Outback Dreams Read online

  ‘A fabulous charity called Dogs for Autism. They breed and train dogs to assist autistic kids. The dog becomes a companion that not only offers friendship but also looks out for the child.’

  ‘What’s autism?’ asked one of the fishermen.

  ‘Isn’t it that rocking thing?’ asked another.

  ‘Monty’s brother has a form of it,’ Adam informed them, nodding towards him.

  All heads turned towards Monty. He took a long swig of beer and nodded. He tried to smile but it turned out more a grimace. ‘Yeah.’

  When nobody said anything, he realised he was going to have to give an overview to the uninformed. Reluctantly, he put down his beer. He racked his brain for a way to explain it that wouldn’t prolong the conversation, but that was easier said than done. In the end, he chose the textbook definition, hoping he’d bore his listeners into a change of topic.

  ‘Autism is a neurodevelopmental disability. People on the spectrum can have problems interacting socially, communicating with others, and some also have behavioural challenges.’ He made it general, not wanting to talk specifically about Will. ‘Although autism is different for every person who has it, life is different for those with the disorder. People with autism don’t think like you and me. The world is black and white to them and—’

  Curtis slapped him on the back. ‘Definitely sounds like a good cause. I trust there’ll be alcohol to help us support it.’

  Monty let out a breath of relief. Curtis’ words were shallow, but his lecture had been a success. Everyone had heard enough and no one asked any more about Will.

  ‘Of course.’ Faith smiled. ‘But we’re not here to talk about the ball, we’re here to celebrate Monty’s success.’ She lifted her glass high in the air. ‘I’d like to make a toast to my best mate, Daniel Montgomery, soon to be farmer extraordinaire. Watch out sheep. If I know my mate, he won’t take any crap. To Monty.’

  She downed some wine and although she tried to hide it, he noticed her grimace at the taste.

  ‘To Monty!’ The rest of his friends lifted their drinks, cheered, and roared their support. Monty couldn’t help but get caught up in their merriment. He nodded his thanks and took a satisfying swig of his own beer.

  Just when he thought life couldn’t get any better, the door of the pub opened again.

  Chapter Seven

  At the sight of Ruby Jones walking through the door of the pub, Faith almost choked on her wine. Granted it wasn’t good wine—and she rarely drank quality stuff, never mind the house wine—but this wasn’t the reason for her brush with death. She coughed and thrust her glass at Ryan, seriously surprised that Ruby had come. She knew Monty had invited her, but she’d never expected her to show up.

  Monty had harboured a crush on Ruby since she’d moved to town late the previous year. She’d technically been affiliated with the place for over a decade, but she’d been at boarding school when the Joneses moved to Bunyip Bay, and had lived elsewhere since. Rumours abounded around the reason for Ruby moving back in with her parents after ten years on her own, but neither she nor her parents appeared to have shared the truth with anyone.

  Local gossip said she’d split from a long-time love and lost her job in the bargain, that coming home was a last resort kind of thing, but as far as Faith knew, that was all it was—gossip. However, the facts spoke for themselves; since her arrival, many men had tried to ask her out, but she’d turned every one of them down. She worked at The Ag Store, made only enough small talk to appear polite, and spent every spare moment with her two horses.

  Ruby had made no effort to involve herself in any local activities, although she’d recently started giving riding lessons, and Faith had lost some of her netball players because of it. Horses, it seemed, had greater appeal than chasing a ball up and down a court.

  Most of the guys had given up trying to woo Ruby, but Monty never gave up at anything. Faith understood what he saw in her. What red-blooded male wouldn’t like a tall, leggy, pretty girl who not only had the body but knew how to dress it? Ruby was everything Faith wasn’t—feminine, sweet and altogether too perfect for words.

  While Faith tried to appear unaffected by Ruby’s presence, Monty rushed forward to welcome her. Although she flinched slightly at his effusive greeting, she smiled, and Faith heard her words as if they were tiny light bulbs going off inside her head.

  ‘Congratulations on the loan, Daniel.’ Ruby twisted a chunk of long black hair around her index finger. ‘You must be so excited to be buying your own farm. I really admire all the hard work you’ve put in to get where you are now.’

  Faith had to take a sip of her ghastly wine before she screamed. If she’d had any doubts about her opinion of Ruby before, they evaporated now. She’d dressed up—although that wasn’t unusual in itself; Ruby always looked mannequin-perfect and always had a silly flower stuck in her hair—and was settling on the stool next to Monty as if she had one goal in mind. This was exactly what she’d been scared of—Ruby suddenly deciding to recognise Monty’s advances now that he had more to offer than a rented house, a sunny smile and a hardworking attitude. But she’d die before she let Ruby take advantage of him.

  Of course Monty beamed, Ruby’s words like fuel for his silly crush. ‘Thanks. Can I get you a drink?’

  While Ruby scrutinized the selection of drinks behind the bar, Faith narrowed her eyes.

  ‘I’ll just have a lemon-lime and bitters,’ Ruby announced eventually, ‘and I’ll buy it.’

  ‘No way,’ Monty argued. ‘I invited you. I’m buying.’

  Ruby relented with a flutter of her eyelashes and a smile that made Faith nauseous. Until the other woman had arrived, she’d been happily trading quips with Monty’s friends—many of whom were good-looking, all of whom were friendly, interesting and nice. She’d only been teasing Monty when she’d said she wanted someone to take her home. She’d never been easy and didn’t plan to start now, but keeping an eye on Ruby would make chatting with the guys harder.

  If only the gold-digger had stayed home with her horses.

  A warm hand at Faith’s elbow jolted her thoughts. She looked up to see Curtis’s bemused smile. He gestured to her barely touched glass of wine now resting on the bar in front of them. ‘The wine not good?’

  She shook her head. ‘It’s not really my thing,’ she admitted. Then she turned to Liam behind the bar, ‘Can I have a rum and Coke instead, please?’

  Curtis laughed. ‘Now there’s a girl after my own heart.’ He downed the remnants of his beer and said to Liam, ‘Make that two.’

  ‘Here you go.’ Liam placed the glasses in front of them and Curtis paid for both.

  ‘I could buy my own drink, you know,’ Faith told him.

  ‘I know.’ Curtis winked. ‘But that would mean you weren’t indebted to at least stay talking to me for as long as it takes to drink it.’

  ‘I can drink fast.’ To prove this, and simply because she needed it, she downed half the contents of her glass. God it tasted good.

  Curtis raised his eyebrows, having not even tasted his first sip. ‘I’m impressed.’

  She grinned, something deep inside her heating at the way he said those two words. As she took the next sip slower, she tried not to be obvious in checking him out. He wasn’t what you’d call traditionally spunky. A bit skinny despite years of hard labour on fishing trawlers, his hair was neither long nor short and its colour neither light not dark, but he had a nice smile. A larrikin’s smile, and Lord knew she was partial to larrikins.

  ‘So, if you can drink like a man, does that mean you can play pool like one too?’ Curtis asked.

  Like a man?

  Damnit, she’d wanted to present a different persona tonight. Hence the clothes, hence the wine… Bugger Ruby for putting her off balance. ‘Um.’

  Ryan, who’d been leaning against the bar ordering a second drink, overheard their exchange. He wrapped an arm around Faith’s shoulder and pulled her against him. ‘Can she ever. I taught her myself.
’

  ‘Bloody brilliant.’ Curtis downed his drink, ordered another round from Liam and called to a couple of his mates. ‘Who wants to play me and Faith in a round of pool?’

  So somehow Faith found herself at the other end of the pub with a bunch of rowdy but lovely blokes, playing pool. She was so far away from Monty and Ruby she could barely see them, never mind eavesdrop. Try as she might, she soon found that playing the incompetent female just wasn’t her either. The first time she deliberately missed the ball almost killed her. So, after another couple of pretend attempts, she gave up on her feminine ploys.

  She played pool like a pro, drank as much rum and Coke as any of the men and had the time of her life. She even managed to forget about Ruby and Monty and simply enjoy being around his friends. Curtis barely left her side, not allowing anyone else the chance of being her pool partner. Not that she minded. In fact, she thought she might fancy the crayfisherman pants off him. She wouldn’t go back to his place tonight, but she planned on sending him home with her number.

  ‘That sounds awesome,’ Monty said, trying to focus on Ruby. She’d been telling him about giving horse-riding lessons to some of the local girls and how she hoped to build a little business for herself, but he couldn’t seem to settle into the conversation.

  The girl of his dreams shrugged and smiled as she twirled her wine glass in her fingers. ‘It doesn’t feel like work, more like a paying excuse to spend more time with my horses. I was one of those horse-mad girls, so I understand the passion of the kids I teach.’

  ‘Yeah, I can relate to that.’ Monty nodded, his gaze drifting to the other end of the pub. Faith was down there with his mates, no doubt kicking their arses at the game.

  His eyes boggled as she took the cue, leaned right over the table, eyed the ball and pushed her bum out as she set up her hit. Her little pink dress rode up the back of her thighs, giving him and everyone else in the pub a tantalising view of bare leg and then, when she leaned a little farther … black panties. A wave of awareness swept over him and he contemplated Faith in a way he’d never done before. As he shook the unwanted thoughts aside, he noticed he wasn’t the only man with eyes glued on Faith’s behind.

  Curtis’ mouth was wide open, his tongue hanging out like a dog on heat. The others were barely any better; he could just imagine what was running through their heads. Faith really did have the most sensational legs. Fighting the urge to rush over and cover them with his jacket, he let out a sigh of relief when she finally straightened, her dress fell and an expression of triumph filled her face. Judging by her crazy victory dance, he guessed not one but two of her balls had dropped into the holes. The blokes cheered and Kyle stepped forward to take his turn.

  Monty forced his attention back to Ruby.

  He’d wanted this opportunity for ages—Ruby Jones offering her undivided attention—and yet he was annoyingly distracted. He needed to stop acting like Faith’s big brother and focus on his own needs. Ryan was with her at the pool table, and he’d look out for Faith if necessary. Besides, these were his mates for crying out loud. Would he really think their admiring gazes leery if it was any other woman they were ogling?

  He took a long slug of his beer. ‘So,’ he said, smiling as he met Ruby’s gaze, ‘who taught you how to ride a horse?’

  ‘My Aunty Sue used to run a stud in Narrogin. Dad managed a hardware store there before we moved up here to Bunyip Bay, and I spent every second I could with her, just watching her train the horses.’ She took a quick sip. ‘While I was at boarding school, I spent more time at her place on holidays than I did up here. Eventually my parents bought me my own horse, Kristy.’

  ‘Kristy?’ He stifled a laugh. ‘Strange name for a horse.’

  ‘Not for a little girl obsessed with The Baby-Sitters Club.’ At his blank face, she elaborated. ‘It’s a series of books for girls; Kristy was one of the main characters. I always admired her guts; she was sporty and confident, not shy and cautious like me.’

  At the mention of shyness, pink tinted her cheeks. She was finally talking to him, sharing silly snippets of her history, and that made him want to puff up his chest and roar.

  ‘Is Kristy still around?’

  She shook her head. ‘No, she died a few years back.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he paused and then asked, ‘Didn’t you used to do dressage events and such?’

  ‘Yes, but…’ She bit her lip. Shrugged. ‘I think I’ll be better suited to teaching other people how to ride.’

  ‘Fair enough.’

  ‘Anyway, enough about me.’ Ruby gestured to his now empty glass. ‘Let me buy you another beer and you can tell me all about your new farm.’

  She listened with interest as he shared his ideas for the future— making sure to mention the impressive stables at the Payne property—and Monty thought he was doing a good job of not glancing constantly to the other side of the pub. But when Ruby mentioned Faith, he realised he’d failed dismally.

  ‘So what’s the deal with you and Faith?’ she asked, a slight smirk on her lips.

  ‘Huh?’ Her question threw him. ‘Oh. We’re old friends.’

  She nodded, but the slight rise of her brow told him she didn’t buy this explanation. ‘Is that why you can’t keep your eyes off her?’

  Shit. No. ‘No!’ He leaned forward, not wanting Ruby to get the wrong idea. ‘She’s just got a few things going on right now, and I don’t want those blokes taking advantage of her.’

  Ruby took a sip of her drink. ‘I don’t think she likes me.’

  He swallowed. ‘Why?’

  ‘Just a hunch. Every time she’s looked over, she’s given me the evil eye. I’d say she has the hots for you.’

  He snorted, but didn’t meet her eye. ‘No way. We’re just friends.’ After a pause, he asked, ‘Can I get you another drink?’

  She shook her head. ‘No thanks. I can’t stay much longer. But this has been nice. Congratulations, Daniel.’

  ‘Please, call me Monty—everyone else does.’

  ‘Okay. Monty.’

  His nickname on her lips sounded sweeter than he’d ever heard it before. As she straightened her handbag on her shoulder, his heart pounded ridiculously in his chest. He felt like a teenage boy garnering courage to ask his crush to the high school ball, when all he wanted was to ask her on a proper date. At last he found his voice.

  ‘Ruby, I was wondering if you’d like to go out for dinner with me one night. We could head into Geraldton to one of the restaurants there.’

  The muscles in her face stilled and then, ‘Um … ah.’ For a second he was certain she was going to refuse him, but then she seemed to rethink. ‘Okay, that would be lovely,’ she said more forcefully. ‘Give me a call at the shop and we’ll make arrangements.’

  ‘I will do.’

  Monty watched her leave, wishing there’d been a moment to lean forward and kiss her—at least on the cheek—but her brief hesitation had halted any ideas he had about making a more definite move. He’d been patient until now, and he could wait a few more days.

  As Ruby headed for the door, Faith and the others left the pool table and migrated back to the bar. Monty figured his mates had finally got sick of being slaughtered by a female. He didn’t blame them; he’d learnt years ago not to take her on at pool, cards or anything that involved competition. She didn’t like losing.

  Smiling widely, Faith landed on the stool beside him. Her cheeks were flushed and her words a little slurred. ‘Where’s your girlfriend? Gone home to get her beauty sleep?’

  ‘Don’t, Faith. Being a bitch doesn’t suit you.’

  Faith sighed, obviously hurt. ‘I’m sorry. So why’d she rush off then?’

  ‘Not sure.’ He tried to keep his smile in check. ‘But I asked her out to dinner and she said yes.’

  ‘Wow.’ Faith didn’t hide her surprise, but looked away at the same time. In a flat voice she said, ‘That’s awesome. Well done you. Two things to celebrate.’ And with that she held up the
glass Curtis had just passed her and gestured for him to clink.

  ‘Thanks, Forrester.’ With a smile, he accepted her toast and then drank to the future.

  After that, the evening progressed like most evenings at The Palace. Everyone took turns punching songs into the vintage jukebox, dancing and singing along like they were in some kind of contest about who could make the most noise and look the most ridiculous. Just when Monty thought maybe it was time to call it a night, Curtis suggested tequila shots.

  For a second, he wondered if Curtis was trying to get Faith so plastered she’d go home with him, but he told himself to get a grip. Faith could handle her drink and Curtis was a good bloke.

  Vowing to stop acting like her father, Monty grinned as Curtis turned to the bar to order. He could already imagine the state of his head tomorrow morning, but what the hell? You didn’t get approved for a loan and make an offer on your dream farm every day.

  As his fingers closed around the tiny shot glass, his mobile phone vibrated in his pocket. Wondering who in hell could be calling at this time of night when almost everyone he knew was right here beside him, Monty lifted the glass, threw back his head, swallowed the liquor in one quick gulp and then, bypassing the lemon, retrieved his phone. A glance at the caller ID and his heart leapt up to his tonsils.

  Mack. His real estate agent.

  Monty headed outside for some quiet, then cleared his throat and pressed accept. ‘Hi, Mack.’

  At the other man’s news, he sobered up pretty damn quick.

  His fists clenched, Monty only just refrained from throwing his phone against the bricks of the pub and then punching the wall.

  Why me?

  As he recalled Mack’s words over and over in his head like a nightmare on replay, his mother’s stupid love of numerology haunted him. She’d always joked he had unlucky numbers but damned if he hadn’t thought you made luck for yourself.

  ‘Monty?’

  He spun around at Faith’s voice and realised too late he was actually crying. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hands and turned away, walking towards the car park. Even Faith, who’d been his best mate for almost thirty years, had only seen him cry on a handful of occasions. None of which were in the last two decades.