Chapter 56
Katie
Where the hell were they?
I was sitting in my car outside my parents’ place waiting for my so-called boyfriends to arrive. My knee bounced and my thumb tapped on my phone screen for the tenth time, looking for something, anything to indicate where the hell they were.
We’d agreed to meet outside and go inside as a united front. Surely if we all stuck together, we’d get through this without issue. I’d mistakenly assumed that if I had three boyfriends, at least one of them would turn up on time. I watched another minute tick over on the clock on my phone screen. My teeth ground together, my thumbs rising. I needed to ring them, text them, ask them what the hell…?
What the hell?
I looked up at the sound of a siren’s wail, only to see a 4WD with Metro Fire Service stickers on it roar up. The doors were jerked open, thanks shouted at the driver as they arrived. My fingers went lax, nearly dropping my phone as I found myself grinning.
They were here.
Well, three of them were. Rhys straightened his shirt and Rhett raked back his hair, hastily finger combing it as they led Bronson over to my car.
“Evening, ma’am.” Rhys leaned in through my car window and planted a kiss on my cheek. “Heard you were in need of some backup for family dinner.”
“Where the hell have you been?” I hissed, eyeing the front windows of Mum and Dad’s place. I knelt down to scratch Bronson on the chest. “And where’s Garrett?”
They sucked in a breath, ready to answer, but that was when Mandie strolled up.
“Well, two of you made it.” Bronson wagged his tail and walked up to her. “Make that three. Hey, fella. So, you ready for this bloodbath or what?”
“Not intimidating.” Rhys slid his arm around my waist, and I welcomed its weight. “Not intimidating at all.”
“Hi…” Mum came trotting over, arms wide. “I’m Janey, Katie and Mandie’s mum.”
“I can see where Katie gets her looks from,” Rhys said, holding out his hand. “I’m Rhys and?—”
“These are for you.” Rhett thrust the flowers at Mum who blinked in return, her smile faltering for a second. “Sorry, I’m Rhett.”
“Rhys and Rhett…” She nodded and then gestured for them to come into the house. “That almost rhymes. So, can I get you all a drink?”
“Beer?”
Dad appeared in the doorway of the living room, not a smile in sight.
“I’d love a beer if you’ve got one,” Rhett replied. “Janey, Garrett asked me to pass this on. Katie said you like wine and he says it’s a nice drop. Can’t stand the stuff myself.”
“Hmph.” Dad looked the two of them up and down and I swear to god, my heart started clawing its way out of my chest. “You’ll do. Come through to the deck.”
“That’s Bill,” Mum said and that’s when I noticed her nervous smile. The idea that she was on tenterhooks just like me was a small revelation, but not one I got to examine closer. “He can be a bit of a grump?—”
“That’s it.” Mandie cut her off with a smile. “He’s a grump. Good luck, guys.” She gave them a little finger wave. “Face the firing squad on the deck while us girls finish up things in the kitchen.”
Rhett followed Dad, the prospect of a beer obviously setting him at ease, but Rhys turned around and mouthed ‘help’ as he joined them.
“Well, they’re definitely handsome boys,” Mum said. My sister moved to stand beside her, and by the weight of their collective gaze, I knew I wasn’t going to like this conversation at all. Bronson stayed with me, sitting down at my feet, his body leaning into my thigh. “But didn’t you say there were three?”
“Yeah, where’s the murse?”
“I swear to freaking god, I will kick your arse every time you use that word,” I growled and as I shaped up to Mandie, my sister made clear she was ready to throw down.
“What, murse?”
“Mandie—”
“Girls!” We both spun around to see Mum staring at the two of us, knife in hand. She flushed and then set it down on the chopping board. “We’re supposed to be having a nice dinner with Katie’s boyfriends, so let's contain the crazy for just one night? You can do that for me, right?”
“Yes, Mum.”
Suddenly we were both ten years younger and standing there downcast as we got told off.
“Good. Now Katie, is Garrett going to join us for dinner?” Mum asked.
A perfectly reasonable question, but one I didn’t know the answer to.
“Garrett’s stuck in the emergency department,” Rhys hissed when we went to join the guys outside. Rhett and Dad were talking about my father’s barbeque set up, a topic they both seemed to have a lot to say about. “There was a massive car crash on the way in. That’s why we had to jump in with Charlie to get here on time.”
“Car crash?” My mother could hear a mouse fart from ten feet away. “I hope no one was seriously hurt.”
“We’ll find out when Garrett gets here, I guess.” Rhys shrugged. “We’re really sorry this happened, but it’s the occupational hazard of being a nurse.”
“Of course. Bill’s a bit on edge, but he’ll understand.” Mum was using her best soothing tones. “This is literally a matter of life or death.”
So why didn’t that make me feel any better?
“So you’re in talks to start franchising your gym?” Dad asked Rhys.
I’m not sure if he really wanted to know about the ins and outs of gym management or if he was just trying to fill the deathly silence that hung around the table. Once the guys had finished talking about the barbeque, they seemed to run out of topics to talk about. I reached down and rubbed Bronson’s ear, the dog whining a little as he stared up at me.
“Um, yeah.” Rhys took a sip of his beer, winced, and then forged on. Dad’s frown deepened. “I don’t know too much about it really. My business partner, Drew, he’s the brains of the outfit…”
And this was exactly the wrong thing to say. Dad’s brows pulled down further. Rhys blinked and then straightened up, nodding at Rhett’s hard look.
“But we were approached by a big name chain. They like our branding, the vibe we’ve created in our gyms, the focus on creating a more inclusive environment, and are interested in buying the name from us and employing us as consultants to help set up a chain that replicates the user experience.”
“I wouldn’t be caught dead anywhere else.” Mandie provided some social proof almost grudgingly. “Most gyms can be super blokey. When a woman steps into those places, she’s either a nuisance or someone to hit on. Rhys and Drew make sure everyone knows that kind of behaviour is unacceptable.”
“Hmph…”
Dad didn’t say anything else, because his stomach spoke for him. A loud grumble had Mum leaping to her feet.
“Sounds like someone needs some more nibbles.”
“I’m not filling up on chips and dip,” Dad said. “Not when there’s steak on the menu. How?—?”
“Let's just eat.”
I flushed bright red, suddenly the centre of attention, right when I didn’t want to be. Part of me felt responsible for this whole situation. We’d sat there trying to make small talk for three quarters of an hour, hoping Garrett would turn up, and I think we were all done with that. But I wasn’t responsible. I’d made clear to the guys that they needed to be on time, that Dad got hangry if he didn’t have dinner on the table by 6.30 sharp, and we’d all agreed… I blew out a breath. I couldn’t even be angry. Garrett had to be working his arse off, the team desperately trying to save people’s lives, and I was what? Getting huffy about dinner with my parents?
Except a small part of me was. I didn’t like to admit it, probably because it was a breathtakingly selfish thought, but… Part of me couldn’t help but wish that this time was different.
Dave was like a feral cat. He turned up when he felt like it and took off the same way. I learned quickly not to rely on anything he said. If he actually appeared when we’d made plans, I’d pull on some appropriate clothes and go. If he didn’t, well, I just Netflixed and chilled on my own. The guys were different. When they said they’d do something, they did.
It just wasn’t always with the person who I made the plans with.
As if sensing my traitorous thoughts, Mandie stared at me across the table, then nodded.
“Steak time, Daddy-O,” she said.
“Oh, we need—” Mum started to twitter.
“To feed Dad before he goes Hulk Smash?” Mandie finished for her. “We can make a plate for Garrett and set it aside if he can make it.” I’m not sure if anyone else caught the emphasis on if, but I did. “So Rhett, if I set the barbeque on fire, you’d know how to put that out, right?”
“Of course.” Rhett sat up straighter. “You’d have a dry powder extinguisher on hand, wouldn’t you, Bill?”
“In the shed and inside the house,” Dad replied, holding out a hand to stop my sister, then waving Rhett forward as they ambled towards the outdoor kitchen. “So you like your steaks rare, right?”
“Can I help you ladies out?” Rhys asked. “I mean standing around outside and talking about meat is exciting, but I think I really need to start getting more greens in my diet.”
“This way,” Mum said with a smile. “You can help carry out the salads.”
I was starting to think the evening wasn’t a complete wash. Dad seemed to love talking to Rhett, and Rhys had Mum eating out of his hand the moment his eyes rolled back in his head at the taste of her salads. He was quizzing her on the ingredients to her potato salad when Garrett walked in.
“Hey.” He looked done in, wavering slightly on his feet, hair all rumpled. “Just wanted to say how very, very sorry I am that I’ve gotten here so late. I’m Garrett.”