“David isn’t to blame for us not working out. You know how it was. Our love changed from the love we had into an unbreakable friendship. I don’t blame him for finding happiness with Corey, and you shouldn’t either. If we’d stayed together we’d have eventually ended up hating each other.”
“If you say so.”
“I do. I loved the time I had with David. He was what I needed back when we started out, but now I want more. I want someone who’ll make me happy. David did for a very long time and then we drifted apart. We couldn’t force ourselves to be in love with each other, and look how happy Corey makes him. David being happy makes me happy.”
G leant in and pulled me into a hug, I relaxed as I melted into my brother’s broad chest. I think I reassured him enough and hoped he would let the whole thing go.
I was wrong.
“Tell me about this Ren guy. Do I need to talk to him and see what his intentions are?”
Even though I could see the mischievous twinkle in my brother’s eyes I blanched a little in fear he may follow through on his threat. I didn’t want Ren in any way, shape, or form to think I was lusting after him. Hell, we were only just becoming friends let alone anything else. And right now I needed a friend at Billingsford Station. I had no intention of ever screwing up what was developing between Ren and me by throwing unwanted feelings into the mix.
“Take it easy, I’m only yanking your chain. Come on, we better go in and see what’s happening before Arthur decides to kick you to the curb and take over.”
“Let him. We all know he’s better suited at organising everything than I am. I want this not to be a disaster. Alec and Lester deserve the barbie they thought they were getting. If the caterers weren’t such arseholes I wouldn’t have needed to call you all in to bail me out.” I was all for anything to make this thing come off as smoothly as possible. There was no need to tell him or the others I had actually called them before I knew what was going on.
We re-entered the kitchen and I tried not to smile as Arthur was doing exactly what they had envisioned. He had a big spiral notebook out and was making lists of what had been done, what still needed to be done, and who needed to be doing it. Alec and Lester had come in and joined the impromptu meeting, this way they’d be kept informed of what was happening in preparation for the big day.
“I see the prodigal son has finally decided to grace us with his beautiful face.” David drawled. Corey and I both rolled our eyes at each other and smiled as I walked over and laid my chin on David’s shoulder and quickly scanned the list before him.
“I’ve already contacted the local chapter of the CWA and they’re coming in to help decorate tables. They said they did it every year for Aaron and wanted to know when to drop by. I said the usual time.” I chuckled remembering the feisty old broad I’d talked to on the phone. “Nancy said they’d land on our doorstep at the arse-crack of dawn, and to make sure I had plenty of tea and coffee on the go.”
“What’s the CWA?” Corey asked.
“It stands for Country Women’s Association,” I supplied.
Lester laughed right along with me. “I bet Mabel and her sister Maureen have already got a ton of pavlovas, lamingtons and other assortment of goodies for desserts. Every year they simply outdo the year before.”
“Nancy may have mentioned something along those lines. She said the women had already made everything on the list they had with Aaron plus a few extras. Nancy also said she had organised a portable cold room which should be,” I looked at my watch, “arriving in about an hour. I have strict instructions to make sure it’s hooked up and running and ready for when they get here.”
Arthur crossed the desserts off his list and frowned as he stared at the piece of paper. “Has anyone organised portable loos? With a crowd here you’ll need them.”
“Done.” Alec stated. “We have the same mob as last time bringing them out. It seems word has already gotten around how our new ‘chef-slash-organiser,’” he said making quote marks in the air, “isn’t letting people walk all over him, and none of the locals want to be pushed to the side in case next year we go elsewhere.”
“Seems to me like there could be a job opportunity in catering for an eager person in this part of the country to give those wankers at Kings Catering a run for their money,” Jayden said as he rapped his knuckles against the counter.
I couldn’t help but stare at my friend. Was he saying he was interested in starting up a business on this side of the country?
If he did it would be great having at least part of the old crowd near him for the long term but I couldn’t see Arthur leaving his job back in Queensland. Arthur was too set in his ways to up and change his whole life around on a maybe. My focus shifted to the man himself as he dropped the pen he had in his hand as he stared at his partner.
“Is this something you’d like to maybe discuss with me before you start making plans?” By the twinkle in his eyes I could tell he wasn’t mad at Jayden in the slightest. And it was obvious to everyone else when Jayden blew a raspberry back.
“I wasn’t suggesting we should be the ones. I’m only saying maybe it’s something to think about.” He shrugged and blushed slightly. “We’ve been talking about doing something different and this would certainly be different from what we’ve been doing together for the last six years, and way longer for you.”
My mind went into overtime as I watched the conversation unfolding before me.
“I mean,” Jayden spoke softly, “we could even do this back home… But for once it would be great if the money we brought in actually went to us for a change instead of those God-awful people who have taken over the restaurant.”
Arthur sighed and I watched, mesmerised as he walked around the bench and wrapped his arms around his lover. Jayden leant into him when Arthur kissed him on the temple. “You’re right, hon. This is something we could think about.”
The silence which fell in the kitchen was getting a little thick.
I was thinking desperately of a way to change the subject when an all too familiar voice sounded from outside and I felt the heat rising in my face and knew without a doubt I was blushing and worse still both David and G were staring at me. I fidgeted in place and suddenly found my hands absolutely fascinating as Ren and his daughter-in-law walked into the kitchen.
“Ren,” Lester called out cheerily. “What brings you here?”
“It’s my fault.” Darla stood with her agitated daughter in her smiled. “When I heard Frog had come over here and what he was up to I insisted I be brought over to help out.”
“That and Annie here was playing up. You seem to have the magic touch with her,” Ren said as he hobbled in after Darla.
The tightness around Ren’s mouth and eyes told me little Annie wasn’t the only one who was out of sorts. “Ren, sit down and get off your leg. How is it?”
Ren grimaced but sat on the stool I pulled out for him. “I’ve had worse. It’s nothing but a torn tendon and will heal in time. Until then I have to use these,” he indicated to the crutches he held in his hands.
“He’s been an old grumble-butt if you ask me.” Darla said as she walked over and handed her daughter to me. I couldn’t help but smile as the baby snuggled close and promptly fell asleep.
“The amazing Uncle Frog strikes again,” David said and I frowned at him because his voice didn’t sound happy and for the life of me I couldn’t work out why.
“Uncle Frog?” Ren asked curiously.
“There isn’t a child born on this earth who doesn’t fall instantly in love with Jeremiah upon meeting him. He’s like the fricken Pied Piper or something.”
“What’s wrong with that?” I hid my face in the baby’s hair as Ren defended me. “It seems a good quality to have if you ask me.”
Chancing to look across the room I caught my brother’s gaze as he stared at me and then at Ren pointedly, and I knew he was asking if this was the same Ren I’d been talking about earlier. G knew me too well for me
to lie so I nodded.
Jeez how many Rens did my brother think I knew?
“Ren, Darla, let me introduce you to this lot. This is Arthur and Jayden who are two of my dearest friends. This ruggedly handsome man is Mathew, who’s been my friend since we met way back in kindergarten, then these two guys are David and Corey, and lastly I’d like you to meet my brother Garreth, but we all call him G.”
Ren seemed to be focused solely on David and this both worried me and fascinated me all at the same time. Try as I might I couldn’t figure out why. As far as I could remember I had only once mentioned my relationship with David to Ren. I was curious as to what was running through his head. I wish to God I had the ability to read minds like I thought Ren did when we had first met.
I walked around the table gently rocking the sleeping child in my arms as the talk in the kitchen turned back to the reason we were all here. I contributed where I could but it was obvious how much better Arthur was at this than me. He had the natural instinct to guide everyone in what needed to be done. I smiled because in this role no one would excel like Arthur would. I knew now Lester and Alec were going to get the best damn barbie they could have possibly hoped for. I also got the feeling maybe I’d be seeing a lot more of my friends since I was certain now they would move over to WA and start Miller Rush Catering. Miller Rush had been the name they were going to use on their own restaurant if they ever opened the damn thing.
The sight of G talking quietly with Ren should’ve disquieted me. Strangely, it kind of comforted me how my brother was making an effort to get to know a man I was interested in even though said man was more than likely not interested with me.
You gotta love family.
Chapter Seven
Fricken Knackered
Translation: Tired as hell
It seemed as the week wore on every time I turned around there was something else to be done. If I wasn’t cooking, I was holding Annie while everyone else ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. Everywhere I went I felt somebody’s eyes boring into me. Ren, who had decided to stay here with Darla, was frequently perched in the corner of the kitchen out of the way. Between the looks I was getting from him and those I was getting from David, I wanted to throw my arms in the air and run away screaming.
With two days left to go everything was running smoothly.
Alec and Lester were impressed by how Arthur had brought everything together so nicely. They’d received a phone call earlier from Aaron who was sorry to say he wouldn’t be back as things weren’t going that great in Perth and he decided to move home to look after his mother permanently. Alec and Lester had been beside themselves when G said if they were in a bind he’d stay and cook for their station. I was dumbfounded. Yes, my brother was an excellent cook. I just never realised this was something he’d ever wanted to do with his life. As of Australia Day, G was going to be staying here. Ecstatic as I was, I didn’t know what to say to him as I followed him out onto the back patio.
He was on the phone to Mum and organising for her to pack up his flat and ship the necessary stuff over and put in storage what was left. I leant with my back against the wall as I listened to him end the call.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked.
He smiled. “I’m sure. At least living this far away from home I’ll still have family close. It’s not like I won’t ever see them again.”
“But why be a cook?”
“I like cooking.” He walked over and sat on the edge of the patio table. “I’m twenty four years old and I never ever really knew what I wanted to be. These last few days here with you all have given me incentive to want to stay here. Plus, in my down time I have actually made a friend or two here.”
I frowned. “Who?” I hadn’t once seen my brother talk to anyone.
“Now that would be kissing and telling wouldn’t it?”
“You’ve been kissing?” Damn he worked fast. He’d been here less time than I had and he’d already been kissing someone. A thought crossed my mind. “Was it only kissing?”
The flush he was now wearing gave me my answer.
“Who is she?”
“That, my dear brother, is none of your business. You need to stop thinking about my acts of intimacy and start thinking about your own.” G said with a stoic face.
“My ‘intimacy,’ as you put it, is all but non-existent. No one is interested in me… Hell, I wish they were. I’ll have to live vicariously through you.” I laughed as he playfully gave me a shove.
“Idiot,” he mumbled before he walked back into the kitchen.
I was tired of being cooped up in the kitchen and I walked to the edge of the patio and gazed out toward the paddock. I could see some of the men on horseback and the way the sunset was falling behind them it made them look like silhouettes. The picture before me was simply stunning.
“Do guys on horsebacks do it for you?”
“Shit! Ren, you scared the clackers out me,” I said as I spun round and faced him.
His mouth quirked but didn’t quite turn into a smile. “You didn’t answer my question.”
As he made his way to stand beside me I turned and once again watched the riders. “Yes, I like guys on horseback. If you’re asking do I like those guys in particular, then I don’t know because they’re too far away and I can’t even tell who they are.”
He grunted as he sat on the patio rail. “Would you be interested if you knew who they were?”
What was this? Were we playing twenty questions now? For some reason I got the feeling my answer was important.
“I’m not interested in anyone from Hazeldowns. I promise I haven’t been intimate with anyone at all. You know what happened at home and since being here we’ve been flat out. We also took over management of the fair to free up Alec and Lester.”
He scrutinized me for a bit longer before asking what I guess was the question he had wanted answered all along. “What about David?”
I shrugged. “What about him? He and Corey are happy together. I wish them all the luck in the world.”
“No regrets?”
“Have you been talking to my brother? I’m going to tell you the same thing I told him: David’s not to blame for us breaking up. We drifted apart and I’m glad he’s found someone who makes him happy. The only thing I regret is I’m still to find my own somebody.”
Ren reached out and grabbed my shoulder and I instantly stilled. I wasn’t sure what was about to happen or why he had touched me but I waited to find out.
“I’m glad you’re over him. I think he’s all wrong for you anyway.” He squeezed my shoulder before letting go.
Disappointment rushed through me like a freight train. I moved out of his reach and took a deep calming breath. I was not going to get my hopes up that a straight man was really gay.
Thinking like that only ended up with someone getting their feelings crushed. Ren left when someone called him from inside and I was grateful for a moment of alone time to get my feelings under control.
I almost jumped out of my skin for a second time when Darla spoke softly beside me. Jeez, had the patio turned into Grand Central Station when I wasn’t looking?
“You seem like you’re thinking some very troublesome thoughts, my friend. Wanna share?” She winked at me conspiratorially. “I promise to keep your secrets.”
“I have no secrets,” I retorted. “I’m trying to make sense out of the crap I have running around inside my head. After awhile it gets kinda confusing.”
“Would one of those thoughts be about Ren?” She asked innocently.
I shrugged. “Maybe. He confuses me.”
“In what way?”
I bit my lip as I thought about how much to tell her. “I’m not exactly sure what he wants from me. He keeps giving me mixed signals.”
“He must really like you to be confusing you this much.”
“Huh?”
She stared at me her eyes growing wider with every passing second. “Yo
u do know Ren’s gay, right?”
“He’s gay?” I blurted out loudly before I could stop myself. “I didn’t know at all. Hold on, what about Jamie?”
“He slept with someone he shouldn’t have when he was seventeen. He wound up married and miserable with a child on the way.”
“Oh.” I was shocked.
She slapped her palm down on the rail. “That bitch gave him and Jamie nothing but grief for the next eighteen years. When Jamie turned eighteen he told his father they were leaving and she wasn’t going with them. Ren filed for divorce the next day and she fought him for three years until she gave up and moved on to someone else.”
“What was her name?”
“Tessa Randall. She never gave up her maiden name, which was a blessing in disguise if you ask me. She’s no longer a part of our lives and never will be again. Last we heard she was living in the inner suburbs somewhere in Sydney.” She patted my hand.
“Give Ren some time. He’ll get around to telling you how he feels eventually.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep me from laughing out loud. “Hon, I think you’re barking up the wrong tree. Ren isn’t interested me. Hell, he’s only known me for a few weeks. You don’t give your heart away that easily.”
She slapped me on the chest. “Why do you think Jamie and I are here? Ren asked us to come and meet you. He wanted our opinion.”
I was on fire. My whole fricken body had burst into flames and I was lit up like an emergency beacon. There was no way possible what I had heard was true. I’m gay. Wouldn’t I know if someone was interested in me?
“Frog, are you okay? Frog?”
I came back to the present with her flapping her hands in front of my face. “I’m not sure you have what you’re saying right. I’m…” my words trailed off as I scrubbed a hand over my face.
“You have feelings for him, though. All anyone has to do is watch you whenever you two are in the same room together. You watch him.”
“Oh crap!”
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