Tumble Creek (11 page)

‘We're here,' Claudia announced.

‘Both of you give me a hug,' Sofie ordered.

‘Mum!' Claudia complained, then whispered, ‘The customers.'

‘I don't care and I'm sure they don't.' She hauled Claudia into her arms and hugged her, then gave Michelle the same treatment. ‘Girls, I love how you've twisted the tinsel through your hair and the little sprigs of holly, perfect for today.'

Claudia dug in her pants pocket. ‘Got these for you and Aunt Jen,' she said, handing over two pairs of Santa earrings that lit up with tiny lights. ‘What's the lunch menu?' she asked, scanning the chalkboard in the kitchen while Michelle peered over her shoulder. ‘Hearty minestrone soup. Hmm, marmalade glazed, succulent roast turkey, stuffing, vegetables, gravy, and cranberry sauce, pudding …' she trailed off.

‘Elliot will chef during lunch,' Jennifer told them. ‘Your Mum and I need a break before the dinner crowd.'

‘How's Elliot working out?' Sofie asked.

‘Really good. I hope he sticks around. We can't keep doing all the shifts, it's not possible. The restaurant is running at a healthy profit. Like you said, we need to get organised, and get more staff. ‘

‘Yeah … what if you fall pregnant or something,' Sofie winked.

‘That's right, like any day now,' Jennifer shot back.

Hand on her heart, Sofie gasped. ‘Are you?'

‘Not yet, but we're having fun trying.' Jennifer laughed.

Elliot, a tall, sinewy man in his early forties with laughing brown eyes, long auburn hair greying at the temples and tied back in a ponytail, came in through the back door. ‘G'day!' He went straight to the kitchen, studied the menu and started preparing.

‘The turkeys have been roasting for two hours and the turkey pieces are all prepared ready to go in, same with the potatoes,' Jennifer told him.

‘T'riffic,' Elliot mumbled, turning to check on the birds.

Sofie turned to Jennifer and made her eyes go big. A non-verbal sisterly message, saying,
Wow! He'll do.

An hour later, after tossing and turning in Bob's room, her thoughts bouncing from Brock to building a new home, then back to Brock and unable to think of anything else, Sofie finally gave up. She went downstairs to see if they needed help just as lunchtime diners started to arrive. Soon Veronica's didn't have a spare table and some had to share with strangers. Which turned out to be a good thing as Claudia made sure introductions were made and conversations started.

Around one-thirty, four diners left and two walked in. Claudia went out behind the counter to grab a couple of menus for the new arrivals.

A nasty vibe prickled inside Sofie, travelling up her arms and the back of her neck. Her gut instinct had never failed her before, so she went out into the short hall, staying within its shadows, and stopped in her tracks. Skids, Claudia's first boyfriend, the one that had broken her young heart, had walked in with his new girlfriend, Sissy, clutching his arm. Sissy was a year eleven student from Claudia's old Sydney school.

How bloody brazen, and cruel, she thought.

Worried, Sofie turned to see Claudia straighten her back, gather her resolve and, head held high, walk towards them. Hiding in the shadows, Sofie nervously waited for the drama to unfold.

Treating the pair as properly as any other diner, Claudia politely asked, ‘Table for two?'

‘That's my girl,' Sofie whispered quietly, proud of Claudia's mature approach.

‘Isn't that …?' Sissy began. ‘It is! It's
Clorrd-ia
,' Sissy giggled. ‘I hardly recognised you without all that white Goth crap on your face.' She giggled again. Sissy was tall, blonde and attractive. Except for now, the way her lip curled, appraising Claudia with an unattractive scowl. Plus clinging to Skids like a barnacle, or better yet, a sea slug, made her look like a parasite.

To Sofie's delight, Skids stepped away from Sissy. With her leaning post missing, she stumbled. ‘
Skids
,' she whined, and moved on him again, hands pawing at his jacket.

Skids glared down at her as if she'd grown another head.

Oh-oh, this wasn't good. Sissy turned her attention back to Claudia. ‘I see you're serving now. I guess that's about your style. You never were good at anything. No wonder you're waiting tables.'

Diners stopped to stare, forkfuls of food halfway to open mouths, glasses of wine poised.

Sofie gasped at the painful jibe Claudia had to endure, and was about to step forward when a strong arm wound around her waist and pulled her back into his front.

Brock!

He leaned over her shoulder and whispered into her ear, ‘Have faith in Claud, leave her be. This is her moment to shine.'

Tears pricked Sofie's eyes and the lump in her throat ached, but she stayed put and from their darkened vantage point let the scene play out.

Claudia moved in until she was about a foot away from Skids and Sissy, then speaking quietly but succinctly she directed her salvo at Sissy, ‘You are ugly inside, and out. You can't survive unless you're clinging to Skids or some other sucker.' She pointed at Skids. ‘And
he
can't stand having you too close, I wonder why that is? You're both ugly, malicious people. I have to wonder why he lets you hang around—like-minded perhaps.' Claudia moved right in to Skids's personal space, and hitched a thumb at Sissy. ‘There has to be something in it for you. Would it be that Sissy's dad is coaching the under eighteen soccer team? Hmmm?'

The restaurant door opened and Takumi walked in wearing faded jeans and a white, snug, long-sleeved T-shirt stretched across his wide chest, every muscle well defined. With a playful smile, he headed straight for Claudia. Brock's chest moved behind her, he was chuckling of course. Sofie held her breath. Takumi had assessed the situation, and when he reached Claudia's side, he put his big hand on her head and planted a kiss there in passing. Elation filled Sofie, she wanted to throw her arms around Takumi and give him a big motherly smooch. Sissy's eyes nearly popped out of her head. Claudia didn't bat an eye and behaved as if Takumi did that every day.

Sofie wanted to shout,
Go Claudy!

‘I suggest you leave,' Claudia told them. ‘This is a reputable restaurant, therefore you're not welcome here.'

Sissy's hands fidgeted over her expensive leather jacket, pulling, straightening. A red flush crawled up her neck and into her face, as her eyes darted over the diners, hoping for backup. When none was forthcoming, outrage made her face turn scarlet. Nose in the air, Sissy grabbed Skids by the arm and pulled him out the door, with difficulty as Skids was straining to look over his shoulder at Claudia the whole time.

The door shut behind them and the restaurant broke out in wild applause. Claudia hurried to Takumi and threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. A big-brother grin played his mouth as he caught her up. And he kept walking with her hanging off him all the way to the kitchen.

She gave him a big smoochy kiss on his cheek, and said, ‘Thank you, Tak, you made my day, my week, my forever!'

Oh, shit!
Sofie hoped that ‘forever' was said in the moment of elation when common sense was someplace else.

‘Not a problem,' Takumi whispered to Claudia. ‘Saw your face through the window, that bitch was giving you hell, in a public place where you couldn't let fly—not cool. Just gave you a helping hand. The best part for me was watching them squirm on their way out. You did well holding onto your anger, kiddo.'

Claudia giggled and eased away. ‘Yeah, I did, didn't I?'

‘Yeah, no shit!' Takumi grinned.

It was Sofie's turn to wrap Claudia in her arms and, chin over her shoulder, she caught Takumi's eye and silently mouthed, ‘Thank you.'
And a bigger thanks for the ‘kiddo'.

Takumi grinned and winked at her.

Some girl, with a lot going for her, would need to sweep him off his feet and make life bearable for every other woman on the planet, Sofie decided.

‘I'm okay, Mum. I'm really okay. I'm so okay, I feel freaking great!'

‘You go girl,' Michelle laughed, giving Claudia a high-five.

Claudia turned to Brock. ‘Thanks for holding Mum back.' She pushed herself up on her toes and kissed his cheek.

‘Anytime,' he said, grinning down at her.

‘What are
you
doing here?' Elliot asked Jennifer.

‘How can all the whooping and hollering keep me away? What's going on?'

Sofie quickly filled her in.

‘Bloody hell, Claudia,' Jennifer exclaimed, ‘are you okay, you want to take today off?'

‘No!' she stated firmly. ‘Never felt better.'

‘Good. Just checking.' Jennifer hugged her niece, then moved to the restaurant dining area and announced, ‘Please enjoy your lunch or I'll torture you with some more Jingle Bells.'

Laughing diners shook their heads.

The happy atmosphere and chatter returned.

Satisfied, Jennifer went back to Sofie. ‘Right, I'm going upstairs for a rest. I suggest you do the same.' Then she took Claudia by the shoulders, and said, ‘You handled the situation like a pro. I'm so very proud of you.' She kissed her cheek and turned for the stairs, calling out to Sofie, ‘I haven't forgotten, Sofe!' She peeked over her shoulder at Claudia and Michelle. ‘Have we, girls?'

‘Sure haven't,' they cried out in unison.

Oh my, that sounds ominous.
Eyebrows raised, Sofie silently questioned the girls. But with the tinkle of girlie laughter they remained bright-eyed and tight-lipped.

No amount of digging would get her anywhere, so she turned her attention to Brock. ‘What brings you here?'

‘I've got the afternoon off,' Brock grinned.

‘Me too,' Tak put in. ‘But I told the guys at the station, I'd come past to let you know forensics have opened your package.'

Sofie held her breath when Takumi laid a heavy hand on her shoulder; she didn't know whether to brace herself or feel reassured. Hand still resting there, Takumi dipped his head to look into her face. In a blink, Brock closed in, hugging her side.

‘There's nothing to worry about,' Takumi continued, ‘it's just a bunch of photos. Came here to see when you and Jen would be free to look at them, answer a few questions. Or would you rather wait until after the weekend?'

‘Are you kidding? I'm dying to see them.' Suddenly worried, trepidation prickling down her spine, she frowned and asked, ‘Hang on, they're not gross are they?'

‘Sofe.' Brock's tone in that one word made Sofie feel foolish, as if she'd asked something stupid. Yes, he'd hit a sore spot, and she hated feeling like that—at any time but especially right now in front of an audience.

‘Will you lot take that somewhere else!' Elliot sang out with a nod in their direction. ‘Get out of my kitchen,' he finished on a mutter.

‘I'll leave you two to sort it out,' Takumi said, his handsome face splitting into a magnificent wide grin.

Before he had a chance to leave, Sofie put a restraining hand on his arm and quietly said, ‘Thank you for helping Claudia stand even taller than she already was. What you did was amazingly sweet.'

‘Not a problem, the blonde was a bitch and her boyfriend was a jerk.' Takumi gave her and Brock a swift nod. ‘I'm off home.' He was out the door in a matter of seconds. Sofie had never seen someone move so fast and so efficiently, without disturbing anyone, not even the flutter of a serviette.

Brock was good but not quite in Takumi's league when it came to movement. Sofie swung around and marched to the sunroom. Her spine tensed knowing Brock was right behind her.

She squared her shoulders, glared at him, and snapped, ‘How would I know whether the photos are gross or not? Most of the time men have no understanding of what is appropriate and what isn't. Case in point, you hauling me
naked
out of my first life drawing class in front of all my
very
new students.'

Frowning, Brock's head snapped back.

Oops!
He didn't have a clue what she was talking about. And she'd completely ignored that later he'd risked life and limb to save her arse from total embarrassment when her toy hit the floor. And every day there was more that he did for her, and it was all positive, but none of it even got a look-in when she believed her intelligence was being questioned. She pulled her lips in between her teeth, and bit down before letting them pop out again.

Shit, did she get all put out and bitchy over nothing?

Brock scanned her features, assessing. There was an ache in his voice when he growled, ‘I'm not most men.' He continued his scrutiny of her, then slowly … very slowly … his narrowed eyes softened and the corners of his mouth began to tremble into the barest of smiles. His amused brown eyes captured hers, and held them. ‘What's really pissing you off?'

Well, he asked and now he was going to get it. ‘You saying “
Sofe”
—' she did a little head wobble from side to side, ‘—in that tone you used, with that look you gave me, made me feel stupid and about yea high.' She dropped her hand suggesting the size of a four-year-old. Sofie raised her chin, ready for a fight. She and Jennifer had often talked about feeling inadequate, and they were making great strides in overcoming such feelings. Now one wrong look, the wrong word, from this mountain of a man she respected and had deep feelings for, and she was back feeling the need to defend herself.

As he studied her, his stance and expression gentled further, and emotions gathered quickly behind his eyes. Unfortunately the only one she caught was disappointment. Damn, that hit her hard, she lost the power in her legs, and swayed to one side. His arm came out to steady her.

And then, to Sofie's disquiet, he proceeded to break down what had made her feel that way. Because, obviously, it sure as hell wasn't meant the way she took it, and now she had to deal.