Page 53 of His Best Friend's Baby

‘I’ll throw a couple of sandwiches together for us,’ Seth called after her. ‘You okay with corned beef and pickles?’

‘Yes, thanks.’

‘Good-o.’

As Seth buttered bread he tossed around possible openers for their all-important conversation. He needed to make sure that Polly understood exactly how he felt. She needed to understand it wasn’t just lust, and it certainly wasn’t just friendship. He was searching for the right words, theperfectwords, hunting for words that wouldn’t scare her, when his phone rang.

He frowned when he recognised the caller as the local copper, Cameron James.

‘Cameron,’ he said, as he clicked on the call. And then, somewhat reluctantly, ‘How can I help you?’

‘Sorry to bother you on a Saturday arvo, Seth.’

‘So you should be. You know this is my weekend off? If it’s a highway breakdown, Vince Jones is your man. He should be able to help you.’

‘Yeah, that’s what LeeAnne told me and I’ve already rung Vince, but he’s out at the Cassidy place.’

‘He’s still out there? That job was booked for first thing this morning.’

‘Seems there’s been some sort of hiccup. Job’s taking way longer than expected. Sorry, Seth, don’t know the details.’

In his head, Seth let fly with a string of expletives. His garage wasn’t the only service station in Wirralong, but his was the only business with the RACV franchise, which meant he dealt with any call-outs for roadside emergencies.

‘What about Rory, my apprentice?’ Seth asked. ‘He’s licensed to drive the tow truck.’

‘Spoke to LeeAnne about Rory. Apparently, he clocked off at midday and he’s already on his way to Toolondo for a twenty-first birthday party.’

And Toolondo was fifty kilometres away. Seth thought about calling the youngster back, but that was hardly fair.

‘Okay, Cameron,’ he said, resigned. ‘You’d better give me the details.’

‘Good man, Seth.’ At least the policeman sounded appreciative. ‘The vehicle’s about seven or eight kilometres out of town, on the highway heading west towards the Grampians. It’s Mick and Mary Whiting’s car, actually. They rolled it on that tricky bend at the start of the first hill climb.’

‘Bloody hell.’ Seth sighed. The Whitings were an elderly Wirralong couple. He’d been servicing their Toyota Corolla for years. ‘Were they hurt?’

‘Pretty badly shaken, but thankfully, no serious injury. They’ve been taken off to the base hospital, though, and they’ll almost certainly be staying there overnight. They’re very upset, of course. Worried about the damage to their vehicle. They were heading off on a special holiday.’

‘That’s rough.’

‘Yeah. And I don’t want to leave the car lying there overnight, Seth. Even if I cordoned it off with police tape, it wouldn’t stop vandals from stripping that car before morning.’

‘Yeah, yeah,’ said Seth. ‘Okay. I’m onto it.’

‘Thanks, mate. I’ll meet you out there and I’ll be ready to help anyway I can.’

Seth was disconnecting as Polly came back into the kitchen.

‘Is there a problem?’ she asked, no doubt having heard at least part of Seth’s end of the conversation.

He nodded. ‘An elderly Wirralong couple rolled their vehicle and both Vince and Rory are tied up. There’s no one to drive the tow truck.’

‘Except you?’

‘Yeah. ‘Fraid so.’

Seth steeled himself for Polly’s reaction. He knew she’d be worried about the party, and asking the same questions he was now juggling—about whether he’d be back in time, or whether they should call the whole thing off. And how many phone calls a cancellation would involve.

To his surprise, Polly asked none of these questions. Even more surprising, she crossed the room and slipped her arms around his waist. And then she kissed him. On the lips. Soft and sweet and sexy.

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