“Hell.”
“Not even Dad has managed to calm her down.”
“We’ll go tonight,” Hone agreed.
Cassie didn’t understand why Hone and Manu seemed almost terrified of June. Manu’s mother. Hone’s aunt. It was weird. Totally weird. Yet, the truth was she’d be happy to leave Auckland. Ever since the accident, she’d been jumpy and kept looking over her shoulder. It was as if someone was spying on her. She thought back—no, she’d only experienced this creepy itchiness since the truck had run her off the road. The clown episode had compounded her nerves.
On cue, the ants-under-the-skin sensation scraped over her skin. A shiver worked through her, rippling along her arms and legs. Slowly, she surveyed the street behind them. Two children played with a large orange ball in the section opposite, their mother watching them as she hung out the washing. Farther down the street, a woman deadheaded her rose bushes.
Ordinary things.
Nothing to cause her anxiety.
She issued an irritated sigh, impatient with her over-active imagination. Too many late nights or something like that.
“Cassie?” Hone’s tone indicated this wasn’t the first time he’d called her name.
“Sorry. Zoned out for an instant there. What did you say?”
“Are you okay with leaving now? Did you want to ring Emma before we go?”
Her stomach let out a loud grumble of hunger. “I need food.”
Manu and Hone exchanged a look and burst into action. Cassie blinked as Hone hustled her indoors and Manu strode into the kitchen.
“I’ll organize food while you pack,” Manu said.
“Better ring a motel.” Hone pulled out his phone and tapped several buttons. “That looks good.”
Cassie sank onto a barstool at the kitchen counter and watched their frantic hurry. “You two are acting weird.”
“Ring Emma,” Hone ordered without taking his gaze off his screen.
Shrugging, she did as he said. “Hey, Emma.”
“How are you?”
“Fine. Is June really as fierce as Hone and Manu are making out? Evidently, she’s crabby with me because she’d decided Manu and I were a couple. Now she’s found out that Hone and I—well, I’m not sure what we are since I’ve only known him for a few days. Hang on for a sec.” She slid off the barstool. “I’m going into the spare bedroom so I can talk without ears flapping.”
“Are you sure?” Manu asked. “Things were just getting interesting.”
Cassie ignored them and hurried to the spare room. She shut the door and sank onto the end of the bed. “I don’t hurry into relationships, but I like Hone. When he kissed me…I felt beautiful and desirable.”
“Hone kissed you?”
“Yes. He made me feel feminine and my size doesn’t seem to worry him. But now he’s behaving strange. Is he a weirdo? You’d tell me, right?”
“There is nothing wrong with Hone, apart from the fact he goes through women like tissues,” Emma said dryly. “Kissing is bad.”
Cassie ignored the comment. “Why are they being so odd about June?”
“Because she has a fierce temper and she holds a grudge,” Emma said. “What did Manu suggest you do?”
“He and Hone have decided we’re leaving town for a few days.”
“Not a bad idea. You seem to be attracting trouble. Where are you going? Wait, don’t tell me. Then if June asks me, I don’t have to lie.”
“You’re frightened of her.”
