Chapter Two
E mma held the door open then followed Darby into the house, leading the way after Darby stopped in the entry. She glanced over her shoulder at her guest.
“I apologise for the mess. I wasn’t expecting guests.”
“Don’t apologise. I’m the one who’s unannounced. I see you’ve been busy in here. You’ve only been here a week and look at all you’ve gotten done already!”
Emma smiled, satisfaction at her start on her new house shining on her face. “I didn’t see any point in waiting. It’s not going to fix itself. The poor old place has needed some TLC for a long while, by the looks of things.”
“Oh that’s for sure! Ben left, and no one’s been near the place in ten years. Except to mow the lawn once a month, that is. There must’ve been some dust in here when you arrived.”
They reached the kitchen at the back of the house. Emma flicked the electric kettle on to boil and looked around for some plates.
“Um… yeah… there was a little.” She looked at Darby. Her open, friendly face so very like that of the man who’d just left. Only Darby wasn’t jittery and itching to leave like he had been. Somehow she must have made one heck of a bad impression in the whole half hour he’d been there. Or perhaps he just didn’t like getting called out by strangers on the weekend. “Would you like a coffee? It’s here somewhere.”
Darby laughed, bringing Emma’s attention back to her. “I’d love some, if it’s not too much trouble. I’ll even help you look for it.”
Emma’s face heated. “I really am sorry. I’ve been so busy with sanding the walls that I put stuff down and forget what I’ve done with it. I know I have plates around here too.”
She walked to the overhead cupboards lining the kitchen walls and started opening them. She’d bought a set of dinner plates and all the basics in Bialga, on her way to Kurrajong Crossing.
For an old home, the storage space was impressive and the cupboards were in fantastic condition. The light ash-coloured wood brightened up the large, airy room. A coat of varnish and they’d be as good as new.
Emma found the plates and mugs in the end cupboard. Luckily the tea and coffee had ended up back in the pantry. She turned around and held the two up. Darby pointed to the coffee. Emma made it quickly and set the steaming mugs down beside the cake platter, pulled a knife from the drawer and turned to her guest.
“ Voila! Five-star service,” she joked.
Darby grinned at her, her amusement plain. “Thanks. You’re from Perth? I like your shirt.”
So. The inquisition begins.
Emma had wondered how long it would take for someone to come and check her out. She’d been warned about small towns. Emma nodded and took a sip of hot coffee. She motioned for Darby to sit, while she leaned back against the counter. “Yes.”
She’d make this as hard as possible. At least until she got some of that cake. She eyed it surreptitiously—chocolate was her weakness. It was the most decadent chocolate cake she’d ever seen. She’d give her eye teeth just for the frosting.
Darby’s smile grew larger. “You want to cut that cake? Perhaps it might make your tongue a little looser.”
Emma looked back at her. “I’m that obvious, am I? And here I thought I was being so mysterious.”
Darby’s laughter rang through the kitchen. “No, but I saw that little look you just sent in its direction. If you were aiming for mysterious, you’ve succeeded. The whole town is itching to know everything about you, especially the guys.”
Emma blinked and frowned, confused.
“Why? I haven’t seen any, except at the hardware store, and my neighbour Harry. Oh, and of course your brother just now.” She cut the cake into huge wedges and placed one on each plate, handing Darby hers. “Why would they care?”
Darby took a bite of her cake. “You didn’t come from a small town, did you?” When Emma shook her head, she continued, “Do you own a mirror?”
Emma nodded slowly, confused.
“There’s your answer. You came into the Spotted Cow last Saturday, and now they’re all buzzing about you,” Darby said around her mouthful.
Emma thought hard. That name rang a bell. “The bar downtown? I just went in for directions. My stupid GPS wasn’t working properly and tried to drive me into the lake. I was only there for what, five minutes? There was hardly anyone around. Maybe half a dozen people at best. It wasn’t even night-time.”
Darby’s eyes glinted with mischief. “Well, those half-dozen men saw you, and they were intrigued, believe me. You are all I’ve heard about all week. It’s not very often single women move here. You get used to who’s around. They’re friends, you know? You’ve gotten the whole town all excited.”
“And you got sent as a sacrificial lamb to come check me out?” Emma asked, curious.
“Nah, I wanted to come and say hi.” She grinned at Emma. “I don’t know if you’ve had much experience with small towns, so how would you like to come out to dinner tonight at The Cow? You’ll have a fuss made over you, but it won’t last. If you can stand the scrutiny for a couple of hours, it would help settle you in faster.”
“I’ve heard lots about small towns, but no, I haven’t had personal experience. It didn’t occur to me that anyone would take any notice of me.” Emma nodded, then shrugged. “Sounds like a plan. Thank you.”
Darby took a large sip of her coffee and sighed. “This coffee is wonderful. Awesome! My sister-in-law, Amy—that’s my brother’s wife—she wanted to come around too, but she had to watch the shop for me while I came. Mum would have come as well, but she’s in Bialga at a professional development seminar.”
Emma stared at her, not comprehending.
“I’ve dumped too much on you at once, haven’t I? Sorry about that. It’ll all come together after a few days. Mum owns the bakery in town. Amy and I work with her.”
Amy. Another name to file away. Emma gazed at Darby. “So, Amy’s married to Gabe.”
What a shame. He was a cutie, all right. Emma gave herself a shake. She wasn’t interested in men. Not now, and probably not ever, but he was nice eye candy. Damn nice. He looked a lot like the actor from her favourite disaster movie. But it wouldn’t do to get caught staring at another woman’s husband in a town as small as this.
Darby’s laughter grabbed her attention again. “Hell no! She’s married to Simon, one of our older brothers. The other one, Max, owns the bar that you’ve already seen, the Spotted Cow.” Her grin turned mischievous. “Gabe’s not married. Doesn’t even have a partner. Why, you interested?”
“No! I just assumed…” Emma shrugged, embarrassed that Darby had seen through her. “Why isn’t he attached? It’s not because he’s ugly,” she joked to cover her slip.
“He’s far from ugly. No, he’s just not interested in women,” Darby murmured.
“Oh,” Emma said, her mind whirling a mile a minute from such an information dump.
Oh. Emma glanced sharply at Darby as her implication struck, but Darby’s attention was on her cake.
That’s a shame for women the world over. But good for me.
A man that good-looking could make a girl’s pulse speed up just by looking at him. Not that hers had, of course. A man was the last thing on this earth she needed, or wanted.
“I take it you have questions? You may as well get the third degree over with, Darby. Ask away.” Emma picked up her cake and took a bite, her eyes nearly rolling back in her head from the explosion of flavour. “Oh yum! This is amazing.”
“Mum’s secret recipe. She won’t even tell me what’s in it. She made it especially for you, kind of an advance apology for not being here too.” Darby popped the last of her cake into her mouth and washed it down with a healthy mouthful of coffee. “Okay. Where are you from, specifically? How old are you? What brought you here to the Crossing?” she asked rapid-fire.
Emma took a deep breath. “Gee, don’t hold back, will you? Let me see. From a suburb north of Perth called North Beach. I’m thirty-two. I chose here because it looked really lovely from the website blurb. I spent hours researching the industry and surrounding areas. The climate is cooler than where I’m from, and you get snow. I’ve always loved the cold. You have Bialga fairly close by, and I can choose between Sydney or Brisbane for large city shopping. So, if I want to go shopping, I can, but I’ll still have the country lifestyle. It looked like a friendly kind of place.”
Darby nodded as she spoke. “Okay. Sounds good. What do you do for a living? Are you married, or do you have a significant other?”
Emma’s blood chilled. She knew this question was likely, but it didn’t make answering it any easier.
“I’m a hairdresser by trade, but my dad was a carpenter. I used to help him on holidays, so I can manage small repairs.” She indicated the dust on her clothes. “And no, there’s no one. I’m single,” she added softly. Pain shafted, not the agony it was before, but still there, aching. She kept talking to keep her mind from dwelling on the subject. “I like chocolate, in all things. I like puppies. I’m not so fussed on cats, but some are okay. I like summer, but I love winter better, especially if it snows, but I hate to be cold. Go figure. I like beer and red wine—but not together. I love pizza, cakes and savoury things. I love parties, and I love to dance. I’m not terribly good at it, but I love it anyway. I love to be able to dress up and wear pretty things. I love expensive perfume and French lingerie, but I prefer to wear pants if I’m working or outside. I’ve never ridden a horse and I don’t like cows.” Emma took a breath. “I think that just about covers it.”
Darby blinked and nodded, a small smile tilting the corners of her lips. “I think it does. If there’s anything else, I’ll get back to you.” She sat back into the chair. “You know, Miriam at the salon in the mall has an opening for a stylist. It’s only part time, but it might be worth going and having a chat with her, if you’re interested in looking for work that is. You could tell her I sent you.”
Emma tried to hide her surprise at Darby’s words and swallowed the final piece of cake on her plate. She licked the frosting from her sticky fingers.
Damn, that frosting is as good as it looked.
Darby looked at her, her eyes assessing. “So, you’re coming out with me tonight? Give the locals something to talk about?”
Emma blew out a breath. She nodded. “Sure, why not? I’m game.”
“Fantastic! You’ll have a great time, I’m sure of it.”
Emma couldn’t help but smile at Darby’s infectious humour. “It’s been a long time since I’ve done that. What do I wear?”
Darby’s grey eyes sparkled. “Max’s. Just wear something you’d usually wear out to dinner at a bistro.”
“Okay. I brought most of my clothes over with me. The rest of my stuff is still on its way,” Emma said.
“I’ll pick you up at seven. We can eat there and stay for the entertainment. Max has a band play every Saturday night at eight. Should be an interesting night.”
Emma followed Darby as she went back toward the front door and waved goodbye.
Nerves struck up a dance deep in her belly. Sure, she wanted to get involved in her new town and meet people, and having worked with the public for so many years had built her a reasonably thick skin, but she hoped like crazy the rest of the town would be as welcoming as Darby had been. Kurrajong Crossing wasn’t a big place, and she needed this to work. She couldn’t go back. Ever.