Christmas In Ghost Gum Springs

by Nicole Flockton

  ‘Wait. What? Where are you taking me?’

  As he’d suspected she hadn’t heard a word he’d said when he told her where their final destination was going to be. ‘I’m taking you to Ghost Gum Springs. A little town about thirty minutes down the road.’

  Chapter 2

  Diana had walked into a nightmare. Maybe she’d fainted from the heat and was now having a dream. All she wanted to do was get to a hotel, shower, order a bottle of wine and drink until she passed out. It was the only way to end the day.

  She swivelled in her seat and looked at her rescuer. ‘I want to go to Sydney. You told me you were taking me back there.’

  ‘No, I didn’t. I said the closest town is thirty minutes away and I would take you there.’

  Diana shut her eyes and bit back a groan as realisation sunk in. She’d totally flaked on him when he was talking to her. Her mind had wandered off and she hadn’t heard a word he’d said. Something she had no doubt Connor Shetland was more than aware of. Another side-eye glance at him confirmed her suspicions. Smugness didn’t begin to describe what was on his face. Arrogance and assurance, a trait most of the guys she’d grown up with in small town Packenridge, Montana had worn around her.

  She was the girl who lived with her grandmother because her parents had overdosed and hadn’t wanted her. Neither had her grandmother, but that was beside the point. She was tired of being the girl no one wanted. ‘Look, how much money will it take to get you to turn the car around and drive me back to Sydney?’

  ‘I already told you I’m not driving back there. I have a job to get to in Ghost Gum Springs. You’re going to have to suck it up, princess.’

  The urge to argue the point further built inside of her, but the way his hands gripped the steering wheel, as though he wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her, had her biting back the retort.

  Fine, she’d get to wherever they were going and ask someone else around town to drive her back to the city. If this place was anything like the town she grew up in, most folks didn’t have two pennies to rub together. She was sure someone would like a nice injection of cash, especially seeing as it was so close to the holiday season. Everyone liked to have extra cash then. She hated Christmas though. Grandma Mary-Lou always thought it was a waste of time and money and the only gifts she’d ever got had been practical: cotton panties and socks. Not once had she ever got a toy or even chocolate for Christmas.

  Thinking about the holidays reminded her of what she’d seen in the trunk of Connor’s car. ‘What’s with all the Christmas decorations in the back of your car? I could hardly fit my suitcase in.’

  ‘You didn’t squash any of the boxes did you?’

  His response appeared frantic. If he was so worried about the decorations he should’ve offered to put her case in the trunk himself. ‘I may have dented a box or two. What’s the big deal?’

  ‘Oh geez, I hope you didn’t break anything.’

  ‘Guess you’ll find out when we get to the town in the middle of nowhere.’

  God, she sounded like a bitch. Just because her plans weren’t working out as she’d hoped, didn’t mean she had to take it out on Conner. He hadn’t had to offer to drive her to a town, he could’ve called for someone to come and get her and then driven away.

  One thing about her, she wasn’t a petty bitch, even if she was doing a good impression of one right now. Grandma Mary-Lou may have been grumpy, but she had imparted manners into Diana, through Emily Post’s etiquette book of course. It was time to woman up and admit she’d taken her frustration out on Connor. ‘I’m sorry, Connor, that was uncalled for.’

  He brushed off her apology with a wave of his hand. ‘Which boxes did you dent?’

  His obsession with the Christmas decorations seemed over the top, but whatever. It would be just her luck to meet a cute guy, and not only be a diva bitch, but for the guy to turn out to be nutty about Christmas. The one holiday she disliked the most out of all of them. ‘I don’t know, the top two maybe. I didn’t pay much attention.’

  ‘Okay well those are probably the boxes with garland and window clings. Should be fine,’ he muttered as though doing a mental inventory of the items.

  Diana turned in her seat to look at her rescuer. His eyes focused on the road in front of them, an endless strip of black tar that looked like it was melting in the summer sun. His profile was attractive though, a hint of stubble shaded his cheeks. How rough would it be beneath her touch? She curled her fingers until her nails dug into the soft flesh of her palm. Seriously, she wasn’t going to be hanging around long enough to find out.

  ‘Why do you have so many decorations? It looks like there are enough boxes to decorate at least five trees.’ If she hadn’t been watching him she would’ve missed the faint sheen of red dusting his face.

  The guy was embarrassed?

  No way.

  He shrugged his shoulders, before reaching out and turning the volume on the dial up. Static filled the car.

  ‘Shit,’ he mumbled. He fiddled with the touchscreen in the middle of the dashboard and a few seconds later the familiar sounds of one of her favourite songs filled the car. Clearly, he didn’t want to talk to her anymore, which was totally fine.

  Diana transferred her gaze out the window at the passing landscape. It was so different to Montana. There wherever you looked you could see mountains, here there was nothing but great swathes of barren land.

  How did anyone survive out here?

  She shuddered and breathed out a little sigh of relief when in the distance she saw what looked like a couple of structures. She hoped the town they were going to had more than two buildings. A glance at her watch showed it was getting late in the afternoon.

  ‘I’m going to be stuck in the middle of nowhere tonight, aren’t I?’ she asked, instinctively knowing the answer.

  ‘Yeah, I don’t think the hire car company will be sending anyone out tonight,’ said Conner as he flexed his fingers over the steering wheel, like he was releasing tension in them. ‘I reckon you’ll be lucky if they even make it out by the end of the weekend.’

  ‘Seriously? Please tell me you’re joking. What about this place we’re going to, Ghost Tree Lake, is there a mechanic there?’

  ‘Ghost Gum Springs and as for a mechanic, I’m not sure. I’m still fairly new to town.’

  ‘Perfect.’ She sighed and slumped in her seat. This really was turning out to be a nightmare of a vacation. She would bet her newfound fortune that Grandma Mary-Lou was looking down at her with a smug I-told-you-so look. The same one she always directed to Diana when she’d tried to go against her grandmother and failed.

  Yeah, she totally should’ve stayed in Montana.

  ***

  ‘Here we are,’ said Connor as he pulled into his spot at the back of the pub.

  ‘Where is here exactly?’ his prickly American passenger asked.

  A normal sane guy would dump her and run away as fast as possible—except he wasn’t feeling particularly normal or sane at the moment. Beneath all the prickles, Connor sensed Ms Diana Jenkins was a little lost. Like him he supposed.

  As a lawyer he’d always had to judge a person’s character quickly when choosing jurors. Normally, he was spot on. The last case he had, he’d been way off and his client had paid for it. His gut churned in remembrance of how badly his client had paid and how similar her persona matched Diana’s.

  Stop it.

  He couldn’t change the past, no matter how much he wanted to. Now here he was, in rural Australia re-examining his life and his future. He’d been grateful when his mate, Shane ‘Smithy’ Smith had offered him the chance to work at the pub in Ghost Gum Springs while Shane and his new wife took a three-month long honeymoon around Australia.

  He’d only been in town himself for six weeks. But, so far, he was enjoying working behind the bar and getting to know the locals. It was a far cry from the court room and exactly what he needed.

  ‘I didn’t realise my
question was so difficult.’

  Yeah, that’s right, Diana asked where they were. ‘We’re at the pub. The hub of the town.’

  ‘And why are we here?’

  ‘Well this is where I work and after standing out in the sun for as long as you were I’m betting you’re pretty thirsty.’

  ‘Right. So long as this place has a working phone then I’ll be happy.’

  ‘Yes, there’s a phone and you don’t even have to crank it to get it working.’

  A smile tugged at the sides of his mouth as she rolled her eyes. ‘Well that’s good to know.’

  ‘Come on, the sooner you make your call the sooner you’ll find out how long you’ll be here. You never know, you may find you like this place and decide to stay here longer than a night.’

  ‘Oh, trust me, I don’t plan to even stay the night.’

  Connor studied his companion. Her complete and utter distaste for her current situation seemed to be a bit over the top to him. Sure, breaking down in the middle of rural Australia was scary, especially for a tourist. But he’d come upon her and now she was safe.

  ‘You may not have a choice. I told you it’s getting late, the hire car company aren’t going to drop everything and bring a car out to you tonight.’

  Her composure crumpled and for a moment he thought she was going to start to cry. Instead she took a deep breath and when she released it, her face returned to the impassive mask she’d been wearing since she’d got in his car.

  Diana Jenkins was a chameleon and she intrigued him. He wanted to know why she put on a brave face and appeared scared to let her real self shine through. Was Diana like Melanie, never letting the people who could help her close? If she had, maybe she’d still be alive.

  Perhaps he could persuade Diana that Ghost Gum Springs was exactly where she needed to be instead of going back to the city.

  Maybe they could be each other’s distraction over Christmas.

  Yes, he kind of liked that plan.

  Chapter 3

  Diana walked into the pub and halted mid-stride. ‘Oh my God, it looks like Santa vomited in here.’

  The only other place she’d seen so many Christmas decorations was in the Christmas Shop in the town over from the one she’d grown up in and had worked in until recently. Every viable surface in the main room was covered with garland. There wasn’t just one tree in the space, but three.

  Three.

  Who put three Christmas trees in a bar?

  ‘Santa didn’t vomit, Santa moved his entire workshop to rural Australia. He should’ve stayed in the North Pole.’

  Diana had to squint to see who’d spoken. She spotted an older man sitting at the shiny wood bar.

  ‘Oh, quit it, Fred, you know you like it,’ said Connor as he walked in rolling her suit case and holding one of the boxes she’d seen in the trunk of his car

  ‘Tell me that box doesn’t hold more decorations?’ The man Connor called Fred grumbled.

  Diana wandered over to where Fred sat and plonked herself down on the stool next to him. ‘There’s a whole trunk load of boxes.’

  ‘Smithy’d pitch a fit if he saw what Connor was doing to his pub. Christmas decorations don’t belong in a fine drinking establishment as this one.’

  ‘I tried my best to dent as many boxes as I could,’ she commented as she looked around the fine establishment. Beneath all the greenery and shiny baubles the interior of the pub looked similar to the bars she’d visited her first year of college.

  ‘Fred Gates,’ he held out his hand toward Diana and she took it, giving it a brief shake. ‘What’s a pretty lady like you doing with Santa’s Elf?’

  ‘Diana Jenkins. I think I’m being punished by the big red guy for being naughty throughout the year.’

  Fred roared with laughter and slapped his hand on the bar. ‘I like you. How long ya staying?’

  ‘Just long enough to call the rental company and tell them to come rescue me.’ She leaned closer to Fred, enjoying having a fellow Scrooge to grumble with. ‘Do you think if I tell them I’ve been kidnapped by Santa’s Elf, they’d come get me quicker?’

  ‘Nah, it’s a Friday, they’d have all knocked off and started their Christmas parties. Probably already three sheets to the wind.’

  Not the news Diana wanted to hear, and she had no idea what three sheets to the wind meant but it didn’t sound good. Fred might be friendly enough, but she’d been around small towns all her life and could bet the rest of the town would be judgemental of her. A stranger. An American. And she probably dressed wrong.

  Or they’d be nice to her face while gossiping about her behind her back. Just like when she’d been a teenager, she’d get invited out for coffee only to be stood up and she’d end up looking like a gullible fool when she’d arrived excited to have finally made some friends. After the fourth time it had happened, it sunk in she’d never be welcome anywhere in the town she’d grown up in.

  Being judged wasn’t anything she wasn’t used to, she’d had her fair share of it while growing up. Not only by Grandma Mary-Lou but also by every single person in town because of who her parents were and what they’d done.

  There was every chance she could be completely wrong, but she didn’t think so. Small town mentality was the same all over the world.

  ‘I was beginning to like you Fred, but not so much now with that piece of information.’

  Fred shrugged his shoulders and took a swallow of his beer. ‘Sorry, love. Just the way it is. It’s Christmas and a Friday, not the best combination.’

  ‘Rental car companies should skip Christmas. Don’t they know emergencies happen all the time?’

  ‘I can tell you’re not from around here, love. Things work differently in Australia. If you’re planning on staying for a while, you might want to get used to it. Lots of places close over Christmas and New Year.’

  The thought of being stuck in Ghost Gum Springs horrified her. Man, she could kick herself for thinking her life needed adventure and listening to her well-meaning colleagues. She was beginning to wonder if they really were ‘well-meaning’ after all. Obviously, she hadn’t learned from her teenage years. She just figured grown women weren’t as petty. She should’ve known better. She’d bet half her new fortune they were hoping she was going to fail. After all, this was the first time she’d ever travelled anywhere out of continental USA. No doubt they’d started a Watch-Diana-Fail pool the second she’d climbed into the cab for the airport.

  ‘Again, not the news I want to hear.’

  ‘Don’t worry, you’ll be fine here. Maybe you’ll find someone who is heading to Sydney and they could give you a lift.’

  Yeah, from Fred’s tone, Diana could guess the chances of that happening were unlikely. Yep, she was right, small towns were the same all over. No one in Packenridge, Montana ever ventured into Bozeman or any of the other more populated cities of the State very often.

  This was turning out to be a fantastic vacation … not.

  Before she could question Fred further a tall glass of clear liquid was placed in front of her. The bubbles fizzing away excitedly, and a bead of condensation slid down the glass.

  ‘What’s this?’ she asked and looked up to find Connor watching her closely. His green eyes assessing her, and she wondered how much of her conversation with Fred he’d heard.

  ‘Lemonade.’

  ‘This isn’t lemonade.’ The lemonade she knew wasn’t a clear liquid, it was cloudy and yellow and tart.

  ‘It is here.’ He nudged the glass a little closer to her. ‘Trust me, you’ll like it.’

  Diana leaned forward and closed her lips around the clear straw being pushed out of the glass by the gassy bubbles. She took a couple of tentative sucks. ‘This isn’t lemonade, this is Sprite.’

  ‘Sprite is lemonade here.’

  She shook her head, a little gurgle of laughter growing inside her. ‘You people are weird.’

  A crooked smile broke out over Connor’s face. ‘Weird is good.’ He
winked and walked away from her.

  Damn he really was good-looking. She supposed if she was going to be stuck somewhere, at least there was one decent guy she could look at. A guy who had very kissable lips. Not to mention a strong body. He’d hauled those boxes in as if they weighed nothing, which could be likely because Christmas decorations weren’t exactly heavy. Would he be puffed if he carried her in through the doors?

  Whoa. Don’t go there, Diana. Nothing good can come from travelling down that road. Look at what stepping outside of your comfort zone has brought you. Trouble.

  Why the hell not? She countered the voice in her head. She was a grown ass woman. It had been a long time since she’d been reckless and lived in the moment. There was no one here to judge her. She wasn’t going to stay in this place forever. Perhaps her car breaking down and being rescued by sexy Connor Shetland was exactly what fate ordered for her. A holiday fling on the other side of the world where no beady eyes could criticise her sounded ideal.

  Question was, did she dare take that leap and, more importantly, could she tempt Connor to leap with her.

  ***

  Connor hauled the final box out of his car and slammed the lid shut. Maybe he’d gone a bit overboard at the store, but he couldn’t help himself. His mum had loved Christmas. Every corner, open space or flat surface had been covered with Christmas paraphernalia. His friends had loved it and his dad had smiled indulgently and kissed his wife under the mistletoe every chance he got.

  This was the first year he wouldn’t be spending Christmas with his parents and siblings. Mum, Dad and Alice were currently visiting his younger brother who’d moved to Houston for his job. They’d been gone two months and were planning on staying until early February. In a way he was glad they weren’t around to see what had transpired with his case and what had led him to Ghost Gum Springs and his job behind the bar at Smithy’s pub. There was something relaxing about pulling beers and shooting the breeze with the locals. Completely different from standing in front of a judge and trying to convince him to do right by his client. He hadn’t done right by Melanie and she’d paid the ultimate price.