“Ames, grab us a table and I’ll get the first round.” Johnno gave her a gentle push towards the tables.
“Okay. Come on, Mike.” Amy scanned the rapidly filling dining area. On the far side, one larger table was still free. Aware of another figure heading in the same direction, she walked briskly and plopped down on the bench seat against the brick wall.
Mike remained standing and waved someone over. “Hoy, doc. Wanna join us?”
Amy glanced across the next table to see which doctor Mike had spotted.
Dan? Her nails dug into her palms as annoyance sucked out her good humour. What had been so wrong with her invitation that Dan refused point blank? Yet here he was, smiling at Mike as he ambled over with a beer in hand.
Smiling at Mike?
She narrowed her eyes as her mind ticked over and she put two and two together. If she added in Dan’s reluctance to engage with the women at work . . .
Oops. How had she not picked up the vibes? And while it was disappointing, it explained Dan’s attitude to her. Not that any of the men at work looked at her with interest anyway. But after the heartache of Derek dumping her, she’d kind of hoped that maybe—just once—she might not be merely one of the boys. Was that why she’d dolled herself up for the Cloncurry Races?
As Dan’s gaze met hers, his smile faded. “Just Amy, hi.”
“It’s okay, Dan. You don’t need to worry anymore. I get it.”
Mike looked from Amy to Dan. “Ignore her, mate. She goes troppo every so often. Not when she’s flying of course—you’re safe as a babe in the air with Tweety Bird. Sit with us anyway. Ames, I’m gonna order chips. Want some?”
“Yes, please.”
Mike wandered over and joined the queue at the register. Dan slowly lowered himself onto a chair, watching her over the top of his beer, as though she was a time bomb about to explode. At least he was aware of her, which was a change from being seen as part of the furniture.
Some mischievous part of her decided to push his buttons—just a little. Just to let him know there were no hard feelings about his refusal. Now she understood why, reassurance sprang to her lips. “Noisy place to read those journals.”
He placed a buzzer on the table and drew a deep breath. “Look, that was a nice gesture—the drink invite and all—but I do have a lot of reading to catch up on.”
“You seemed pretty up to speed with operations stuff today. And the rest you’ll learn on the job.”
“Not good enough. My specialty is paediatrics but I hear there’s been a few callouts to difficult births and I don’t want to be underprepared.”
Amy couldn’t fault his logic, or his dedication to his work. “Last month, we had a pregnant mum go into premature labour on an isolated station.”
“Exactly why I need to bone up on as much as I can.”
“You could have told me, you know.”
“What?”
“That you’re a lousy cook.” Idly, she set the food buzzer spinning.
“I heard the meals are pretty good here and I wanted a quick dinner before I hit the books. Why would you think I can’t cook?”
“You mean you can? Of course you can. You probably have a really neat home too.” Oops, she hadn’t meant to let that stereotypical remark loose. Dan was a nice bloke, despite their less than stellar first meeting. “Sorry, what I meant to say was it doesn’t matter that—”
Dan frowned and opened his mouth but Johnno plonked a tray with six beers in the middle of the table and the chance to talk about Dan’s sexual preferences was lost. For the moment.
“There you go, doc. Welcome to The Isa.” Johnno raised his glass and the others followed suit.
“Thanks. I’m glad to be here.” Dan’s buzzer flashed and edged towards the lip of the table like a possessed robot. He grabbed the device and, with an apology, jumped up to collect his meal.
“Nice bloke, our doc. Reckon he’ll fit in well.” Mike took a long pull of his beer.
Amy bit the inside of her cheek. Mike seemed oblivious to Dan’s interest in him. But it wasn’t her place to say anything. Grown men could sort themselves out, although Dan was going to be disappointed when he realised Mike’s interest was solely in the female of the species.
##
“Hey, doc, any chance you can run Ames back to pick up her ute? The missus texted and I’ll be in deep shit if I don’t get home pronto.” Johnno was already on his way, followed by Trev and the young apprentice, Dave.
“Uh, sure.” Which left Dan with Amy and Mike. Safety in numbers stacked the odds in his favour.
Amy must have noticed his stunned mullet look. “Trev lives two doors down from Johnno, and Dave rides his bicycle to Johnno’s and hitches a ride in to work. Johnno’s wife is a fabulous cook. The only time he eats out is when she flies to Brisbane to visit family.”
Dan made like a nodding toy as the wave of information washed over him. Wrapped in his own concerns and trying not to let his gaze stray below Amy’s neck all day, he hadn’t taken in much about his co-workers. His practice had always been to know at least the basics about fellow staff before he met them. Which showed how much the Gosford incident had rattled him. Mentally adding that task to his ‘to do’ list, he realised Amy had stopped talking and was watching him.
“Right. So, Mike, you’ll be needing a lift too? Ready to go?” Dan pushed his chair back and looked down at the two of them. Mike and Amy seemed close. Maybe they were dating. And it was absolutely none of his business.
Mike grinned and leaned back on the bench seat. “Nah, all good. I’m heading up town. Meeting someone for—”
Amy lightly thumped Mike’s arm. “Shush, too much information.”
She turned to Dan and an expression that looked suspiciously like sympathy flitted across Amy’s face. “Sorry, just you and me, Dan.”
“No problem. Shall we?” He gestured for Amy to precede him. “Mike, can I drop by one night and we can continue our chat about fishing?”
“Sure, doc. Wednesday any good for you?”
“Yes, thanks.”
##
Amy squirmed in the passenger seat. Should she warn Dan now or have a quiet word with Mike before Dan visited him? Give him a heads up. But could Mike be trusted to keep his mouth shut at work, or would Amy’s good intentions make things difficult for Dan?
Settling on a friendly word to Dan, she turned to him as they pulled up at a set of traffic lights.
He looked at her. “Why Tweety Bird?”
That stupid nickname had haunted her since the day she’d bounced into Mike’s workshop. Dressed in a yellow tank top, he claimed she’d twittered around him like a canary until he told her to find somewhere to perch and branded her forever. ‘Sit—there—Tweety Bird.’ Johnno heard him, and Trev, and others who had since moved on, and the name had stuck.
“It’s not what you think.”
“What do I think?”
“I’m not a bird brain. I just—talk a lot—sometimes.”
“And here was me thinking it’s because you’re chirpy as in happy.”
“The boys, well, Mike actually, called me that and—look, that’s not what we should be talking about.”
“Do you like being called Tweety Bird?”
“Truthfully? There are much worse names they could have come up with.”
Amy was giving him the lowdown on the origins of Trev’s ‘Caper Cat’ nickname when Dan pulled up beside her ute. “Look, I wanted to tell you about Mike before—”
Dan got out and came around to open her door. “Sorry, Amy, but I need to get home. I’ve set myself two chapters of reading per night for the next week. I don’t want to be caught unprepared. Got your keys?”
She nodded and fished them out of her pocket. “Yep.”
“See you in the morning.” Dan lowered himself into his seat and, with a quick wave, left her to her thoughts.
Amy watched his taillights disappear through the gates before climbing into her ute. Dan seemed to b
e a nice bloke, decent and committed to his work. As she slid her key into the ignition, she sighed. “Maybe I am Tweety Bird. I talked too much and didn’t tell him what I meant to.”
Chapter Three
“Amy?” Johnno’s wife rounded the tail of the plane as Amy ducked out from checking the undercarriage.
“Hi Terri. Johnno’s working in number two hangar. Do you want me to—”
“I came to see you. Do you have a minute?” Terri clutched her ‘Blue Hawaii’ tote bag in both hands. She licked her lips and looked around as though checking to see they were alone.
A sinking feeling lurched through Amy’s stomach. Terri only ever came to the airport to visit Johnno when something big happened. She was one of the most confident women Amy knew but today, she appeared uncertain. “Sure. It’s morning tea time somewhere, isn’t it?”
Terri nodded and followed Amy as she led the way through the reception area into the lunchroom. Babbling on like the Tweety Bird Mike had named her, Amy’s mind raced through possibilities. “Things are good between Johnno and you, aren’t they?”
“What? Yes. I adore the man, when I don’t want to throttle him, and he adores me. And my cooking. Why?”
“You usually call in on Johnno, not me. Spill, what’s up?”
“Ah, yes. Well,”—she fiddled with her bag, finally setting it on the floor between their two chairs and clasping her hands—“it’s a favour I’m asking from you, a pretty big one. Did you know I’ve been asked to organise this year’s RFDS fundraiserspecial?”
“They couldn’t have asked a better person! But it’s a huge job. Of course I’ll help.”
“Can I quote you?”
Relieved that her best friends were not in difficulty, words flew out of Amy’s mouth. “Sure. What do you need?”
“Remember, you offered without hearing details first—I’m doing a theatre restaurant and I want you to organise a skit.”
Like a stunned mullet, Amy froze. Drama in school had been an ordeal, and she’d opted to work backstage away from the attention. “You wouldn’t ask if you’d been there when the flat I was propping up toppled during Sharyn’s solo in ‘Grease’. Madam was not impressed. She was singing about the worst things she could do when I fell at her feet.”
Terri’s hoot of laughter drew Amy’s attention from the humiliating memory of the end of year musical. “Oh, gosh, if you could see your face!”
“You were kidding, right? Tell me you weren’t serious.”
“Oh, I’m serious all right. But you don’t have to star onstage—just convince others to be in it. And write the script. And pour wine into me when I look desperate.”
The door opened and closed as someone entered the lunch room. “Sounds like a con job being planned. Hi, how are you, Terri?” Dan threw her a smile and headed straight for the coffee pot and poured a mug.
“I’m enlisting Amy’s help for the fundraiser I told you about last night. Care to help me out here, Dan?” Terri grinned at him then winked at Amy.
Dan pulled out a chair and eyed Amy over the top of his mug. “What did you think of Terri’s idea?”
“The look on her face was priceless.” Terri turned a fierce look on Amy. “And you agreed and I’m holding you to it.”
“No problem, Terri.” Sweet talk and charm weren’t Amy’s forte but she hoped Dan might be persuaded to help, given how well he seemed to get on with Terri. In fact, he was charming with all the married women on base. But watching him smile at Terri, Amy imagined herself caught in no-man’s land. Dan was pleasant on the job, and supportive, but the shutters came down and he locked himself away from anything remotely personal with her and all the single women. Most of whom had cast interested looks his way. At least she knew why he didn’t return their interest.
“Dan, how would you like to tread the boards in a good cause?”
A lazy, toe-curling smile tipped up one corner of his mouth. “Hey, I’ve already volunteered to do the music. Get yourself another playmate.”
Playmate? If only. But it was useless feeling sorry for herself. Dan was off the playmate menu, even if Amy had possessed the inclination to attract his attention. No, friendship was all that was on offer and the thought made her feel better. That she had even considered Dan as playmate material meant she was getting over Derek and his bruised ego. “Okay, so maybe you can help me brainstorm ideas for this skit Terri has landed on me.”
“Comedy? Melodrama? Musical?” A small frown drew Dan’s eyebrows together as he drank more coffee. “What about a ‘Flying High’ skit? Remember the medical scene with an IV drip and a nun singing or something? You could play with that.”
“Actually, that’s a clever idea. Don’t suppose you’d like to give me a hand scripting our version since you’re Mr Music?”
Terri pulled a notebook from her tote and set it on the table. Elvis’ face smiled from the cover above a Hawaiian shirt. She flipped the book open to a blank page before meeting Amy’s gaze. “What about a scene from ‘Blue Hawaii’? You could convince some of the girls to do a hula without much trouble. Bikinis and grass skirts would go well with the theme for the evening.”
“And that’s what precisely?” Amy would lay good odds on Terri bringing Elvis in somehow. She’d been in love with him since forever.
“Well, I love the idea of a luau style evening and I thought maybe—”
“’Blue Hawaii’.” Both Amy and Dan chorused.
Terri’s cheeks coloured. “Is that too naff? I thought costumes would be easy and casual, and catering it will be fun. I’ve got ideas already for decorations.”
“You’re the expert on all things Elvis and the theme sounds great. The skit doesn’t have to be about the ‘Flying Doctor’.” Amy had watched a few old Elvis films with Terri when Johnno wasn’t around. Girls’ nights in usually ended that way.
Dan rose and rinsed out his mug. “Great planning, Terri. I’ll download appropriate Hawaiian music and put together a few musical sets. Let me know if you decide to include a limbo competition or whatever.” He headed for the door.
Amy jumped to her feet. “And help me script the skit? Please, Dan.”
“Why me? I’m not an Elvis fan. Wouldn’t Terri have more ideas?”
Amy ran her tongue over her lips. Poor Dan. His hands gripped the back of the chair while his gaze flicked between her and Terri. Was it the idea of being alone with a single woman that unsettled him?
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to co-opt you like that but if it’s a musical skit, I need your input. We could meet at Terri’s house.”
“Can I get back to you? I’ve got a meeting upstairs. Bye, ladies.” Dan strode away leaving Amy bemused. Terri covered her mouth and suddenly appeared to find her notes intensely interesting.
##
The aroma of lamb casserole cooking filled the kitchen as Amy poured a glass of iced water. Dan was due any minute and she suspected Terri’s offer of a home cooked dinner was only part of the reason.
Terri closed her phone. “Amy, love, I’m sorry but I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Terri grabbed her car keys from the hook and headed towards the garage.
“Don’t worry, we can dine out for months on Johnno, the mechanic, breaking down a few miles from town. Dan won’t turn tail and run because you’re not here and we’re alone together. In your house. Or maybe he will.”
Dan had barely spoken two words to her since morning tea yesterday. Although he’d been trading quips with Trev in the workshop this morning, as soon as Amy appeared, he’d gone quiet and excused himself soon after. Swinging between amusement and annoyance, Amy shrugged.
Terri tipped her head to the side and opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. “Help yourself to the casserole. Johnno’s idea of ‘a couple of miles north of town’ could be anything from two to twenty. Hopefully, I won’t be too long.” She pulled the door closed behind her and a minute later, Amy heard the sound of her car reversing up the drive.
“Great. Now to convince Doctor D
an this twosome isn’t a plot and I’m not planning an assault on his person.” Muttering aloud, Amy wandered into the back garden and flopped onto a pool lounger. Heat rose from the pavers and she toed off her sandals and looked longingly at the pool. Her bikini and towel were in her tote bag inside the house but the thought of greeting Dan in that undressed state sent a shiver down her spine.
She stretched her arms over her head and lay back, brushing a branch of grevillea that caught in her hair. Intending to move the lounger away from triffid plants, she swung her legs over the side and pushed up. But as she stood, she collided with a broad masculine chest. A girly shriek was cut off as she swept a leg behind her attacker and dropped him.
“Oof! What’re you doing? It’s me.” Sprawled flat on his back, Dan looked up at her. Unable to say who was more surprised, heat crawled up Amy’s cheeks. In the mortification stakes, she was definitely the winner.
“Oops, sorry.” Her fingers closed over his forearms as she pulled him to his feet. He surged up, invading her space with his height and the scent of Cool Water. She stepped back and crashed into the lounger. Arms flailing, she overbalanced. Dan caught her hands and, in a heady moment of wish fulfilment, she was up close and personal, scenting his subtle cologne, so fresh and masculine she wanted to bury her nose in his neck.
Why did her meetings with him always start with her embarrassing herself in some way? Pushing away from his chest, she knew the heat in her cheeks was visible to him. “I didn’t hear you. Are you okay?”
He released her and stooped to pick up the wine cooler he’d been carrying. “I’m fine. I rang the doorbell. When there was no answer, I thought you might be poolside so I came down the side of the house. Is Terri inside?” With measured steps, he put distance between them and placed the cooler on the glass-topped table before he moved to stand behind a single outdoor chair.
Amy pushed her hair off her forehead and sat on the edge of the lounger. “Johnno’s car is broken down north of town and she’s gone to pick him up. They shouldn’t be long but she said to help ourselves to dinner. Would you like—?”
Just One Kiss (Hearts of the Outback Book 1) Page 2