He sat back in his chair, placed his hands behind his head and stretched. Deep down he suspected that there was something more going on than just a tricky scene. Alistair Tremayne had been circling the female lead, Tansy McCallister, for some time. They’d met, rescued each other, had hot, mind-blowing sex and some scintillating banter. But this was the point where they realised that there could be something deeper between them. However no matter which way Matt came at it, he couldn’t get the damn thing right. Either there wasn’t enough connection between the characters or it ended up sounding way too cheesy.
Matt closed his eyes for a minute. The house was quiet; the only sounds he could hear were the soft scrape of the vine scratching against the old verandah and the tick of his grandfather’s clock. He glanced up at the clock and noticed that it was almost one thirty in the morning. A shiver coursed through him – all of a sudden he felt cold, tired and very much alone.
He walked over to the lounge-room window and pulled back the curtain. As he stared across towards Bluestone Ridge he could just barely make out a light. He guessed he wasn’t the only one still up this late.
He could do with some company and it was too late to ring his sister or Nathan. With a sigh he went into the kitchen and put the kettle on. Maybe all he needed was a good night’s sleep. Matt hadn’t noticed the quiet when he was in the city, even when he’d cut himself off after the accident. Never once had he been conscious of it pressing down on him the way he was tonight. In fact, he had been more aware of the lack of silence, such as when his mother had come to visit and had felt the need to fill every tranquil moment with an inane comment. He knew that she loved him and was only doing what she thought was right, which was why he’d felt so guilty that all he wanted her to do was to go home and leave him in peace.
But tonight, for the first time in a long time, he wished there was someone there to share the space with. As he poured his tea he wondered if it was too late to go and talk to the goats. Okay, Matt – get a grip. Perhaps he should take everybody’s advice and get a dog. He’d always wanted one, ever since he was a kid. Unfortunately his dad was more of a cat person and they had never been allowed to have a puppy. But he could get one now, and also he’d have to walk it and that would ensure that he got his exercise in.
He made his tea and carried it to the bedroom, where he climbed into bed and drank it while he sat, mulling things over. The more he thought about it, the more the idea of getting a dog began to gel. Setting down his empty mug, he flicked off the bedside lamp and lay down to sleep. It didn’t take him long to drift off, although he was in for an unsettled night. Matt’s dreams woke him up several times. As soon as he opened his eyes they faded and after a couple of seconds he wasn’t able to even remember what the hell they’d been about – well, not really. The last time it happened was somewhere near dawn. Something lingered at the edge of his consciousness – he could almost see a face-off and exchange of words between his imaginary hero Alistair and Tansy. Yet even as he was trying to grasp the dream it morphed into him and Bec arguing while being surrounded by small black puppies.
Matt abruptly sat up in bed and ran his hand through his hair. God, that was weird. Perhaps skolling a mug of tea before bed hadn’t been such a great idea after all.
By the time he got out of bed it was almost eight thirty. Matt felt a little groggy from the disrupted sleep but a hot shower made him feel a little more human. As he let the almost too-hot water run over his body and steam up the bathroom, he formulated a plan. It wasn’t just the peculiar dream, nor was it a decision made on a whim. The truth was, the more he thought about it, the more getting a dog felt right.
After getting dressed and having some breakfast, Matt did some research online about animal adoption and the nearest animal shelters. After a couple of phone calls, he grabbed the car keys and headed off to Bendigo.
***
Bec knew she should just flick off the light and go to sleep. She had to be up . . . God, in another five hours, she thought, as she glanced at the alarm clock next to her bed. Damn it, this was all Matt Harvey’s fault. If she hadn’t picked up his damn book and started reading it after dinner, she wouldn’t be in this predicament now.
She’d been promising herself that she’d read Complicity but life and the farm kept getting in the way. But tonight had been different. Her father was badgering her for a detailed breakdown of her day, but had developed a headache and had gone to bed early. Bec had to admit that she sometimes found the nightly grilling about the farm hard to take. However she knew where her father was coming from. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t trust her to run Bluestone Ridge, it was more about him being involved and holding on to some control. She knew that, but still some nights it was annoying.
After Jack had gone to bed and Maggie had settled down to watch one of her favourite shows, Bec had slipped away upstairs and started to read.
Matt’s book had kept her turning the pages as she followed Alistair Tremayne through his action suspense adventure. All of a sudden, with less than a quarter of the book to go, it was one thirty in the morning. It frustrated the hell out of Bec – she needed to find out what was going to happen to Alistair and Tansy, but could she really herd sheep on no sleep?
Reluctantly, Bec put the book aside. She’d just have to wait until tomorrow night. Wait, no – she’d promised the girls she’d have dinner with them. Damn it. It looked as if she was going to have two late nights in a row, because there was no way she wasn’t going to finish it.
***
Bec was making her weekly stop at the Gumnut Bakery. She dropped in during the week as well, but the Saturday-morning stop had become a habit. She’d been doing this ever since her parents had bought her a bright red bike for Christmas when she was ten. As soon as she got it Bec was off and had never looked back. She loved the freedom the bike had given her and insisted on riding it whenever she could. She was always looking for a chance to run an errand, so her mother had given her the task of riding into town and buying a couple of loaves from the Gumnut. Well, the bike may have been stored in the shed for the past seven years, but Bec still kept up her ritual run into town to grab the bread every Saturday morning.
It had developed into more than a simple shopping trip. Now it involved a catch-up gossip with Tash, dashing into Davey’s store for some locally made jam and the odd magazine, and a quick coffee with Sally. Depending on her work obligations, sometimes the Saturday was short, while other weeks she’d get to linger.
Bec was just coming out of the bakery when Tanya stepped in front of her. She hadn’t changed, Bec thought as she regarded the other woman. Bec took in a breath and chided herself. Really, Bec, what did you expect? You may wish that Tanya would lose her looks or grow two heads but let’s face it – it’s never gonna happen. They rarely bumped into each other and in Bec’s opinion that was a good thing. It had been worse when Bec and Zane had broken up. Tanya had worn a perpetual smug smile on her face. She’d spouted off to a lot of people about true love winning out and general crap like that – and how she was going to be Mrs Zane Turner before too long. But as the years had rolled by, Tanya’s smug smile had begun to fade. It was pretty clear to everyone in town that Zane had played her as well.
‘I need to speak to you.’
‘I doubt that we have anything to say to each other,’ Bec answered with a frown as she stepped around Tanya and walked to her car.
‘No, stop. I have a right to know what’s going on between you and Zane.’
Bec paused at her car and stared back at the other woman. ‘Yeah, like I had a right to know what you and Zane were up to four years ago.’
Tanya ignored the comment. ‘Just tell me – are you and Zane back together?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous. I wouldn’t touch Zane Turner if he was the last man in town.’
‘Don’t lie.’
‘You ask me a personal question and then because you don’t like the answer you accuse me of lying. You’re unbelievabl
e, Tanya – you really are.’ Bec shook her head as she yanked open the car door.
‘I need the truth.’
‘I told you the truth. I’m not seeing Zane, I’m not with Zane, and I sure as hell don’t want him. Is that clear enough for you?’
‘I don’t believe you.’
‘And – there we go again. I really don’t care what you believe,’ Bec said as she got into the ute.
‘We were fine – happy – and then he turned up at my place and ended it. I didn’t see it coming. Can you imagine it, just out of the blue like that?’
Bec raised an eyebrow. Seriously, the nerve of the woman was astounding. ‘Funny, I can imagine it, actually.’
‘I reckon he’s thrown me over for someone else. Tell me the truth, Bec – is it you?’
‘This is between the two of you. It’s got nothing to do with me. If Zane is seeing another woman, all I can tell you is that it’s not me. It’ll never be me.’ Bec turned the key in the ignition and the ute sprang to life. ‘Once burned, twice shy – believe me, I don’t want him.’
Tanya went to open her mouth but Bec didn’t give her the chance. She threw the ute into gear and drove off towards Sally’s place. She just prayed that none of the town gossips had witnessed the meeting, because the last thing she needed was another round of whispers speculating about her non-existent love life.
***
Matt didn’t mean to fall in love, but he did. He couldn’t help it – two soft brown eyes latched onto him and wouldn’t let him go. Boxey was a border collie cross. No one really knew what he was crossed with but Boxey hadn’t seemed to have grown into his ears yet. He was black with splotches of white on his chest and paws, and as he stared at Matt, he cocked his head to one side and his tail thumped on the floor. And Matt was gone.
Matt hadn’t had any preconceived ideas when he’d walked into the animal shelter. All he knew was that he was willing to give a dog a loving home. He didn’t mind what breed or age it was as long as there was a connection and Matt didn’t have to literally run after it – with his gammy leg that wasn’t really an option.
‘Looks like you’ve made a friend,’ the woman who was showing him around said with a smile. ‘Here, I’ll go and get him if you like.’
‘He’s gorgeous.’
‘We call him Boxey. He’s about six months old and has been desexed and had his injections.’
‘So how did he come here?’
‘He was abandoned and had a rough start. But despite it all, he’s a lovely dog. He likes walks and playing with his chew toy, don’t you, Boxey?’
The dog’s tail thumped again.
‘Would you like to meet him?’
Matt nodded. ‘Yes, please.’
The lady gave him a knowing smile. ‘There’s a chair over there, if you’d like to sit down.’
‘Thanks.’
Matt sat down and waited for the shelter lady to release Boxey from the caged area.
‘Hey, boy, hey, Boxey,’ Matt said when the woman brought him over. He held out his hand to let the dog sniff it and waited to see if he’d come closer for a pat. Boxey did better than that – he walked forward, sat down in front of Matt and placed his paw on his bad leg. Matt rubbed behind Boxey’s ears and the dog looked up trustingly.
Yep, Matt was gone – hook, line and sinker.
***
Matt had just pulled up outside his place when he saw Bec’s ute driving down the dirt road. He got out of the car, raised his hand and watched as she slowed down and stopped beside him.
She wound down a window. ‘Hi there. Are you okay?’
‘Yep, I just thought I’d introduce you to someone,’ Matt said with a grin.
Bec jumped out of her car and headed over to him. ‘Sure – why not?’
Matt stepped back so Bec could see past him into the passenger seat. ‘This is Boxey.’
‘Oh hello, aren’t you cute,’ Bec said as she peered in. ‘Did you just get him . . . her today?’
‘Yep, you’re the first person to see him.’
‘I’m honoured,’ she said as she glanced back over her shoulder and smiled.
It was just a smile but it was warm and sunny and Matt felt its heat. So instead of standing there staring back like an idiot, he walked around the car and opened the passenger door. He hoped his reaction hadn’t been too obvious.
‘Come on, Boxey. Come out and say hello to Bec,’ Matt said encouragingly as he picked up the dog’s lead. After a moment’s hesitation, the puppy scrambled out of the car and sat down next to him.
Bec knelt down beside him and scratched behind his ears. ‘He’s lovely – he really is. Why don’t you take Boxey in and show him his new home and I’ll bring in all the doggy paraphernalia.’ She nodded towards the dog toys, food and bed in the back of Matt’s car.
‘But I can—’
‘I know. But if I lug in the stuff then I won’t feel so guilty about asking for a coffee.’
A slow smile spread over Matt’s lips. ‘Alright then – I’ll go and put the kettle on.’
***
About half an hour later Matt bit back a curse as he walked Bec to her car. They’d had a nice time drinking coffee and playing with Boxey. He would never have guessed it from their first meeting but Bec was easy to talk to and Matt realised how comfortable he was around her. That was until she gave him a look that made his heart stumble and take a full three seconds to recover. The problem was that he doubted Bec was even aware of what she was doing to him. God, he hadn’t felt this kind of thing since he first laid eyes on Leanne.
Just as Matt and Bec reached the gate, Zane Turner drove past. He slowed down and gave Matt a dirty stare. If Matt hadn’t been made of sterner stuff he would have thought the icy glare was enough to kill him.
‘I don’t think I’m one of his favourite people,’ Matt said as Zane drove off, his tyres kicking up a cloud of dirt as he went.
‘I wouldn’t worry. Zane doesn’t have any favourite people, he’s too busy looking after himself.’
‘No doubt you being here will earn me another lecture.’
Bec stepped back and regarded Matt for a moment. ‘Do you care?’
‘Not in the least. He can rant all he wants – it doesn’t affect me at all.’
Bec nodded as she slid into her ute. ‘That’s good, Matt. I’m glad he doesn’t intimidate you.’
‘Well, I suppose he can’t help acting like a bully boy. Probably always been that way.’
‘Zane always got what he wanted, his dad saw to that. Which may be fine in small doses, if we’re talking about objects, like cars and toys, but it becomes more of a problem if he’s dealing with people. He’s been indulged since he was a little kid and now he assumes that he’ll always get what he wants.’
‘You sound like you feel sorry for him.’
Bec turned her head and looked down the road at the fading dust cloud. ‘I guess I do on some level. Although, I think I’m only beginning to realise that now. I had to get past all the anger and pain first – it took me a while.’
‘I’m sorry.’
Bec shook her head. ‘Don’t be, I’m not. I mean, it was obviously better that I found out what he was really like before I actually married him.’
‘Glad to hear it.’
‘I’m not the same woman I was four years ago, and I don’t think Zane actually gets that. He believes that now he’s changed his mind, everything will go back to the way it was before,’ Bec said as she glanced over at Matt. ‘We grew up together, went to the same schools. We started going out with each other just before Year 12. We were just kids, young and stupid, and I believed everything he said. If you talk about naive, I’d have been the poster girl. His father encouraged the relationship; hell, even my dad thought it was sweet.’
‘Why was that, do you think?’
‘I suppose it was the idea that Bluestone Ridge and Cara Downs would be joined together. Zane’s father saw it as an opportunity, whereas I think Dad thought I�
�d just fallen for the boy next door. I guess I had. I took everything at face value, so when Zane said he was hanging out with his mates, naturally I believed him. There had been a few sketchy rumours about Zane playing around, but I didn’t believe a word of it. That is, until I caught him out.’
‘Do you mean literally?’
‘Yep.’
‘Ouch, that had to hurt.’
‘It did at the time but I’m over it.’
‘Maybe you should tell Turner that.’
‘I have, but Zane latches on to an idea and runs with it. It might take him a while to grasp the fact that when I say it’s not going to happen, I mean it.’ Bec leant against the gate. ‘So are you going to the school fair this Saturday?’
‘Maybe. I guess everyone goes?’
‘Pretty much. It’s the school’s big annual fundraiser. Generally the whole town comes out to support it, so believe me when I say that your absence would be noticed.’
‘Ah, well in that case I’d better go.’ Matt smiled. ‘What’s it like?’
‘Oh, you know, raffles, lucky dips, a sausage sizzle – all the usual things. The local businesses all get behind it so it ends up looking like a farmers’ market.’
‘I thought we only had four shops in town, and one of them is the pub. Will they have a tasting stall?’
Bec laughed. ‘I never know when you’re serious or not, and no, the pub won’t have a stall.’
‘Well, I will look forward to experiencing it for myself. Shall I meet you there?’
Bec pushed herself off the gate. ‘Alright, I’ll see you outside the school at midday on Saturday,’ she said before she turned away and walked towards her car.
Chapter 11
A buzz of anticipation filtered through Matt as he pulled up outside the school. He knew it wasn’t so much for the fete but the fact he was about to see Bec again. Was it a date? He wasn’t sure, but he was just happy that she had asked him to meet her here. It was busy – well, relatively speaking. There were more cars on the main street than he’d ever seen.
He parked across from the school, grabbed his camera and wandered over. There were a lot of people milling around the main gate but Matt spotted Bec almost straight away. She was wearing her obligatory jeans, boots and shirt but it was the way she wore them that made all the difference to Matt. There was a chill in the air and Bec had thrown on a leather jacket with a woolly lining.
Country Roads Page 15
