by Kris Pearson
Jason nodded. “Not bad for a run-down garden center,” he agreed.
“Those lovely old timber beams, and the stone wall. What a difference.” She took a deep breath of the salty air and Ollie watched her breasts rise and her assorted jewels sparkle as the sun moved over the facets of the stones. Perfection in pink boots. How could he convince her?
“Who’s for a drink?” Jason asked. “Pregnant people excluded of course.”
“This pregnant person would love a tonic water and orange juice,” Anna said, turning to walk back into the house.
Mei looked stricken. “We didn’t think. Shouldn’t have brought the wine.”
“Yes you should,” Jason said.
Anna laughed. “You’re hardly set up to bring anything else.”
“We could have bought you chocolate after-dinner mints,” Ollie suggested as he followed them.
Jason trailed a hand over Anna’s shoulder as he pushed the doors closed again. “She had plenty of treats at Ferncroft Lodge. Including chocolate.”
“They’d have melted, being carried inside your coat,” Anna added.
Mei raised an eyebrow. “My boobs are not that hot.”
“Sure about that? Ollie asked, letting his gaze caress them.
“I always thought they were very hot,” Jason added with a grin. “The way you hitch them up and show them off. Not that you’re ever going to beat this pair here.” He stroked down from Anna’s shoulder to the upper slope of her now very generous breast.
“Shall we ask them to drop their pants so we can compare theirs?” Anna asked Mei. “Seems only fair, if they’re going to make fun of us.”
Jason shook his head. “Not making fun. That’s total admiration and adoration.”
“Nice save…” Anna grumped, but she couldn’t suppress her smile for long.
“Who’s for wine?” Jason asked. “Eddie left us two crayfish, so it’s skewered lobster for entrees and barbecued snapper for mains. My wife is going to make the men work out on the deck.”
Mei sat, and laid her hand on Ollie’s thigh as he joined her. “Yes, please. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Easiest meal in the world,” Anna said. “So let’s get back to the lack of beds. I notice you can’t keep your hands off each other?”
Mei grabbed her hand away. Ollie pulled it back and planted it on his thigh again. “With any luck,” he said. “But she’s putting up a fight.”
“No surprises there,” Anna said, smiling at Mei. “You were always very independent, and needed a bigger life than here in Scarlet Bay.” She looked away as Jason walked back from the kitchen with her tonic water and orange juice. “Thank you, honey.”
“Early days,” Ollie said. “She has too much going on right now. I don’t see she has many reasons to trust me after what Kieran did. And her mother’s sick. And she needs to get settled in the city.”
Mei pinched his leg. “I’m right here,” she said.
Ollie glanced down at her. “And she’s stroppy as hell,” he added, leaning sideways to kiss her hair.
“As long as that’s all,” Anna said, laughing. “You tend to be a bit stroppy yourself, Ollie. Maybe you’re the ideal release valve for each other.”
“Euw!” Mei exclaimed. “Never thought of him like that.”
He looked down into her shining eyes. “Full right to the top,” he whispered, and she dissolved into giggles.
“Music?” Jason asked, returning with their glasses of wine. “With Paul Simon retiring, can you stand some Simon and Garfunkel for old time’s sake?”
“Very old time’s sake,” Mei said. “But it’s always good. I remember you and Ath singing ‘Bridge Over Troubled Waters’ the first night I joined the music group.” She tipped her head to one side, as though hearing the song again.
The four of them sat on, listening and reminiscing. The oven timer buzzed and Anna went to the kitchen, clattering about with racks and trays, and exclaiming with annoyance as she touched a finger on the hot cake tin.
The birdsong slowly quietened from the trees behind the house as they ate their skewered lobster pieces and the sauces Anna had provided for dipping. Then Jason brought the fresh snapper in from the barbecue.
“Anyway,” Anna said once their main course had disappeared, “I need to whip some cream. I used the rest of Jossy’s peaches for an upside-down cake, so that with cream or Greek yoghurt is what you’re getting for dessert.” She pushed to her feet.
Mei instantly did the same. “I’ll bring the plates for the dishwasher,” she said, reaching out to stack them.
Jason found Queen’s ‘We will Rock You’ and turned the volume up between courses. Over the combined sounds of the clattering plates, the noisy food processor beating the cream, and the joyfully pounding music, no-one heard wheels crunching on the gravel of the driveway.
Chapter 12 – Knives and Lives
When Kieran sauntered through the open door and into the living area as though he owned the place, Ollie almost dropped his glass of wine. Then every muscle clenched, every sinew tightened, every hair on his body lifted. He wanted that scum nowhere near Mei.
She chose that moment to pick up the four dessert plates Anna had placed ready on the kitchen counter, scurried across in her high pink boots, and stopped dead in her tracks as she approached the table. Her pretty mouth fell open in shock.
“Hoped I’d find you here,” Kieran grated, reaching out and grabbing her upper arm, swift as a striking snake. “Where the hell have you been until now?”
“Get your fucking hands off her,” Ollie shouted as blood boiled in his brain and the peaceful scent of fresh cake and peaches surrounded them.
“Kieran, let me go!” Mei yelled, trying to wrench out of his increasingly tight grasp.
One of the plates slipped with a clatter from the pile she was carrying, and Ollie’s racer instincts kicked in. He lurched forward and caught it before it hit the corner of the table, slamming it and his wineglass down and reaching for the other plates in Mei’s flailing hand. Not happening. Never happening to her again. “I said leave her the fuck alone.”
Kieran now had Mei clamped in front of him, and there was no way Ollie could easily free her without hurting her. “None of your biz,” Kieran snarled. “Little bitch just walked out on me without a word.”
Mei began to protest loudly and Kieran wedged a hand around her throat, yanking her head back against his chest, and reducing her words to a wheezing gargle.
Ollie stared at them, computing every way he could cause Kieran pain or get Mei free. Preferably both.
Jason killed the volume. Now only the whirring kitchen machine disturbed the peace, and Anna remained oblivious to the drama unfolding behind her as she kept watch on the cream being whipped.
“Let her go, mate,” Jason said, quiet but menacing, letting his impressive size do the talking.
Kieran blinked and then his jaw hardened. “She needs to come home with me.”
“Like hell,” Ollie snapped. “No way. Not going to happen.” The bastard had had his chance with her and totally blown it. “Not after what you did to her.” He circled them slowly, hoping at the very least to un-nerve Kieran enough to catch him unawares, then he bent and ripped out the knife in his ankle holster, angling it toward Kieran’s arm. It flashed, narrow and evil, as the setting sun caught the blade. “Or do you want some of this?”
At that instant Anna switched off the beater, and in the sudden silence Mei gave a strangled grunt of fright and Jason yelled, “Shee-it!”
Anna looked over her shoulder, then turned and sagged against the counter, eyes wide.
Ollie hoped they trusted him not to go too far. “Let her go, you lousy fucker or you’ll lose your hand.”
“Ollie!” Anna wailed, clutching her belly. “Put it down.”
“Not until he lets go of Mei.” He twisted his wrist from side to side and the blade glinted with menace, but he kept it well clear of them both.
Kieran�
�s expression slid from surprise through fright to fury. He blustered out a few unintelligible words and then cartwheeled an arm through the air toward Ollie. One arm against two gave Ollie the advantage he’d been hoping for, and he tossed the knife onto the rug, grabbed Kieran, and smashed his elbow against the corner of a hefty bookcase so Mei could get clear.
Kieran doubled over in pain, clutching his elbow. “Shit! Shit! That’s my funny bone! You lousy bastard…” He screwed his eyes closed, Mei long forgotten. When he straightened his hand was smeared bright red with his own blood. “Jesus! You cut me!” His eyes glittered with malice and murder.
Ollie shrugged. “Not me, matey. You’re not worth the bother. I just banged your elbow for you.” He raised an eyebrow at Jason. “And these three will back me up on that.”
Mei still looked terrified, but she nodded jerkily as he moved to comfort her.
“Paper towels, Anna,” Jason ordered, hauling Kieran down onto a chair.
Ollie slid his arm around Mei’s quaking shoulders and pulled her in against his chest, smoothing a hand down her hair, and dropping a kiss on her brow. His heart pounded as though he’d run a marathon. “You okay? Did he hurt you again?”
She shook her head. “But you just about gave me a heart attack.”
Anna grabbed the roll of towels from the top of the microwave oven and threw it across to them – a wild toss that meant the ill-flung roll hit Ollie on the leg.
He eased Mei onto a chair, then ripped a couple of towels off the roll before nudging the rest toward a very silent Jason.
“You’re sure you’re okay?” he asked Mei again as he returned the knife to its hiding place.
“Why did you take the risk, Ollie?” she whispered as Anna lurched across from the kitchen.
“No risk. Never put it anywhere near him. Ask the scumbag why he hurt you so badly.” Ollie’s throat burned with holding down his bile. “Hit you, sent you those shitty texts, and then turned up and grabbed you as though you were his property.”
“No-one owns me, Oliver.” Said with cool disdain.
“And no-one should do things like this to you.” In a split second he’d wiped the paper towels firmly down the side of Mei’s face. “You see what he did to her?” he demanded of Jason, angling her head toward him.
“Ow!” Mei complained. “That hurt.”
Kieran closed his eyes, but Jason stared and swore at the all too obvious bruising. “You can clean your own arm up, you bastard,” he said, picking up the roll of towels and smacking the side of Kieran’s head with it. “Shame that’s so soft. You deserve a whack with a four-by-two at the very least.”
Anna arrived beside Mei’s chair and pushed Ollie’s hand away. “Stop it. Let her go. I already told Jason.”
“But it’s one thing to be told and quite another to see it for myself,” Jason ground out. He gave Kieran another smack with the roll. “What did she do to deserve that? Huh? She’s half your size and wouldn’t hurt a fly.” He ripped some paper towels off and pushed them at Kieran. “Wiggle your fingers.”
Kieran did, grunting with pain.
“Good – bugger all damage. No more than a scrape that’s bled a bit. Now get out. Don’t go near her again, and don’t ever come back here.”
“Jase…”
“Ever. We can do without your fucking banjo.”
Ollie slowly released his breath as Kieran rose from the chair, clutching his paper-swabbed elbow, and sending each of them a look that could kill.
As he stumbled from the house, Jason followed, standing at the door until Kieran had gunned his engine and departed. Gravel sprayed noisily out from under his wheels. Not until the noise had faded did Jason close the door again. And lock it.
The others waited for his return before anyone moved. Then Mei pulled a small mirror from her bag and inspected her face. “Wish you hadn’t done that,” she said to Ollie. “Now I’ll have to patch it up.”
“You really okay?” he asked softly, and she nodded.
Anna looked at him with huge worried eyes. “A knife, Ollie? Since when?”
He shrugged. “No biggie. As long as I’ve been racing. Go-Karts to start with, so about twelve.”
“Twelve?” Anna yelped. “Why?”
“Handy for cutting my way out of a crash – hacking through clothing if it’s holding me trapped. Or tangled parachute cords…”
“You’re bloody joking,” she muttered.
“Dad’s idea for safety. As automatic as pulling on my boots if I’m on the move. Anyway, it worked.”
“On Kieran? Hell of a fright for us all, I think.” Her face reflected her deep distress.
“You can’t carry a knife in public,” Jason objected. “I’ve sacked men for less. It’s against the law.”
Ollie gave the slightest of smiles. “Read the law. Folding knife with a blade less than ten centimeters is perfectly fine. Ideal for peeling apples.”
Jason glowered across the table at him. “That wasn’t a folding pocket knife. You had the blade out right away.”
Ollie reached slowly down to his ankle holster and pulled the knife out again. He held it in one hand and eased the blade from the mother-of-pearl-covered handle as the others watched.
“Not what I saw,” Jason said.
“And yet,” Ollie said, “There it is. All neatly tucked away and law-abiding.”
Jason held out his hand. Ollie shook his head. “Mine,” he said, returning it to its hiding place.
“You’ve doctored it somehow.”
Ollie grinned. “Engineer. Always did love working with metal, and I might need it in a hurry sometime.” He reached out for the knife Anna had set on the table for the cake. The pretty porcelain handle had pastel flowers painted on it, but the long, pointed, serrated blade was vicious. He held the end of the handle between his thumb and forefinger and let it swing gently to and fro, flashing with menace. “Should have grabbed this and you’d never have known. It’s a lot more lethal.”
Anna’s eyes widened. “It’s a cake knife! An heirloom. Grandma gave it to me for my birthday.”
“And you could kill someone with it perfectly easily. It’s all a matter of intent.” He laid it down on the table again.
She grimaced, and rose. “Well my intent is to feed you dessert. I presume you’ve never actually hurt anybody with that, Ollie?”
He shook his head. “Don’t go all strange on me. What could any of you done if I hadn’t pulled Pearl out? You weren’t going to get away from him, Mei – not the way he’d grabbed you and was holding on. And you’re hardly in any condition to take him, Anna.”
“I would have got rid of him,” Jason growled.
“How, without hurting Mei?”
“You scare me,” Anna said. “I never thought I’d say that about you, Ollie. And you’ve actually given that thing a name?”
He shrugged. “Pearl handled. Obvious choice.”
Mei surprised them all by giggling. “Ollie, you made him shake. I loved it.”
“She’s in shock,” Anna murmured.
“You look like you’re in shock,” Jason said. “Sit down. Let me get the cake.”
To Ollie’s amazement, Anna did sit. “Bring the bowl of cream and the Greek yoghurt too,” she called across to him. “That was almost enough to send me into labor.”
“But you’re okay?” Mei and Jason demanded in unison.
“Mmm, fine. How about you?”
“I’m good,” Mei said. “Thank you Ollie.” She reached over and touched his hand. “And in a weird way I’m glad it happened. Puts a proper end to things, anyway. Better than just sneaking out, the way I did. “
“Only you could look at it that way,” Anna said. “You’re too kind hearted.”
“He wasn’t hurt much,” Jason said, arriving back with the fragrant sticky-topped cake. “I’ve had to patch up guys at work who did much worse damage to themselves than that.”
“Running circular saws across their thighs?” Anna suggested.<
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Jason made a shushing noise as he returned to the kitchen for the cream and yoghurt.
“Who did that?” Mei asked.
“He did,” Anna said, reaching across and stroking Jason’s arm once he’d laid the dishes down. “He has that massive snake tattoo on one thigh and a gash from a saw on the other.”
“It’s not a gash,” he protested. “Just a bit of a scar. It’s faded to almost nothing now.”
Anna raised a brow. “It was purple when I first saw it.”
“And you were a snooty, stuck up little madam when I first saw you.” His eyes twinkled as he laid his hand over hers.
“Probably,” she agreed, not looking the least bit put out. “But you’d stolen my bed.”
“What is it with this family and beds?” Ollie asked. “Mei’s stolen mine.”
Anna gave a triumphant laugh. “I knew it! The way you were carrying on earlier, it was pretty obvious you two had something going.” She picked up the beautiful cake knife and regarded it doubtfully. “I’m not too sure I should be carving up this innocent cake with a murder weapon. Should we wait a few minutes and calm down first?”
Jason made a show of breathing in the glorious peaches and vanilla scent of it. “Big pieces all round. Scientific fact; the human body needs plenty to eat after getting a good fright.”
“Or a bad fright,” Anna needled, plunging the shining blade into the upside-down fruit topping.
*
Mei watched as Anna served the generous slices of cake. Ollie and Jason might manage something that size, but however good it smelled, she doubted she would.
Kieran’s sudden appearance in the house had shocked her. Ollie producing that knife had ramped things up to a whole new level, but she couldn’t deny it had been thrilling. To see Ollie so calm and in control… to feel Kieran terrified… that had made up for a lot.
Anna might be acting as though Ollie had done something wrong, but Mei secretly felt he was right. So that was another point in his favor, and this was only making things harder for her to wave goodbye to him.
But she knew her parents wouldn’t approve. Zhang Wei, in particular, had been vociferous about Ollie in the past so maybe there were even more things she didn’t know about the situation between their two fathers. She certainly didn’t want to upset her very ill mother. Constant travelling and the longer overseas shifts had made it difficult for Mei to conduct any sort of normal romantic relationship, and she knew Ollie was often away, too. Doubly difficult. It was definitely best to enjoy him while she had him and then break it off.