Several cars drove by, people walked, but there was no crowd, no shoving and pushing like in the city. Peak hour traffic, Saturday mornings in the shopping centres. Here it was slow and easy-going, relaxing. Homey. Everything shut after 12pm, except for the service station and the pub. And, of course, the hospital, the ambulance, the fire station and the cop shop, but that was to be expected.
But who knew what went on behind closed doors? She just bet more happened than many people guessed.
Molly’s heart leaped a little when right at that moment a paddy wagon drove by, the distinctive blue-chequered pattern standing out on the sides. Was Kirk working? No, wait, now she recalled that he was joining Scott, Ryder and Simon on a bike ride out to another town, he’d be gone all morning, maybe most of the day depending on their plans once there.
Now there was a dominant man. A shiver went through her. What was he really like? He demanded obedience, yet in a quiet, controlled way. He didn’t force her but he’d sure known how to trap her the previous night. He’d obviously cottoned-on to the fact that she didn’t like scenes and used that to his advantage. Canny bastard.
“Here you go, love.” Ernie placed a tall glass filled with iced chocolate and topped with whipped cream in front of her, a long-handled teaspoon sticking out of it. “Enjoy.”
“Thanks, Ernie.” She took a sip, closed her eyes. “Oh God, that hits the spot.”
She spent a pleasant time sipping on the iced chocolate, watching the world go by outside the window. By the time she’d finished her nerves had settled, her anger firmly in place deep down with a lid screwed on tight.
Yep, everything was back to normal.
Leaving the café after paying for the drink, she stepped out to find Del walking out of the dress shop.
“Hey,” Del greeted her.
“Is it twelve already?” Molly checked her wristwatch. “Isn’t it a little early to close? It’s only ten o’clock.”
“I’m not closing. I wanted to catch you.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I heard you just missed smacking Jason Dawson’s mug. That true?”
Small town meant gossip travelled fast. Blushing just a little, Molly moved closer. “Who told you?”
“Ah.” Del tapped the side of her nose and winked.
“It was one of Ryder’s brothers.” Dee appeared behind her from the newsagent. “Kid gossips worse than him. Couldn’t wait to come in here and deliver the news then hightail it to Del’s to do the same.”
“Ah.” Molly nodded sheepishly. “Well, yeah, I guess I did.”
“Was he being an arse?” Dee demanded. “Because if he was, I’ll go and sort him out right now.”
“Geez, no. I mean, yes, he was being an arse, but no, don’t sort him out.”
“Fine. Scott can do it then-”
“No!”
“Kirk could-”
“No men!” Realising she was almost yelling, Molly lowered her voice. “Look, I sorted it out, okay? I don’t need any bloke thinking he can just waltz in and sort things out for me. I can do it myself.”
Dee’s eyebrows rose. “Okay. Sure.” She glanced at her cousin.
Del shrugged. “From what the kid said, you had it under control.”
“I did.” Relieved, Molly pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “So, quiet morning?”
“Typical Saturday, actually,” Dee replied. “Some people only come in and shop on a Saturday, others a Friday. And then you get those passing through.”
“I think she was just being polite,” Del said. “I doubt she really gives a rat’s arse if we’re busy or not.”
“Not so,” Molly denied. “If you’re busy, you’re making money.”
“We do all right.” Dee leaned back against the window. “I also hear you’re in the market for a new car.”
“A second hand car. And you hear a lot.”
“I hear what I need to. Some things I don’t need to as well, but anyway… So, how about we go and check out some cars after work?”
“Really?” Molly looked dubiously at her. “Where? Everything will be closed.”
“Ellor’s Loop is only a couple of hours drive away, there’s caryards there open all day Saturdays.”
“Isn’t that where the boys went?”
“Nah, they went in the opposite direction. So what do you say? We can pick up Ash, make an arvo of it.”
“Really?” Molly looked doubtful. “Checking out cars is a fun thing you like to do?”
“Sweetie, terrorising car salesmen is something I like to do. They see a gaggle of women coming through the gate and they think all their Christmases have come at once. It’s like we have ‘suckers’ stamped on our foreheads. Trust me.” Dee winked. “I can find a good car for you.”
“She can,” Del verified. “It’s fun to watch.”
“You know a lot about cars, too?” Molly was impressed. Personally, she’d always been bored by caryards. The only two times she’d bought a car, she knew what she wanted, rocked up to a caryard, pointed it out, signed the contract and drove out. Mind you, her last car had been bought brand new, something she couldn’t afford at the moment. “I have a cash limit.”
“What is it?”
“Ten thousand dollars. It’s the insurance payout on my last car.”
“Oh yeah, heard about that.” Dee clucked her tongue. “Ought to have strung the thieving bastards up. So, anyway, how about it? We girls hit the highway, terrorize the salesmen, have a meal and be home by dark.”
It actually sounded like fun. “Okay, I’m in.”
“Perfect.” Dee straightened. “I’ll ring Ash. We’ll pick you up about twelve thirty. You dress like the lamb, I’ll come as the wolf.”
“I can’t wait.” Laughing, Molly walked home, looking forward to an afternoon of easy companionship.
With several hours to fill, she busied herself cleaning out Henry’s cage, delighted to find that his vocabulary had improved a smidgen. When she asked him who was a bad cop, he screeched ‘Goldie!’ Henry was a fast learner.
Oscar perched on the chest of drawers in one of the guest bedrooms and watched as she stripped all the bedding from the bed, tugged the mattress off with a lot of pulling and pushing to lean it against the wall, and then almost busted a gut pushing the heavy bed base across the room to reveal the carpet underneath. She just had enough time to vacuum the carpet and drag the base back into position before she had to get ready.
A quick shower, a change into a sleeveless A-line pale yellow dress covered in tiny pale blue and white rosebuds, the medium-heeled white Mary Janes, and a jaunty ponytail tied with a scrunchy that matched the dress. She’d just finished ensuring that Oscar had enough biscuits and fresh water for the afternoon when a car horn sounded from the front of the house.
Giving Oscar a quick hug, she left him thoughtfully contemplating the bed base in the guest bedroom and picked up her small white shoulder bag, hurrying out the door and locking it securely behind her.
“Goldie! Bad cop! Bastard!” Henry blasted from around the side of the house. “Give us a kiss! Awk!”
“Wow.” Dee smirked as Molly got into the backseat beside Del. “Who taught him that?”
“No idea.”
“Liar.” Ash grinned over her shoulder.
“More to the point,” Del said, “did you forget your white gloves?”
“Huh?” Molly looked at her.
“You look like you fell out of a fifties dress catalogue.”
“Take no notice of her,” Ash advised. “She tries to tell me how to dress and I’m pleased to announce I still do it better.”
Del flipped her the bird.
Molly looked from Del’s jeans and t-shirt to her dress before leaning over to check out what her other friends were wearing. Dee had on pedal-pushers and a checked blouse, while Ash wore a pale blue maxi dress with a dainty, puffy, short-sleeved, little blouse open over it and pale blue sandals. Ash’s dress was a relief.
“Nothing
wrong with my clothes.” Molly fastened the seatbelt. “I can undress if you want, go naked?”
“Burn my eyes out,” Del returned.
“So don’t look.”
“Kind of hard not to if you’re sliding that arse all over the back seat.”
“It’s material, not vinyl. I won’t slide.”
“Jesus.” Dee glanced in the rear-view mirror as she pulled onto the road. “My car, my seats, no bare arses, got it?”
“So you like my dress?”
“I love it. Totally. I adore it. I adore it even more when it’s covering your arse.”
“How about my boobs?”
“I get one flash of those bazookas and you’re on the side of the road.”
“But what about looking for my car?”
“I’ll bring one back for you.”
“Such a spoilsport,” Molly confided to Del.
“You have no idea.” Del grinned and looked at the back of her cousin’s head. “Are we there yet?”
“You’ll be somewhere in a minute,” Dee answered.
“Oohh, is someone still sore at Ryder?”
“Someone isn’t sore at anyone. Speaking of sore.” Dee glanced at Molly in the mirror again before looking back at the road. “What happened to make you nearly take the Dawson jerk out?”
“I heard about that.” Ash turned in the front seat to look back at Molly. “What happened? Do you need Scott to talk to them?”
“No, I don’t.” Expecting it this time, Molly was able to speak calmly. “Jason just got under my skin and when I tried to walk away, he tried to stop me. I was a little startled, swung around and went straight for the girly slap. Missed him.”
“Bad luck.” Dee shook her head.
“Bit extreme, wasn’t it?” Del mused.
“He startled me. I don’t like being told what to do by a man.”
“Huh.” Del studied her.
“What?” Molly met her inquisitive gaze. “You do?”
“Well, no. Not really.”
“Not really?” Dee snorted. “Del, the last time some kid tried to tell you what to do, you snotted him.
“That was in year seven, and if I remember rightly it was Brand Dawson. He doesn’t even count as human.”
“It was two years ago in the pub. Some bloke passing through got drunk, tried to kiss you, ignored your polite refusal, went to give you a smooch with a whole lot of tongue-”
Del gagged. “It was already hanging out looking like a huge, pink, glistening slug waggling at me.”
They all shuddered and gave a collective “ugh”.
“To complete the story,” Dee insisted, “you round-housed him. Poor bastard ended up kissing the floor, nose snotting blood, almost unconscious. Local cops almost had to arrest you, but luckily he never pressed charges.”
“He assaulted me, I assaulted him. I figured it cancelled each other out.”
“You figure?” Dee cast her an incredulous look in the mirror. “I think Kirk had a talk to him. He’s good at smoothing things over.”
“Does he do that a lot?” Molly queried curiously. “Smooth out things so people go free?”
All three women looked at her with varying degrees of disbelief.
“Good God, no!” Del exclaimed forcefully.
“Kirk? He’s as straight as a die,” Dee retorted. “Man is so straight he doesn’t even bend his legs in bed.”
“Kirk would never do anything like that,” Ash said defensively.
Aware she’d stepped on toes, very loyal ones at that, Molly quickly held up a hand. “Cripes. Sorry. I just meant that he seems to smooth things over from the sounds of it.”
“Smooth things out in that he makes them see sense.” Dee nodded. “But he’d never do anything crooked. If someone insists on pressing charges, he’ll do it because it’s his job. He won’t pressure people, he won’t threaten them. He just lays it out for them to consider, if it needs considering, and then he’ll do his duty. He just makes sure that if things get a bit heated for no real reason, that people have time to think about their actions before doing something hasty.”
“Trust me,” Del added, “if Kirk thinks you did something wrong deliberately without regard for anyone else, if you break the law knowingly, he’ll drag you the full length of it to see that you get what’s coming to you. But he’d never twist the law, never pull a swiftie. What you see is what you get.”
Ash smiled a little. “Calm, quiet, controlled cop.”
“Calm, quiet, controlled man.” Del pondered. “I’ve never actually seen him get angry and lose his temper.”
“I don’t think he can,” Dee remarked. “Man has his emotions so under control that he wouldn’t know how to lose his temper. In fact…”
They all looked at her as her voice faded, but she remained quiet with her attention focussed steadfastly on the road ahead.
“What?” Molly prodded, curious in spite of herself.
“You know something.” Del reached over and poked her cousin in the neck. “’Fess up.”
“Ouch! Get off!” Del slapped her hand away.
“If you don’t tell what you know about our controlled cop, I’m going to take my pants off and wriggle all over this seat.”
“You try and I’ll kick your arse out.”
“Won’t be in time to stop the full length of my twat hitting your precious seat.”
“Jesus, you are such a foul-mouthed cow. Do you speak around Aunt Felicia like that?”
“My Mum thinks I’m sweet. Now you going to confess or do I start stripping?”
Dee squinted threateningly at her cousin in the rear view mirror, only to roll her eyes when Del started unbuttoning her jeans. “Okay, okay!”
Del grinned widely. “Knew you’d see sense.”
Molly laughed when Ash looked over her shoulder at her with twinkling eyes. “They really haven’t changed since they were kids.”
“So I’ve concluded since I arrived,” Ash replied.
“You must be entertained every day.”
“You have no idea.”
“I think I’m getting there.”
“All right, Dee, spill what you know about Kirk,” Del insisted.
“Well, you know how he’s one of the four most eligible single blokes in town - well, one of three now that Ash has taken Scott out of the equation?”
“Thank you,” Ash said primly.
“You’re welcome. Especially when it results in that slut Yvonne looking daggers at you.”
“I thought Yvonne was after Ryder?” Del queried innocently, though the gleam in her eyes was anything but innocent.
“Scott getting taken off the market put her in slut doldrums for awhile. Now do you want to know or not?”
“Fine, fine.” Del waved a hand. “Continue.”
Molly was more than eager to listen, though she tried to convince herself that she was interested in all her friends. Hang on, was Kirk a friend? He was a friend of her friends, but….well, she guessed so. Kind of. Maybe.
Forcing her attention from the troubling thoughts to the conversation, she leaned forward, mimicking Del’s posture.
“I heard from one of the ladies Kirk dated that he’s as controlled in bed as he is out of it,” Dee announced with relish.
Molly’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s a good thing?”
“How boring,” Del complained. “You’ve quite spoiled my daydreams of Kirk shagging a sheila.”
You daydream about Kirk?” Ash asked.
“No. Well, not really. God, I’m not dead, am I?” Del rolled her eyes. “I can enjoy a good daydream. I also wonder what Simon is like in the sack, and Ryder and Scott.” One look at Ash’s raised eyebrows, and she added, “Not now, of course.” Catching Dee looking at her in the mirror, her eyes inscrutable, she sighed. “I don’t think about Ryder naked, either.”
“So only Kirk?” Molly wasn’t sure how she felt about that, then immediately berated herself. Cripes, she’d only known the man a few
days and found him dominating and irritating. Get a grip!
“Fine. Whatever.” Del flapped a hand. “I only daydream about Simon’s naked body. Go on. What about our luscious cop?”
“Well, that’s it,” Dee said. “He’s controlled.”
“Boring. My illusions are shattered.”
“I find it hard to believe,” Ash said.
Frankly, so did Molly. There seemed to be an undercurrent to Kirk, a hidden well. She knew all about hidden wells and what they concealed. The unpleasant things that rose up when one least expected it.
The pain it could cause both physically and mentally.
“Oh, he’s good in bed,” Dee reassured Ash. “Fantastic, I hear. Can go forever and produce orgasms like no one’s business. But he’s not wild. He’s controlled. He controls everything - the speed, the rhythm, the vigorousness of it. He sets the pace and the woman only orgasms when he lets them.”
“Lets them?” Del’s eyebrows shot up. “Lets them?”
“Is he into dominance?” The words slipped out before Molly could stop them.
“Dominance?” Dee shrugged. “If you mean in charge, then yeah, he’s an in-charge kind of bloke.”
“Sweetie, they all are,” Del clarified. “Ryder, Scott, Simon and Kirk. When they’re on the job and say jump, they expect people to jump. You don’t jump, and jump fast, look out.”
“That’s because obeying them could be the difference between life or death,” Ash pointed out.
“Well, of course. But men like that, they expect a certain amount of control in their relationships as well.” Del tapped her temple. “I know.”
“How could you know?” Dee demanded. “You’ve never been in a relationship with any of them.”
“Cripes, why would I? Most of us were crapping our nappies at the same time in the same playgroup. The only two I didn’t grow up with were Simon and Kirk, but I’m sorry, they’re just friends. No way.” Del shuddered. “No way.”
“Why don’t you tell us how you really feel?” Molly laughed, amused by her friends’ antics.
“I’m trying, you insensitive bunch.”
“Hey,” Ash objected, “I didn’t say a word.”
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