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  “So he left her there and came to spend time with us.” Scott took a handful of chips before dropping the rest into a big bowl and placing it into the microwave. “Apparently he didn’t want to see my naked baby photos.”

  “Bet your arse.” Kirk stretched back in the chair, crossing his ankles.

  “Well, while you’re all resting yours’, I guess I better get the drinks as well.” Simon looked at them all sitting at the table. “Seeing as how I had to go out in the cold to get you all food, you ungrateful bastards.”

  “I’ll have coffee,” Ryder said.

  “Coffee,” Scott agreed.

  “Tea,” Kirk added.

  Plugging in the kettle, Simon busied himself preparing the hot mugs of drink while Scott finished heating the chips. His friends’ conversation hummed pleasantly behind him, the sound of rain hammering on the roof, and Simon felt satisfied.

  Right until he realised the rain was coming down harder and Elissa might still be on the road. Shit, would she be on the road still? Had she gone straight home? Was she on the side of the road? Had she remembered to put the hazard lights on?

  Hot, steaming liquid splashed out of the last mug he was placing on the table, Ryder shoving his chair back with a curse.

  Ignoring him, Simon grabbed the phone from the wall and dialled Ash’s phone number. When she answered, he demanded, “Is Lis home?”

  “Who?”

  “Lis. Elissa. Is she home?”

  “She just came home a few minutes ago. Did you want to speak to her?”

  “No. No, it’s fine.” Relaxing, he took a breath, closed his eyes, only to open them again. “A few minutes ago? She didn’t drive through the downpour, did she? I told her not to. I told her to pull over if it started teeming down. She better have pulled over-”

  “She was home before the rain turned heavy again. Simon, are you all right?” There was a clear mutter in the background, a startled silence, then Ash asked a little more cautiously, “Simon?”

  “It’s all good, Ash. I’ll catch you later. ‘Bye.” Lis was home safely. Good. He hung up the phone and turned around to find all three friends watching him with various degrees of amusement and contemplation. “What?”

  “What?” Ryder tossed the now dirty dishcloth into the sink. “Seriously?”

  “Yeah.” Simon dropped into the chair, digging out a handful of hot chips from the bowl in the middle of the table to plop onto his plate. “What?”

  “Mister All-Calm-and-Collected turns all Mr What-Did-I-Tell-Her and you can ask ‘what’?”

  “I don’t have a clue what you’re rabbiting on about.” Simon added two Dim Sims and a Chiko Roll to the plate, eyeing it while practically drooling. The smell was yummy, it was hot and greasy, and it was cold and wet outside. Perfect combination.

  “Jesus, he can’t be serious,” Ryder said in disbelief.

  Taking a big bite out of the Chiko Roll, Simon raised his eyebrows at the ambo.

  “You were out with Elissa,” Scott stated.

  “She offered me a lift back. It was raining.”

  “She was pissed at you. What did you do?”

  “Nothing.” Taking another big bite of food, Simon sighed happily.

  “If she was pissed at you to start with, she wouldn’t have offered you a lift home,” Kirk pointed out. “When the car pulled up she looked a little tense, but then you said something to her that got her pissed at you.”

  “Oh, that.” Simon waved his hand laconically. “I just warned her to be careful on the road.”

  “Uh huh. Just warned her. That was it.”

  With a small smirk, Ryder looked at Scott. “A warning got her all pissy. Just a warning.”

  “More than that,” Scott said bluntly. “What else did you tell her? Oh, should I add before you chucked her under the chin like a kid?”

  “It certainly didn’t help her mood,” Ryder said happily.

  Finished with the Chiko Roll - man, he was hungry - Simon picked up a Dim Sim. “Oh, that. She just looked tired, so I suggested she sleep in instead of getting up at dawn and walking. Woman needs some rest.”

  “She won’t get rest being mad at you.” Ryder picked up his mug of coffee.

  Kirk calmly regarded Simon. “Interesting.”

  “Mmm?” Simon looked at him.

  “I’ve never known any sheila in this town to get angry with you -”

  “He’s too damned lazy to get anyone’s back up,” Ryder interjected.

  “- and I’ve never known you to give a woman orders when it’s not called for.”

  “I didn’t order her,” Simon replied. “I was telling her what to do if the rain got heavy.”

  “Elissa’s driven in rainy weather in the city, I’m sure she knows what she’s doing.”

  “You still tell Molly all the time.”

  “That’s different.”

  Simon snorted.

  “She’s my wife.”

  “You tell Del, too.”

  “She’s my friend.”

  “You tell everyone.”

  “That’s my job.”

  “And it’s my job as her friend and a member of the emergency services to inform her of what to do when danger is imminent.”

  “Jesus,” Ryder said. “The big words are starting.”

  Grinning, Scott broke his pie in half, only to look disappointed when steam didn’t curl out. “Well, shit. This is lukewarm.”

  “Heat it up.” Ryder shoved the paper bag containing his pie towards him. “Do mine as well.”

  “You lazy bastard. All you’ve done is come over here, drink our coffee and eat our food.”

  “What’s your point? And will you hurry? Some of us have to go back to work.”

  Simon studied Kirk who was scrutinizing him in turn. Hmm, his friend was doing a lot of thinking, but Kirk being Kirk, not a lot of what he was thinking was showing on his face. He had cop face down to a T.

  “Something on your mind?” Simon queried.

  “You don’t seem bothered that she was angry with you.”

  “Anger is better than crying.”

  That had all the men straightening, Scott turning around from where he stood at the microwave. “What do you mean crying?”

  No point hiding it now. His friends knew something was up and hell, they wouldn’t talk anyway. What was said between these walls stayed here. He could tell some of it but her story wasn’t his to reveal, not even to his friends. “Tears. Throwing her mobile out the window.”

  “She did what?” Ryder stared at him over the rim of his mug.

  “Yep. I spotted her sitting in the car, saw her stressed out, went to see if she was all right and next thing the phone is out the window and on the ground. I picked it up, went over to her, and man, I’m telling you, the woman is stressed to the max.” Simon paused, looked at Scott. “Ash say anything about Lis being unhappy?”

  Scott started to shake his head, only to frown and stop. “Well, I know Elissa is having a few issues, that’s all. Ash didn’t say much about it. I don’t know if she knows more or not.”

  Ryder placed the mug on the table and reached for the bowl of chips. “The girls were all out together earlier. Dee didn’t mention she was unhappy.”

  “Huh.”

  “In fact, Dee likes her. Says she has to educate her, though.”

  Simon laughed. “Holy crap, there goes the neighbourhood and the nice girl.”

  Ryder grinned widely.

  “Doesn’t solve the mystery of why she’s so unhappy.” The microwave dinged and Scott carefully took the pies out and placed them back on the table. “Maybe she’ll open up more to Ash while she’s here.”

  Taking a now steaming pie, Simon split it in half with a knife. Maybe Scott was right, maybe Lis would open up to Ash. Regardless, he was determined to help her find renewed joy in life. He wanted those tears gone from her eyes, the tension from her shoulders, and laughter back on her lips. He just had to get her to trust him, spend a little more
time with him.

  Good thing he had a plan.

  Chapter 5

  The ground was damp from the rain which had finally stopped around midnight. The morning was chilly and dark grey, the dawn just emerging.

  Standing by the open gate, Elissa tucked her hands deeper into her pockets as she waited for a little more light to emerge before she started her walk.

  The night hadn’t been restful, both her mother’s words and Calum’s echoing in her head, making her irritable, mentally itchy, restless. Not to mention wondering what the hell had possessed her to tell Simon everything. Cripes, she didn’t even know the man that well, yet there she’d been, spilling her guts to him.

  She’d been awake since three o’clock reading in bed with the door shut so she didn’t disturb Scott and Ash.

  Cripes, Scott. She couldn’t help but shake her head and grin a little. He’d heard about the roof episode and true to the girls’ warnings, there he’d been, standing at the sink looking really hot in his fire fighter’s uniform, quietly and firmly giving them a lecture on safety and the foolhardiness of climbing on roofs.

  Ash had simply listened politely, nodded, then walked over, grabbed the front of his shirt, pulled him down for a kiss, and while he was still arguing with her- or trying to - she’d whispered something in his ear that had made his eyes go from annoyed to hot. Then Ash had glanced over her shoulder at Elissa and winked.

  Elissa couldn’t very well kiss Scott to divert him like Ash did, so she simply nodded. Okay, part of her could have fired up and gotten indignant at the lecture, but on the other hand she appreciated the fact that he loved Ash and cared about his friends enough to try and protect them, and he’d included her in that circle which was heart-warming, made her feel like she belonged. It was strange to feel included in a protective gesture she’d only ever felt around her brother.

  The sound of a vehicle in the distance drew her attention, an old ute driving into view. It slowed down, slewing across the road to park near her at the gate.

  An older man, lean, his face lined, looked out at her. “You all right, missy?”

  Warily, she eyed him. “Fine, thank you.”

  His gaze went to the house behind her before moving back to her face. “You must be Ash and Scott’s friend.”

  “I’m Elissa.”

  “Jack Stanton, commonly known as Old Jack Stanton.” He held out a work-roughened hand.

  Gingerly taking his hand, she had hers given a good hearty squeeze and shake before he released it. “You’re up early.”

  “Country air,” she responded.

  “Yeah.” He nodded. “Need a lift somewhere?”

  “Thanks, but no.” Cripes, she didn’t even know him. Stranger danger and all that. Mind you, she walked along the road alone so…

  “Righto. Well, I better get moving.” He nodded at her. “Nice to meet you. Say g’day to Scott and Ash for me.” Putting the ute in gear, he drove back onto the correct side of the road and disappeared towards town.

  Okay, that had been interesting.

  The grey had lifted a little more, lightening the sky, so she decided to start walking. She had a lot to think about, one of which was what the hell she was going to do with her life. She had no job, no plans. True, this was a holiday combined with Ash’s wedding, but it was also a time to sort out what she wanted to do with her life.

  Setting a good pace, she mulled over her thoughts. The mobile, unfortunately, was buggered. Whether it was the water or the way it had hit the ground, it wasn’t working. Okay, maybe that was fortunate. Okay, yes it was fortunate. No way anyone could ring her on it or leave messages. She could just forget about it, and hell, she figured she wouldn’t bother even buying another one. Not yet, anyway. Go mobile free, that could be one of her new decisions. Moz knew where she was, everyone did, so they could ring the house if they wanted. Her mother liked to keep up appearances, she wouldn’t get unpleasant on the phone if Ash or Scott answered it. Nope, she’d be all polite and shit, waiting to spew her venom for when Elissa got on it. Even then, if she knew that someone other than Elissa was in the room, she’d have to be careful what she said. Gotta keep up appearances.

  Bugger appearances. Elissa hunched her shoulders. She was sick of keeping up a good front, trying to pay her dues. So sick of it.

  Another engine in the distance, this one powerful, rumbling loudly as it neared, and she watched as a big black and chrome motorbike roared down the road towards her. Instead of passing her, it slowed, the rider expertly guiding it smoothly to a stop right beside her.

  Now she was wary. Hell, she was all alone in the early morning, no traffic around, and here was a bikie. A big bikie, the jeans he wore hugging powerful thighs, the leather jacket stretched across broad shoulders. Heavy boots planted on the ground each side of the bike as the rider straddled the powerful machine, keeping it upright with ridiculous ease.

  Glancing around, Elissa took a step backwards. Jesus, why hadn’t she thought to carry something with her? Such as a mobile phone? Oh right, of course, that had buggered up from hitting the ground before drowning in a puddle. Great going, genius.

  At least he didn’t kick the stand on and get off, so he obviously didn’t have any intentions of grabbing her and doing something nefarious. Or maybe it was just that women with more generous curves than was socially acceptable didn’t turn him on. Saved by a plump arse and round thighs.

  Then again, he was still sitting there, his hands busy undoing the strap under that strong chin.

  Hmmm. He seemed vaguely familiar.

  Big hands grabbed the black helmet each side and drew it off to reveal a classically handsome face, a faint smile on firm, masculine lips, a sprinkling of freckles across a straight nose, and warm hazel eyes. Immediately, she relaxed.

  Simon rested the helmet on one thigh. “’Morning, Lis.”

  What did one say to a man one had spilled their guts to? “Hi.” Her gaze swept over him and the bike. “Yours?”

  “Yep.” Leaning his forearm on the helmet, he studied her. “Couldn’t sleep, huh?”

  Her gaze shot back up to meet his. “I slept just fine.”

  “Sure.”

  Her back stiffened a little but she kept her tone coolly civil. “Going to work early?”

  “I’m on days off now.”

  “Nice.”

  “Yep. I was actually looking for you.”

  Surprised, she blinked. “You were?”

  He nodded. “I’m on my way to check how Arthur fared overnight and thought you might like to come along for the ride.”

  Now this was unexpected. “Oh, I’m not sure-”

  “Ever been on a motorbike, Lis?” His eyes narrowed a little with his growing smile, the laughter lines fanning out from the corners of his eyes.

  She looked dubiously at the black and chrome metal beast. “No.”

  “Then let me introduce you to the pleasures to be had from riding one.” Half turning, he reached back to unfasten what she now saw was another helmet strapped to the back of the motorbike.

  Ride on that motorbike? Straddle that beast? Elissa eyed it nervously. Cripes, it was big, heavy, yet it made her feel vulnerable to even think of being on the back of it. “Yeah. No. Simon, I’m not sure about this.”

  “Trust me, Lis, you’ll love it.” He held out the helmet. “Just put this on, swing a leg over, settle down, hold on to me and enjoy the ride.”

  Swing a leg over? Her eyes widened even as she automatically reached out and took the helmet. “Simon-”

  “I won’t let anything bad happen to you. You’re safe with me,” he assured her. “You don’t have anywhere to be, do you? Apart from breakfast?”

  “Well, no, but-”

  “And you’re open to new experiences, right?”

  “I guess so-”

  “And you like Arthur, right?”

  “Well-”

  His smile was wide. “Put on the helmet, Lis, and let’s go.”

  She stared at
him for several seconds before looking at the helmet in her hands. Should she? In the same second she thought, hell, why not? She was here, she didn’t have to worry about appearances, and that thought brought to mind how horrified her mother would be if she knew Elissa was actually contemplating riding on the back of a motorbike, not to mention Calum’s disapproving face.

  That pretty much cinched it. She had only herself to please, right? Bugger them all, she was definitely open to new experiences.

  “Okay.” She started to raise the helmet. “Let’s do this.”

  “Good girl,” Simon said. “But hang on there.”

  Pausing in the act of lifting the helmet, she looked at him questioningly.

  He crooked a finger. “Come here.”

  Puzzled, she moved to the side of the bike, his jean clad thigh brushing her leg as he motioned her closer.

  “Turn around,” he instructed.

  Wondering if there was some other kind of equipment she should be wearing, Elissa was startled when she felt deft fingers pluck free the clip that held her hair up. It fell around her shoulders as she swung back to face him. “What the-”

  “Helmet would never fit with your hair up like that.” He handed her the clip.

  For a second she looked blankly at the clip, then realisation dawned. “Oh.”

  “Put the helmet on, sweetheart, then swing up behind me.” He patted the seat.

  The seat right behind his very nice, firm arse. Oh boy. She’d never ridden a motorbike but she’d seen pillion passengers. Some of them sat close behind the rider, real close. Like tucked up to the rider, their thighs behind his, body pressed close, arms around their waists.

  Tucked up close to Simon’s strong back, his muscular thighs… Just the thought had her a little giddy.

  “Lis?” he queried.

  Pulled from her thoughts, she managed to smile at his quizzical expression. “Just thinking.”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Okay, here goes.” She pulled the helmet over her head, feeling the strangeness of it as it settled. Unsure exactly how to fasten the strap, she fumbled at it.

  Simon brushed her hands away, long fingers deftly securing the strap, pulling it so it rested snugly beneath her chin. Leaning back, his eyes crinkled in amusement. “Yep, one bad bikie chickie.”