Down Among the Dead Men (Entangled Ignite) (18 page)
Read Down Among the Dead Men (Entangled Ignite) Online
Authors: Claire Baxter
Tags: #Ignite, #Down Among the Dead Men, #Australia, #opal mining, #amateur sleuth, #Claire Baxter, #Romance, #Suspense, #Entangled, #lawyer, #murder mystery, #crime
Chapter Twenty-One
Nine months later
Caitlyn looked out at the beach from the window of Opal’s, her very own seafront café, which had been little more than an ice-cream kiosk when she’d taken it over, but was now a thriving indoor–outdoor eatery with gorgeous views. She adored the ocean at all times of day and in all weather, but she couldn’t say it was her favorite view. That honor went to her memory of the opal fields with their barren beauty, but she had no idea when, or if, she’d ever see them again. For now she was busy building up her business and developing her menu ranging from comfort food to classic dishes. Only the occasional fancy stuff made it onto the menu, though, and only when she was in the mood.
With a lawyer’s help they’d untangled the mess that was Wally’s estate, paid off the bank, and sold the servo without having to advertise it. The mechanic who’d taught Max so much about vehicles had heard about Wally’s death and come down from Darwin to enquire about buying the servo and adjoining house. Out of the proceeds they’d settled Wally’s debts.
The reward, along with her savings, had enabled her to buy the kiosk. Once Josh had offered Max an apprenticeship in his mechanical repairs business back in Adelaide, Max had been more than happy to move away from her childhood home. As she was half owner of the house Caitlyn had grown up in, and as her mother and Max had surprised Caitlyn by taking an instant liking to each other, Max had moved in. Caitlyn intended to buy her own place as soon as Opal’s was doing well enough for her to take out a mortgage, but in the meantime, she was perfectly happy sharing.
Perfectly happy
might be an exaggeration, she thought now.
As happy as you could be when you had a gaping hole in your heart
was more like it.
She didn’t talk about Dale, not even to Sally. As far as she was concerned she’d made a mistake when she’d allowed herself to fall in love with him, and she didn’t want people to know how badly she’d messed up, much less pity her. She thought about him every day, but with time, she’d get over him. She might, just might, be able to care about another man in the future…maybe when she was in a retirement home, judging by how slowly the wounds seemed to be healing.
When she heard the door to the café rattle, she got to her feet. It was either the first of her staff arriving or one of her local customers looking for a coffee before she’d officially opened for breakfast. There was a small group of dogwalkers and joggers she’d come to know and for whom she was happy to open the door a little early.
She gathered up her own mug and plate and dropped them off at the counter on her way to the door, hidden from the main dining area by a trifold screen. She rounded the screen and stopped, her feet glued to the floor and her heart in her throat.
How could Dale possibly be here at the door of Opal’s?
He spotted her and waved through the glass.
With a gasp, she jerked forward and unlocked the door. “Dale! I don’t believe it.”
A smile spread across his face. “It’s good to see you.”
“But what are you doing here? What do you want?”
“A coffee would be a start, if it’s not too much trouble.”
“I can do that. Come in. Have a seat.” She gestured toward the tables and slipped behind the counter, hoping the routine activity of making coffee would give her heart a chance to stop hammering against her ribcage. “How do you want it?”
“Long and black would be great.”
She made herself another coffee, too, and carried both cups over to the table Dale had chosen.
“Thanks,” he said, taking his coffee from her. “You have a great place here. Fantastic views.”
“I know. I love it.”
He nodded. “I’m sorry for just turning up like this. I know I should have called.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“The truth? I couldn’t wait any longer to see you in person. I didn’t want to risk you postponing our meeting by even a day.”
“Oh. Okay.” She lifted her cup, peering over the rim. “How is everybody?”
He nodded. “Fine. We live in Adelaide now. We moved into our house yesterday. Ginny is looking forward to starting school. Rose is hoping to create a garden to rival the one she used to have, and I’m starting work with a legal firm in the city next week.”
Caitlyn frowned. “But what about that boy’s father? Won’t he still come after you?”
“No. Three months ago I heard that Shane’s father had died—from natural causes—and with that the threat to my family vanished. I was stunned into inertia for a few days before I realized what it really meant. That I was free to move my family, to set up home wherever I wanted.”
“And you chose to come back to Adelaide?”
“I couldn’t consider anywhere else…because you were here.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Don’t cry. I didn’t come here today to make you cry.” He reached across the table and used a thumb to gently wipe away an escaping tear.
“What did you come here for?”
“To find out whether there’s a man in your life, for a start.”
Shaking her head she said, “That position’s vacant.”
His eyes lit up. “How tough are the selection criteria?”
“Tough. Very tough.”
He sucked in a breath and blew it out again. “Is there any point in me applying, do you think?”
“I’d be prepared to give you a fair interview.”
“Is now a good time for you?”
“Now’s a good time.”
“Fire away, then. Ask me anything.”
“Right.” She looked down, gathering her thoughts, convincing herself that this was really happening. She took a steadying breath and turned back. “Your divorce…?”
“Finalized. I have sole custody of Ginny.” He paused. “Is that a problem? Do you only want someone who doesn’t have kids?”
“
No
.” She dug into the pocket of her jeans for a tissue. Finding one, she blew her nose, then rubbed the last of the tears away with the back of her hand. “Okay, you ticked the box on that question. Now, how do you feel about having another child should the opportunity arise?”
He smiled. “I feel very positive about that.”
“Tick.” She sipped her coffee again. “And how do you feel about me?”
His expression became serious. “Caitlyn, the hardest thing I have ever done—and I mean
ever
—was to let you go without even asking whether you’d give us a chance.”
“Why did you?”
“I knew I couldn’t ask you to live there with me. It wasn’t fair. Even if you cared about me, and I hoped that you might, especially after what you did when you thought my life was in danger. I was sure you’d want to go back to the city sooner or later and at that time I had no expectation of Shane’s father not being around, so I had nothing to offer you but dust and heat.”
“I’m not Dominica.”
“No, but it’s not the type of place you can live unless you love it.”
“I think you should have given me the option.”
He was silent for a long moment. “Am I an idiot?”
“Yes, but luckily for you, being an idiot doesn’t disqualify you from being considered for this position.”
He grinned. “So, am I in the running?”
“I should let you know the terms—”
“I’m sure they’ll be fair.”
“There’s only one, really. You’ll have to let me have the last word when we argue, because I won’t be able to compete with you being all lawyer-like and pedantic.”
He tilted his head. “Fair enough. You will always have the last word. Anything I say after that will be the beginning of a new argument.”
“Hmm, that answer just scrapes in as acceptable. Do you want to know the benefits of the position?”
He grinned. “I can see them just fine, thanks.”
After a hesitation she said, “I don’t trust easily. Please don’t let me down.”
“I promise I won’t. If you’ll give me a chance, I’ll never give you reason to regret it.”
She drew in a long, slow breath. “Well, since there are no other candidates—”
“There’d better not be.”
“You’re hired.” She got to her feet and met him halfway around the table. He lifted her off her feet in a desperate hug and kissed her. This time, she responded with body and soul. Nothing had ever felt so right.
Author’s Note
The town of Minagoona is fictitious, but is very loosely based on the town of Andamooka, in particular its location and surroundings. I invented a town rather than using the real Andamooka as the setting so that I could locate a service station and a pub where there are none in reality, and because the characters and incidents described in this story are not based on real people or events. Minagoona is in fact the name of a lake near Andamooka.
About the Author
Claire Baxter
writes contemporary romantic fiction of all lengths. Her short stories have been published in commercial women’s magazines around the world, while her novels have been translated into 20 languages and have been nominated for the Romance Writers of Australia’s Romantic Book of the Year Award, the Booksellers’ Best Awards, the RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Awards, and the Cataromance Reviewers’ Choice Awards (winner, Best Harlequin Romance).
Before following her passion to write full time, Claire was an award-winning corporate communications manager. Earlier, she worked as a translator and a PA.
Claire grew up in Warwickshire, England, but for more than 20 years has called Australia home. She considers herself lucky to live near one of Adelaide’s beautiful metropolitan beaches where she loves to walk and think up stories.
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