Ridge Creek Reunited (Ridge Creek Duology) (20 page)

“Just saying,” she grins at me oblivious to my internal pain. Leaning over to grab my mouse from me, she shuts down the screens and heads to the file manager. “I’ll throw a copy on our sky drive and look over it this afternoon. I’ll ring you tonight and let you know if there any changes. If it’s good to go, I’ll send it live yeah?”

“Sounds good,” I agree as she finishes what she
’s doing and straightens from the laptop. Swinging her gaze back to me, her eyes shine brightly. “On a brighter note; me, you and maybe even Eva because I think she’d dig it, we’re gunna take up Ninjitsu or Fujitsu or whatever that shit was that Gina did. That shit was
cool
.”

A small smile lifts the edges of my mouth as I nod at her to agree. Although my amateur charge and ram method worked well enough, it had nowhere near the effect that Gina did with her quick as lightning maneuvers. “Agreed. Considering I attract psycho’s from all walks of life, I’m in. Some crazy quick moves, a new big-assed gun and a fully grown Pierre might mean I stand a chance against my next foe. Sign me up for whatever you find.”

“Shall do,” Emma announces as she starts heading towards the bedroom door again. “Anything else you need me to do while you’re away?” She asks as she grabs for the door handle and then looks back at me.

Looking back at my laptop, the laptop I had planned on packing up and taking with me so I could work on the ordering system for the shop during quiet moments on our trip, I frown. “After my little outburst before, I don’t think I’m going anywhere.”

“Fucking men,” Emma announces as she shrugs, opens the door and exits the room. Watching her go I let out a long, heavy sigh. What started out as a good day has now slowly shifted to a bad day. I briefly consider heading back out to the communal room to talk to Jake again but decide I’ve said enough for today. The cold look in his eyes earlier was enough to shrivel my soul and I don’t think I can take another look like that from him today. With a sick feeling in my stomach, I sit down at my desk, open my laptop and start working as I listen for the inevitable sound of Harley pipes that will herald Jake leaving.

Without me.

Demons

An hour later
, Arianna…

Working on the ordering system for the Harley Shop is a great way to lose time. As I sit rebuilding my beloved ordering system to eclipse all ordering systems, I come to the realization that my mind is indeed a sponge and it has a remarkable ability to hold information. I realize this because I marvel at the speed at which my fingers fly across the keyboard retyping the code I once wrote for Tony. I also marvel at the speed at which the screens are rebuilding.

It is like my brain and fingers are running on muscle memory and the design of my old system sits deep within me, just waiting to pour out again. I briefly entertain the idea that this would have been so much easier if I’d just kept a back-up copy of my first system somewhere. I then discard that idea as stupid. I do this because I know that if I’d kept a copy of the Fish and Chip Ordering System, things might have gone a whole lot differently that night with Tony. So differently that I might not even be sitting here right now. Worse than being dead, I might still be trapped in my old life, submitting to Tony’s orders and barely existing.

God forbid.

Shaking thoughts of Tony and my old life from my mind I refocus on the job in front of me. I need to get this done. Mainly because I’m going to need to do something
really
big to get back into Jake’s good books. Clearly he’s pissed.

I know this because half an hour ago I heard the sounds of Harley pipes roaring to life out the front of the shop. A short while later I then heard the sound of Harley pipes fading into the distance as they roared away down the street and towards their destination.

Jake, who’s obviously seriously pissed at me, left without saying goodbye. Something that left me feeling so miserable I was reduced to tears. Crying at my keyboard for some time, I let my grief out silently not wanting Emma or anyone else who was wandering the building to hear me.

At one stage during my silent crying jag I had even considered going out to the communal room to get myself a bottle of something to drown my sorrows in. This thought was swiftly erased when I remembered there were cameras on that room and that someone was bound to spot my red, teary eyes and report it to Emma. Or even worse, Jake.

That was when I decided to just get to it and keep coding. Mainly because coding is a mind numbing job that clears my mind of Jake, Victoria and my idiotic comments earlier. It’s also turned out to be a very good idea because it would appear that I’m on fire. I’ve managed to get more done in the last hour being miserable and hiding in my room than I’ve managed to get done in
ages.

Which also means that my new plan is to code for the rest of the day. I can then ask Emma to take me to Holders tonight to reclaim Pierre and then I’ll continue coding as late into the night as I can. The way I figure it, at the rate I am going I could have this whole project rebuilt in just a few days. Once rebuilt, I could then have it live and populated with real shop data, ready for Jake’s customers codes for his
other
product when he gets back.

A good plan.

A plan that keeps me busy
and
will hopefully impress Jake enough on his return that he can forgive me for weighing in on a conversation I had no right to weigh in on.

A plan that could only improve with music. Music that I now have in abundance thanks to my new ITunes account on my laptop. Music that sounds even better through my headphones.

Headphones that I now realize I don’t have.

Fuck.

My headphones, my phone and my purse with my beloved Credit Card are in the saddlebag on the back of Jake’s bike. Which means they are now traveling around the state on a road trip for at least a week, if not more.

Goddamit.

With a sigh, I resign myself to listening to music straight from the laptop speakers. Opening ITunes, I open my favorite song and click play. The sensual strumming of the guitar lead to Hinder’s, The Life greets my ears and I start typing again.

Losing myself deep in thought, typing and listening to the gravelly sound of Austin John Winkler I again lose track of time - and apparently consciousness. There really is no other explanation on how Jake managed to cross a wooden floor wearing biker boots to walk
right up behind me
and say, “What the fuck?” Unless my suspicions that he is part ninja are correct. As far as I know, only ninja’s can cross rooms without making a sound. Considering I couldn’t even sneak out of my bedroom on bare feet as a child without making a certain level of noise, he must have
skills
to be able to cross a room silently in biker boots
.

Nearly jumping out of my skin at the sound of his voice right behind me, a strangled screech rips from my lips as I jerk my head around. Locking my eyes on Jake’s annoyed, shiny green ones I frown. I then take a long slow breath to suck in some much needed air after expelling all that I had when my heart leaped into my mouth a few seconds prior.

Slowly letting the huge breath of air back out again, I narrow my eyes and reply with the same. “What
the
fuck?”

“What the fuck, what?” Jake returns, the annoyed look fading from his face as it’s replaced by a confused one.

“What are you still doing here?” I ask craning my head slightly to look past him towards the door so I can check whether any more
fucking gorgeous
men have miraculously appeared in my bedroom.

“Waiting for you to do whatever it is you’re doing in here so we can hit the road and catch up with the brothers. What do you think I’m doing?”

Oh my God.

Blinking disbelievingly, I find myself at a loss for words.

He’s been waiting for me?

“I figured you had a lot to talk to Emma about. If I’d known you were sitting in here working on your laptop I’d have come in earlier and dragged your ass out of here. What’s so fuckin’ urgent you have to work on it right now when we’re supposed to be on the road?”

Confused that he’s standing before me wondering why I am sitting at my laptop working instead of sitting on the back of his bike, I say, “Huh?”

“Huh what?” Jake returns as he throws his weight onto his heels, straightens and twists his head sideways to look at me as if I have to heads. “Are you okay?”

“Am I okay?” I mumble as my mind races back to the cold, hard look that Jake gave me in the communal room and compares it to the genuinely confused looking one he is giving me now.

“Fuck woman, whatever it is you’re working on can’t be
that
urgent. Shut that shit down, dump your laptop in a bag and let’s get moving. Luke and Zane are halfway to the first house already and they’ll be wondering where we are.”

“I was working on the ordering system for the Harley Shop,” I inform him and then watch his face soften.

“I appreciate that, but its gunna have to wait. You can work on it when we get to the first house. We need to get rolling.”

So I’ve been hiding here in my bedroom, missing Jake like hell and he hadn’t even left?

Once again evidence suggests I’m an idiot.

Not hesitating a second longer, I reach for the power point, pull the cord on my laptop and shut it down. Jake sees me moving, spins and heads for the door. He’s barely made it halfway across the room before I’m stuffing
my laptop into my laptop bag and moving at speed towards the door as well.

*****

Ten days later… Arianna

Lying in b
ed tucked up hard against Jake’s side, I stare across his massive chest towards the window. Early morning light is starting to creep in past the side of the curtains. Early morning light that heralds our last day on the road and that today we’re headed home.

We’ve been away from Ridge Creek for ten days. During this time, Luke, Zane and Jake have managed to install and make operational, four complete camera based security systems to their four fully operational Green Houses.

No mean feat considering Luke only had a few short hours to review the installation at the Harley Shop before we left Ridge Creek. Both the system at the Harley Shop and the system at Jake’s house were installed by the company providing the cameras and wiring, overseen by Emma. This did not however mean that Jake was going to allow anyone else other than he and his brothers to set up the systems in the Green Houses.

Understandably so.

Extra cameras and wiring were purchased direct from the company and after a few early hiccups; and with phone support from Emma, it would now seem that Luke is also a dab hand at installing security systems as well. Something that he’ll be doing simultaneously as he sets ups the solar and wind systems at any new Green Houses that are established into the future.

Watching the three men work together was fun. In the true spirit of real brotherhood, they went about their business quickly, efficiently and jovially. Constantly joking around, their days were filled with laughter and witty comebacks as they told one another stories, reminisced about the past and enjoyed their time together.

The strong bond between the three clearly evident, it didn’t take me long to realize that each of these men was a force to be reckoned with. With their sharp minds, good looks and physical strength, they were all natural born leaders that when working as a trio could achieve just about anything.

Spending my days working on the ordering system for the Harley Shop, it only took a week to finish rebuilding my beloved system. Spending my nights exploring every square inch of my new boyfriend’s body while also delving into the deepest recesses of his mind, it took less than that to fall absolutely and utterly in love with him.

Moving my head to press my ear to his chest, I hear the strong thud of Jake’s huge heart against my ear. The slow, rhythmic pounding the most relaxing sound I’ve ever heard. Last night we’d talked about Victoria and the conversation in the communal room before we left Ridge Creek. Having successfully avoided the subject all week, I was surprised when Jake suddenly mentioned it during the few relaxed minutes after yet another session of great sex and just before I fell asleep.

Lying on my side, knees drawn up slightly with Jake wrapped tightly around me in a bear hug from behind, I’d been listening to the sound of his steady breathing as I drifted off to sleep. It was at the precise moment when I w
as about to drop into the abyss of unconsciousness that he whispered his words softly against my neck.

“You hid in your room thinking I was mad at you. I wasn’t. I was mad at myself for not having thought of donating money to cancer before
.
Not that I’d like to donate money to a cancer wing, I fucking hate hospitals. I wanna help set up a mobile cancer unit. One that keeps cancer patients in their homes right to the very end. One that provides all the equipment they need free of charge and ensures Doctors and nurses come to
them
. Dying at home surrounded by your family shits all over lying in one of those dreary Palliative Care units while you die. It’s bad shit watching as the people around you die. It’s also bad shit watching the grief of other families unfold around you knowing that’s all you’ve got to look forward to. You should also know that letting Victoria have the money is fair. I’ve been an asshole to her and I’ll be glad when it’s over. So will she.”

Astounded, I’d stiffened at his words. Feeling me stiffen, Jake responded with a soft squeeze then kissed the side of my neck as he whispered, “Conversation done, goodnight sweetheart.”

Softening at his kiss and relieved I didn’t need to respond to his impromptu confession, I drifted peacefully to sleep.

Which means that n
ow that morning is here, I still have a lot to think about. Some of our conversations these past evenings have been about my life as well. They’ve been about my past, my present and my future. Which also means some of the conversations have been about Patricia and Stephen.

What am I going to do about them?

Last night at Jake’s insistence, I’d called Stephen to let him know we’d be visiting Sydney this weekend. Stephen had been ecstatic at the news and instantly announced he’d make our travel arrangements. This announcement was not met with joy by Jake who took over the call so he and Stephen could argue travel arrangements.

The conversation was a short one that ended abruptly with Jake announcing we’d make our own way to Sydney before he hung up the phone on Stephen. I could still hear Stephen roaring into the phone as Jake hit end on the call.

So tonight we’re to spend one night at Jake’s house before leaving once again to head to Sydney. Poor Pierre will have forgotten what I look like by the time I see him again. Feeling and hearing Jake’s heart rate increase, I realize he’s woken up. I smile as his first movement is to pull me closer and squeeze me softly.

“Morning sweetheart,” he rumbles from above and behind my head.

“How’d you know I was awake?” I murmur as I continue to listen to the steady thuds in his chest.

“You were still,” he replies in a raspy, sleepy voice.

“I was still?” I ask. “What does that mean?”