Runaway to the Outback

by Nicole Flockton

  “It seems when Sindy is experiencing morning sickness, for some weird twin reason, Scott is as well. Have I got that right?” he asked, his mouth widening into a large grin and she suspected he was trying not to laugh.

  “Yeah.” Scott grimaced. “It’s a barrel of laughs.”

  Pandora’s head spun a little as she processed the information. “Wait. Are you saying that through that mythical twin bond everyone talks about, you’re getting sick? I thought that only happened with, like, identical twins.”

  Scott shrugged his shoulders. “Guess we’re unique. I do admit that it’s not like we’ve experienced this all the time. When we were growing up there were occasions we experienced similar feelings and symptoms. But as we followed our own paths and lived apart, the occurrences where that happened dwindled down to almost being extinct. I will say I’d much rather skip this one, though.” He smiled wryly at them, rubbing his stomach in small circular motions. “Let’s just say I now have a new understanding of what patients go through when they come to us with chronic morning sickness. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.”

  “I hope it passes soon,” Pandora commented.

  “You and me both.” A new voice had joined the conversation and Pandora looked up to see that Ryan and Sindy had joined them.

  Scott went over to his sister and gave her a quick hug before dropping a kiss on top of her head. “While it’s good to see you all, I need to get back to work.” He looked over to Jonas. “You may want to send a message back to the folks in Bunya Junction that Ray is doing okay. Not out of the woods by any means, but okay.”

  “Will do.”

  Scott moved toward the exit, but paused in the doorway. “You all heading back?”

  Pandora looked up at Jonas. “If you want to stay, I’m okay with it.”

  “We came in Ryan and Sindy’s car so we’re at their mercy.”

  Ryan cleared his throat. “There’s not much more we can do here, to be honest. Ray is comfortable for the night. And I’d really like to get Sindy home.”

  Jonas nodded beside her. “Okay, that works. I’ve got to clean up the pub. We left in a hurry.”

  They all headed to where Ryan’s car was parked, her hand still secure in Jonas’s. Whether it was because the fragility of life was thrust in front of her tonight, or the fact she was tired of trying to find reasons why people did what they did, she didn’t want to break the connection she shared with Jonas.

  The drive back to Bunya Junction passed in silence. She rested her head against the window and let the motion of the car lull her into a light sleep.

  The brush of lips across her cheek jolted her awake. She opened her eyes and found herself looking into Jonas’s blue ones. A soft smile teased his lips and, without giving it any thought, she reached out and traced his mouth with her finger.

  “Hey,” she said softly.

  “Hey yourself. We’re home.” The words were unnecessary because she could see the familiar glass windows of the pub over his left shoulder.

  Pulling her hand away, suddenly embarrassed at the way she’d touched him, Pandora depressed the seatbelt and the black fabric slithered away. “Right.” Looking to the front of the car she saw that Ryan and Sindy were both looking at her with indulgent smiles on their faces.

  Great, they’d witnessed her touching Jonas and now thought something was building between them.

  Are they wrong?

  Yes. She mentally hissed back at her internal voice. There was nothing building between her and Jonas. The last two days had her emotions skating on thin ice. “Thanks for the ride. See you later.”

  She climbed out of the car and headed straight for the door, keeping her gaze focused on the frosted glass inlay in the pub’s front door. Behind her she could hear Jonas murmur his goodbyes and the muted slam of the car door closing. A few seconds later he was behind her, reaching around her to unlock the door. If she turned, her chest would brush against his and she would be trapped between him and the door. As much as she wanted to do just that, she stood her ground and once the door was unlocked she pushed it open, almost stumbling over her feet in her haste to put distance between them.

  The urge to escape to her room surged up her like a tidal wave, but she battened it down. There was cleaning to be done, and she would feel horrible if she left Jonas to do it all himself. No doubt he did clean up the space alone on a regular basis, but tonight he didn’t need to.

  Instead of heading for the stairs and the sanctuary of her room, she turned left, into the main room. The lights still blazed but instead of a mess, the tables were pristine and the bar top gleamed as if it had been polished. The scent of lemon and bleach filled the air.

  She faced Jonas. “Looks like the cleaning fairies have been in.”

  “God, I love this town,” he murmured and ran his hands through his hair.

  “How did they get in? Didn’t you lock the door?” she asked.

  Jonas wandered over to the bar, running his fingers lovingly over the wood. A full shiver wracked her body as she imagined him touching her with such gentle care. “I did, but I leave a spare key with Drew, most of the business owners do. I guess either Molly or Matilda got a crew together and got the key off him. No one says no to either woman.”

  “Remind me again who they are?”

  “Molly owns Molly’s Café and Matilda and Bob own the grocery story. Bob was the one who drove Ray to the hospital in the ambulance.”

  “Right. That was really nice of them to do this for you.”

  “Yeah, it was.”

  Once again she was getting a front row look at small-town living and Pandora couldn’t deny that she was beginning to wish she was part of the community and not just a visitor.

  *

  Jonas lay in bed the next morning, exhaustion nipping at him like a playful kitten biting unsuspecting toes. He’d love nothing more than to roll over and get a few more hours of sleep. Unfortunately, he didn’t have that luxury. It was the Monday where he would be getting his usual three-weekly deliveries. If it was any other Monday he would give in to the lure of more sleep.

  No doubt the second he opened the door, many of the people from around town would be asking him if he had an update about Ray. He’d sent a text to Drew last night to let him know what had happened to Ray, and the other man had assured Jonas he would let everyone know.

  Throwing back the covers, he headed for the shower. His thoughts were on the woman in one of the rooms in his pub. Having her by his side while they waited for news at the hospital had made it not so nerve wracking. If he’d been by himself, he probably would’ve paced around the waiting room until he’d collapsed in a heap of exhaustion.

  Now he could understand how Sindy was grateful to have Ryan by her side. The difference was, Sindy and Ryan lived in Bunya Junction. Pandora didn’t. He assumed she lived in Sydney, because she knew about Ryan. But there was every chance she could easily live in Melbourne. Or flit between the two cities, making anything between them impossible.

  He snapped off the water in a fit of annoyance at what he was thinking. The whole time he’d spent with Pandora had been in extraordinary circumstances, what with her running from her job, and then the situation with Ray. In a normal situation he wouldn’t be imagining a future with her. He’d be aware that things between them would be impossible. Getting involved with her wouldn’t end well and he didn’t want to do that to either of them.

  As much as he was wavering toward disregarding his concerns about Pandora, he couldn’t let himself fall over the edge. It would be too risky to his equilibrium.

  What he needed to do was stick to his initial edict of maintaining his distance with her. No more hand holding. No more little intimate conversations and definitely no more ideas of kissing her. When she’d touched his mouth the night before he’d wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her again. The only thing that had stopped him was the fact his sister was watching and Pandora had been half asleep and probably not aware of what she’
d been doing. He’d never taken advantage of a woman before and he wasn’t going to start with Pandora.

  Once he was dressed, and with a coffee cup in hand, he looked out the window over the small lot at the back of the pub and called Scott. He breathed in the quiet, aware of the woman sleeping upstairs.

  “‘lo.”

  Jonas winced realising what he’d done. “Hey, bro, sorry to wake you. I wondered if you had any news on Ray.” Down the line Jonas could hear the rustle of bed sheets.

  “When I left the hospital, two hours ago, he was stable.”

  Oops, he probably should’ve tried to call the hospital instead of Scott. However, the chances of the person he spoke to giving him any information was slim. “Thanks for the update. I’ll let you get back to sleep.”

  The sheets rustled again. “Thanks. If I hear anything different, I’ll let you know.”

  The call disconnected and Jonas suspected his brother was already asleep. No wonder Scott didn’t have time for any sort of relationship, not if he worked all the hours in a day. Not only was he the hospital CEO, he also took on many shifts, because being a doctor was what he loved to do. Now he was also looking at starting a foundation, if what Ryan had told him was still happening. If Scott wasn’t careful he would burn out and then where would everyone at Waratah River and the surrounding areas be?

  Perhaps he should speak to Ryan and Sindy, see if they could encourage Scott to cut back on the amount of work he did. He snorted at the thought. No way would his brother slow down. Scott thrived on the rush of helping people and making sure the hospital ran smoothly. Just like Jonas thrived on running the pub single-handedly. Jonas liked doing things a certain way and keeping control over everything was the only way to ensure it remained that way.

  “Was that Scott you were talking to?”

  With his back to the door, Jonas took a few seconds to get his emotions under control. From this second on, Pandora was a guest and nothing more. It was the best thing for the both of them.

  Pasting a generic smile on his face, he turned to face her. “Morning, Pandora. Yes, I was speaking to Scott. He said Ray was stable and if he heard anything more he’d let me know.”

  God, he sounded so pompous and the way Pandora’s eyes widened in surprise was all the confirmation he required to know he’d shocked her with his tone and words. He pressed his lips together to stop himself from apologising for being an arse.

  “Right. Okay. Well, umm, I’ll just help myself to some toast and get out of your way.”

  “Probably a good idea. I’ve got deliveries coming so you may want to make yourself scarce.”

  With every word he spoke, the light in her eyes dimmed until there was nothing but darkness.

  “I’ll do that. Can you let me know when my stuff from Laura arrives? She said it should be today.”

  God, was it only two days ago that she arrived? It felt like it was longer—in a good way. Which was why it was important to keep any relationship between them strictly as publican and guest. For both their sakes. “Yep, I’ll make sure you know.”

  “Thanks.”

  As much as it hurt him to treat her this way. It was for the best, wasn’t it?

  Chapter Ten

  For the third day in a row, Jonas walked out of the kitchen the second Pandora arrived. And each time he felt like the biggest asshole in the world. No matter how many times he assured himself he was doing the right thing, he didn’t think giving her the cold shoulder on a continual basis was doing any good. The fact Pandora hadn’t packed her bags and left surprised the heck out of him.

  No, that wasn’t true. What stunned him even more was that every day she would take her rental car and drive to Waratah River, to visit Ray. The first time she’d mentioned what she planned to do, he had wanted to tell her no, that she didn’t know the country roads well and it would be better if she stayed in town. He’d even started to say something, but she’d directed an imperious look toward him as if daring him to even utter one word. He shut his mouth and went back to unloading the boxes that had been delivered.

  He’d heard from Scott that Ray was on the mend and that his daily visits from Pandora were the highlight of his stay in the hospital. Ray would need surgery to clear blockages in two of his arteries, but he’d have to go to Sydney for it and would likely be transferred in the next couple of days. What would Pandora do then?

  Most nights she’d stayed in her room and, even though she’d only helped him that one night, he missed having her behind the bar with him. They’d worked well together the whole time. On a couple of occasions he’d headed toward the stairs to see if she wanted to help, but he’d stopped himself. He’d remember his vow to maintain his distance to prevent a closeness from developing between them.

  Yet it was a battle he seemed to be losing. Each day he wanted to spend time with her. Conversation had flowed easily between them. And he had to finally admit to himself—he enjoyed her company.

  Every time he considered changing his stance he’d remind himself that it would only end in disaster. The truth was, they were at different stages of their lives. He was settled in his life here at Bunya Junction. He had a thriving business and family nearby. He was happy. Pandora was destined to go back to modelling. Her disillusionment with the industry wouldn’t last forever. She’d get bored of the quiet country existence. Come next week she’d be counting down the days until she could go back to her life. He wouldn’t be surprised if, when the itch began to form, she’d scratch it and leave earlier than planned.

  “How much longer are you going to treat me like I’ve got some communicable disease?” Lost in his thoughts he hadn’t been aware that Pandora had followed him out of the kitchen and into his office.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He winced at the terrible lie.

  “Is that right?” Pandora crossed her arms, pulling the fabric of her short-sleeved blouse tight across her chest, drawing his eyes to her breasts. He quickly flicked his gaze back up to her face. “So you’re going to deny that you run away from me every time I get within three feet of you?”

  Admitting she was right was the last thing he wanted to do, because hell, he was running. “Okay, I suppose it could seem that way.” He waited for the bolt of lightning to strike him down for lying. “But I was giving you some space. The day after you arrived was just as emotional as the day you hit town. I figured you needed time to yourself.”

  She planted her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him. “And you thought the best way to do that was to ignore me? I thought photographers were clueless when it came to dealing with emotional situations. But you men are all the same, at the first sign of anything to do with feelings and emotions you run for the hills. Or you yell and make the situation worse.”

  Jonas deserved her tirade. He pushed away from his desk and rounded it until he was standing in front of her. His fingers itched to reach out and smooth her hair over her shoulders. It was a shiny curtain of gold and looked so soft. “I’m sorry, you’re right. I could’ve handled things better. When you arrived here you were running and you were tired, at least admit that as the truth. You also decided that you were going to stay here to recharge. As I said, I was respecting your need for space to do that, along with getting your head around what you want to do with your future.”

  With every word coming out of his mouth he suspected he was digging himself deeper and deeper into a hole that would be almost impossible to climb out of.

  Pandora gazed at him, her head tilted slightly to the right. What was going through her mind? “I suppose what you’re saying makes some sort of sense, but being alone isn’t healthy either, you know.”

  Jonas scraped a hand down his face. What he was about to say would have him wishing for scenarios that just weren’t possible. “Do you want to help today in the bar? Wednesdays aren’t usually too busy.”

  “Are you sure? Because I’d like that. Oh wait, I have to go see Ray.”

  He expected s
he was going to be making her daily trek to see him. “That’s okay, when you get back is fine.”

  “He’s going to Sydney later this afternoon so I wanted to make sure that I get to see him.” Her voice hitched a little. Had she become attached to the man in just a few days? Ray was a loveable guy. Tomorrow night’s trivia wasn’t going to be the same without him there. Ray worming his way under Pandora’s skin wasn’t an unlikely scenario and if she was upset just thinking about him going to Sydney, Jonas didn’t want her driving back to town upset. Accidents happened when people weren’t concentrating on the road.

  Hmm, what if … he glanced at the clock, it was just before eight, he wasn’t due to open the pub until midday. The drive to Waratah River Hospital would take around an hour and a half. It would be tight, but they could get a visit in and be back in time to open. If he opened a little late he didn’t think anyone would mind, not if they knew the reason for it. “How about this, I’ll call Scott and see if we can sneak in to see Ray before visiting hours officially start. We can spend probably an hour with him and then come back and open the pub. If we leave now, that is.”

  “Do you think that’s possible?” A flash of hope entered her eyes. “I know today’s visit is going to be tough and I didn’t like the idea of driving back by myself.”

  Closing the distance between them, he pulled her close for a hug. The second his arms closed around her he knew he’d made a monumental mistake. Every bit of tension that had been in him seeped out at the contact with her. Her body tensed but then relaxed in his hold, as if she was finally glad to be close to him.

  He mentally scoffed at the fanciful thought. Most people relaxed into a hug and this one wasn’t the first one they’d shared since they’d met.

  After a few moments he released his hold. “If you’re ready to go, I’ll call Scott and then we can be on our way. I’m pretty sure he won’t mind us coming in. You may not be able to stay as long as you have the last couple of days, especially if you said he was going to Sydney.”