Chapter 12
Mackenzie
“What’d that man do?”
Troy’s words hung between us, getting bigger and bigger, because there was another passenger in the car.
My past.
“Nothing,” I replied with a weak smile and a wave of my hand.
“He talked a lot about horses. Like so, so, so much.” That earned me a snort, but Troy’s focus remained on the road.
“But that’s what men do, right? All my friends back home talk about the first dates they’ve been on where the guy talks the whole time.
” A slow shake of my head. “At least he wasn’t trying to get me to invest in crypto. ”
“That’s what American men talk about?” he asked, the incredulity apparent in his voice.
“Australian men too, I bet,” I replied, my hands raking through my hair. The strands felt stiff, unnatural, all the effort I’d gone into blowing my hair out seeming like a waste now. “It’s this whole thing.”
“So… is it supposed to be a way to impress a girl?” That frown he’d worn since the moment he strode out of the pub just got deeper. “But if he’s trying to get you to invest… I don’t get it. That’s not even him flashing money around, making you think he’d be a good provider.”
“No.” My hands fell limply into my lap. “No, it’s not and I don’t understand it either, so I can’t explain why it’s a thing.
Some guys use dates as a sales pitch, trying to get you to invest in their favourite crypto coin, then angling for a blow job afterwards.
” His splutter then sound of disgust was what emboldened me.
“According to my friends, some guys make dates a test. If you order expensive things or don’t offer to pay for half, they say they’re going to the bathroom, only to dine and dash. ”
“Mackenzie…”
He dared a sidelong look at me, then was forced to stare back at the road.
“But…” I hadn’t spoken to anyone other than Mom or my therapist about what happened and now surely wasn’t the right time. When? my heart demanded. When would I be allowed to share this pain? “But you don’t get it. Beau was never going to be able to hurt me. He couldn’t, not after Alex.”
It was my turn to stare fixedly at the road now, the glare of the headlights a welcome thing.
“Beau didn’t spend his life saying he loved me. He didn’t try and stop me from having male friends, wanting me to check in every time I went out with my girlfriends, but refused to come along and have fun. Only to ask me to hike up to the top of a waterfall one weekend.”
My throat bobbed, suddenly sore. The words felt like they clawed their way out of me, unable to be kept down again.
“The mist created a rainbow behind his head as he got down on one knee.” My hand flexed, still able to feel the ghost of my engagement ring.
“And he asked me to marry him. Alex was my best friend for so damn long, so he knew just what to say to make everything perfect.” I nodded slowly.
“Except for I do. He couldn’t say that. The wedding was a couple of weeks away when he told me that he didn’t want to get married, didn’t want me. ”
That low growl had me smiling despite myself.
“So you see, you didn’t need to come out and protect me from Beau.
There is literally nothing he could do to hurt me.
Bore me, maybe? Make me wish I’d just stayed at the farm and fed the new joey a bottle.
God, shovelling wombat shit was better than that date.
Beau couldn’t hurt me, because I don’t have a heart left to break. Just… fragments.”
The car stopped abruptly and bouncing forward was enough to bring me back to the here and now.
What the fuck was I doing, vomiting up all my pain…
? My door was wrenched open again, but this time it was for entirely a different purpose.
The seatbelt was unclipped and then I was yanked out of my seat and into his arms.
Whoa.
Hands landing on a hard chest, the feel of cotton washed soft, and the ragged sound of his breath, every detail came rushing in along with a realisation.
Troy Drysdale was hugging me.
All the therapy, crying, and pints of ice cream were nothing compared to this. Going limp in a man’s arms and feeling him taking over. Holding me close, hand stroking through my hair over and over, until they snagged on a knot.
“He… Whoever the fuck he was, he was a bloody idiot.” I felt the rumble of his words rather than heard them. “I was ready to walk into that pub and punch Beau’s teeth down his throat if he looked at you wrong, but now I know I need to get on a plane.”
“Why?” I squeaked out.
“I know someone in the government who can get me a visa at short notice,” he continued, his voice hoarse. “Pretty sure I could be in California in a day or two.”
“To see the sights?” I asked, glancing up.
“To track down the arsehole who hurt you and break every damn bone in his body, so he thinks twice about ever treating a woman like that again.” His lips twitched into the tiniest of smiles. “Or is it asshole?”
Mom thought going out on a date would help heal me, and in some ways she was right.
The giggle that bubbled up inside me, it felt like a spring bursting up through earth that had gone dry and dusty.
It hurt a little at first, then… relief.
That had me laughing in earnest and Troy joined me, if a little confused.
“If committing acts of violence was all it took to put a smile on your dial, Mackenzie, you shoulda just said.”
“No.” I recovered slowly. “No need to jeopardise Australian-American diplomatic relations on my account, but…” A long shuddering breath and then I forged on, “But people have said a lot about Alex, but no one threatened to beat his ass for me. Apparently, that’s just what I needed.”
“If you want to discuss creative ways to make this prick hurt, I’m your guy.
” His smile faded. “But if he owes you an apology, so do I.” My eyebrows shot up because the words seemed equally hard for him to say.
“You came down here to get away from one arsehole, only to walk face first into another one.”
“You,” I said, unable to stop myself from grinning.
“I didn’t know, Mackenzie, but…” Watching his Adam’s apple bob, the words came slowly. “I didn’t ask either. Shoot first, ask questions later, that’s what my siblings say about me, but… I’m sorry.”
With a blink, I just stared. The words made sense academically, but their meaning? My brain refused to process it.
“I shouldn’t have yelled at you, shouldn’t have tried to fob you off onto a winery.”
“Shouldn’t have come rushing into my bedroom when I was half naked?” I prompted.
“Well, that…” His sly smile glowed in the darkness.
“I can’t find it in myself to be sorry for.
But the rest?” Serious again, he gazed down at me.
“I’m sorry I was such a prick, Mackenzie.
I had no idea what was going on with you and…
” A long sigh. “I didn’t stop to ask. Trust me when I say I’ll try to make that up to you. ”
“By making me breakfast in bed every morning?” I was joking, but it felt good to go along with whatever this was.
“No, breakfast in bed and not making me get up at four AM every morning. No! Breakfast in bed, not making me get up at four AM, and coming by to shovel kangaroo shit every day so I can spend more time cuddling joeys.”
“We’ll see.” The car was locked up and his arm was a warm weight as he steered me towards the darkened house. “How about I just check your bedroom walls to make sure Bruce hasn’t snuck back in?”
“If that spider is in my room, he’s gonna get the business end of my boot,” I growled, then shuddered. “After I’ve taken them off, because urgh…”
“Wait here.”
He made a show of stopping me beside my bedroom door, then opened it with a theatrical air. My teeth clamped together as I scowled at him, right before he disappeared inside.
“Bruce!” His muffled voice filtered through the wall. “We talked about this…”
“Insect spray!” I barked when Troy reappeared, my focus shifting abruptly to his hands, expecting the massive arachnid to be nestled there like other people might carry a puppy or kitten. “A flamethrower or—”
“Just teasing.” His hand landed above my head and right then, he leaned closer. Oh, I thought, my brain stuttering and unable to form any other thoughts. “Bruce seems to have gotten the hint that he’s an outside spider now, so…”
What the hell was happening? I’d gone out on a date with one guy, sure in the knowledge that nothing would happen, so why was my heart pounding so fast? Perhaps because Troy, my boss, my mind shrieked, was leaning closer, his focus entirely trained on me.
And some part of me didn’t want to push him away.
“Sleep well, Mackenzie.” I sucked in a breath noisily as a kiss was pressed to my forehead. There and gone again, I barely noticed him turning to walk into his room, only coming back to the hallway when I heard his door click.
“What the…?”
With shaking hands, my fingers touched the spot that still burned on my forehead. I scanned the walls, looking for Bruce, because when I fell into bed, all I could think about was what might’ve happened if that kiss had landed a little lower.