Fall for You

by Angela Verdenius

Crap on a stick, she had to learn to keep her mouth shut. Ryder and Scott knew her too well. Lifting her chin, she looked coolly across the table at her cousin. “No one. My business. Back off.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “Does Aunt Julia know you swear? She’d have washed your mouth out with soap once.”

  “Don’t try to change the subject.”

  “That subject is closed.” She glared at him.

  “Molly-”

  “No.” When he frowned, she added emphatically, “No.”

  Scott looked commandingly at her.

  She returned it fiercely.

  “I hope you at least kicked his arse to the roadside.” An angry undercurrent underlaid Ryder’s voice.

  “I dealt with it.” Not well, but they didn’t have to know that. “Boys, I’m here, I’m starting over, let it go.”

  “Starting over?” His eyes widened. “Hell, Molly, how bad was it?”

  She stabbed a finger in his direction. “You keep this up and I swear I will get up and walk out.”

  “Have to go through me first,” Ryder pointed out.

  “I’ll go right over the top of you, dumb arse.”

  “Jesus, I’m going to have a word to Dee about her name calling. It’s catching.”

  “Why don’t you do that? And while you’re at it, take numb nuts with you.”

  “Holy cow, you’ve developed a bit of a mouth on you, haven’t you?”

  “Only when people annoy the hell out of me.”

  Reaching across the table, Scott laid his hand over her’s, his tone gentling. “Honey, we’re just concerned. I don’t want to see you hurt, ever.”

  “Look, it wasn’t as bad as you think and it’s over. I don’t want to talk about, I’m not going to talk about it, and if you continue to push me, I’ll think that you’re trying to control me and don’t respect me enough to let me make my own decisions.” When her cousin didn’t shift his gaze, she added, “I’m here, I’m okay, and I’m all grown up. I don’t need a hero, I don’t need a knight in shining armour - or on a shiny motorbike. Okay?”

  “Molly-”

  “Scott.” Exasperation filled not only her but her tone as well.

  He rubbed his brow with one hand before looking at her again. “Fine. Okay. But I’m here for you, all right? You’re my little cousin, I love you, I worry about you. I care.”

  His words and the genuineness in his face effectively smothered her annoyance. She patted his hand. “I know. I appreciate it, Scott, I really do. But trust me, I’m fine. Okay?”

  “Okay.” He nodded abruptly. “But you know where I am if you need me.”

  “Of course I do.” She grinned. “You’re with dumb arse.”

  Muttering, Ryder shook his head.

  The talk turned to lighter things, Scott eventually standing. “I have to get back to work.”

  “Think your boss will be missing you by now?” Molly checked her wristwatch. “I mean, you’ve only been gone, what, half an hour? That’s an extended smoko.”

  “Don’t you worry your pretty little head.” Ryder ruffled her hair, neatly avoiding her slapping hand with a laugh.

  “Hank knows where I am,” Scott replied. “He’s fine. What are you up to for the rest of the day?”

  “Doing some shopping before I start organising my work day.”

  “Oh yes, because house work is so hard.” Ryder fluttered his eyelashes.

  “How would you know? You barely lift a duster and break into a sweat.”

  Scott grinned. “You haven’t seen him in ten years and yet you still know him so well.”

  Ryder flipped him the bird before looking down at Molly. “Need a lift home?”

  “Nah, she’s right. I’ll call a cab or see if the supermarket has a delivery. But thanks, Ryder.” She smiled up at him. “You’ve just renewed my faith in you.”

  “You can borrow my car until we get you a new one,” Scott offered.

  “Sweet, but it’s all good. I promise to call for help if I need it.”

  “Make sure you do. I’ll pick you up tomorrow night for dinner, about six thirty. Wear long pants, I’m coming on the bike.”

  “No, really, the bike?” she asked dryly.

  “Cheek. It’s an awesome bike.” Scott winked. “Even Ash loves going on it.”

  Ryder veered to the counter, spoke to Cheryl, laughed and followed Scott out the door. He winked at Molly as he passed the window and walked out of sight. She knew why as soon as Cheryl appeared beside her with a fruit scone on a saucer.

  “Ryder said it’s to replace what he ate,” Cheryl informed her.

  “Aw, he’s sweet.”

  “He can be when he wants to.” Laughing, Cheryl went back to the counter.

  Leaning back in the booth, Molly smiled, arching slightly, her hands going to the small of her back. Coming into contact where the window frame had hit her, she winced slightly. No doubt she’d have a bruise there, it hadn’t landed lightly.

  As she carefully felt along her back, the smile left her face when she passed over a mark she couldn’t see but remembered the cause.

  No, the window frame hitting her back had hurt, but no way as much as when the belt had snapped across her skin and broken it.

  Taking a deep breath, she shook the thought away and grabbed the cup of tea, downing it in one swallow.

  I am single, a free woman. No one dominates me, no one tells me what to do. I am single, I am free.

  Whispering the mantra made her feel better, reminded her that she’d made her decision. With renewed vigour she stood and crossed to the counter. She had things to do, people to see, a house to clean.

  Bad memories to forget.

  Chapter 2

  Standing in his backyard, Kirk watched Henny peck around the weeds. Penny clucked, cocked her head, saw that Henny was onto something good and rushed over to check it out.

  Aiming the hose at one of the straggling rose bushes, he pursed his lips. The rose garden wasn’t doing so well, probably because he hadn’t fertilized them. Mrs Preston had given him a detailed list of what to do with the roses but damned if he remembered. He knew he should have written it all down but at the time it had seemed simple enough. Plant with some potting mix or something, add in some water crystals or something, sprinkle some kind of shit around it - cow, sheep, chicken, he couldn’t remember - and water regularly until the bushes were well established. Seemed like the only part he could remember properly was the watering and even then he wasn’t crash hot with it.

  Sparkles curled around his neck, her tail twitching down inside the collar of his shirt, her little whiskers tickling his throat. Reaching up, he gently rubbed her head with one finger. The white rat sniffed his finger and ran down inside his shirt.

  “Shit!” The light scratch of her tiny claws down his side had the hose jerking in his hand, the spray spattering around to just miss Henny and Penny, sending the chooks squawking and fluttering.

  Blowing out a breath, Kirk retrained the water on the roses. Sparkles ran around his waistband under his t-shirt, little claws holding on.

  Crossing to the daisies, he commenced watering them. Daisies always seemed cheerful, colourful and sweet. Kind of like a certain green-eyed woman who laughed, smelled sweet and invaded his dreams.

  Oh man. Kirk tightened his hold on the hose. Molly Travers had certainly invaded his dreams all right. Yesterday morning when he’d knocked off work, he’d had a hot shower and hit the sack thinking he’d go to sleep just like always, but instead his mind had drifted to Molly and his second encounter with her.

  Being with her had been like a breath of fresh air. The merriment dancing in her eyes, and man, when she’d let slip something she hadn’t meant to and the red had filled those apple cheeks, it had taken all he had not to simply clap both hands to those warm cheeks and kiss that rosebud mouth.

  Never, in all his life, had he ever had that compulsion. No saint, he’d had a couple of short-lived relationships but none of them had take
n his interest for long. None of the women, no matter how beautiful, had captured him the way Molly had with her exuberance, her laughter, her snappy comebacks. Her adorable embarrassment when he’d teased her back.

  Yeah, he’d drifted off to sleep thinking about Molly, and he’d woken that afternoon with remnants of a hazy dream involving a soft mouth, breathy cries of passion, a serious hard-on and the sensation of soft, generous bosoms pressed against him. Talk about wet dreams.

  He looked up as the local fire brigade light tanker rolled into his driveway. In the passenger’s seat was Simon eating a salad roll, his red hair tousled from the wind coming through the open window, Scott in the driver’s seat.

  Crossing to the tap, he turned it off and dropped the hose to walk to the tanker, leaning his forearm on the windowsill. “G’day. What’re you blokes up to, apart from wasting your boss’s time?”

  “Nice,” commented Simon. “Especially coming from the cop who ogled a sheila’s curvy arse at three this morning.”

  Kirk slid his gaze to Scott. “Did you tell everyone?”

  “I made the mistake of telling Ryder. From there…” Scott shrugged. “What can I say?”

  “Nothing he likes better than spreading sexy rumours.” Simon smiled lazily.

  Kirk’s gaze sharpened.

  “Hey,” Simon said, “chill, mate. I’m kidding.”

  “I knew that.”

  “Sure you did.” Simon’s gaze sharpened in turn, one brow rising as he studied Kirk. “A little too concerned just for an acquaintance, aren’t you?”

  Knowing full well what his friend was getting at, Kirk chose the oblivious answer. “Ryder’s a friend.”

  “I meant for Molly, moron.”

  Scott looked at Simon, back at Kirk and his own gaze sharpened.

  Right now there were so many sharp gazes that Kirk was surprised no one got cut. Unfortunately, from Simon it meant his quick brain, usually hidden behind his easy-going exterior, was running probabilities, while Scott was sizing Kirk up as a prospective suitor to his cousin. All possibilities could be wrong or right and no way was he going to give them an idea, especially as he didn’t really know where he stood in all this.

  Mildly, he studied his friends in turn. “So, are you going to tell me why you’re sitting in my driveway?”

  “Are you going to tell me your intentions towards my cousin?” Scott replied bluntly.

  “I’m not sure I have intentions.”

  “But you’re not sure you don’t,” Simon added unhelpfully, his eyes twinkling.

  Kirk just looked at him.

  Right at that second, he felt Sparkles’s little claws skitter up his chest before her little head popped out of his t-shirt collar. God bless the little rat, it neatly diverted Simon’s attention.

  “That rat seriously freaks me out, being under your clothes and all over you.” Simon shuddered. “That’s not normal.”

  “So don’t look.”

  “I hear you looked,” Simon said.

  Kirk cast him a querying glance.

  “Scott’s cousin got stuck in a window.”

  Okay, not diverted long enough.

  Scott raised one eyebrow.

  Kirk calmly looked back at him. “You knew that.”

  “Right.”

  Simon, the annoying bastard, grinned lazily. “Bet that sight of Molly in the early morning woke you up.”

  “It was different, I’ll give you that.”

  “Nice way to end the night.”

  “Like I said, different.”

  Mind you, thinking about it, he could imagine laying his hand on that lush bottom, smoothing it up to the small of her back. At the time he hadn’t thought about it, but he had since. A lot. Not something he did often, but for some reason he was finding it hard to get the memory out of his mind. It had certainly had a lot to do with his hard-on.

  Meeting Scott’s gaze steadily, Kirk asked quietly, “So, what’s on your mind?”

  “A lot right now,” Scott replied thoughtfully, then seemed to give himself a shake, his eyes lightening, a small smile hovering around his mouth.

  That smile didn’t bode well but Kirk wasn’t too sure what it meant, so he simply kept a stoic expression on his face.

  “Mum asked me to take down some heavy boxes from up on the wardrobes before Molly came to clean up,” Scott said. “I didn’t expect her until tomorrow, as you know, and I was wondering if you could go around and get them down. Knowing Molly, she won’t wait if she decides to start on them and I can’t get there until after work. Can you go and do it?”

  “No worries. I was heading into town shortly to do some shopping, I’ll swing past on my way.”

  “Thanks, mate. The boxes are on the wardrobes in Mum’s room and my old bedroom.” Scott put the light tanker into gear. “Better keep moving.”

  “Have fun.” Simon winked. “You dog, you.”

  Good grief. Kirk sighed.

  Scott grinned unexpectedly. “And stay out of line of fire, Molly’s known for causing a few accidents. You won’t want Ryder coming to save your arse if she half kills you by accident.”

  “Thanks for the warning.”

  Rubbing Sparkles’s head lightly, Kirk watched his friends pull out of the driveway and take off down the road. Henny and Penny reappeared from behind a tree they’d taken refuge behind and clucked up at him.

  “Okay, girls,” he said. “I’m going out for awhile. You’re all on guard duty.”

  Henny clucked and wandered off, Penny proceeded to squat in a pot hole and give herself a dust bath, and Sparkles twitched her nose.

  Not long after, the chooks safely in their pen and Sparkles running in her wheel inside her big cage in the green mesh-enclosed veranda, Kirk got into his ute and headed into town.

  Normally he liked riding his motorcycle, but on shopping days he chose the ute.

  Deciding to do the shopping after helping Molly, he swung into the driveway of the boarding house and pulled up not far from the veranda steps. Hopping out, he had to admit to feeling a little eager at seeing her again, curious if she’d produce the same feelings she had the previous day.

  About to go up the veranda steps, he paused upon hearing a squawking explode from the other side of the house.

  “Bastard! Help! Help!”

  Sounded like Henry was on another ranting session. Grinning, Kirk walked around the side of the house. What he saw had his eyebrows rising.

  There was another view of a shapely backside, this time in black slacks. Back to him, Molly was on her hands and knees, one arm stretched out to reach under the wrought iron table for an upturned little bucket. Wooden pegs were strewn on the path.

  “Fire! Fire!” A white cockatoo with a yellow crest was bouncing up and down on his perch inside the huge cage. “Henry wants a condom! Scratch cocky?”

  “Will you shut up?” Molly said, exasperated. “I’m the one who tripped on the bloody path, so there’s no need for you to go off.”

  Admiring the shapely view of Molly’s bum, Kirk strode forward.

  “Bitch!” Henry screeched. “Here, kitty kitty kitty!”

  “Keep it up, Henry, just keep it up and I’ll feed you to Oscar in a minute,” she threatened.

  “Poor Henry. Scratch cocky? Scratch Henry?”

  Kirk couldn’t help but cast the feathered miscreant an amused glance.

  Henry took one look at Kirk, his crest went up and he screeched, “Hot cop! Hot cop!” and made a good imitation of a siren.

  “Goldie isn’t here, Henry.” Molly grabbed the bucket. “It’s just you, me and-”

  “Me,” Kirk said.

  Molly jerked upright, her head collided with the table, and they both swore.

  “Oh shit!” She sat back on her heels, one hand to her head.

  “Oh shit,” he echoed, crouching down before her and reaching for her head. “Let me see.”

  “I’m fine.” Rubbing the top of her head, she looked up at him. “What are you doing here?”<
br />
  Firmly prying her hand off her head, Kirk studied the spot her hand had been rubbing, gently checking her scalp. “No cuts, no obvious bump.”

  “I’m fine.” She pushed his hand away. “I was more startled than hurt.”

  “Sure?”

  “It’s my head, isn’t it?”

  “Yep.” No doubt about it, and a pretty head it was…along with a rather sharp tongue. “Problem?”

  “Sorry.” With a sigh, Molly started picking up pegs. “I tripped on one of the pavers and threw pegs everywhere.” She jerked her head towards Henry. “It was his fault. He was giving me a running dialogue, I was laughing and next thing you know I’m arse over tit.”

  He couldn’t help but grin at her explanation even as his gaze ran over her in a check for more injuries. Apart from looking a little rumpled, that glorious hair sweeping around her shoulders, she hadn’t fared badly. “Glad to see you’re in one piece.”

  “Yeah, well, no thanks to that foul-mouthed, feathered fiend.”

  “He’s got a shocking mouth on him,” Kirk agreed, picking up pegs.

  Molly cast him a shuttered look. “Apparently some bad boys taught him bad words.”

  “No. Really?”

  “Aunt Julia told me it was an ambo, two fire fighters and a cop.”

  Kirk tutted. “You just can’t trust anyone nowadays.”

  “Nope,” she agreed dryly, “you can’t.”

  Amused, he stood, catching her hand and pulling her up with him while dropping the last of the pegs into the bucket.

  “I think you might be one of the bad boys.” She straightened her blouse and flicked her hair back over her shoulders.

  “I’m a cop. I’m a good bloke.”

  “One of the bad boys was a cop.”

  “The hot cop?”

  “I’m thinking so.”

  “Hmmm. Could it have been Goldie?” He watched her closely.

  Her expression was innocent. “Do you think so, too?”

  “Well, could be.” He took a step closer, something inside him dipping low and hot when her eyes widened a little. “Tell me who this Goldie is and I might be able to confirm it.”

  “Oh - um…ah…” She licked her lips nervously.

  That hot, low dip deep in his belly slid right down into his groin. Kirk took another step closer, his gaze fastened on her lips. Like plump strawberries, he just knew they’d taste as sweet as they looked, and man, he was suddenly…hungry.