‘I suppose you’ve come for the mirror,’ she said as Seth rounded the ute. She’d phoned Jackie Drummond two days ago to tell her that it was ready.
‘Yes. I meant to get here earlier, but I was delayed. I’ll grab it now, if it’s not too inconvenient.’
He was dressed in a crisp white business shirt, open-necked, with the sleeves rolled back, showing off his tan. His jeans were neat and deep blue, quite a change from the soft, battered and faded ones she’d seen him in previously. His boots were polished and he looked freshly shaved. Even his dark hair was neater than usual.
Regrettably for Alice, this tidied-up version of Seth was possibly even more attractive than his scruffy cowboy look. She knew Tammy would be agog when she saw him.
Needing a chance to regroup, she paid studious attention to undoing the bolt and reopening the doors.
‘I was about to close up,’ she said.
‘I’m in luck then.’ Seth came into the shop, bringing a drift of aftershave.
The scent whispered to Alice to close her eyes and breathe deeply. Damn. She had to get a grip.
‘The mirror’s still out the back.’ She nodded towards the workroom. ‘Do you want me to wrap it? I have some strong cardboard, but it might rain again before you get home.’
‘I brought a tarp. It’s in the back of the ute. And there’s a tie-down cover as well.’
‘Oh, well. You’re all sorted.’ Alice was doing her best to remain cool and together. The fact that Tammy was all ears in the next room didn’t help.
Sure enough, when she and Seth went out the back, Tammy was no longer relaxing on the cushion with her glass of wine, but on her feet.
Had she been trying to eavesdrop?
‘No need to get up!’ Alice told her. ‘This will only take a minute. A customer’s come to collect his mirror.’
But Tammy was ploughing agitated fingers through her spiky turquoise hair. ‘I’m so sorry, Alice. I’m a freaking idiot.’ Her wide-eyed gaze took in Seth as she said this. ‘I totally forgot I’m supposed to be washing and setting Audrey Ryan’s hair this evening. The poor old girl’s not well. She can’t come in to the salon any more and I’ve been calling in at her home.’
Alice narrowed her eyes. She was sure Tammy had come up with this sudden excuse as soon as she’d heard Seth’s voice, but she could hardly accuse her friend of lying.
‘That’s a pity,’ she said carefully. ‘I was looking forward to finishing our drink.’
Tammy, however, was already halfway to the door. ‘So sorry to leave you high and dry. We’ll have to make it another time.’
‘What about your wine?’ Alice called after her. ‘You should take it.’
‘No, no! I bought it for you.’ The smile Tammy offered them was borderline coy. ‘Enjoy.’ Then she gave a careless shrug. ‘Or save it till next time. Byeee! Must dash.’
With a waggle of her fingers and a flash of mischievous eyes, Tammy was gone.
Alice let out her breath in a tense huff. ‘Well,’ she said. ‘That was my new friend Tammy. She runs the hair salon a few doors down. I would have introduced you if she’d given me a chance.’
Seth was smiling and she was suddenly aware all over again of just how very blue his eyes were. She switched her gaze to the abandoned wine and glasses and cosily arranged cushions. Her certainty deepened. Tammy was deliberately giving her and Seth ‘space’.
I’ll have to have a word with that girl.
At least Seth hadn’t picked up on the blatant ploy. He was too busy checking out the restored mirror.
‘It’s perfect,’ he said, crossing to the easel. ‘You’ve done a great job. Brilliant.’
‘Yes, I’m pleased. You can hardly see the scratches.’
‘I can’t see any at all.’
‘I hope Jackie likes it.’
‘She will. She’ll be stoked.’
Alice smiled. She’d worked hard to produce a good finish and she’d been very satisfied with the result. ‘Shall I help you to carry it out?’
‘I’m sure I can manage.’
Seth made it look easy, of course, and no doubt it was super-easy compared with almost any job he tackled on a daily basis. In no time, he had the mirror safely wrapped and stowed, and the back of the ute covered and secured.
Alice, standing on the footpath in the light coming through her shop’s doorway, tried not to be too impressed by his economy of movement.
With the task completed, Seth faced her with his hands propped lightly on his hips. Night was falling quickly. Already, the evening star was peeping over the patch of rainforest at the end of the street.
‘So, your girlfriend stood you up?’ Seth said.
Alice shrugged. ‘It was only an impromptu thing. A Friday drink.’ She wondered if Seth was expecting her to invite him in.
‘I was thinking of something impromptu myself.’ He smiled again and, despite the gathering darkness, his blue eyes glowed. ‘Dinner at Quinn’s, perhaps?’
Alice swallowed. She knew there had to be a reason for his neat attire, and she wasn’t completely surprised by the invitation.
It was tempting. Quinn’s was one of Burralea’s most popular restaurants, run by an Irish chef and his French wife.
All reports had been excellent and Alice had thought about trying the place out, but she’d never really fancied dining alone, sitting there in silence, fiddling with her phone, or reading a book while other diners chatted intimately over candlelight. Besides, since arriving in Burralea, she’d been busy with other kinds of social events.
She’d started going to fortnightly quiz nights, and just last week she’d been invited to an exhibition by local artists raising money for the rural fire brigade. These nights been fun, but the thought of a restaurant meal was very alluring.
Problem was, going to Quinn’s with Seth would most definitely count as a date, and she’d just finished telling Tammy why that wasn’t a good idea.
‘I’m sure Quinn’s would be booked out on a Friday night,’ she said.
Seth was already reaching into his pocket for his phone. ‘I’ll give Kieran a call.’
‘Kieran Quinn? You know him?’
Seth grinned. ‘If you live in this district long enough, you get to know most people.’
He stood before her in all his wide-shouldered, blue-eyed gorgeousness, phone in hand, one questioning eyebrow raised, waiting for her response.
It was her chance to send him packing.
Heaven help her, the last thing she wanted was to watch this man drive away. Before fresh doubts and warnings raised their ugly heads, Alice nodded. ‘Okay. I guess it’s worth a try.’
Then she listened to Seth’s end of a very matey phone conversation, with the result that Kieran Quinn could indeed squeeze them in.
Alice glanced down at her dusty work jeans and smock. ‘I’ll need to shower and change.’
‘There’s no rush,’ Seth assured her.
But this left her with a new dilemma. She could hardly leave Seth alone downstairs with nothing to amuse him but Tammy’s wine and a citronella candle. She had no choice but to invite him up into her private domain, where he could at least listen to music or watch TV while she got ready.
‘Bring that wine and come on up,’ she said, trying to sound casual and offhand about showering and changing with only a thin wall between her naked self and this sinfully attractive man.
15
It was only a date and not an especially important date, Alice told herself, but she selected a new bar of handmade soap for her shower. The soap was another find from the local markets and the scents of fragrant patchouli and sweet mandarin would linger on her skin long after she was dry. She didn’t ask herself why this should matter.
Stepping out of the shower into the steamy bathroom, she heard the slow sensuous notes of a saxophone coming from the next room, slipping under the door like smoke. At the thought of Seth there, drinking wine and listening to music on her iPod, anticipation danced ins
ide her.
In the bedroom, she opened drawers and made selections. And deliberately reminded herself that Seth had a son. Charlie.
She remembered the little boy’s golden hair, his soft, baby-smooth skin, the warm weight of him in her arms. His wriggling body as he struggled to be free. She remembered him running away from her, one foot in a thick sock and the other bare.
Then her mind went slightly crazy. She saw Charlie toddling into danger, disappearing into a muddy pool, falling under a bus, out of a window.
In an eddy of despair, Alice sank to the edge of her bed while her mind flashed back to the bleak autumn afternoon all those years ago when she’d waited for her parents and Daisy to pick her up from soccer practice. She must have been a forlorn little figure as she stood there on the footpath, waiting and watching as all the other kids’ parents arrived and took off again. For home.
Rain had threatened and the wind blew dry, crackly leaves at Alice’s bare legs. Eventually, Sara Halliday’s mother saw Alice standing there alone. Mrs Halliday took pity on Alice and she and Sara had waited with her.
Sara had complained. She was missing her favourite TV show, but her mother had given them lollipops. Alice could still remember the sweet and sour flavours mingling on her tongue. After they’d waited for almost an hour, Mrs Halliday had tried to ring Alice’s home.
A neighbour had answered. The police were there . . .
Stop it, for God’s sake.
Not now. Not tonight.
Alice couldn’t believe she’d let her thoughts spin so far out of control. Was she crazy?
She’d never talked to anyone about this issue, but her discomfort around little people had become a source of embarrassment that only deepened as she grew older.
She hadn’t wanted to see a shrink. Didn’t want to have to talk about it. She knew avoidance was cowardly, but she hated the thought of exposing her inner self to a stranger, and until recently, she’d found it easy enough to cover up.
Surely she could handle a simple dinner invitation without having a meltdown about Seth’s cute and vulnerable son? This was a date, for God’s sake, not a long-term commitment. If Seth knew she was agonising over a potential role as mother for his boy, he would probably run a mile.
Going out with him should be a cinch. She was a practised hand at short-term relationships.
Except she was beginning to suspect that Seth was the nicest, hunkiest man she’d ever met and short term with him might not be so simple.
How naïve she’d been to think that by travelling north she could run away from her troubles! The world over, nice, hunky guys expected to marry and produce sons. She should have run to a nunnery, not a country town.
But I’ve already said yes. I can’t back out of tonight. Not now.
Alice stood and scowled at her reflection in the wardrobe mirror. She was over-thinking this whole situation. Again. She really had to learn to cool her jets. Relax and enjoy herself.
Taking a deep breath, she continued to get ready, choosing a matching bra and knickers – demure mauve rather than lacy black – and her favourite dress, a silk sheath in moss green.
She pulled off the scrunchie that held back her hair and shook her curls free, combed them lightly. Carefully but quickly, she applied cinnamon and smoke to her eyelids, a coppery gloss to her lips, a subtle bronze blush beneath her cheekbones. With the addition of gold earrings, black high-heeled sandals and a black and gold wrap, she was done.
When Seth saw her, his eyes shone in a way that made her skin tingle all over.
The atmosphere at Quinn’s was rustic and romantic, with walls painted in a rich terracotta and floors paved with local stone. On every table small candles glowed in frosted glass. Pots of lush ginger and ferns filled the windows.
Enticing aromas wafted from the kitchen as Alice and Seth were shown to a table in a secluded corner. It was very pleasant, mulling together over the menu, discussing favourites, making choices, selecting a bottle of French shiraz.
They decided to start with two entrées to share, and as Alice spread pâté on a slice of locally sourced ciabatta, she could feel herself sinking under the seductive spell of the atmosphere, the food and wine, and the handsome man sitting opposite her.
But before she got too carried away, she dived in with the all-important question. ‘So who’s minding Charlie tonight?’
‘My parents,’ Seth said. ‘I’m lucky. They love having him.’ He smiled. ‘I don’t like to overdo it, though. To be honest I haven’t been out like this in quite a while.’
Alice told herself this wasn’t significant. Of course it wouldn’t be easy, living out there at Ruthven Downs, some distance from town, and shouldering the responsibilities of fatherhood.
‘What’s it been like for you?’ she felt compelled to ask. ‘Figuring out how to care for a baby? I guess it was a steep learning curve.’
‘Too right.’ Dropping his gaze to his wine glass, Seth’s expression was thoughtful, as if he was recalling the endless nappy changes, the floor pacing and sleepless nights. ‘It certainly makes you grow up in a hurry.’
A pang of guilt spiked in Alice’s chest. No doubt her avoidance of small people showed a marked lack of maturity. ‘Was there anyone to help you?’
‘My parents, of course, but I was pretty stubborn about wanting to do it myself.’ Seth’s smile was shrewd. ‘We don’t have to talk about Charlie, you know. That’s not why I asked you to dinner.’
Alice swallowed quickly. ‘Right.’ Could he see right through her?
Seth topped up her wine glass. ‘So what made you decide to move up here?’ he asked.
She told him half the truth. ‘After my grandmother died, I was a free agent and I felt like I needed a change. Gran used to tell me about a holiday she had up here on the Tablelands, a long time ago. She talked about the lakes and the rainforest and how beautiful it was.’ Alice gave a smiling shrug. ‘I guess she made it sound all very perfect and over the rainbow.’
‘And now you’re here, what do you think?’
‘Well, I’m still settling in, but I really like it. It’s certainly very beautiful and I love how much cooler it is here in the mountains. It’s quiet, of course.’
‘Not too quiet for a city girl?’
‘I don’t think so. Not so far. There’s always someone popping into the shop.’ Alice helped herself to some of the French tomato salad. The tomatoes were local, vine ripened and succulent, the herbs and vinaigrette the perfect, finely balanced accompaniment. ‘What about you? Do you enjoy living in the bush?’
‘Yeah, I love working in the outdoors.’ Seth grinned. ‘I can’t imagine getting into a suit and tie and catching a train to work. Mind you, my sister lives in Melbourne.’
‘Really? Is she working there?’
Seth nodded. ‘She plays in an orchestra. Violin.’
‘Wow, she must be good.’
‘Yes, she is.’ Seth helped himself to the salad and Alice found herself fascinated by his workmanlike hands wielding the dainty silver servers. ‘Flora’s talented and conscientious, and she had a brilliant teacher at boarding school who really helped her and pushed her.’
‘Boarding school? Did you go there too?’
‘I did. Charters Towers.’
‘Oh, wow!’ Seth looked puzzled, so she explained. ‘When I was a kid, I was desperate go to boarding school. I used to pretend that my bedroom was actually a dorm filled with my school friends.’
He smiled momentarily, but then his blue eyes seemed concerned. ‘Were you lonely as a child?’
‘Not really. There were moments, of course, when I missed my – my family. But I think the boarding school obsession came from reading too many Enid Blytons.’ She grinned to reassure him. ‘All those secret passages and midnight feasts.’
‘Well, we didn’t manage many midnight feasts at my school.’ Seth topped up their wine glasses. ‘But we certainly got up to stupid pranks.’
‘Tell me about them.’
/> He hesitated and gave an uncomfortable shrug. ‘Just stupidly juvenile boys’ stuff.’
‘Come on,’ she urged. ‘I was prank-deprived. I went to a Catholic girls’ school.’
She sent him a playful, pleading look and, with a slight grimace, he gave in.
‘Stuff like stealing a guy’s clothes when he was in the shower. Putting toads in kids’ beds. Decorating some poor sucker’s desk with pics from a porn magazine.’ He rolled his eyes at this last admission.
Perhaps it was the mention of porn. This time, when their gazes met across the small table, the friendly vibe between them lingered and changed subtly. All sorts of sparks went off inside Alice. She hoped she wasn’t blushing.
She broke off another piece of bread and slathered it with pâté. After a mouthful or two, she said, ‘Your life has been almost the opposite of mine.’
‘Because of your school-prank deprivation?’
‘No. I was thinking more about our families. You’ve grown up on your property with your family, and you’re still there, living close by your parents, working with your father every day. And now you even have three generations there, with Charlie.’
‘That’s true, but all that closeness has its downside, you know. I find myself chafing at the bit at times.’
‘The old bull and the young bull?’
Seth grinned. ‘I guess.’
‘But you must also feel very secure.’
He’d been helping himself to the last of the tomato salad, but he paused, watching her, and his eyes shimmered with unmistakable sympathy, as if he’d sensed her inner battles. ‘Yeah. I guess I shouldn’t complain.’
‘And I wasn’t trying to suggest you’ve had it easy,’ Alice amended. ‘I’m sure it’s impossible to judge other people’s lives from the outside.’
The waiter came to take their plates and return with their mains. A prawn risotto for Alice and slow-cooked duck for Seth. Again the courses were delicious and, for Alice, everything about the meal and her companion kept her senses humming.
The Grazier's Wife Page 15