Outback Blaze (34 page)

‘The things we do for love, hey?' Grant grinned at Ryan and then looked back to Ruby. ‘Can I buy you a drink?'

‘No, thanks. We're having a girl's night over there.' She glanced towards Simone and Frankie. ‘I'd better get back to them.'

‘We'll come say hello in a minute,' Ryan told her.

Only when she arrived at the table did Ruby realise she'd forgotten to buy any drinks. Frankie and Simone didn't seem to notice.

‘Is that what I think it is?' Frankie all but pounced the moment Ruby arrived back at the table.

‘I think so,' Ruby said hesitantly, worried about Simone's reaction.

‘Yes. It is.' Simone's confirmation surprised her. Both she and Frankie looked to her for answers.

She shrugged. ‘I didn't tell either of you the whole story behind Ryan's and my dinner. It wasn't my place. When he turned down my advances, something he said twigged. I started trying to think of the serious relationships he'd had and I couldn't recall any. There's been plenty of flirting but nothing long term. I confronted him and he admitted he's gay.'

‘Wow.' Frankie let out a puff of air as her gaze travelled back to the bar. ‘How did we ever not guess?'

Simone shrugged. ‘He told me he's been seeing this one guy for three years but has been too scared to come out for fear of what people up here will say. I tried to encourage him, to tell him people would get used to it and that he needed to be true to himself, but I didn't expect him to come around so soon.'

‘You're not upset?' Ruby asked.

‘Sure I am. It's one hell of a waste of an almost perfect specimen of man, but it's consolation that it's not me he didn't want but my gender. And I like him so I want him to be happy.'

‘It's two wastes if you ask me.' Frankie went to take a sip of her drink and then noticed it was empty. ‘Ryan's boyfriend is even better looking than he is and that's saying something. Omigosh, they're coming over.'

The girls cut their gossip session short and welcomed Ryan and Grant to their table. Ruby couldn't help but notice the long stares and whispers behind hands that she'd been the receiver of lately, but to Ryan's credit he didn't bat an eyelid. With Grant at his side, chatting and laughing together, he seemed like a different person. He was still good-looking and he'd always been easygoing and friendly, but he seemed more confident all of a sudden. Ryan and Grant appeared to be two halves of a whole and Ruby's romantic heart felt immensely full.

She couldn't wait to tell Drew about her evening.

Thankful for the quiet night, Drew knocked off work, briefly went to his official place of residence to collect a change of clothes and then headed to Ruby's. Even after telling her she didn't have to cook for him, especially not when he worked lates, he was used to arriving to some delicious dinner, but tonight she surprised him. He found her in the kitchen flipping pancakes.

‘Are they what I think they are?' he asked, slipping his arms around her waist and kissing the nape of her neck.

Laughing, she replied, ‘Burnt is what they'll be if you keep doing that.'

Reluctantly he let go, fetched himself a glass of juice and sat down at the table laid out with maple syrup, cream and a number of other toppings. His stomach rumbled in anticipation. ‘Good night?' he asked.

‘Yes, actually. Surprising.'

‘What happened?' He knew she'd been out with the girls and had been happy about the fact. Although some of the people in this town couldn't see past the end of their nose, there was goodness in the town too. Simone and Frankie were proving to be huge supports for Ruby.

‘Ryan Forrester came out of the closet.' She looked at him as if expecting equal shock and horror.

‘And? That was news?'

‘Yes!' She slid the last pancake onto a plate to join the pile already made and dumped the pan into the sink, before crossing to the table and sitting next to him. ‘You don't sound surprised.'

He shrugged, picked up a pancake and put it on the plate in front of her. ‘I assumed he was gay and that it was common knowledge. No one ever said anything but my brother is gay and they remind me of each other in lots of ways.'

She was clearly gobsmacked. ‘And you never mentioned it?'

‘Why would I? I thought it was common knowledge.'

‘I just…' Her words drifted. ‘I'm beginning to wonder if anyone ever really knows the people around them. His sister had no clue until this week either.'

As fascinating as Ryan Forrester's sexual preferences were, the pancakes held far more appeal. Drew poured syrup liberally over his first one. ‘So, how'd it come out then?' he asked, before lifting the forkful to his mouth.

While he ate, Ruby explained how Simone had been hoping something might happen between her and Ryan and how he'd eventually admitted why it couldn't.

‘So he was scared of the town's reaction?' Drew asked. When his brother came out of the closest, no one cared.

‘Yep.' She nodded, sadness tilting her lips. ‘You've seen how cruel this town can be and traditionally farming is a very macho occupation. Simone admitted tonight she couldn't think of one other farmer she knew like Ryan. He's such a part of the community, as chief of the volunteer fire brigade and I guess he didn't want himself or his family ostracised. I'm glad he's finally found the courage to be true to himself.'

‘Yes, me too.' Drew nodded. ‘And like you, he's got good friends around here who'll help him deal with any backlash.'

She smiled and began to eat.

‘Is there anything you can't cook?' he asked, when he'd scoffed his fifth pancake and finally thought he was defeated.

‘I'm not great with pie,' she admitted.

‘I'm not sure I believe you.' He leaned towards her and brushed some flour off her cheek. ‘The pancakes were unreal. Let me wash up.'

A pained expression crossed her face. ‘As much as I love seeing you brandishing a dishcloth, I'd prefer you use your talents elsewhere. You've turned me into quite the vixen.' Ruby's simple confession made Drew immediately hard and although he didn't mind washing up, he liked her suggestion much better. Taking her hand, he shoved his chair back and helped her up, their lips meeting even before she'd fully come to stand.

Somehow they made it to her bedroom before the desire fully took control, however, they left a trail of clothes in their wake – something they wouldn't have been able to do if her parents had been there. Accustomed to the privacy, neither of them bothered to shut the door and by the time they tumbled onto the bed, the only clothing left on either of them was their socks. Although he didn't particularly find footwear attractive, neither could he be bothered with the time it would take to remove them.

Sliding his hand up her thigh, he said, ‘You have the best legs in the world.'

In reply, she squeezed his taut quad muscles. ‘Yours aren't that bad either.'

‘It's all the training I've been doing for your Undies Run.'

She laughed. ‘Suddenly I'm seeing why it's one of the favourite events on the Bunyip Bay calendar.'

Then as he eased his hand higher up her leg, teasing them both when he reached his destination, all talking ceased. Their lovemaking hadn't lost its gloss in the week they'd been at it, if anything it had become even better. He knew her now, knew what she liked and she knew him. They had a rhythm that left him spent, satisfied and at the same time energised. But the craziest thing of all was that went they were done, he wasn't so knackered that he immediately felt the need to roll over and sleep. No, with Ruby, he looked forward to their post-coital conversations.

After dealing with the condom, he climbed back into bed and pulled her to him. ‘So, aside from the Ryan Forrester scandal, how was the rest of your day?'

‘Not bad.' She wriggled a bit, coming to rest with her body pressed against his and her head on his shoulder. ‘At the moment I'm keeping busy with the registrations for the Undies Run and other bits and bobs related to it, but it looks like I've lost all but two horse-riding clients and with no work at The Ag Store either I'm going to need to look at getting another job.'

‘What will you do?'

She sighed. ‘In light of current events I doubt anyone will be rushing to hire me. I might ask Liam about bar work, he's not the type to listen to gossip and most of his patrons don't care who serves them their drinks as long as it happens quickly. But tonight Ryan also offered me a bit of work at his place.'

‘Doing what?'

‘Cleaning mostly, but a bit of cooking also. He and his dad have been struggling a bit since Faith left.'

‘It's good of Ryan to offer but I'm sure you can find something better than that. What about looking for work in Geraldton?'

She trailed her hand down his body and then found his hand. ‘It's nice of you to suggest that but I'm not afraid of hard work. There's no shame in cleaning or cooking as far as I'm concerned. I'm good at it and it more than pays the bills. People pay surprisingly well for jobs they don't want to do themselves.'

‘Ain't that the truth. Do you really need the money?' He didn't like to think of her skint, especially when she kept insisting on feeding him.

She shook her head. ‘Not at the moment. I have a bit saved but I'm not sure what my rights are with staying here if Mum and Dad are found guilty. They own the house but if they don't make contact…' Her voice filled with emotion and he rushed to make her feel better.

‘It's still early days,' he said, thinking anything but. ‘I'm sure they'll get in contact with you as soon as they feel they can. In the meantime, I'm making enquiries.'

‘Thanks.' She pressed her lips briefly against his. ‘Now we really should get some sleep.'

Despite the bite of the winter wind, the sun shone high in a magnificent blue sky and Drew couldn't help smiling as he dismounted his motorbike in the station car park on Saturday morning. He leapt over the small stone wall bordering the building, not bothering to go all the way around and take the cobblestone path. He hadn't bothered to check his iPad for the news this morning and maybe not having to deal with the disappointment of there being no obvious progress in his case had helped put him in a good mood. Or maybe it was the sunny smile he'd woken up to every morning for the past week.

‘There's been a break-in overnight at The Palace,' Mike told him by way of a greeting when he stepped inside the station. ‘I just got off the phone to Liam and said we'd go over to take a look, get a statement.'

Drew nodded. He'd gotten to know Liam a bit in the last few months and would want to catch the tool who'd broken and entered in the town's social hub. ‘Did they take anything much?'

‘Not a lot apparently. He's a little perplexed why he didn't hear the window smash but apparently he hasn't been sleeping well lately. His dog had puppies a month or so back and they've been keeping him awake. But he reckons when they let him sleep, he's out like a light.'

Having just taken off his jacket, Drew shrugged himself back into it. ‘I'll drive.'

It took less than thirty seconds to get to the pub. They found Liam waiting out the front with a tired-looking dog sitting at his heels and five puppies bouncing around him.

‘Thanks for coming,' Liam said, stepping sideways and gesturing to the door behind him with its smashed windowpane. ‘I've called the glass guys from Geraldton. They're on their way.'

Trying to ignore the cute bundles of fur playfully nipping at his ankles, Drew assessed the damage. ‘This happened before?'

‘When I first arrived about six years ago, I had about three break-ins in a matter of weeks but nothing since.' He scooped up the puppy that had been harassing Drew, but another quickly replaced his sibling. ‘I'm no detective but I reckon these guys were on foot, probably already drunk. They didn't take much, bar a few bottles of vodka and some loose change I had in a bag by the till. The rest of the money is upstairs in the safe.'

‘Opportunistic crime,' Mike said, reading Drew's thoughts.

‘Yep. They were probably walking by and felt like a drink. All right, let's see if we can lift any prints and can you write us up a list of exactly what was taken?'

‘Sure.' Liam made to go inside and Mike and Drew followed.

While they looked around, the mother dog and her puppies settled in a basket behind the bar. Drew tried to ignore them but he'd always had a soft spot for dogs and when he'd finished, he couldn't resist a quick visit.

‘How come I haven't noticed them before?' he asked, kneeling down to pat the pups.

Liam shrugged. ‘Dunno, they've been behind the bar most nights. Sheila,' he gestured to the mum, ‘doesn't like being upstairs alone, she's always scared she'll miss out on something. Usually she just sits quietly on the floor though. And the pups have been sleeping through the pub noise until recently. Gotta find them homes, can't have them running amok every night. Don't suppose either of you want one?'

‘I'm allergic,' Mike said, which accounted for why he hadn't fallen under their spell.

‘What breed are they?' Drew asked.

‘Mostly Blue Heeler but I think there's a little Kelpie in there somewhere. They're energetic little things. Would make good running partners.'

Drew laughed. Sometimes it seemed like everyone in town was training for the Undies Run and he was no exception. One of the pups leapt up and licked his face.

Liam grinned. ‘I think that one likes you. I'll do you a good deal. He's almost ready to leave his mum.'

The puppy looked up at him, eyes wide, bouncing on its little feet as if begging Drew to take him home. Ruby would adore the thing, would probably find some recipe for gourmet dog biscuits and totally spoil it. For about five seconds he considered it and then reality slammed into him like a plank to the side of the head.