Adam's Thorn

by Angela Verdenius

  “Do you deny it?”

  Oddly, the sting of his accusation wasn’t fading, and the unfairness of it, the history they shared, made her hackles rise, “I don’t deny anything.” She started to move past him. “Shove it, Adam.”

  He moved fast, and before she knew it her back was against the wall, his hands either side of her head caging her in as he glared down at her. “I’m warning you, if I catch you leading these kids astray, encouraging them in any way, I’ll come looking for you.”

  “Threats?” Her temper was simmering, a welcome diversion to the tears that were horrifyingly just below the surface.

  “Promises,” he corrected grimly.

  “I won’t go near those kids. I’m only here for a short time, to get the house back up to scratch, sell it and get the hell away from here and you. Particularly you, Adam. Now get the hell away from me.”

  For a second she thought he was going to refuse, but then he straightened, shoving back, allowing her to pass.

  She hadn’t gotten far before he asked, “You sure you’re only running a massage parlour?”

  She swung around to face him. “What do you mean?”

  “A massage parlour and entertaining men younger than yourself.”

  Confused, she frowned.

  “I was there yesterday, Barbie.”

  “Where?”

  “Your house.” Impatience threaded through his steely tone. “Larry Kingsley, your client?”

  It took several seconds for the meaning to sink in, and furious, she reacted without thought. Her arm swung up, her palm connecting with his cheek.

  The loud crack was sharp in the quiet night.

  The seconds ticked past as they glared at each other. Moving abruptly, Adam reached out, grabbed her upper arm, swung her around and marched her back to her car. Releasing her at the door, he ordered, “Go home.”

  “Gladly.” Unlocking the door, she wrenched it open and got in. Starting the engine, she yanked the seatbelt on and backed out of the parking bay.

  Adam watched silently.

  Putting the car into gear, she looked out at him. “One more thing, Adam. Get your facts straight before you start accusing.”

  She drove off, still seething. Still upset.

  God, that he could actually believe she’d do such a thing. Why would Hallie say something like that?

  “That’s what happens when you let your guard down, Barbie,” she muttered. “Just get the bloody house fixed and leave this dump. Go back to the city where you belong.”

  Where there was no Hallie, no Adam, no accusations. Where history didn’t mean anything, where she was lost in the crowd and everyone knew her as Barbie Declan, masseuse, quiet, calm, and all around good girl.

  Not the girl she had been, not the girl that Adam still believed her.

  By the time she pulled to a stop in front of the house, her anger had faded. Tired, dispirited, she got out of the car and locked it, walking up to the veranda without, for once, thinking about how spooky it all looked at night.

  Opening the door, she was greeted by Fred and Barney, both cats winding around her legs and meowing for attention.

  Locking the door behind her, she placed her bag on the little side table and picked first one then the other up, nuzzling their necks and glad for their happy purring.

  “Thank God for you boys.” Walking into the kitchen, she opened a can of cat food and divided it between them both, even though they’d already had their dinner before she’d left for the pub. “No judgement, just acceptance.” Leaning back against the kitchen counter, she smiled as she watched them eating.

  The cats had the ability to calm her.

  The memory of Adam’s accusation, his threatening promise to come for her, had her frazzled again.

  “Damn him.” Crossing to the ‘fridge, she opened it and withdrew a can of Diet Coke. Popping the tab, she took several hearty swallows, eyes watering as the bubbles fizzed in her throat.

  All she had to do was mind her business, keep her distance form the Peeron people, do her job, fix the house, sell it and meanwhile stay away from Adam. Especially stay away from Adam.

  Staring at the window while she sipped the soft drink, she frowned. She’d had no idea that he held such power over her, that his accusations could hurt so much. Time had passed, they’d both grown older, she should have coped better.

  Another sip of Diet Coke.

  Ears flicking, Barney looked up suddenly, and she automatically followed his gaze.

  The tin almost slipped from her hand when she saw a flash of white at the window, the impression of a face, dark hollows where the night shadows hid the eyes.

  As fast as she saw it, it disappeared, leaving her staring at the window in shock.

  Fear had a grip on her, her heart thumping. Forcing herself to move, she ran for the back door, checking that it was locked, running to the front door to do the same, even though she knew she’d definitely locked it.

  Standing behind the front door, she listened, her ear pressed against the wood.

  Silence greeted her, the only sound that of her heart pounding in her ears. God knew she wouldn’t be able to hear anything above that.

  Looking back down the dim hallway, she cursed the fact that she hadn’t changed the light bulb for a brighter one. Even more unnerving, Fred sat in the kitchen doorway, his eyes looking right back at her, his ears slanting this way and that as though listening to something before he turned his head to stare into the lounge room.

  Oh shit. Ghost? But Fred didn’t run, didn’t growl, just looked. She stood, barely breathing, heart pounding, hand gripping the door handle, watching Fred until he finally cocked one leg up and started to wash his manly parts, an act that had her knees sagging in relief.

  If he was relaxed enough to do that, then it meant that whatever had been outside the house - or in the lounge - was gone.

  Reminding herself she was an adult, the only adult in the house, in fact, Barbie forced her shaking knees to unlock and stiffly walked down the hallway.

  Refusing to give in to her childish urge to run screaming from the house, she strode straight into the lounge, snapping on the light as she did so, half expecting to see some wraith floating near the ceiling.

  The lounge was empty.

  Across the room the telephone beckoned to her, but no way in hell could she bring herself to ring the police. If Adam came out…oh God, that would be worse. And what if it had been nothing? What if it had all been her imagination?

  What if she was letting her emotions get the better of her? Barney had looked at the window, sure, but he hadn’t spat or hissed or anything, so whatever was out there was…was…probably an owl.

  Convincing herself of that was a lot easier than risk facing Adam and having him look at her with his cop eyes. She’d had enough of his disbelief for one night. Besides, even if he didn’t come out, if it was his night off and another cop came out, he’d know about it. Probably accuse her of making the story up just to get a man out to the house. Probably thought a woman like her was desperate enough to make up a story just to get a man out to her house.

  After all, he thought she had to run a sex business behind the front of a massage parlour just to get a man. As if she’d be that desperate. She was no slim waif, but she had her pride, her confidence in herself as a woman regardless of being on the wrong side of the BMI. She’d gotten over that a long time ago.

  Slowly lifting her hand to the light switch again, Barbie frowned. She thought she’d gotten over a lot of things, but coming face-to-face with Adam had shown her that wasn’t correct. She had to get a grip.

  She had to fix up and sell this bloody house, return to civilisation.

  Flicking off the switch, she went back to the kitchen. Turning off the lights, she drew the curtains over the window, refusing to look out.

  Okay, she was a coward, but that wasn’t enough to shame her into looking.

  In the bedroom she ensured the curtains were closed without even
a tiny gap before changing and climbing into bed.

  Propped against the pillow, she was more than glad when Barney and Fred hopped up onto the bed and settled against her legs. Opening a book, she started reading.

  The thump on the veranda had her heart pounding, her knuckles white as she gripped the book. The cats looked up, staring at the window, and a few tense minutes passed.

  When nothing further sounded, the cats put their heads down and dozed.

  Skin prickling, heart beating, Barbie steadfastly kept reading. Time passed and when finally she started nodding off, she settled down in the bed, placing the book on the bedside drawers.

  But she left the lamp on all night, and only dozed, startling awake at every sound and creak of the settling house. Between that and the memory of Adam’s disgusted expression, it was an unsettling night.

  ~*~

  The following morning Barbie searched the house for a bright light globe, but the only globes were the dim wattage her late Aunt Penny obviously bought to lessen the power bill. While Barbie found that admirable, it didn’t mean she was going to continue that habit.

  Not with the freaky thing she saw the night before at the kitchen window.

  Checking that the cats were fine - Fred was lying on his back on an armchair, sunning his black and white tummy, while Barney was tunnelling under the doona on the bed, no doubt leaving a lot of tabby hair behind him - Barbie locked the house and went out to the car.

  The day was quiet, but in comparison to the city most days in Peeron were quiet. At least there was no cop car with a brawny, angry cop glaring daggers at her as he passed.

  Small mercies.

  Still stinging under Adam’s accusations, though she didn’t know why it bothered her so much, Barbie wished there were somewhere else to buy light globes, but there was only one supermarket in town so she pulled into the parking lot and got out.

  Hallie was at the checkout, smiling brightly as soon as she saw Barbie.

  It was hard to believe that Hallie had somehow twisted her words, but apparently she had, so Barbie just nodded to her, reluctant to get into conversation. Ducking into an aisle, she sought out the globes and picked a much higher wattage. Thinking about the lights over the front and back doors, she chose some more globes before heading back to the checkout.

  “Hi, Barbie,” Hallie greeted her.

  “Hallie.” Barbie smiled slightly.

  “Having light problems?”

  “Yes.” Picking up a newspaper form the stack behind her, Barbie placed it on the checkout. “I’ll take this as well, please.”

  “Doing much today?” Hallie rang up the total.

  “Just the usual.” When Hallie looked expectantly at her, Barbie simply handed her the money and waited for change.

  A slight frown creased Hallie’s brow. “Everything all right?”

  “Yes.”

  “You sure?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Hallie counted out the change and handed it to her. “If you’re feeling lonely, you could come and have a coffee with me after.”

  The girl seemed so genuine, but Barbie wasn’t prepared to trust so easily again. “Thanks, but no.” Picking up the bag containing the globes, she nodded to her. “See you around.”

  She could feel Hallie watching her until she walked out the door.

  Now she felt low, but damn it, she wasn’t the one twisting words. Maybe it was Adam twisting words. But no, one thing he’d never done was be dishonest. But times changed a person, so… Shit, it doesn’t matter.

  The ambulance drove past, Matt waving to her. She returned it half-heartedly, more a gesture of politeness.

  Getting into the car, she drove to Gus’s, picking up and paying for her tyre. When he tried to engage her in conversation, she politely fielded his questions except to ask where she could get security lights.

  “Reckon that’d be Bob Winslow,” he replied. “He does the electrical work around here, has his workshop a couple of doors up from the café.” He studied her curiously. “You got a problem out at the house?”

  “No.” She started for the car. “Thanks for the info, though.”

  Gus wasn’t easily put off. Trotting after her, he leaned down to peer into the window while she clipped on the seatbelt. “You’re looking tired, love. You sure everything is all right?”

  “Fine. Just fine.” Turning the key in the ignition, she glanced up, surprised to see genuine concern on his face. It had been awhile since anyone had felt that for her, making her hesitate.

  Silently, Gus waited.

  “Actually…”

  “Yes?”

  Feeling stupid, Barbie bit her lip. “Nothing.”

  “Gotta be something.”

  “No, it was just a thought.” She put the car into gear.

  “Something happening up at the house?” he queried.

  Something in his tone had her looking sharply at him. “Why do you ask that?”

  “What happened?”

  She stared past him at his empty shop for several seconds before shaking her head. “It was nothing.” No way was she going to admit to being a little spooked, imagine if that got around the town?

  “You got trouble out there, Miss Declan?”

  Feeling awkward to have a man old enough to be her father calling her ‘Miss’, she corrected him hastily, “It’s Barbie, and no, nothing is-”

  “What’s happening?” Gus’s expression was stern. “Look, love, you’re alone out here, you’re new in town. You need to trust someone. If you don’t think you can trust me, then maybe you should go see Brandon.”

  “Who’s Brandon? A security officer?”

  Gus leaped on her question. “Why would you need a security officer?”

  Uh oh, careful Barbie. “Who said I needed a security officer?”

  “I’m thinking your mind seems to be jumping to those conclusions.”

  This was giving her a headache. “Look, Gus, I appreciate your concern but I can handle this.”

  The man could leap on every word she said. Barbie almost cringed when his eyes widened.

  “So there is something happening at the house!”

  “No. Look-”

  “Penny always said something was haunting that land!”

  “Haunting?” Chills danced up Barbie’s arm. “What haunting?”

  “Penny always said she could hear things, thumps on the veranda or roof at night, in the walls once. Saw a shape in the yard one night, and it wasn’t a dog, too big. Says she saw someone looking in her window once, that’s why she kept the curtains drawn before dusk. She-” Gus broke off, catching sight of Barbie’s expression. “Oh lordy, you’ve seen something, heard something, haven’t you?”

  “No. No, I haven’t.” Fighting the urge to shudder, Barbie nodded curtly to him. “Thanks for your help, Gus. I appreciate it. See you later.”

  He had no choice but to step back when she wound the window up.

  Cripes, just listening to Gus had given her the heebie-jeebies. Glancing into the rear-view mirror, Barbie saw him watching her, his hands on his hips, his weathered face still creased in a frown. It had to be a coincidence, her Great Aunt hearing and seeing things.

  Owls. It was just owls, that’s all. Nothing spooky about it and she’d prove it, too, just as soon as she had security lights back and front of the house. Then she’d look out when the lights flickered at the slightest sensation of movement, and she’d see an owl or a mouse or something like that, maybe a neighbour’s cat.

  There was nothing haunting the house she was living in…and where she’d left Fred and Barney.

  Alone.

  Locked inside.

  Shit.

  In a hurry now, she followed Gus’s directions to Winslow’s Electrical Shop, hurrying inside. Not wasting time, she informed the woman at the counter what she wanted, found out that she was Mrs Winslow, that Bob was out on a call and wouldn’t be back until the next morning.

  Inwardly cursing, Barbie to
ld her what she was after, how soon she wanted it installed, and left the phone number, asking her to get Bob to call her when he returned, even if it was late, to set a time and date for the work.

  Then, getting into her car, she drove back to the house.

  In the bright summer sun it didn’t look spooky, just old and a little derelict. Hopping out of the car, she started to wonder if she was overreacting, letting her imagination and emotions get the better of her.

  But then why did her Great Aunt Penny mention faces in the window and thumps on the veranda to Gus?

  Regardless of the sunshine a shiver went through Barbie. Hurrying into the house, she called for the cats, relieved to find them fast asleep, Fred still on his back even though the sun had shifted and no longer slanted through the lounge room window, while Barney had given up on the doona and was draped across the kitchen bench, having knocked off the tissue box to make way for his big, lanky body.

  Geez, if the cats weren’t worried, why was she?

  Shaking her head, Barbie put the bag of globes on the table, pushing Barney away when he jumped up to investigate the contents of the bag. Things would be better once she replaced all the dim globes with higher wattage ones.

  Dragging the three step ladder from the storeroom, Barbie took it into the hallway.

  Yeah, she was overreacting, that was it. Even to her own ears she didn’t sound very convincing.

  The phone rang just as she was starting up the ladder. Not being good with heights at any time, especially ladders, she silently blessed the caller. Picking up the hand piece, she leaned against the wall. “Hello?”

  “Barbie, its Laura.”

  “Laura, hi.” Barbie smiled. “What are you doing?”

  “Calling you. I’d have thought that was obvious.”

  “And pleased I am to hear your voice. What’s happening?”

  “Same old, same old. Work, work, work, avoid my boss’s lecherous hands, work, work, work, run around the desk to get away from him. Try to keep a professional distance.”

  “Kind of hard to do when you go home to your boss’s house every night.”

  “Being married to the boss has its perks.” Laura laughed. “So, how are the renovations going?”