Real Men Don't Break Hearts (17 page)

The two policemen standing under his porch light brought back memories for Nate, and even though he was a law-abiding citizen nowadays, he couldn’t help his pulse’s small leap of alarm. Were they here to arrest him for vandalizing Colonel Clifton’s horse?

“Evening, officers.” He folded his arms across his shirt. “What can I do for you?” He didn’t recognize either of them. They were too young to have been on the force when he was raising Cain.

“Mr. Hardy?” The shorter one waited for him to acknowledge this before continuing. “You own the old post office in the middle of town, don’t you?”

Cold foreboding trickled down his spine. “I do. Is there a problem down there?”

“There’s been an accident. A car crashed through the store front.”

The policeman continued to talk, but Nate couldn’t hear him for the smashing of ice in his ears. Instinctively he gripped onto the door to steady himself. “Is anyone hurt?” he heard himself say in a hollow, unfamiliar voice.

“Just the two occupants in the car. Looks like a couple of teenagers hotwired a car and took it for a ride. They’ve been taken to the hospital.”

Strength started to flow back to his muscles, but he wouldn’t be satisfied until he saw for himself. “I’ll get down there right away.”

He followed the police car back to town, cursing the officers for driving so slowly. By the time they pulled up outside the old post office his hair was slick with sweat and his chest felt like it would cave in at any second. He hurried toward the crowd of people gathered around the crash site, his gaze ricocheting from one person to the next. Damn it, why weren’t there more streetlights here?

And then he saw Ally near the front, and he skidded to a halt, his heart jumping. Flanked by her sister and grandmother, she stood stock-still, staring at the destruction, looking slight and slender in her blue leggings and loose sweater. His first instinct was to run over and sweep her into his arms. It hurt physically not to do it. But instead he forced in a few deep breaths, shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, and made himself saunter up to her.

“Ally,” he said quietly when he was just behind her. He paused, giving her time to swing round and recognize him. Under her mussed-up curls, her face was white as she stared at him with dazed eyes. “I came as soon as I heard. Are you all right?”

She swallowed before muttering, “Yes, I was upstairs when it happened.”

Thank Christ for that. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Deep down, the awareness that this was the first time they were meeting since their breakup sliced him. This was all wrong. He wished he could wrap his arms around her and tell her everything would be all right. But he couldn’t, because she didn’t want that mushy stuff from him. He was only good for one thing.

“That’s lucky.” He gave her a wooden nod.

“Incredibly lucky.” Jess put her arm around Ally, supporting her, taking his place. She looked up at him. “Ally pulled the boys out of the wreckage. She thought the car might catch on fire from the leaking fuel.”

For the first time he registered the faint smell of petrol hanging in the air and the police holding back the crowd from the building. The bright red Ford V8 had gone straight through the front of the shop and had come to rest deep inside. Shattered glass and debris marked its path. A flickering internal light cast a dim pall over what was left of the store—nothing more than smashed goods, mangled wood, dangling wires. The sight of all Ally’s hard work so brutally demolished made him sick to his stomach.

“Those morons…” The muscles in his forearms bunched. If the two teenagers hadn’t already been carted off to the hospital he would have struggled not to confront them.

“I’m glad they weren’t too injured.” Ally bit her lower lip. “But the shop took a bit of a battering.”

“A bit?” Beside Ally, her grandmother gave a faint moan. “It’s ruined.”

Ally squeezed her grandmother’s arm. “Don’t worry, Nana, the stock is insured.” Ally glanced at Nate, her expression growing more troubled even as she tried to reassure her grandmother. “I—I don’t know about the building, though. It’s a wreck…”

“Insured as well,” Nate said. “It will all be repaired.”

Ally’s grandmother coughed. “But that’ll take ages.” She wheezed a bit before she stopped and pressed a hand to her chest.

Ally leaned forward. “Nana? Are you okay?”

The old lady coughed again, pointing to her chest, but it was Jess who spoke up. “It’s her asthma. It sometimes plays up when she’s under stress. We’d better get her home.”

Ally’s face grew even whiter, her distress palpable to Nate as he sensed what was going through her head. Even though the car crash was a freak accident, Ally felt responsible for her grandmother’s anguish. She’d taken over running the store, she’d made drastic changes against her nana’s wishes, she’d made the hard decisions, and now she had nothing to show for it. The sight of her tight shoulders made Nate clench his jaw. Ally needed support as much as her grandmother, but the way things were between them, he couldn’t do anything but stand by and watch.

One of the rescue team approached them. “Excuse me, miss. Are you the tenant of the upstairs apartment?” Ally nodded. “I’m afraid you won’t be able to go back in until we’ve assessed the structural damage.”

“Oh.” Ally bit her lip again.

“You’ll stay with me,” Jess said quickly.

“The engineer should be down in the morning.” The man moved off again.

“Come on, let’s get you home,” Jess said to her grandmother. “You’re shivering, and you need your medication.”

Ally faltered and fell back behind her sister and grandmother. She stared at the ruins of her shop. “Poor Brandon,” she murmured. “All his vases, gone. He’ll be devastated.”

Over Ally’s head Jess cast an imploring look at Nate. He blinked in surprise. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say she wanted his help. Did Ally’s sister suddenly approve of him? Still puzzled, he stepped forward.

“Ally, go home with Jess. You’re in shock, and you need to get some rest. I’ll be down here tomorrow to sort through the insurance, and I’ll help you any way I can.”

She blinked as if she hadn’t heard him, but then she nodded and turned away to follow Jess and her grandmother. He waited for her to glance back at him, but she didn’t. When she’d disappeared through the crowd, he gave himself a hard shake and squeezed his eyes shut.

“Looks like quite a mess, doesn’t it.”

He peeled open his eyes to find Duncan Grey standing beside him with Oscar in tow. “Yeah,” he said, managing to sound almost normal. “That’s my building.”

“Oh!” Duncan’s eyebrows shot up as he let out a soft whistle. “Then I’m doubly glad that Oscar wasn’t involved.”

“What do you mean?” Nate glanced at Oscar, who looked his usual bored, slack-jawed self.

“Those two teenagers who crashed the car? They’re Oscar’s friends. Couple of drop kicks. Oscar might have been in that car tonight if it wasn’t for his curfew.”

“You know those guys?” Nate shook his head at the teenager. “You don’t know how lucky you are.”

The adolescent shrugged. “Yeah, whatever.”

Oscar’s apparent indifference didn’t fool Nate. He could detect the quiver in the boy’s chin, the wide set of his eyes. The boy wasn’t a fool. He knew he’d had a lucky escape, and all thanks to the stepdad he pretended to despise.

Duncan waited until the teenager had slouched off. “I want to thank you for what you’ve done for him,” he said to Nate.

“What? Made him mow lawns, weed garden beds, and paint an old lady’s house?”

“It shows him there are consequences to his actions, and it’s not just the stupid old stepdad coming down on him. Plus, it tires the bejesus out of him so he’s less likely to get into mischief.”

“Well, I’m glad I could help.”

“Are you done here?”

Nate glanced around. Things seemed to be winding down. The police had roped off the area, and the onlookers were slowly dispersing. “I guess I am for tonight.”

“Why don’t you come round to my place for a drink? My wife would love to meet you.”

Nate hesitated only a second before nodding. Why not? Duncan Grey was a decent man, and if Nate was going to stay in Burronga it would be good to have him for a friend.
If
he was going to stay in Burronga? Why had he thought of it like that? Hadn’t he committed to building his new life here? He had a growing business, an investment, hell, even a temporary pet. Everything he wanted. Except the one thing that mattered.

Chapter Fifteen

Under the gentle sun, Mr. Cummings’s spring garden was the perfect setting for his farewell party. Dressed in a close-fitting silk dress, Ally stood next to Jess, her high heels slowly sinking into the lawn, wishing she hadn’t come. But she couldn’t have refused Mr. Cummings’s invitation. He’d been so decent about the back rent she owed him and so grateful when she’d delivered the final check that she had no option but to attend his garden party.

Half of Burronga had turned up to say good-bye to Mr. Cummings before he moved to Queensland. Including Nate. When Ally spotted Nate arriving and greeting Mr. Cummings, the cold chills racing up and down her back hadn’t boded well for the rest of the afternoon. In his fawn trousers and navy sports jacket with his dark hair slicked back and jaw freshly shaven, Nate looked assured, attractive, and rather remote. The day after the car crash he’d assisted her with the insurance and the police reports. He’d been very helpful, but his manner had been completely detached. She knew it was only to be expected, that she didn’t deserve any better, but still it stung.

Now, she looked on surreptitiously as Nate chatted to people, noting his ease. The old Nate would have scoffed at the idea of attending a garden party, but now he looked like he’d always belonged in this milieu. As he turned from one guest to another, his gaze wandered toward her across the wide expanse of lawn and she tensed at the prospect of talking to him. But all she got was a brief nod of acknowledgement, as if they were just casual acquaintances, before he allowed his attention to be claimed by someone else.

She sagged, feeling deflated. Then, becoming aware of Jess eyeing her, she forced her shoulders back. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” she said.

Jess merely raised her eyebrows in reply.

“Who knows?” Ally continued. “I might register for a course right away.”

“Oh, surely you’ll want to think about it for a few weeks first.”

Ally was tired of thinking, of feeling. She itched to do something. And driving into Canberra tomorrow morning to attend the ANU open day was doing something definite. In the past she’d toyed with the idea of going to university, but circumstances had gotten in the way. Not this time. This time circumstances seemed to be pushing her in this direction.

“If I find something that appeals to me, I don’t see why I should wait,” she said.

“But what about the gift shop?”

Ally shrugged. “The gift shop was never my idea in the first place. I came in because Nana needed a hand, and then she passed it on to me. Maybe the car crash was a blessing in disguise; I don’t have to revive the gift shop if I don’t want to. I have other options, like going to uni. I don’t have to live in Burronga if I don’t want to.”

Jess hesitated, fidgeting with her wineglass. “It’s Nate, isn’t it?”

Ally couldn’t hide her wince. A few days after she and Nate had broken up, she’d told Jess about it, told her that she had instigated the breakup, not Nate, as everyone would automatically assume. Since then, Jess hadn’t brought up the subject, so she wasn’t prepared for this question.

“No, it’s not Nate,” she said a little too insistently. “My going to Canberra has nothing to do with him.” But even as she spoke, her eyes sought him out among the crowd, and her heart lurched as he continued to ignore her.

“Maybe you should try to patch things up with him,” Jess said.

Ally’s mouth fell open. “But you were the one who warned me off him in the first place!”

“I know.” Jess looked pained. “But I’m beginning to think I’ve been wrong about him.”

The wineglass trembled in Ally’s hand as she took a few steps away. “Oh, this is just bloody marvelous.”

Jess followed her. “You were right when you said Nate’s changed. He’s not the arrogant troublemaker he used to be. This time he’s putting in a real effort to fit into the community. I think he’s trying to make up for what he did when he was younger. Did you hear about Colonel Clifton’s horse’s tail? It’s been restored.”

“You’re not making any sense at all. What does a horse’s tail have to do with Nate?”

“He was the one who cut it off and stole it all those years ago, but now he’s returned it.”

“And that makes him a hero?”

“No, not a hero, just someone who’s big enough to acknowledge his past faults. I mean, he didn’t have to return the tail. Almost everyone’s forgotten about it. It was rather sweet of him, don’t you think?”

“Can we talk about something else?”

Her sister sighed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m just trying to give you some advice.”

“I’m old enough to make my own decisions now, Jess.”

“Yes, I realize that. I know I fall into big-sis mode too easily.” She squeezed Ally’s arm apologetically. “Go to Canberra tomorrow and enjoy yourself. It’s good to see what choices you have in the world. And whatever you decide, you know I’ll support you.”

“Thanks,” Ally said, gruff with surprise.

Jess nodded before glancing across the garden. “Uh-oh, I see Brian’s been trapped with old Mrs. Harper for the past fifteen minutes. I’d better go rescue him.”

Jess moved off just as Tyler wandered up. “Here you are! I’ve been looking all over for you. I had a sudden brain wave this morning, and you just have to listen.”

“Okay,” Ally said, a little cautious of her friend’s bounding enthusiasm.

“I’ve been thinking about your shop. Why don’t we reopen it as an art gallery-slash-coffee shop?”

“‘We’?”

“Yeah, you and me. We could go into partnership together. I have some savings put aside.” Tyler’s face radiated energy as she waved her arms around. “The art gallery would sell crafty stuff, like my jewelry and Brandon’s glass art. Good, decent-priced stuff. I know some artisans in the area, and so does Brandon. We’d sell the goods on consignment, so we’d be sharing the risk with the artists, and we’d take a percentage of the sales. And then we’d have a coffee shop selling really good coffee and a few cakes and sandwiches. It would be a nice, comfy place to hang out—that way we’d attract more potential customers to the gallery. So what do you think, huh? Isn’t it a great idea?”

“Uh, wow, you’ve been giving this some thought, haven’t you?”

“I’ve helped you in the shop before. You know I’m reliable. And we’d be proper partners. I know I don’t look it, but I’m a damned hard worker when I want to be.”

That was true. Despite her flighty appearance, Tyler was honest, reliable, and hard working. She supported her daughter on her own, with no help from her ex, and when she wanted to she had enough enthusiasm to climb Mount Everest.

“It does sound like a good idea,” Ally replied, “but I’m actually thinking of taking a different direction with my life. I’m going to Canberra tomorrow for the university open day.”

“Oh.” Tyler stepped back, her zeal suddenly checked. “Canberra, huh?”

“Nothing’s definite. I’m just…weighing my options.” She paused. “But your idea about the art gallery and coffee shop sounds great, and there’s no reason why you can’t do it by yourself, is there?”

Tyler chewed on her lower lip. “Maybe, but I was counting on you being my partner. You know so much more about running a business than I do.”

She did, Ally suddenly realized. If the car crash hadn’t happened, she would have transformed a dying business into a successful, thriving one. And she’d have done it by herself and despite her grandmother’s strong reservations. Still…

“You should talk to Nate,” Ally said. “Tell him about your idea.”

Involuntarily she glanced back at the crowd surrounding Nate. As she watched, the Burronga mayor greeted Nate with an enthusiastic handshake, talking loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear. Heads swiveled, eyebrows rose, and an appreciative murmur rippled through the bystanders as they smiled at Nate.

What’s going on there?
Ally wondered.

“And once we get the bandstand fixed up,” the mayor boomed, “you can help us repair the fountains. Ha, ha!” His laughter rolled out as he clapped Nate on the shoulder.

“What’s he talking about?” Ally muttered to Tyler.

“The mayor? Oh, he’s always happy to get donations for his civic projects. Nate’s offered to pay for the renovations to the bandstand in Clifton Gardens. Didn’t you know?”

Ally shook her head. No, she hadn’t known. First the horse’s tail, and now the bandstand. Was Nate trying to buy his way into public favor? The next instant she quashed the idea. Nate would never do that. Even from a distance she could sense his muted unease over the mayor’s fulsome praise. Nate didn’t need anyone’s approval. He acted according to his own moral compass. Just look how he’d gone to his crotchety old neighbor’s assistance and taken in her dog when no one had asked him to. He’d done it because he was Nate.

And he’d offered her the key to his house, and she’d turned him down. Because she was too afraid to risk loving another unsuitable man.

“Okay, I’ll go and have a chat with him,” Tyler said. “Set up a meeting so I can discuss things properly. You coming?”

“No, I’ll leave you to it.”

She couldn’t walk up to Nate and pretend nothing was wrong between them. Not with all these other people looking on. She set down her wineglass and walked blindly away from the party. She followed the path through a fern patch and beyond, only pausing when she came to Mr. Cummings’s rose garden. Here the air was heavy with the scent of roses, and the party was just a murmur in the background. Stepping off the path, she leaned in to breathe the fragrance of a crimson rose. As her heels began to sink into the grass once more, she let out an exasperated sigh and kicked off her shoes.

“Hello, Ally.”

She almost fell into the rosebush as she spun round to find Nate not far behind her. Instantly she regretted kicking off her high heels. She needed every advantage to face him.

“Hi.” She gestured around her. “I was just taking one last look at Mr. Cummings’s rose garden.”

He arched an eyebrow. “One last look? Are you going somewhere?”

“No, I mean, before he moves away.” She smoothed down the silky fabric of her dress. “Actually, I might be moving, too.”

Frowning, he stepped toward her. “I’m going to get the building repaired as soon as possible. You’ll be able to move back into your apartment within a few months.” The building inspector had deemed her apartment unsafe, and most of her possessions were now crammed into Jess and Brian’s garage.

“That’s okay,” she said hurriedly. “I might be going to uni in Canberra. I’m attending the open day tomorrow, checking out what courses I could study.”

The line across his forehead deepened. “But what about your gift shop?”

She lifted her shoulders. “I believe Tyler has some ideas about the shop. Didn’t she talk to you?”

“I was under the impression you and she were going into partnership. I had no idea you were quitting already.”

The censure in his tone flicked at her nerves like a whip. What right did he have to judge her? “It’s got nothing to do with you.” She moved away and pretended to inspect a large rose in full bloom.

“No, I don’t see why it would.” He followed her relentlessly. “Why would
you
feel the need to run away? After all, you were the one who dumped me. I should be the one scuttling for cover, not you. You should be waltzing around, bragging about how you had me practically begging for you before you kicked me in—”

“Stop it,” she hissed. “You don’t know anything. Do you see me waltzing and bragging? You’re not the only one who feels as if you’ve been kicked in the guts.”

He stared at her. “Then why…”

The stunned pain etched on his face made her heart contract. Had she really hurt him that much? Was it real love or just injured pride? She put her hands up to ward him off. “Please, Nate. Please let’s not do this now, here. I can’t—” She gulped in some air. “I can’t go through this postmortem. Can’t you just be satisfied that I’m hurting, too?”

Beneath his jacket his chest heaved. His arms hung at his sides, hands twitching with the force of his emotion. “I’m not satisfied that you’re hurting.”

Now he really did sound like he cared for her. Maybe she’d read him all wrong the other day. Maybe he really loved her, only he couldn’t put it in words so instead he’d given her the key to his house. Her body shook as if a giant wave had slammed into her. If Nate loved her, really loved her, then that scared her even more. His love was both a promise and a threat. If she gave in to it, she’d become a hostage to him, trapped in a wild ride. With him, the highs would be incredibly high, and the lows would be equally extreme and crushing, and that frightened her. She wouldn’t survive the crashes of the lows.

“Neither of us is satisfied. Let’s just leave it at that.” She pushed her feet into her shoes, trying to gather herself. “Sometimes things don’t work out, despite our best intentions. I never meant to hurt you, Nate.” She glanced around the rose garden bursting with symbols of love. The perfumed air stung her throat. “Just look at where we are, these beautiful roses. Mr. Cummings planted them for Roseanne, and he still enjoys them even though she was unfaithful and ran off with another man. It doesn’t make sense to us, but it does to him.”

He stared at her as if she’d uttered gobbledygook. “Oh, God.” He scrubbed his hands over his face, his voice weary. “I hope you don’t think I’m like Mr. Cummings.”

“Of course I don’t—”

“He’s a nice man, but he doesn’t know jack about women. Roseanne ran rings around him even before they were married. She hooked up with just about anything that moved. In fact she was having an affair with—”

She looked up expectantly as he came to an abrupt halt. “With whom?”

He glanced away. “It doesn’t matter.” But the tension in his face told her otherwise. He rubbed the back of his neck, and finally his breath gusted out. “Okay, I don’t know why I’m telling you this, but Roseanne was having an affair with Robbie. He told me they were thinking of going somewhere new, shacking up together. I’ll never know if that was really the plan or just Robbie boasting, because a few days later he had his car accident.”

Oh, no. She knew Robbie hadn’t had any scruples when it came to women, but Mr. Cummings’s wife? Surely he could have resisted her questionable charms. And by the expression on Nate’s face, he thought the same.