Alone again, Travis reached for my hand and pulled me a little closer. “Quinn.” He rubbed his lips together. “I really want…” he began and paused. It was the first time I’d seen him unsure of himself. “I can’t—”
The door flew open loudly, Mac storming through. “I can’t believe this f**king shit,” she burst out.
Henry was hot on her heels, followed by Evie with Jared—Peter tucked under his armpit like a football—and the rest of the band until the living room was full.
“Are you okay, Quinn?”
My mouth fell open at the same time my purse started ringing. I ignored it. “Why are you all here and not at the barbecue?”
“Shit seems to be going down, and you’re involved Quinn. That’s why,” Evie answered. “We’re experts at shit going down.”
Jared looked at her and shook his head, as though remembering shit going down and not wanting to.
Mac folded her arms and Henry found his way to my side. “What’s going on?”
Eyes were focused on me as everyone waited for an answer. “I’ll tell you later,” I murmured softly to Henry.
Jake folded his arms, mimicking Mac’s stance, and demanded, “No. If there’s something going on, you can tell all of us.”
“Quinn,” Evie said, her eyes radiating sympathy in tsunami like waves. “If you’re in trouble, it’s now our trouble.”
“So you may as well tell us,” Cooper added.
I sank into the couch behind me. My legs were like jelly, and not the good kind, the green kind that had your insides churning. “My stepfather is a bit angry with me right now.”
Henry flopped down on the couch next to me with a heavy sigh. He swiped the remote off the coffee table and sat back without turning the television on.
“Why is he angry with you?” Mac asked.
“Because he just got out of prison and uh…I was the one that put him there.”
Mitch returned from upstairs to a full living room.
“Thanks Mitch,” I called out.
He nodded.
Henry turned his head to look at me. “Your place isn’t safe?”
I shook my head. “But I have a restraining order.”
Everyone went silent, processing what I’d just told them.
“Well,” Mac said, “we all know a restraining order is just a piece of paper. We need to teach Quinn how to shoot.”
Henry pointed at her. “You’re not doing it.”
“Jesus Christ,” Jared barked and sank into the recliner. Peter curled happily into his lap as Jared eyed Evie and Mac in turn. “Remember what happened last time you two went all Thelma and Louise? Not happening.”
Evie’s eyes flattened irritably. “Are you forgetting the ace shot I pulled off that saved Mac’s life?” She waved in Mac’s general direction as though introducing evidence of Mac’s living, breathing status to support her case. “If anyone’s teaching Quinn how to shoot, it’s going to be me. I’m a better shot than all of you.”
“Who says ace?” Cooper smirked. “That sounds dumb.”
“You’re dumb,” Evie retorted.
“Why don’t you just move in here permanently?” Mac asked me.
“Really?” The anxiety lifted a little from my shoulders. “Oh, but…I have Rufus.”
“Who’s Rufus?” Jake asked.
“Quinn’s horse,” Mac replied.
Cooper’s eyes went wide. “You have a horse?”
Travis sighed heavily, putting his hands on his hips. “Rufus is a dog.”
“Holy f**king shit!”
Everyone’s eyes flew to where Frog stood by the dining table. The container of biscuits I’d brought with me was wide open and he was busy stuffing them in his face. “Who the f**k made these?”
I cleared my throat. “That would be me.”
“Quinn’s moving in next door with me,” he announced, grabbing another as he came and flopped onto the couch next to me. He shoved a handful of silky, dark hair behind his ear as he bit into another one.
Henry slung an arm around my shoulders, using the other to reach across and grab at the biscuit in Frog’s hand.
“Hey!” Frog shouted.
He yanked his hand back a little too late. The biscuit tore in half and Henry crowed his victory as a whole bunch of crumbs from the tussle fell in my lap.
Henry shoved it in his mouth and aimed a smirk Frog’s way. “Quinn’s mine.” Then he turned to me and added seriously, “But we have rules in this house.”
My brows drew together. “You do?”
“We do?” Mac echoed.
“You gotta walk around in your underwear.”
“Henry!” Evie yelled. She yanked a couch cushion out from behind Jared and flung it at Henry’s head. It bounced off harmlessly and settled on the floor.
“Not you two,” Henry replied, shuddering theatrically. “God! You’re like my sisters. Seeing you both in your itty bitties makes me wanna sandblast my eyes.”
“Well think of Quinn like your sister,” Mac snapped out.
When my eyes fell on Travis, he was frowning at Henry.
My purse buzzed again and thankful for the interruption, I stood, scattering biscuit crumbs to the floor. Peter was quick to remove himself from Jared’s lap and scrambled over to hoover the mess.
“Excuse me,” I told the room, and picking up my phone, I answered the call. “Lucy.” I left the living room for the back deck. Peter charged out behind me, and Rufus fell on him in a giant, quivery mass of furry elation.
“You called and didn’t leave a message,” was her irritated reply. Lucy hated when people didn’t leave a message, but she had an automated answer service because she couldn’t work out her messagebank. No one liked leaving messages on an automated service.
“Lucy.” I watched Peter yip as Rufus bounded in circles around him. “David’s out.”
“He’s what?” she whipped out.
I sucked a deep breath into my lungs and let it out slowly. “David’s out of prison.”
There was a pause. “How do you know that?”
There was another pause where I thought about how to explain without Lucy going all Uma Thurman in Kill Bill.
“Oh my God. Where are you?” she asked. “Are you okay? Oh God, oh God, oh God,” she chanted. “Answer me, dammit.”
“I’m okay. I’m at the duplex.”
“Thank fuck,” she moaned.
I sat down at the outdoor table and gave her a quick overview.
“I’m coming over,” she announced.
I was so relieved tears burned my eyes. “Thanks, Luce,” I whispered. Knowing she would drive like a bat out of hell to get here, I added, “Drive safe.”
She growled something in reply before hanging up.
“Quinn?”
I looked up. Evie was standing there, two glasses of wine in her hands. She plopped one down in front of me and took the opposite seat. She looked effortlessly sexy in her black skinny jeans and three-quarter sleeved silver top. Her hair tumbled down her back in a wild riot of waves. It made me realise my own was a windblown mess. I brushed at it self-consciously.
“I’ve sent everyone away. Mac and Henry have gone shopping, and the boys are next door. It’s just us—sort of. Jared, Travis, and Mitch are still inside. I just…” She paused, her eyes filling a little. “I know we don’t know the full story, but I know what it’s like to have someone after you. It’s like a black, heavy weight on your chest like you can’t get a breath. I had a stalker. It wasn’t even a fan,” she muttered with a short laugh. “Just some a**hole that was pissed off at Jared.” She picked up her glass while nudging mine towards me. “In the end I was given an opening and went after him myself.” She grinned at me before taking a sip of wine and sitting it back down. “Can you imagine Jared’s reaction?”
If he was anything like Travis, I was pretty sure I could.
“He freaked out actually and left me. Blamed himself for the whole bloody thing.” She looked down at her hands.
“But you two are so madly in love?”
“We are. It wasn’t until later, when I got past the anger, that I realised being apart from me was killing him just as much. We worked through it though.”
“The papers say that you…” I trailed off, realising I was dredging up memories for her that were best left alone.
“I did. I shot that man and he died, and I’d never been more scared in all my life. But do you know what Jared said?”
I shook my head in reply.
“He said, ‘Courage is fighting fear head on, baby. As long as you have that, you’ll get through.’” Her chin pushed into her neck as she growled out the words in imitation of Jared and I giggled.
“But do you know what he doesn’t know?”
I shook my head again and took a sip of the warm, red wine.
“Having him behind me, and all my friends…” she waved a hand around towards the duplex “…is what gave me that courage. We’re your friends now, Quinn. Granted, we might not know you that well yet, but I know enough. We all know enough to see the sweetness in your smile and the shadows in your eyes. If you need courage, Quinn, know that we’re standing behind you.”
I didn’t know how to respond. “Thanks, Evie.”
She nodded and downed the rest of her wine, urging me to do the same. Finished, she grabbed my hand. “Come on. There’s a brand new bed in my old room. I bought it and took my old one to our house at Bondi. We can put some sheets on it for you.”
We passed through the kitchen where Travis, Jared, and Mitch appeared involved in a heated discussion. Silence fell and I could feel their eyes on us while we raided the linen cupboard. Evie filled my arms with sheets and thick quilts, and I stumbled up the stairs behind her, finally disappearing from their view.
Evie insisted on putting the bed together while I put my things away in the wardrobe, chattering all the while about the single Jamieson was due to release later that month. Soon we were done and could hear Mac and Henry returning, bringing Lucy in their wake because I could hear her talking loudly.
“We’re back,” Mac shouted up the stairs, “and I’ve got the makings for mojitos! Arriba, arriba!”
“That’s Mexican, Mactard,” we heard Henry say.
“What’s Mexican?”
“Arriba, arriba,” he replied.
“So?”
“Mojitos are Cuban,” I heard Travis say.
“What the f**k ever,” Mac said, clearly irritated.
I shuddered. Mojitos weren’t my thing. It was the limes. Lucy made a bad prawn and lime risotto once, and the four of us—Rick, Lucy, Justin and I—had been up sick all night. I’d hunched over the toilet and tossed what I was sure was every cookie I’d ever eaten in my entire life. Limes and I had never collided since.
When Evie left I promised I would be down in a minute, yet when I left, I wound my way to the back deck to check on Rufus. Dusk was coming. The air was getting chilly and a pink glow was warming the horizon. I pulled my cardigan tightly together and folded my arms when the sound of someone lighting a cigarette came from my right. Glancing sideways, Travis was caught in the illuminated glow. He was leaning back in the deck chair, elbows resting casually along the timber arms as he exhaled a long plume of smoke.