“I’m not that desperate.”
“Honey, you issued a challenge.”
“Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack.”
She just shook her head at him.
“I can guarantee you won’t be dumped on the side of the road at night on your own.”
“Thanks, Ghost, but I’ll find my own man.” Ali drained the last of the tea from her cup before snapping it briskly back onto the saucer. “However, when you need a hand to find a man, let me know.”
“Two things wrong with that,” he drawled.
“Oh?” She smiled innocently.
“Yeah. One, I don’t want to be left on the side of the road.”
“You’re like a dog with a bone.”
“And two, I don’t need help finding a woman.”
“You’re still single.”
“I still don’t need help finding a woman. I have plenty of female company anytime I want it.” No bragging, a true statement.
“It’s been awhile since your last girlfriend.”
“Have you been keeping track?”
“You weren’t exactly begging Linda to stay with you.”
“She got a job in the city.” Lazily, he swirled the coffee in his cup while watching Ali closely.
“You didn’t ask her to stay.”
“Why would I?”
“Undying love?”
“I didn’t love her.”
“So what was it? I mean, she was practically sucking face with you every chance she got.”
Ah Linda His last girlfriend could kiss a man with enough expertise to make his toes curl. Good memories. Still… “Goodness me, Miss Mackay, have you been spying on me?”
“Kind of hard to miss you two doing everything but fornicating in the middle of the street.”
“Jealous?”
“Hardly.”
He grinned at her. The light was back in her eyes, the green dancing with laughter, just the way he liked to see them. Laughter, not shadows. He just had to make sure the laughter stayed there. Crap, that also meant that maybe he should give her a sneaky hand to find the right man. God knew she had bad taste that got her into trouble.
Cripes, the things he did for his friends. It was enough to make him shake his head at himself.
“So, what time do you want me to be ready?” Ali queried.
“Huh?”
“Tomorrow night. Ghost hunt.”
“Oh.” He refocussed. “Be ready at nine.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Looking forward to it.” And that was no lie.
~*~
Entering the house, Ali locked the door behind her and headed for her bedroom. Entering, she tossed her little clutch on the dressing table, kicked off her shoes and yanked her dress off before heading for the shower. By the time she was back out, Minx, the old ginger cat, was sitting on the floor beside her bed.
“Hey, Minxie.” Bending down, she lovingly stroked the old cat’s ears.
Minx purred softly, her wise old eyes half closing in pleasure.
“Another disastrous date,” Ali informed her. Pulling on her nightie, she popped her head through the neckline to find Minx regarding her. “Same old story.”
Minx blinked.
“But Ty came to the rescue yet again. Saved, lectured, given soothing tea. Same old story again.”
Minx purred.
“Yeah, I know. Hero to the rescue. It’s just a shame he’s not my hero.” Sighing, Ali pulled the bedclothes back and slid into bed. Patting the mattress, she smiled as Minx jumped up, watching as she settled herself stiffly into a small ball beside her.
Picking up the book lying on the bedside table, Ali settled down to read. It was well past midnight when she finally put the book down and turned off the bedside lamp. Tomorrow was another day, and even if she didn’t have a hero to look forward to she did have a ghost hunt to intrigue her. An evening spent with Ghost never failed to bring her spirits up. She truly didn’t know what she’d do without her old friend, die of boredom, probably.
She was awoken just after dawn by the feel of Minx jumping down off the bed. Coming up onto one elbow, she pushed her hair back off her face and peered blearily at the clock. Six thirty in the morning, which meant that Lori was home. Rolling over in the bed, she watched the doorway. Sure enough, her sister passed the doorway with Minx in her arms. Glancing in, she saw that Ali was awake and stopped.
“Hey,” Ali said.
“Hey.” Lori walked into the bedroom. “How was your date last night?”
“Let’s not go there.”
“Ah.”
“Okay, let’s.” Ali sat up in the bed. “Here’s the rundown. Jerk, left on roadside, jerk, saved by Ghost, cup of tea, home. And Brian’s a jerk. Did I mention that?”
Lori’s eyes widened. “That’s dangerous.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Tommy makes a safe cup of tea.”
“I mean Brian leaving you on the side of the road alone.”
“Actually…” Ali cleared her throat. “I got out myself.”
“Ali!”
Ali scowled. “Hey, I wasn’t going to stay in the same car as him, especially after he wanted me to show him my chubby thighs.”
“He said that?”
“I was his first ‘chubby bubby’ to screw, apparently.”
Lori pulled a sympathetic face.
“So I left him.” Folding her arms, Ali nodded decisively. “No second chances.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Ah well.” Ali shrugged. “Better to find out what a jerk he is now rather than later.”
“Still, he seemed so nice.”
Ali shrugged again.
“Are you all right?”
“Fine.” Ali smiled. “In fact, I have a date tonight.”
Surprised, Lori raised her eyebrows.
“Ghost and I are going ghost hunting.”
Lori smiled. “Where to this time?”
“Screaming Pond.”
“I’ve heard of that.”
“You have?”
“Yes. Ghost told me about it yesterday.”
“Really? How come he didn’t tell me?”
“You were at work.”
“Oh.”
Lori yawned. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re safe. I’m going for a shower and then I’m hitting the bed.”
“Quiet night?”
“Same old, same old.”
“So a certain ambulance didn’t pull in for refuelling?”
Lori blushed. “No.”
Ali grinned. “What a shame.”
“Stop it.”
“Come on, he’s cute. Even I’ve noticed that.”
“So you date him.”
“Doesn’t do a thing for me.”
“But Brian did?” Lori shot back.
“I dumped his arse.”
Shaking her head, Lori backed through the doorway. “I am not doing this.”
“Aw, come on. It’s so much more fun than discussing my failed romances.”
“For you it’s fun, for me…”
“What?”
Lori disappeared from view, her voice floating back. “I’m tired and I don’t want to talk about it.”
Lying back against the pillow, Ali sighed. If romance seemed far away for her, then for Lori she wondered if it would ever happen. Maybe they’d end up two spinster sisters still living in the same house years from now. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing, except Ali wanted a husband, a home of her own, the fun and companionship of someone who loved her and understood her, who could laugh with her and share life’s ups and downs.
Going by her dates, that wasn’t going to happen for a long time, if ever.
With another sigh, she rolled over onto her stomach and buried her head in the pillow. That was a problem for another day.
The next time she awoke, the sun was streaming through the bedroom window and a glance at the clock showed it was past ten in the morning. Throwing back
the covers, she got up and staggered across the hallway to the bathroom before returning to get dressed and go to the kitchen.
Minx appeared briefly as Ali waited for the kettle to heat. Getting a bowl of mince from the ‘fridge, Ali served her up a saucer full along with a bowl of cat milk. Pouring a cup of coffee, she watched fondly as Minx ate, following her to the back door when she’d finished. Opening the door, she stepped onto the veranda, breathing deeply of the smell of freshly mowed lawn. Some neighbour had been industrious.
Minx walked stiffly down the step onto the back lawn, stopping to sniff the air before daintily making her way to the flowerbed.
Leaning against the veranda post, Ali studied the backyard. The flowerbeds were due to be weeded, the lawn needing mowing, and the tree needed trimming. It was a testament to the fact that Ali and Lori needed to do one of their garden attacks, get everything done at once as they usually did. While she hated the actual gardening, Ali enjoyed the rewards their hard toil reaped.
Lucky Ghost, however, was able to afford a gardener. He watered his own gardens, which wasn’t hard to do considering everything was on automatic timers, and his gardener came in once a month to weed and clip and do whatever was needed. Ghost just sat back and enjoyed the yard.
Granted, he worked hard. She’d seen his lights on all hours of the night and knew he’d be pecking faithfully away at his computer, churning out books to thrill and chill his growing legions of fans. When it came to his writing, Ghost was dedicated. She guessed it took dedication for any writer to become famous and remain that way.
She looked up at his bedroom window. Two years ago he’d added another story to his single story house consisting of a large bedroom with an ensuite and a large writing room containing his computer, desk, books and whatever else a writer required.
She found herself wondering if Linda had seen his bedroom. Probably had, and no doubt along with a number of women he’d dated. Ghost wasn’t celibate, of that she knew. One night she’d heard some rather robust, lustful sounds coming from his house. Interestingly enough, it hadn’t come from his top bedroom but from his kitchen. It boggled the mind just what her blonde friend had done to a woman in his kitchen. Unlike his books, which would have had her murdered, terrorized, or scared stiff, the reality was that he’d made his date scream in lustful, abandoned delight.
Ali wondered what that would feel like. Scream a man’s name in passionate abandonment. Somehow, she doubted she’d ever know.
Minx chose that moment to stiffly make her way back across the lawn, and placing her cup on the floor, Ali stepped down into the yard to meet her. Bending down, she gently picked the cat up, rubbing her nose against the little bony head. Minx had lost some weight the last year, though the vet had assured the sisters that Minx was healthy, just old. She was already on medicine for her arthritis.
“Come on, old girl,” Ali said softly. “Let’s get you inside and onto Lori’s bed.” Turning, she went back into the house.
Minx purred as Ali carried her through the house and into Lori’s room. Her sister was buried under a pile of covers, only the top of her head showing, her brown hair in a messy braid. Ali carefully placed Minx down onto the mattress where she immediately padded up the bed to curl up on the spare pillow. Comfortable and content, she blinked her eyes at Ali and settled down to sleep.
Smiling, Ali left the room, returning to the kitchen to eat a late breakfast and contemplate her day. Studying the cupboards, she decided she needed to do some food shopping, not to mention clothes shopping. Her wage wasn’t that crash hot and she knew the local clothes shop, ironically called Petite? by her weirdo friend, Clara, who also owned it, was having a sale. She had a huge selection of clothes for women of all sizes, including an awesome plus-sized range. It said a lot for Clara that she was as thin as a whippet.
After making a list, Ali took the cash out of the communal jar she and Lori used to put the food money into on their paydays. Leaving the house, she got into her car and drove to the shops. At the local supermarket she filled the shopping basket with everything written on the list, off-loading it into the boot of the car before heading for Petite?
She spotted Clara holding a bunch of clothes and heading towards the change rooms. “Hey.”
“Hi there, you.” Clara didn’t stop her advancement to the change rooms. “Looking for something in particular?”
“A couple of tops.”
“There’s some really nice ones towards the middle.”
Ali eyed the middle racks dubiously. It was going to be a squash, by the look of it. Women of all sizes were gathered around the clothes, searching for things. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained. So she dived right in. When it came to bargains, she could sniff out a lot.
Half an hour later, she was standing at the counter holding five tops.
Clara took them, nodding her approval. Her face, always gaunt, showed amusement. “So, I heard Brain dumped you.”
Geez, that rumour hadn’t taken long to get around. “Seriously? I only dated him last night.” Ali leaned against the counter.
“Hey, small town and all. You know what it’s like.” Clara folded a pale green t-shirt with black lace around the neckline and slid it into a bag. “But knowing you, I’m taking it that you dumped him?”
“Absolutely. Dumped his arse.”
“Which is why you ended up walking back into town.” Smiling, Clara folded a low cut sapphire blue shirt.
“I got out of his car. He didn’t kick me out. Let’s get that straight.” Ali scowled. “He wanted something I wasn’t prepared to give him.”
“Your virginity?”
“Bit late for that.”
“I thought so. So what else did he want?” Clara winked. “Apart from the obvious.”
“The obvious was exactly what he wanted. And insultingly so, too.”
“Bastard.” Holding up a pale pink t-shirt with lacy black scrolls over it, Clara raised her eyebrows. “Not your usual choice of colour, Ali.”
“It’s for Lori. You know how she is about shopping for clothes.”
“Hates it. Don’t know why. I have some of the best clothes here for you full-figured ladies and they’re not always expensive.”
Ali shrugged. What Clara said was true, but it was an undeniable truth that Lori was shy at the best of times and shopping for clothes was at the top of her hate list. The only time she went was when Ali dragged her along, or she got desperate because the clothes she had were falling off her well-rounded rump in rags.
“That girl needs to get a grip on herself.” Clara placed the last of the tops in the bag. “She’s so pretty. Both of you are. You need to dress like it.”
“Hey!” Ali frowned. “I dress nicely.”
“Okay, I meant your sister more.”
“I dress nicely all the time.”
“Geez, get a grip!” Clara rang up the price. “Stop being such a sensitive ninny and give me a hundred bucks.”
Handing over the money, Ali said, “I think I deserve more discount for your very callous words concerning me.”
“I deserve more money for putting up with you.” Clara tucked the receipt into the bag. “So how is Lori these days? Haven’t seen her for awhile.”
“She’s on the nightshift at the servo.”
“She’s such a lovely lady, shame no one in this shit-hole town sees that. These men don’t know what they’re missing out on.”
“What am I, chopped liver?”
“You go and out and look for what you want, Ali. Lori hides.”
Almost immediately Ali straightened, her love for her sister bringing out her instinctive protectiveness. “Lori is shy, but she’s content with her life.”
“What if you find someone? She’ll be left alone.”
“Sometimes what one person sees as a problem, another person will see as perfect.”
Clara studied her before nodding, her expression softening. “You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just Lori is so sweet.”
Ali relaxed. “Yeah, she is. But she’s fine, don’t worry.”
“Okay.” Clara glanced behind Ali. “Another customer coming. How about we go for a cuppa and a bite to eat next Friday night? Been awhile since we did that.”
“Sure thing.” Picking up the bag, Ali nodded her thanks and left the shop.
Stowing the bag in the back seat, she started the car and drove home. She knew what people thought about her sister – sweet, shy Lori, bound to be a spinster for eternity – but they didn’t know her as well as Ali did, her sister was content with her quiet life.
There was only one thing that rippled her sister’s calm surface, and it was one that Ali teased her about but wasn’t sure if it was serious. Lori could keep secrets with the best of them, but Ali never pushed her. When Lori was ready to share, she’d share. And that might mean never, which Ali accepted.
Packing away the groceries, she spent the rest of the day doing household chores before spending some time curled up on the sofa with a book. By the time she roused herself to cook dinner, Lori was making her bleary-eyed way towards the bathroom.
“Nice look,” Ali commented. “Back from the dead kind of look.”
Without answering, Lori staggered into the bathroom.
Laughing, Ali went into the kitchen to start cooking. By the time Lori appeared in the kitchen with Minx dogging her footsteps, her sister was looking a lot more awake.
“Hi.” Lori yawned.
“Hi back.”
Opening the ‘fridge to take out a Diet Coke, Lori raised her brows. “You went shopping?”
“No, the food fairy came while you slept and restocked everything.”
“Huh. Did she also leave a really nice t-shirt on my dressing table?”
“What makes you think the food fairy is a woman? Maybe it’s a really hot bloke.”
Popping the tab of the can, Lori wandered over to the kitchen bench and leaned against it, smothering another yawn. “A hot bloke in a tutu just doesn’t seem right.”
“Who said he was wearing a tutu? I had a loin cloth in mind.”
Taking a sip of the Diet Coke, Lori stared thoughtfully at the clock on the far wall before finally nodding. “Yep, I have to agree. Our food fairy is a hot bloke in a loin cloth.”
Call On Me Page 3
