Page 69 of Finding Zara

“Okay, he’s not answering his phone anyway.”

“Good! I’ll lock the car and walk home. You can help me get it later, or I can call a tow truck.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. If we can’t get in touch with Dad, Mom’ll come. If not Mom, Lucy, if not Lucy, Claire. Someone will get you. Sit tight.” He pulled the phone away from his ear again and I could hear muffled conversation in the background. “It’s all good. We got through to Dad. He’s on his way.”

“Seriously, I don’t mind walking.”

“Well, you can start if you like, but you’re gonna look kinda stupid when my dad drives past you on his way to get your car, just sayin’.”

Well, there was no arguing with that logic. I sighed. “Okay.”

“He’ll be ten minutes, maybe less. I gotta get back to this quote. Talk to you later.”

“Okay. Matthew?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

I threw the phone into my bag, staring through the windscreen at the rain sheeting down. What a beautiful thing, I thought. To have that complete certainty that he could call any number of people to help me and that they would come. They barely knew me, but they would come, just because he asked them to. It made me smile, but also made me feel a bit sad. Who did I have? Ally, for sure. And Matt. I had Matt. I retreated hastily from that thought, unprepared to explore it further.

I didn’t have to wait long before I saw Bruce Cooper in his Dodge Ram coming up the road, flashing his lights at me before pulling in behind.

“I’m so sorry to drag you out in this.”

“No problem! I was already out in it.” He gave me his typical friendly smile. “We’ll take it to my usual guy, if you don’t mind. I’ve already called him, he’s expecting us.”

“That’s great, thank you.”

“Okay, let’s go, get out of this rain!” Making quick work of hooking up the tow chain, he hustled me back into the passenger seat of the Ram, closed the door behind me and hurried back to his side. In no time at all, we were at the mechanics and everything was under control.

Back in Bruce’s truck, the heater still blasting, Bruce turned onto the main road. “How about coming back to our place for a coffee? Matt can get you from there.”

“Oh, that’s okay, I wouldn’t want to impose. If you want to drop me at home, that would be fine.”

He glanced at me, his eyes twinkling. “Well, to be honest, you’d be doing me a big favor if you stopped by.”

I couldn’t resist smiling at him. “How come?”

“Ellen went and bought herself a pasta machine after that dinner you cooked the other night. Let’s just say it’s not going so well.”

I laughed outright. “Okay. Let’s stop at the supermarket on the way. I’ll need to grab some semolina.”

He wiped his brow in mock relief, making me laugh again. I dashed into the supermarket as quickly as I could, not wanting Bruce to have to wait too long. Seriously, why was it so hard for me to accept a little help? At least I could repay the favor a little by showing Ellen how to use her new pasta machine. As Bruce stepped through the front door he called out, “Ellen! Hey, Ellen?”

“Yes?” She called back from down the hall.

“I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“Have you now?” She came into the loungeroom, a look of surprise giving way to a big smile when she saw me. “Zara! Oh, this is a nice surprise! Bruce, take her coat. The poor girl must be freezing. Come through to the kitchen, dear, I’ll get the coffee on.”

I smiled my thanks as Bruce took my coat, giggling when he observed plaintively that he’d been out in the rain too and was just as cold, and followed Ellen into the kitchen. The room was large and modern, yet cozy at the same time. A counter lined the back wall with a large picture window, giving a view of the Esperance Valley, misty and cold today. A big island with a stone worktop sat in the middle, a rack with hanging pots suspended from the ceiling above, bar stools pushed neatly underneath. In the corner was a built-in seat and a small table with two more chairs. “Bruce mentioned you’d bought a pasta machine.”

Ellen huffed. “Oh, don’t get me started on that! I cannot get the darned thing working for the life of me. How do you take your coffee, dear?”

“Milk and one sugar would be great, thanks. I can check out the pasta machine for you, if you like.” I put the bag of semolina on the counter, laughing when Ellen eyed it darkly. “Trust me, I’ll get it working.”

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