“What did you do?” Siobhan, their team leader walked over to them, her bright blue hair clashing with her orange uniform.
“Twisted my ankle.”
“Let me help.” She wrapped her arm around Jamie’s waist on his other side, her body softer and curvier. He blocked the memory of running his hands over her breasts when they’d been in high school. Such a long time ago. He was no longer attracted to her, though she would be the easier choice. No one would bat an eyelid if they dated.
Elijah squeezed Jamie’s waist as he tripped, and the flush of desire swept through him again.
OK, so no. Ignoring Elijah wouldn’t work.
But he’d think about it later, when he was away from Elijah, when he could think clearly.
Right now, he needed to get back to base.
And it was a long way back to the winery.
The first drop of rain hit the back of his hand. The clouds were full to bursting. Another drop of rain, and then another.
He sighed. What a day.
“What made you move to Blackbridge, Elijah? I don’t reckon it was the weather.” Siobhan’s voice startled Jamie out of his thoughts.
“My parents live here,” Elijah said.
“Elijah went to the agricultural college,” Jamie added. “He was in our year.” He’d first met Elijah at Kit’s sixteenth birthday party. That had been a revelation. Elijah had been a little awkward-looking, all arms and legs, but he was already out and proud. The first gay person Jamie had met. “Is that when they moved here?”
Elijah shook his head. “It was after I graduated. They fell in love with the town when they came to pick me up from boarding school, but it took a couple of years for Dad to find a job.”
“And you work for Kit van Ross?” Siobhan said.
“Kit Zanetti,” Jamie and Elijah corrected at the same time. They grinned at each other. Kit had married Jamie’s brother recently and had happily discarded her maiden name. She wanted the world to know Lincoln was hers.
“Yeah,” Elijah continued. “She needed a new farmhand just after I moved back. It was perfect timing.”
From all reports, Elijah had fitted in perfectly. Kit didn’t suffer fools and she was passionate about her farm, so if Elijah hadn’t pulled his weight, she would have fired him by now—friend or not. Instead she was always talking about how great Elijah was which made it harder for Jamie to pretend he thought of Elijah as just an acquaintance. He’d stopped himself from asking how Elijah was at their weekly family dinners, but luckily Elijah featured regularly in Kit’s stories about the farm.
“How’s the ankle?” Elijah asked as they stopped to rest.
“Throbbing.” Jamie leaned against a gum tree to get his breath back. They were maybe halfway to the winery and the other volunteers had long since outpaced them, eager to get back before the spits of rain turned into a downpour.
Elijah smirked. “Title of your sex tape.”
Jamie laughed. “You watch that show too?”
“It’s one of my favourites.”
“What are you two talking about?” Siobhan frowned.
“A show on Netflix,” Jamie told her. “It’s a cop sitcom where the running gag is—” At her bored expression he said, “Never mind.”
Elijah placed his arm around Jamie’s waist again. “Let’s keep moving.”
Jamie leaned against him as Siobhan took his other side.
“I’ve convinced Adam he has to watch it,” Elijah said. “You should join us.”
“Sounds like fun.” With Elijah’s roommate there as chaperone, Jamie wouldn’t have to worry about how Elijah made him feel.
Siobhan laughed. “Don’t tell people you’re going to Elijah’s to Netflix and chill or they might get the wrong idea.”
“No, they won’t.” Jamie’s denial came out a little more forcefully than he meant. His face flamed and he avoided looking at Elijah. “No one thinks Adam and Elijah are partners.”
Elijah’s fingers tightened on his hip for a second before releasing. He winced. He’d sent the wrong message. Maybe he should say he didn’t care, that he was bi, but only his family and closest friends knew. That was part of the problem.
His injured foot brushed the ground and pain pierced him. He’d deal with his attraction to Elijah later.
He checked where they were.
Not too far to go.
***
This was definitely not how Elijah had imagined getting his hands on Jamie Zanetti, but it was a good start. They matched each other’s height and Jamie’s body rubbed against him with each hop, warming him in more ways than one. Elijah was tempted to go slow, but Jamie’s ankle must hurt and it was getting dark. The only problem was Jamie’s adamant rejection of Siobhan’s statement—as if being accused of being gay was a bad thing. Elijah could have sworn some of Jamie’s comments over the past few months had been flirty.
When they finally left the forest and ducked through the fencing into the Vale winery, the only light was from the tower illuminating the car park, and those shining in the windows of the restaurant. The bulk of the rain had held off, spitting regularly, but not showering. Noah, rugged up with a blanket across his shoulders, sat snuggled on his mother’s lap in the ambulance, his eyes closed, contentment on his face, while his father chatted to the paramedics and the police. The SES crew packed away their equipment and Elijah’s roommate, Constable Adam Marshall spoke to Morgan.
“It’s the ambulance for you,” Siobhan said to Jamie.
They moved past the playground from where Noah had disappeared, and as if by magic, the fairy lights switched on around the garden. Pretty. As they reached the ambulance, Sergeant Lincoln Zanetti looked up. “What have you done?”
Jamie shrugged. “Twisted my ankle.”
“Idiot.”
Elijah grinned. Brotherly love at its finest. He helped Jamie to sit and stepped back while the paramedic, Guy, examined him.
“I’m going to take your sock off,” Guy said. “It might hurt.”
Jamie nodded.
Elijah clenched his fists to resist reaching out to Jamie when he winced. Instead he said, “I’ll report to Morgan.”
He hadn’t quite figured out his section leader. Whenever Morgan spoke to him, he was brusque and kind of distracted. He reminded Elijah of his father—a man’s man. There’d always been something more important on his mind when Elijah had wanted to talk to him. Perhaps Elijah had made his relationship with Morgan worse by turning up to his first training session wearing thick dark eyeliner and a rainbow tie-died shirt. He’d discovered it was best everyone was clear about who he was from the beginning.
There’d been some sideways glances and raised eyebrows, but no one had confronted him and, over the past few months, he’d established a strong camaraderie with his fellow volunteers. Except for Morgan. He always felt he had to prove himself. His major freak out the first time he’d done roof-safety training probably hadn’t helped. Turned out heights and he were not the best of friends. Another issue his ex had left him with.
Morgan spoke with Kay Patton, whose family owned the winery. Kay looked distinctly unhappy, and Morgan appeared none too pleased either. At least Elijah wasn’t the only one Kay scowled at. As he walked towards them, Kay said, “You’ll do what you’re told.” She glared at Elijah and stalked off.
“What was that about?” Elijah asked.
Morgan let out a shaky breath as if trying to control his anger. “She didn’t appreciate us taking up most of her car park with equipment.”
Elijah shook his head. Way to have empathy for a missing child.
“What happened to Jamie?” Morgan asked.
“He twisted his ankle.”
Morgan grunted. “Get him to fill out an incident report.” He dug through his folder and handed Elijah one.
“Anything else you need me to do?”
“Nah. Just get the form filled out.” He stared after Kay, effectively dismissing Elijah.
Elijah wandered b
ack to the ambulance. Noah’s parents were thanking Jamie and the paramedics again. “Come on,” the father said. “Let’s go get ice cream.” Noah perked up and held out his arms to his dad.
Jamie lay on the stretcher, an ice pack on his elevated foot.
“What did Guy say?” Elijah asked.
“It’s just a sprain. I’ve got to keep it rested for a day or so.” He grimaced.
“Can you drive?”
Guy answered for him. “Not today.”
Jamie frowned. “Hopefully I can by Monday, otherwise I’ll have to get Mum to take me into work.”
And there was the downside to crushing on Jamie—he still lived with his parents.
“I can give you a lift home from the depot,” Elijah said.
Jamie hesitated. “That would be great.”
Why the hesitation? They’d laughed together on the walk back. Was he really that upset about Siobhan’s suggestion people might think he was gay? Jamie didn’t strike him as someone who was insecure about his reputation. He handed Jamie the form. “Morgan wants you to fill this out.”
Jamie groaned. “You got a pen?”
Lincoln walked over, took one out of his shirt pocket. “Here. Want a lift home?”
“Elijah’s taking me,” Jamie said.
Elijah grinned. At least Jamie wasn’t fobbing him off when he got another offer.
“All right. Take care of yourself. I’ll see you Sunday night.” Lincoln went to talk to Morgan.
Jamie filled out the form, his forehead rumpled as he concentrated. Cute. Everything about Jamie Zanetti was attractive, from his luscious dark brown eyes, to his eyelashes which went on and on, and the designer stubble, always trimmed to perfection. His short brown hair wasn’t quite styled to Elijah’s level, but it was always neat and even though the bright orange clothing wasn’t subtle, somehow Jamie managed to look damn fine in it.
He’d been lusting after Jamie since February when he’d seen him for the first time after moving back to town. OK, so that wasn’t quite true. Jamie had starred in a number of his teenage fantasies as well, even though he’d been certain Jamie was straight. Besides, Elijah hadn’t been confident enough in those days to even consider asking someone out.
“Done.” Jamie handed Elijah the form. “Can you give it to Morgan?”
“Sure.” Their fingers brushed as he took the paper and a thrill ran through Elijah’s body. Yeah, he was seriously smitten. And it wasn’t just Jamie’s hotness, he was a nice guy as well. Seeing him reassure Noah and blink back tears at the reunion had warmed Elijah’s heart.
He had to get to the bottom of Jamie’s sexuality. He snorted at his pun, shaking his head. He’d organise the Netflix binge session soon.
As Elijah returned to the ambulance, his gaze caught two people at the base of the stairs to the restaurant. The owner, Richard Patton and his daughter, Kay.
“Dad, it’s time to go home.” Kay tugged on her father’s arm, but he didn’t move. Instead he stared at the ambulance.
“What’s going on?” Richard asked.
Kay’s sigh was audible. “I told you, Dad. A boy went missing, but they’ve found him.” Kay glared at Elijah, pulling Richard towards the car.
Kay hadn’t been particularly friendly to him when he’d worked at the winery, but since Richard had been diagnosed with early onset dementia, she was a lot more gruff. Not that he blamed her. Suddenly she was in charge of the whole winery as well as dealing with a father who was losing more and more of his memory.
The sheds beyond the playground caught Elijah’s attention. He’d spent a couple of months working there, mostly picking grapes and helping around the property. The buildings where the wine was made had been strictly off limits to plebs like him. Richard had always been paranoid about people wanting to steal his secrets.
Not that it mattered. He now had a dream job.
He strolled to the ambulance where Guy was giving Jamie clearance to leave.
Jamie shuffled to the edge of the stretcher.
“Let me help.” Again, Elijah tucked his shoulder under Jamie’s arm and wrapped a hand around his waist. Maybe he was a sad little panda for feeling this damn good having Jamie so close to him.
They moved to the SES land cruiser waiting for them and Elijah opened the door.
“Bit unco were you?” Brenton teased as Jamie got in.
“Had an argument with a rock,” Jamie said, flashing him a grin.
“You just wanted to get out of the depot audit Morgan threatened us with,” someone else said.
“Hey, at least he found the boy.” Elijah’s arm brushed Jamie’s as he got in next to him.
“Thank God for that,” Brenton said. “I was getting worried.”
“We all were,” Jamie said.
“Three cheers for Jamie,” Siobhan called from the front seat.
At the rousing cheers, Elijah grinned. A successful outing was always cause for celebration.
At the depot, Morgan asked, “How are you getting home?”
“Elijah’s giving me a lift,” Jamie said.
Morgan nodded. “The two of you can go. The rest of us will pack up.”
“Thanks.”
Elijah smiled. Finally a chance to have Jamie to himself. They got into his blue hatchback and Elijah said, “I might need directions. It’s not the same road as Kit’s is it?”
“Take a left out of here.”
His car seemed incredibly small with Jamie in the passenger seat, the hint of his spicy aftershave wafting between them. He needed to say something. “What have you got planned for the weekend?”
“I was going to play football on Sunday, but that’s a bust.”
“Good point.” Nerves swelled in his stomach. He should just ask Jamie out for coffee, something totally casual and figure out where Jamie’s interests lay. Jamie wasn’t the type of guy who would be offended by the offer of a date. It shouldn’t ruin the casual friendship they had.
OK, not so much a friendship, more of a small-town thing where Elijah’s friends were friends with Jamie’s friends. They only really saw each other at SES training, though occasionally bumped into each other if Elijah watched the football or the motocross. And usually he went because he hoped to run into Jamie.
He was pathetic.
In Europe, he’d had no problems asking guys out. Though he had hung out in gay bars most of the time.
“What about you?”
Jamie’s voice startled Elijah from his thoughts. “I’ll be milking at Kit’s place both afternoons.” She had asked him to work a weekend shift because she was helping Fleur with wedding preparations on Saturday and had dinner with Lincoln’s parents on Sunday. He didn’t mind. Kit was one of his best friends and he was thankful she’d given him a job doing what he loved.
Silence fell. It shouldn’t be so hard. Normally people couldn’t shut him up. “I’m glad Noah was all right.”
Jamie sighed, ran a hand through his luscious hair. “I was getting worried. The kid wandered further than I thought he would.”
“I’m glad you heard him. He was well camouflaged.”
“Yeah. I hate the search and rescues,” he said. “Not knowing what we’ll find. My stomach gets tied in knots each time we’re called out.” His voice was gruff.
Elijah’s heart went out to him. “You’ve been on a few?”
Jamie nodded. “The last one wasn’t great—suicide.” His voice was dull.
Elijah reached out and squeezed his hand. “That must have been tough.”
Jamie twisted his hand and squeezed him back before letting go. “It was, but it’s not uncommon. Searches usually involve kids, the elderly or the mentally ill. Only occasionally is it a hiker who’s lost.”
When he’d joined the SES, Elijah had expected to be doing things like helping with storm damage more than any real rescue missions. Though now winter had arrived, there’d probably be more storm work.
“Turn right here.” Jamie’s voice made him jump.
“Yeah.”
“Do you help out much?”
“If they need it.”
It was nice he helped, though they were back to the downer of him living with his parents. Still he’d only been back in Blackbridge since the beginning of the year and it was hard to find a place to rent. Elijah had got lucky when he’d moved back.
Elijah turned into the cheese factory driveway and Jamie directed him to the cute little farmhouse surrounded by beautiful lush gardens. A black Labrador ran out barking.
“Sasha’s friendly,” Jamie said, reaching for the door handle.
“Let me help you inside.”
Elijah hurried around to Jamie’s side. The porch light was on and Jamie used the stair bannister to hop up the steps onto the wooden verandah that encircled the house.
“We’ll go around the back,” Jamie said.
That suited Elijah fine. More time with his arm around Jamie. Light spilled through the glass window in the back door. As Elijah opened it, a rich garlicky smell wafted towards him from the kitchen. “Smells like someone has been cooking.”
“Mum,” Jamie said.
They shuffled into the kitchen where Jamie’s mother, a small dark-haired woman, stirred a pot on the stove. “Hey, Mum.”
She gasped and hurried over. “What happened?” She pulled out a chair at the table for Jamie.
“Twisted my ankle. It’s nothing serious. This is Elijah.”
Elijah held out his hand. “Nice to see you again, Mrs Zanetti.” He’d met her briefly at Kit and Lincoln’s wedding a couple of months back.
She pushed it aside and hugged him with a grin. “Call me Rosa.” She squatted to inspect Jamie’s ankle and whistled. “Have you had an x-ray? Do you need any painkillers?” She pulled out another chair for him to put his ankle on.
“It’s fine, Mum. The paramedics gave me something.”
“Oh, did you find the boy?”
“Yeah. Just before dark.”
“Good. His parents must have been frantic. I remember when you were in kindy and visited Kit on your own.” She put a hand to her chest. “Scared the life out of me for a good ten minutes until we found you climbing over the gate between our properties.”
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