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Chapter 19
There was something calming about a pair of adoring brown eyes staring up at you. It beat a cigarette, Solo decided, chuffing the border collie under the chin yet again. If his hand stopped for more than a second a nudge accompanied by a soft snort seemed to say, “Come on, mate.”
“You’ll be doing that all day if Charlie has his way,” Mim commented, as she bustled around the kitchen grabbing cups and filling the teapot.
Solo grinned. “It’s okay, I’m used to dogs. I grew up on a farm.”
“Yeah, Charlie probably senses that. We reckon he’s psychic. He always knows where I hide the treats, no matter how cunning I am. Here you are.” Mim plonked a big mug of steaming tea on the table. “Polly’s just taking a shower, she’ll be here any sec. Sugar? Milk?”
Solo tried to block the thought of Polly showering. “Just milk, thanks.”
The outer screen door of the kitchen banged and another woman appeared, a lot younger than Mim, with thick auburn hair piled onto her head. She was carrying a couple of bags full of shopping, and as she placed them on the table he noticed her belly was rounded with early pregnancy.
“Oh, hullo, you must be Solo.” She smiled. “I’m Kate, Polly’s sister-in-law.”
Solo tried to stand but Charlie’s chin stayed firmly glued to his leg, pinning him to the chair.
“Ha, I see you’ve been Charlied.” Kate laughed.
Solo grinned ruefully. “And I thought I was special.”
“Everyone’s special to Charlie.”
Already Solo liked these two women; they were no-nonsense, straight to the point. Mim, with her big smile and salt-and-pepper hair, was your earth mother type. Kate was clearly practical and calm, he decided, as he watched her methodically unpacking the bags, putting things in the cupboard, and leaving out others with a quick word to Mim. “This is for the cake icing. I bought double the eggs for the frittata.”
The smell of cooking already pervaded every corner of the kitchen.
Solo’s nostrils quivered and he laughed, glancing down at Charlie. He wasn’t much better than the dog, totally led by his stomach. It was his nan’s fault for being such a good cook. His chest contracted as the memories flooded in. Nan’s kitchen was not unlike this one. Solo guessed farm kitchens were often pretty similar. A large jarrah wood table in the centre, mismatched chairs, a pile of Blundstone boots near the door next to hooks loaded with coats. A jam-jar of wildflowers in the centre of the table with a dog lead and a pad of paper covered in notes. A cosy mish-mash of what made a place home.
He sighed. That was all gone now. Pop’s and Nan’s farmhouse in the hands of a stranger. How quickly life could change.
And then it changed again as Polly flew through the door in a very short, red, kimono-style dressing gown with Betty Boop emblazoned over one breast.
She stopped abruptly when she saw him and pushed the curls off her face.
“Oh, you’re here already. I didn’t expect you until much later.”
Not exactly the welcome he’d been hoping for. He kept his eyes carefully averted from those beautiful white thighs, barely covered by the silky number that was totally incongruous with the friendly farmhouse vibe.
“You’ve met Mim and Kate already then.” Her cheeks were pink, maybe from the shower but he thought not. When her lips suddenly tilted and that lovely dimple grooved her cheek, tingles sped right down his spine.
“Dad around?” she asked of Mim.
She came over and leaned on the back of a chair, pushing it down with her palms and rocking it onto two legs. And he realised suddenly she was feeling uncomfortable. Sure, she was hiding it, but he was getting used to catching glimpses of this other less confident Polly.
“He’s probably gone to ground,” Mim said in a resigned tone. “Worried about controlling the—” She bent her arm in a gesture of putting a glass to her lips. Polly’s features tightened and she tugged at the hem of the kimono thing.
“Is that what you’re wearing to the party?” Kate grinned.
Polly cast Solo a glance and he quickly flicked his gaze from her mesmerising legs to Charlie. Did the freakin’ hound just wink at him?
“It was all I could find in the cupboard. I think I last wore it when I was sixteen. And no, don’t be silly. I just didn’t know we had company.”
Company? That was weirdly formal after the wildly intimate things they’d gotten up to these past couple of weeks.
“Solo’s been well looked after,” Mim said. “We’ve had a nice chat about Sydney and his work. Though why you made the poor guy drive up on his motorbike when he could have come with you…”
“I had things on this morning,” Solo said quickly. The reality was that driving up first thing this morning in a confined space with Polly’s legs in his peripheral vision for two and a half hours was not something he needed to subject himself to.
