Fly with Me (7 page)

Everything a
small town could want was in the main street, a butcher, baker,
bookshop, café, furniture store, newsagent, clothes shop, and
service station on one side of the bitumen road, a pub,
electrician, estate agent and a park on the other side. From where
she stood, she could see a sign directing people to the hospital on
a side road. As Ash had described, next to the park was the police
station, a small courthouse, the ambulance station and fire
station.

Simon’s a
firie
.
Is he there now, dressed in uniform, ready to go to a
fire, to risk his own life to save others?
The thought startled
her, making her frown. Why was she thinking about him? Guilty
conscious, probably. Yeah, she’d have to fix that at some
point.

Dragging her
thoughts from the redheaded hunk, she studied the street. The
bitumen road winding through the street peaked over a hill, around
a corner and disappeared from sight in the distance. The main
street wasn’t flat, instead rolling and dipping gently. Sections of
the footpath had been cut away to make room for several big gum
trees that would otherwise grow out of it. The buildings were made
of stone and wood, a couple with early twentieth century brick,
most of them with bull-nose verandas. Ash had always said that when
she first arrived, she’d half expected to see women in long dresses
and men riding horses to appear. Elissa silently agreed.

Angle parking
was available, but the street was deserted. Everything was so
quiet, so peaceful. Early morning sun bathed the road with a touch
of warmth, and she sighed, slipping her hands into her pockets as
she stood and looked around.

The twenty
four hour service station was open but no cars were at the fuel
bowsers. A big semi with several dogs behind it was parked at the
side, the driver no doubt either snoozing in the sleeping
compartment behind the cabin, or eating a very early breakfast in
the service station café.

Her stomach
rumbled but mindful of the fact that Ash would expect her for
breakfast, Elissa decided that a hot cup of tea would do for now,
and she quickened her pace.

Passing the
shops caught her attention, the display in the dress shop she knew
was run by Del, the newsagency Dee owned, and across the street the
bookshop beckoned, but she decided to walk on the opposite side of
the street on her way back and peek in the window then, see what
books were available. Besides, on a Sunday none of the shops were
open so there was no hurry.

As she stood
near the window of the newsagency, a movement inside caught her
attention and she peered closer.

To her
surprise a grey kitten pranced along the counter, investigating
everything. A tap at the EFTPOST machine, a poke at the cash
register, and then it swiped a pen off the bench before peeking
over the edge to watch something.

Intrigued,
Elissa almost pressed up against the glass to see, amused to find a
black kitten scooting across the floor batting the pen around. A
little torti and white was valiantly struggling along dragging a
feather duster which, while she pulled, her completely torti sister
was happily yanking out a feather from the back of the duster,
which she immediately began pulling apart with enthusiasm

Totally
engrossed, she watched the kittens tumbling and playing
mischievously, wondering why on earth Dee would have let them run
rampant through her shop. Sweet and little the furry babies might
be, but they could cause some damage to the magazines and stock if
they set their minds to it.

“Miscreants,
the lot of them,” a voice observed from beside her, making her jump
violently.

Whirling
around, she found herself looking at a blue uniform-clad chest, her
head tipping back as her gaze shot upwards to look into calm brown
eyes in a face handsome enough to make a woman weak at the knees.
The golden-haired cop she recognised instantly from another photo
Ash had sent to her. “Kirk?”

He smiled, the
corners of his eyes crinkling engagingly. “You have to be Elissa.”
He held out his hand. “Sorry I scared you, I didn’t realise you
didn’t hear me coming.”

Taking the big
hand, she half expected a strong squeeze, but his grip was firm and
gentle. “Kittens, they do that to me.”

“Ah.” He
looked through the glass window. “Dee will have a fit when she sees
them going berko in there.”

“Then Ryder
will be without his morning glory,” another deep voice drawled from
right behind her. “Although knowing that randy bugger, he’s
probably already had it. Twice.”

Oh crap, she
knew that voice.

Even as Kirk
turned to greet the man behind her, she had to swallow hard, school
her features before she could turn slowly to look up at him.

God, if Simon
had looked hot in just jeans two months ago, he was just as hot in
his fireman uniform - dark blue pants with a reflective
silver/white band around each leg, and a short-sleeved dark blue
shirt with a badge on each shoulder. The uniform seemed to only
emphasise his height, his broad shoulders, and well, hell, she knew
exactly how muscular his chest was, his arms, she’d seen it
herself.

Her gaze
lifted, skimming the strong jaw line, the relaxed mouth, the
straight nose and high cheekbones, higher until - crap, she could
barely meet his eyes. The steady hazel gaze that looked down at
her, not a hint of his thoughts reflected within the depths. His
red hair was neatly combed, only a little ruffled by the breeze,
but she couldn’t avoid his eyes forever, especially with Kirk
watching.

Oh yeah, she
could feel his gaze. It was almost as heavy as Simon’s, only in a
different way.

Forcing a
smile, she finally met Simon’s scrutiny. “Hi.”

Cripes, his
eyes actually smiled down at her, totally throwing her equilibrium.
She’d expected a narrow-eyed look, a hardness, at the very least an
accusation. But no, his eyes were warm, friendly, his smile easy,
curving his full lips, cutting a dimple into the side of his mouth
that she’d never noticed before but made him appear the easy-going
man that Ash had always described him.

Oh God, could
it be that he didn’t remember her after all? Had she been mistaken
the day before? Had he forgotten her? Was it her own ego that had
her thinking he’d recognised her?

“’Morning,
Elissa.” His smile deepened. “Watching a storm about to be
unleashed?”

Unable to
fathom just why the thought of him not remembering her hurt just a
little, she replied inanely, “Huh?”

“Ryder’s
kittens. No doubt he forgot to shut the door Dee had put in the
back of her little kitchenette to stop this kind of thing
happening.”

“Again,” Kirk
added, “he never learns.”

“I think he
just likes the consequences.”

“Dee cursing
him out?”

“He loves
seeing her go all fiery, sick bastard that he is.”

Elissa watched
those masculine lips curve wider. Firm lips, soft lips. Those lips
had been pressed to hers, kissed her, tasted her. Did Simon really
not remember? Had it meant nothing to him at all? She certainly
hadn’t forgotten it.

“Seeing her go
all fiery and then pinning her against the wall to -” Kirk stopped
abruptly.

The silence
caught Elissa’s attention, dragging her troubled thoughts away as
she focussed on Kirk’s face. Immediately she guessed why he’d
stopped, his comment had been about to get risqué.

He wasn’t
blushing, his expression calm, but he simply continued, “He’ll be
in strife and love it.”

Simon’s eyes
crinkled at the corners, little laughter lines etching out
engagingly. “I wouldn’t call getting reamed by Dee a good
time.”

“That’s why
Ryder’s a sick bastard.”

“No doubt
we’ll hear about it.” Simon’s attention slid back down to Elissa.
“You’re out early.” His gaze wandered lower, skimmed across her
attire, making her suddenly conscious of how she must appear.

A quick,
unobtrusive check to make sure her pale pink pants were smudge
free, her t-shirt wasn’t creased, her blue sneakers clean.
Smoothing her hand across her hair, she felt the bun at the back of
her head, the absence of fly-away hair that meant it was securely
confined. Nothing out of place. Good. Or bad. She swallowed her
irritation.
It doesn’t matter.
“I’ve been out walking,
checking out the sights.”

“This early?”
He glanced at his wrist watch. “I’d have thought you’d have
slept-in after your journey.”

“Sleep and I
aren’t good bed mates.”

“Shame.” There
was something in his tone and the way he studied her that made her
feel a little unsettled.

She added
quickly, “I don’t sleep well.”

“Mmm.”

“I tend to get
up early.”

“Okay.”

“I walk a
lot.” She gave a self-derisive laugh. “Probably don’t look it.”
Almost immediately she bit her lip, horrified, her cheeks flushed.
Oh God, had she really said that
aloud
?

“You look
fine.” Simon’s gaze simply held hers, nothing of his thoughts
revealed.

She’d meant
her weight. Did he know she meant her weight? Oh shit, had he
picked up on that? Maybe she could make him think she meant
something else. “Some people get a little dusty when walking but I
manage to -” What? Stay clean? For God’s sake, could she not come
up with anything better?

He simply
waited while she looked up at him, her usual coolness in the face
of derision gone.

Why had it
gone? Where had it gone? She didn’t make mistakes, she was always
careful, always guarded, yet here she was blurting things out,
trying to cover her mistake, making a fool of herself.

Only fools
make idiots of themselves. Control at all times.

The words,
cold and unfeeling, echoed in her mind, poured through her, had her
spine stiffening, the coolness flowing through her as she pasted on
a smile, distancing herself from the bumbling idiot she’d started
to become as soon as Simon had appeared.

“Enough about
me,” she said politely. “You have an early start?”

Simon’s
easy-going demeanour didn’t change. “Yep.”

This time she
simply looked at him, not talking, waiting.

“Eight o’clock
start,” he continued. “But first I have to go feed Arthur.”

“Arthur.”

‘The cat.”

Ah, now she
remembered. “The one you went up the tree to rescue.”

“And fell out
of the tree while doing so,” Kirk added.

“News travels
fast,” Simon commented.

“Especially
good news.”

Rather than
bridle at that statement, Simon laughed outright.

Kirk grinned.
“Ryder’s taking bets on who wins.”

“And the
odds?”

“Heavily in
favour of Arthur.”

“I’m nothing
if not determined.”

“Always for
the underdog.”

“Bet your
arse.”

Watching the
easy banter between the men, Elissa couldn’t help but smile a
little. It felt good to smile for no particular reason. It had been
a long time since she’d done that.

“I have to get
a move on.” Kirk glanced once more in the window of the newsagency
where the kittens were running riot down the aisle. “Ah man, I’d
have loved to be here when Ryder gets an earful.”

“Like I said,
he’ll tell us soon.” Simon looked towards the service station.
“Shame the café is closed on a Sunday morning.”

“Cheryl and
Ernie need the time to recover from your ravenous appetite.” Kirk
nodded at Elissa. “See you around, Elissa.”

“Bye.” She
watched him stride across the road to the police station.

Silence. Simon
didn’t say anything, making her shift a little uneasily. Was he
going to say something now? Did he remember? Was she just being an
idiot?

She peeked at
him.

Simon just
smiled that easy smile. “I’m guessing Ash and Scott were still fast
asleep when you got up.”

She
nodded.

“So join me
for breakfast.”

Surprised, she
looked fully at him. “What?”

“I’m starving.
I was going to grab a bite and have it on the way to feed Arthur.”
Placing a hand at her back, he started in the direction of the
service station.

Stunned that
he could think she’d actually agree, Elissa stopped. “Ash will be
expecting me for breakfast.”

His hand
didn’t disappear from her back. In fact, she could feel the heat of
his big palm through her t-shirt. It was…delicious. Comforting,
which was odd because why the heck did she need comforting?

Straightening
her shoulders, she lifted her chin. “I have to get back. She’ll be
up by now, no doubt wondering where I am.” A good excuse to make
her escape.

“No worries.”
Simon pulled a mobile phone from his pocket, flipped it open,
pressed a couple of keys and put the phone to his ear.

Damned if his
smile wasn’t just all-gosh congenial.

“Look,” Elissa
began, a touch irritated, “I don’t want to wake them up and-”

“Ash? Simon,”
he said happily. “I’m here in town with Elissa. Yeah, she went for
a walk. I’m going to grab some breakfast at the café and - really?
You’ll make me breakfast? Sure, I’ve got plenty of time. I can feed
Arthur on the way. We’ll be there in…” He glanced at his watch,
frowned a little in thought. “Twenty, twenty five minutes? No
worries. Looking forward to it.” Smiling, he flipped the phone
closed and shoved it back in his pocket. “Man, I can’t wait. Ash
cooks the best breakfast.”

Crap on a
stick, he looked so happy, so bloody content that there was no way
Elissa could refuse to accompany him. So she smiled coolly and
allowed him to place that big palm at her back.

The man guided
her politely across the road to where an old white Holden panel van
was parked, but she had the funniest feeling that his hand could
just as easily slip around to grab her waist if she decided to
halt. Dumb thought.