Lie to Me (36 page)

Jaci nodded.  “Well, I hope he finds out who did it.”

“I’ve got my own ideas.”

“Oh?”

Like Dee was going to tell Jaci she suspected her friend, Yvonne.  Which reminded her, she had a little visit to pay later.  “Doesn’t matter.  Anyway, you have a good day.”

“Yeah, thanks Dee.  You too.”  With a little wave, Jaci left the shop.

Now that everyone was gone, Dee was able to lean on the counter and think about Ryder.  Damn it, he might as well have posted a notice in the local rag.  That kiss in front of Cheryl and Vic was going to be all over town.  That in turn meant  a lot of knowing winks, smiles and open questions.

When she got her hands on him, she’d kill him.

But man, what a kisser.  When he went all domineering like that, well, hell, it just did it for her.

Unable to stop a tiny smile, Dee picked at a bit of sticky tape that had gotten stuck on the counter at some time.  She’d be a liar if she didn’t admit that she was wondering what he had up his sleeve next.  He’d said he’d see her later.  Later as in lunch time?  She shook her head.  Nope, he was at work, he wouldn’t dally with her here, not with everyone walking in and out, though the man was unpredictable at times.

Nah, he’d hole up with his mates at the Fire Station and shoot the shit.  She suddenly wondered exactly what they did talk about.  Did they talk like the girls did when they came over? Did they discuss relationships?

Curious, she tossed the bit of sticky tape into the bin.  She’d have to ask Molly and Ash, they’d be bound to know. Heck, the men probably talked as much as the girls did, they had to, they were close.  Man cave time and all that, and she bet that man cave time didn’t involve just shooting the shit.  Nope, she just bet they talked about relationships as well.  Maybe not in the same way, but yeah, they definitely did it.

Which meant that Ryder may have talked about what had happened between them already.  That thought had her straightening and frowning. Kirk certainly hadn’t indicated anything when he’d arrived the previous morning, but then Ryder wouldn’t have had time to talk to him, right?  Another thought…all the blokes had been working, they’d have had time to talk at the Fire Station.

Shit.  How much did they all know or suspect?

Rubbing her forehead, she sighed.  Yep, it was a Monday.

The morning passed pretty much as she’d expected.  Gossip had spread and she had more than normal in her shop.  More beaming smiles, more hints, more sly questions that she fielded easily.  Those who were more pushy, she just gave them the hard eye and they backed down immediately.

Lunch time came and with it, Ash, Molly and Del.  The shop was empty, so it was easy for Del to grab Dee’s uninjured arm and tug her along behind her to the kitchenette at the back of the shop.

“I can walk, damn it,” Dee protested.

“You and Ryder?” Del demanded.  “You and Ryder finally got it together and you didn’t tell me?”

“You?” Molly dropped her sandwich on the table.  “What about us?”

Ash popped the tab on her Diet Coke.  “About time, too.  How did it come about?”

Dee folded her arms  and looked around at them all.  “News flash, sisters.  Nothing much has changed.”

Del paused in her task of pulling the plastic wrap off her roll.  “What?”

“We’re not a couple.”

“Ryder kissed you in front of everyone.”

“In front of two people who spread the gossip.”

“Hell yeah.  The gossip that Ryder put his stamp on you for everyone to see!”

“Put his stamp on me?”  Dee frowned.  “It was a kiss, not a stamp.  Jesus, do I have ‘Ryder’s Property’ stamped on my forehead?”

“Check your throat.  Apparently he had his tongue down it, so it’s probably there.”

“Or elsewhere,” Molly added.

“Elsewhere?  What are you saying?”

Molly leered.  “I’m just saying.”

“Later I’ll teach you some other uses for that mouth.”
  Ryder’s words suddenly flashed through her mind, making blood surge into her cheeks.

Molly gave a crow of delight.

“You mob of dirty bitches.”  Dee sat down, taking one of the Diet Cokes that Ash had put on the table.  “Get your minds out of the gutter.”

“But it’s so much fun down here.”  Molly fluttered her eyelashes.  “You know you want to play in it.”

Shaking her head, Dee swallowed a mouthful of drink, welcoming the fizzy coldness in her throat.

“But then, you already have,” Molly stated.

“With Ryder,” Del added.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dee said coolly.

“Come on.  Ryder stayed Saturday night in your flat.”

“Are you spying on me?”

“He has my key and refused to give it back.  I also saw him leave your flat in the early morning, uniform all rumpled, hair all tousled.”  Del smirked a little.  “He looked like a man on a mission.”

“That’s because I gave him the heave ho.”

“After having your dirty way with him?  I can believe the ‘ho’ part now.”

“You watch too much TV.”

“Never mind that.”  Molly fixed a stern gaze on Dee.  “How long has this been going on between you two?”

“Nothing is-”

“Don’t try that, Miller.  No one here will believe that.  You’ve been acting a little odd lately, even if you think we haven’t noticed.  Lady, you blush when we talk about Ryder and sex in the same sentence-”

“Like right now,” Del put in.  “Look at those cheeks.  Put Rudolph’s nose to shame.  You could be the brake lights on Santa’s sleigh with those cheeks while Rudolph takes the lead.”

Said cheeks burning, Dee flipped her the bird.

“Not to mention that you didn’t slap Ryder stupid when he kissed you this morning.”  Ash nodded.  “Dee, you’d take off anyone’s head who tried to kiss you.  Ryder kissed you and all you could do was stand there panting, holding onto him.”

“What?  I wasn’t panting!”

“Huh.  That’s what’s doing the rounds.”

“Oh great.  The grape vine with added bits. We made the big time.”

“Is it true you didn’t want him to leave, that you begged him to go upstairs?”

“No.  Who told you that?”

“Vic.”

“I’m going to bury that bastard.”

Ash laughed.

“Seriously.”  Del looked hard at Dee.  “What’s going on?”

All three women stopped eating and watched Dee.

“Nothing.”

With a gentleness that Dee had come to expect from her, Ash laid her hand on Dee’s and said softly, “We know you have feelings for Ryder.  No one told us, we could see it.  I thought you’d be happy that Ryder is finally returning those feelings.”

If it had been anyone but Ash, Dee would have told them to go to hell, but when she looked into those gentle eyes, that caring face, then glanced around to see the genuine caring and concern in her friends’ faces, she sighed.  “Okay, I’m not going to lie.  I have feelings for Ryder.”

Ash squeezed her hand.

“And he says he has feelings for me.”

They all waited.

“I’m not so sure he does,” Dee finished.

“Why?” Molly asked.

“It’s too quick.  Not long ago he was boffing Jaci-”

“Didn’t get that far,” Del interrupted.  “You saw to that.”

“That was an accident.”

“Still…”

“Don’t split hairs.  Ryder’s been shagging the women of Gully’s Fall and beyond for years.  He’s probably shagged half of Australia.  Suddenly he thinks he has feelings for me.  I mean, really?”  She gave a laugh, a shrug, but she wasn’t fooling her friends.

“Ryder’s had feelings for you since you were high school kids.” Del shook her head.  “The dumb arse just didn’t know it.”

“Sometimes love needs to be revealed by something,” Ash added.  “You know, something happens and suddenly it’s clear.”

“Yeah.”  Molly arched one brow.  “So what happened?”

“Isn’t lunch time over?” Dee queried, not at all comfortable.

“Not even half.  When did it start and what happened?”

“Jesus, Molly.  Are you a pervert?”

“Don’t start with me, Miller.  I want to know what happened and when.”  Molly paused, glanced at Ash’s raised eyebrow.  “Purely for helping to identify what caused the change.”

“Oh yeah, it wouldn’t be because you’re nosey,” Del said.

“You make it sound like menopause. 
The Change
,” Dee added.

“I’ll be in menopause by the time you finally talk if you don’t hurry up,” Molly retorted.

Dee took another swallow of Diet Coke, pushing her bowl of fruit salad aside, her appetite completely gone.

“It’s okay,” Ash soothed.  “If you don’t want to talk-”

“What?” Molly glared at her.  “If this dumb sheila doesn’t spill her guts, she’ll be walking in circles like Ryder has done all these years.  That’s not helping her.”

Before Ash could reply, Dee tapped the table.  “Ladies.”  She paused.  “And Molly.”

Molly rolled her eyes.

“Look, its simple.  I kind of accidentally kissed Ryder and he came to apologise because I ran away and things got heated when Dawson was there and it all got out of control.”  Dee squinted at the opposite wall.  “Three times.”

“What?” Del stared at her.

“
Three
times?”  Even Ash was surprised.

“You call that simple?” Molly shook her head.  “That’s not simple.  That’s convoluted beyond all reason.”

“Are you telling us you shagged Ryder by
accident
three times?” Del demanded.  “How the hell can you call three times an accident?”

“Well, the first time was because Jason made us fight.”

“Made you?”

“Long story.  Fairer to say it was because Ryder kind of got all up in his face about it, then mine.  For daring to help Jason.  He was worried,” Dee added.

“Jason was worried?”

“No, Ryder was worried about me being with Jason.  Then he got all bent out of shape about me helping Jason.”

“Ahhh.”  Molly nodded knowingly.  “Ryder was jealous.”

“Mad sex.”  Ashe sighed dreamily.  “That’s great sex.”

They all looked at her.

“Oh boy,” Del said.  “You’re spilling the beans later.”

“You couldn’t drag it out of me with a forklift,” Ash retorted.

“Don’t worry, I’ll give it a go.”

“Ignore those two.”  Molly flapped her hand at them.  “Continue with this totally screwed up story, Dee.”  She grinned.  “Did I say screwed?”

“I’m not even going there,” Dee replied dryly.

“Come on.”  Del beckoned to her.  “Ryder was jealous, you had mad sex.  Then what?”

Her cheeks flared a little.  “Um…well…we fell asleep and then during the night we did it again, and then he left.”

“Without saying a word?”

“Well, to be fair I got up first and went to the shop and - look, it happened.  Then I cut myself, he slept on the sofa, I found him, things got out of hand.  Again.”

“Seems to get out of hand quite a bit,” Del observed.

“Best way,” Ash said.

Molly grinned.  “Amen, sister.  My loins hear you.”

“That’s disturbing.” Del grimaced.  “And can I add - ewww?”

“Wait until you’re rocking the bed,” Molly replied.  “Unless you already are and we don’t know about it.”

“My non-existent love-life is not in question here.”  Del pointed her half eaten roll at Dee.  “So what happened?  There’s more to this.”

Dee sighed.  “Suddenly Ryder thinks he has feelings for me.  But I mean, really?  All of a sudden we’ve slept together three times and he gets all ‘there’s something between us’ and ‘I’m going to prove it to you’ and shit.  I mean, come on.”  She gave a small humourless laugh.

Molly, Del and Ash exchanged glances.

“Oh great.”  Dee sighed again.  “What?”

“He’s telling the truth,” Molly answered.  “I believe him.”

Dee looked at her.

“I do.  Come on, Dee.  Whenever you’ve been together in the past, there’s always been a spark between you.  The difference is you knew what it was and Ryder didn’t, and mate, I’m telling you this with all the friend love in my heart-”

“Oh boy, this should be good.”

“- you did nothing to let Ryder know you were interested in him.”

Dee stared at her.  “Are you saying it’s my fault?”

“No, I’m just saying cut the bloke some slack.  You’ve had years to grow used to the idea, he’s just been hit over the head with it.  Now, in his usual gung-ho fashion, he decides its fine to lay claim, to announce his intentions and go for it, while you’re all, ‘Oh no.  Oh my, I can’t trust him.  Oh no, I couldn’t possibly give him a chance.  I gave him my body - three times - but I can’t possibly think he’d be really interested’.  Dee, this man comes running even before you call for help, been by your side through thick and thin as kids and adults, and everyone in town can see you’re perfect together.  He’s kissed you in front of people and stated -
stated
- that he’s going to prove it to you.  Jesus, what more do you want?”  Molly paused, glanced around at everyone watching her with varying degrees of amusement and incredulity.  “What?”