ClickChick7: So…any exciting New Year’s plans?
DrDolittle2.0: Just hanging with some friends. You?
Trying to keep everything casual was proving to get harder and harder. Maybe because I hadn’t met ClickChick7, it made it so damn easy to just open up. She wasn’t there, watching my every move. Judging me. Now though, now I wish I did know her. I wanted to know what she was doing and who she was doing it with.
ClickChick7: Same.
What the hell? That gave me absolutely no details. Punching the pillow under my head, I wriggled around, trying unsuccessfully to get comfortable. There was no way I was going to be able to sleep now. I had no idea why her simple answer annoyed me so much. It just did.
Not wanting to respond and say something I’d end up regretting, I jumped up, pulled on my running gear, and stepped out of my room. “Hey Holly?”
No answer.
I marched through the house looking for her. When I rounded the corner and saw her asleep on the couch, her book on her chest and her reading glasses askew, my heart squeezed. This, right there, that moment, that was the Holly I knew and loved. My sweet, innocent sister. This was the image I’d always have of her. Not wanting to wake her, I scribbled a note and left it on the kitchen counter before stepping out into the hot afternoon for a jog down my track.
***
Holly had fidgeted the whole drive into town. We’d had two arguments and ten minutes of tears just to get here. I was more than ready for a beer. Derek better have one on ice waiting with my name on it. The street was packed. Rounding the corner, I jumped up the kerb and parked on the grass. With the only cop in town being the host of tonight’s party, I was pretty certain I wouldn’t be getting a ticket. When another car bounced up beside me, I knew I wasn’t the only one with the idea.
Turning to look at Holly, she was pale as a ghost, despite the truckload of makeup she’d spent an eternity applying. “You ready?”
“I can just wait here…”
I snapped.
I didn’t mean to. I’d just reached breaking point and Holly had just pushed me over it. Jumping out, I slammed the door and stomped around to her side. Yanking her door open, I reached in, unbuckled her seatbelt, and took hold of her hands in mine like she was a toddler.
“Holly.” I was trying to keep my voice steady and not fly off the handle. It was a fucking challenge. “You can’t wait here all night. Come inside with me. We will have dinner, meet some new people, and have a good time. If you need to go home, tell me and I’ll take you. But I need you to try. Please.”
I could tell she didn’t want to concede, yet she did. I knew she was doing it for me, and I felt like an ass for guilting her…not enough to change my mind, though. Helping her out of the car, I grabbed her hand and led her towards the house.
The side gate was open and I could see everyone out the back. Leading Holly through, I felt her squeeze my hand like it was her lifeline. She needn’t have worried. I wasn’t about to let her go. Not if she didn’t want me to.
When we reached the yard, I was shocked to see how many people were milling about. There would have been a dozen guys surrounding what I could only imagine was the barbeque. I couldn’t see it, but there was no missing the distinct smell of onions and sausages. Women were reclining in chairs and I only recognised about half of them.
I’d changed my mind.
This was too much.
I didn’t want to be here.
If it wasn’t for all my dramatics getting Holly here, I would have turned and high tailed it out of here before anyone spotted me.
I didn’t make it though.
“Gage?”
“Uh, hi, Mia.”
Mia was hard to miss. She might be tiny, but what she lacked in height she more than made up for in personality. I couldn’t help but love her. No one could. She was Payton’s best friend, and that was enough for me.
“And who is this gorgeous girl?”
It was like Mia knew exactly what to say and when to say it. Holly’s cheeks turned pink at the compliment. She needed to get used to it. She was beautiful. Making a mental note to ensure she got more compliments, I introduced them. After a couple of minutes of chat, something about shoes and lipstick, I vagued out.
“Gage?”
Shit! I think I just got caught not paying attention. “Yep?”
“Why don’t you go grab a beer and find Derek. He’s around somewhere,” she offered with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I’m going to steal Holly for a bit.”
Quickly I checked Holly to make sure she was okay with this plan. I wasn’t going to leave her side if she didn’t want me to. When she offered me a wide smile and an enthusiastic nod, I knew not to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Dinner was delicious. Derek wasn’t lying when he’d said it was a simple barbeque and nothing special. By the time we’d sat down, there were eight different salad dishes, thick, juicy steaks, lamb chops, a bowl of fresh prawns, trays of oysters—some fresh, others cooked, the biggest baked potatoes I’d ever seen, and even barbequed corn cobs. I ate way too much.
When I stood to help clear the dishes, Josie, Mia’s sister, swatted me away. After grabbing another beer from the esky, I looked for Holly. I hadn’t seen her in a bit, and I wanted to check in. I couldn’t see her in the yard, so headed inside. That was my first mistake. The kitchen was filled with women all gasbagging at once. I wondered how they kept track of their conversation. With a shake of my head, I dodged past them and found myself standing alone in the lounge. The huge television was on, showing the nine o’clock fireworks on Sydney Harbour. They really did do New Year’s the right way in Sydney. One year I’d be there. Just another thing to add to the bucket list.
“Who have you lost?”
Turning around, there was Josie with a tiny angel curled up in her arms, thumb in her mouth.
“She’s beautiful.” I hadn’t meant to say it out loud, it slipped out.
“Sometimes. Sometimes she’s a tornado.”
“I’ll bet. You looking for Holly?”
“Yeah.” I was that obvious and I didn’t give a shit.
“She’s in here.” I watched as she shifted the sleeping child and led me through the house into the garage. I’ll admit it was slightly fucking weird to be standing in someone’s garage with the police cruiser parked idle.
That wasn’t what held my attention though. I barely recognised Holly. She’d kicked off her shoes, her knuckles were wrapped with white tape, and she was beating the ever loving shit out of the punching bag swinging back and forth.
“She’s pretty good, hey?”
I’d completely forgotten about Josie standing beside me. “Uh.” Holly took another swing and the bag rocked. Just when I thought it was about to bowl her over, she swung again.
“You better keep in mind she can throw a punch like that.”
“Absolutely.”
She had no idea I was standing here watching her. None whatsoever. She wiped the sweat from her forehead on the back of her arm, stretched her neck from side to side and rolled her shoulders. She was preparing to go again. I had no idea she could do this. And I was impressed.
“I’ll leave you to it.”
“Thanks.”
For a few more minutes, I watched as she laid into the bag. If she wasn’t ready to talk, hopefully she could punch it out of her system. I missed the old Holly. The one who was full of sarcasm and sweetness…even if she did use her talents for evil.
Stepping into her line of sight, she froze in shock. Wrapping her arms around the bag, she steadied it to a stop before tugging the ear buds out.
“H-how long have…have you been standing there?” I don’t know if she stuttered because she was out of breath or nervous.
“You’re pretty good at that.”
“I guess.” She shrugged and I wanted to slap her. Why couldn’t she just accept my compliment?
While we stood there staring at each other, Holly sucking in long, deep
breaths, the rumble of an engine on the other side of the door caught my attention. It was some kind of motorbike and it sounded hot. I wanted one.
I didn’t know what I was supposed to say next. All I knew was I had to say something. “You having a good time?”
“Yeah. Mia let me in and showed me a few things.”
“Mia did?” I couldn’t keep the shock from my voice. How Mia could pack a punch was beyond me. She was a pixie.
“Don’t sound so surprised.”
I spun around and came face to face with a grinning Derek. I went to open my mouth to apologise. I mean, how rude could I be? They’d invited me into their home, made my sister smile—which was next to impossible—and I’d insulted them. It was no wonder I was safer in my own company.
“I-I didn’t mean…”
“Forget it. I had the same thought when I first met her. I learnt very quickly not to underestimate Mia though.”
“I’ll bet.”
Derek turned to Holly, “You’ve worked up quite a sweat there. Did you want to get changed? I think Josie left some sweats that’d probably fit you.”
“Really?”
“Sure. Come with me.”
Holly and Derek left me standing there my mouth hanging open. I needed another beer.
Chapter Ten
Carly
I ran over my damn toe. Again. At least these kick ass boots were turning out to be a good investment. I’d had my bike three days and my licence four. To say I was a beginner was probably being generous. I was terrible. I struggled with coordination when I only had two feet to balance, now I had five hundred kilos of steel I was trying to keep upright. It wasn’t as easy as it looked.
Thankfully when the delivery truck had pulled up near my quiet little cottage, Connor hadn’t been too far away. He’d come over to check out what’s going on. I’m glad he did. The gruff driver seemed to think I was lying when I tried to take delivery and attempted to sign the slip. He couldn’t seem to believe that I would have bought a bike. Talk about judging a book by its cover. Why the hell couldn’t I have one?
Connor had rode over on his own beat up paddock bashing bike, calmed the situation down, and unloaded it. Afterwards, I was left standing in the sun beside a gleaming hunk of black and chrome. I flipped the retreating truck the bird. I was still annoyed.
“You’ve already nailed the biker chick attitude.” Connor chuckled as he plonked his ass on my bottom step.
“Wanna drink?”
“Sure.”
I grabbed a couple of cans from my fridge, handed one to Connor, and squatted down beside him.
“So…you bought a bike.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I was starting to get really pissed now.
I’d had a crappy Christmas. Actually it was worse than just crappy. I’d had the week from hell. My family had practically disowned me, I’d never felt more alone, and bloody Payton, the girl who was supposed to be my best friend, the one who was supposed to help get me through anything, wasn’t returning my calls or texts. She was on my shit list. She better have a damn good excuse why. After all, she was the one person who knew about the strained relationship I had with my mother. She was the only one who’d understand.
“Hey now!” Connor stood up, setting his drink down on the railing before raising his hands in surrender. “No need to get your pretty little panties in a twist. I just didn’t know you were into bikes.”
“I’m not.”
“You’re not?”
“Nope.”
“Okay, now I’m really confused.”
Letting out an exhausted sigh, I deflected. “It’s a long story.”
“Do I look like I have anywhere better to be?”
Shit! He wasn’t letting me off easily. Damn these nosy McIntyre boys and their need to protect anything with boobs. I instantly felt sorry for their younger sister. I couldn’t imagine the cotton wool she’d have to live wrapped up in while she was surrounded by these…these cavemen.
“Sydney sucked. I had way too much time on my hands and my credit card was in perfect working order. Me plus depressed plus too much time plus a shitty family equals a whole lot of shopping.”
“Right. Retail therapy.”
“Exactly.”
“And you bought a bike.”
“And I bought a bike.”
“Can I ask why?”
Connor wasn’t trying to be rude, I got that, but I didn’t have an answer for him. Not one that wouldn’t make me look like a complete airhead. “You want the truth?” I offered. The more minutes ticked by, the more I needed to talk to someone. With Payton MIA, Connor was my best option.
“Why not?”
I watched as he folded his long, denim-clad legs over one another and settled back. He took off his hat and ran his hand through his damn locks. He was kinda sexy in a rugged, scruffy sort of way. I wondered what he’d look like all scrubbed up.
“It-matched-my-boots,” I spat out all in one go.
“What? I didn’t quite catch that. Something about boots.”
“The bike. It matched my boots.”
“Okay.”
“Fine. I was shopping my ass off, trying to find something that made me feel good. Even after spending more than I should have on lace panties that barely covered anything and more pairs of jeans than I could ever hope to wear, I left the shopping centre and headed back to the hotel. When I stopped to catch my breath, I turned around and saw the sexiest, most gorgeous leather jacket I’d ever seen. I mean it was perfect. I knew, even before I stepped into the shop, I was taking it with me. I didn’t even look at the price tag. When I got inside and tried it on, I knew this was my favourite thing in the world. It made me feel good. So I bought it.”
“I thought you said boots, not a jacket.”
“I did. Hold your horses, I’m getting there. Anyway, as I went to pay, the shop assistant pointed out a killer pair of boots. Well, I couldn’t very well say no, could I? I mean, they matched. I had to get them.”
“Right. So you bought a jacket and then matching boots. How the hell does that add up to a brand new Ducati Scrambler sitting outside your door?”
“Um…”
“Carly, just tell me.” There was something about the way he said it. I knew he’d laugh, even now, without hearing the punch line. I could tell that he was about to burst. It was weird, though. Even though I knew he’d laugh, I expected him to, he wasn’t so much as laughing at me, but more at what I’d done. That alone gave me the confidence to tell him the rest.
“Well, the guy said the jacket suited me. And the boots matched. And the bike, well, it was so pretty and shiny and went with everything, so I just…I just bought it.”
“Can you even ride a motorbike?”
“Um…”
“Have you ever even been on one?”
“Yes!” Yay! Finally an answer I could answer honestly without wanting to hide. Yes, I’d spent time on the back of an ex-boyfriend’s bike. Granted, I’d hated every terrifying minute of it, but I’d still climbed on.
“Do you have a licence?”
“Yep! Got it yesterday.”
“Oh my god. You’re going to be the death of me.”
“Why?”
“Carly, I’m going to teach you to ride.” I opened my mouth to protest, but he silenced me with a look. He didn’t need words. “Not negotiable. You want to ride, fine. But you need to be safe. Please tell me you at least thought this hare-brained scheme through enough and bought yourself a helmet?”
Thankfully I wasn’t a complete moron, and I had bought myself a helmet. It was so pretty. It was red and black and had wings on the sides. That’s what I wanted. More than anything I wanted the freedom the bike offered me. I wanted to be able to fly away and leave all the drama behind. That’s the real reason I bought the bike. It’s also my truth that I could never tell anyone. They wouldn’t understand. They couldn’t.
Without a word, I bounced to my feet and darted inside,
only to return a moment later cradling my very pretty helmet. Handing it over to Connor, he turned it in his hands over and over and over again. “Well, that’s a start.”
That was yesterday. Today I’d ridden it all by myself from the McIntyre family farm to Derek and Mia’s New Year’s Eve party. I didn’t even care that Connor had followed behind me in his truck as I stuck to my very safe, very comfortable forty kilometres an hour speed limit. I got there. Eventually.
Once I was moving out on the open road, with no one else in sight, I loved it. It was just the stopping and the turning and sharing the road I didn’t like. By the time I’d parked in the driveway and had more than one argument with the temperamental kickstand, I tugged off my helmet.
Turning around, I saw Connor standing there, leaning against his truck, a smug looking smirk on his lips. I wanted to wipe it off, and if I could have come up with a foolproof plan to do so, then he’d be in big trouble. Lucky for him, I had nothing.
Hanging my helmet on the handle bars, I stretched my arms up high above my head. This whole bike riding thing was going to take some getting used to. I hurt in places I didn’t even know it was possible to hurt in. My arms ached, my fingers and hands were sore, and my hip, well once the bruise faded, I was hoping I’d be more comfortable.
“Holy crap, Carly, is that yours?”
I didn’t even see Josie sneak around from the side of the house. That one was certainly bouncing off the walls tonight. I wasn’t sure how many cocktails she’d had, but from the way she wobbled, it was more than enough. The wind wasn’t harsh, but it was enough to lift Josie’s short summer dress up, showing the whole street her black lace thong. Biting the inside of my cheek, I kept my face as stoic as possible, but when I risked a glance at Connor, he was almost wetting himself. Josie seemed completely oblivious.
Meet The McIntyres - The Complete Series Page 32