by Sarah Barrie
‘Ebs? Ebs! Where are you?’
In reception, everything looked fine.
‘Ebony!’
He spun at a noise in the recovery room – realised it was just the pup. The back door stood ajar and the phone lay on the floor, batteries scattered. His stomach took a dive.
He turned again at the sound of the storeroom door opening. Ebony came out, white as a ghost. Joxer followed her, racing down the corridor.
‘Are you hurt?’
‘No.’
He called the dog and when it raced past him into the recovery room, he shut the door on it.
‘That’ll do for now. Come out here and sit, tell me what happened.’
‘It was the guy – the one who smokes under the streetlight at night.’
‘Wait – what guy?’
‘He stands out there and just stares up at me.’
Lee’s fingers tightened on her arms. ‘Why haven’t you mentioned this?’
‘Because that’s all he did. That’s it. I thought he was just out for a smoke. But I never saw his face. It was always covered in a hoodie and the light above stopped me from seeing it. But then tonight I took Joxer out the back and he got away from me and ran round the front, and this guy looked up and his face was – wrong. I think –’ She paused, trying to make it make sense. ‘I think it was a mask. It was a black, evil-looking, grinning mask. And he just stared. I ran for the doors and when I looked back, he was gone. Then I came inside and the back door moved so I locked myself in the storeroom.’
‘Good thinking.’ He ran a hand over her hair. ‘I called the police just in case. We’ll wait for them to arrive and I’ll check the flat, just to be sure.’
The police weren’t overly impressed about being called all the way out to Hunters Ridge on an emergency because some guy stood in the street and looked scary. No laws had been broken, she hadn’t been threatened, and she couldn’t even say if he’d trespassed. He’d done nothing but put on a mask. And that didn’t seem to be a big issue. Ebony supposed in the scheme of things, it wasn’t. But it had sure as hell seemed like one at the time.
When they left, Lee took her upstairs and gave her a cup of tea, then took his own to the window to stare out over the empty street.
‘Sorry for the drama,’ Ebony said. ‘I probably overreacted.’
Lee seemed to be turning something over in his mind. He took a moment to answer. ‘Did you say he was smoking?’
‘Yes, why?’
‘I’ve noticed a few cigarette butts around the place recently. I was blaming them on our contractors.’
‘They’ve been at the front before too. I thought it was clients.’
‘What if it wasn’t?’ He turned back to her. ‘I’ll let Ben know. Want me to call Cam?’
‘No … it’s over with. He’ll only worry and want to come over. We can tell him tomorrow.’
Lee called Ben, left a message, then came and sat beside her.
‘How did you get here so fast?’ she asked.
‘I was on my way through town from a job today. I was going to grab some takeaway – thought you might want to share.’
Someone slammed a car door and she jolted. Lee went to the window. ‘It’s several houses down. Relax.’
‘Yeah, sorry. Still a bit jumpy.’
He ran a tired hand over his face. ‘I’ll stay here tonight. Bunk on the couch.’
Her heart melted into a puddle, but even she could see the problem with the logistics. ‘This one?’ she asked of the small two seater.
He swore under his breath, but nodded. ‘I’ll survive.’
‘I can’t ask you to –’ Her mobile phone rang and she catapulted out of her seat, spilling her tea, then laughed at herself in embarrassment and pushed her fist into her chest. ‘I think I must be on the verge of a heart attack.’
She answered the phone, listened to the frantic caller, and promised to be there as quickly as she could.
‘Someone just hit a roo coming into town. It’s still alive.’
‘Way in on my road?’
‘Yep.’
‘Grab some stuff. I’ll take you out there, then you can stay at my place tonight.’
‘No, I can’t.’ His place? Stay at his place?
‘Why not? Ebony, you’re freaked out. You can’t stay here by yourself.’
‘But I might need to bring the roo back here.’
‘We’ll deal with the roo situation if we need to. Let’s go.’ He tipped up her chin, looked into her eyes. ‘Yes?’
What was the question? Oh, right. ‘I’ll just grab some things.’
She euthanised the kangaroo – its leg was too catastrophically broken to save it. After a few consoling words to the driver who’d been kind enough to wait with it, Ebony was back in Lee’s ute.
‘I think you would have made a good counsellor if you hadn’t become a vet,’ Lee said. ‘You know how to calm people down, cheer them up.’
She shrugged. ‘I think taking care of owners is as important as helping their animals. I suppose that’s why I’m having such a hard time with Louise. She’s so good at the theory, really knows her stuff, but her manner with people is terrible.’
‘If anyone can talk her around, it’ll be you.’ He turned down his driveway, drove between a couple of ancient oak trees, around a bend and over a small rise, and stopped the car outside his house. A sensor light sprang to life. The cedar homestead was lovely, built by Lee’s father, and altered and extended by Lee. The two-storey home nestled into the hillside and was surrounded by park-like bushland, bordered on one side by a pretty creek.
I’m staying at Lee’s place. Her stomach did one long, nervous roll. She hadn’t ever spent this sort of time alone with Lee before. What if they ran out of conversation? What if it was awkward? She could always go to bed, she decided. Coward.
No. She needed to stop being silly. Lee was one of her best friends. It’d be fun.
Then a movement on the veranda caught her attention and she saw Fiona stand up and head for the car. Every positive thought vanished from Ebony’s mind. This was not going to be fun – and it was not going to be pretty.
‘Lee, I think, actually, it might be better if –’
But Lee was already climbing out.
‘Finally!’ Fiona said. ‘It’s after ten! I brought dinner over hours ago. Have you eaten? It’s going to be ruined.’
‘Sorry, Fiona. I didn’t know you’d decided to come over and bring dinner. You probably should have called first.’
‘I wanted to surprise you. Isn’t it lovely out here at night? I’ve been watching the stars.’
‘Yeah, it is.’ Lee ducked his head and stared into the car. ‘You getting out, Ebs?’
No, I was thinking of sleeping in the car. Shit. Left with no choice, she opened the door, grabbed her bag and stepped out.
Fiona stared. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘There was some trouble at the surgery. Ebs is going to crash here tonight. Is there enough of that food for three?’
‘Of course.’ Fiona’s smile was so strained Ebony wondered why she even bothered.
Ebony put her things in the spare room and joined them back downstairs. The plate hit the table hard when Fiona deposited a small amount of cold cannelloni in front of her. She was grateful there wasn’t more – her appetite had packed up and gone home. She wished she’d gone with it.
Instead, she made herself eat some of the meal that Fiona had been forced to share. Lee spoke to her a few times, before being railroaded back on track by Fiona. Ebony could have made more of an effort to join in, but didn’t see the point. There was already all-out war on Fiona’s face, and she couldn’t really blame her. Fiona had obviously planned a nice night with Lee, and Ebony had ruined it.
As soon as she’d swallowed as much as was necessary to be polite, Ebony abruptly got to her feet. ‘I think I’ll just call it a night. Thanks for the dinner, Fiona.’
Lee frowned. ‘Are you sure? It’s not all
that late.’
‘Yeah – I’m tired. Don’t get up – I know where the spare room is. Thanks.’
She showered and changed, brushed her teeth, got into the double bed and lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Well, this was fun. And she’d been worried they’d run out of things to talk about. She would have slept better at home. Eventually. Or at least, she would have been awake more comfortably at home. That sounded ungrateful. Lee was trying to help her out.
She tossed and turned until she finally got comfortable, and was just about closing in on sleep when a knock on her door had her dragging herself out of bed to open it.
‘Oh – Fiona. What’s wrong?’
‘You!’ she hissed. Ebony could hear water running, decided Fiona must have timed her attack for while Lee was in the shower. ‘What are you playing at?’
‘I’m trying to sleep,’ Ebony replied tiredly.
‘Like fuck! What you’re doing is making up one big sob story after another to get between me and Lee.’
‘Fiona, that’s not it, I just –’
‘Oh please, you jealous little cow. Just back the hell off. Don’t you have any pride?’
Ebony might have been envious, but she did have pride. Plenty of it. Right along with a decent serving of pissed off. Her back stiffened and she glared at Fiona. ‘Are you done?’
‘Why don’t you do everyone a favour and go running back to Mummy and Daddy, kiddo.’
Ouch. The snipe left a dent but she did her best not to let it show. ‘You’re sounding a little insecure, Fiona.’
‘Leave Lee alone, bitch.’ The water shut off, and Fiona stepped back, snarled and turned on her heel.
Ebony shut the door and leant against it. When her eyes filled with tears she closed them. The events of the night upset her more than Fiona’s nasty words, but she hadn’t needed that confrontation. It was the last straw. Hollowed out, alone, miserable, she curled up on the bed. Fiona had a point – Ebony did have feelings for Lee she shouldn’t have when he was seeing someone else. But it wasn’t like she was going to do anything about them. What more could she do than stay out of their way? Ebony hoped it wouldn’t get any more serious between Fiona and Lee. Thinking that way was wrong, but she couldn’t help it. The woman was beyond unfriendly. It would be nearly impossible to remain Lee’s friend if he ended up with her.
She tossed and turned in the unfamiliar bed. She was hot, uncomfortable and wide awake. The room was stifling, so she kicked off the covers, got up to open the window and wandered around the small space to try to cool down. Fiona had stolen her opportunity for sleep.
A shower would probably help her feel better, but if Lee and Fiona were still awake, she’d risk interrupting them.
But damn it, she was thirsty. She needed some water. Her temper got the better of her as it occurred to her that Fiona had effectively intimidated her into hiding in her room. With a curse, she wrenched the door open.
Everything was quiet in the hallway. Lee’s bedroom door was closed. Quickly eradicating the image of the pair of them in bed from her mind, she tiptoed down the hall, then down the stairs. It was cooler down here. She should make herself a cup of tea and sneak out onto the veranda for a while to clear her head.
She was around the corner to the kitchen before she noticed the small side-table light was on in the room beyond. Lee and Fiona were outlined clearly, locked together in a lovers’ embrace. Lee was already half naked.
Ebony’s breath rushed out. Seeing Lee wrapped around the woman who had just been so nasty to her was a kick to the gut when she was already down, and it hurt. She quickly stepped out of view. Interrupting them like that would be the ultimate humiliation. As quietly as she could, she hurried back up the stairs and carefully closed her door.
Fresh tears burned behind her eyes. She blinked them back. It was stupid to be so upset. Stupid. And she had to admit, it wasn’t entirely because the woman he was holding was Fiona. Ebony had wanted to believe that he would wake up one day and feel the same way she did, that maybe he felt something – anything. So no, it wasn’t entirely because he was holding on to Fiona – the woman who hated her so much was simply the icing on a very hard-to-swallow cake.
It was time to stop creating fantasies about Lee – at least to stop seeing his face on the cover of romance novels, for a start. It was childish and unrealistic. And as evidenced tonight, not reciprocated.
So Ebony lay awake, hot and thirsty and unable to sleep, talking herself into getting over it.
CHAPTER
11
‘Yeah, she’s fine,’ Lee told Cam after explaining the events of the night before. ‘Just a bit shaken up. When she comes down we’ll head in, I’ll wait for you at the surgery and we can take a look at the camera footage.’
He hung up and wondered how long Ebony was going to be. He’d been awake since five – and most of the night, unable to sleep, unable to relieve the frustration he should have been happy to relieve with Fiona. He’d be surprised, he supposed, if Fiona ever spoke to him again. Once he’d decided he didn’t want to go through with it, he’d all but pushed her out the door.
He’d made some excuse – but he couldn’t quite remember what it was so if she tested him on it, he was screwed. He liked Fiona – when she wasn’t being catty or asking favours for friends – and no one was perfect. And it wasn’t like he’d let a few small faults bother him before.
Movement upstairs made his pulse jump. Of course, there was that. He had a guest in the house. That could throw a person off his game. No question.
Then he saw her at the top of the stairs, and all the excuses flew out the window. It wasn’t a guest, it was Ebony. How could he make love to a woman who didn’t mean enough to him when there was one upstairs who meant more than she should?
Whoa. Back up. He ran a hand over his face, shook his head. He was delirious from lack of sleep. He needed to get himself together.
Ebony started down the stairs and he got to his feet, still rattled.
‘Good morning.’
She looked at him and smiled. ‘Hi.’
‘You want some coffee, some breakfast?’
She glanced around the lounge room, into the kitchen. ‘No, thanks. I have animals to check on.’ Her gaze went back up the stairs.
‘She’s not here.’
‘Huh?’
‘You’re looking for Fiona. She’s not here.’
‘I wasn’t, I …’ She coloured and shook her head. ‘I don’t want to intrude, that’s all.’
He smiled at that. She had no idea. ‘You’re not. Come have some breakfast. Then I’ll take you back.’
‘I’m not really hungry.’
He studied her closely. She had very little colour in her cheeks and she’d eaten like a sparrow last night. There were shadows under her eyes. Big ones. He could understand she was upset over the prowler – anyone would be. But she needed to eat. ‘Well, I am, and I haven’t eaten yet so …’
She dropped her bag on the floor. ‘I might just grab a coffee then.’
‘Help yourself.’ He put in an extra piece of toast anyway, hoped if he put it in front of her she’d swallow some, then he watched her sit with her coffee and stare at the table. ‘You get much sleep last night?’
‘Sure.’ She smiled briefly, took a cautious sip.
‘I didn’t realise Fiona was going to turn up.’
‘It was nice of her to drop in with dinner for you.’
He made a noncommittal noise and buttered some toast, then stuck his head back in the fridge. ‘You like marmalade or cream cheese? I have some honey in the pantry if you’d prefer?’
‘I didn’t want –’ She sighed, gave in. ‘Just butter, thanks.’
He took his the same, watching her nibble on a piece of toast. An ant could have done better. ‘I spoke to Cam. He’s coming over to the surgery this morning to look at the security footage from that little camera he installed yesterday. In the meantime I’ll run you back and spend some time getting those n
ew cabinet doors on.’
The scenery rolled by as Ebony sat quietly in the passenger seat of Lee’s ute. She was tired, she had only drifted into a restless sleep a couple of hours before dawn. Last night hadn’t been a lot of fun, but it had been the wake-up call she’d needed. They were friends. She wanted to keep it that way, but without some boundaries, she was going to keep hurting herself. And as unfair as it was to Lee, she decided a part of her really did resent him being intimate with someone who treated her the way Fiona did. She didn’t want to be around him while they were together. She wouldn’t be.
They reached the surgery and she stepped quickly from the car, grabbing her bag. ‘Thanks, Lee,’ she said brightly, standing between him and the front doors. ‘I’m sure Cam can look at anything the camera managed to pick up and send it to Ben if he thinks it’s necessary. And I haven’t had an invoice for ages. I’d like to pay you whatever I owe you. Make sure I don’t fall behind.’
He shook his head. ‘The bill isn’t a problem, Ebs. I think you’re probably more up on it than I am. And I want to look at the footage with Cam.’
‘Okay, well. I guess I’ll see you when Cam arrives then. Bye.’
He was staring at her as though attempting to figure out a puzzle. ‘Yeah. Bye.’
She turned on her heel, eager to escape the discomfort she had inadvertently created. She hadn’t handled that well, but she’d figure it out. She pushed it to the back of her mind and went to check on the dogs.
‘Hey, ratbag,’ she said to Joxer. ‘Hi, puppy. I bet you’re both hungry?’ She fed them, then began cleaning out their pens.
‘Morning!’ Carla chirped. ‘Ebs, I told you I’ll do the pens. It’s my job.’
‘It’s okay. I’ve got it.’
‘You’ve always got it. Want me to take Joxer for his walk?’ ‘No, thanks. I missed my run this morning – I’ll do it.’
‘May as well just go put my feet up,’ Carla muttered good-naturedly.
Ebony grinned at Carla’s retreating back, clipped the lead on Joxer and headed out to the park.
The fresh air, the walk, did her good, helped her clear her head. She was just heading back when Carla rushed out. The look on her face told Ebony something was wrong.