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Authors: Angela Verdenius

Tags: #love, #friends, #cats, #laughter, #loyalty, #fire fighter, #small town romance, #bbw romance, #australian romance, #sexual intimacy

Fly with Me (5 page)

BOOK: Fly with Me
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One he could
do something about now, the other would wait until later.

Putting
thoughts of her aside for now, Simon hopped out of the fire truck
when it pulled into the service station. “Want anything,
Scott?”

“Just one of
Robby’s iced coffees. Ta.”

Robby braced
his hands on the counter as Simon entered. “What’ll it be and how
much?”

“Just
something light. Salad roll, a container of that fruit salad.”
Simon eyed the display cabinet. “And I’ll take that jam roll as
well.”

“Feeling a bit
peckish, huh?”

“Just a bit.
Could I also have two iced coffees as well, please, mine with ice
cream.” Turning, he eyed the shelves. “Got any cat food?”

“Trying to add
some excitement to your salad roll?”

“Trying to
make Arthur like me.”

“You still
having problems catching him?” Robby shook his head as he packed
the food into a small box. “Why don’t you just get a cat trap?”

“Last
resort.”

“It’d be
easier.”

“He’d just
hate me more.” Simon raised one brow. “Cat food?”

Robby pointed
towards the back of the café. “There’s a couple of tins and boxes
of biscuits at the end of the shelf. Only got the one brand.”

Finding the
cat food, Simon slid his glasses on so he could read the
ingredients. The tinned food seemed okay - fish, jelly, crap like
that, while the cat biscuits apparently had vegetables and chicken.
“That’ll do.” Folding his glasses, he slid them into his top pocket
and picked up two tins and a box of cat biscuits.

Leaving the
café, he saw Scott leaning back against the front of the fire
truck. “Can we swing past Mrs Tanner’s house?”

“You’re going
to feed Arthur?”

“I’ll do that
after work. I just want to see if we can spot him as we drive
past.”

Scott opened
the truck door. “Just try not to embarrass us again.”

~*~

“It’s so good
to see you after all this time.” Carrying one of the suitcases, Ash
led Elissa into the house. “I thought you were never coming.”

“I was coming,
don’t worry.” Following her with the second suitcase, Elissa
laughed. “As if I could not see you married.”

“I know.” Ash
flashed a grin over her shoulder. “I never thought I’d get married,
yet here I am, engaged and about to get the old ball and
chain.”

“I thought it
was the men who got the ball and chain?”

“Not according
to Dee and Del.” Ash walked down the hallway.

“Ah, your
Gully’s Fall cronies.”

“Two of the
three, ‘cause there’s also Molly. You’ll love them, Elissa, I
promise you.”

“Chickie, from
what I’ve heard about them, I don’t doubt it.”

Stopping at a
door near the back of the hallway, Ash pushed open the door. “This
is your bedroom. Hope you like it.”

Stepping
through, Elissa gazed around. The house was old, though in good
repair. The furniture and decor echoed a country theme, nothing
fancy but very comfortable. The bedroom was restful - a big double
bed covered by a patchwork quilt, dark wood furniture, a flowered
armchair in the corner, curtains at the window. A couple of little
knick-knacks to give it a lived-in feel, a painting of a farmhouse
on the wall. The room was old fashioned and so comfortable.

“It’s
perfect.” She dropped the suitcase on the floor and crossed to the
window, pulling the curtain back to peer out at the yard. “I love
the house from what I’ve seen so far.”

“I’ll let you
settle in while I put the kettle on, then we’ll do the tour.” Ash
tapped her shoulder. “I am
so
glad you’re here, Elissa.”

Turning,
Elissa pulled her friend in for a hug, both of them clinging to
each other.

“I’m so
grateful Scott came into your life.” Elissa hugged Ash tighter.
“You deserve all the love that life can give you.”

“And you?” Ash
pulled back a little to study her.

“And me what?”
Elissa smiled, knowing full well to what her friend was
referring.

“How are you,
Elissa? Really?” The worry was evident in Ash’s face.

Elissa gave a
small laugh. “You know me, I’m always okay.”

“Are you?”
Ash’s gaze was probing, trying to see past the façade Elissa
determinedly kept. “Are you really?”

“I’m here to
be my best friend’s maid of honour. Of course I’m all right.”

“Elissa-”

“Good God,
woman, stop worrying. Everything is fine with me.” Elissa gave her
another quick squeeze before releasing her. “I’ll just freshen up
then how about that cuppa, hey? I’m parched, not to mention my arse
is numb from sitting on the bus.”

Ash looked
searchingly at her for several seconds before she nodded slightly.
“Fine.”

Thank God she
wasn’t going to continue asking questions. At least, not yet.
Elissa knew her friend too well to think she’d give up, but for now
she had a reprieve.

“But just
remember,” Ash walked towards the door, “I wanted to go to Ellor’s
Loop to pick you up. You’re the one who insisted on finishing the
trip by bus.”

“I wanted to
check out the bus driver. I’d heard he was worth the trip.”

“And was
he?”

“Oh, he was
cute. But,” Elissa screwed up her nose while holding up her ring
finger, “he was sporting that gold band. That put him in the ‘no
go’ zone.”

“Serve you
right.” Ash smiled at her before disappearing down the hallway.

Elissa blew
out a deep breath of air. The bus trip wasn’t one she’d
particularly enjoyed, but the chance to just sit in silence and
lose herself in her thoughts was one she’d needed. It wasn’t
necessarily a wise choice but it was done. She’d had her thoughts
and she was still undecided.

At least
coming to Gully’s Fall, the little old, quaint town in a farming
community, was a long way from the city on the other side of the
country, a long way from troubles and issues and…things she didn’t
want to think about right then when her best friend was waiting in
the kitchen for her, and she was away from it all.

For now. Her
thoughts couldn’t be pushed away forever, nor her actions.
Everything came at a price.

One of those
prices, in fact, had fallen almost at her feet.

Oh God,
Simon’s here
.

Leaning back
against the wall, Elissa rubbed her brow. Cripes, he shouldn’t have
been here! She’d never made the connection between the Simon she’d
met that horrible night and the Simon Ash had talked about. But one
look at his face and she recognised him instantly.

How could she
not? She hadn’t forgotten him, hadn’t forgotten his kindness, the
kiss…hadn’t forgotten how she’d made her escape while he’d gone to
get his mobile phone. She cringed inwardly just thinking about
it.

That night
wasn’t one she’d ever forgotten. One minute she’d been alone,
crying her eyes out, the next thing a tall, muscular man with
kindness on his face and an easy-going way about him had brought
her water, sat beside her, and then - surprise surprise - shown an
interest in getting to know her more. But she’d cut him loose
before he could even attempt to get a tie to her. She came with too
much baggage, had too many problems of her own to sort out before
she could even contemplate a relationship with a man, however
yummy.

Christ, was
Simon yummy. The dim lights of the balcony had picked out his
muscular build, the low riding jeans showcasing narrow hips and
long legs. Being shirtless had exposed his upper body, and man,
what a body. He had a six pack to die for, muscular pecs that had
made her hands itch to spread against, and biceps and triceps that
bunched and flexed whenever he moved his arms.

No wonder he
had such a mouth-watering build, he obviously kept in shape for his
job. She knew from Ash that the fire fighters were expected to
maintain good condition and had exercise equipment at the fire
station.

But his face,
oh man, his face invaded her dreams many times. Okay, his
magnificent body, too, but his face - handsome, almost classical,
lips that were full yet had a masculinity to them that prevented
them from looking girly, a strong jaw, steady hazel eyes, a crooked
grin, a nose that was straight with a slight unevenness to it that
bespoke a broken nose not set quite perfectly, a sprinkle of
freckles across the bridge of it that was just damned cute, and
above it all a thick thatch of red hair. Deep, rich red, a hint of
brown, a hint of copper, a hint of ginger, some of everything but
not all of one thing. Rich red. There was no other word for it.

And he was
here.
Crap. Crap crap crap!
Had he told his friends about
her? Would he tell them now? She hoped not, prayed not. As soon as
the shock of recognising him had passed she’d kept that famous
Baylon stiff upper lip, acted as though they’d just met for the
first time.

No doubting he
recognised her. Surprise, a touch of pleasure, then bafflement as
she’d just looked at him without recognition. One of those dark red
eyebrows had arched up, his gaze had gone all lazy as they slid
over her and back up, his hazel eyes anything but as they’d locked
onto hers. The gleam in his eyes let her know he was onto her,
there was no doubt she hadn’t seen or heard the last from him. Not
that she would, he was a close friend of Ash and Scott’s, but she
had no doubt from the way he’d looked at her that he was going to
want answers.

To be
truthful, she’d felt like a real bitch when his pleasure had turned
to bafflement. He was so handsome, so nice, so kind, that hurting
him had been the last thing she’d wanted, but neither had she
wanted him to reveal anything to Ash.

Thank God both
their reactions had happened within seconds, apparently quick
enough that no one else noticed.

Cripes, what a
mess. Maybe. Kind of. Didn’t have to be, she’d talk to him later.
Yeah, apologise and stuff. Nothing she could do about it now,
anyway, all she could do was continue onwards.

Rolling her
shoulders, she dropped the suitcases onto the bed to unpack later
and went in search of the bathroom to freshen up.

It was while
she was washing her hands in the bathroom that she became aware of
being watched.

Looking over
her shoulder, she saw a fat tabby sitting in the doorway gazing at
her. Big gold eyes looked her up and down, little grey nose
twitching, but the cat didn’t shift. Little fat bottom and sturdy
little front paws were firmly planted on the wood floor,
grey-striped tail flicking on top of the runner.

“Hi,” Elissa
said.

The tabby eyed
her narrowly.

Turning, she
knelt down, extending one arm and rubbing her thumb and forefinger
together. “Come here, baby. I like kitties.”

That didn’t
seem to impress the tabby at all. Her nose went up in the air a
little while she contemplated her.

“Okay. What do
I need to do to win you over?” When the tabby looked away in the
direction Ash had disappeared into, Elissa added, “Food? Will that
win you over?”

If a cat could
give a scornful look, the tabby did it. It also stood up, turned
and walked away with a decided waddle.

Scorned by her
best friend’s cat. Wow. If she was superstitious she could take
that as a bad omen.

Amused, Elissa
followed the cat down the hallway and through a doorway on the
right side, coming out into a big country kitchen complete with a
wooden table, wooden chairs with cushions, a vase of roses in the
middle of the table, and curtains tied back at the big window above
the sink.

Ash was
standing at the kitchen bench dropping tea bags into two tea cups.
She looked up and smiled widely. “I see you met Tilly.”

“How did you
know?”

“You have that
same half amused, half bemused look on your face that most people
have when they first meet her.”

“I think she’s
a force to be reckoned with.”

“Don’t worry,
just acknowledge that she is queen of her castle and all she
surveys and you’ll get on just fine.”

“You spoiled
her.”

“No, Scott
did. He had Tilly long before I met him. Tilly is his baby girl, so
just remember that if you’re ever tempted to say something nasty
about her in his hearing.”

“Good grief.
That big, handsome firie is a sap for his cat?”

“Absolutely.”

“And a sap for
his fiancé, too.” Elissa winked.

Ash blushed a
little, but she couldn’t stop the small smile. “Maybe.”

“There’s no
maybe about it. The way he looks at you? You only have to ask for
something and he’d shift Heaven and Hell to get it for you.”

“I’d do the
same for him.”

Elissa studied
her friend. “You’re so happy, Ash.”

“Yes. Yes, I
am. Happier than I’ve ever been in my life.”

“It’s good to
see. After what happened…” Shit, maybe she shouldn’t have brought
that up.

They looked at
each other.

“It’s all
right,” Ash said quietly. “I was raped. Scott knows, remember?”

Reaching out,
Elissa laid her hand over Ash’s where it rested on the bench. “He’s
a good man.”

“He’s the best
He taught me to feel again, to have confidence. To touch, be
intimate, to like it.” She paused, cheeks colouring. “And I’m not
going further into that.”

“Thank God. I
thought I was going to have heart palpitations from information
overload.”

Ash
laughed.

“So you’ve
settled in well.” Elissa looked around while Ash poured hot water
into the tea cups. “I really like this house. It has character and
warmth.”

“Yep. Scott
bought it for that very reason, plus he grew up here so he knew
what he wanted when he moved back to Gully’s Fall.” Ash wrapped the
string of each tea bag around the teaspoon to squeeze out the
liquid before dropping them into the little bin and handing Elissa
a cup. “Here.”

BOOK: Fly with Me
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ads

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