It was like all the good feelings I was experiencing were a balloon and Troy had to come along with a huge needle, ready to pop them. My hand went to my hip as I looked him up and down, my eyes narrowing as I took in my boss’ thunderous frown.
“To the pub,” I said finally. “I like feeding cattle, looking after native animals, as much as the next girl, but sometimes I need to put a pretty dress on and go out too.”
“Something you might want to start doing, Charlie.” Billy winked at his sister, earning himself a punch in the arm. “So you going solo, Macca, or did someone ask you out?”
Why did my lips press together? For some reason I didn’t want to answer, sensing this would go badly.
“A guy called Beau came past today–” I started to say.
“He what!”
If Troy looked pissed before, now his expression was volcanic. He, Billy, even Bronson started talking, but Charlie silenced the lot of them.
“Go on, Mackenzie,” she said, looking terribly pale right now.
“He invited me out for something called a counter meal?” I replied.
“No. No.” Troy stormed over, placing himself bodily between me and the doorway. “You are not going anywhere with that dickhead.”
“Excuse me?” I replied, my head held high. “Is there a clause in my employment contract that says I need to report my every move to you? Because I don’t remember seeing it.”
“Beau–”
“Isn’t a good guy,” Charlie finished for him.
“That’s a bloody understatement,” Bronson muttered.
“We’re just looking out for you,” she said in her best be reasonable tone.
“You don’t need to worry about me,” I said, proud my voice only wavered a little. “I know something about bad guys.” With a hard swallow, I forced myself to continue. “Thanks for your concern, but I’ve got this. I’ve hung out in dive bars in LA, been to street parties in some rough areas, and always walked away in one piece. Spending a night listening to Beau talk about himself, then ask me what I think of him.” My lips pressed together in a bitter smile. “Is no big deal.”
I looked up and nodded at each one of them.
“I came to Australia for a new start. Right now, that means putting on a cute dress and having a meal with a stranger.” With a blink, I saw the wisdom of my mother’s advice. Sitting on the couch for six months, shutting out the world hadn’t helped me any, so now I needed to go out there and experience things. “It’s not that deep.” With a glance at Troy, I met his scowl head on. “I won’t be out late and will be ready to go and feed the cattle at 5AM tomorrow morning, so if you’ll excuse me…”
“If you want to go out to dinner, one of us will take you,” Troy said, not moving out of my way. He glanced over at his brothers. “We all will.”
“But you didn’t ask me,” I said.
Looking up, I mentally dared him to say something else about that, but instead he stepped aside. Right as I went to pass by, his hand shot out. I looked down at my palm where he pressed a set of car keys.
“Take the sedan,” he said in a rough voice. “It’s an automatic, so you’ll be able to drive it fine. That way you can go or leave whenever you want. Tell… him that you’ll meet him at the pub.”
That was actually good advice. My hire car was returned to the agent, so I had no other way to get around, but with a nod, I headed for the door.
“Thanks. I’ll see you guys in the morning.”
Was I still excited about going out? Not really. Beau was like one of those poison frogs. His pretty face announced how dangerous he was.
But only if I let him get close.
Fake it until you make it, that was me and Mom’s motto, so I kept that in mind as I got behind the wheel. Adjusting the seat, then mentally preparing myself for the weird experience of driving on the wrong side of the road, I headed down the bumpy dirt track out of the farm, then out onto the main road.
I was notready to start dating again.
The first indication was me sitting in the car park outside the pub, just staring at the beautiful old building. My eyes followed the intricate shapes of the wrought iron railings, feeling some need to memorise every curl. The second was the way I gripped the steering wheel, unable to peel my fingers away. The third? A knock on my side window and I looked around to see Beau standing there. My hand went for the door and so did his, and for just a moment, there was a small tug of war. He tried to pull it open as I was apparently determined to keep it closed, but finally the door swung wide.
“Got your message.” His voice was tight as he offered me his hand. “Seems like it’d have been easier taking the one car.”
