The Next Season (novella) (2 page)

‘Of course. There are two things in my life I can't live without—Josie and Jemima.'

His lips twisted at that. ‘I'm guessing one of those is your surfboard?'

‘Yep. Josie's my board and Jemima's my car.' She sighed sadly. ‘I hope they'll be okay on the side of the road.'

The anguish in her voice touched his heart, and the fact she gave names to inanimate objects only added to her quirky appeal. Zoe had always been different from the other girls they'd gone to school with. A free spirit, his mum had called her. Amazing, he'd thought. ‘They'll be fine,' he said, ‘in fact…'

He turned his ute into the Gull Service Station that had marked one end of the main street of town since long before either of them were born. That was one thing about living in a small town—it never took long to get from A to B, which in this case meant little time for catching up, or awkward confessions. It had been nice while it lasted but he shouldn't kid himself that Zoe was anything more to him than a girl he'd once had a thing for.

‘Oh, that was fast.' She stared ahead at the petrol bowsers and he swore a look of fear flashed across her face. Then she bit her lip, unzipped the bag on her lap and scrounged around inside.

He parked and then frowned as he watched her count out a bunch of coins into one hand as if they amounted to her life savings. Little beads of perspiration appeared on her forehead and, if he weren't mistaken, she looked as though she was trying not to cry.

‘Zoe?'

She reluctantly looked up and met his gaze, searching his eyes with her sky-blue ones. ‘Yes?'

‘What are you doing?' he asked.

He saw her swallow as an overly bright smile appeared on her tanned face. ‘We're here to buy petrol, aren't we?' Her shoulders went back and her chin came up as she defensively said, ‘I'm working out how much I can afford.'

His heart squeezed and his eyebrows shot upwards before he had the good sense to tame them. At a guess, the assorted coins might add up to about ten bucks. If she were lucky. He truly had no idea what to say without sounding insulting. Finally, he decided on, ‘How about I buy you some petrol as a welcome home gift? And you can use my jerry can. It's in the back.'

‘I…I can't ask you to do that.'

‘You didn't ask me, I offered. It's what friends do.' Not that they'd been friends for a long time; she'd kinda broken his teenage heart when she'd left.

But they were adults now.

‘Well, okay…but I'll pay you back.' She blinked and refreshed her smile. ‘It won't be long. I lost my cards you see, so couldn't get any money out, but it should all be sorted soon. And then maybe I can buy you a beer or—'

‘Relax.' She was talking so fast, it was making his head spin. ‘Let's just get the petrol and go from there, hey?'

What he really needed was to get away from her before he started asking questions again. She hadn't looked him in the eye when she said she'd lost her cards, and most people got angry—not tearful—in such a situation. His gut told him there was more to it, but he didn't want to get involved. Not with her, not with anyone. Melissa had soured him on women for the foreseeable future.

‘Okay.' She gave him a grateful smile and put her hand on the door handle. They climbed out of the ute together and he grabbed the jerry can from the back tray. This wasn't the first time he'd rescued someone from the side of the road.

As they crossed to an available petrol bowser, Zoe flicked the golden hair that hung down almost to her butt over her shoulder and attempted small talk. ‘So, what's the goss round these parts? Anything exciting happened lately I should know about?'

Not looking at her, he unscrewed the lid of the jerry can and grabbed the handle from the bowser, shoving it into the container with an unnecessary amount of force. The word
goss
made the hairs on the back of his neck stand upright. He supposed he should be happy she'd been distracted from asking direct questions about his life, but where local gossip was concerned he'd been the star of the show lately. And he hated it.

Melissa's public rejection had sidelined and wounded him, but maybe even worse than all that were the looks of pity he still got whenever he walked down the street. He'd become a bit of a hermit since New Year, which had likely only added fuel to the fire. He'd even contemplated leaving Wildwood Point, but quite aside from the fact he'd be letting the family business down, he couldn't imagine living anywhere where he didn't have the ocean on his doorstep. Then there was Eeyore to think about. His Neapolitan mastiff wasn't the kind of dog you could take travelling.

‘Shaun?'

As the petrol spilled over the rim onto his fingers, he realised he'd been standing there staring off into space and hadn't answered Zoe's question. Shit, did she think him crazy? Or rude?

‘Sorry.' He shook his head and offered an apologetic grin as he put down the jerry can and replaced the petrol handle in its cradle. Bending to screw on the lid, he said, ‘I'm a little distracted, got a bit on my mind.'

She returned his apology with a carefree shrug. ‘That's okay. I know how that feels.'

He wiped his hands on his shorts and then picked up the now full jerry can. ‘You want to wait in the ute while I pay for this?'

‘Okay, but let me take that.' She tried to grab the can from him but he shook his head and started towards the store. He didn't look back but he heard a door open and slam shut and he imagined Zoe sliding her luscious long legs into the cabin. In many ways she looked exactly the same as she had when she'd left—her hair was still that sunburnt caramel colour, but it was longer and looked as if she took more care with it now. Back when they were kids she thought more about the next wave than hair care. She still had legs—hell, a whole body—that would drive any man crazy.

‘Is that who I think it is?' asked Hewie, the service station owner, as Shaun stepped inside and approached the counter. Hewie's sun-weathered face was pressed up against the glass as he peered towards where Zoe was now sitting in Shaun's ute.

Shaun lifted a shoulder as he put the can on the floor and dug his wallet out of his pocket. ‘That depends who you think it is.'

Hewie turned to look at him, his bushy grey eyebrows almost joining together as he frowned. ‘Stop being a smartarse. What's Zoe Bennett doing back in town?'

‘Beats me,' he said, slapping his credit card down on the counter.

Hewie looked at the card but didn't pick it up. ‘Didn't you two have a thing together once?'

‘Memory like an elephant, haven't you, Hew? You considered joining the CWA?' Shaun pretended he didn't feel a pang in his heart at the mention of what he and Zoe had once
shared. He might have been young, but he'd been head over heels for that girl. One of local hero Sandee's strays; he'd felt an overwhelming urge to look after her, to give her the kind of home she truly deserved. But just like Melissa, she'd had other ideas entirely.

Hewie scowled and snatched up the card. ‘Cheque, savings or credit?'

‘Credit.' The quicker he got out of here, away from Hewie and Zoe, the better.

Hewie did his stuff and then shoved the EFTPOS machine towards Shaun, who punched in his PIN number, slid his card back into his wallet and then picked up the jerry can.

‘You tell Zoe I said hi,' Hewie ordered as Shaun turned to go. Then, much to his annoyance, he added, ‘And if you have any brains above all that brawn, you'll forget about Melissa and pick up with Zoe where you left off.' He nodded out the window towards Shaun's ute. ‘From what I see, time has been more than kind to that girl. And besides, best way to make one woman jealous is to hook up with another.'

This time it was Shaun's turn to scowl as he stormed out the store without another word to Hewie. The servo owner would have been better suited as landlord of The Wildwood Tavern, where after a few drinks most people would be happy to pamper his love of gossip or accept unsolicited advice. But his suggestion made Shaun's hands fist.

Go out with one woman to try and make another one jealous. Did he think they were
still
in high school?

Two

Zoe could almost hear Shaun's feet pounding across the tarmac as he stalked out of the service station and headed her way. Although he'd been lovely when he found her by the side of the road, he'd seemed a little edgy on the short drive here and while he'd been filling the petrol can he'd been distant—to put it nicely. And it appeared his mood had deteriorated further, for now he sported a thunderous expression on his otherwise ridiculously gorgeous face.

She squirmed in her seat, nerves churning her stomach as she heard the thud of the can when it landed on the ute's tray. Shaun wrenched open his door, plonked himself in his seat, almost tore off the seatbelt in an effort to tug it across his body and then turned the key in the ignition without even a glance in her direction. The confined space of the cabin felt stifling and she thought about breaking the silence but didn't know what to say.

She'd already attempted small talk. When she'd asked him about himself he'd shut the conversation down quickly, and when she'd mentioned gossip he'd zoned off in some kind of trance. He seemed light years away from the carefree, life of the party, surfer god he'd been in high school. Back then he'd worn a permanent toe-curling grin and serious hadn't been in his emotional vocabulary. It was strange to see how much he'd changed, although his combo of grumpy and distant didn't at all affect his rating on the Richter scale of hot. He still had
it
in spades.

In the end she went with, ‘Shaun? Are you okay?'

He turned his head as if he'd only just realised she was there and their gazes met in a moment of pure spark. Then he turned back to watch the road. Zoe's mouth went dry, her skin felt too tight for her body and her brain turned to sludge.

‘Fine,' he said, but she swore his hands tightened on the steering wheel.

Starting to get cranky at his terseness—she hadn't
asked
him to rescue her—her gaze lingered on his long, strong fingers, which she couldn't help but notice were free of any telling gold bands. A stupid spark of glee flickered in her heart but she quickly extinguished it. Just because he wasn't wearing a ring didn't mean he didn't have a girlfriend who'd likely be furious when she heard he'd spent part of the afternoon helping an old flame.

A jealousy so strong it felt like it had assaulted her tightened in her gut at the thought of any other woman laying a finger on him. And that was insane, because no way was she in the market for any sort of relationship after what had just gone down in her life. Still, Zoe hated uncomfortable silences—she reckoned that stemmed from all those times she'd been deposited in a new foster home and everything had been awkward and quiet the minute her social worker left.

She'd try one more time to lure him into conversation and if it didn't work, well, they'd be back to her car by then.

‘How's your family?' she asked, thinking this had to be as safe a topic as any. Shaun had always adored his clan.

She saw his shoulders relax and his grip loosen on the steering wheel.
Victory!

‘They're great.' The corners of his lips tilted upwards, but it wasn't the fully-fledged smile he always used to have when talking about his older siblings. He'd idolised them all, been desperate to follow in the footsteps of his brothers, both of them talented craftsmen like their father. ‘Troy's married with kids and Luke isn't far behind. We all work together at Elliots. And Hannah's having a baby.'

‘Really?' Although Zoe didn't plan on kids herself, she smiled. Who didn't like babies, with their cute button noses and rolls of delicious fat? ‘That's great. When did she get married?'

He chuckled.

‘What's so funny?'

‘She's divorced actually, but she'll be married again soon. It's a long story, but basically Hannah married someone in Vegas and—'

‘As in
Las
Vegas?' she interrupted.

‘Uh huh. She'd been working and traveling around America and met this guy she supposedly fell in love with. They got hitched at some Elvis chapel, she got pregnant, the wanker decided he didn't want her or the baby and so she came home to raise the kid alone.'

‘Oh.' Zoe's heart filled with sadness for Shaun's sister, whom she'd always adored.

‘Hold onto your tears, Zo-Zo,' Shaun said, using the nickname he'd called her when they were together. ‘This story has a happy ending.'

She smiled and relaxed into the seat, only to realise they'd arrived at her car already. Reluctantly she followed Shaun's lead as he placed his hand on the handle and opened his door.

‘Within a week of coming home, Hannah met a guy called Matt. Remember the Brown twins? Cate and Claire. They were a few years below us at school.'

She thought back, her memory snagging on the image of two blonde bombshells. ‘I think so.'

‘Well, Matt is their half-brother,' he continued as he heaved the heavy can off the back tray and started towards the Kingswood. His arm muscles flexed as he did so, but Zoe ignored the vibration in her belly at the image as she listened to him talk.

‘He grew up with his dad on the other side of the country, but while he was here for Christmas, he bought his mum a house—as you do. Matt met Hannah when he came into Elliot's to buy furniture for it, and the rest, as they say, is history. He fell for Hannah even though she was pregnant with another man's baby and now they're engaged.'

‘Wow, that's some story. I'm pleased for her.'

‘Yeah. It's good. Matt's a top bloke, and Hannah deserves a bit of happiness. They're planning their wedding, but they're not rushing down the aisle. After the debacle of her first marriage, she wants to do this one right.' He looked at her seriously and she thought he was about to say something meaningful, but all he said was, ‘Can you open the petrol cap?'