Barb stood there, beaming at them. She could have wept in relief. The smile she’d plastered to her face relaxed into something far less plastic and manic feeling.
‘Ahh, finally, the cavalry has arrived and right on time.’ Barb leaned forward to give her a kiss before turning to Carter and pulling him in for a hug around the salad. ‘Aaron is getting grumbly. But you’ll be able to help him with that, won’t you, Carts?’
‘Sure will.’
‘I want to just check him out first though, before you go running off together,’ Prita said.
‘Sure, Mum.’
Barb took the salad and gestured them inside. ‘Come out of that heat.’
She opened the door and before they’d taken a step, they were rushed by Barb’s dogs, Charlie and Farrah. ‘Hey, you two.’ She juggled holding her doctor’s bag and patting the enthusiastic dogs who quickly went from jumping all over her to butting Carter for attention. Carter giggled and hugged them both, ruffling their heads and thumping their backs in the way they liked.
‘Charlie, Farrah, out of the way. Let them in.’
The dogs slunk back a little, allowing Prita to step into the room, braced to see Flynn sitting with his son. He wasn’t there. ‘Where’s Flynn?’ she blurted before she could stop herself.
‘Someone ran into the fence around your gymkhana paddock again, so he was heading down there to look at the damage, but then Rebel got out of his paddock, so he had to go round him up and get him away from the mares that are in heat then calm him down. Then there was a last-minute ride booked after lunch, so he’s only just gone down to see the damaged fencing about an hour ago. Probably stayed to fix them up, given he’s been gone so long. He should be back soon.’
‘Hey, Carter,’ Aaron said from his place on the couch. ‘Did you bring Star Wars?’
‘Yep, it’s in my backpack in the car. I’ll get it out when we go over to Reid and Nat’s.’
‘Cool.’
Carter gestured at Aaron’s sling. ‘How’s it feeling?’
‘Pretty sore.’
‘Yeah. Pity you didn’t break it though—I could have signed your plaster.’
‘Maybe next time.’
‘Next time!’ Prita exclaimed. ‘I would hope you’ve learned to be a bit more careful.’
Barb snorted. ‘There’s not a chance in hell that’s true.’
‘Gran!’
She ruffled his hair and bussed him on the head. ‘You’re a young active boy, just like Reid. Odds are, you’re going to hurt yourself again. Although, for pity’s sake, please try and keep out of mischief for the next couple of months or you’ll be the death of your father.’
‘Dad’s tough.’
‘Not as tough as he’d like everyone to think,’ Barb said under her breath.
Prita wanted to ask her what she meant but the moment passed as Carter pulled her forward, saying, ‘Come on, Mum. Check out A.’
‘What’s the hurry?’
‘We want to play a couple of games of soccer on the PlayStation before we go down to Nat and Reid’s. Tilly doesn’t like playing it. She prefers Mario Kart.’
‘Okay, okay.’ She sat down next to Aaron on the couch as Barb shooed the dogs outside so they wouldn’t get in the way, and began her examination. She finished quickly, announcing that everything looked as good as could be expected. ‘Just keep that arm in the sling to help your shoulder heal and try not to use the arm or move around too much. No running!’ she admonished, shaking her finger at him over his groan. ‘I know it’s going to be hard for you, Mr Ants in the Pants, but if you want the shoulder to heal as quickly as possible, you need to keep it still, okay?’
‘Okay.’
‘Good boy.’ She stood, leaving Carter and Aaron to play their game and went over to Barb. ‘He can keep taking some painkillers for the next week or so while the pain is bad,’ she said to Barb. ‘Just be aware they might make him feel a bit more sleepy than usual.’
‘That might be a good thing.’
Prita smiled.
‘Do you want a drink?’
‘A glass of cold water would be lovely.’
‘Sure. Let’s go into the kitchen to have a natter and leave those two to their game.’
With a backward look to make sure Carter was fine, she followed Barb into the kitchen. Two glasses of water and a cup of tea later, it was almost time to head down to Nat and Reid’s for her ‘party’ and there was still no sign of Flynn. Was he still avoiding her? She frowned. She didn’t want to chase him out of his own home. Hell, she was going to have to do something about this. It was only a kiss. They were adults. They needed to address it and then put things back the way they were. Yes. Tonight. When he finally arrived from wherever he was hiding. She would pull him aside for a few moments and just clear the air.
Barb turned from putting dishes in the dishwasher and looked at the clock on the wall. ‘I think we’re going to have to head down to Nat and Reid’s without Flynn or we’ll all be late, and we can’t have the birthday girl arriving late to her own party.’
‘It’s not a party.’
‘No, it’s not, given you wouldn’t let us throw you one. I’ve never known someone to not like a birthday as much as you, Prita.’
She shrugged. ‘My mum died in a plane crash the day before my birthday. She was flying in to meet me and Papa so we could be together for my birthday.’
‘Oh, love.’ Barb’s hand flew up to her mouth. ‘I didn’t know. I’m so sorry.’
Prita shrugged again. ‘It’s okay. I don’t talk about it.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me? I wouldn’t have pushed to celebrate your birthday if I’d known.’
She screwed her mouth on the side. ‘Celebrating my birthday was important to Carter.’
‘I see.’
‘Besides, I moved here to change things for him and me, and maybe this can be one of those things. Maybe I can have a fun and happy birthday celebration. Last night was lovely.’ If you didn’t take into account cleaning up dead bird, being scared to death by a devilish cat and then staying up half the night singing to and calming your traumatised son.
‘We’ll make sure tonight is just a simple, lovely night too.’
‘Sounds good.’ She shifted in her seat then stood up, suddenly feeling the need to splash some water on her face. ‘I might go to the bathroom before we go.’
‘I’ll go wrestle the boys off their game.’
Prita smiled at the groans as Barb walked into the lounge room and told the boys to finish up their game, then headed down the hall to the bathroom.
***
Flynn pushed through the back door that led into the laundry and instantly began to strip. He was hot, sweaty and his clothes stank of smoke, the smell coiling up his nose and making nausea swirl in his stomach.
Damn it!
He shouldn’t have gone down there. Mac had called to say it wasn’t necessary. But it was his property and he couldn’t keep leaving things like this to others.
The fire hadn’t even been that bad. Just the brush jump and some grass around it as Mac had said this morning. He’d thought he could cope, but the trembling was still twitching through his body, the nausea still roiling up from his gut.
One whiff. One look at the burned and charred grass and soil, the burned jump, so close to the bush. That was all it had taken to turn him into a stumbling, trembling, vomiting mess. Thank god the men had gone by the time he got down there. That was the only bright light in the entire miserable incident.
What made him feel even worse was he’d promised Aaron he’d spend some time with him this afternoon, and he’d let his weakness catch him and stop him from doing that. He hadn’t even got back for the promised morning tea. Or lunch. Too many things had gone wrong today and now this.
At least Prita and Carter’s arrival would have kept him occupied, but still, he didn’t like letting his son down. But he’d had no choice. He couldn’t have returned home even if he’d been able to manage it. N
ot until the shaking and the sweats had stopped enough to allow him to make it back to the ute and be steady enough to drive home.
Christ.
Nausea swirled with fear and anger equally mixed, making his hands tremble and his breath come hard and fast like he’d been running. He ripped his t-shirt over his head, the scent of burning and smoke intensifying briefly. His knees went weak and he had to lock them to stop from crumbling to the floor.
‘Shit. Shit!’ He gripped the edge of the laundry bench and hung his head, breathing deeply, in and out, forcing a steady rhythm past his racing heartbeat and the dizziness threatening to take him down. Memories hovered, waiting to swamp him, but he wouldn’t let them. Couldn’t let them. Someone could walk right in at any moment and find him like this. He had to hold onto his control.
He turned on the tap in the laundry tub and splashed water over his face. It wasn’t cold enough and he could still smell that smell that haunted his dreams. He dunked his whole head under the tap. He wanted a shower, but there wasn’t time. This would have to do. But the smell was still here.
His jeans stank. That was the problem—the denim soaked in the scent of smoke. He had to get them off. Now. He couldn’t walk through the house and into his bedroom smelling like this. Couldn’t have this smell in his room. Not even for a moment. It lingered. Always lingered, no matter how much you sprayed air fresheners and left your window open, letting in the outside heat with the fresh air. Not that anyone else could smell it. Only him.
He clenched his hands into fists and let the water run over his head as he took in deep gulping breaths, trying not to choke on the water. He had to get over this weakness. He had to. He couldn’t give in to it. Couldn’t let his son down, his mum, Reid, Nat, Tilly, and everyone else who depended on him. Wasn’t time supposed to heal all wounds? Then why the hell wasn’t it doing that for him?
Because it was a bunch of horseshit, that’s why. Time healed nothing. Only he could heal what was broken inside him. And if determination could see him through rebuilding CoalCliff and making it the successful horse stud/riding ranch/children’s camp that it was today, then sheer determination and stubbornness would see him over this hurdle too.
To do that, he had to pull his shit together and get a move on. He had to get Aaron, and his mum, down to Reid and Nat’s and help with the barbie. Well, if not with the actual cooking of the meat, then anything else that needed doing. Thankfully, Reid loved to put his apron on and play king of the BBQ.
He yanked the tap off and lifted his head, water dripping down his chest and back, and stripped off his jeans. Leaving him in the Rudolf boxer briefs Reid had bought him as his joke gift this last Christmas. They’d been the only clean undies in his drawer this morning, today being washing day, so he’d had no choice but to put them on—they were surprisingly comfortable. He’d have to dash to his bedroom and hope Aaron or his mum didn’t come out and see him in them—they’d be sure to tell Reid he was actually wearing them, and then he wouldn’t hear the end of jokes about his little red pecker lighting the way for some eager female.
They all thought it was time he moved on, but they didn’t understand. They’d not been there for Anna’s last moments. Never had the person they loved the most die in their arms, the look in her eyes, the last words on her lips, pleading with him to save her, to not forget her. He hadn’t been able to answer the first plea but he could damn well answer the second.
He slicked his wet hair back, wishing he had a towel to dry himself a little now the water was running down his chest and back, wetting his jocks. Oh well—they’d dry soon enough. It was a hot one outside. Might help to keep him cooler when he saw Prita.
Before he let his mind linger there any longer than it needed to, he had to get to his room without being seen and get dressed in shorts and a t-shirt and make certain there was no sign of the issues that had seen him almost crawl into the laundry to hide his shame. He put his dirty clothes in the washing machine and put it on before opening the door and peering down the corridor—nobody there and the only noise was coming from the lounge. Good.
He slipped out, closed the door behind him as quietly as possible then turned and smacked straight into Prita who had just slipped out of the bathroom.
She yelped, arms pinwheeling as she fell backward from the impact. Without thinking, he grabbed her and pulled her upright.
‘Shit. Sorry.’
Her hands landed on his chest, gaze flying up to his. The way she looked up at him, those amazing amber-flecked eyes widening, and sexy as hell, punched him right in the gut.
‘Flynn!’
‘Prita.’ He didn’t let go of her and she didn’t push away, just stood there, breath a little unsteady, staring up at him.
‘You’re back.’
‘Yes.’
‘Good. We were just about to head down to Nat and Reid’s.’
‘Okay.’
Her fingers did that little cat-claw clenchy thing on his chest and all his thoughts raced down to his groin as she stammered, ‘I checked Aaron’s shoulder. He’s good, by the way. Just needs to stay on the anti-inflammatories and painkillers for a few more days and keep quiet and still as much as possible.’ She chewed her lip, gaze still pinned on him. ‘Barb’s kicking the kids off the PlayStation. I was just about to go get my salad from the fridge. We were about to leave.’
Her voice washed over him, through him, as she rambled nervously—nervously? What did she have to be nervous of? Not that he really cared right now, with her hands splayed on his naked chest like they were, fingers contracting and stretching out ever so slightly. The gesture was tiny but the impact was an earthquake, a landslide, a blazing flame, just as it had been the day they’d kissed.
He jerked back from her, breaking the contact.
They stared at each other for a long moment, too long. Her gaze darted down then back up, eyes widening, a smile twitching on her lips. ‘Nice boxers.’
His face heated. Great. Now he was the colour to match his boxers. ‘They’re a joke. From Reid.’ Think about Reid, think about Reid, about anything but this unholy awareness of her and the fact his cock was twitching, responding to her presence, her scent—jasmine and spice and something a little wild—threatening to turn Rudolf’s improperly placed red nose into Pinocchio’s. It was bad enough he was standing here naked except for a joke pair of boxers and she was wearing a silky strappy green top that flowed like water down her curves and a pair of short denim shorts showcasing the long expanse of her silky legs. He clenched his fingers into fists to stop himself from taking a step forward and pushing those flimsy straps off her shoulders and caressing the strip of material off her body, lips following, kissing, sucking, tasting.
Ah shit. He clapped his hands over his stiffening dick. ‘I’ve got to go.’ He managed not to touch her as he edged past and escaped into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him, shutting out her and the unholy and altogether wrong attraction he couldn’t seem to rid himself of.
He leaned against the door, hands splayed hard against the wood, and hit his head back against the door, the pain of the jolt sparking through him, but doing nothing to stop the trembling, the need spiralling in his gut and the hot erection pushing at his stupid jocks.
‘Fuck! Fuck.’ He had to go back out there, see her again, spend time with her making small talk and eating steak and salad. He didn’t know what frightened him more—spending time with Prita after she’d seen him in his undies all wet and vulnerable and not a little horny or facing up to another bushfire.
Was there some way he could get out of this? Yes. Perhaps he could say he wasn’t feeling well, or that he got sunstroke or something. Anything. But no. It was her birthday. It would be unforgiveable to skip out on it.
‘Dad?’ A knock on the door behind him made him jump. ‘Are you ready to go? Doctor Prita said I could go to the barbie, but you have to drive me—I’m not allowed to walk.’
Aaron! Hell, he couldn’t let his son see him in this state.
He kept his hand against the door and said, ‘Why don’t you go with them? I’m just getting changed.’
‘Gran says your truck has better suspension so Doctor Prita wants me to go with you.’
‘Okay.’ So, that answered his question. If he didn’t want to let down his son, he was just going to have to brazen this out. ‘Be there in a minute.’
‘Don’t be long.’
‘I’m throwing on some clothes now.’ He’d just have to try to stay as far away from Prita as he possibly could for the rest of the night. Or week. Or year. However long it would take him to get over this goddamned attraction that threatened everything he’d struggled to be in the years since his wife had died.
It wasn’t until he was about to hop into his ute with Aaron that he realised all thought of the fire and the fear it had created had gone the moment he’d smacked into Prita. Well, at least that was something.
Chapter 11
Prita scurried outside the moment Flynn and Aaron walked into Reid and Nat’s open plan kitchen-living room. All her plans to have a chat with him about the awkwardness between them had gone up in smoke after that unexpected meeting in the hall of his house.
My god. She’d known he was built, but seeing him like that in those boxers, his chest glistening with water or sweat or whatever.
Holly hell. How was a woman to react to that?
And why did it have to be so hot out here? She was sure it was hotter than the thirty degrees they’d said it was going to be today. And far more humid. She was burning up—and she was just going to ignore that it was coming from the inside, not the outside. Oh god! She needed a cold shower. Or at least, to tip some cold water over her head.
She glanced over at Reid and Barb who were standing at the BBQ having their usual argument over marinating and cooking techniques. She wondered where Mac was. CoalCliff’s foreman had become a constant presence at Barb’s side in the last year or so. Everyone assumed something was going on between them, but neither of them had admitted to it and he never stayed the night at Barb’s and Barb was never at his place that she’d heard of. They hadn’t once been caught kissing or hugging or even holding hands either. He was just there. It had become a guessing game of what was going on.
Blazing Fear Page 11