“Lori’s rather shy,” Ghost said. “Not the dating kind.”
“Really?” Thoughtfully, Matt took a sip of beer. “Not ever?”
“Guess she’s been out once or twice but it’s never gotten serious. Never lasted more than one or two dates anyway.” Ghost cut Matt a sharp glance. “Why the interest?”
Matt shrugged. “Just curious.”
“About Lori?” Ghost’s protective instincts rose.
“Seems a shame that such a nice girl doesn’t date.”
“You thinking of dating her, Matt?”
Matt just gazed in silence at the Mackay house.
“’Cause I’m telling you now,” Ghost said quietly, “I don’t want to see Lori hurt. Ever. So if you’re thinking of trying to date her, I’m here to tell you that I’m the brother they never had and I’ll bust any bloke who hurts Lori or Ali. Understand?”
Matt slanted him a look. “Understood.” A small smile curved his mouth. “You busted many blokes in regards to Ali?”
Ghost just grunted.
“Yeah,” Matt said. “I thought so.”
Before Ghost think of a reply to that mysterious comment, Matt turned and walked back into the house, Mort still lying limply in his arm. “Game’s going to start any minute, Ghost. Let’s get ready to see your team get thrashed.”
Grinning, Ghost swung around on his heel and followed Matt inside. “Dream on.” But he couldn’t resist one last look at the Mackay house where Ali was getting ready for her date.
Shaking off the troubled feeling he suddenly had, Ghost joined Matt in taking the pizza and drinks into the lounge and settling down for the footy game.
~*~
Sitting at the kitchen table, Ali watched her sister stagger into the room. Her nightgown had a picture of a sleepy dog on it with the words ‘Early Risings Suck’. “Morning, sunshine.”
“That’s afternoon.” Lori squinted at the clock. “Late afternoon, actually. More early evening.” She looked at Ali. “You’re dressed nice and early.”
“I have on my dress but have yet to do my hair and makeup and put on my shoes.”
“You look nice, anyway.” Opening the ‘fridge, Lori surveyed the contents before drawing out the bottle of apple juice and pouring a glass.
Minx ambled slowly into the room, and Ali picked her up carefully, putting her on the chair where the old cat surveyed her kingdom before settling down in a sphinx pose, patiently waiting for her dinner.
“Have you noticed anything odd about Ghost?” Ali asked as Lori took the chair opposite.
Placing the glass down on the table, Lori raised her brows. “Compared to what?”
“Compared to normal.”
“Define normal when talking about Ghost. This is the man who has figurines of horror dolls in a glass case.”
“Sent by fans, he didn’t buy them.”
“Oh yeah? The zombie figure?”
“Okay, he has a weakness for zombies. But I mean apart from that.”
“He works at night and sleeps all day, or most of it. Sometimes. Actually, sometimes he sleeps a few hours, works, sleeps a few hours. Define normal.”
Ali crossed her eyes at Lori and her sister laughed.
“Seriously.” Ali tapped the table with one finger. “He came over here an hour ago going on about my thin nightie and being able to see through it. Weird. He’s seen me in old clothes before.”
“Huh.” Lori frowned. “Where were you that he could see you walking around in your nightie?”
“I took Minx out for a last stroll in the garden before I went to bed this morning.”
“Got me there.” Lori’s eyes suddenly widened. “He saw through your nightie?”
“Well, he couldn’t really see much,” Ali pointed out. “He saw me from his window. How much could he possibly see?”
“Enough to warn you.”
They looked at each other before bolting for the back door, going through it to look up at his bedroom/writing room window.
“He couldn’t see much,” Ali argued.
Pursing her lips, Lori looked from the window to the back yard.
“Could he?” Ali asked a little uncertainly. Good grief, how much of her had he seen?
“Um…I don’t know?” Lori replied.
“You don’t sound so certain.”
“I’m not.” Lori folded her arms across her chest. “I guess it depends on how transparent your nightie was with the light behind it.”
“Oh.” Oh. Oh crap! He’d actually seen her almost naked? Seen her over-generous curves? Cripes, seeing her in old clothes was one thing, but seeing her, really seeing her, that was a different story. No one apart from Lori and her parents had ever actually seen her fully naked before, and if Ghost had seen her almost…Ali cringed.
“But he couldn’t have seen that much,” Lori mused. “Not really. Maybe your outline, but not, you know, all the crevices and lumps and bumps.”
Ali glared at her. “Thanks.”
“Hey, just saying it like it is.” Lori shrugged and turned back to head indoors. “You asked me.”
“You could have left out the lumps and bumps bit.” Ali followed her inside.
Without answering, Lori took some raw mince from the ‘fridge and placed it on a saucer before putting it on the floor beside the bowl of fresh water. Automatically, Ali picked Minx up and set her down in front of the saucer, where the old cat settled herself a little stiffly and started eating.
Minx might be an elderly lady, but she still had the appetite of a cat half her age.
“So what are you doing tonight?” Ali asked. “It being your night off?”
“Might go to the video shop and see if there are any new movies in.” Lori drained the last of the apple juice from the glass.
“Didn’t Tracy want you to go to the movies with her?”
“That was before she got a date,” Lori answered. “Anyway, I don’t really feel like going out tonight, so a movie and a night in with Minx sounds just fine. What time are you meeting Chris?”
Ali glanced at the clock. “Half an hour. Suppose I should get my makeup and shoes on and do my hair.”
“Good idea. Once you’re gone, I’ll head out.”
Ali was looking forward to the night with Chris, he seemed like a nice bloke. On the way to the café she passed Old Man Parker walking his dog. Unable to resist, she pulled up in front of him.
Obligingly coming around to her side of the car, he rested one arm on the window sill as he peered in. “Evening, Ali. You look pretty.”
“Thanks, Mr Parker.” She studied his weathered face, managing to keep her own expressionless. “So, that spirit of the missing woman out at – what was it called? Screaming Pond?”
His eyes started to sparkle. “Yep.”
“So, Ghost was telling me all about it. Is it true you’ve seen it?”
“Yep.” He nodded vigorously. “Not a nice sight, either. Scared me witless.”
“Uh-huh. And you say it shows at the same time most nights?”
“Yep, it surely does.”
“But you only saw it once.”
Parker stared at her before his eyes crinkled at the corners. “You and young Ghost been up there already, haven’t you?”
“Mr Parker, with all due respect, I think you’re full of crap.” She grinned widely at him.
“Oh now, would I tell tall tales?”
“Wouldn’t you?”
He winked. “Have fun?”
“Well, you’d know, wouldn’t you?” She winked back. “Having seen the spirit and all.”
Laughing, he straightened up and stepped back. “Have a nice evening with Chris.”
Not really surprised, Ali did a mental eye roll. “What makes you think I’m meeting someone?”
“Sweetie, you’re dressed to make a man’s tongue fall out, your hair is all sophisticated in one of them bun thingies, and Elsa told me.”
Small towns. Nothing remained a secret for long. Putting the
car into gear, she smiled at him. “Can I give you and Toby a lift somewhere?”
“Nah, Toby and me are enjoying our nightly constitutional.” He waved at her. “Have fun.”
“Thanks Mr Parker. Goodnight.” Checking the traffic, she pulled out onto the road and continued through the town.
Chris was waiting for her outside the restaurant, coming forward with a smile when she parked the car. Opening the door, he took her hand to help her out, which got her heart beating faster. It was such an old fashioned, courteous thing to do, and she beamed up at him. “Why, thank you sir.”
“One must always be polite to a lady.” He winked. “Especially a pretty lady.”
Now that had her a little tongue-tied. She wasn’t used to flattery. The men she dated – small in number - were everyday men who held open a door – sometimes – but flowery compliments weren’t something they said often. Unless they were trying to get into her panties, which wasn’t really that often, either, to be truthful. And only once had anyone managed to get into her panties, way back in high school. Lesson learned the hard way.
Ali couldn’t help but eye Chris a little warily behind her pleasant smile as he held the restaurant door open for her, waiting politely for her to be seated before taking a seat himself. The waitress came over, her eyes running over him with a gleam of admiration as she handed them menus.
“Hi Ali,” she said. “Another date?”
Bloody Sharon. Trust her to say something like that. Ali smiled tightly at her. “Hi Shazza.” And didn’t she just hate that nickname?
“Sharon.” She smiled just as tightly and turned her attention to Chris. “You’re the new mechanic, aren’t you?”
He smiled back at her. “Yep. Start tomorrow.”
“Delightful. I have to have my car serviced soon, so I’ll be sure to book it in.”
“Fine, be happy to check it out.”
“Lovely.” She glanced at Ali, who ignored her, busying herself with checking the menu.
Not that the menu ever changed. The owners were old friends of her parents and they didn’t like change. The menu hadn’t really changed in thirty years. Good hearty food, not many frills. It wasn’t like they really had to worry about much competition in town, there was only the pub for counter lunches and evening meals, the local cafe that, while open during the day, was only open late on a Friday night, the small café joined to the service station that sold only fast food, and the small restaurant that was part of the motel and catered mainly for the travellers. This restaurant could afford to please its owners, especially as they also had their meals available as takeaways. But there was no doubt the food was good and value for money.
Across the menu, she couldn’t help but study Chris. Lean, tall, with a shock of dark hair and pale blue eyes, he wasn’t bad on the eyes. Not ravishingly handsome, not really wet-panty inducing, but nice looking. Friendly manner, pleasant. She guessed in a small town there wasn’t much choice, though he couldn’t help but have seen Sharon swishing her trim backside around in that tight uniform.
Choosing that moment to look up, he smiled. “Hungry?”
“Absolutely.” Oops, maybe she shouldn’t have sounded so eager.
“Excellent. Can’t stand a woman who picks at her food.”
Awesome! Maybe she could have the fried fish platter after all.
“Healthy eating, good food. That’s good to see.” He perused the menu. “Think I’ll have the grilled fish and salad.”
Goodbye fried fish platter, hello tasteless fish and rabbit food. “I’ll have the same. Sounds yummy.”
Ye gods, she ate like that at home. Almost always healthy, which was why when she went out she liked to order food she didn’t normally eat. Bummer. Still, she did want to make a good impression on Chris, so she figured she’d smile and suck it up like an adult.
Placing the menu down, she watched as he continued to study his menu.
“A little pricey.” Closing the menu, he placed it on the table. “Still, small towns can be like that.”
Huh. Filing away the thought that it was rather rude to point out the cost to a date, Ali leaned back in the chair. “So Chris, how do you like our town?”
“Seems okay.” Folding his hands on the table, he glanced around the room before returning his attention to her. “So what do you do for a living, Ali?”
“I’m a receptionist at the local motel on the highway.” At his blank look, she added, “The one on the way in. Or the way out, depending which way you’re going.”
He didn’t laugh. Now Ghost would have thought that was witty, but Chris just nodded. “I see. And what do you plan to do later?”
“Later?”
“The future?”
“Uh…” Oh boy. “Well, I’m actually happy doing what I do.”
“I see.” He gestured to Sharon and when she hurried over with a big smile wreathing her face and her hips swinging, he ordered a jug of cold water with ice and two glasses. Turning back to Ali, who was dying to ask for a Diet Coke but not really game to right now, he stated, “I’m a mechanic at the moment, but I plan to open up my own mechanics business in a couple of years and oversee others doing the manual work. I’m checking out locations. Small towns are good for business, you know, travellers passing through, not much competition.”
“Uh-huh.” Geez. “So you’re not planning on staying in town for long?”
“Depends what I can get out of it. I’m casing it, I guess you could say.” Gaze intensifying, he rested his folded forearms on the table and leaned forward. “I like a woman who plans for the future. A go-getter. Are you a go-getter, Alissa?”
The man had even learned her full name. She should be flattered that he’d found it out, but somehow there wasn’t even a little flutter of a flatter. “Maybe I should aim for the motel manager’s position?” she joked.
“Good choice. Do you know much about it? Have you researched it?”
Sharon chose that moment to arrive with the jug and two glasses, which she placed on the table, winking openly at Chris. “There you go, handsome.”
“Thank you,” he replied coolly, the clear note of disapproval in his tone causing Sharon to flush and retreat hurriedly.
Ali silently cheered. Yes! Her date was focussed on her and not the waitress with the hot body that had many of the single blokes in town panting after her.
He was also, unfortunately, focussed on getting her to spill her plans for a future he would approve of, then again, maybe he was intense because he was planning for the future himself and wanted to see others strive as well. Not that she didn’t strive. She was good at her job, she liked it, and she was content.
“So Ali,” he said, “This manager’s position you’re chasing-”
“What? No!” Ali hurriedly lowered her voice as a couple nearby glanced their way. “That was a joke. I’m not after the manager’s position. I’m really happy doing the reception work, Chris.” When he frowned, she sought to divert the conversation, “Enough about me. What do you do in your spare time?”
“I run. Every morning, I have a long run.”
“Nice. I enjoy a-”
“Go to the gym, swim. I believe in looking after one’s body.” He glanced over her. “You can join me if you want.”
Her mind went completely blank. Surely he hadn’t just suggested that?
“Getting into shape is so important, don’t you think?” he continued. “I’d be more than happy to mentor you, Alissa. I’d have you fit as a fiddle in no time.”
Sweet baby Jesus. She could not have heard correctly. “I beg your pardon?”
“Healthy mind, healthy body, striving for success. It all goes hand in hand.”
“My health is perfectly fine. Blood pressure, pulse, you name it and I’m healthy.” Grabbing the glass of water, she took several fortifying gulps. How the hell had they gotten on to this subject?
“But healthy isn’t being overweight.”
Ali froze.
He smiled k
indly. “You’re a pretty girl, Alissa, don’t get me wrong, but think how far you could go if you lost some weight.”
Her mouth fell open.
“Healthy mind, healthy body, success. It’s so important to have all three balanced just right.”
“Are you saying that because I’m larger than society perceives as acceptable, I won’t go far in life?”
“It could hold you back.”
Shock was giving way to anger. “If people are going to judge my talents on my looks, then I don’t particularly want anything to do with them.”
“Now, Alissa, don’t get upset.” He spoke soothingly. Reaching out, he caught her hand and squeezed gently. “It’s well known that misery hides behind the happy face of a large person. I like you and I’m just trying to help you. Let me help you.”
She gawked at him.
“I can help you sort out your weight issues, help you rise above your mediocre career, make something of yourself.” His smile was just as gentle, his eyes warm with understanding. And pity. “Once you lose some weight, we get you up the career ladder-”
“Are you freakin’ serious?”
“Of course. So what do you say? Meet me in the morning for a jog before work?”
Reaching out, Ali picked up the jug of water, stood, leaned across the table and upended the lot over Chris’s head.
He squawked, sputtered and leaped out of his chair. “What the hell?”
“You ever come near me again, you drongo, and I’ll rip your head off,” Ali snarled. “You’ll find out first hand just how hard a large woman can hit!”
The restaurant was dead quiet, the owners coming out of the kitchen to watch wide-eyed.
Shoving his dripping hair back from his face, Chris gaped at her. “Alissa, I didn’t mean to-”
Head high and cheeks flaming, Ali stormed away from the table, refusing to look at anyone, feeling totally humiliated. Shame rode her hard, all she wanted was to get out and far away from all those eyes watching her with horrified fascination. It didn’t make it any easier that she knew most of the patrons for most of her life. That just made the humiliation worse.
“Ali!” Mrs Swanson, the owner, came towards her.
Call On Me Page 8
