Adam's Thorn (9 page)

Before he went to see Barbie, however,
he had a little more probing to do.

Releasing her wrist, he ruffled Hallie’s
hair.  “Stop stressing.  I’ll investigate this further.”

Her expression was pained.  “You
don’t believe me?”

“Hallie,” he said quietly, “I
believe you, but I have a duty to follow through with some things.”

“What things?  I just told you-”

“Hallie.”

One word and she stopped talking. 
Looking up at him, she nodded.

“Good girl.”  He patted her head.

“I’m not a dog,” she grumbled,
ducking away.

He smiled.  “You’d have failed obedience
school anyway.”

She flipped him the bird.

“Hallie!” Aunt Betty scolded. 
“You don’t do things like that!”

Hallie cast the security screen a
startled look.  “Oh, I - sorry, Mum.”

“You just apologise to your
cousin.  He’s the local law, what would people think if they pass the house and
see you being so rude to him?”

Adam managed to maintain a
straight face when Hallie glared at him.

“Sorry, Adam,” she said, but her
eyes spoke a different story.

“No worries.”  He turned to the
door.  “Bye, Aunty.  I’ll catch you later.”

Getting into the patrol car, he
saw Hallie still watching him from where she leaned against the veranda post with
an annoyed expression on her face.

Crooking a finger at her, he
watched in amusement as she heaved a sigh and came down the steps and across to
the car.

Bending down, she looked in at
him.  “What now?”

He smirked.  “You were so busted
by Aunt Betty.”

Surprise wiped away the annoyance,
and then she grinned reluctantly, her usual sunny nature washing the anger
away.  “You are such a jerk, Adam.”

“Right back at you, cuz.”  He
winked and put the car into reverse.

Once out on the road, he headed
for Mrs Hubble’s house, his amusement vanishing.  He had to get to the bottom
of what had happened, and he realised that he might not like what he was going
to find out.

Chapter 3

Mrs Hubble was excited to see him,
ushering him inside with delight in her eyes.  When he perched on the edge of
the overstuffed sofa, she was intent on settling him in for a cup of tea,
scones and a chat, no doubt hoping he’d impart some gossip.

He’d never gossiped in his life,
so why she would think he’d start now, he didn’t know.  Guess hope sprang
eternal.

He swiftly nipped her blatant
attempt in the bud before it could even start to bloom properly.  “Mrs Hubble,
I’m here about the complaint you made yesterday.”

“You mean about the Declan woman?” 
Mrs Hubble leaned closer.  “You spoke with her?”

He looked her straight in the
eyes.  “I want to know, word for word, exactly what she said.”

She blinked.  “Word for word?”

“You stated that Miss Declan
laughed at the suggestion that Hallie’s mother would be upset at her piercing.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Who made the suggestion that
Hallie’s mother would be upset?  Mrs Declan?”

Mrs Hubble frowned.  “Um…yes?”

“Are you asking me, Mrs Hubble? 
Because I wasn’t there.”  Adam looked at her calmly.  “You were.  And this is
your statement.”

“I…I don’t quite remember.”  Her
hand fluttered to her throat.

“Mrs Hubble, I had words with Miss
Declan about this incident.  If I’ve accused her wrongly because of false information,
I’m not going to be happy.”

“Well…”  She swallowed.  “Maybe it
wasn’t exactly like that, dear.”

“Then how exactly was it?”

She cleared her throat and glanced
around nervously.

“Mrs Hubble,” Adam said quietly,
“I’d rather you tell me now.”

“I just…I was just so shocked, you
know, about Hallie’s…”  She pointed at her mouth.

“Tongue piercing.”

“Yes.  And then this Declan woman
smiled when Hallie said something, I’m not even sure what now, something to do
with her mother…”  When Adam simply nodded, she continued hurriedly, “I may
have been a little upset at the Declan woman’s rudeness and got things a little
mixed up.”

“Rudeness.”  He didn’t remove his
gaze from her.  “Tell me exactly what Miss Declan said that was so rude.”

“Oh, I…”  Cheeks blooming red, Mrs
Hubble fluttered her hands.  “Oh, I couldn’t, I…Oh dear.”

Adam took pity on her.  “Was it to
do with a certain part of the female anatomy?”

Relieved, she nodded.

“Mrs Hubble, that is an anatomical
term.  It is not rude.”

She drew herself straight.  “In my
day, young man, we did not use those terms in public!”

“With all due respect, ma’am,
those days are no longer here.”  Before she had a chance to voice her outrage,
he raised one hand.  “Mrs Hubble, I’ve known you all my life.  I respect you as
a member of this community.  I would never dream of embarrassing you.”  At her
mollified expression, he added sternly, “But as a police officer, I have to get
the facts straight to avoid unpleasant consequences.”

Such as what had happened the night
before.  He cringed inwardly.

She had the grace to look
abashed.  “Oh dear.”  She started to fiddle with the hem of her dress.

“I have accused an innocent woman
of something which she didn’t do.”  Adam stood up.

To be fair, he’d accused Barbie
not just from what Mrs Hubble had said, but also Hallie.  To make matters
worse, he’d allowed his own prejudice to play a part in it as well.  Sure as
hell he wasn’t about to tell Mrs Hubble that, this wasn’t a confessional.

“Am - am I under arrest?” Mrs Hubble
quavered, looking up at him.

Aw hell, she had tears in her
eyes.  But Adam couldn’t back down.  “No, ma’am, you’re not.  But please be
aware that offended feelings shouldn’t direct your animosity.”

Her eyes widened.  “I don’t feel animosity
towards the Declan woman!”

“Mrs Hubble.”  Adam looked at her.

Immediately she faltered, her gaze
darting around before finally settling on his jaw.  “All right, maybe a little bit. 
Just a little.”

“I will speak to Miss Declan and
then this is closed.  I don’t expect to hear anymore about it.”  Adam stood
up.  “I’ll take my leave.  Thank you for your time.”  He couldn’t resist
adding, “And your honesty.”  Even if he had been forced to shame it out of her.

Not so happy now, she saw him to
the front door, shutting it before he’d even cleared the veranda.

Getting into the patrol car, Adam
sighed. He’d been just as bad, judging Barbie because of what she’d done in the
past.  Because of that stupid move, he was now forced to go out and apologise
to her.  He hadn’t seen that coming, not by a long shot.  No way was he looking
forward to her sneering at him, laughing in his face.  Gloating.

But he’d never allowed what anyone
thought of him to stop him doing the right thing, and the right thing was going
out and apologising to Barbie Declan.

Driving out to the old Declan
place, he thought about how he was going to approach her.  The cool, spring
morning breeze was welcome, and he enjoyed the drive, liking the clean country
air, the way it refreshed him, the soothing of mother nature.

Unfortunately, this morning it
didn’t work as well as normal.

Turning into the driveway, he saw
the little Ford Laser parked just inside the garage that stood not far form the
house.  Being Saturday there were no workers, but they’d obviously packed some of
the stuff away.  He could see the canvas sheets, tins and other paraphernalia
neatly piled on the end of the veranda.

Getting out of the car, he studied
the front of the house.  In the lounge room window sat a big tabby who watched
him out of narrowed green eyes.  It didn’t look too friendly, and going by the
way its ears pulled back and the tail started lashing, it wasn’t happy to see
him.

Maybe the cat and Barbie were in
silent communion.  The cat had to belong to her because he didn’t remember
Penny having any pets.

It watched him with a distinctly
unfriendly manner as he crossed to the veranda and went up the steps.  Adam
almost laughed aloud when the cat pressed one side of its face to the window in
an attempt not to lose sight of him.

Coming to the door, he heard the
happy beat of ABBA from somewhere in the depths of the house.  The light coming
from the open door at the other end of the hall showed Barbie standing on the
very top of a three step ladder, reaching up to the roof with a globe in one hand,
while the other hand stretched out shakily for balance.  To make matters worse,
she was almost on tippy-toe.

Before he could think about the
consequences, he barked out, “What the
hell
are you doing?”

With a shriek, she looked over her
shoulder and floundered, her feet slipping on the ladder rung, arms
windmilling.

Ripping the security screen open,
Adam launched himself into the hallway, managing to grab her around the upper
thighs, her soft bottom coming to rest snugly on his shoulder, her free hand
grabbing onto his opposite shoulder.

For several seconds he thought she
hadn’t caught her balance and he removed one arm from around her thighs to rest
on her bottom, cradling the luscious curve of one cheek in his hand.

Two things hit him at once - she
was very soft, and she smelled sweet.  Soft and flowery, a heady combination. 
Unconsciously his hand flexed, his palm weighing the lush curve overfilling it
so deliciously.

Turning his head, he closed his
eyes, inhaling deeply, the flowery scent clinging to her skirt filling his
senses-

“Let me go.”  Barbie’s shaky voice
cut through the pleasant moment.

What the hell was he doing? 
Coming
to his senses
,
he shifted his hand from cupping her bottom to a flat
hand, changing from a hold to a brace.

Recovering himself, he frowned up
at her.  “What are you doing?”

“Changing the light globe.” 
Cheeks red, she held herself stiffly away from him.  “Do you mind?”

“I mind if you fall and hurt
yourself.”  Stepping back, he placed both hands on the outsides of her thighs,
steadying her.  “Climb down.”

“I need to change this globe.”

“I’ll change it.  Get down.”

“I can-”

“Barbie.”

She glared down at him.  “I’m not
one of your criminals.”  She made a round ‘o’ of her mouth.  “Oh wait, yes I
am.  Have you come to arrest me?”

Obviously she still had her smart
mouth.  Regardless, he wasn’t going to just watch her fall, or have to hear the
ambulance roar past on its way to pick her up with a broken leg from falling
off a step ladder.

Sliding his hands up to her waist,
he started to grip tightly.

“What the - what are you doing?”
She slapped at his hands.

“If you’re not coming down under
your own steam, I’m bringing you down.”

She gaped at him.  “You can’t lift
me!”

In answer, he started to adjust
his grip.

“Stop!  I’m coming down!”

Arching one brow, he stepped back
a little, keeping his hands on her waist.

“You can get your paws off me.”

“I’m making sure you don’t fall
down, Barbie.”

“I got up here, I can get down.”

“Just turn around and climb down. 
I’ll steady you.”

“Step back.”

“You have no grip to grab onto. 
You’re on the very top step.  Now-”

“Step back.  I can do it.”

“Barbie.”  When she glared at him,
he just stared right back, waiting patiently.

Finally, with a huff, she turned shakily
and bent slightly, her foot searching for the first step.

“Just lean back into my hands,” he
instructed.

“You can’t hold my weight.”

“I can.  Now do it.”

He should have remembered how
stubborn she was, he certainly did when she refused to obey and bent her knees
instead, one leg flailing out and almost kicking him in the stomach by
accident.

At least, he presumed it was by
accident, who knew?

Her foot found purchase only when
he sighed and grabbed her ankle, guiding her foot to the step.  Now he was
looking directly at her bottom where she bent over, those luscious curves
dancing in front of his eyes as she shifted.

Those luscious curves had once
been -
shit!

Averting his gaze, he looked up,
watching as she came down the ladder.

Unfortunately, because of his
position close to the ladder, as she came down her back was pressed against
him, those lush curves brushing against his chest, abdomen and lower, pressing
back against his groin.

Making something stir that
startled him. 
Don’t worry, it’s perfectly natural.  She’s a woman, you’re a
man, you’re close together, your dick has no intelligence.
Carefully
schooling his features, he released her, stepping back as she turned around.

Folding her arms in front of her,
she raised her chin.  “What did I do wrong now?”

“You mean apart from climbing the
ladder with no one around?”

“What do you care?”

Anger, normally slow to surface, simmered
quickly.  “Or how about climbing on the very top with nothing to hang onto, not
even the wall?  How about we start with that?”

“How about we start with why
you’re here?”  She swept her hand around.  “Come to warn me off someone else?”

Man, she looked pretty.  Standing
there facing him, refusing to back down.  Not many people had ever done that,
most were intimidated by his sheer height, size and demeanour, finding his
calmness almost unnerving.  He used all three to full advantage when needed.

It wasn’t working with Barbie.

His gaze travelled over her,
really seeing her as more than just a presence from a past happening of which
he wasn’t particularly proud.  The thick blonde hair was up in a messy bun of
some kind, soft curls trailing across her cheeks.  Those pale blue eyes were
startling against thick, black eyelashes, which he knew were natural.  Nothing
fake about Barbie, at least not anymore.  Her lips were touched with the
softest pink of lipsticks, her apple cheeks still holding some colour.  The lacy
top she wore hugged full breasts, caressing downwards to lie across the
waistband of her skirt, a gauzy creation of pale blue and yellow that shifted
easily over the generous hips to dance in a little ruffle around her knees. 
Flat, yellow ballet slippers were on her feet.  The only thing adorning her
wrist was a dainty watch.  Pale pink nail polish.  Everything soft and pretty,
feminine.