Tatted Cowboy (6 page)

“Your mum would be real proud of the man you’ve grown into, love.  Have a good night.”  She closes the door and the sound of the deadlock activating meets my ears.

I stand for a moment, processing her words.  Words that mean more to me than she’ll ever know.  And then I make the short ten-minute walk back to the shop so I can crash on the couch.

LAURA

“Thank you so much for everything. I really appreciate the speedy turnover.”

“No problem at all, Laura.  We’ve enjoyed doing business with you and we hope you’ll be very happy in your new home and in your new business.”

“I’m sure I will.  Thanks again.”  I shake the hands of Mr Baker and his lawyer, Mr Turner, and then I leave the office of Turner and Sons the official owner of Inner Beauty Salon and a four bedroom home!

The last few weeks have flown by.  I’ve purchased everything I need for the salon and I’ve been keeping it in Gran’s shed while we waited for the final exchange of contracts.  Tomorrow, I’ve got painters coming in to freshen the place up and by the end of the week the carpenters will be in there doing the small amount of renovations I need before I can start moving all the furniture in.  I have had the phone connected and electricity turned on so it’s all ready to go. 

I cross the road and beep the locks on my car just as my phone starts ringing from inside my purse.  I pull it out, glance at the screen and answer with a smile.

“Hi, Mum.”

“Hello, darling.  How are you?”

“I’m good.  Just finished at the solicitors.  It’s official¸” I say with a little shriek.

“I’m so incredibly happy for you, sweetheart.  You deserve this.”

“Thanks, Mum.”  My heart swells with love.  My parents have been absolute godsends to me over the last couple of years.  They have supported me, they have carried me through grief, they have picked me up when I was down and, on more than one occasion, they have weathered the deep, dark clouds of sorrow that threatened to swallow me.

But, like the sun on a rainy day, they chased those clouds away.  Their love, like a shining beacon of hope, guiding me.

“When are you and Dad coming up?” I ask.  They’re hiring a moving truck and bringing all my furniture up that I have kept in storage since I left Frank.

“We’ll be up on Friday.  Your father said around lunchtime, but we’ll see how we go.”

“Okay. I can’t wait to see you guys. I miss you both.”

“We miss you, too, darling. We’ll see you Friday. Love you.”

“Love you.”  I press end and drive back to Gran’s. 

Gran is sitting in her recliner, knitting, when I walk in.  She glances up and smiles.  “How did it go?”

“Great.  Everything is finalised and I think we should go out for dinner to celebrate.  I’m thinking chicken schnitzel and beers at the pub.  What do you think?”

“Sounds good to me.  Let me go freshen up.”

I go into my room and choose a pair of midnight blue denim jeans with a small spray of crystals across one of the back pockets.  They fit me like a glove and they’re one of my favourite pairs.  I team them with a beautiful white blouse with three-quarter length sleeves.  Thin lines of glittery thread are sewn through it, so it gives that something extra. 

I swipe on mascara and some light pink gloss and run a brush through my hair, leaving it hang loose, before going to find Gran.

“Ready?”

“Let’s go,” she answers.

We find a table in the restaurant and I leave Gran there to go and grab us some drinks.  The bar is busy but I find an empty stool and sit half of my arse on it as I wait to be served.

“What can I get you?” a pretty black-haired girl asks.  She looks to be a bit younger than me, maybe mid-twenties, where I’ve not long turned thirty.  She’s got a friendly face and even though I haven’t seen her around before, that doesn’t mean she isn’t a local.

“Just a beer and a shandy, please.”

She walks away to pull the beer and then comes back, sitting it on the counter in front of me before preparing Gran’s beer and lemonade mix. 

“I’m Laura,” I say, deciding to introduce myself.

“Sienna.  I’m Dory’s niece.”

“Nice to meet you, Sienna.  Are you new in town as well?”

“Is it that obvious?” she says through a laugh.  “I just moved here this week.”

I smile.  “No, not obvious.  Perhaps I recognize my own kind.  I’m new here, too.  Well, I just moved back after living away for more than twenty years so I may as well be a newbie.”

“Well, we should catch up sometime?” she asks, sounding hopeful.

“I would love that.  I’m pretty busy over the next few weeks, I’m opening my own salon here in town, but a girl’s gotta eat, right? Maybe we could do lunch?”

“Sounds good.  And I can’t wait to hear more about your salon.”  She throws me a blinding smile.

She really is beautiful.

“Well, I better get back to it,” she says, glancing around the bar.

“Nice to meet you,” I say again.

“You too, Laura.”

I pick up the drinks and walk back out to Gran.  She’s chatting across the tables to Maude, who’s dining with her sister. 

“Hi Maude.”  I throw her a smile and hand Gran her drink. 

“Good to see you again, Laura.  I hear congratulations are in order!”

“Thank you,” I say excitedly. 

“You deserve it, love,” she says sincerely.

“Thanks, Maude,” I repeat, this time in a whisper.

“Come on then, love. Let’s order. I’m starving,” Gran says, lightening the mood.

We order our schnitzels and sit back down to chat while we wait.  I see Gran looking over my shoulder and frowning every now and again, but I don’t take any notice until she sighs and mutters, “Poor man.”  I’m just about to ask her what she’s talking about when she lifts her hand, smiles big and beckons someone over.  “Luke, love, come and sit with us,” she calls.

I turn in my seat to see who she is speaking to.

I forget to breathe.

It’s the guy I ran into here all those weeks ago, when I saw the couple fucking.

Oh god.

My heart starts to thud and once again I’m blinded by his sheer manliness. 

Holy shit, he’s gorgeous.  I didn’t dream him up.  Every night since the night I first saw him, I’ve dreamed of him.  Sometimes, I just see him, other times I just hear his voice.  It’s always something and it’s always him.

I had convinced myself he was a figment of my dreams because I haven’t seen him since.  But here he is.  Standing in front of me wearing a pair of well-worn jeans with tiny rips in the knees and a flannelette shirt, all the buttons opened exposing a white tank underneath.

I want to pout because his full sleeves of tattoos on his arms are covered up.  Instead, I try my best to act like an adult.

“Luke, this is my granddaughter, Laura Carlisle.  Laura, this is Luke Stewart.  Pine Creek’s one and only tattoo artist,” Gran introduces us.

“Hi.”  One word. That’s all I manage.

His eyes pierce me.  Captivate me.

“Nice to meet you, Laura.”  He says my name and I want whimper.  It sounds so sexy; like a purr.  My stomach clenches.

“Now, Luke, we can’t have you sitting over there by yourself.  Why don’t you join Laura and me for dinner?  We’re celebrating,” Gran declares proudly.

“Celebratin’, eh?  What are you two beautiful ladies celebratin’ exactly?”  He’s speaking to us both, I think, but his eyes haven’t left mine.  And I can’t seem to tear my gaze away.

I’m enchanted.

Before I can answer, Gran answers for me.  “Laura’s the brand new owner of our town’s very own beauty salon.  She bought the old hardware shop.  The grand opening is in a couple of weeks.”

Jesus, Gran! What’s with the verbal diarrhea?

“Congratulations.”  He smiles, his eyes piercing my soul.

“Thank you,” I manage to whisper.

“We’d love you to join us, Luke,” Gran presses, avoiding my bugged-out eyes.

“Thanks for the offer, Marj, but I’ll pass.  You two ladies deserve to enjoy yourselves together.”  He gracefully declines and I feel my shoulders sag with relief.  I’m not sure what it is about this man, but I don’t like the way he gives my body a mind of its own; like he can control my emotions.

And, one thing I know for sure is that since losing Gus, I like to have control.  I don’t like the feeling of being out of control or losing control of situations.  It makes me nervous.

“Nonsense,” Gran chides.  “We can’t sit here in good conscience knowing you’re over there eating by yourself.  Can we, Laura?”  Gran finally turns to me and through my narrowed eyes I see the sparkle of mischief in her own.

“Of course not,” I grit out, letting Gran know exactly how displeased with her I am.  Then, I look to Luke and give him a fake smile.

“Okay, then, if you insist.  Who am I to turn down two beautiful women?” he jokes.

I bet you say that to all the girls.

Dammit! Now I have Meatloaf stuck in my head!

Our food is brought to the table, giving me an excuse not to speak much.  Gran makes up for it, though.  She practically tells Luke my whole life story, minus the part about Gus, thankfully.  Though, I know she’d never do that to me. 

“Remember the time you broke your arm?”  Gran grimaces at me before looking back to Luke, who, surprisingly, looks extremely interested in every ridiculous story Gran is spewing.

I make a noise in the back of my throat, wanting to answer her question, but not wanting to take part in the tale she’s about to tell.

“Laura was about eight,” she frowns, as if to remember.  “Yes, eight.  It wasn’t long before you moved away.  Anyhow, she was riding a horse with young Ava.  The horse got spooked and started to buck.  Laura came off and landed wrist first.  It was a terrible break. The doctors in Darwin had to re-break it so it would set straight.  All she wanted was her Gran.”  She smiles over at me fondly and I can’t help but return the gesture.

It’s true.  I was in so much pain after the doctors had plastered me up and all I wanted was to lie cuddled up beside my Gran in her bed.

Mum and Dad drove me straight over and Gran looked after me for the next two nights.

“Have you ever had a broken bone, Luke?  Oh, I bet you haven’t.  A strong boy, like you.  Your bones would be like steel; unbreakable.” She answers her own questions, earning a chuckle from Luke.  My body vibrates, humming with
something
… Need? Want? I don’t know what it is, but I think if he were to reach out and touch me, I’d probably zap him with the amount of electricity rippling through me.  The closer he shuffles toward me, the more prominent the buzzing becomes.

He shifts in his chair, discreetly moving closer.  It’s the third time he’s done it since he sat down.  Soon, he’ll be sitting in my lap!

The worst part is, I wouldn’t even mind.  I’m not going to lie.  I’d love it.

God, I’m ridiculous.

“No, Marj.  I’ve never had a break.  Got myself some stitches when I was younger,” he says, pointing to a mark on his eyebrow.  It’s the first time I notice the small scar there.  It’s short, probably an inch and a half long and barely recognizable, unless you look closely.  The hair hasn’t grown over it and the more I look at it, the more I like it.  It’s edgy and sexy. 

“My Laura hasn’t had any stitches, have you, love?” Gran asks.

I tear my eyes away from Luke’s brow and blink to clear my thoughts.

Stitches?  Yes.  In my vagina after I gave birth.  But that’s not something I’m going to share with Luke – or
anyone
– over dinner, or
ever
.

“No,” I say shaking my head.

Gran starts rambling again and I catch Luke stealing glances at me from the corner of his eyes.  I can’t help the excited rhythm my heart begins to beat.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” Gran announces, standing from her seat.

Shit.

She looks me and smiles, an excited gleam in her eyes.

“Won’t be long.”  She bustles away leaving me alone with Luke.

Double shit.

I stare daggers into her back until she disappears out of sight.  Then, I decide, rather than looking at Luke, I’ll stare at the plain white tablecloth.

I wish it had an interesting pattern, or maybe blank Sudoku.  I’ve heard of restaurants that put down activity placemats to keep kids entertained, so why don’t they have adult versions to save women from awkward situations like this?  Perhaps I should mention it to Dory before I go.

“So, you like being back in Pine Creek?” Luke asks, and I glance up at the sound of his delicious voice.  It’s got a subtle country twang to it and I could listen to him speak all day without argument.

I bet it sounds even better when he’s talking dirty as he is making love.

I seriously need to stop these thoughts!  For all I know, he could be in a relationship. 

But, if he were, Gran wouldn’t be pulling the stunt she is pulling.

Even so, I’m not one hundred percent certain of his relationship status so I need to put a stop to thoughts like that.

“Yeah,” I finally answer.  “I missed it when I wasn’t here.”

“I don’t reckon I could ever leave.”  He raises his hands, linking his fingers and resting them at the back of his head.  The movement causes his white tank to slide up and my eyes immediately find the small patch of exposed skin above the waist of his jeans.  A light trail of black hair disappears into the waistband.