Runaway to the Outback

by Nicole Flockton

  Jonas took her hand and squeezed before releasing it. “I’ll leave you to it. If you need anything, let me know.”

  No way was she going through this alone. Everything in her was screaming that whatever had happened, it wasn’t good. “No, please don’t go. I need you to stay.”

  His eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms over his chest. Why was he closing off to her? If she didn’t know better, it was like he’d put up a wall between them.

  “There’s something I need to follow up on. An order’s got misplaced. It can’t wait.”

  Why did it feel like he was lying to her? In all the time they’d been together Jonas had been nothing but open and honest. Yet when she needed him for support, he was pulling away.

  Emotions swirled inside of her. She wanted to question what was going on. Why, after what they’d been through the last week, Jonas was acting like she now had some sort of communicable disease. Yet, she had a responsibility to sort out the mess her professional life had fallen into.

  Straightening her spine she meet his gaze head-on. “Fine, you go do what you need to do.”

  For a brief moment she thought he was going to change his mind and come back and sit beside her on the bed, but then he nodded swiftly and strode out of the room, abandoning her to face the music alone.

  A piece of her heart cracked as once again a person she loved abandoned her. As ridiculous as it was, she’d fallen for Jonas and his caring ways. Yet now it seemed like he wasn’t the person she thought he was.

  Blinking rapidly, she stemmed the flow of tears pooling in her eyes. For the last five years she’d handled everything by herself. She could do this. Pandora unlocked her phone and pulled up her contacts. She tapped Laura’s name and the phone rang once before being answered.

  “Why did it take you so long to call?” Laura fired off the question.

  “Good morning to you too, Laura, and I called as soon as I saw your email. Why didn’t you call me?” Thank goodness her voice wasn’t wavering and she sounded strong and confident.

  “It doesn’t matter, but I need you back in Sydney today.”

  “What? Why?”

  “What do you mean, why? Haven’t you seen the shit show on social media? We’re going into damage control.”

  Pandora’s mind whirled, joining her churning stomach. “Laura, slow down, please. I saw the notifications but didn’t open them. I figured it was better to call you first and get everything from you. When I talk to you, I know there will be some modicum of truth to what’s being said, compared with what I’d find by looking on the social networks or news sites.”

  “Right. Fine. Okay. It seems an industrious reporter located and interviewed your parents. Of course, one of the questions asked was about the death of the beloved family pet that caused you to break down at the photo shoot.”

  Her world exploded with those few sentences. Her worst nightmare had come true—the one thing she’d been worried about ever since her press statement had been released. “Let me guess, Mum and Dad said that no family pet died recently and all the people who commented giving me support are now bad mouthing me. Oh, this is bad, Laura. Really bad. I told you this could happen.”

  “Yes, I know and yes, you were right about the disaster it would be when the lie was revealed.”

  Her career was on the verge of splintering into a million pieces, along with her personal life. Things were just fantastic in her life. What else could go wrong?

  Nope, she wasn’t going to put any more bad karma out there. First she’d deal with this situation and then she’d deal with Jonas and his reaction to her request to stay.

  As much as she believed she didn’t enjoy her job anymore, the thought that she would never work again was a daunting prospect. One she didn’t want to contemplate.

  While she’d like to stay safe in Bunya Junction, she had no option but to return to Sydney and face the media. Answer their questions and hope like hell that by the end of the day she still had a career.

  “I’ll be there in a few hours. Why don’t you arrange for a press conference for this afternoon, say four?”

  “That will work. I’ll set everything up. I’m sorry this happened, Pandora, but I’ll help you fix this.”

  While she appreciated Laura’s apology, the words didn’t make her feel any better. “As you should. You need to ensure that the fallout to me is minimal, since it was all your idea.”

  She’d never spoken harshly to her agent before, but times had changed. For too long she’d just gone along with what Laura had said. She’d taken the first step toward controlling her future when she’d informed her agent that any future jobs would need to be run past her first. Now the next step was ensuring she controlled the narrative of how this situation was handled—like she should’ve done at the beginning.

  This break away from her job had done her a world of good. It had given her the foresight to see that she should be in control of her career and not her agent. It was time for her to step up and own her life.

  “I believe I said I would take responsibility,” Laura responded curtly.

  “Yes, you did. I’m just reminding you of that fact. Please don’t say anything else, just announce the press conference.”

  “I can do that. Call me when you get to the city outskirts. I’ll let you know where the media event is taking place and you can drive there. I’ll arrange for makeup and wardrobe to be there for you.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll send you a text when I’m leaving.” She disconnected the call and covered her face with her hands, blowing out a deep breath.

  Now that was handled, the next thing she needed to fix up was Jonas.

  “I’ll get you something to eat, so you can get on the road. The sooner you leave the better, right?”

  Pandora dropped her hands and looked up to find him standing in the doorway, his face devoid of emotion. There was no sparkle in his blue eyes. The corners of his mouth weren’t lifting in a small smile. It was as though he was carved out of stone.

  What had happened between them? None of this made sense. Would there be any point in trying to tell him about her phone call with Laura?

  “I need to explain.”

  “No need. The truth came out and you need to fix things up. It’s your career. I understand, Pandora.”

  And just like that Jonas had made his decision to disregard her. The crack in her heart splintered until all the pieces shattered, leaving nothing but dust in its wake.

  *

  The look of devastation on Pandora’s face hit him square in the solar plexus. Everything in him wished he hadn’t picked up Pandora’s phone. He’d known the second he’d seen her full screen that whatever they had was over. Hearing her saying her agent had to fix everything and it wasn’t her fault rammed home his first impression had been right—Pandora wanted others to clean up the messes she created.

  For a short while he’d lived in a world where they had found a way to have both their careers, but he’d been wrong.

  It had hit him as he watched her sleep that morning that he’d fallen in love with Pandora Sebastian. She’d been a bright light when she’d stormed into his pub, but over the short time they’d spent together her star had brightened until it was almost blinding. Her musical laughter and smile had come more easily with every passing hour she spent in town.

  Why hadn’t he listened to his inner thoughts about keeping his distance from her? Because it was impossible. Once she’d drawn him into her orbit he hadn’t been able to get free—no, that was wrong—he hadn’t wanted to get free.

  Now that illusion was shattered.

  He shoved his hands in his sweatpants pockets. Time to accept that what they had was over. “Right. Well, you need to get going. I’ll be downstairs fixing you something to eat.”

  He turned to head to the kitchen, but like the lovesick fool he was he needed one last taste. One last memory of how she felt in his arms that he could pull out when he was lonely. One last moment where he wishe
d things could’ve been different.

  He walked back to his bed and leaned down. Hooking a finger beneath her chin he lifted it until their eyes met. “It’s been quite the ride, Pandora Sebastian, and I’m glad we went on it together.”

  His eyes drifted shut as he leaned forward and captured her lips. Her mouth opened immediately and his body roared to life, but he ignored it. He caressed her mouth with his, pouring everything he felt for her into their last embrace. Saying goodbye when the words were too hard to say.

  After giving her every emotion he felt for her, he broke the kiss and moved away from the bed. If he didn’t, he’d do something reckless, like try and talk her into starting a new life with him here in Bunya Junction. Yeah, that idea would be one of the worst he’d ever had in his life.

  He’d get over her. Soon she’d be remembered as that model who visited for a short while, not the woman he thought he had a future with.

  Jonas had reached the door, when he sensed her moving behind him. “Come with me.”

  Shock at her words had him whirling around, instead of continuing to walk out the door. “What?”

  She’d grabbed the sheet and had wrapped it around her as she’d come after him. “Come with me to Sydney.”

  He heard the words, but they made no sense to him. How could she expect him to go to Sydney? He had the pub to run. Did she expect him to give up his livelihood? Or was she wanting him to somehow fix things for her? Of course, she’d listened and filed away the information, when he’d talked about always helping Yolanda out of the messes she got herself into. She was going to use him and the town as the reason for her not heading back to Sydney at the very start of this debacle. A small portion of his mind was telling him he had the wrong end of the stick. Yet he couldn’t let it go. “Why?”

  Her mouth opened and closed as if the words she wanted to say weren’t able to come out. “Because I—I—please come.”

  Jonas’s eyes closed and he scraped a hand down his face, the roughness of his overnight growth abrading his hand. “This makes no sense. You know I can’t drop everything on a whim. The pub isn’t going to run itself.”

  The light dimmed in her eyes and her fingers clutched the sheet a little tighter. “You’re right. What was I thinking, you can’t leave your precious pub.”

  He clenched his hands at his sides. “No, I can’t, not at a moment’s notice. I have responsibilities to the people in town and the people who work here.”

  “People who would be more than happy to help you out if you ask them.”

  He’d had enough of this. “I know why you really want me to come with you.”

  “For support?”

  For a moment the fire in his belly dimmed before roaring back to life and he voiced the tumult of thoughts flying around his brain. “No, what you want is me to help you fix this mess you got yourself into. Why is it every woman I care for in my life wants me to fix their problems? First Yolanda. Then my ex, Gina, and now you. I’m sure Laura or her team will do what you want and take full responsibility for the disaster you created. Or they’ll somehow change the narrative and use me in a way to make it look like I prevented you from returning to the city.”

  “What on earth are you talking about? I’ve never once asked you to fix this for me and I wouldn’t want you to. I survived a lot by myself before I met you. Plus, I would never use you in that way. Explain to me when I’ve ever given you reason to come to these conclusions?”

  He clamped his lips shut so he didn’t say anything else. Nothing mattered anymore—she was leaving.

  As the silence stretched, her bravado appeared to wilt in front of him. “Wow, you really do have a low opinion of me, don’t you? You really believe everything you just said?”

  “If the shoe fits.” He shrugged.

  Her face crumpled and a stab of remorse pierced his stomach. Had he gone too far?

  “You don’t know me at all.”

  “I guess not.”

  “I thought you were different, Jonas. I thought you would stand by me when I needed support. But you’re like everyone else in my life, walking away when it suits you. Well fine, don’t worry about getting me anything to eat. I’ll be out of here in a few minutes.”

  She gathered her clothes and headed into the bathroom. The door closed with a quiet click and he leaned against the door frame and wondered how the hell his life had gone from fantastic to hell in a handbasket in less than thirty minutes.

  With one last glance at the bed, he swivelled and headed to the kitchen. The last thing he wanted was food, but he would make sure Pandora had something to take with her. If she threw it out the window the second she was on the road, then that was fine.

  Fifteen minutes later she stood in the doorway, dressed in the clothes she’d had on the night before, the duffel bag in hand. An aura of vulnerability, the same that had surrounded her when he first laid eyes on her in her wedding dress, swirled around her.

  He wanted to rush over to her and tell her he didn’t mean what he’d said. That he would go with her and stand beside her. But the real truth was, a relationship would never have worked between them. It was better that it ended now. So what if his heart would never recover. At least he’d known love for a short time. Real love, not the love he thought he’d had with Gina.

  But as quickly as her emotions threatened to break, her face became the mask of indifference. “When Ray returns tell him I’m sorry I missed his homecoming. Thank you for everything you did for me when I needed it, Jonas. I appreciate it.” Her voice broke on the last words.

  His emotions were too close to the surface to say anything, so he nodded. She gave him one last look before walking out of the kitchen and out of his life. The food he’d prepared sat in a box on the table.

  Forgotten.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The lunch crowd in the pub was subdued. Word had gotten out that Pandora was on her way back to Sydney. In fact, when he’d gone to Molly’s Café for one of her famous cream buns to brighten his spirits after she’d left, which it failed to do, everyone had asked him if Pandora was alright. It seemed the townsfolk were more social media savvy than he was and had known all about the furore the two of them had woken up to.

  They had so many questions and he hadn’t been able to answer them because he’d not given Pandora a chance to fully explain what was going on. They’d filled him in and he hated himself even more for not listening to her. Pandora’s blank stare as she’d given him one last look before she walked out the door would haunt him forever.

  Everything in him had wanted to race after her and say forget the pub he was going to go with her and support her. Like she’d asked him to do.

  She had no one.

  Definitely not her family.

  Her parents were the ones who’d sold her out when they’d told the truth. Some would say that telling the truth was a good thing and in places it was. But when it came to the child they’d created, protecting her should’ve been their first priority. Their dislike of her career dumbfounded him. Why were they angry at her, when she’d made such a big success of her life?

  He guessed he was lucky that his parents had supported him and his siblings with whatever they wanted to do. Sure, they’d been upset with what Yolanda had done, but the minute she’d announced she was pregnant they’d forgotten the past and forgiven her. They welcomed their baby granddaughter with open arms. They still weren’t sure of Michael, but he’d proven that he could support his wife and child. And that was the most important thing to them.

  That was what Pandora’s parents should’ve done, been there for her no matter what. Yet, because she hadn’t gotten a degree like they wanted her to do, they’d turned their backs on her.

  “You alright, mate?”

  Jonas looked over his shoulder and saw Drew at the bar. “I’m fine.” He was getting a bit sick of everyone asking him that. He should’ve expected it, since he and Pandora hadn’t hidden the fact that they were spending a lot of time toge
ther. She’d been working with him ever since the night they’d all waited to hear about Ray. “Can I get you anything?”

  Like Ryan and him, Drew was never really off duty, although Ryan didn’t work weekends usually. Drew had had other police officers come out to help him and see if they wanted to make the move more permanent. But they invariably only stayed the three month trial period before they asked to be transferred back to the city. Back to the faster pace and where all the action was.

  “I’ll have a BLT and a Sprite, thanks.”

  “On it.” By rote, Jonas grabbed a glass and filled it with the clear liquid. “Here you go. I’ll just go put your order in.”

  He walked out the back, grateful for a few moments reprieve from everyone looking at him with a combination of speculation and pity in their eyes. He went into the kitchen and gave the order to Pete, before heading to his office for a few moments of peace. One of his regular servers, Patricia, was working as well, and if she needed him she could find him.

  He sank down in his chair and stared at the blank screen of his laptop. It would be so easy to wake it and open an internet browser and search Pandora’s name, yet he didn’t do it. If he was going to get over her, he had to completely ignore any temptation to find out anything about her or what she was doing. Ultimately one day he’d search her name and find out that she’d found someone else. That would be the last straw for him. Not that she would have found someone else to spend time with, within twenty-four hours of leaving him, but anything was possible. Didn’t all romance books and movies have people falling in love at first sight?

  “Knock. Knock.”

  He looked up and found Scott standing in his doorway. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at the hospital?” Another thought hit him and he bolted upright. “Is Ray okay? You haven’t come to bring bad news in person?”

  Scott came in and sat down. Jonas plopped back down in his seat. If Scott was going to impart bad news there’s no way he’d sit so casually. “Nope, Ray is doing really well. I’m predicting he’ll be back home in a week or two.”