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‘Even Rusty could see how much you were falling for Ana yesterday!’ Adam said, his frustration over Liam’s reluctance making his voice rise as the men lounged in their booth. ‘You couldn’t take your eyes off her, didn’t help anyone else all afternoon, and she’s a damn catch! Hurry up and buy her dinner, I reckon.’
Liam sighed. ‘Mate, just let me do it my way.’
‘But your way pisses me off.’
‘Leave Liam alone,’ Michael told Adam.
Jack shook his head. ‘I like how you suggest buying her dinner.’
Adam’s spine straightened. ‘I’m not unromantic! I’ve bought plenty of women dinner. I’ve even bought them flowers. And once, I bought a woman jewellery.’
Michael rolled his eyes. ‘Mum doesn’t count.’
Adam glared at his brother. ‘So? What does that matter? Maybe the woman I want to buy jewellery for hasn’t shown up yet.’
‘Yes, because one day hell will freeze over and you’ll want to settle down with someone,’ Jack said sarcastically.
Liam and Michael laughed.
Adam backhanded Jack in the biceps. ‘You can’t talk. You’re pushing thirty and by family law I don’t need to settle down until my big brother does. It works in an order, you know.’
‘It doesn’t work in a bloody order. And you’re pushing thirty too.’
‘I’m pushing twenty-eight. I don’t push thirty until you’re thirty.’
Liam shook his head. ‘Break it up, you two. Michael will marry before either of ya.’
Jack scoffed. ‘Bullshit.’
‘Liam might be right,’ Michael agreed.
‘Yeah.’ Liam clapped Michael on the shoulder as he regarded his cousins on the other side of the table. ‘You, Jack, don’t express or receive feelings for women because if you did, you’d have had her a long time ago.’ Liam’s eyes narrowed as Jack frowned. ‘Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. And, Adam, you’re too busy letting Jordan walk all over you to even bother looking for someone else. And you two say I have problems.’
Liam sank into the booth and drank his beer.
Adam raised his eyebrows. ‘Who’s to say Jordan won’t be the woman I end up with?’
‘She treats you like trash!’ Liam cried. ‘If there was any emotional connection between you, you’d have found it long ago.’
‘If you marry her, I’ll bloody kill you,’ Jack said, crossing his arms. ‘She’s still a Kelly and it’s bad enough you’re sleeping with her. Now, be a mate and buy us another round.’
Liam went with Adam to the bar where Jordan was serving.
‘Hey, stud.’ She glanced at Adam with a wicked gleam in her eyes, her body curving against the bar and enhancing their view of her barely concealed chest. ‘Another round?’
‘Yeah, get in before the ladies get here.’
She laughed and tossed her dark hair over her shoulder. ‘You’re bad, Adam. As long as you buy me one after work.’
Adam handed over cash. ‘Righto.’
Jordan grabbed the beers as Paul and Harrison Kelly walked into the pub. Liam inhaled, preparing himself. Harrison was always the first one to stick his nose in.
‘Whatcha doin’, Maguire? Planning to screw over my sister again?’
‘Just buying a beer, Harry.’ Adam lifted the bottle of Great Northern Jordan placed on the bar. ‘Cheers.’
Liam gathered the rest of the drinks as Paul swore under his breath. ‘Just watch it, Maguire.’
Jordan glared at her brothers. ‘Bloody hell, you two. Let it go.’
Liam kicked Adam in the ankle and directed him back to the booth, leaving the Kellys to bicker.
Jack sighed wearily as Liam handed him a beer. ‘It’ll be your fight, mate. You rile them up, you take the hit.’
Adam shrugged. ‘Whatever.’
Liam welcomed the arrival of the ladies.
‘Afternoon,’ Meg said as she and Lucy slid into the booth beside Jack.
Ana and Isabella sat beside Liam. Damn, Ana looked gorgeous in her pink cotton dress. The colour suited her pale skin and the skirt billowed around her slender legs. Would she ever fail to steal his breath away? He hoped not.
‘Hey,’ he said.
Her eyes glittered. ‘Hey.’
‘How is everyone?’ Meg asked.
‘Adam’s about to get his head smashed in by one of the Kellys,’ Jack muttered.
‘Just be sure to get a few good ones in, Adam,’ Lucy said, crossing her arms over her chest.
Meg sighed. ‘Seriously, Adam. Don’t rile them up. If this continues, Georgina may ban you from the Royal permanently.’
Liam laughed. ‘She couldn’t do that. He’s one of her best customers.’
‘Whatever. But I mean it, Adam.’
‘Aww, I’m sorry, Meggy.’
‘You will be when you and Jack are bleeding again. I’ll make Georgina ban you.’
Adam laughed. Meg narrowed her eyes.
‘She can do it, mate,’ Jack warned. ‘You better shut up and do what she says.’
‘So ...’ Meg surveyed the table. ‘Michael, what’s going on with you?’
Beside Liam, Michael shrugged. ‘Not much. Worked on the café today. Made progress on the house over the weekend.’
Ana raised her eyebrows as she glanced at Michael. ‘You’re building a house?’
‘Yeah. This one’s my own, so I’ve been taking my time, showing it plenty of care and attention.’
‘He’s been at it for eight months and only just put the frame up,’ Liam said.
Isabella grinned and folded her arms over the table. ‘It’s going to be amazing. Michael brought in catalogues so we could help him choose tiles and such. I love decorating, so it was fun to help.’ She leaned past Ana to meet Michael’s gaze. ‘It’ll look great when it’s done.’
Michael took a swig of his beer. ‘I’m glad you think so.’
‘Where are you building it?’ Ana asked.
‘On Shadow Creek.’
She frowned. ‘Where do you live now?’
Jack scoffed. ‘Some nights he sleeps on his slab.’
‘But I’m still in the shack with Jack. We’ve got this small house we built for Jack, Adam, and Liam to get out of the homestead, and I moved in when I finished high school. We had a great time there until Adam and Liam went solo. But I’ll move into my house once the roof is on and the plumbing works in the ensuite.’
‘What about the kitchen?’
‘Nah, I’ll go to the retreat. Mum will feed me.’
‘Fair enough.’ Ana surveyed the table. ‘Who needs drinks?’
Liam lifted his beer. ‘We just got another round.’
With drinks for just the girls, Ana and Lucy headed for the bar. Liam released a deep breath and took a swig of his beer. With all the talk about houses, he wondered if Ana would like his. He had given it a lot of attention when he’d helped Michael build it, imagining the possibilities. Diane had only just left, so he’d chosen the design he’d liked and painted the walls a happy shade of eucalyptus, both of which she’d have hated. But it hadn’t mattered, because it was his home. Yet as he’d chosen the décor, the thought of the right woman and a family joining him one day had never faded.
Slow, he reminded himself. He wanted slow. He liked slow.
But as he shot a glance towards the bar where Ana stood with his sister, Liam frowned. Did he want slow with her?
* * *
Ana’s body softened as she left the booth. What had she been thinking sitting beside Liam again? If she didn’t want to have feelings for the man, then close proximity certainly wasn’t helpful.
‘What would you like?’ Jordan asked, jolting Ana out of her thoughts.
‘We’ll have three Diet Cokes and a Great Northern please.’
‘Bloody diet shit,’ Jordan muttered under her breath as she turned to fill the order. Ana frowned and exchanged a quick glance with Lucy, who simply shook her head.
‘You must be the new teacher.’ Ana turned towards the voice, surprised to find Paul Kelly speaking to her. She hadn’t even noticed she was standing beside him. ‘I’m Paul. Nice to meet you.’
He smiled politely and offered his hand, which Ana accepted. What choice did she have? Even if there was a feud raging between the Kellys and her friends, she couldn’t be uncivil. Besides, Paul had done nothing to hurt her. And while she didn’t care to notice, he also had quite a rugged handsomeness about him.
‘I’m Ana. Nice to meet you too.’
He was still smiling as he withdrew his hand, picked up his beer, and turned his gaze to Lucy. ‘Hey, Luce.’
Lucy didn’t spare him a glance as Jordan placed their drinks on the bar. ‘Paul.’
‘You’re looking well.’
With a beer and three glasses of ice in her hands, Lucy heaved a sigh before facing him. ‘Bite me.’
She turned on her heel and stalked back to the booth. Ana stared after her, frowning but not surprised. It wasn’t her problem. She took her change and gathered the rest of the drinks. When she returned to the booth, the conversation was back on the Kellys.
‘You want me to beat him up, Luce?’ Adam asked.
‘He’s not worth it,’ she replied as she scooted out of the seat. ‘I’m going to the bathroom.’
Ana sighed as she sipped her drink. ‘What happened to make you and the Kellys hate each other so much?’
There had to be a reason, and if she was going to live in Elizadale and be the Kellys’ sworn enemy by proxy, then Ana needed to know why.
‘Our parents are old friends,’ Adam told her brightly, and Ana’s frown deepened. ‘When we were little, we used to play together. But when Harry and I started school, he turned into quite the bully. Paul’s a year between us and Jack. We no longer got along and spent most of our time arguing.’
‘It grew from there,’ Liam added. ‘We became really competitive at school and local events. Thankfully for us, we always seemed to outshine the Kellys.’
‘Then Adam and Jordan started seeing each other and that pissed them off even more,’ Jack said.
Ana glanced from Adam to Jack, then to Liam. Were they serious? That was it? Sure, it was okay not to like a bully ... but none of that sounded like an actual reason for the feud.
‘Jordan can be quite nasty, as she’s been known to tell lies and spread rumours, but Paul and Harry also have a protective older brother complex,’ Liam continued. ‘They seem to overlook Jordan’s actions and I think they prefer to see Adam as using their sister than Jordan as a woman who makes her own choices.’
Adam nodded. ‘But it comes in waves, Ana. Sometimes it seems like Paul couldn’t give a shit what we did. Then the next thing I know, he’s pissed with me again.’
‘He’s been pretty pissed off these past six months,’ Jack said.
Liam frowned. ‘Yeah, I’ve noticed that.’
‘But basically, none of them have ever gotten along.’ Meg sighed as she crossed her arms over the table. ‘And that sometimes destroys our peaceful afternoons because Adam can’t keep his mouth shut.’
‘Fucking bastard can’t tell me who I can and cannot date.’
Meg raised her eyebrows. ‘Date?’
Adam shrugged. ‘Whatever.’
Ana shook her head. She wasn’t sure if it was enough to fight over, but while she may not like it, she didn’t know what had happened in the past and shouldn’t let it bother her.
As long as they kept their fists to themselves.
Lucy returned and snatched her beer off the table. ‘What do you lot say to a game of pool? I think dinner here sounds good tonight.’
Ana resisted a groan. She’d been looking forward to her lasagne, but everyone else agreed and the Caesar salad hadn’t been too bad.
‘Sounds good, Luce. Shall we team up?’ Jack asked.
‘I want to be on Jack’s team!’ Meg shot her hand into the air. Lucy’s shoulders sagged.
Adam shook his head. ‘All the ladies want to be on Jack’s team.’
‘That’s ’cause I know how to shoot pool.’
‘Let’s go, bro.’ Adam slapped his hands on the table and Liam swore softly under his breath. ‘If you’ve got Meg, Luce and I’ll only beat you anyway.’
‘Hey!’
‘It’s okay, darlin’.’ Jack wrapped his arm around Meg’s shoulders. Ana sipped her drink to hide her smile. ‘We’ll show ’em.’
Ana followed her friends to the pool table in the next room by the bistro. As the players grabbed cues, she sat with Liam, Michael, and Isabella at a high table by the window.
Liam leaned on the table beside her, his biceps tensing beneath his tight sleeves. ‘This’ll be fun. Jack and Adam are competitive and both excellent players.’
Belly fluttering, Ana tore her attention from his arms and sipped her drink. She had to stop noticing these things. ‘I’ve never played.’
‘Really? I’ll have to teach you. Adam and Jack are good, Lucy’s okay, and Meg sucks. That’s why she goes on Jack’s team because he’s legend enough to beat Adam and Lucy with Meg screwing up shots in between.’
‘Are you any good?’
‘Not as good as Jack.’
‘I guess we can play later.’ Ana imagined Liam leaning beside her as he guided her to make a shot, his body warm and close to hers. She shivered. ‘What about you, Isabella?’
Isabella shook her head, pale hair falling over her face. ‘I’m hopeless. Lily tried to teach me once. She’s like Jack, of course. She can win a game of pool blindfolded.’
‘She sounds interesting.’
Isabella grinned. ‘Lil’s awesome.’
Meg flipped a coin to see who got to break.
‘How was your first day at work?’ Liam asked.
‘Loved it.’ Ana tore her attention from the game. Her knees weakened at the interest in his blue eyes. Thankfully, she was already sitting. ‘It’s going to be great teaching here. Your mum sure knows what she’s doing.’
Meg cheered as she won the toss.
‘Yeah, Mum’s always wanted to improve education in rural areas. That’s why she came here. A year later, she married Dad, so she’s had thirty years to make Elizadale State School what it is.’
‘She’s certainly passionate about it. Was it fun having your mum as the principal?’
‘Yeah, she became principal when I was in grade three. I never got into trouble, that was for sure. Wouldn’t dare.’
Ana laughed. ‘I bet.’
‘Adam did though. He and Cade dared all the time and Mum just kept punishing them. By grade five they were wagging school. Cade’s dad, who’s a copper, would hunt them down, make them ride in the police car, and take them back to school. Almost every day in grade six, that happened. Didn’t improve much during high school either.’
Ana shook her head, amused despite herself. ‘How’d they think they’d get away with that?’
‘Apparently, that’s what made it fun. I wouldn’t know. I sat at school with Darren making bets on how long it’d take them to get caught.’
Ana smiled. As a group, they turned their attention to the game, which was entertaining but didn’t last long. Jack sank three balls in a row and Adam was just as good. Lucy managed to sink one ball and Meg got none. But Jack quickly made up for it. It came down to Meg to win the game.
‘Okay, darlin’.’ Jack placed his hand on Meg’s shoulder. ‘Just line it up and shoot. You can do it.’
‘Because if you don’t, I will,’ Adam teased, leaning on his pool cue with a mischievous grin.
Ana crossed her fingers, her heart pounding as Meg leaned over the pool table and lined up her shot.
‘Relax your hand, Meg,’ Jack coached her, placing his hand over hers. ‘It’s simple. There you go. Now shoot.’
She shot the eight ball straight into the pocket. Ana laughed. Adam swore. Meg cheered as she turned and threw her arms around Jack.
‘Haha!’ She laughed, taunting Adam and Lucy as she danced in Jack’s embrace. ‘Take that, suckers!’
‘That’s why you play on Jack’s team,’ Liam told Ana, smiling as Lucy declared best out of three.
Throughout the evening, everyone played pool. Jack never lost and Ana had a great time strategising with Liam while they lost a game to Adam and Lucy. To laugh and gossip and relax among easy company ... oh, she’d missed it.
The pub was almost closing when Jordan Kelly arrived at their booth. ‘Hey, Adam. Let’s get outta here.’
‘Yeah, righto.’ Downing the last of his beer, Adam stood and shrugged into his leather jacket. ‘My bike’s out front.’
‘We should get going too,’ Meg suggested, glancing at Isabella and Ana.
‘I hope you don’t plan on walking again,’ Jack said.
Meg smiled sweetly. ‘Wouldn’t dream of it.’
They had just stepped out into the warm night when Paul Kelly called after them. ‘Maguire!’
Ana’s heart leapt as everyone spun around.
Jack’s face hardened. ‘What?’
‘Fucking talk with your bastard brother.’ Paul closed in and poked his finger into Jack’s broad chest. Ana stilled. ‘Because I tell you, Maguire. If Adam screws over my sister again, you’ll both be sorry.’
Ana’s hands clenched. A pounding filled her ears.
Jack, however, seemed unperturbed. ‘Is that what you tell all the men your sister sees? Or just when she moves back to Adam?’
‘Don’t you—’
‘Stop it!’ Meg stepped between the men and pushed Jack back a step. ‘Go away, Paul.’
Paul shot them a filthy look, then stalked back into the pub.
‘Bastard.’
‘Don’t rile him up, Jack. Now get in the car.’ Meg pointed and Jack did as he was told.
Exhaling, Ana turned to Liam. Her pulse slowed as she raised her eyebrows. ‘Seriously?’
‘Nothing out of the ordinary really.’ He shrugged, then softened his gaze. ‘So ... I was thinking. What do you say to taking Steph and Louis to the park on Wednesday?’
Ana blinked. Her breath caught. Taking their dogs to the park meant alone time together. Whether or not she’d call that a date ...
Natalia’s words ricocheted through her mind. Plans change. So, before she could stop herself, Ana nodded. ‘Yeah, okay. Sounds like fun.’
He smiled. Her heart did another hula-hoop while her stomach sank. What was she doing?
‘Great. How’s three-thirty?’
‘Perfect.’
‘I’ll see you then. ’Night, Ana.’
‘Goodnight, Liam.’
She slipped into the back of Jack’s ute, pulse racing. It was just an afternoon at the park, not unlike what she may have done even without his invitation. She shouldn’t overanalyse it. It was not a date.
But she suppressed her grin the entire ride home.
* * *
In a city of five million people, how would he ever find three lousy women? There were too many schools, GP clinics, and Bras ’n’ Things stores. That’s if the old woman still worked for that shop.
Rick had to give the slut credit. She’d done a good job of hiding.
He slammed himself back into the car, fury raging. Ana was his, dammit. His. She couldn’t run away from him. He’d find her. None of them could hide forever. He’d find the bitch mother or the hot sister. Then he’d find Ana. He was a clever man and he knew how to find people. The most infuriating thing was that it seemed Ana wasn’t stupid. Her social media existed but appeared unused. Or he just couldn’t see much since she’d unfriended him.
Rick swore as he sped out of the shopping centre car park. It had been four days and he still didn’t have a lead. He’d known finding her wouldn’t be easy, but it wasn’t impossible. And when he finally had his hands around her neck, she’d only have herself to blame. Just like last time. If she’d done what he’d wanted, she’d never have needed to be taught a lesson. And if she hadn’t thought she could stand up for herself and walk out on him, she wouldn’t have pressed charges. She wouldn’t have destroyed his life. He’d still have his career. And because she thought she had that power—because the court had granted her it—he had to show her he didn’t give her that power.
Nothing would protect her from him now that he was free. Anastasia Hamilton better pray that she’d hidden herself well because he was coming for her.
And that stupid dog too.