Shield, page 14
“OK, park and we’ll go inside. I’ll get the licence plate.” As Elijah pulled into a parking bay, Adam placed his hand on Elijah’s. “Remember, relax.”
Elijah nodded. Easier said than done.
He strode to the entrance of the shop. His shoulders started to hunch and he drew them back down. Confidence, Queen.
The sliding doors swooshed open and Elijah walked inside, heading straight to the party and decorations department. The table arrangements had been specially ordered and Elijah had called the day before to ensure they had arrived. He grinned at the woman behind the counter. “I’m here to pick up the decorations for the Lockhart-Travers wedding.” He handed her the receipt Fleur had given him.
The woman smiled. “They’re out the back. I’ll get them for you.”
Adam leaned against the counter. “I’ve never been here before. There’s so much stuff.”
“Your family wasn’t into crafts?” Elijah asked.
Adam shook his head. “I don’t know one end of a needle from the other.”
“Will could teach you to knit if you want,” Elijah said. “And my sister’s a wicked seamstress.”
“Nah, I’m good.” He lowered his voice. “The guy by the candle-making stuff looks familiar.”
Elijah turned slowly and took in the tall, broad-shouldered dark-haired man on crutches. “It’s Mark Patton. Arrogant son-of-a-bitch.”
Adam nodded. “Lives with Alyse Wilson, right?”
“Yeah. His parents own the Vale winery.” They exchanged a glance. Could he be the one Elijah had heard last night? He was the right build for the guy who’d held a gun to Morgan, but he hadn’t been using crutches. Elijah had been too shaken up to notice if he was wearing a moonboot.
Mark had given him hell when he’d briefly worked at the winery. Didn’t take kindly to working with a poof. Elijah narrowed his eyes and sauntered over to him. “Hey, Mark, what brings you to this fine establishment?”
Mark glared at him. “I’d expect someone like you to be in here.”
Elijah rolled his eyes. People like Mark weren’t worth the effort. “I’m picking up decorations for the wedding tomorrow.” Adam came and stood next him.
Mark’s glare briefly darkened before he smiled, large and fake. “Constable Marshall.”
Adam nodded. “What brings you here?”
Mark grunted and gestured to the shelf. “Alyse wanted me to get some more candle wicks while I was in town. Don’t know why she can’t order them on the internet.”
As excuses went it was a good one. Alyse made her own beeswax candles, but by all accounts, Mark wasn’t the doting partner who would run errands for her.
“How’d you get here?” Adam asked.
“Drove.”
Adam raised his eyebrows. “Should you be driving with a broken leg?”
“It’s an automatic.”
“Here they are!” The sales woman had returned with a trolley full of decorations.
Hopefully they’d all fit in Adam’s car. Elijah didn’t bother saying goodbye to Mark. He checked the trolley contents against the receipt. “Thanks so much.”
Adam helped him transfer the decorations into the boot of his car. Elijah waited until they were on their way to the venue to ask, “So, what do you think?”
“About?”
“Mark,” Elijah replied.
“Doesn’t he drive a four-wheel drive?”
Good point. “He might have borrowed a car, or sold it. He’s constantly buying new stuff.”
Adam made a sound which might have been in agreement. “The ute was still in the car park when we left, but no one was in it.”
Elijah blinked. He hadn’t even thought to look, but now he checked his rear-view mirror. No black ute. “When we were called out to Alyse’s place the other night, there was a lot of cash in the office.” He glanced at Adam. “I mean a lot—thousands. Alyse pulled me out of the room and shut the door behind me. She seemed scared.”
“I’ll tell Lincoln,” Adam said.
Elijah pulled into Blue Yonder restaurant which would be both the ceremony and reception venue. It was situated on the edge of a cliff and had stunning views over the windswept ocean. The water was dark and angry today with white caps peaking, but it was still breathtakingly beautiful. Lush gardens closer to the restaurant added to the luxurious feel of the venue.
Elijah understood why they’d chosen it. He hurried inside to ask where to leave the decorations and after a short conversation, they carried them through to the function room.
“Can we stop and get another coffee?” Adam asked as they drove back towards town.
Elijah checked the time. Just enough to stop at the suit hire place before they had to be at the airport to pick up Olivia. “You can get one at the airport.” He glanced in the rear-view mirror and jolted. “The black ute’s back.”
Adam shifted and looked out the side mirror. “Same plates.”
“Are you going to run them?”
“No need. Lincoln has the list already.” He typed a message on his phone.
“When will you tell me who is following me?”
“Not until we’re certain.”
Elijah gritted his teeth as he parked outside the suit place. “I won’t be a minute.” He retrieved the suit from the back seat and hurried inside. A few minutes later he was back with a clean suit he’d examined himself.
Ten minutes until the plane landed. Hopefully it would be late. Fleur had given him a photo of Olivia and asked him to apologise profusely for not picking her up herself. But Kit had organised a surprise beauty session for all the musketeers.
“Who are we picking up?” Adam asked.
“A uni friend of Fleur’s—Olivia Demidenko. She’s staying at her aunt and uncle’s place, but they’re away this weekend.”
“Ian’s parents?” The flat tone in Adam’s voice had Elijah glancing at him. He stared straight ahead, unseeing.
“Maybe.” He mentally scrolled through the names of people he knew, to work out why Adam was so upset. The only Ian he knew of had been Foley’s farmhand, and he’d been killed a few months ago… Oh. That would explain it.
“It might be better if you drop me off and I’ll get my own way back to town.”
“Nope. You’re supposed to be protecting me. She won’t blame you for what happened to Ian.”
He grunted and said nothing. This wasn’t good. It might be best if Elijah didn’t mention Adam’s job. Olivia would only be in town for the weekend and they would all be busy with the wedding.
People were already streaming out of the little airport building when they arrived. “Do you want to stay here?”
Adam reached for the door handle. “No, I need coffee.”
At the entrance, Elijah scanned the crowd for a young blonde. Adam headed for the café and then stopped short, his gaze caught on someone by the luggage carousel. Elijah followed his line of sight and compared the person to the photo on his phone. Olivia.
She was tall and curvy, her blonde, wavy hair cut to just below her shoulders and her jeans hugged her legs like a second skin. She wore the cutest pink knitted jumper. Elijah stepped next to Adam, though Adam didn’t notice. His eyes were all for the woman they were picking up. “Oh, you spotted Olivia, well done.”
Adam blinked. “That’s Olivia?”
Elijah nodded, grinning. “Glad you stayed?”
His friend swore. “I’m getting coffee.” He stalked off.
Olivia already wore a backpack and she lifted a second bag from the carousel. Elijah hurried forward. “Let me help.” He flashed her a grin. “You’re Olivia, right?”
“Elijah?”
“Right, first guess.”
She smiled, letting him take the barrel bag which didn’t weigh much.
“How was your flight?”
“Uneventful.” She scanned the area. “I’d kill for a coffee though.”
“Adam’s in line. What would you like?”
“An espresso.”
He moved to where Adam was about to order. “Add an espresso for Olivia.”
Adam nodded.
He was back in sullen mood. Not good.
Elijah returned to Olivia and she said, “I appreciate you picking me up.”
“It’s my pleasure. Plus I was in town anyway.” They waited while Adam got the coffees and then waited some more for a break in the rain to run out to the car. Adam got in the back seat.
“Fleur and Will are thrilled you could come to the wedding,” Elijah said.
Olivia fiddled with her long, dangling silver earrings. “I wouldn’t miss it. Fleur and Hannah were good friends at uni.” She glanced at Elijah. “So how do you know Fleur?”
“I was Will’s roommate when they met,” Elijah said.
She grinned. “I can’t wait to meet him. What do you do?”
“Farmhand. I work with Kit van Ross, sorry, Kit Zanetti.”
Olivia beamed. “Fleur and Hannah used to talk about Kit and Mai so much, I feel like I know them.” She twisted in her seat to look at Adam. “What do you do, Adam?”
Elijah checked his rear-view mirror, saw Adam’s long look before he answered, “I’m a cop.”
She sucked in a breath and Elijah quickly said, “So are you just staying for the weekend?”
“Yeah.” She glanced back at Adam. “Were you involved when my cousin, Ian was shot?”
Adam gave a short nod.
“I never got a clear account of what happened.”
“You should ask your aunt and uncle.”
Elijah winced. Adam had never mentioned the day to him, but Kit had, and he understood why Adam didn’t want to talk about it.
“They’re still grieving. I don’t want to bring up bad memories.”
But she didn’t consider they might also be bad for Adam.
“Let’s leave discussions of murder and mayhem for a weekend when there isn’t a wedding.” Elijah glanced out the windscreen. “I hope we get some clear weather tomorrow.”
Olivia sighed. “I’ve heard it’s supposed to be lucky for it to rain on your wedding day.” She started chatting about other weddings she’d been to.
Elijah met Adam’s gaze in the rear-view mirror and Adam gave him a nod of thanks.
That’s what friends were for.
Chapter 11
Jamie checked the clock for the tenth time and dragged the quilt from his bed to the couch where he’d set up his laptop. Hannah hadn’t been kidding when she’d said the shed was cold. Maybe he should go into town, hang out at Mai’s bakery while he waited for Elijah to get back. His muscles tightened. How far would word have spread about him kissing Elijah? Shirley wouldn’t have kept her mouth shut, but it depended on whether she’d been working this morning at the caravan park, or having brunch with a friend in town.
It didn’t matter. There was no taking back what he’d done and he didn’t want to. The kiss had been scorching. He couldn’t wait to do it again.
Which meant he had to face any criticism, man up, stop letting others dictate what he did with his life.
He sighed and looked at the time again.
Lincoln had been useless when Jamie called to ask whether they’d got a hit on the partial plate. He’d been in cop mode, with his I can’t tell you bullshit.
Jamie would rather be with Elijah than twiddling his thumbs here. If he’d agreed to tell people about their relationship sooner, it would have been the perfect reason for him to go into town with Elijah to run those errands. But it was better Elijah was with a trained police officer. Safer for him.
Jamie wanted Elijah to be safe.
Jamie glanced around the big open shed for something to do. He’d thought moving out would feel better than this, but it still felt as if he was in limbo with all the boxes piled in the corner. The shed was meant to be temporary so he needed to decide what to do next.
He had some savings, so he should be ready to buy a house, or go somewhere other than Bali on a holiday. Somehow he’d fallen into the rut of complacency—no, not complacency, of trying to please. Of doing what people expected of him, of making people happy so they’d like him.
He’d had lots of friends in Perth, university mates he’d gone drinking and dancing with, but no one he’d connected with the way he had with the musketeers. It was probably why he’d joined the SES in the first place. Sub-consciously he’d needed something to make him feel better about himself.
Who was he kidding? It was more pathetic than that.
He’d joined because Sandra’s brother was a member and he’d wanted to please her.
Even that relationship had been superficial. She’d moved in when his roommate had moved out and he hadn’t come up with a reasonable excuse to refuse. He’d wanted to believe their relationship was going somewhere, but she’d never been interested in visiting Blackbridge. The Swan Valley was the furthest country she’d go and it was only half an hour from the city. She’d liked to go to shows and out to dinner, and while Jamie enjoyed that too, he also loved a night spent curled up on the couch watching movies or reading a book. And that bored Sandra. She had to be seen out and about.
Jamie had stuck with it until last Christmas holidays when she’d been jealous of him spending time here with the musketeers and had given him an ultimatum—her or them. It hadn’t been a contest. Mai, Kit, Hannah and Fleur had been his best friends forever, though he didn’t deserve them. He’d transferred his lease to Sandra, packed up and come home.
Something he should have done sooner.
He groaned.
How had he not seen it before? He’d gone with the flow for most of his life, unwilling to risk upsetting people, unwilling to go after what he really wanted.
And what he really wanted was Elijah.
The town could go to hell if they didn’t like it. His sexuality didn’t define who he was, it was part of him.
Yeah, it was easy to be brave when he was alone in his shed. But what would the reality be like? Only one way to find out.
He called Elijah.
“Hey. You’re on speaker and Adam and Olivia are in the car with me.”
Jamie smiled at Elijah’s perky voice. “It’s Jamie. Will you be finished by lunch?”
“Yep.”
“Want to meet at Mai’s bakery?” Central and public. It was time to make a statement.
“I can meet you there in an hour.” There was a smile in Elijah’s voice as he hung up.
The short conversation was enough to lift Jamie’s spirits. Outside the wind howled, but Elijah’s voice had warmed him. Still the noise reminded him of how bare the shed was. In summer it would be a furnace. He picked up his laptop from the coffee table and shifted the quilt so its heavy layer settled around him. It was time he took charge of his life. Blackbridge was his home, he was happy here surrounded by friends and family, and he had a good job. So he had to find somewhere decent to live.
His skin prickled as he checked his bank balance. He’d never been a big spender, and living with his parents for the past six months meant he’d saved enough for a decent deposit on a house.
If he couldn’t find a rental, he had to consider buying. He flicked through a real estate website.
He had options. A few empty blocks both in and out of town where he could build exactly what he wanted, or a number of houses around his price range. The idea of having a place of his own made his stomach churn in excitement. He could put down roots, take control of his life.
His gaze caught the time at the bottom of the screen and he slammed the laptop shut. Shit. He was supposed to be meeting Elijah.
He grabbed his wallet, checked his reflection in the mirror and hurried out the door.
***
Elijah walked into On the Way bakery and scanned the people seated at the wooden tables. No Jamie. He was a little later than he’d expected to be by the time he’d dropped everyone at their respective houses. Adam had warned him to keep a lookout for people following him and Elijah had been a little paranoid as he’d dropped off the suit at Will’s place. Then Will had wanted to chat about the wedding, and Elijah had lost track of time.
Elijah raised a hand to Jody behind the counter and snagged the last two-person table in the middle of the room. The scent of freshly baked bread and coffee filled the room and he inhaled deeply.
A few familiar faces were at the bakery today. Shirley and Barbara were having coffee together; Lynette from the caravan park was with her husband and three boys; and Lawrence, the captain of the volunteer fire-brigade was there with his wife. Friends and families. No one looked like they were there on a date. Except him.
Shirley leaned over and asked, “Are you waiting for Jamie?”
Elijah blinked. How had she known? He nodded.
The bell over the door rang and Jamie rushed in, looking a little flustered. A smile lit up his face as he found Elijah and Elijah’s heart skipped a beat. “I’m sorry I’m late.” He slid into the chair opposite, his knee bumping Elijah’s as he did so.
“I just got here.”
“Good.” Jamie let out a long breath. “I lost track of time looking at houses.”
Elijah raised an eyebrow. “Are you thinking of buying?”
“Yeah. It’s time I took my finger out and bought something.”
Elijah’s chest tightened. “In Blackbridge?” He hoped the question seemed casual.
Jamie nodded. “Have you ordered?”
“Not yet.”
“What would you like? My shout.”
Elijah pursed his lips. After last night he’d thought Jamie was ready to be open about their relationship, but there’d been no kiss on arrival. Patience. No matter what had happened last night, he’d promised Jamie two weeks of anonymity. “I’ll have a cappuccino and a banh mi.”
Jamie stood, leaning forward to kiss Elijah on the lips. “I missed you.” With a smile that set Elijah’s heart racing, he went to order.
Well, that answered that question. He fanned himself and glanced around to gauge people’s reactions.
No one seemed to have noticed.
He smiled. Just the way it should be.
A few minutes later, Jamie was back. “Did you get all your errands done this morning?”
