Adam's Thorn (6 page)

And froze.

Their faces were inches apart, she
hadn’t realised how close his head was to hers.  So close to her, his strength
surrounded her, the heat of his body seeming to almost burn her, his clean,
male scent swamping her senses.

His eyes so near, the brown of
them so dark as to be almost black, so intense.

So close they were taking each
other’s breath.

Seconds ticked past before he ordered
softly, “Outside.  Now.”  Straightening, he stepped back.

Looking back into the mirror, she
found him watching her steadily, obviously waiting for her to obey.  If they’d
been alone she might have bucked the authority, some immaturity inside her
rebelling, but seeing how many people watched them, she straightened her
shoulders, pushed the glass away and slid off the bar stool.

Collecting her little purse, she
placed the thin strap over her shoulder and smiled at Ali and Ghost, both of
whom watched her, Ali with concern, Ghost with curiosity.  “Thanks for the
invite, Ali.  Nice to meet you, Ghost.”

“You’re coming back, right?” Ali
queried.

“I don’t think so, not tonight.”  She
stepped away from the bar.

Adam took a step back.  “She’ll be
back.”

Irritated that he’d presume to
override her, Barbie frowned.  “No, I won’t.”

He watched her without
expression.  “This’ll only take a few minutes.”

“Once I’m outside, Adam, I’m going
home.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, that’s so.”

“If that’s the case, we’ll find a
quiet corner to talk instead.”

Startled that he’d actually give
in, even just a little, Barbie glanced around, saying sardonically as she did
so, “No quiet corners here, Officer.  Guess we’ll just have to do this
outside.” She looked back up at him.  “At least you won’t have to cuff me, I’ll
come quietly.”

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” she asked quietly,
so aware of several other people watching and straining to hear, not wanting to
give the gossips further fuel for the fires.  “Let’s just go, Adam, and get
this over with.  It’s bad enough that people are waiting for us to fight.”

She strode past, aware of him
falling into step beside her.  Head held high, she met the gazes of the bolder
locals who dared to do more than covertly cast glances their way.

This was one thing she didn’t like
about small towns, people knew each other, people talked, there was no hiding
anything, no fading into the crowds to be just another faceless person.

When several people had the grace
to flush and look away, she glanced around to see Adam looking directly at
those lacking the manners not to stare.  As he met the gazes of each person,
they looked hurriedly away.

At the same time she became
conscious of his hand settling in the small of her back.  A silent show of
support?  And if so, why?  To preserve his own good name?

If his hand slipped lower…
Don’t. 
Just don’t.

Reaching the door, she started to
lift her hand to push it open, only to have Adam beat her to it, pushing it
open and holding it so she could exit first.

Always the man with manners.

Outside, she tipped her face up to
the cool night air, glad of the shadows that helped hide her face.

Adam took her elbow.  “Over here.”

Silently she allowed him to steer her
to the corner of the pub, the large tree there casting thick shadows, hiding
them form sight as he drew to a stop.  Releasing her elbow, Adam turned to face
her.

“I don’t want you near my cousin.”
 Anger was clear in his tone.

Startled, she looked up at him. 
“What?”

“Hallie.  She works at the
supermarket.  Stay away from her.”

“I don’t understand.”

She couldn’t see his expression
clearly, but the chill in his voice was clear.  “I won’t have you influencing
her.”

“Influencing her?”  Bewildered,
she shook her head.  “I don’t understand.”

“You told her it was okay to
pierce her clitoris.”

It took several seconds for the
words to sink in before her mouth fell open.  “What?  I didn’t-”

“You were overheard.”

“Overheard?”  It came back to
her.  “You mean by Mrs Hubble?”

“Apart from lacking the good
manners not to speak like that in front of an elderly woman, you had no right
to laugh at the thought of Hallie’s mother being upset.”

Shocked, she could only stare up
at him.

“My cousin doesn’t lie, Barbie,”
Adam continued.  “She said you’d mentioned that she could have gotten her
clitoris pierced.”

Regaining her senses, Barbie
began, “It wasn’t exactly like that.  I-”

Leaning forward, he growled, “You
were always wild, Barbie.  I won’t have you leading the teenagers astray in
this town, encouraging them to do things that their parents wouldn’t approve. 
I won’t have you leading Hallie astray.”

Stung, she could only glare back
up at him.  “You’ve got it all worked out, haven’t you, Adam?”

“I’ve got
you
worked out.”

“Oh yes, you always knew best,
didn’t you?”

“You sure as hell didn’t.”

“So you think I haven’t changed?”

“Have you?”

Her lips twisted.  “Would you
believe me?”

“Are you denying that you told
Hallie about piercing her clitoris?” 

Sight adjusting to the shadows,
she could now see the fury in his eyes.  “You’ve obviously made up your mind.”

“Do you deny it?”

Oddly, the sting of his accusation
wasn’t fading, and the unfairness of it, the history they shared, made her
hackles rise, “I don’t deny anything.”  She started to move past him.  “Shove
it, Adam.”

He moved fast, and before she knew
it her back was against the wall, his hands either side of her head caging her
in as he glared down at her.  “I’m warning you, if I catch you leading these
kids astray, encouraging them in any way, I’ll come looking for you.”

“Threats?”  Her temper was
simmering, a welcome diversion to the tears that were horrifyingly just below
the surface.

“Promises,” he corrected grimly.

“I won’t go near those kids.  I’m
only here for a short time, to get the house back up to scratch, sell it and
get the hell away from here and you.  Particularly you, Adam.  Now get the hell
away from me.”

For a second she thought he was
going to refuse, but then he straightened, shoving back, allowing her to pass.

She hadn’t gotten far before he asked,
“You sure you’re only running a massage parlour?”

She swung around to face him. 
“What do you mean?”

“A massage parlour and
entertaining men younger than yourself.”

Confused, she frowned.

“I was there yesterday, Barbie.”

“Where?”

“Your house.”  Impatience threaded
through his steely tone.  “Larry Kingsley, your
client
?”

It took several seconds for the
meaning to sink in, and furious, she reacted without thought.  Her arm swung up,
her palm connecting with his cheek.

The loud crack was sharp in the
quiet night.

The seconds ticked past as they
glared at each other.  Moving abruptly, Adam reached out, grabbed her upper
arm, swung her around and marched her back to her car.  Releasing her at the
door, he ordered, “Go home.”

“Gladly.”  Unlocking the door, she
wrenched it open and got in.  Starting the engine, she yanked the seatbelt on
and backed out of the parking bay.

Adam watched silently.

Putting the car into gear, she
looked out at him.  “One more thing, Adam.  Get your facts straight before you
start accusing.”

She drove off, still seething. 
Still upset.

God, that he could actually
believe she’d do such a thing.  Why would Hallie say something like that?

“That’s what happens when you let
your guard down, Barbie,” she muttered.  “Just get the bloody house fixed and
leave this dump.  Go back to the city where you belong.”

Where there was no Hallie, no
Adam, no accusations.  Where history didn’t mean anything, where she was lost
in the crowd and everyone knew her as Barbie Declan, masseuse, quiet, calm, and
all around good girl. 

Not the girl she had been, not the
girl that Adam still believed her.

By the time she pulled to a stop
in front of the house, her anger had faded.  Tired, dispirited, she got out of
the car and locked it, walking up to the veranda without, for once, thinking
about how spooky it all looked at night.

Opening the door, she was greeted
by Fred and Barney, both cats winding around her legs and meowing for
attention.

Locking the door behind her, she placed
her bag on the little side table and picked first one then the other up,
nuzzling their necks and glad for their happy purring.

“Thank God for you boys.”  Walking
into the kitchen, she opened a can of cat food and divided it between them
both, even though they’d already had their dinner before she’d left for the
pub.  “No judgement, just acceptance.”  Leaning back against the kitchen
counter, she smiled as she watched them eating.

The cats had the ability to calm
her.

The memory of Adam’s accusation,
his threatening
promise
to come for her, had her frazzled again.

“Damn him.”  Crossing to the
‘fridge, she opened it and withdrew a can of Diet Coke.  Popping the tab, she
took several hearty swallows, eyes watering as the bubbles fizzed in her
throat.

All she had to do was mind her business,
keep her distance form the Peeron people, do her job, fix the house, sell it
and meanwhile stay away from Adam.  Especially stay away from Adam.

Staring at the window while she
sipped the soft drink, she frowned.  She’d had no idea that he held such power
over her, that his accusations could hurt so much.  Time had passed, they’d
both grown older, she should have coped better.

Another sip of Diet Coke.

Ears flicking, Barney looked up
suddenly, and she automatically followed his gaze.

The tin almost slipped from her
hand when she saw a flash of white at the window, the impression of a face,
dark hollows where the night shadows hid the eyes.

As fast as she saw it, it
disappeared, leaving her staring at the window in shock.

Fear had a grip on her, her heart
thumping.  Forcing herself to move, she ran for the back door, checking that it
was locked, running to the front door to do the same, even though she knew
she’d definitely locked it.

Standing behind the front door,
she listened, her ear pressed against the wood.

Silence greeted her, the only
sound that of her heart pounding in her ears.  God knew she wouldn’t be able to
hear anything above that.

Looking back down the dim hallway,
she cursed the fact that she hadn’t changed the light bulb for a brighter one. 
Even more unnerving, Fred sat in the kitchen doorway, his eyes looking right
back at her, his ears slanting this way and that as though listening to
something before he turned his head to stare into the lounge room.

Oh shit.  Ghost? 
But Fred
didn’t run, didn’t growl, just looked.  She stood, barely breathing, heart pounding,
hand gripping the door handle, watching Fred until he finally cocked one leg up
and started to wash his manly parts, an act that had her knees sagging in
relief.

If he was relaxed enough to do
that, then it meant that whatever had been outside the house - or in the lounge
- was gone.

Reminding herself she was an
adult, the only adult in the house, in fact, Barbie forced her shaking knees to
unlock and stiffly walked down the hallway.

Refusing to give in to her
childish urge to run screaming from the house, she strode straight into the lounge,
snapping on the light as she did so, half expecting to see some wraith floating
near the ceiling.

The lounge was empty.

Across the room the telephone
beckoned to her, but no way in hell could she bring herself to ring the
police.  If Adam came out…oh God, that would be worse.  And what if it had been
nothing?  What if it had all been her imagination?

What if she was letting her
emotions get the better of her?  Barney had looked at the window, sure, but he
hadn’t spat or hissed or anything, so whatever was out there was…was…probably
an owl.

Convincing herself of that was a
lot easier than risk facing Adam and having him look at her with his cop eyes. 
She’d had enough of his disbelief for one night.  Besides, even if he didn’t
come out, if it was his night off and another cop came out, he’d know about
it.  Probably accuse her of making the story up just to get a man out to the house. 
Probably thought a woman like her was desperate enough to make up a story just
to get a man out to her house.

After all, he thought she had to
run a sex business behind the front of a massage parlour just to get a man.  As
if she’d be that desperate.  She was no slim waif, but she had her pride, her
confidence in herself as a woman regardless of being on the wrong side of the
BMI.  She’d gotten over that a long time ago.

Slowly lifting her hand to the
light switch again, Barbie frowned.  She thought she’d gotten over a lot of
things, but coming face-to-face with Adam had shown her that wasn’t correct. 
She had to get a grip.

She had to fix up and sell this
bloody house, return to civilisation.

Flicking off the switch, she went
back to the kitchen.  Turning off the lights, she drew the curtains over the
window, refusing to look out.

Okay, she was a coward, but that
wasn’t enough to shame her into looking.

In the bedroom she ensured the
curtains were closed without even a tiny gap before changing and climbing into
bed.

Propped against the pillow, she
was more than glad when Barney and Fred hopped up onto the bed and settled
against her legs.  Opening a book, she started reading.