Page 115 of Outback Secrets

‘I’ve got somewhere to be.’ She was becoming quite the champion of fabricating the truth, although she did need to get the morning after pill. But there was no way she could ask for that at the local pharmacy—for sure someone would overhear and, although it was no secret that she didn’t want kids, she didn’t want her dirty laundry being discussed on the main street.

Imagine if she was pregnant. If Liam had reacted this badly to her request for him to spend a few hours at the farm on Christmas Day, she didn’t dare think about how he’d react if she were actually up the duff.

Not that she’d be at all happy about that either. Though if there were a man she’d consider it for, it would be him. If it meant waking up every day in Liam’s bed, she might even give up flying.

Oh my God.Give up flying? A cold clamminess cramped her chest. Shit! Usually an expert at keeping sex separate from emotion, she’d failed dismally this time.

She’d gone and fallen in love instead.

For the first time since Max, Henri couldn’t help wishing she had a career that didn’t make a relationship impossible to maintain. But it was all a moot point anyway, because she’d gone and fallen in love with a man who was as emotionally unavailable as the wood he crafted into beautiful art.

At first, she’d put his reticence down to the loss of his family—some kind of self-protection against that kind of hurt again, maybe even some kind of survivor guilt. But last night when he spoke about Kate, it became clear there was so much more to it. He was still hung up on her. Probably still in love with her. Henri didn’t buy for a moment his line about her marrying someone else and him moving to Australia being a happy ever after for everyone!

She wished with every last molecule that made her that she could be the woman to heal him and help him move on from the hurts in his past, but he’d made it blatantly clear that he didn’t feel the same way about her, and she wasn’t going to make a fool of herself chasing after something that wasn’t meant to be.

She felt Tilley’s hand against her arm. ‘You okay? You look like you’re about to faint.’

‘I’m fine, it’s just my ankle. Hard being on it too long.’

Tilley nodded. ‘Of course. I’m sorry, Janet, but I’ve got to get Hens to the car.’

Henri was already hobbling towards the door, and despite the crutches, her sister had to walk fast to keep up with her as she headed for the four-wheel drive.

‘What exactly is going on?’ Tilley asked, once the crutches were safely deposited across the back seat and she’d climbed into the driver’s side. ‘You’re acting very weird.’

‘You said you don’t need to be at the shop till lunchtime? Can you take me to Geraldton, please?’

‘Geraldton? Why? Do you need to do some last-minute Christmas shopping or something? We’ve actually got some pretty cool gifts at The Ag Store—I’m trying to expand the business.’

‘No. I don’t need presents. I … I need to get the morning after pill.’

‘Hang on …’ Tilley had just turned the key in the ignition, but instead of reversing like Henri willed her to, she turned and scrutinised her. ‘I thought you said you and Liam weren’t actually together, so how could you possibly need—’

‘Please, just take me and I’ll explain everything on the way.’

‘Fine. But you’re buying me a coffee when we get there, because playing taxi was not what I had in mind for my kid-free morning.’

Henri breathed a sigh of relief; coffee she could do.

‘Time to start explaining, little sister,’ Tilley said when they were two minutes outside of Bunyip Bay and Henri still hadn’t said a word.

‘You know that first night I stayed over at the pub?’

Tilley nodded. ‘Sure, the night we all had dinner and I was trying to get you to come back to my house because I was worried that you’d drive home drunk.’

‘I would never drive home drunk! Just because I’m the youngest, you all treat me like a baby, but I’m not stupid.’

‘Sor-ry,’ Tilley said, sounding more like a teenage girl rather than the almost forty-year-old woman she was.

‘Anyway,’ Henri continued, ‘I did spend the night in Liam’s bed but not for the reason I said later. I was so tired that the drinks went to my head and I passed out on a couch in the pub. I guess Liam found me there when he closed up and he took me upstairs and put me in his bed.’

‘He didn’t take advantage of you when you were drunk?!’

‘No, of course not. Liam would never do anything like that. He slept on his couch and then made me breakfast the next morning. That would probably have been it, if I didn’t run into Eileen Brady at the IGA afterwards.’

Henri explained everything—how the town busybody had started casting aspersions about Liam, which got her goat and caused her to make up something outrageous.

‘That’s crazy,’ Tilley said as she sped up to overtake a massive road train. ‘Why didn’t you just tell her she was being a narrow-minded, judgemental bigot? It’s not like you to hold back your opinions.’

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