AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Afterwards, I’ll get out of your hair and go home.’
It wasn’t his hair she was messing with; it was his mind. ‘I’ll drop you off. I’ve got to go to the supermarket anyway.’
Handing him a mug of tea in a steady hand, she nodded. ‘Thanks.’
No argument? There was a first. He found the tomato sauce and placed it on the bench alongside some plates. ‘Need anything else with your sausage rolls?’
‘No.’ She sipped her tea while moving to the counter and sitting on a stool, plonking her elbows on the bench with her mug gripped in both hands. Looking around the kitchen made for a large family with its counters and eight-seater table, intrigue filled her gaze. ‘Did you furnish the house?’
Darn. One of them was behaving sensibly, and it wasn’t him. Guess she wasn’t feeling the vibes hitting him. He got serious, put aside the hot sensations ramping up his temperature. ‘The people I bought it off were moving into an apartment in Rose Bay and wanted to start over with decorating and furnishings so I bought some pieces from them, mainly for the bedrooms and in here. While the table’s massive, it gets put to good use when my sister and her lot come to stay.’
‘Big family?’
‘Allie’s got four kids, and a very patient partner. She’s like an Energizer battery, no stopping her. She wears everyone out.’
Molly was smiling. ‘She sounds like fun.’
‘I think you’d like her. And the other two and their broods.’ He was getting ahead of himself. Molly did not need to meet any of his family. Not yet, anyway.
‘You’ve got three sisters?’
‘Yep.’ He jerked the oven door open. ‘Let’s eat.’
Then he’d take her home before going for a run to work out the kinks in his body put there by being too close to Molly. Nathan muttered an oath under his breath. He had this bad. ‘You got plans for the afternoon?’
‘Not a lot. Groceries, washing, a run, do the crossword, wash my hair.’ She grinned.
‘Sounds action packed.’ He grinned back. ‘Phone me if you’re stuck for a word.’
Then her eyes lit up. ‘Actually, I think I’ll go watch a game of basketball.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
AFTER A QUICK shower Molly dressed in fitted black jeans and a pink jersey that deliberately did not match the red curls she attacked with a hairbrush, then followed up with styling gel that did nothing to tame the wildest of them. With a shrug she selected a black leather jacket from the array in her wardrobe. It had been years since she’d worn anything bright pink, and she felt great. Never again would anyone tell her to get changed into something that toned down her complexion. No one.
Halfway out the door she turned back and snatched up the sports bag at the back of her wardrobe. Chances were it would languish in her car, but she was feeling lucky so she might as well go prepared. Humming was another first as she made her way down and outside to where her car sat in a massive puddle by the kerb. Thank goodness for her red, thick-heeled, soft-as-down leather ankle boots. Not only did they look gorgeous but they could keep water at bay without tarnishing the leather.
Grr, grr. The engine gave a metallic groan. Molly turned the ignition off, counted to four, tried again. Bingo. The motor coughed but kept going. She had power. Perfect. She really needed to start it at least every second day if she was going to leave the car out in the weather. Where else could she park it? The apartment didn’t come with an internal garage. Or any designated place for vehicles.
Wind rocked the car as she drove away. Hunching her shoulders so her chin was snug against her turtleneck jersey, her humming turned to singing a cheerful song she’d sung often back in the days she’d been truly happy, getting louder with every corner she turned. By the time she reached the indoor sports arena her jaws were aching and a smile was reaching from ear to ear. Hot damn. That was the first time she’d sung her favourite song in years.
Going to watch the Roos team she’d been a part of until two months ago had been a brainwave. They were playing against one of the strongest teams in the local competition, the odds slightly in their favour. She began to hurry. The game had started ten minutes ago and she hated to miss any more. The idea to come here had arrived out of the blue, but with every passing moment it seemed better and better. Catching up with the women she’d played with, and hopefully making up for being so remote whenever they’d tried to get her to join in the after-match sessions in a nearby bar, had become imperative if she was to keep getting up to speed with her new life.
Inside the stadium she searched out the coach and reserves sitting on the benches, watching the game. ‘Hello, Coach. Mind if I sit with you to watch the game?’
Georgia flipped her intent gaze from the team to her, and tapped the chair beside her with her notebook. ‘Get your butt down here, girl. Where’ve you been?’
‘Hey, Molly, how are you?’
‘Molly, I tried to get hold of you to come to a party last month.’
‘Hi, how’s that new job going?’
‘I’m great. I’ll give you my number. The job’s wonderful.’ Wow. No knots of anxiety needed loosening. Everyone was friendlier than she deserved. Sinking onto the seat, she looked around. ‘I see you trashed the Blue Heelers last week.’ It was the one team everyone had believed might knock them off the top of the leader board.
‘Annihilated them.’ Coach laughed. ‘Glad you’re keeping up with us.’
‘First thing I look for in the local news on Monday mornings. I miss you guys.’ More than she’d realised. When she’d played for the team she’d focused on not letting anyone close, afraid they’d let her down if she needed them in any way, as her friends back in Perth had when it had come out about what had been happening. In the end, staying with the team, not going out for drinks after a game or attending the barbecues that they had on
ce a month, not getting involved as everyone else did, had got hard to face, which in turn had exhausted her, so she’d left.
‘You chose to leave.’ Coach never minced her words.
‘I did.’ Molly turned to watch the game on the court. ‘How’s Sarah doing?’ The girl who’d replaced her had spent four weeks on the bench after breaking a wrist in a particularly tough match but had resumed playing a fortnight ago.
‘Back to her usual Rottweiler attitude and earning us points to boot. I think the wrist still gives her grief, but I’m the last person she’ll admit that to.’
‘No one likes telling you anything that might give cause to be sat on the bench for a game.’
‘That why you left?’ Georgia was watching the game, writing shorthand notes in the notebook, but she wouldn’t miss a breath, word or a movement Molly made.
‘I felt crowded.’
‘Being part of a good, functioning team means being in each other’s pockets at times.’
‘I wasn’t ready for that.’
‘You kept to yourself a lot.’
Modus operandi. It had worked. It had kept her safe and—lonely. ‘Can’t deny that.’ Her eyes were on the ball as Emma threw it to Sarah, who lobbed it into the net. ‘Go, Roos. Good one, Sarah.’ Molly leapt to her feet, stabbing the air with her fists, left, right, left, right. ‘You beauty.’
Georgia was calmly making notes. ‘Never seen you fly out of your skin before.’
Molly sat back down, a grin on her face. How had she not got all excited over being a part of this team? When she’d played for the under eighteens in Perth she’d been the loudest, most enthusiastic member of the team. Today it seemed she really might be getting her life back. Her grin widened as relief soared.
