Outback Blaze (8 page)

Frankie gave him an odd look but went to box it up.

‘And can you make that two coffees?' he asked as she put the cake in front of him and turned towards the coffee machine.

‘Whatever you say, Constable, whatever you say.'

Glad she didn't start asking questions, he leaned against the wall as the coffee machine did its thing loudly. Frankie put the two polystyrene cups in a cardboard holder and said, ‘Here you are. Enjoy it all.'

‘Thanks.' After paying he took his purchases outside. Only as he stood by his motorbike did he realise he had no way of transporting what he'd bought. He downed his own coffee, despite it being too hot, and then set off on foot towards the Joneses' property on the edge of town. No one deserved a birthday like the one Ruby had just had. And now he had the cake, he had to find the birthday girl. The walk through town would probably do him good; maybe help to ease some of the tension that had built up inside him overnight.

En route he passed by Simone's place. He could barely believe it was only last night he'd sat on her couch and watched some silly reality TV show with Grace. Glancing up at the transportable house he saw Grace out on the front step, her head resting on her knees as if she had the woes of the world on her shoulders. His heart went out to her.

‘Hey, what's up?' he said, unable to keep on walking.

Grace lifted her head. ‘Hi. Mum's mega pissed at Harriet so I'm keeping out of her way.'

‘Harriet's home?' he asked, nodding towards the front door.

‘Yep.'

‘Did she say where she was?'

Grace tugged at a weed growing through the steps and twisted it around her fingers. ‘At a friend's place. But I don't think Mum will let her leave the house ever again.'

The screen door opened and Simone stepped out onto the porch. ‘Oh, hi, I thought Grace was talking to herself.'

‘Mum!' Clearly annoyed, Grace stood up and stormed into the house, slamming the door behind her.

‘Great, now I've got two daughters offside.' Simone crossed to the edge of the porch and leaned against the railing, looking down at him. ‘Any news on the fire?'

He shook his head. ‘What time did Harriet come home?'

Simone looked sheepish. ‘I'm not exactly sure. She was in bed when Grace and I got home this morning after helping Frankie clean up at the café.'

‘And what time did she say she returned?' he asked.

‘About eleven o'clock, apparently. I asked her why she didn't think to call me and I made her promise not to go out again without my permission.'

‘Did she tell you where she was?'

‘At a friend's house.'

‘And can that friend's parents verify this?'

Simone sighed. ‘Not exactly. Apparently Alyssa, the friend, let her in through her bedroom window. Alyssa's parents were at the fire.'

‘You really need to keep better track of her, Simone. She might seem grown up but she's still a kid and I think last night has shown she's not old enough or responsible enough to be left home alone.'

‘Thanks for your advice,' Simone smiled but he knew a fake smile when he saw one and the ice in her voice told him she didn't appreciate the reprimand. Still, he wasn't in this town to make friends and it would be remiss of him not to say anything.

‘I'll see you later,' he said and went on his way.

Ruby's house was one of the last before the town site gave way to farms. The Joneses' property sat on about two acres and he'd seen a couple of horses roaming the front paddock the few times he'd driven by. Ruby gave horse-riding lessons to a couple of the local kids so he guessed they were hers. He strode up the long gravel driveway and the old colonial style house with its immaculate garden came into view – one look at the well-kept property told him the Joneses' business was doing all right. Just off to his right he spied the horses in a paddock. Ruby stood between them as she brushed the larger of the two. She appeared to be talking to them and he smiled as he watched from a distance while she stroked the length of one horse's mane. His gut tightened as he imagined just what it would feel like to have Ruby's hands sliding all over his body.

It had been a long while since any woman had touched him and until recently this hadn't bothered him. In fact, he'd wondered if Belinda's betrayal had ruined him in more ways than one, but the way his body was starting to react around Ruby indicated otherwise. If he was a smart man he'd turn around now and walk away before she noticed him, but he'd been awake over twenty-four hours and he wasn't in top form.

More to the point, he couldn't eat a whole birthday cake on his own.

Walking quietly so as not to startle the horses, Drew balanced the cake and coffee on a fence post, then climbed over the fence and crossed the grass towards Ruby. He could tell the horses were from good stock. They were beauties, not the type of animals usually used for small town horse-riding lessons. Then again, he couldn't imagine Ruby with anything less. She had a thoroughbred air to her as well.

Coffee in one hand and cake box in the other, he cleared his throat as he approached. ‘Afternoon, Ruby.'

She spun on her heels, lifting the brush in her hand like it was a weapon and she was ready to strike. Her face drained of all colour.

‘Oh. It's. You.' She panted the words as she pressed the hand holding the brush against her chest.

He frowned. ‘Sorry I frightened you.'

She licked her lips and put one hand against the taller, dark horse's mane. ‘It's fine. I was in a world of my own. I didn't hear you approach.'

‘I'll remember to be noisier next time.'

She laughed and a tinge of red returned to her cheeks. ‘Have you news of the fire?'

He shook his head. ‘The investigators are there now. I thought I'd come see how you and your folks are.' That was a lie – he hadn't spared a thought for her parents when he'd decided to come. ‘And I brought you this.' Stepping closer, he lifted the lid on the cake box, careful to keep the coffee cup upright as he did so. ‘Happy birthday, Ruby.'

‘Oh.' She peered down at the cake and then squeezed her lips together. For a second he wondered if she were allergic to sugar or something.

‘If you don't eat cake, maybe your parents will enjoy it?'

‘No, I love cake,' she said on a sniff. She squeezed her lips even tighter and then a tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. She'd been fighting tears.

Oh shit
. He didn't do tears. And birthday cake was supposed to make people smile, not cry.

‘I'm sorry,' she rushed, no doubt registering the horrific expression on his face. She swiped at the errant tear away with the back of her hand. ‘I don't usually cry when people bring me things, but it's been a long, terrible night and quite possibly the worst birthday ever. I didn't finish the cupcake last night and I think Frankie was the only person who remembered my birthday.'

He raised one eyebrow. ‘What about your parents?' His might not have acknowledged his birthday but that was hard to do when you weren't even on speaking terms. In contrast the Joneses appeared pretty tight.

She was quiet for a moment, then sighed and shook her head. Her long brown ponytail swished. ‘No, strangely. Maybe they had some surprise planned for when I came home from the photoshoot.'

But Ruby didn't sound convinced and a small alarm bell sounded in Drew's head. The Joneses might look like their business was going okay, but there were all sorts of other things that could lead to financial pressure and insurance fraud happened to be one of the main motivations behind arson. He swallowed the impulse to ask her if her folks usually made a big deal of birthdays. It was glaringly obvious she was already emotional and he didn't want to be the cause of any more tears.

‘Your horses are beautiful,' he said, nodding towards them in an attempt to redirect the conversation to safer ground.

A massive smile filled her face, her cheeks dimpling beneath sparkling chocolate-coloured eyes. He'd never known brown could shimmer like that. ‘Thank you. They are my life.' She absentmindedly patted the caramel-coloured one and the horse neighed in approval. ‘Being around them makes everything seem that much better. Do you like horses?'

‘Oh yeah.' He stepped back and put the cake box and coffee on the ground. ‘Can I?' he asked, lifting up his hand and gesturing towards the animals.

‘Go ahead.' Ruby moved sideways a little. ‘This is Riley.' She nodded to the big brown horse. ‘He's a big softie, but if you stroke him first you'll put Miss Roxie in a very bad mood.'

‘I wouldn't want that.' He laughed as he lifted his hand to let the mare smell him. He moved his palm up and over her nose, stroking ever so gently. She made the approval noise again and he couldn't help grinning. The tightness in his body began to ease. ‘I see what you mean,' he said, looking at Ruby.

‘You're a natural.'

‘My grandparents were horse people,' he told her, moving his hand down Roxie's neck. She leaned towards him and almost purred.

‘Really?'

He nodded. ‘They played polo cross and had a property with horses. I used to go there for holidays when I was a kid and loved riding.'

It was her turn to laugh and she did so beautifully, her head falling back slightly and her shoulders jiggling. ‘Do you go there much now?'

‘No. Gran died a few years ago and Granddad not long after.'

‘I'm sorry.' She looked genuinely crestfallen to hear this news and it felt odd to be at the receiving end of empathy. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had acted as if they gave a damn about his feelings. ‘I suppose I'd better be going. Do you want me to take the cake up to the house before I leave?'

‘Can't you stay and share a slice with me?' She tilted her head to one side. ‘It was your birthday too.'

‘I'd like that.' He gave the other horse a quick pat before stepping back and picking up his things.

As he and Ruby walked across the paddock in the direction of the house he held out the coffee. ‘I bought this for you but it's probably cold by now.'

She took it anyway, peeled off the lid and took a sip. ‘Thanks. Usually I wouldn't drink it unless it was piping hot, but I need all the caffeine I can get today.'

‘Everyone seems to be in the same boat.'

Although he'd climbed the fence to get in, Ruby took them to a gate to get out. Her four-wheel drive – dusty from last night's smoke – was parked just in front of the house, but he couldn't see The Ag Store van.

‘Are your parents still at the shop?' he asked as Ruby stopped on the veranda and pulled off her boots. He followed suit.

‘Dad is,' she said, opening the front door and gesturing for him to go in ahead, ‘but hopefully Mum's asleep. Last night really took its toll.'

‘That's not surprising,' he whispered, so as not to wake Mrs Jones. ‘But it's good if she can sleep. In my experience, in most situations like this, people are totally exhausted but can't switch off their minds.'

‘Hmm.' She led him through the house into a massive open-plan kitchen. ‘Make yourself at home, I'm just going to check on Mum.'

As she headed down a corridor to the other end of the large house he took the chance to snoop. Looking at everything with cop eyes was a hard habit to kick. He guessed you'd call the décor country-chic – a large white wooden table with matching chairs took pride of place in the middle of the room, pots and pans hung from the ceiling in one corner and the curtains at the window were yellow check. The kind of place his mum would have loved. He put the cake on the table and happened to notice the business card of a real estate agent. Were the Joneses planning to sell up?

Hearing Ruby's footsteps returning he memorised the name on the card, shoved his hands in his pockets and pretended he'd been looking out the window.

‘Have a seat.' She gestured to the table as she came into the kitchen.

‘How's your mum?'

‘Resting, thank God. She's been really tired lately.' Ruby picked up the cake box and took it to the bench.

‘Have you any brothers or sisters who can come up and help you support your parents?' he asked as he pulled back a chair and sat.

‘Nope. None at all. I'm an only child.'

‘I see.' Something he couldn't relate to at all. Having three older brothers and a younger sister had had its benefits growing up. If he'd done something wrong he could often deflect the attention to one of his brothers. He was the golden youngest son…once upon a time.

‘I bet you come from a big family,' she said, while cutting and plating up the cake.

Her statement surprised him. ‘How do you figure that?'

She shrugged. ‘Call it a hunch. Am I right?'

‘Does five kids count as big?'

Her eyes widened. ‘It sounds fabulous. I always hated being an only child. It was so lonely.'

Not knowing what to say to that, he was glad when she asked, ‘Can I make you another coffee?'

He nodded. ‘Yes, please.'

She flicked on an electric kettle, turned and then reached up to get down two mugs out of overhead cupboards. He contemplated offering assistance, but the view was better this way. Her soft woollen jumper rode up slightly, giving him a beautiful glimpse of the bare skin of her back. He followed the length of her near-black ponytail, which stopped just above the cutest butt he'd ever seen.

The whole Ruby package was sweeter than any woman he'd known in a long while, but he'd do good to swallow his unwholesome thoughts and remember his place. He was a policeman in Bunyip Bay – a figure of responsibility who shouldn't be having such carnal thoughts about the daughter of a victim of crime. That's if Mr Jones
was
the victim.

The knowledge that maybe he wasn't cemented the fact that it wasn't a good idea to think of Ruby as anything more than another member of this town. The last thing he needed to do was to get involved with the daughter of criminals; then again there was no harm in looking.