Page 9 of Secrets of Riverside

‘Yes, loud and clear, and I promise.’ Gobsmacked she was going to do this, Millie heaved an almighty sigh. ‘Can you please make sure, while you’re still here of course, that you take good care of Felix while I’m gone?’

‘Trust you to think of that cat at a time like this.’ Ebony smiled a little. ‘Of course I will; he was kind of mine before he kind of became yours, remember?’

‘Yeah, I know he was.’ Nodding, she smiled a little now too. ‘He’s my buddy.’

‘Yes, and you’re mine.’ Ebony hooked her arm into Millie’s. ‘So, you make damn sure you come back to me safe and sound. And if you get one whiff of trouble, you call the police, or even better still, get the hell out of there and call them on the way.’

Millie gave her a confirming nod. ‘I most certainly will.’

Then they sat there, holding hands, in a shocked silence, both absorbing and trying to process what was about to unfold.

Millie just prayed to the powers that be that she wasn’t making the biggest, and most dangerous, decision of her life. But without a job, or a love interest, or basically a life, what did she have to lose?

CHAPTER

4

His arm buried up to his elbow, and his lower half covered in blood and birth fluids, Jarrah couldn’t believe his eyes as he briefly caught sight of Jasmine tiptoeing out of Tommy’s place. Damn it! Tommy knew the number one rule was no cavorting with the employees. And she was meant to have started her shift ten minutes ago, too. The perks of sleeping with her boss weren’t going to last long. Disappointed, irked and angry, he cursed beneath his breath. Tommy had been forewarned and forearmed. This was it, the very last straw. Tommy and Jasmine had left him no choice.

Focusing back on his present situation, Jarrah tried to keep a firm grip on the slippery calf as he encouraged the heifer to keep going. ‘Come on, girl, just a couple more pushes I reckon, and then you can have that well-earned rest.’

The heifer bawled. Then bawled again. Moments later, the calf came into the world in a slick messy heap at Jarrah’s equally messy boots. Chuffed to be witnessing this incredible moment, he stepped aside as the mother turned and began to lick its baby clean. The calf tried to stand, stumbled, and then tried again. Wobbling on shaky legs, it found the teat it was so desperate for, and suckled. Jarrah smiled at this miracle of life before heading over to the sink and grabbing the bar of soap to wash up. His job was done here. He’d come back later and check in with mum and her calf. For now, though, he needed to get changed and check in on the roadhouse. The breakfast rush wouldn’t be far off. And something told him things wouldn’t be running as smoothly as they should.

Thirty minutes later, he stepped into the buzz of the dining room and went straight over to his most loyal, and sometimes brutally honest, customer. ‘Hey, Jacko, how’s the grub?’

As he looked from his half-eaten plate of food to Jarrah, the bloke’s bushy grey brows furrowed. ‘I have to be honest, King.’ He plonked his fork down and sat back, burly arms folding. ‘It tastes like crap.’

‘Oh, Jacko, I’m sorry, mate.’ He went to take the plate from the table. ‘Let me get you something else.’

Jacko shook his head and took his plate back. ‘I don’t have time to wait for something else, and it’s filling the hole, so all good this time round.’ He gestured towards the kitchen with a tip of his head. ‘I get she’s new and learning the ropes, but let’s just hope she learns to cook while she’s at it, hey.’ He chuckled, extra loud. ‘Us truck drivers might not be fussy, but we do like a good wholesome feed, like Mary’s used to be.’

‘Cheers for understanding, Jacko.’ Peeved with Tommy and his newfound fling, or whatever the heck she was, Jarrah huffed. ‘This one’s on the house, and your next meal will be too.’

‘Thanks, King, that’s real nice of ya.’ Jacko offered him a stern nod.

‘It’s the least I can do.’ He gave Jacko a friendly slap on the back. ‘Stay safe, and see you soon, yeah?’

‘Yeah, I’ll be coming back through in a couple of days.’ His grimace was lighthearted. ‘Hopefully for better fodder next time.’

‘You have my word it will be.’ Swallowing an entire sentence of expletives, Jarrah turned and thundered into the kitchen, where he plucked a full plate of food from the serving counter and carried it with him. ‘You got a minute, Jasmine?’

‘Yeah, I suppose so.’ Glancing over her shoulder, she offered a fake smile. ‘What’s up?’

‘This is what’s up.’ He held up the ghastly plate of overcooked corned beef and sloppy vegetables. ‘I can’t have you serving this.’

‘Oh, for god’s sake.’ Her collection of cheap bangles jingled as she raised both hands into the air. ‘Why the effing hell not?’

Jarrah was gobsmacked at her flippant response. ‘Because it’s inedible.’ She had a mouth worthy of a bar of soap, and a temper that was way too quick to flare.

‘The truckies aren’t fussy, and the few travellers that call in seem happy with my food.’ Her expression both taunting and smug, she shrugged at his look of disbelief. ‘I mean, they all clear their plates, so what’s the big problem?’

‘They eat it because they’re hungry, and most of them don’t have time to send it back.’ His temper rising, he plonked the plate, quite loudly, onto the stainless-steel bench. He was on a roll now, and it was time to end this. ‘And as for Tommy, you know the number one rule of this place is not to have relations with staff.’

‘Uh-huh, of course I do.’ Her expression turned poker face, but her darting eyes couldn’t hide the fact she knew she’d been busted.

‘I know you were in Tommy’s unit today, and I know what you were up to, so you can get your things and get out of my kitchen.’

‘You’re actually firing me?’ She stabbed a finger into her chest.

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