Lie to Me (10 page)

“Simple.  I lied.”

“You devious bitch.”

“Absolutely.”

Ash got up to turn the kettle off.  “Tea?  Coffee?”

“Not for me, thanks.”  Molly waved the can of Diet Coke.

“Tea,” Del replied.

“Tea,” Dee agreed.

“So…?” Molly popped the tab on the can.

Dee lowered the fork with a sigh.  “It’s simple.  I was outside contemplating going home, Jason asked if I was all right, Ryder came out and I was already annoyed with him so I kind of let it slip that Jason was walking me home and we left.”

“Wait.  What?”  Ash looked around from where she was jiggling the tea bags in the mugs.  “Back up a bit.  Jason asked if you were alright?”

“Yeah.”  Dee forked up a piece of tomato.  “Isn’t that odd?”

“We are talking Jason Dawson?”

“Yep.”

“Not the first time, either,” Del added.  “He spoke to her in the pub as well.”

“Maybe he was being nice,” Molly said.

“Doubt it.”

“He did bring me fruit cake from his Mum, remember?”

“Oh right, so that makes him a nice bloke.” Del narrowed her eyes at Dee.  “Did he try anything?”

“No.”

“Try to force his way in?”

“No.”

“Try to force himself on you?”

“The man’s walking around with uncrushed nuts, so that would be a no as well.”

“So what did he do?”

Dee paused thoughtfully.  “Actually, he didn’t say much and he just left once I walked in here.”

There was silence for several seconds as they each thought about it, then Del broke the silence.  “Holy crap, does he have a crush on you?”

“Doubt it,” Dee replied dryly.

“Maybe he wants to forage in your panties.”

“Yeah, doubt that, too.”

“He’s being nice.  Nice blokes always have a motive.”

“Simon doesn’t.”

“Well-”

“Or Kirk,” Molly added.

“Or Scott.”  Ash set the mugs on the table.  “Or Ben.  Or Will.  Or Vic or Bill or-”

“Right.  Okay.  Sure.  Whatever.  Geez.”  Del took a bite of her roll.

Molly looked at Dee.  “So who are you dating if not Jason?”

“No one.  I’m dating no one at all, not even Bigfoot, my dream ape.”

“So how did Ryder get the idea that you are?”

“I may have led him on a bit.”

“A bit?”  Ash’s eyebrows rose.

“Okay, a lot.  Wait a minute.”  Dee tapped the table with the back of the fork.  “Nope, a little.  It was Ryder jumping to conclusions that made it a lot.”

“I don’t understand,” Del said.

“He was sprouting off this morning about being experienced and dating and I said I was, too.”

Molly and Ash just waited, not knowing her past that well, but Del looked at her with a mixture of concern and surprise.

“You what?” her cousin asked.

“Told him I was experienced and kind of  hinted at dating and it wasn’t any of his business.”

“Ahhh.”  Molly nodded knowingly.  “This has to do with the dry rot in the morning wood.”

“Now it all makes sense,” Del agreed.  “He told you to butt out and when he thought you and Jason were seeing each other, you told him to butt out.”

“Got it in a nutshell.”

“Good grief,” Ash murmured.

They all sat and ate in silence for several minutes.

Dee caught Del’s eye and knew she hadn’t heard the last of lying to her, but what the heck, it wasn’t like anything more disastrous could happen.  Besides, she had the dubious pleasure of later having Ryder chasing her down breathing fire.

Face it, she liked the idea of him chasing her, but it was rather pathetic that he only seemed to do it when he was mad at her, which, come to think of it, was probably why she baited him.

Man, she
was
pathetic.  Maybe it was well overdue to stop.

Molly sighed.  “Look, Dee, really, why don’t you just tell Ryder that-” She came to a crashing halt when Dee’s head snapped up.

“What?” Dee demanded.  “Tell him what?” 
Damn it, don’t say anything.  Don’t say it!

Whatever was on her face must have been warning enough, because Molly gave a little cough.  “You’re your own woman, he can’t tell you what to do.”

Del cast Dee a sidelong glance, while Ash looked up at her from the top of her eyes as she hunched just a little lower in her chair.

They might suspect but no way were they game to say anything to her, and that was just the way Dee wanted it.  It was bad enough she knew how she felt but to have someone else voice it, no way in hell.  They might all suspect but none of them could be certain.

And it was her bloody business.

However, nor did she want to upset them, so she managed a smile.  “Like dumb arse would listen.”

“Could always stamp it on his forehead,” Del drawled.  “We’ll hold him down, you hit him with the stamp.”

The shop bell rang.  Putting down her fork, Dee pushed upright.  “As tantalising as the thought is, you’ll have to hold it until I get back.”

Moving out through the doorway, she groaned at the two men standing at the counter.

“Hey,” Vic greeted her with a big grin.  “So, who’ve you been shagging on the sly?”

“Yeah,” Bill added.  “And what’s this about you seeing the Dawson prick?”

“Tell me you’re not shagging
him
,” Vic said.

They both sniggered.

Bastards, the pair of them.  Her brothers knew she’d never shag anyone for whom she didn’t have feelings.

Dee strode down the aisle.  “Aren’t you two supposed to be working?”

“Lunch break,” Vic informed her.

“So, no dunnies to unblock?”

“Every dunny in and around town is behaving itself.”

“Bad luck.”  She looked at Bill.  “No one needing a sparky?”

“Actually there is, but I came over here first to hear your confession.”

“Nothing to confess.”

Bill leaned forward, eyes gleaming.  “Aw, come on, sis.  Tell your big brothers the secret.”

“It’s no secret you’re a pair of wankers.”

“Ooohhhh,” Del called out admiringly.  “Score!”

Bill flipped her the bird.

“Nothing to tell and even if there was I wouldn’t be spilling it to you two,” Dee informed them.  “So either buy something or leave, you’re making my shop look messy.”

“My my.”  Vic nudged Bill.  “She’s a little touchy.”

“Must be all that lovin’ with her man,” Bill returned.  “Tender parts from being with a touchy lover?”

“Very possibly.  Should we ask her?”

They both grinned widely at her.

“Ha ha.  Now there’s the door.  Need a hand getting out of it?”

“Aw, come on, Dee, give us something to tell the women waiting at home for us.”

“You want gossip.”

“Yep.”

“Give them that gossip.”

“They know that gossip, who do you think told us?” Vic replied.  “Now we’ve been sent to find the truth.”

“Crap you have.”  Turning away, she started back towards the kitchenette.  “I’m going to finish my lunch.”

Vic started following.  “That’s okay, we can talk to you as easily at the back as up the front.”

“Lovely!”  Molly appeared in the doorway.  “We were just discussing menstruating and how men feel about it.”

“Yeah.”  Del gave the men a ‘come on’ gesture.  “Tell us how you feel when we PMS.”

“I feel bloody awful,” Bill replied.  “You have no idea.”

“How do you feel about bloated bellies?”

“Well, now that you mention it, I do get a bit bloated.”

Ash blinked.

“Tampons or pads, what do you prefer?” Del queried.

“Hmmm.  I have nowhere to put one, but if I had to, I guess a tampon would fit better than one of those surf boards.”

“Jesus,” said Vic, “I don’t believe I’m hearing this.”

“Hey, have you ever seen how big some of those surf boards are?  Imagine if you had to insert one of them.”

“We’re men, we don’t insert - what the hell am I saying?”  Grabbing Bill’s arm, Vic yanked him back towards the door.  “Time to get back to men and manly conversation.”

“You never want to discuss feelings.”

“Are you kidding me?”  Vic yanked him out the door.  “Go and insert your finger into a faulty power point and clear your head.”

Laughing, the women resumed their seats.  Not long after they parted company, each going back to their work.

As much as Dee loved her friends, she was glad to have some peace and quiet to think.  It looked like the gossip mill was in overdrive thanks to her ridiculous impulse to have Jason walk her home, not to mention her rash words to Ryder.  But really, having him laugh at her lack of experience, having him think he knew her so well, it rankled.

Flicking the feather duster along the shelves holding books, Dee frowned.  Unfortunately, he did know her very well, though she’d left him flabbergasted by what she’d said that morning.  She’d kind of surprised herself, but when she’d seen the uncertainty in his eyes satisfaction had welled within her.

For once she had the upper hand.  For once he was the one uncertain.  It had felt good, very good.  Seeing the flash of anger in his eyes, the way he’d come over all He-Man, demanding answers and wanting to know who she was dating, well, that had warmed the cold embers of her burned little heart.

Not to mention that she could pretend his over protectiveness was jealousy.

Yeah, right
.

She could only wish.

Her satisfaction was short-lived.  Every customer who came into her shop hinted at her, wanting to know if she was dating anyone - translation, Jason Dawson - some of the older people warning her to be careful who she dated nowadays - “one just never knows, dear” - while a couple of younger one girls stood on the other side of the magazine rack whispering at how Jason Dawson was a dangerous man but a hunky one, and that some liked it rough obviously.  This was said with gazes sliding across to Dee.

She tried to ignore them all, fielding off the questions with a shrug and looking everyone right in the eyes, silently challenging them to say anything further.

None of them were silly enough to try.  Jason Dawson might have a reputation for being a hard case, but Dee had the reputation of being a woman who spoke her mind, and a few people had either witnessed it themselves or been unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end.  Not to mention that most had known her since she was a baby and so knew her well enough to not push the boundaries of friendship.

Only a small circle of friends pushed the boundaries - bloody broke through them, to be truthful - and still remained her friends, but that circle was small and she certainly wasn’t welcoming anymore into it.  A few close friends and everyone else she was friendly with, that was how Dee worked.

As the business hours drew to a close, she breathed a sigh of relief, closing and locking the door.  She had just started to turn away when a knock sounded on the door and she saw Kirk standing on the footpath.

“Hey,” she greeted, opening the door to him.

“Hey,” he returned.  “Got a few minutes?”

“Sure, come on in.”  She stood to one side, closing the door behind him to stop anyone out and about after hours thinking they could start some late night shopping.  “Molly’s okay?  The bump?”

“Molly and the baby are fine.”  Expression calm, he looked down at her.  “I’m worried about you.”

“Me?”  Surprised, she raised one eyebrow.

“I know Ryder and you rub each other up the wrong way sometimes.”  He paused.  “Most times.  But last night was a stunt that could have put you in danger.”

Oh boy, just what she needed after all the hints thrown at her during the day.  “Look, I appreciate the concern but there’s no need to worry.  I knew what I was doing.”

He looked at her.

“It had nothing to do with Ryder.”

His look remained steady.

“Okay, it had a little to do with him.”

Steady gaze.  Silence.

Damn it, the cop was the only man in town who could make her squirm.  She respected him, he was a good man, but right then he was another person intent on telling her what to do.  “Kirk, I’m not interested in doing this with you or anyone else tonight.”  She moved past him.  “Or any night.”

“Tough day?”  He watched her move around the counter.

“I’ve had about a million do-gooders in here intent on either telling me what to do or wanting to know what happened.  Hints about boyfriends, dating and bad boys.”  Irritated, she printed out the balance slip from the EFTPOS machine.  “Funnily enough, no one goes to Ryder and hints to him, do they?”

“They tried to tell Ryder years ago,” Kirk returned mildly.  “They’ve long since given up.”