I’ll follow you.’
‘Think you can keep up?’ Reece grinned at her, suddenly relishing the chance to goad her a little.
Her cheeks flushed prettily and suddenly the day seemed a whole lot easier. ‘I’ll do my best.’
They leaned against the SUV side by side, drinking the takeaway coffee that Sara had got from the store in the main street while Reece had been busy seeing Frank into the ambulance. Trader lapped greedily at the water that she had poured into a camping dish she found in the boot of the car. ‘So what was he doing out there? The guy in the café said that whole area is on high alert.’
‘It is. He’d been staying with his daughter for a couple of days and he reckoned he’d nip back and get some things from home. He would have been fine if the angina hadn’t slowed him up.’
‘Hmm. So you gave him the talk about not being indestructible, then?’
Reece chuckled. He liked the way that she anticipated him. The way that they’d fallen into an almost seamless synchronicity back there. Just training, he guessed, hers and his. ‘Yeah. I imagine he’ll hear it again from a few different directions.’
She shrugged. ‘Well, as long as he listens to one of them. We must be in mobile range by now.’
‘Yeah. I’ll call the hospital and get them to tell Simon that we’re on our way. We can stop by at my house first and you can have a shower and change your clothes.’ Reece drew his phone out of his pocket.
She twisted her mouth ruefully and Reece wondered what her lips would taste like. Sweet, he reckoned. Like the rest of her. ‘I’ll take the shower, but I don’t have a change of clothes with me.’
‘Wasn’t that your case I put in the back of the car?’ The large, lightweight case with a strip of gaudy material tied around the handle so it could be picked out easily at an airport.
‘Yes, but my clothes are in the chest of drawers in Simon’s spare room. I filled my case with his things.’ She shrugged. ‘It’s his home. I wanted to bring as much of it as I could.’
Most women would have brought at least a change of clothes, but it seemed that Sara wasn’t most women. She’d left behind practically everything she possessed in this hemisphere, putting her brother first. That simple act of selflessness made Reece smile.
‘I’ll call my sister, then. She’s about your size. I dare say she can fix you up with something.’
She blushed again. Reece could really get used to that. ‘That’s okay. I have plenty of spending money. I can pop to the shops somewhere. I don’t need much.’
Maybe not. But Reece could provide her with whatever she did need. She was his friend’s sister, and she had no one else, which made her his responsibility now. ‘I won’t ask Kath to bring much, then.’
She nodded, head down all of a sudden, staring at her coffee. ‘Thanks. Just a clean T-shirt would be great.’ She drained her coffee, crushing the cardboard cup in her hands. ‘Thanks for coming to get me. I don’t know where I’d be right now if you hadn’t.’
Her hands were shaking. She was under no illusions about the danger of the situation she’d been in.
‘No problem. Do you want to drive while I make my calls? I’ll programme the sat nav for you.’ It might take her mind off the worries of the moment.
She nodded. ‘Yeah. Thanks.’
‘On the right, remember.’ Reece tried to make a joke of it, but he was too tired to even see whether she got it or not.
‘I remember. Get in, before I decide to leave you behind.’
He’d dozed fitfully in the car. As soon as he’d made his calls and there was nothing left to do, his body seemed to shut down, taking what it needed. Sara knew all about that kind of exhaustion. After her mother had died last year, finally losing her battle with cancer, it had been weeks before she’d been able to sit down without going to sleep. Gran had said she had slept off all her tears, gently making it clear that she disapproved of such a strategy, and in hindsight she might have been right.
The sat nav beeped in an indication that she was exactly where she was supposed to be. Sara nudged Reece gently, and he woke with a start, suddenly alert. ‘Is this your house?’
‘Uh?’ He relaxed back into his seat when he saw where they were. ‘No. This is my sister’s house. Back up a bit, will you?’
Sara manoeuvred the heavy vehicle into the mouth of the driveway, stopping when Reece shook his head. ‘Her car’s not there, she must be over at my place. I’m just down the road a little way.’
‘Down the road a little way’ turned out to be more than four kilometres. Reece indicated an opening in the tall bushes that flanked the road, and Sara steered into it, the SUV dwarfing the small shiny runaround already parked outside the house.
‘Here we are.’ He grinned, stretching the kinks out of his back and shoulders. ‘Hopefully, Kath’s got the kettle on.’ He opened the passenger door and almost fell out of the car, regaining his footing quickly. At his command, Trader suddenly woke from his repose and scrambled past Sara to follow Reece.
The house seemed far too big for one but, then, there was more space out here. There were large windows, a covered porch, and trees and bushes that were unfamiliar to Sara. It wasn’t like home. From what Simon had said, it wasn’t really a home to Reece either. Just a place to camp out until Reece’s permanently itchy feet became too much for him and he upped sticks and moved on.
It was nice, though. An oasis of shade and weatherworn colours, which made up in charm for what it lacked in grooming. Reece fitted in here perfectly.
‘Ah!’ He was standing in the open doorway. ‘I can smell fresh coffee.’
‘Only because I brought it with me.’ A woman’s voice sounded from the hall. ‘When did you last go shopping for food, Reece?’
He rolled his eyes and winked at Sara. ‘I’ve been working.’
‘Yeah, and what’s your excuse the rest of the time?’ A blonde, pretty woman dressed in shorts and a T-shirt joined him in the doorway.
Reece shrugged. ‘No clue. Playing?’
Kath jabbed one finger at his ribs and Reece caught her hand, chuckling. Trader sensed that it was time to let off a little steam and threw himself against Reece’s legs, demanding attention.
‘Come inside.’ Kath had broken away from Reece and was advancing on Sara now. ‘Don’t mind my brother, he’s got no manners.’ She grabbed Sara’s hand and led her past Reece into the house. ‘No coffee either, but at least I can do something about that.’
Kath stayed long enough to pour the coffee and unload the contents of two large shopping bags into the refrigerator. Then she took a last swig from her mug, professed herself delighted at having met Sara and apologised for having to run.
‘Later, sis. I’ll come by and pick Trader up this evening if that’s okay.’ Reece rose from the sofa and gave his sister a brief hug. ‘Thanks for everything.’
‘I
