Page 53 of Wings Above the Mallee

They fell into an awkward silence, like they were strangers, and Heath considered checking out the prices of the loo paper himself.

‘And Amelia,’ he eventually said, ‘if she’s planning on going out, she must be doing better?’

Charlee flashed a triumphant grin. ‘I was counting the seconds until you’d ask.’

He should be annoyed by her audacity, but how could he be? It was years since she’d teased him about anything. ‘I’m asking because it’s what polite adults do.’

‘Polite adults who come knocking on a single woman’s door every two days?’

‘Polite adults who knock on their daughter’s door.’

‘You know you could just text me, right?’

‘You know you always ignore my texts.’

Charlee avoided his gaze. ‘Yeah. But I get them.’

Had Charlee just admitted that sheneededhis contact?

He blew out a sharp breath and indicated they should continue walking. He needed a couple of minutes to compose himself.

‘Are you lost there, loveys?’ Lynn called from the front of the shop. ‘Wouldn’t have thought it possible, but then there’ve been strange things happening around Settlers Bridge lately.’

Heath lifted the eyebrow that still worked. ‘Do we buy into it?’ he whispered to Charlee. Lynn liked nothing better than a good, long chat and the odd statement was obviously a conversational gambit. He had discovered a couple of weeks ago that the shop owner was widowed; perhaps, despite the close-knit town, she could be lonely. Funny that he’d not thought about that possibility previously but instead had judged her as nosey and gossipy.

‘Do we even have that much time?’ Charlee murmured back.

‘We could say we’re on our way to Ploughs and Pies for lunch?’

‘Really?’ Charlee slammed one hand to her hip and pursed her lips in clear disapproval.

‘What?’

‘Well, firstly, how have you not seen the windows of Ploughs and Pies are papered over? That’s what Lynn’s talking about.’

He shook his head, hefting his almost-empty plastic basket. ‘I guess I have my routine. Come here. Go knock at your door. Wander off to get a ride back to the farm with Sean.’ He hoped he wasn’t making himself sound too pathetic; there was a fine line between letting Charlee know that he was worried about her and making her feel she was being monitored. ‘Anyway, secondly?’

‘So, secondly, you just asked me out for coffee like a fifteen-year-old would ask a girl on a date. “Me and memates are going to the movies, you wanna hang?” If you want me to go to lunch, ask me.’

She was teasing, he knew it. Yet he was as terrified his daughter would reject his offer as he would be about any prospective date turning him down.

Charlee held up a finger. ‘And thirdly—yes, of course there is a thirdly; you know me, Dad.’

That word. His heart clenched and he gritted his teeth. Who the hell knew it was possible for joy to hurt every bit as much as grief?

‘Thirdly, why don’t you invite Amelia along? I happen to know she’s sitting around doing nothing much. I’ve left Daideó babysitting her.’

Suddenly the prospect of Charlee declining his lunch offer wasn’t the worst thing he could imagine. After all, he’d had plenty of practice there. But if Amelia turned him down? That wasn’t a rejection he needed to open himself to. ‘She might not be too keen. You know, after our last conversation, how we left things.’ He squared his shoulders. ‘WhatIsaid.’

‘You do have a habit of putting your foot in it,’ Charlee observed acidly as she added Lady Grey teabags to her carrier. ‘But lucky for you, Amelia’s nicer than me. I know she’s not stressing on it.’

They’d started to slowly make their way toward the counter, and Heath could no longer think what it was he needed to buy. ‘So you’re cool if I invite her for … coffee?’

Charlee hefted her carrier onto the end of the counter, giving Lynn a dazzling smile. ‘I’m not a cockblock, Dad. Besides, it’s probably good for you and me to have a referee.’

If the ground could have opened up beneath him, it would have been a blessing. He risked a glance at Lynn, hoping she’d somehow missed the deliberate provocation, Charlee testing her boundaries.

The quirk of Lynn’s lips said otherwise. She rang up Charlee’s purchases. ‘Like I mentioned at the RAG meeting, it’s so nice to see the potential of the town growing.’

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