eyes twinkled as
she shoved past her husband. “I’ll show you to your room and you
can settle in.”

Once in the
bedroom allotted to him, Alex waited until Becky had left before he
looked around. It was nice, comfortable and homely. Crossing to the
window, he glanced out to see the quiet street, the homes and
gardens. Whicha was a typical small town where everyone knew
everyone, and as a boy he’d loved coming here to stay with Paul for
holidays. The town hadn’t changed from what he could see, apart
from a couple more businesses and houses.

He wondered how
much Harly Bentley had changed.

“Alex?”

Turning back to
the room to see Becky in the doorway, he raised his eyebrows
inquiringly.

“I’ve arranged
to have a small barbecue tonight. Nothing big,” she added
hurriedly. “Just a couple of friends you knew. Is that okay?”

“Sure. Be nice
to catch up with everyone.”

“Great. It
won’t start until about seven thirty, as Paul has a job to finish
and then he’ll pick up Harly on his way home and bring her here.
Remember Harly Bentley?”

He wasn’t
likely to ever forget her now. “Oh yeah.” He smiled slowly. “Tell
you what, why don’t I pick her up?”

“Really?” Becky
suddenly shook her head. “Oh, no, you just got here, you don’t want
to go out and start-”

“No worries.”
Tucking his hands into his pants pockets, he stood easily. “It’ll
be nice to go for a cruise around town, see what’s changed. I can
pick her up on my way back. Give me a chance to chat to her,
anyway.”

“Well…okay.”
Becky smiled. “I’ll give you her address before you go and let her
know that you’re picking her up.”

“No.” He smiled
back in a friendly manner, not giving a clue as to his darker
thoughts. “Let’s surprise her.”

Becky laughed.
“Sure, why not?”

Yeah, why not
indeed.

Becky left the
room and Alex gazed unseeingly at the spot she’d vacated. Harly
Bentley, his problem. He’d come here to sort out his problem.

He’d come here
to sort out Harly Bentley.

Time to plot
the ambush.

~*~

Wiping down the
last of the tables, Harly stood back and cast a critical glance
around. Yep, everything in the café was clean and tidy, ready for
the next day. She’d filled every salt, pepper and sugar shaker,
wiped down the tables and benches, cleaned out the coffee pot,
while the cook cleaned his section of the café and young Mark, the
teenage son of the owner, Maryanne, swept the floor and helped with
the dishes.

Maryanne locked
the door and stretched her arms while yawning. “Good days work,
people. Now go home.”

“Lovely.” Harly
jerked the apron strings loose while walking through into the small
room off the kitchen. Tossing the apron into the laundry basket,
she added, “Such a good day that we get double pay?”

“You wish.”
Maryanne dropped her own apron into the laundry basket.

“Bonus?”

“You wish even
more,” Mark said. “I’m Mum’s flesh and blood, and I practically
have to beg to get my wage.”

“Hey, I feed
and clothe you, boy.” Walking past him, Maryanne gave his ear an
affectionate pull. “Nothing says I have to pay you.”

“If you want
presents on your birthdays and Mothers Day, I need money.”

“You get
paid.”

“I don’t get a
bonus.”

“Your bonus is
the leftover cake and pies that you eat.”

“That’s a perk,
not a bonus.”

“Just get in
the car.” Maryanne peeked into the kitchen. “Finished in here,
Bill?”

“All done.” The
cook came out, cracking his neck side to side as he did so.

Harly
shuddered. “One day, Bill, you’ll crack your head right off.”

“Nah. Just
easing out the kinks.” He squinted at her. “Don’t knock it ‘til
you’ve tried it.”

“Sure. Like
never.”

He laughed, his
deep boom at total odds to his skinny frame.

In the little
room put aside for the staff, they all retrieved their keys and
bags and assorted other stuff before following Maryanne out the
back door. She locked it before waving goodbye to Bill and Harly
while following Mark to their car.

“Come on,” Bill
said, long legs striding over the packed earth. “I’ll drop you off
home.”

“Thanks for
that.” She waited as he unlocked the door, opening it herself when
he simply walked around and got in the drivers side.

No one had ever
accused Bill of being a gentleman, but then again, Harly thought
fondly as she settled into the cracked seat, neither had anyone
ever accused him of being mean. Bill was just Bill. He’d unlock the
door but he figured that if you had two good working hands - even
one good working hand - you could open your own door. He wasn’t a
man to waste energy on anything unnecessary.

Driving through
town was done silently. Bill wasn’t much for wasting words, either,
and he didn’t see much sense in talking about the day when he’d
just spent it with the same person, and that suited Harly just
fine. She had enough on her mind right now, especially since the
days work was over and unwelcome thoughts now had time to
intrude.

Tonight was the
barbecue. Everyone she knew would be there, some nodding
acquaintances to herself only, some cousins, others friends, but
all people she’d grown up with in this small town.

Tonight,
however, the star of the barbecue was neither friend, family, nor
nodding acquaintance. In fact, she wasn’t sure what to call Alex
Lawson. He was her cousin Paul’s best friend since primary school,
having met him in the city when Paul had been sent there to
boarding school. Paul and Alex had taken to each other straight
away and Paul spent many weekends at Alex’s home, while Alex, in
turn, spent at least two sets of school holidays a year with Paul’s
family in this little town.

The last time
he’d been here on school holidays was sixteen years ago. The few
times he’d come since then for the odd weekend, she’d managed to be
out of town or out of sight, but since they’d all grown up and he’d
joined the Army there hadn’t been much time for him to visit.

Until now.

Closing her
eyes, she inhaled deeply. Time changed a lot of people and she
wondered if he’d be the same, if he’d changed much, if she’d barely
recognize him. War changed people. He’d been through things she
could only imagine.

She guessed
she’d find out tonight.

Bill turned off
the main road onto a smaller bitumen road that needed repairs, the
old ute bouncing and jarring in the potholes.

“’Bout time the
Council got their arses in gear and fixed this,” he growled.

“I’ve written
them a letter.”

“Like that’s
goin’ to do any good.”

“I also had a
word to Bob’s wife.”

Bill grinned.
“The Mayor’s wife. She’ll light a fire under his arse.”

“Hey, the woman
wants to be served with a smile, I want to drive with a smile. We
worked it out.” Harly laughed.

Turning into a
short drive, Bill waited while Harly got out, opened the gate and
got back into the ute before driving up and parking in front of the
old house with the wrap-around veranda. Resting one arm on the car
door, he gazed out at the house, a faint nostalgic expression
crossing his face. “You did well with this house, Harly.”

“I like
Grandma’s house just the way it was.” Harly looked at the hanging
pots on the veranda, the black-eyed susans dipping down to curl
around the posts.

“You’ve kept it
in good condition.” He nodded.

The familiar
feeling of pride slid through her. “I try.”

Bill grunted
and shifted the gear stick into reverse, an open hint to Harly that
he wanted to go. Used to his changes of mood, she thanked him and
got out of the ute, waiting until he’d turned around and driven off
before going up the steps and unlocking the door.

In the hallway
she was met by Buffy, the collie, and she stroked the old dog’s
head. “Hey, girl. Did you miss me?”

Buffy licked
her hand, her tail wagging.

“Me, too.
Where’s the rest of the crew?”

Turning, Buffy
trotted back down the hallway and into the lounge, stopping to look
back at Harly.

Peeking in, she
smiled at the three cats sprawled out on the big, old sofa. “Hey,
boys and girl.”

They blinked at
her, Chuckie stretching and yawning loudly, blinking at her out of
his one yellow eye.

“Don’t all rush
me at once. I couldn’t stand the overload of love.” Approaching the
sofa, she stroked the cats, laughing as they purred but didn’t
move.

It was a
routine they all did every time she’d been out, regardless if it
was for an hour or all day.

“No time to
muck around tonight,” she informed the dog and cats. “I’ve got to
go out soon, so it’s meal time in the kitchen and you’ll have to
amuse yourselves for a couple of hours tonight. And you know what
that means.” She pointed at Pepper. “The combined dog/cat flap is
closed at night, so no getting up to mischief while I’m not here to
watch you.”

Pepper, being
so ancient it took her all her time to get from the lounge to the
kitchen, didn’t even bother to open her eyes.

“Wild thing.”
Harly affectionately rubbed the old black and white cat’s ears
before straightening and heading into the kitchen. “Right, dinner
time, you mob.”

The first thing
she did was lock the combined dog/cat flap as she did every night
before dishing out the bowls of cat and dog food and refilling the
two water bowls inside the laundry. Once the animals were set for
the night, she walked up the hallway and into the bedroom, hanging
her small bag on the hook behind the door and undressing. A shower,
hair wash, and then she stood in front of the open wardrobe door
and contemplated her choices.

The days might
be warmish, but the nights were getting cooler. Autumn was
arriving.

Reaching in,
she withdrew the navy slacks she’d made a week ago, followed by a
yellow t-shirt she’d bought on-line from the Big Dreams plus-sized
store in the city. It fell over her hips, hiding the
overly-generous curves in a neat drape, thanks to the false brown
cardigan sewn onto it. Sucking thoughtfully on her bottom lip, she
eyed her shoe choices. Never a woman who liked clothes or shoe
shopping, she only had the basics.

“It’s only a
BBQ at Paul’s house,” she muttered, yanking out a pair of
flat-heeled ballet flats. “Nothing special.”

A quick brush
of her hair and she tied it back into a high ponytail, a slick of
rose lipstick, a spritz of perfume and she was ready to go. Thank
God for thick, black eyelashes inherited from her Grandma, it meant
she didn’t have to worry about mascara.

The clock on
the mantle showed nearly seven o’clock. Paul would arrive soon, but
she was ready.

No sooner had
the thought crossed her mind than the bell at the front door
clanged loudly once. Looked like he was early and being polite.

“Since when do
you ring once only?” She swung the door open. “Normally you ring
the damned thing like there’s a fire…” Words trailing away, she
stared up at the man gazing down at her.