The Lawson Boys: Alex (21 page)

“Shit a brick.”
Zac was awed. “You didn’t.”

“I told her, I
said “Honey, have a jelly bean.’ And she stared at me, you know?
Her eyes sort of glowing, a funny kind of glow.”

“Sort of
possessed-like?” Zac guffawed.

Jesus, Alex was
having a hard time controlling himself.

Totally
oblivious to his friends’ reactions, Paul continued his rant. “I
said ‘Honey, sweetie, it’s not like you’re not going to get a
little cuddlier anyway, right? So have a jelly bean, Becky. Enjoy
the sugar rush.”

Alex started
laughing.

Zac was
guffawing so hard tears were in his eyes.

“And then she
starts yelling at me!” Confounded, Paul shook his head. “I mean,
what the hell did I say wrong? Here I am, trying to be a good,
supportive husband-”

“Supportive,”
Zac choked.

“And the missus
goes off the deep end! I’m telling you, pregnant women are crazy!”
Paul tapped his temple. “Nuts! I’ll never understand them.”

“Did she give
you back the marshmallows?” Alex chortled.

“Last I saw,
she was running to our bedroom, stuffing them into her mouth and
sobbing that I’m an inconsiderate imbecile. Geez. Women.” Hands on
his hips, Paul hung his head. “I got out of there fast, I’m telling
you.”

Alex was
laughing so hard he nearly slid right off the wall against which he
was leaning.

“What’s so
bloody funny?” Paul snarled.

Zac was wiping
the tears from his eyes but every tear he removed was replaced by
another of mirth. “Hells bells, Paul, did you hear yourself?”

“I was being
considerate!”

“I’m not
married, and I definitely don’t have a pregnant woman.” Alex tried
to control his laughter. “But even I know you don’t mention the
word ‘fat’ to a pregnant woman who is soon going to be as round as
a barrel. Man, you should know that.”

“I thought that
was just a myth.” Paul walked from the room. “Before those hormones
went right up the pole, Becky was as calm as any sheila I’d ever
met. Holy cow, bloody hormones!”

“And don’t
mention hormones to her either,” Zac yelled after him, “Else you’ll
never get nooky again!” He looked at Alex. “Poor bastard.”

Back-slapping
each other, they roared with laughter.

Paul looked
around the corner with a scowl on his face. “Hey, you two laughing
hyenas.”

Shaking with
mirth, they glanced at him.

“Smithy needs
that plumbing under the kitchen sink done this century
sometime.”

“Hormones,” Zac
said to Alex. “It doesn’t just affect the women.”

“And you can
stop cackling like a chook about to lay an egg,” Paul informed
Alex. “Come on, I need to go to Bunnings and get more screws.”

“About the only
place you’ll get one now,” Zac said cheerfully.

Paul flipped
him the middle finger.

Ensuring that
the rest of his carpenters were doing okay, Paul jumped into his
ute.

Settling into
the passenger seat, Alex glanced sideways at his friend’s scowling
face and couldn’t stop the snort of amusement that escaped.

“Laugh it up,”
Paul said. “One day this’ll be you.”

“I reckon I’ll
handle it better than you did,” Alex replied.

“Huh. We’ll
see.”

They drove
along in silence for a little while, the radio playing quietly.
Relaxed in the seat, Alex watched the houses go by, content to
listen to the music and feel the chill wind on his face.

“So.” Paul
broke the silence.

“Mmm?”

“You spent last
night at Harly’s.”

Knowing in
exactly what direction his friend’s thoughts were going, Alex
replied, “In the spare bedroom, yep.”

There was
silence for a few minutes more before Paul said bluntly, “Tell me
if I’m wrong, mate, but I get the feeling you’re here for more than
just visiting me.”

Ahhh
.
Paul, ever the canny one. Alex glanced over at him to find his
friend casting glances back at him in-between checking the road
ahead.

“So?” He
demanded when Alex didn’t immediately answer. “What’s going on with
Harly?”

“What makes you
think it’s Harly?” Alex replied mildly.

“Because you
zeroed in on her like a fly to horse sh-”

“Think
carefully about the comparison you’re making.”

“
Ah-ha
!”
Paul stabbed a finger at him and the ute swerved a little on the
road.

“I survived
Afghanistan.” Alex grabbed onto the handle above the door. “I’d
like to think I can survive your driving, too.”

Paul returned
his gaze to the road. “Harly.”

“Nice
girl.”

“Don’t avoid
the subject.”

“I wasn’t aware
I was.”

Paul turned
into the driveway leading to Bunnings car park. “Damn it, Alex. I
want to know exactly why you’re here.”

Releasing the
handle, Alex leaned his elbow on the door frame and scratched his
chin. “Visiting. Helping you.”

Pulling into a
car park, Paul switched the engine off and turned to face him
seriously. “You’re one of my best friends. I know you.”

Alex regarded
him.

“I know when
you’re focussed on someone, and that someone is Harly. I’m not an
idiot. She’s partly the reason you’re here, isn’t she?”

“What if I
am?”

“Harly’s our
friend. She’s sweet. I don’t want to see her hurt.”

Alex raised one
eyebrow. “You think I’ll hurt her?”

Paul thrust a
hand through his already dishevelled hair and sighed. “No, you
won’t. I think.”

“You think?”
Alex was mildly annoyed. “You know me better than that. I’ve never
hurt a woman in my life, and I don’t intend to start now.”

Paul looked out
over the cars parked before him, thinking before saying slowly,
“You came back here to visit, yes, but it wasn’t just to see me.
Harly is one of the main reasons, isn’t she?”

“I don’t want
to upset you,” Alex joked. “You’re special, too.”

Paul just
looked at him.

After several
seconds of regarding each other steadily, Alex finally nodded. “All
right. Yes, Harly is one of the main reasons I came back to
Whicha.”

“Why?”

“That’s
personal.”

A muscle in
Paul’s jaw twitched.

“It’s
personal
.”

“You’re my best
friend, Alex, but if you hurt her, I’ll punch your lights out.”

“Why the hell
do you think I’m going to hurt her?”

“I saw her
expression when you told her you’d bring her home that night at the
BBQ. Someone mentioned the following day that she looked drawn in
the café, when she’s usually happy and robust. I’m not a fool.
Something went down between you two.”

He could
understand Paul’s concern, in fact he appreciated that he was
intent on protecting Harly, but male instinct surged up inside
Alex. Harly was his to worry about, his to protect, not Paul’s,
even as he acknowledged that his reaction was a little irrational.
He’d just gotten here a couple of days ago, whereas Paul had lived
here his whole life.

However, that
didn’t change anything.

Alex took in a
deep, calming breath, pushing away the surge of anger before
looking directly at his friend. “I appreciate your concern, Paul,
but rest assured that we’ve sorted things out.”

“Really?” Paul
looked sceptical.

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

They looked at
each other, neither one backing down.

It was Paul who
finally sighed. “Okay, I believe you.”

“Tough shit if
you don’t.”

“You say that
so calmly.”

“The truth
should be stated calmly. I actually feel like ripping your head
off, but I’m trying to be civilized.”

Paul gave a
bark of laughter, and just like that the tension eased between
them.

Alex looked at
the car parked opposite. “And don’t worry about Harly.”

In the act of
opening the door, Paul glanced at him.

“She’s mine to
worry about.” Alex got out of the ute.

Paul stared at
him. “Huh?”

“Not one word
to Becky or anyone else,” Alex added quietly, “Or I
will
rip
your head off.” He shut the door.

Paul appeared
at his elbow. “What the hell…? Alex, are you and Harly - you know?
Together?”

“I know it.
Harly still has to get used to the idea.” Alex started to walk.

“Are you
kidding me?” Paul matched him stride for stride.

“Nope. Harly is
mine; I just have to convince her of it.”

Paul’s mouth
fell open. “What is this, Military Operation Get Harly?”

Alex grinned
faintly. “When you put it like that.”

“Wait until
Becky-”

Alex swung
around to face Paul. “No telling Becky, no telling anyone. It would
humiliate Harly if word got around. She needs time, I need time. If
we’re to have a chance, Paul, then we need privacy.”

“If you’re
going to be seeing Harly, everyone is going to know about it soon
enough.”

“Yeah, that’ll
happen naturally, and that’s fine, but I’m not having gossip
flaring up and word getting back to Harly that I’ve staked my claim
before our first real date.”

“You mean she
doesn’t know that?”

“I mean that I
want things to progress naturally.”

Shaking his
head, Paul fell back into step with Alex as they made their way
through the car park. “I am so going to be on Becky’s shit list if
she ever finds out I knew this and never said a word to her.”

“But you’ll
still have your head. If I ever find out you told anyone, you’ll be
on my shit list and headless.”

“Well, when you
put it like that.”

Without
mentioning it any further, they entered Bunnings and went about the
business of buying more supplies and returning to the house to
continue the building.

When they
walked into Paul’s house at five o’clock that afternoon, Becky
greeted them at the door. Alex winked at Paul over Becky’s head as
she hugged her husband, but obviously happy to be back in her good
books, Paul did nothing more than flip him the middle finger and
hug her back.

“Do you mind if
we have takeaway tonight?” Becky queried. “I forgot to take the
roast out early and it’s still half frozen.”

“Actually, I’m
going out tonight,” Alex replied.

“Oh?”

“Meeting a
friend.”

“Sure.” Becky
smiled up at Paul. “Honey, how about some fish and chips?”

“Sounds like a
plan.” Paul kissed her forehead. “I’ll just shower, change, and go
get it.”

Alex made his
escape to the bedroom while they were occupied. Going into the
adjoining bathroom, he divested himself of the dirty clothes and
placed them in the laundry basket that Becky had put in there for
him. A quick shower and shave and it wasn’t long before he was
exiting the house dressed in jeans, a thick shirt and a heavy
jacket. The autumn nights meant that it was getting dark early, and
he had to turn on the headlights as he drove through the
street.

The florist was
shut, but the twenty four hour service station was still open. He
fuelled up the Jeep, picked up a bunch of roses from the plastic
bucket just inside the shop entrance, paid for both and then headed
out to Harly’s house.

Oh yeah, he was
really looking forward to seeing her. Hugging her. Kissing her.
Running his hands over her curvy body. Laying her beneath him and -
whoa
. Dragging his thoughts from that particular delicious
path, he reminded himself that he wasn’t rushing her, that they
were going to get to know each other better. He could happily jump
from base two to base three, but she wasn’t of the same mind.

For Harly, he’d
wait. He smiled ruefully. Marty would have teased the living hell
out of him at the knowledge that there was actually one woman who
wasn’t in a hurry to fall into his brother’s bed. Then again, his
Harly was a one-of-a-kind woman.

His
Harly
. Yeah, he liked the sound of that. Alex was still smiling
when he turned into Harly’s driveway. The house looked warm and
inviting, the light on the veranda a beacon.

No fancy
gardens, no fancy house, but a home that was lived in, loved, and
welcomed him.

And inside was
his woman.

Locking the
Jeep, he strode across the small distance to the house and climbed
the steps. Knocking on the door, he waited for several seconds, his
relaxed stance changing immediately to alertness when he heard a
thump, a shriek, and Buffy barking.

Thankfully the
security screen was unlocked - he’d have to talk to her later about
that - and he yanked both it and the wooden door open and hurried
into the house. “Harly?”

“Alex? No,
don’t come in!”

Like hell. Alex
ran right in the direction of her panicked yell, entering the
kitchen to see her lying partially on her back, her hands behind
her as she attempted to push herself up off the floor. Red
spattered her shirt and the floor, along with a broken bowl beside
her.

Fear rose
inside him, and he dropped immediately to his knees beside her.
“Where are you hurt?” Sliding his hand beneath her shirt, he
started to move it up, only to stop at her shriek of surprise and
her hand clasping his wrist.

“Alex Lawson,
don’t you dare move your hand any further!”

“I’m just
checking-”

“Your hands are
freezing!”

“You’re
bleeding.”

“No, I’m not.”
Harly shoved his hand away and sat up. “It’s only red
colouring.”

Sitting back on
his knees, he took a second look at her. Yep, now that he wasn’t
panicking, he could see that what he thought was blood wasn’t as
bright a red, nor as viscous, as blood.

“I thought you
tough Army boys didn’t panic at the sight of blood.” Trying to get
up, her hand slipped in a puddle and she nearly fell backwards.

Moving fast,
Alex slid one arm behind her back to steady her. “I don’t normally,
but oddly enough, with you…” He trailed his hand down the front of
her shirt while glancing down at her legs. “Have you hurt
yourself?”