Ford
He'd tried doing normal things.
Going out for breakfast.
Going for a run.
Going to the shops.
All the things he’d been looking forward to once the tour finished. But he was mobbed each time he left his building and couldn’t go anywhere without security—the exact opposite of what he wanted.
Everyone seemed to know where he lived. Paparazzi and fans had all set up camp outside his building. They wanted to know what he was planning next, now that Midnight Thunder was on indefinite hiatus.
The door to his apartment opened, but he didn’t move, as the only person who had a key and would evade the burly security guard sitting outside his door was Donnie.
“Morning,” Ford called from his chair.
Donnie walked over and sat down beside him. “This is quite the view.”
Ford agreed. It never got old looking at the gleaming water of the harbour, the Opera House and the bridge. He loved it. But at the moment, the stunning outlook didn’t prevent him from feeling like a prisoner in his own home.
“It is,” Ford said with a nod. “I think the paparazzi are enjoying hanging out here, too.”
“You should stop sending them coffee and snacks then,” Donnie chided him gently.
“It was one time. It was raining, they refused to leave, and Mum felt sorry for them.” Ford shrugged.
He came home from breakfast with his mum to find the reporters camped outside in horrible weather. He would probably have ignored it, but his mum wouldn’t, and she had taken his credit card and sent them all food.
“Maybe you should leave town for a while. Until things settle down,” Donnie suggested.
“I want to stay in Australia, though. It’s been a long time since I was on home soil for more than a few weeks.” Ford leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms.
“I know Taylor Anderson’s manager,” Donnie said.
Ford frowned. What did a Hollywood actor who’d married an Australian and moved here have to do with anything?
“Yeah,” Ford said slowly.
“He lives in Kookaburra Creek.” Donnie casually stood up and strolled over to the open-plan kitchen, switching on Ford’s expensive coffee machine.
“Where’s that?” Ford shrugged. The name meant nothing to him.
“Burra Creek. It was the last stop on the tour.” Donnie held his cup under the machine as it belched and whistled. “You want a cappuccino?”
Ford shook his head. “Nah, mate. I’ve drunk four already. I’ll start jittering soon.” He drank coffee from boredom of being stuck in his apartment, not because he actually needed it.
“His manager says Taylor loves living there. No one cares about his fame, and they leave him alone.” Donnie took a sip of his drink and strolled back over to sit next to Ford. “Maybe you should go somewhere rural .”
“To Woop Woop?” Ford laughed.
He couldn’t imagine himself living in a quiet bush town. He loved the hustle and bustle of the city, even if it was a bit too ‘bustly’ for him at the moment.
“Yeah. Rent a place for a while.” Donnie nodded.
Ford studied his manager’s face, but he didn’t smile. Was he serious? “Why Burra Creek?”
“They’ve already got someone world-famous living there. They’re not going to be excited about you.” Donnie took another sip of his coffee, closing his eyes in appreciation.
“I could just go back to my hometown,” Ford suggested. He hadn’t been back for years, not since his parents moved to Sydney.
“Why would you do that? You’ll get hassled more there than you do here.”
“True,” Ford sighed. “So you think I should go to Burra Creek?” he asked sceptically.
“It’s up to you, but Taylor’s manager has told me a million times how happy he is. I thought maybe it would be good for you as well.” Donnie gazed out the window at the harbour.
Ford laughed. “Taylor’s happy because he’s in love.”
Donnie’s eyes swung back to him, and he muttered so quietly that Ford almost didn’t catch it, “Maybe you’ll find someone there, too.”
Ford stared at his friend as his mind flashed to the blonde doctor who fit in his arms so well. He still dreamed about having his arms around Sie, and had been shocked in his dreams recently when he looked down, and instead of seeing long dark hair, he saw blonde curly hair.
“I’m not marrying anyone,” Ford said flatly, pushing thoughts of the blonde doctor and Sie away.
Donnie chuckled. “I’m not suggesting you marry anyone. Go and relax for a while. See who you meet. Sometimes interesting people live in small towns.”
Ford squinted at him. There was something Donnie wasn’t telling him. After all these years, he knew when his manager was keeping something from him. But Donnie ignored the scrutiny and kept drinking his coffee in silence.
Finally, Ford sighed. Why not. He didn’t have anything else planned; he might as well go to Burra Creek.
“Yeah. I’ll do it.”
Donnie grinned broadly. “I’ll give you Taylor’s number. He’s expecting your call. I’ve rented you a house near Taylor’s estate. The car to take you to Burra Creek arrives in four hours, and there’s a rental car parked in the driveway for you.”
Shaking his head, Ford shoved his friend’s shoulder. “You’re determined to get rid of me.”
“No. I don’t want to get rid of you. I want you to move on.” Donnie got to his feet, took his cup back to the kitchen and put it in the dishwasher. “I’ll leave so you can pack.”
“You’re not going to pack for me, too?” Ford called after his retreating back.
“Not a chance. You couldn’t pay me enough to pack your jocks.” With one last wave, Donnie strode out the door.
Ford stared at the closed door.
That was weird, even for Donnie.
Ford sat out on the porch of his new rental house. It was so peaceful, out here in the bush on fifty acres of land, with a gate over the nondescript driveway, making him hard to find.
Sipping on his beer, he watched the kangaroos as the sun set. Donnie was right; he’d needed to leave the city. He hadn’t realised how the constant eyes weighed on him until he’d spent time in a place where there was no one to see him at all.
He stood when he heard a car coming up the drive and grinned when he saw Taylor behind the wheel, with a brunette woman in the passenger seat, who must be his wife, Clara.
When he’d arrived a few days earlier, he found that Donnie had been meddling again, contacted Taylor’s manager and basically set them up on a ‘date’ by inviting Taylor to Ford’s house.
Again, all very strange behaviour from Donnie.
Anyway, here he was about to have a ‘date’ with one of the most famous actors in the world and his wife.
Sometimes the life he managed to end up in baffled him.
Dust rose as the car braked in front of the house, and Taylor hopped out and dashed around the other side to help his wife, who was already halfway out of the car, and grumbling to Taylor that she could do it.
It quickly became clear why Taylor was fussing over her when she turned sideways and stretched, sticking out a very pregnant-looking belly. She winced when her arms were fully above her head, and Taylor leaned forward, murmuring something in her ear that made her giggle.
Something squeezed in Ford’s chest, even as he put a smile of welcome on his face and strode down the front steps.
“Hi. Good to meet you.” Ford held his hand out to Taylor, who gripped it, giving it a firm shake.
“Great to meet you too. This is Clara,” Taylor drawled, slinging his arm around his wife’s shoulder. She elbowed him gently in the side so she could shake Ford’s outstretched hand.
“Hi. I’ve been a big fan for a long time. It’s so great to meet you.” Clara shook his hand firmly before Taylor recaptured her and tucked her under his arm again.
“Nice to meet you, too. Come on up. I’ve got drinks set up on the porch and some snacks.” Ford gestured to the front deck.
The couple followed him up the steps, and for a moment, Ford felt a twinge of loneliness. There was nothing worse than being on the outside of a couple as in love as these two clearly were.
Taylor made sure Clara was sitting comfortably before he took his seat.
Ford asked, “What can I get you to drink? I’ve got beer, wine, and sparkling water.”
“Sparkling water, please,” Clara said and smiled. “Until I get rid of this parasite, I’m off the booze. I’ll drive home, Taylor. You have a drink.” She reached over and laced her fingers through her husband’s.
“I’d love a beer. Whatever you’ve got,” Taylor said.
When they all had drinks, Ford sat opposite them. Things started to feel a little awkward as he wasn’t entirely sure what to say, but Clara broke the silence.
“I hear your concert was fantastic. I wanted to go, but was at work one of the nights, and the next night my friend, Hel, was proposing to her fiancé, and she needed some moral support at the ice-rink.”
Ford blinked a couple of times. There was a lot to digest in that sentence.
“Your friend got engaged at the ice rink? Why?”
Clara laughed. “Her boyfriend, sorry fiancé, Jake aka Frost, is an ice hockey player. He coaches the Burra Wombat team. She got a bee in her bonnet about proposing to him at the ice rink after a game. The funny thing was, he’s been wanting to do it for ages and was even carrying a ring around.
He just didn’t want to freak her out by doing it too soon. ”
Ford nodded slowly. “Okay. I guess that makes sense. And that happened the night of our concert?”
“Yeah. I was forced to go to a game and freeze my butt off, sitting on those awful plastic seats as she decided that me and Sadie had to be there, and Gloria decided she couldn’t miss it either,” Clara said.
Taylor shrugged ruefully. “My mom doesn’t like to miss out on things.”
“Is that Gloria or Sadie?” Ford asked, in bewilderment.
“Gloria.” Clara supplied. “Sadie is another anaesthetist. She’s married to George, and they’ve got a couple of kids. She pretends to be sensible at work, but she’s a real shit stirrer.”
Taylor leaned forward in his seat. “Don’t worry, when you come to the pub quiz, we’ll introduce you to all these people. The local hospital doctors are a nice bunch. You’ll like them, they’re discreet.”
“I’ve got an idea. You should come to our baby shower!” Clara exclaimed. “It’s on Sunday.”
“Ummmmmm…" Ford looked between them. He didn’t mind being set up for a dinner date or going to the pub quiz, but he wasn’t sure he was baby shower material.
“It sounds worse than it really is,” Taylor said, having obviously noticed the slightly terrified look on Ford’s face. “It’s co-ed, and an excuse to have everyone over for a party. No one is bringing gifts. If they want to do something, they’re donating to our charity.”
Ford nodded slowly and surprised himself when he said, “That sounds good. What’s your charity?”
“We support victims of domestic violence. Help them get away and back on their feet.” Clara’s voice hitched a little as she said it, and Taylor patted her knee.
Ford didn’t know what the story was, but there must be something in Clara’s past that made this important to them. “Great. I’ll make a donation.”
“Fantastic.” Clara nodded enthusiastically. “Hel was meant to be the doctor at your concert, but proposed instead. She was gutted to miss your show. She’ll be stoked to meet you on Sunday.”
Ford’s ears pricked up. He kept having dreams about the blonde doctor. Maybe Clara knew her.
“I met the doctor who came to our show,” he said casually.
“Mai? She didn’t mention meeting Midnight Thunder when we saw her last week.” Clara frowned. “Did she say anything to you?”
Taylor shook his head. “No.”
“Weird.” Clara shrugged. “Most people would tell their friends if they met a world-famous band.”
Her name was Mai.
Ford wondered if it would be strange to ask for her last name and opened his mouth to do it when Clara spoke again.
“She’ll be there Sunday too.”
Ford nodded, pretending his heart hadn’t just skipped in a completely ridiculous way at those innocent words.
By the end of the evening, Ford had decided he was going to like his break in Burra Creek. He spent so much time laughing with Clara and Taylor that his sides hurt.
He was even looking forward to going to a baby shower so he could meet more of their friends.
And maybe, just maybe, a small blonde doctor.