Nothing to Fear

by Claire Boston

  “Neat.”

  “You could always join us,” she said. “I remember you riding a motorbike over at the Zanettis.”

  He smiled. He’d enjoyed riding around their property. “Maybe. If I ride, then Felix is going to want to.”

  “There’s a juniors’ section.”

  He could imagine Felix tearing around a motocross track, but he wasn’t sure he had the money to buy them both a bike yet. “I’ll think about it.”

  “What about you?” Hannah asked. “What do you like to do in your spare time?”

  He couldn’t remember having the freedom to choose in such a long time. Even after he’d split from Paula, he’d spent every spare moment with Felix so she couldn’t claim he was neglecting their child. “Felix and I watch the wrestling together,” he said. “And after we’re settled I’d like to join a basketball or football team.” It was time he got back to living. He didn’t have Paula here to follow him around and cause embarrassment when he wanted to do something for himself.

  “I’m sure Lincoln will sign you up in no time,” Hannah told him. She finished her roll and grabbed the sun cream, putting some over her face and arms.

  “Did you bring your bathers?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I’m wearing them underneath.”

  Ryan could well imagine what was underneath her work gear. She had the most luscious curves.

  Felix came running up from the water, his body dripping. “I’m hungry,” he announced.

  Ryan handed him a towel. “Don’t drip on the food.”

  Felix grinned and scooted back a couple of steps while he dried himself, and then flopped onto the picnic rug and snatched a roll.

  Joe was lying on the other side of Hannah, panting happily and chewing on a rawhide bone.

  “Did you discover the tide pools, Felix?” Hannah asked.

  Felix glanced at her. “The what?”

  “Over by the rocks there are clear pools where you can always find crabs and other sea creatures.”

  His eyes lit up and he got to his feet.

  “Not so fast, mate,” Ryan said. “Finish your lunch first.”

  Felix pouted but sat back down. “We can check it out afterwards, can’t we, Dad?” There was such a hopeful expression on his face.

  “Sure can.” He loved his son so much. He was the best thing that had come out of his marriage.

  Felix gobbled down his food and then leapt to his feet again. “Come on.” He held out a hand to help Ryan up, his mouth still full of food.

  Ryan chuckled and let Felix pull him to his feet.

  “Can I come?” Hannah asked.

  Ryan waited for Felix to answer. He was very conscious that the weekends were largely his time with Felix and he didn’t want Felix to be resentful of Hannah – particularly when Ryan was hoping to spend a whole lot more time with her.

  “Yeah. You gotta show me where it is.” He gripped her hand as well and they walked across the sand to the smooth dark-grey granite boulders that came out of the ocean. Joe trailed along behind them.

  At the rocks, Felix let go of both their hands and scrambled towards the first rock pool. He squatted down on the edge and peered into the water.

  “What do you see?” Hannah asked, squatting down next to him.

  “Not much.”

  “Well then, you’re not using your sea goggles.” She looked into the water.

  “What are sea goggles?”

  “Sea goggles enable you to view the things of the ocean, rather than the things of the land.” She took off her sunglasses and handed them to Felix.

  Wide-eyed, he put them on.

  “Ready?”

  He nodded.

  “There’s a red starfish.” She pointed it out. “Then you’ve got the tiny little crab in the crevice there …”

  Ryan stood back as Hannah pointed out all the things in the pool. She made it sound exciting, like a whole underwater world, and he smiled. She was good with children, good with Felix.

  In Karratha they hadn’t done a whole lot as a family. Paula hadn’t been the least bit interested in her son, unless it was to use him to get Ryan to do something she wanted to do. And here Hannah was, taking Felix over to the rocks, chatting to him the whole time and listening to what he had to say. She was treating him like a person, not an object. When they were finished in one pool, they went to the next and then the next, Felix’s excited chatter loud above the wash of the waves against the rocks.

  Ryan was happy to trail after them. He’d never seen Hannah this relaxed, her whole posture free of tension and her short hair blowing in the breeze. She spoke enthusiastically to Felix and was unguarded. This was the Hannah he wanted to see more of.

  They reached the end of the rocks and on the way back to their towels, Ryan noticed a guy about their age staring at them. He looked away when Ryan caught his eye. “Do you know that person?”

  “That’s Dan from the motocross club.” She waved and the guy hesitated before waving back.

  “Is he a friend of yours?”

  “We race in the same class, but he’s not keen about being beaten by a woman.”

  Ryan smiled. “You’re that good?”

  “Absolutely.” She laughed.

  “Let’s go swimming, Dad.” Felix tugged at Ryan’s hand.

  “More sun cream first,” he said. He’d ask Lincoln about Dan later.

  “Aw,” Felix complained, but stood still while Ryan did the back of his neck and his legs.

  “Can you do my back while you’re at it?”

  Ryan froze. Hannah’s back was to him, but at some point she’d stripped off her clothes and was wearing bathers. There was nothing immodest about the aqua one-piece suit, but it showed off her delicious curves and had him longing to touch her, to run his hands over those curves and hear her moan.

  She looked over her shoulder at him. “Ryan?”

  “Sure.” He squirted the cream into his hand and then rubbed it slowly into her back, making sure he was gentle and careful not to startle her. Her skin was smooth and soft.

  When he was finished she said, “Do you want me to do you?”

  Yes, please. His body hardened as his brain said, She didn’t mean it that way. He nodded, unable to talk, and stripped off his T-shirt. Her hands were warm and strong, rubbing the cream in firmly. Then as she went lower, her hands slowed.

  “Anything the matter?” he asked.

  She cleared her throat as he turned. Her cheeks were red, her eyes dark and full of desire.

  “Dad, come on!” Felix yelled.

  Hannah blinked and grinned. “Last one in is a rotten egg,” she yelled and sprinted for the water.

  Felix whooped in delight and chased her, and Ryan followed more slowly, trying to figure out what he was going to do about his feelings for the divine Hannah Novak.

  Chapter 12

  It was late afternoon when they headed back to town. Hannah’s eyes drifted shut as warmth and drowsiness filled her. After all of the issues of the past week, this afternoon was the first time she had fully relaxed in ages. She’d had fun playing with Felix and talking to Ryan, had been comfortable with them both. If that wasn’t worth celebrating, she didn’t know what was. She felt free for the first time in forever.

  Ryan dropped her off at the holiday park so she could get her car and then followed her out to her property. She was going to show him the other cabin she was building before heading back to her shed to clean up the mess the intruder had made.

  She pulled up in front of the cabin she was currently working on and smiled. This one was smaller than Ryan’s, with only one bedroom, suitable for a couple wanting to get away from it all. As Ryan drove up she opened the front door and the scent of wet paint hit her. She frowned. It had been three days since she’d painted, the smell should have dissipated by now. She walked into the living area and her spirits plummeted. Nausea rose in her stomach as she took in the smashed bi-fold doors and the now empty can of paint, the contents of which had been
flung about the room and was congealing on the walls, over the brand-new kitchen and on the concrete floor.

  Trashed. Again.

  All of her hard work, cancelled out by a nutter with an issue against her. She squeezed back the tears and wiped away the couple that escaped as she took a few deep breaths. She would not let him win, she would not let him break her.

  Ryan walked in and swore.

  “Dad, what happened?” Felix asked.

  That’s what Hannah wanted to know. She stepped forward and dipped a finger into a glob of paint on the floor in front of her. It was still soft. “This happened today,” she said. “If it had happened when someone trashed my place, the paint would be dry by now.” Could it have been Justin on his way out of town? Had his friends helped him?

  Ryan nodded. “I’ll call Lincoln and then take you both back to my place.”

  She didn’t want to leave, wanted to help find whoever it was that was interfering with her life, but she didn’t want Felix to worry about the destruction. “You don’t need to.” She held out her hand. “Come on, Felix. Let’s leave your dad to do his work here.”

  Felix frowned. “Can I watch?”

  “Not today, mate,” Ryan said. “Why don’t you show Joe and Hannah your board-game collection?”

  “All right.” He pouted as he took Hannah’s hand.

  Her heart went out to him. “I’m sorry, Felix. I hate that this means your dad has to work instead of be with you.”

  “Why would someone break the glass and tip paint everywhere?” he asked.

  “That’s what your dad and Lincoln are going to figure out.”

  “Did you make someone mad?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “Maybe you didn’t know. Dad never knew why Mum was mad half the time.”

  Hannah was curious about Ryan’s ex, but not enough to stoop to asking Felix about her. They drove the short distance to Ryan’s cabin and Felix got out a board game for them to play.

  It was a couple of hours before Ryan returned with Lincoln. Hannah was playing Battleship with Felix. “Find anything?”

  “We got some good prints from the paint can,” Ryan said.

  They hadn’t got a match so far, so she had no expectations that they would now. She got to her feet. “I’d better clean it up.”

  “It’s done,” Ryan told her. “Lincoln and I did it when we finished.”

  Tears pricked her eyes. She’d been dreading going back in there. “Thank you.”

  “You need to get the glass in the doors replaced,” Lincoln said. “But I’ve covered it with some ply in the meantime.”

  She nodded. It would have to wait until the insurance claim came through, because she didn’t have the spare money at the moment. “All right, well I’d better clean up the shed, then.” If it wasn’t one thing it was another. “Thanks for playing with me this afternoon,” she said to Felix.

  He smiled. “No worries. It was fun.”

  Hannah walked over to the two men. She gave Lincoln a hug. “Thank you for everything.”

  “We’ll get whoever’s doing this, Hannah Banana,” he promised.

  She hoped so, but she was losing patience. She turned to Ryan. “I’m sorry this ruined your time with Felix,” she said. “But thank you for the lovely day.” She kissed him quickly, almost chastely, and moved towards the door.

  “Hannah, where are you staying tonight?” Lincoln called.

  She shrugged. “It’s going to take me some time to clean up, so I might as well sleep at the shed.”

  “By yourself?” He raised his eyebrows.

  “Yes, Lincoln,” she said, exasperated. “You’ve got the camera set up and Joe is with me.”

  “Hannah—”

  “No. I’m tired of hiding, tired of being scared.”

  “Dad, Hannah could stay here,” Felix said. “She can share my bed or yours.”

  Ryan’s eyes widened and Hannah smiled at the innocent offer. “Thanks, Felix. If I get scared, I’ll come over, but Joe usually shares my bed, so I’ll be fine.”

  “Really? He must take up the whole bed.”

  “Almost,” Hannah agreed. She opened the door. “I’ll see you later.” Outside, with the door closed behind her, she took a deep breath of the warm evening air. The light was beginning to fade and shadows were growing longer, so she hurried to her car and then drove to her shed. She’d be fine out here. Ryan wasn’t far away if anything happened. But maybe she should stay at Fleur or Mai’s place tonight, after she was done. The evening quiet wasn’t as soothing as it usually was.

  Standing at the entrance of her shed, she surveyed the damage. Along with the ripped fabrics and broken frames, there was now fingerprint dust and a trail of ants running to some of the crumbs that hadn’t been picked up. Her chest tightened. She needed to search the shed, make sure there was no one hiding, before she could clean.

  With Joe by her side, she checked under the bed and in any spaces where a person would fit.

  It was clear.

  She fought against the tears in her eyes. Where did she even start? Everywhere she looked there was mess. Everywhere were remnants of her life. She shuddered.

  These were only things. They could be fixed or replaced.

  But some arsehole had violated her sanctuary, had trashed the place where she was building her dream, was trying to make her fail. Someone had made her fearful of being here alone.

  Resolve strengthened her. She would tidy up, repair what was broken and move on. She was strong. She walked over to the little kitchenette and got a bin bag out of the cupboard. She’d survived worse.

  This wasn’t going to break her.

  Half an hour later she heard a car approaching. Her heartbeat accelerated as she tied the current bag of rubbish and set it aside. Picking up her phone, she strode to the door. Her shoulders sagged in relief as she recognised Kit’s ute and Mai’s little red car. She crossed her arms. She’d bet her savings that Lincoln had called them. As the cars pulled up, her friends got out, Fleur riding with Mai.

  “Need a hand?” Kit asked.

  “You didn’t need to come out,” Hannah said.

  “What are friends for?” Mai was carrying a large white bakery box.

  “When we’re done we’ll have a musketeer meeting.” Fleur held up a bottle of wine.

  Hannah smiled. It was nice not to be alone. “Sounds good. Thank you.” She led them inside.

  “Oh my gosh,” Mai said.

  “This is fucked up,” Kit commented.

  Fleur put a hand on her arm. “How are you coping?”

  “I’m over it,” Hannah said, some of the distress dissipating now that her friends were with her. “I want to clean up and move on.”

  “We can definitely help,” Mai said. “Where do you want us to begin?”

  She gave them all tasks to do and they chatted while they worked. Fleur was moving books back into the overcrowded bookshelf when she asked, “What’s this?”

  Hannah frowned. Fleur was holding a small surveillance camera, kind of like the one Lincoln had installed at her front door. Her chest tightened and her skin went cold. “That’s not mine.”

  Fleur carefully put it down as if it was going to bite her.

  Hannah forced herself to breathe. “Maybe it’s one of Lincoln’s.” She dialled his number, already suspecting the answer.

  “Lincoln, how many cameras did you install at the shed?” she asked when he picked up.

  “Just the one by the door. Why?”

  She closed her eyes, fighting back the storm in her stomach. “We’ve found another one.” Not only was he destroying her things, he was also spying on her. Her hands shook.

  “What?”

  “There’s a surveillance camera on my bookshelf,” she said, proud of how calm she sounded. She wasn’t going to give the bastard the satisfaction of seeing her freak out. “I didn’t put it there.”

  Lincoln growled. “I’ll be out as soon as I can.”

 
How long had the camera been there? Just since yesterday when her rings had been stolen, or longer than that?

  “This is beyond a joke,” Kit said. “Lincoln has to find who’s doing this.” Her eyes flashed.

  “He’s trying, Kit,” Hannah said. “I swear I’ve single-handedly kept the police force employed for the last week.”

  “Well, he should have something by now.”

  Mai smiled at Kit. “I’m upset too.”

  Kit kicked the sofa and winced.

  Hannah examined the video camera. “Do you think it’s video or audio as well?”

  Fleur shrugged.

  This was her best chance of speaking to whoever it was. She crouched down so she was in front of the lens. “Listen to me, you’re nothing but a bully. You don’t even have the guts to confront me.” It felt good to be yelling at him, to finally be able to do something.

  “Hannah, is that a good idea?” Kit asked.

  Hannah ignored her and continued. “If you’ve got a problem with me, stop hiding and tell me what it is.”

  “Hannah!” The disbelief and fear on Mai’s face had Hannah regretting what she’d done. She’d challenged her stalker. She put the camera face down. “Come on. Let’s finish cleaning this place.”

  A couple of hours later, Lincoln had been and gone, taking the camera with him, and Hannah’s shed was clean. She had gone through everything to make sure there were no other cameras hidden anywhere, but it didn’t stop the unease in her shoulders. She sat at her small kitchen table with her friends around her, all drinking wine and eating the quiche that Mai had brought with her. The mood was kind of sombre.

  “I need to go Christmas shopping in Albany next week,” Kit said. “Anyone want to come with me?”

  The new subject was a relief. Hannah had forgotten Christmas was next week. She’d already bought gifts for her friends but wanted to buy something for Lynette and Shirley. “I will.”

  “Me too,” Fleur said.

  They looked at Mai. “I’ve got all my gifts, but I’ll come for the ride.”

  “Are your parents coming to town this year, Kit?” Hannah asked.

  “No, they’re going to my brother’s place. I’m going to sponge off the Zanettis again.”