The Girl in the Hard Hat (24 page)

Yabber was non-committal. ‘Really? What was your mother’s name?’

‘Helen. Helen Padbury was her maiden name.’

Yabber frowned. ‘Doesn’t ring any bells.’

‘It’s just that,’ Wendy glanced at his wife, ‘she spoke about a Hector she used to know, er, quite a number of times.’

Yabber shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, when did we know each other?’

‘About,’ Wendy licked her lips, ‘twenty-nine years ago.’

His wife turned on Wendy, hands on hips. ‘Did she work in a pub in Edinburgh?’

‘Edinburgh?’ Wendy was momentarily thrown. ‘My mother lives in Perth, always has.’

Linda seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. ‘Then you definitely have the wrong man. Yabber’s only been in Australia for fifteen years. We got married in Scotland, had all five of our kids there. Then I decided I wanted to show my kids my homeland, so we moved here.’ She smiled fondly at the thought. ‘It was only supposed to be for a spell, but Yabber fell in love with the place – decided he didn’t want to go back.’

‘Hang on a minute there.’ Yabber sat up straight. ‘What’s going on? What do you mean, I’m the wrong man?’

Linda rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, Yabber. Can’t you see this girl thinks you’re her father?’

‘I . . .’ Wendy began, startled by the older woman’s perception.

But Yabber grabbed hold of his ample belly and roared. A deep throaty laugh that started at the pit of his stomach and worked its way up through his lungs.

‘I’m so sorry, love,’ Linda excused her husband. ‘He’s always been this tactless.’

Yabber stood up and came to Wendy, putting a hand on her shoulder. ‘I must tell you, though, I find your theory very flattering. Beautiful thing like you. Who wouldn’t want to say the lass is mine? I’ll be telling this one at dinner parties till I die.’ His belly shook again on a low rumble.

A party trick? A good laugh?

Wendy looked down as a wave of nausea threatened to overcome her. Her eyes focused on his feet which, she noticed for the first time, were encased in thongs. All ten toes were there. No sign of the injury her mother had spoken of . . . Tears bit painfully at her eyes. She did her best to blink them back. Disappointment wasn’t the only thing she felt – there was definitely a mixture of relief in there as well. All the same, she had no desire to break down in front of either of them.

‘I’m sorry to have interrupted your morning.’ She shuffled awkwardly on the spot. ‘Look, I’ll just get out of your hair.’

‘Oh, darling,’ Linda protested, ‘you look like you could use a hot drink. Shall I go get it?’

‘No, no.’ Wendy waved her hand in protest. ‘I’ll just get going.’

‘I’m really sorry, love. I didn’t mean to –’

She could hear Yabber’s voice behind her as she stumbled back down his garden path. But her only thought was to get out of there as quickly as possible.

She’d come here to discover the truth. And the truth was, she’d discovered nothing.

She got back out to the street, her whole body trembling in the aftermath. Fumbling with her keys she made it into her car and slammed the door shut. Biting down hard on her lower lip, she fiercely pushed the keys into the ignition.

The car choked briefly and then died.

No, not here.

It seemed too symbolic that she’d lost both the thread of her journey and the battery of her car in the same ghost town.

She got out, leaned against the car roof, closing her eyes and lifting her face to the sun. She breathed deeply until that panicky feeling in her chest dissipated and her heart rate slowed. Yes, she’d had a setback but it didn’t give her permission to fall apart on the side of the road. She took her mobile out of her pocket, pleased to see that her fingers were no longer shaking. She had Chub’s and Carl’s numbers in it. Both calls went to voicemail. She imagined they were both probably still sleeping in.

There was really only one other person around that she could ask for help. With a sigh, she headed back to Yabber’s B and B.

‘I’m sorry, lass, but my truck is in for servicing.’ Yabber spread his hands apologetically. ‘Is there anyone else I can call for you from the camp?’

‘Do you have Lena Todd’s number?’

‘Not Lena’s.’ His face brightened. ‘I probably still have Gavin’s number in my phone though.’

Wonderful.

Gavin would take full advantage of this situation.

‘Do you have anyone else’s?’ Her brow wrinkled.

He frowned. ‘A few people’s office numbers. But there will be no one in the office dongas today if you’ve all got the day off.’

Wendy nodded with resignation. ‘You’re right. Could I have his number? I’ll call him myself.’

He looked up Gavin’s number on his phone and called it out to her. She typed it into hers, thanked him and then headed back out to her car. She half prayed Gavin wouldn’t pick up, but on the fifth ring he did.

‘Hello.’

‘Gavin, it’s Wendy.’

‘Well, hello there, Sarge.’ The usual drawl, which had her glancing heavenwards. ‘Miss me already? You’ve only been gone a couple hours.’

She gritted her teeth. ‘I’ve sort of got a bit of a problem out here.’

To her surprise, his voice lost its teasing note. ‘Are you all right? You’re not hurt, are you?’

She almost said yes just so she could hear his reaction, but stopped herself. She was allowing his outrageous personality to bring out the worst in her.

‘No, I’m fine. It’s my car. It won’t start.’

‘Battery finally died, did it?’

‘Yeah. I was wondering if you could come and pick me up? I’ll fill your tank up with petrol or something for your trouble.’

‘For my trouble.’ His voice was a low, sexy murmur, making the phone tremble next to her ear at the sound of it.

‘Yeah, seems the least I could do.’

‘What is it with you and this whole nobody-does-anything-for-nothing mentality?’ he demanded crossly.

Because nobody does.
A kind of helplessness rippled through her, only compounded by the lack of success in her mission that day. Tears smarted in her eyes again and a lump grew in her throat.
Oh crap. What a time to get misty! Pull it together, girl.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she choked, desperately trying to push words out before the dams broke.

‘Look, Wendy,’ Gavin’s voice was gentle again. ‘I’m coming right now. You’re at Yabber’s B and B, right?’

‘Yes,’ she whispered but he had already rung off. She slowly lowered the phone.
Oh to hell with it.

She let herself cry. Sobs, unflattering gulps and tears that ran down her face.

But it helped. She felt lighter for it and was grateful, at least, that no one had caught her in this weak moment.

After about twenty minutes, Gavin drove up and parked beside her. His concerned expression and tall, manly figure alighting from the car put a longing in her heart that she couldn’t quench.

She walked around to meet him. The softness of his hair on his forehead made him seem so approachable she almost wilted where she stood.

‘How’re you doing?’ was his greeting.

‘Okay,’ she shrugged. ‘It’s a beautiful day and you were very quick.’

He was looking at her strangely, though, and it suddenly occurred to her that her eyes might still be red from crying.

Damn!

‘You sure, Sarge? You look a little –’

‘Oh that.’ Her voice squeaked as she waved a finger from her left eye to her right. ‘It’s the hayfever. It can hit me suddenly sometimes.’

Gavin’s mouth twisted; he was clearly dissatisfied with this explanation but willing to let it go for the moment. ‘I thought we might try jump-starting your car. I’ve got some leads in my ute.’

‘Okay.’

He cracked open both bonnets and grabbed the leads from his ute. She watched him silently and gratefully. With furrowed brow he connected his battery to hers. ‘You know, Sarge, you really should have changed this out months ago. Why didn’t you?’

‘I don’t know . . .’

‘But you’ve been having trouble starting your car for some time now.’

‘Yes, but it just never seemed urgent enough.’ She shrugged.

Everything else going on in her life seemed to come first. She was always on the brink of identifying her father or finding her feet at work or visiting Sharon in hospital or just too damn tired. The car was something that could wait till after. Or so she thought.

He turned his ignition and then tried starting her car. The engine revved slightly, giving her hope for all of two seconds before giving up the ghost again. After several tries, they both had to concede defeat. He undid the leads, winding them around his arm as he walked towards her.

‘Sorry, Wendy, I’ll have to go buy a battery and then come back and install it. I know a place in Dampier that’ll be open today.’

‘I couldn’t possibly ask you to do that.’

‘You didn’t.’

She wrung her hands. She didn’t like being beholden to people. It made her vulnerable, and she couldn’t have that. Especially not today when she felt lousy enough.

‘Wendy, what’s the matter?’

She looked up with a smile that she hoped wasn’t too fake. ‘There’s a service station just out of town. I’ll fill your tank.’

He came up to stand next to her, flinging the leads in the back of his ute beside them. ‘My tank is already full.’

‘Then I’ll buy you lunch. How about a sandwich?’

‘Just ate.’

‘Okay, what about a carton?’ she murmured desperately. ‘We could swing by a liquor store.’

‘Marvin just gave me a stack of beer.’ Half the mischievous twinkle in his eyes she hadn’t seen for a full hour was suddenly back.

She folded her arms and looked at the ground. ‘What do you want, Gavin?’

He was silent for a second and then, with a sigh, he put both palms on her cheeks and gently tilted her face up, so that she had no choice but to meet those bottomless dark eyes. For an awful, crazy moment, she thought he was going to kiss her again. Her heart leaped straight to her throat. Her eyes widened as her hands flew to cover the ones tenderly cupping her face.

‘No,’ he whispered, ‘that would be too easy.’

He released her and announced with all the flare of a circus ringmaster, ‘I want your opinion on some artwork.’

‘What?’ she faltered, rocking unsteadily on her feet. ‘You . . . w-what?’

‘Do you have an eye for colour?’

‘No.’

He dusted his hands. ‘Neither do I. That’s why I like my drawings in all the same shade.’

‘
What are you talking about?
’

He folded his arms. ‘Are you going to compensate me for my trouble or not? It’s on the way to Dampier, so we’re heading in that direction anyway.’

She studied his face but it was unreadable. ‘I . . . I
guess
.’

‘Well, come on then.’ He stepped back and opened the door to his ute. ‘I haven’t got all day.’

She rolled her eyes. He was obviously enjoying her confusion so she cleared her face of all expression. ‘Fine.’ She climbed into his ute and laid her hands on her lap. ‘I’ll have a look at this artwork.’

‘No worries.’ He slammed her door shut and then walked around the vehicle to get in himself.

Dampier was only an hour away by car, so she wasn’t too worried about not making it back to camp in time for dinner. It was a gorgeous day. The landscape flew past her window, the wheels of the ute eating up road, calming her somewhat.

He had placed his phone in a pocket built into the car dash. It buzzed briefly and she glanced at it, noticing he had a text message from someone called Janet.

He saw her looking at his phone, reached over and turned it off.

She averted her eyes back out the window, wondering how many more women Gavin had in his life that she didn’t know about. For goodness’ sake, she knew he was a flirt, but this was ridiculous.

Flowers for Kate.

Text messages from Janet.

Did he have a wife hidden somewhere too?

‘You’ve gone all disapproving again,’ a dry voice chuckled. ‘I wish I knew what was going on in that head of yours.’

She looked at him, studying the strong masculine profile. Perhaps he had love interests all over the state. Gavin was such a rascal and, according to Lena and Sharon, he’d hit on every single woman around here. Maybe this was just his thing. Maybe . . .

‘Will you stop looking at me like that?’

She jumped. ‘Like what?’

‘Like you want to gut me and feed me to the seagulls.’

‘Not a bad idea,’ she murmured.

‘Geez, Wendy,’ his fingers tightened on the steering wheel, ‘you’ve got a real chip on your shoulder.’

‘So do you.’

‘Good point.’ He paused. ‘So who’s Yabber to you?’

‘Nobody.’ It was the truth. He couldn’t fault her for lying.

‘You’re going to have to give me more than that.’

‘I thought we might be related,’ she sighed. ‘But turns out we’re not.’

‘I see.’

He saw
nothing
, but she wasn’t about to enlighten him. Instead, she shifted the conversation to a safer topic – his work history. He glanced at her briefly, with amusement, but obliged her with tales of jobs he’d done in Tom Price, Paraburdoo, Port Hedland and Marble Bar. Gavin had certainly fast-tracked and streamlined his career in the last five years, picking his jobs carefully and working his way up the ranks quickly. He’d be a Carl in a few years and probably even more unbearable by then too. She smiled at the thought.

‘Hey,’ she interrupted him, ‘the sign says Dampier is that way.’

‘The artwork is down here,’ he informed her.

She eyed him doubtfully. ‘It is?’

‘You’ll see.’

They turned up Burrup Road and seemed to be heading out on a peninsula. He stopped the ute by a beach and she looked out the windscreen in awe.

‘What is this place?’ She’d worked at Parker Point wharf two years ago and hadn’t even bothered to come down this way.

It was such a contrasting landscape. Deep blue sea and white sand worthy of any island paradise. But then rising up all around the shoreline were gently sloping hills covered in rocks of varying shades of red. From that deep iron ore tone to a subtle peach. Like God had taken a handful of boulders and sprinkled them across the land in little piles. Interspersed between these sharp edges was the occasional shrub that seemed to struggle to sprout beside the barren rocks.