Page 28 of Sugarloaf Ridge Lies

Chapter Eight

Jerry

As cool water streamsinto my hair, washing the gunk away, Liv is on my mind.

Her laughter, beautiful and addictive... I want more.

When the fuck did I last have actual fun with someone? And not just fun between the sheets. Good honest fun. I know the bird shit incident was at my expense, but I couldn’t care less.

Seeing her throw back her head, snorting and chuckling with such abandonment. The happy tears in those stunning blue eyes were like a breath of fresh air, a dunk in the ocean, making me feel lighter, more excited about life than I’ve been in a long time.

I set out to the fields. With each passing hour, working my guts out, it’s Liv’s energy that keeps me going.

***

“Heard you were at thevet today.” Finn bites the inside of his cheek. What does he know?

Gossip is like fucking wildfire around here.

I unravel the end of the black irrigation pipe and make a straight cut with a Stanley knife. “Yeah. How’d that get back to ya?”

Finn hands me a joiner fitting and leans down to ruffle Pirate’s ears. “Dropped in to get some worming tablets for Fargus. Tiana said you and a woman were practically humping in the carpark.”

I secure the fitting and scrape my hand down my face. It’s not far from the truth. I was doing my best to hide the soldier tenting my pants as we kissed. I forgot where we were, desperate for more of her mouth, her body. “Tiana said that, huh?”

“Yup. So, who is it this week, hey?”

The burning starts in my chest, like fire ready to spark from my mouth. “It’s not like that.” I don’t like what he’s insinuating. Not about me, but what kind of damage a rumour like that could do to Liv. “So shut the fuck up.”

Finn frowns as if I’m taking the piss out of him. “Whoa, calm the farm.”

“It was nothing. A kiss.”

“You were half naked. It’s not the middle of summer.” Finn pushes down a U-shaped pin over the pipe to secure it.

I rub at the ache between my eyes. “I don’t have time for this shit, Finn.” Or the energy to explain why I was underdressed. “You here to help or give me shit all day?”

Finn tosses a bunch of U hooks at my feet. “You know I’m here to help, brother. Sorry to take an interest in your social life. You know I’d defend you until my last breath, so don’t think I’m havin’ a go. If you’re happy, that’s all that matters to me. Fuck the gossipers.”

I huff out a breath and tell myself to calm the fuck down. Finn has my back. “Yeah. Fuck ’em.”

As I haul another load of irrigation pipes and dump them beside Finn, Liv is on my mind. That laugh, that smile... with any luck, both those things and so much more of her will be featuring in my dreams.That mouth...

“Her name is Liv.” I break the silence.

Finn cuts the tape binding the pipe, causing it to unfurl, snaking out at our feet. “I know.”

I scoff. “Course you do. Can’t fart around here without someone havin’ somethin’ to say.”

Finn stands and wipes his sweaty brow with his forearm. “You danced at the bonfire. Tell me ’bout her.”

I set about straightening the pipe as I work out what to say. Finn and I don’t normally talk like this. Not about women, anyway. Particularly not now that he’s engaged to my biological sister.

“Come on, bro. Surely, you’ve got something to say about her. You’ve had this deer in the headlights look about you since I got here.”

“Liv’s smart.” She tries to do right by her students and has such passion for finding new ways to help them learn. “She’s sweet, but has a cheeky side, you know?”

But it’s so much more than that. It’s her imperfections that have drawn me in if you’d call them that. Whatever happened to her family has changed her, and a part of me will never be the same because of my past. I’m far from perfect, but being with Liv, even though her scars are more recent than mine, and seeing how she tries to get on with life, it somehow makes me believe my issues, as fucked up as they are, can be moved on from.Maybe.

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