‘A snake’s a snake, Cody. If you don’t want to see the chief of the Rural Fire Brigade—namely me—crying like a toddler in front of all the stickybeaks cluttering up this park, you keep that thing out of sight, that’s all I’m saying. Now, get yourself sorted and stay outside the cordon. I’ll come find you when we’ve got this fire contained.’
‘Thanks, Lorraine. Appreciate it.’
‘Meg, arrest him if he crosses through.’
The policewoman nodded. ‘No worries.’
Lorraine patted Josh on the cheek then headed over to the broken windows where the main fire seemed, finally, to be losing its battle.
‘Josh,’ said Hannah, ‘what about Max and the other pups?’
Josh reached into the jacket he was wearing. ‘How many pockets you got in that coat?’
‘Plenty.’
He handed three of the pups over. ‘Zip them into your jacket, will you, Han? It’s pretty cold out here. I’ll keep Max.’
‘How on earth are we going to tell Mum and Dad about this?’ said Hannah.
‘Hopefully they’re out of range of a cell tower. We can ring them when we know more,’ her brother replied.
The two Codys stood shoulder to shoulder, the smouldering shell of their home lit up before them. Vera knew what it was like to lose everything, to have the foundations you thought you could count on ripped out from under you. She knew … but what words of comfort could she offer?
A half-date that had ended with a hot-handed kiss on a bridle trail and her charging off in tears like a crazy woman, a few charged looks over a busy café counter, a dozen midnight fantasies in the privacy of her own home … that wasn’t enough. She wasn’t part of Josh’s life, she was a bystander.
And she was a mess. This wasn’t even her home burning down, and she could feel her eyes stinging from more than smoke. A wet nose snuffled into her hand and she looked down at the golden pup she held. His eyes were open, and regarded her like she was his rescuer, not the big capable guy standing on the kerb with his sister. She pressed her nose into his fur and hoped it would dry the tears on her cheeks. ‘Don’t look at me like that, big guy,’ she murmured. ‘I didn’t run into a burning building and haul you out.’
No. But she could do something. A crate, Josh had said. She had a dozen or more fruit boxes stacked outside the back door of The Billy Button Café. She tucked the pup firmly into the crook of her arm and slipped off to the opposite side of the park.
She’d find the Codys a crate. And then she needed to get in her car and drive two hundred kilometres to see if she could find herself a future.
CHAPTER
24
Josh saw Vera’s face, looking as beat down as he felt, before she backed away through the crowd. He went after her, and caught the tail of her jacket by the clocktower in the centre of the park.
‘Vera.’
She turned, and he froze when he saw the tear tracks down her cheeks.
‘Honey. Are you okay?’
With a squirming pup in her hands, she made an unsuccessful effort to wipe her face. ‘Oh, Josh. I’m not the one whose home was just on fire. Don’t worry about me.’
He moved in front of her and took the yellow dog, tucking him into the large pocket of his jacket with his brown brother. ‘It’s bad at the front, in the clinic, but the back stairs and the apartments aren’t even wet. It’s awful, but the fire brigade were able to put it out and it’s not a tragedy. Are those …’
He almost didn’t want to say it. The messages Vera had been throwing in his direction had been kind of confusing, and she was beginning to mean too much to him for him to get this wrong. ‘Are those tears for me?’
She pulled up the apron she was still wearing and wiped her face with it. ‘I’m not sure,’ she mumbled. ‘I just cry these days, and often I don’t even know why.’
He reached for her and felt no resistance as he brought her up against him. She smelled like plum crumble and tomato relish and about a dozen other delectable things, and he rested his hand on her neck and just held her for a moment. ‘I’d be okay with it if they were,’ he said.
A pup let out an annoyed don’t-squash-me yip and she pulled away from him. ‘I’m sorry. I always seem to be saying that, don’t I? Seeing you and Hannah there, together, surrounded by just about everyone in Hanrahan, and everyone was hugging each other … it made me a bit teary, that’s all.’
‘Don’t you have family, Vera?’
She gave a half nod. ‘My aunt.’