by Sarah Barrie
* * *
Callie didn’t have any more trouble over the rest of the weekend, and as Monday morning shone bright and clear, she got herself out to Calico Mountain early to take advantage of the cold but calm weather. She planned on starting by reshaping the garden beds she’d discussed with Tess and Connor.
She manoeuvred the bobcat around and scooped up the edge of the first garden bed, then drove around and dumped the earth into the already cut extension. She shaped, filled, smoothed until both garden beds were the form she saw in her mind—a better choice for the trees and for maintenance. Having the machine on hand made everything so much easier. She wondered if she should talk to Paisley about hiring one to tackle some of the more difficult areas of Waldron Park. She’d spent a long time in its gardens yesterday pulling weeds and breaking earth up by hand. It hadn’t been fun.
A large tourist coach crunched into the drive and unloaded thirty or so people. Tess had warned her a couple of local garden clubs had joined forces and hired a coach for an outing. This had to be them. She hoped they stuck to the established gardens and didn’t decide to watch her work.
Thankfully, they mostly left her alone. A few made small talk as they wandered by, others stopped momentarily to watch. She smiled briefly at each, but kept working; friendly enough, without encouraging conversation. It would only take one person to make the connection and she was screwed.
She glanced over her work and, happy, decided it was time to swap machines—she’d need the trencher for laying the larger pipes that would run water from the mains to the beds. It was her least favourite part of the job, but it needed to be done.
She noticed two more women had turned up. They were talking quietly, looking in her direction. Though they were too far away for her to hear what they were saying, something about their stance, their faces, triggered alarms. In her mind she could almost hear them.
‘It’s that woman who murdered her husband and got away with it.’
‘A murderer works here? We’re leaving.’
‘Yes, and calling the paper. Everyone needs to know they’re in danger.’
As they continued to stare and whisper, Callie’s thoughts spiralled from suspicion to paranoia. She blocked the internal tirade. Told herself she was being stupid. But she was happy to be able to get back in the machine and turn it around, head away from their eyes and their whispers on the way back to the machinery shed.
* * *
Orson still hadn’t turned up. Connor worried about this as he filled in on reception for Kaicey, while Indy had a quiet chat with her, at his request. He really hoped she’d talk, because he knew she wasn’t telling them everything, and he felt a sense of responsibility to locate Orson whether anyone else thought he should or not. The moment things calmed down for two seconds, he intended getting an update.
‘Hey,’ one of two teens said, leaning over the desk. ‘We want to book in a quad ride.’
‘Right.’ He put down the phone on his last call. ‘I can do that for you. Just one second …’
He got them booked in, dealt with the general ins and outs of a few more bookings and queries, the last of the morning check-outs and the odd problem as it arose in between. And that’s it, he thought, waving off another guest. He was going to lunch.
‘Mr Atherton!’ an older lady said, charging up out of nowhere.
He didn’t groan, but it sat at the back of his throat. ‘Good morning.’
‘Lois McPhee.’
‘Mrs McPhee, how is your holiday going?’ he asked politely.
‘Not so good, I’m afraid. I mean, this place is wonderful. In fact, we decided to extend our stay and had our daughter all booked in to come down and meet us—spend a couple of nights with us here with her little ones. But we’ve made a terrible mistake. We were sure we could cancel our reservation at our next stop without having to pay any fees, but the manager was so awful and told us the booking was non-refundable. And it was just so much money.’
He really wasn’t sure what the woman expected him to do about it. ‘I guess that really depends on the motel policy.’
‘Yes, but … he was just so rude about it. I’m sure he could have done something for us.’
The phone rang. He felt his mood deteriorating again. ‘Just a moment, please.’ He went behind the desk to answer the call. While he dealt with a woman wanting information on a hen’s weekend, he heard Callie’s voice. She must have come up for lunch, but when he looked, he saw she had a sympathetic hand on Mrs McPhee’s arm; the woman was clearly more upset than he’d first noticed. Callie glanced over. He could only imagine what she read in his face.
‘We can take a look at that for you, Mrs McPhee, but as Connor said, it just depends on the motel’s terms and conditions.’ Callie’s eyes hit his again, uncertain this time as she made a little gesture to ask if she could come around the other side of the desk.
Surprised and grateful, he nodded and got up to unlock the door as he continued his phone call. Callie slipped into the chair beside his.
‘Did you say your daughter was meeting you here?’ She got the woman chatting again—then she was smiling. Callie was obviously good with people. He reminded himself she’d run a small motel—or was it a bed and breakfast?
‘Let’s take a quick look …’ Callie pulled up the motel webpage and scrolled through the terms and conditions.
Then Connor got wrapped up in his phone call and the next time he looked, Callie was frowning.
‘Are you a loyalty club member with the hotel chain?’ she asked.
‘Oh yes, we are.’ Mrs McPhee pulled the card from her purse and placed it on the desk.
Callie picked up the phone. Connor finished his call while she began hers.
‘Hi. I’m calling on behalf of Mr and Mrs McPhee who are staying with us at Calico Mountain. They’ve just attempted to cancel a booking at your establishment and were told the booking was non-refundable.’
Callie’s friendliness evaporated as she became brusque. ‘What’s your name again? Blake? Listen, Blake, I’m going to give you a break because you sound pretty young and inexperienced. Are you young and inexperienced, Blake?’
Connor’s lips twitched as Callie’s eyes darkened with determination. He liked seeing the spark as she fired up. He’d take that over the sadness and nerves he too often read in her face, any day.
‘I thought so. The thing is, Blake, you’re either incompetent, or you’re not being straight with me. Why don’t you bring up their booking up on your computer and take a look? Yes, they certainly are members … Yes, of course I’ll share that information with you. The number is …’ She rattled off the membership number. ‘Now, as one of the motel chain perks clearly entitles members to cancel any booking up to twenty-four hours before the commencement of their stay, you should tell me what system you’re using so I can talk you through the refund process. Really? Because I’m ready to hang up. Once I do, I’m contacting the hotel chain and, possibly, because I’m in the mood, having a very special rant on social media. Because there’s nothing in your fine print about any of that rubbish you’re spouting off to me. Do you know the penalties for false advertising, Blake?’ She drummed her fingers on the desk. ‘Yes, I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding. No problems. Wonderful. Thank you, Blake. Have a lovely day. Bye now.’
She hung up and smiled politely at Mrs McPhee. ‘All sorted for you. You’ll receive a refund in full in the next three working days.’
‘Oh! You were wonderful, dear,’ Mrs McPhee said.
‘It was my pleasure,’ Callie said. ‘Enjoy the rest of your stay. I hope your daughter enjoys her visit.’
‘Oh, she will! You’ve got a gem here, Mr Atherton. Don’t let this one go!’
‘I have no intention of it,’ Connor said, smiling as Callie’s eyes narrowed suspiciously at him. He waited until Mrs McPhee had thanked her several times and wandered off happily to lunch. Then he allowed the smile lurking at the corners of his mouth to spread. ‘She looke
d like she’d just won the lotto.’
‘Getting a refund probably amounted to the same thing. You should have seen the price of that place!’
‘You’re good at that. With people. I prefer to manage behind the scenes but people are your thing, right?’
‘Well, I would have been much nicer to Blake if he hadn’t been such a twat. “Oh, I’m afraid our motel is in very high demand. We couldn’t possibly offer a full refund simply because they misguidedly chose to stay elsewhere,”’ she recounted in what might have been a perfect twat accent. ‘I’m not surprised he couldn’t check his terms and conditions with his nose so far up in the air.’
It was a glimpse of the person she must have been before everything that had happened. It was fun and sexy. ‘Okay,’ he said, ‘now I’m having lunch. You free?’
‘Yeah. And starving.’
* * *
Callie walked into the dining room with Connor and a smile of her own. She had enjoyed helping out, hadn’t realised she’d missed her old position at Highgrove until she’d had a taste of it just then. She considered that as she filled her plate. That didn’t mean landscaping wasn’t still her best option, but it was something to think about.
‘Tess and Logan are over there,’ Connor said from behind her. ‘When you’re done, come say hi?’
‘Okay.’ She grabbed a coffee and took it and her meal to their table. ‘Afternoon.’
‘Connor was just telling us you saved the day,’ Tess said.
‘I wouldn’t go that far. It’s just that when I walked in, Connor looked more likely to drop a heavy object on the woman than play host.’
‘Rough morning,’ Logan said. ‘He hates reception.’
‘I can take over now until Kaicey gets back,’ Tess offered, and looked over their heads. ‘Hi, Ned.’
Again? Callie’s eyes closed as she whispered a curse. When she opened them, Connor was watching her. He didn’t look as laid back about Ned’s interruption as he had in the past.
‘Tess, everyone,’ Ned said, eyes on Callie. He put his plate down on the table next to theirs. ‘How are you, Callie? Haven’t seen you all weekend.’
‘Fine, thanks.’
‘Wanted to apologise for our little tiff the other night. Bought you some flowers. They’re on the patio table waiting for you when you finish work.’
Tiff? Flowers? She felt her blood pressure rise and fought for calm. ‘It wasn’t a tiff, Ned,’ she objected. ‘You didn’t want to hear what I was trying to tell you.’
‘Just a misunderstanding,’ he said amicably. ‘We’ll talk about it this evening when you get home.’
The way he made them sound like a couple was more than wrong—it was creepy. Instinctively and without really meaning to, she leant just an inch or two towards Connor. He immediately moved his arm to rest it along the back of her chair, his fingers lightly brushing the nape of her neck as they settled. That sent another shiver through her, this one much more pleasant. Connor shot her a look of interest that suggested he’d felt it, before returning his attention to Ned.
‘Did you get that new water system up and running in paddock three?’ he asked.
Ned briefly turned his gaze from Callie to stare at Connor’s arm. His frown was stern as he answered, ‘Got a bit more work to do. Be finished this arvo.’
‘Good,’ Connor replied, and continued discussing odd jobs that were lined up, drawing Logan into the conversation. Ned’s gaze kept returning to Connor’s arm, and she didn’t realise how tense she was until Connor’s fingers began casually kneading the back of her neck. Liquid warmth spread through her system. She could have purred under the gentle pressure. She stopped worrying about Ned and had to focus on dragging her concentration back to the conversation to answer a question from Tess.
When Connor sent her a look so full of desire that it blew her away, she decided it was for Ned’s benefit. But it curled in her gut and spread little lightning bolts of awareness to every point in her body. She had to think he was acting but—holy hell—if that look was pretend, what would the real thing be like?
She was pretty damn sure that fighting this attraction was impossible. Part of her wanted nothing more than to melt into a puddle where she was, the other part warned her to run for the hills. The latter part eventually won.
‘Right, well. Better get back to it.’ She slipped out of her seat. ‘Lots to do.’
‘Bye,’ Connor said, snagging her hand and squeezing her fingers. ‘See you after.’
‘Thank you,’ she mouthed, back turned to Ned.
Amusement briefly dominated the warmth in his eyes, then it was gone.
* * *
Connor very slowly released a long breath. That had been an interesting line to walk. He wasn’t entirely convinced she’d deliberately sent him an ‘I’ve changed my mind, let’s play pretend’ signal, but some protective streak he hadn’t known he possessed had had him playing the part when she’d all but shrunk towards him. The way Ned was carrying on, he wasn’t surprised, and he didn’t like it.
‘Something going on with you and Callie, boss?’ Ned snapped.
‘Something,’ Connor answered smoothly. ‘Why?’
Ned didn’t answer for several seconds, just stared, hard. Finally, he shrugged. ‘Just wondering.’
‘So, man to man, Ned, I’d appreciate it if you’d back off Callie for me, okay?’
Ned pushed to his feet. ‘Reckon Callie can decide for herself.’
‘I reckon she already has,’ Connor countered with equal force. Who was this man? He didn’t even recognise him. ‘So you’re going to keep a friendly distance, understand? Anything else is harassment and I won’t have that in my workplace.’
‘She might work here but she doesn’t live here.’ He said it like a threat. ‘Maybe it’s you that should back off.’
‘Oh, dear,’ Tess taunted as Ned stalked away. ‘I’d be sleeping with one eye open.’ Then, her expression sharp and curious, ‘Is it true? Are you and Callie seeing each other?’
‘No,’ he said with a dismissive gesture. ‘I was just trying to get the message across to Ned.’
‘Then can I say wow? That was a convincing few minutes.’
‘Yeah. I’d be pretty pissed at you,’ Logan said. ‘You really know how to act.’
Connor didn’t laugh. Maybe he was defensive of Callie because of the feelings that were niggling at him, but he hadn’t liked the look in Ned’s eyes just then. ‘She’s told him and told him to stop but he just thinks he needs to try harder to win her over. It’s try it this way or he’s heading for a knock on his arse. Ned’s no rocket scientist but he’s not so stupid that he doesn’t know right from wrong. I don’t like this obsessiveness. I haven’t seen him as focused as this on anyone before.’
‘That’s true,’ Tess said. ‘There’s been so many little crushes and they’ve all just dissolved. I’ve never known him to become the least bit aggressive over anyone.’
‘Okay,’ Logan said. ‘We’ll all keep a closer eye on him. Hope it blows over.’
‘Yeah,’ Connor said. ‘Thanks. I’m going to go make sure he hasn’t followed her out, and check if Kaicey’s back.’
No one was on reception and he was pretty sure by now Kaicey should have been, so he decided he may as well start the afternoon by finding her. He walked past Callie heading back to the garden with the trencher, but there was no sign of Ned, so he continued to the bunkhouse.
Kaicey answered after the first knock with red-rimmed eyes and a face devoid of any colour.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.
‘I’m sorry, I know I should be working. I’m just—I can’t.’
‘Is this because of Bailey?’
But she looked too upset, even for that. ‘Sort of. And I’m worried about Orson. He’s a pain but …’
He tried to feel sympathetic, but as he was pretty sure she wasn’t telling him everything, he found it difficult. ‘Okay, I get that, but the guesthouse has to run. If you’re too ups
et to come in you need to let someone know. I don’t expect you to work, I do expect you to tell me if you can’t …’ He looked past her to the disaster of her room. A suitcase was open and clothes, personal belongings littered the bed. ‘Are you leaving?’
‘I’m sorry. I have to go.’ She wiped her fingers across her face and sniffed, then went back to her bed and quickly threw what she could inside the suitcase.
She wasn’t just upset, Connor decided, she was scared. And it had to come back to knowing more than she was saying.
‘You’re just walking out? No explanation, no notice?’
She turned on him. ‘You should have told me how Bailey died!’
‘Why?’
She zipped up all that would fit and lugged the suitcase to the floor. ‘It doesn’t matter. I’ll come back as soon as I can.’ She looked around as she walked out, eyes everywhere, her steps hesitant.
Not good enough, he thought, and followed her out. ‘Hey. Wait! What’s going on?’
Again and again her gaze swung around. ‘I can’t be out there.’
‘Why not?’
She got to her car, hefted her case in.
‘Why not?’ he demanded. ‘Kaicey, a man’s missing and a horse is dead and you know what’s going on. You can’t just drive away!’
‘I didn’t want to believe he’d found us. I don’t know if he’s found me. If he had, I think I’d be dead, too. I’m the only one left, I have to go.’
‘Who’s he? What do you mean “the only one left”?’
‘Tell Indy I’m sorry, but half the town was one of us. I don’t know whose side anyone is on. I—you wouldn’t understand. Please. I have to go.’ She got in the car and started the engine.
He had his phone out calling Indy before she’d disappeared down the driveway.
‘What happened with Kaicey?’ he asked when she picked up.
‘I questioned her about the comments she made to you regarding Orson and Bailey and bringing trouble with him. She really didn’t want to talk but when I hinted at the circumstances surrounding Bailey’s death, she lost it. Left. I thought I’d let her calm down before tackling the subject again.’