Talk of the Town

by Rachael Johns

  ‘Meg!’ Having obviously forgotten about using his inside voice, Ned threw his arms around her the moment she stepped through the door.

  ‘Well, hello!’ Her arms went around Ned and she patted his back as she looked over the top of him and her eyes met with Lawson’s.

  When he smiled and lifted a hand to wave, she copied the gesture, looking as surprised to see them as he was to see her. Lawson mentally shook his head at how stupid this was—the size of Walsh meant it wasn’t unusual to run into someone you knew in town. Meg might not live there, but considering the lack of shops and facilities in Rose Hill, she may as well.

  ‘Come sit with us,’ Ned demanded, letting her go only long enough to grab her hand. He started tugging her towards their table.

  She laughed. It was such a beautiful sound Lawson felt it rippling through his body, awakening parts of him he’d thought were near-on dead. ‘I was only going to get a takeaway.’

  ‘Aw, no, please come and sit with us.’ If he hadn’t been only eight years old, Ned’s desperation would have been embarrassing.

  Meg looked to Lawson questioningly.

  He swallowed, found his voice and gestured to the empty chairs at their table. ‘You’re more than welcome.’

  ‘Mrs Mac?’ Ned called through to the kitchen. ‘Can you come and take Meg’s order?’

  Lawson couldn’t help laughing as Mrs Mac reappeared.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said to Meg, ‘I mustn’t have heard the door open.’ She looked from Meg to Lawson and back to Meg, her gaze dropping to where Ned clung to her hand, and her eyebrows rose. You didn’t have to be a genius to know what she was thinking. As much as he adored Mrs Mac, she wasn’t known for her discretion and he could already hear the rumours that would be circulating Walsh within a couple of hours. ‘What can I get you?’ she asked Meg.

  ‘I was going to get a coffee,’ Meg said, ‘but after walking up the hill from the IGA car park, I’m thinking a cool drink might be a better idea.’

  ‘You should get a spider,’ Ned suggested. ‘They’re the best.’

  A smile bloomed on Meg’s previously uncertain face. ‘Oh, I used to love them when I was a kid. Can I have a Coke one, please? That way I still get my caffeine hit.’

  ‘I like your thinking,’ Mrs Mac said, tapping the side of her head. ‘By the way, I’m Beverly. Lovely to meet you.’

  ‘You too. And I’m Meg,’ she said, digging her purse out of her bag to pay.

  Again, Mrs Mac shooed her money away. ‘Oh no, this one’s on the house as a welcome to the area. I assume you are a newcomer.’

  Lawson didn’t know how she managed to stay in business giving away all these freebies.

  Meg nodded. ‘Thank you. That’s very kind of you.’

  After another assurance, Mrs Mac retreated again and Ned achieved his goal of dragging Meg to their table.

  Lawson stood to pull out a seat for her. ‘Hi there.’

  ‘Hi.’ She hesitated a moment before sitting down, as if second-guessing her decision. She seemed kinda jumpy and had been the same the two times they’d met, although she’d relaxed a little towards the end of his dog visit. Maybe she was jumpy because of the moment they’d shared right before he left her place. Did she think he might overstep the mark and try and kiss her if she sat with them?

  It would be funny if the thought hadn’t actually crossed his mind.

  ‘Thank you,’ she finally said, dropping her bag to the floor and lowering herself into the seat.

  Lawson worried they might not have anything to say and that awkward silence may descend upon the table, but then Ned opened his mouth.

  ‘How’s your puppy, Meg? Where is he? Did you bring him to town?’ As Ned bombarded her with questions, he glanced down at her handbag as if maybe she were hiding Cane in there.

  ‘He’s doing well.’ She half-laughed and then looked over to Lawson. ‘Thank you again for giving him to me. He’s been such wonderful company.’

  Her eyes were almost translucent blue—like nothing he’d ever seen before—and although you couldn’t call her classically beautiful, she invoked sensations inside him no one had done in a very long time. Lawson suddenly realised it was his turn to speak and that staring at her as he was might be quite unsettling.

  ‘He’s not causing too much trouble then?’ he asked.

  ‘I didn’t say that.’ She smiled properly this time and her see-through eyes shimmered.

  ‘Is he naughty?’ Ned asked, leaning forwards and planting his elbows on the table, clearly excited by this idea.

  ‘Let’s just say I came in to town because I decided to invest in some baby gates and stock up on toilet paper, even though I thought I bought plenty on the weekend.’

  ‘Oh no.’ Lawson closed his eyes a moment. ‘What did he do?’

  ‘Somehow in the five minutes I was having a shower this morning, he managed to get a hold of the bulk pack of toilet rolls I bought and tear the whole lot of them to shreds. As if that wasn’t enough, he also found the roll on the wall, grabbed the end and ran through the whole house with it.’

  Ned cackled, finding this hilarious, but Lawson’s mind was stuck on the image of Meg naked in the shower. He gulped. ‘Maybe he’s been watching too much TV.’

  When Meg’s expression remained blank, he elaborated. ‘You know the advert with Labrador pups and toilet paper?’ He shook his head. ‘Never mind, it’s probably not even on any more.’

  ‘I remember it.’ Meg smiled and their eyes met again, but before either of them could say anything else, a young waitress Lawson hadn’t seen before arrived at their table with a tray.

  ‘Hi guys.’ She grinned as she unloaded their drinks and the apple pie. ‘I brought you three spoons. Enjoy.’

  ‘Thank you,’ they all said at the same time.

  ‘I haven’t had one of these for so long.’ Meg twirled the straw between her fingers and then leaned forwards to take a sip.

  Lawson dragged his own glass towards him. ‘I hope they’re as good as you remember.’

  Ned devoured the ice-cream in his drink with his spoon first and then drank the rest of it in ten seconds flat, making impolite noises through the straw when he reached the bottom.

  ‘Ned.’ Lawson tossed him a reproachful glare and then shrugged apologetically at Meg. ‘I do teach him manners, I swear.’

  She chuckled and then grinned at Ned. ‘You’re just enjoying it, aren’t you?’

  He nodded, then leaped up from his chair. ‘I need to go to the bathroom,’ he announced loudly, before rushing off to the conveniences at the back of the café.

  ‘It’s like everything goes right through him,’ Lawson said, and then silently cursed the fact he was telling Meg about his son’s toilet habits.

  ‘He’s a pretty cool kid. Why isn’t he at school today?’

  Enjoying Meg’s surprise company, he’d almost forgotten what had brought them into the café. ‘I got a call from the school saying he wasn’t feeling well,’ he said, keeping his voice low. ‘But he’s not sick; he told me some kids at school were teasing him about not having a mum.’

  ‘That’s awful.’ She was silent a moment, then added, ‘I lost my parents at seventeen and most of the girls at the school I went to were really nice but some were downright nasty.’

  ‘You lost both your parents at the same time?’

  She rubbed her lips together and nodded. ‘Yes, and also my younger brother. I was on school study camp, prepping for our final exams. At home, there was a house fire in the night, it started downstairs and they were all upstairs asleep. None of them survived.’

  ‘God.’ Lawson had been on the receiving end of pity due to the loss of his own mother, but suddenly he was grateful he’d lost just one parent. How do you ever come out the other side of something like that? ‘I can’t even imagine how hard that must have been.’

  ‘It was a dark time in my life,’ she admitted, glancing down at the table.

  He shook his head—thinking that
was probably an understatement. When he lost his mum, he thought his world was going to end. If it hadn’t been for Leah … ‘Who did you live with after that? Did you have some kind of support system?’

  ‘I went to live with my mum’s folks. They were great but I pretty much shut them and everyone else out of my life for a while.’ She shrugged. ‘Anyway, kids can be cruel, but Ned’s lucky he’s got such a great dad.’

  Lawson could tell Meg was trying to divert the conversation from herself again and, not wanting to upset her, he nodded. ‘I’m trying to remember they’re just kids, but I gotta be honest, I thought about storming into the school and knocking their heads together.’

  ‘I don’t blame you. Is this the first time anything like this has happened?’

  ‘I think so. And Ned seems to have perked up since we left school. Tomorrow he’ll probably be best mates with the boys again. That seems to be the way of eight-year-olds.’

  Meg nodded. ‘I vaguely remember being that young.’

  She spoke as if she were a hundred and two but at a guess he’d put her around twenty-five, about Tab’s age.

  The bathroom door slammed, indicating Ned was on his way back out. ‘Another thing about eight-year-olds is that they seem incapable of doing anything without noise,’ Lawson said as his son returned.

  ‘They have a lot in common with puppies.’ Meg took a sip of her drink, her smile visible around the straw.

  Ned immediately made a start on the apple pie. He dug the spoon in, then shoved it into his mouth, which he opened seconds later as if about to speak. Lawson gave him a warning look, so he zipped his lips.

  ‘What’s your dog called?’ Ned asked once he’d finished his mouthful.

  ‘Cane, short for Hurricane,’ she said, then glanced fleetingly at Lawson again. ‘Your dad named him.’

  ‘That’s so cool. What other naughty things has he done?’

  Meg smiled and entertained them for a little while with more stories of Cane’s adventures—shoes he’d buried, wool he’d unravelled and furniture he’d tried to massacre. ‘Lucky all my stuff is secondhand,’ she finished.

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Lawson shook his head and ran a hand through his curls. ‘I probably should have asked whether you wanted a puppy before I delivered him.’

  ‘He has to have been the most unexpected gift I’ve ever received,’ she admitted, ‘but he’s also the best. I still feel guilty for not paying you for him.’

  ‘If your puppy is so naughty,’ Ned interrupted, ‘aren’t you scared to leave him at home alone?’

  ‘Terrified,’ Meg said, grinning. ‘Which is why I’ve left him with Archie.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘I’d better be getting back there soon to relieve him.’

  Ned’s eyes grew wide. ‘Crazy Archie?’

  ‘I’m sorry to disappoint, Ned, but I don’t think he’s all that crazy. Well, no more than the rest of us anyway.’

  ‘Are you spending quite a bit of time with him then?’ He should be relieved that she had someone looking out for her in Rose Hill, but instead he felt oddly jealous. At least that’s what he thought caused the weird tightening in his gut. And if she wasn’t alone, he couldn’t use that old worrying-about-her excuse to explain to himself why he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

  ‘Not that much, but I think I mentioned he gives me eggs daily and in return I’ve been cooking a bit for him? Between you and me, I think he lived on two-minute noodles and eggs before I arrived.’

  ‘Want some apple pie?’ Ned asked, pushing the plate towards her. There wasn’t much left.

  ‘No, thanks,’ she said, and then, as the door of the café opened, she spun her head quickly to look around.

  A bunch of local seniors came in and their eyes immediately zeroed in on the three of them. He lifted a hand to wave at the ladies, knowing later he’d have to field questions about who she was and why they were together.

  Meg stood so suddenly her chair legs scraped against the floor.

  He frowned up at her. ‘Are you okay?’

  She nodded and hitched her bag over her shoulder, but her eyes were as wide as if she’d just seen a ghost. ‘Well, thanks for the company, boys, but I better be getting back to Cane.’

  They’d been sitting here for almost twenty minutes but it didn’t seem nearly long enough. Lawson had enjoyed talking to her and listening to her tales of the dog. The words ‘Could I see you again?’ lingered on the end of his tongue. It had been so long since he’d asked anyone out—the first and last time he’d ever really done anything of the sort was asking Leah to the Year Ten dinner dance. His hands and heart had been shaking so hard he’d barely been able to speak, but to his immense relief, she’d said yes almost before he’d finished asking. They’d pretty much started dating after that and it hadn’t been long before his mates had been joking about them being an old married couple. He didn’t care—with Leah at his side, he’d felt like the luckiest boy in the world.

  The fingers of his right hand drifted to the gold band on his left and twisted it around. He didn’t want to ask Meg on a date; he just wanted to get to know her a little better.

  ‘Can we come to your place and see Cane?’ Ned asked, leaping off his seat and knocking over his empty glass.

  Lawson reached out to stop it rolling off the table. ‘Ned, it’s rude to invite yourself somewhere,’ he said, secretly jealous of his son’s ability to just come straight out and ask whatever he wanted.

  ‘Oh.’ Meg blinked and hesitated a moment. Then, ‘It’s fine. Of course. I’m sure Cane would love to play with you.’

  ‘Great. Come on, Dad, let’s go.’

  As much as Lawson found himself wanting to go along with this unexpected turn of events, he had responsibilities and jobs that couldn’t be put off. Coming into town to pick up Ned and stopping at the café had already put him behind—and it was only a couple of hours until milking.

  ‘Sorry, mate, but I’ve got to get back to the farm.’ He swallowed the lump in his throat as he looked to Meg and managed to add, ‘Maybe another time?’

  ‘Sure.’ She nodded a few times in quick succession. ‘How about you guys come out for lunch on Saturday? That’s if you don’t already have plans. Of course, Adeline’s welcome as well.’

  ‘Adeline?’ Why the heck would I want to bring her?

  ‘The dog breeder?’ Meg clarified. ‘Isn’t she your girlfriend?’

  ‘No, she’s not,’ Lawson said emphatically, while Ned started to laugh. He shot his son a glare and then turned back to Meg. ‘You’ve met her?’

  ‘Yes. She came out to introduce herself and check on Cane.’ Meg’s brow creased slightly. ‘I thought she’d have told you.’

  ‘No. She didn’t.’ His jaw clenched—he wasn’t sure why but he didn’t like the idea of Meg and Adeline chumming up.

  ‘I’m sorry. She led me to believe you guys were together and she definitely said she’d mention her visit.’

  ‘Never mind.’ Lawson shook his head, trying to banish Adeline from it. ‘Saturday it is then. Can we bring anything?’

  ‘No, just yourselves. Oh, and your sister is more than welcome as well.’ She smiled down at Ned and then, without another word, turned and hurried out of the café.

  Chapter Ten

  For ten seconds post waking up on Saturday morning, Megan didn’t panic. She woke to the early-morning sun and a breeze that already carried a hint of the heat to come wafting in her through her open window and smiled at the sweet smell of summer. These days something as simple as sleeping with a window open brought her so much joy.

  Then, the significance of the day dawned and she became incapable of thinking about anything except Ned and Lawson arriving in a few hours. She sat bolt upright, waking Cane, who’d been slumbering like the dead at her feet, and then scrambled up to start getting ready. As she carried the dog down the stairs—a feat she wouldn’t be able to do forever—she asked herself some very pertinent questions.

  What had she been thinking invitin
g Lawson and his son for lunch?

  It had been daring enough sitting down with them in the café like it were a normal thing to do, but asking them to her place? Utter madness. When she’d moved to Rose Hill, there hadn’t seemed any point connecting the landline and a mobile phone felt like a waste of money, but right about now, not having a means to contact Lawson had knobs on. If she had a mobile, she could text some excuse to him about coming down with some highly contagious disease and needing to be quarantined.

  Mumps? Chicken pox? Bird Flu? Ebola?

  The words rattled around in her head like pretend ammunition in a real fight. She didn’t have a phone and thus had no way of calling Lawson and cancelling their arrangement.

  Stifling the urge to throw up, she deposited Cane at the bottom of the stairs. He made a beeline for the back door and, as she opened it for him, she heard the whistling of her kettle in the kitchen telling her the water was boiled. Only she hadn’t switched it on. Her stomach did a little flip as she went into the kitchen to make her coffee and found her favourite mug waiting beside the kettle. The first time this had happened the day following Adeline’s visit, Megan had thought little of it, assuming she’d filled the kettle and put out her mug the night before. She’d put the timely boiling of the water down to faulty electrics.

  But the next day when the same thing had happened, she’d felt a quiver down her spine. The third day she’d had to acknowledge that either she was becoming very forgetful and desperately needed the services of an electrician, or she and Cane weren’t the only ones living in her house. That’s if you could call a ghost living. Which, technically, she guessed you couldn’t. But … semantics.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said, picking up the kettle and pouring hot water into her mug. ‘I’m in dire need of this coffee today.’ Her hands shook as she scooped up some coffee granules and stirred them into the water. ‘I have a hot guy and his young son coming to visit and I have no idea what we’ll talk about.’

  The breeze from the open back door made the kitchen curtains move a little.

  ‘What would you talk about to such a man? Did you ever have a beau? What did you guys talk about? Not that Lawson is my beau or anything.’ The thought was laughable but Megan didn’t laugh.