Lean on Me (The Mackay Sisters) (12 page)

“Yes.”

He was silent for a minute before
he laid down again, fitting himself tight against her so that she felt very
hard, muscular swell of his body, his breath stirring her hair at her temple as
he pressed a soft kiss to her cheek before settling down once more, his chest
pressing comfortingly against her back with every breath he took.

It lulled her back to sleep.

When she awoke in the early morning,
all was quiet.  A light blanket had been draped across her, and she pushed it
back as she sat up slowly.  Matt was gone.

And so was Minx.

Heart heavy, she pushed the
tangled hair back from her face.  It was going to be hard to get up every day
without Minx’s ginger face looking up at her, her quiet purr filling the air.

Outside cars passed, the dog from
a few doors down barked, and life was moving on as it always did regardless. 
Comforting in one way, but it didn’t ease the ache that Minx’s passing had
left.

Getting out of bed, she padded
across to the bathroom, stripping off her clothes and stepping into the shower,
welcoming the water that beat down to wash the dried tears from her face.

As she lathered the soap over
herself, she wondered what time Matt had left.  She’d have to thank him
properly for helping with Minx and staying with her.

Apart from Ghost, she didn’t know
anyone who would have done the same thing.

That reminded her that Ali would
have to know of Minx’s passing, but she decided not to spoil her holiday and to
tell her when she returned.  There was certainly not going to be a good time to
tell her.  Knowing Ali, she’d be upset about Minx and worried about Lori being
alone, and she’d insist on returning.  Ghost would understand, he’d have no
objections and would probably suggest returning first, but it wouldn’t bring Minx
back.

Decision made, she got out of the
shower and dried, wrapping the towel around herself before making her way back
to the bedroom.

Only to find Matt walking out of
the kitchen into the hallway.

He looked directly at her, his
gaze sweeping down her body before slowly lifting to regard her steadily,
expressionlessly.  “Lori.”

Intensely aware of her state of
undress - God, she hardly looked like a shower nymph, not with her overblown
curves - Lori stammered, “Oh, I-I thought you had gone.”

“I’m just going over to feed
Ghost’s cats before I go to work.”  He cleared his throat.  “Are you all
right?”

“Yes.”  Gripping the towel tightly
to her, she nodded, her cheeks flaming.  “I’m going to - uh - get dressed.”

He nodded.  “I’ll go feed the cats
now.”

Talk about morning-after
awkwardness, only not the morning after of which she’d have dreamed.   She
practically fled back to her bedroom.

The sight of the vacant spot on
the bed where Minx used to sleep was sobering, jolting her out of her
embarrassment.  Sadness swept through her again as she dressed, pulling on
light summer pants and a top.  Time healed, the old cliché wasn’t wrong, she
knew from having lived through the deaths of her parents and grandmother, but
it didn’t make it easier at the present time.

Leaving the bedroom, she wandered
into the kitchen.  The first thing to catch her attention was Minx’s food bowls
and water bowl at the far wall.  The bowls were clean, she saw, as she bent
over to pick them up.  They’d been washed and put back down in their usual
spot.  It had to have been Matt, he was the only one who would have done it.  The
only one considerate enough to put the bowls back in their normal place.  He
didn’t try to sweep out of sight anything that would remind her of Minx,
instead he’d left it to her to deal with things in her own time.

He was truly a gem, but one that
wasn’t going to shine for her, he’d made that perfectly clear with his anger
yesterday, an anger that was unfounded.

Life right now sucked.

Biting back a tear, she picked up
the bowls and put them into the bottom of the pantry.  Pulling a Diet Coke from
the ‘fridge, she popped the tab and crossed to the back door, leaning against
it to gaze across the yard at the garden.  There was no Minx sunning herself,
nothing but a little mound of dirt to mark her resting place.

Absently she noticed the overgrown
garden.  Maybe today she’d go out there, talk to Minx while she trimmed
everything.

Or maybe she’d just sit inside and
cry.

Both were options.  Crying inside
or outside, what was the difference?

The front door shutting had her straightening
and giving a final blow of her nose into a tissue before turning to face Matt
as he came through into the kitchen.

“Thank you,” she said.  “For
everything.”

“No worries.”  He studied her
face.  “Are you all right?”

“Sure.”

“Is there anything I can do for
you?”

She smiled a little.  “I think
you’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty already.”

His face was serious.  “There is
no call of duty between friends.”

“So we’re still friends?”

His gaze slowly trailed across her
face, lingering on her lips before rising once more to meet her gaze. 
“Absolutely.”

His words were heart-warming, so
she couldn’t say why they also produced a sadness inside of her.  “I’m glad.” 
And
sad
.

Striding across the kitchen, he
caught her in a sudden hug, strong, almost fierce.

Automatically her arms went around
him, hugging him back, revelling in the heat of him against her, his strength,
his protective embrace.  But it was over too soon.

“I’m always here for you, Lori.” 
Releasing her, he pressed a quick, light kiss to her forehead before stepping
back to smile down at her.  “I need to go, but you know where I am if you need
me.”

Unable to speak past the lump in
her throat at the sense of loss as he moved away, she nodded.

Turning, he walked through the
hall and out the front door.

~*~

Lori had just sat down to pick
half-heartedly at her lunch when the phone rang.  It was the vet receptionist
to check if Lori had forgotten the appointment she’d made for Minx’s check-up. 
That was enough to reduce her to tears as she chocked and sobbed her way
through an explanation.  The receptionist was sympathetic and assured Lori
she’d pass the message on to the vet.

There went lunch.  Lori tossed it
straight into the bin.

The phone rang again, this time it
was her boss.

“Heard about your cat,” he said
gruffly.  “Sorry.”

“Thanks, Shaun.”

“That cat meant a lot to you.”

“Yes.”  Lori couldn’t keep the
wobble from her voice. 
Shit
.

“Take a couple of days off.  I’ll
see you Monday.”  He rung off.

Slowly she hung the phone back
up.  Her boss might be gruff, but he genuinely cared for his employees,
especially as he’d known most of them all of their lives.  For him to call
meant he was concerned about her, and that made her smile.

Looking around, however, she felt
the emptiness in her home.  To many people a pet was just a pet, to her and
many others, a pet was part of the family.  Minx was part of her life and the
loss was still raw.

She could stay inside and cry some
more, or go for a walk and try to clear her head a little.  A walk was the
better option, so she donned a light straw hat, locked the front door and set
off down the footpath.

The day was warm, the sun
shining.  Several cars passed her, Mrs Swanson smiling widely and hooting her
horn.  The trees along the footpath gave welcome spots of warmth and she took
in a deep breath of air, the freshness of it helping to calm her.

A cop car passed her and slowed
down, indicating and pulling over.  Adam got out, leaning one arm on the roof
as he watched her approach.

“Hi, Lori,” he said quietly.

“Adam.”  She nodded.  “Not busy?”

“Quiet day so far.”  He studied
her, his eyes softening a little.  “Heard about Minx.”

That was almost enough to bring a
lump to her throat, but she managed to nod.

“She was old.”  He glanced away,
glanced back.  “Guess that doesn’t make things easier.”

“No.”  She swallowed hard.  “It
should.”

“Should,” he agreed, “but it’s too
soon, huh?”

Damn her trembling bottom lip. 
“Yep.

“Fair enough.”  His gaze was
suddenly keen.  “Will you cry if I hug you?”

“Yes.”  She managed a wobbly
laugh.

“Then I won’t.”  Adam rubbed his
jaw.  “Can I do anything?”

“No, it’s all good.”  Not at ease
with showing so much emotion, especially in public, Lori thrust her hands into
her pants pockets.  “I’d better get moving.  Thanks for the kind words, Adam, I
appreciate it.”

“No worries.  Do you need a lift
home?”

“I’m just going for a walk, you
know, clear my head.”

“Good idea.”  He nodded.  “I’ll
catch you later, okay?”

“Sure.”  She waved him off,
watching as the cop car disappeared from sight.  The little knot of warmth
inside her that had appeared when Shaun had rung unfurled a little more.

Friends were good to have, it
didn’t matter in what shape or form.

Resuming her walk, she was
actually able to watch with a small smile as a bird hopped along a nearby
branch while scolding her.  Nearing the park, she moved across the lawn only to
slow down when she saw a woman throwing a ball for a black Labrador.  The dog
saw her and came in her direction.

Warily she watched it but as it
got closer she saw the friendly eyes, the tongue lolling out as it gambolled up
to her.  Surprisingly, the dog didn’t jump on her but slowed as it approached,
dipping its head down.

Extending her hand, Lori smiled as
the Labrador sniffed her fingers and gave her a lick.  Petting it, she watched
as the woman approached.  Her mild interest was piqued when she recognised the
woman as the one who’d come out of Tommy’s café wiping her eyes.

The woman’s gaze turned frosty and
she came to a stop not far from Lori.  “Sharnie, here.”

Immediately the dog left Lori to
run to her mistress, obediently sitting by her side.

“She’s lovely,” Lori offered.

“You’re that girl who works at the
service station,” the woman returned, distinctly unfriendly.  “Lori Mackay.”

“Um, yes, I am.  We met a couple of
times when you fuelled up.”  Puzzled by her attitude, Lori studied her.

“You’re also a friend of Tommy’s,”
the woman said.

“Well, I guess so.  Yes.”

“Good friends.”

This was weird.  “I wouldn’t say
that.”

“But you’ve known him for a while.”

“All my life, true, but-”

“You’ve got some nerve!”  The
sudden fury in the woman’s voice was unexpected.  “You say you’re not a good
friend but you’re all over him like a fly on honey!”

“What?” Surprised by the
unexpected attack, Lori blinked.

“Seeing him behind closed doors,
being all coy but in full view of everyone!  You-you’re…” She stumbled to a
halt, her eyes glittering with fury and tears.  “You have no shame!”

It hit Lori hard.  This woman had
to be Harriet Keller.  “Wait!”

The woman didn’t, whirling around
and snapping her fingers at her dog.

“Harriet!”  Lori started after
her.

Harriet stormed away, the dog
following at her heels.

Stunned, Lori watched
open-mouthed.  Not liking confrontations at the best of times, her heart
pounded, the blood rushing to her face as she wondered who else had heard the
tirade.

Glancing around, she could only
see cars passing on the road nearby.  No one seemed to notice, thank goodness,
though who knew who had seen them. 

For that matter, why did Harriet
hate her so much?

If she were a braver person, Lori
knew she’d march over and confront her, but coward that she was, she slunk away
instead to mull over the puzzle.  One which, again, involved Tommy.

Damn him for putting her into such
an awful position!  If she had the nerve she’d go and kick his arse.  To make
matters worse, when she went home she couldn’t even talk to her beloved Minx.

The sunshine didn’t matter so much
now, the slight pleasure she’d gotten in the day spoiled.

Trying to tell herself that it was
Harriet’s problem, not her own, she started back for home, her haven.

Detouring through the street, she
called in to the supermarket to buy a newspaper, only to be caught at the
checkout by Mrs Hubble.

“Hello, dear.”  Mrs Hubble’s
bright eyes brightened even more in delight.

“Mrs Hubble.”  Lori shuffled in
line at the checkout.

“How’s your ankle?”

“Oh, much better.”  Ached a
little, actually, because she’d forgotten about it and had stupidly walked
further than she should have, so much for resting it.

“You’re limping, dear.”

She gave a small laugh.  “Just
walked a little too far.  I’ll be fine.”

“You’ll have to get Matt to have a
look at it.”  Mrs Hubble pressed closer as she followed the shuffling line
forward.

“It’s fine.”  Just the thought of
Matt touching her ankle had her cheeks flushing.

Mrs Hubble simpered. “He does make
a habit of jumping your fence, doesn’t he, dear?”

Annoyed but refusing to show it,
Lori just smiled.

“Yes, he does it quite regularly
now,” Mrs Hubble mused.

The man in front of her left and
Lori stepped up to the checkout.  Hallie looked from her to Mrs Hubble, one
pierced eyebrow going up, but she didn’t say anything, just rang up the
newspaper and held her hand out for the money.

Lori paid her, glad to nearly be
out of the supermarket, only to be waylaid by Old Man Parker.  “You all right,
young Lori?” he asked.

Thinking he’d somehow heard about
Minx, Lori smiled.  “I’ll be fine, Mr Parker, thank you.”

“It’s a bit of a shake-up,” he
said sympathetically.