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Vaughan kept silent on the drive to town. He frowned as he cranked the gears and pushed the old truck through the foothills of the mountain. Wiri leaned back against the worn leather seat and let his mind turn to Phoenix. He wondered if she’d made it to school on time or if she thought of him. He tugged his phone from his jeans pocket and activated the screen, his heart lurching at the sight of the text icon.
‘Good luck today. You’ll do great.’ Logan’s good wishes in text form were both unusual and a gift. Two months ago, Wiri would have basked in his uncle’s approval, but his relationship with Phoenix threw all that yearning into sharp relief. When Logan discovered their duplicity, he’d use his many resources to hunt them down and drag his daughter home. They couldn’t marry without consent until she reached eighteen, which meant Wiri needed to earn enough cash to remain hidden until it was too late.
He jumped as the truck hit the curb, his phone tumbling onto the floor of the cab.
“Sorry,” Vaughan grunted. He looked over his shoulder to reverse the vehicle back into the traffic and start the process again. “I always forget to back this thing into parking spaces,” he said with a smirk. “Leilah nails it in one. Maybe we won’t tell her I bailed again.”
Wiri nodded and unlatched his seatbelt. He snatched his phone from the floor and jammed it back into his pocket. His shirt parted to reveal the brass horse head and Vaughan’s brow knitted. “Nice buckle,” he said.
“Thanks.” Wiri dropped the hem of his shirt and turned away. Stepping from the truck, he found himself on the main street of the town. It looked like any other small New Zealand township, with shops lining either side of the road. Metal rods attached to the front of the buildings held awnings over the pavement to protect pedestrians from the weather, casting the huge flagstones into shadow. Wiri spotted dress shops, a hairdresser and a cafe in the first twenty metres. He spun on the spot, allowing himself to imagine bringing Phoenix there to live in obscurity. No one would know them and they could disappear. His heart filled with an uncharacteristic lightness, and his fingers brushed the fabric of his pocket above his phone. He compiled the text in his mind before dropping his hand.
He’d made promises to her.
She had only kissed him.
Perhaps it didn’t mean what he thought it did.
“It’s a decent town.” Vaughan joined him on the pavement, tucking his shirt into his jeans.
“You grew up here?” Wiri pushed Alfie’s hat higher on his head to shade his eyes from Vaughan’s gaze. The rawness of his dreams needed time to fade.
“Yeah.” Adding nothing more, he jerked his head towards the cafe a few metres away and pushed open the door. The scent of warm bread filled the air as Wiri followed him inside and looked up at the bell, which jangled a warning at their presence.
An old man hogged a counter facing the window, and he touched the brim of his hat as Vaughan nodded to him. Gnarled fingers held a pie and steam curled from it towards the ceiling. The man dipped forward and blew on his pastry, sending out more spray than breath. Wiri looked away in haste, focussing his attention on Vaughan.
“About bloody time.” A woman hurried from a kitchen behind the counter before stopping at the sight of the men. “Oh,” she said, disappointment lacing her tone. “Where’s Leilah?”
“Delayed.” After issuing the single word, he turned to leave. Wiri altered the trajectory of his feet, ready to follow him back into the street.
“Wait!” Elfin and wizened, the woman bustled around the counter, straightening the apron wrapped around her thin body. She raised a crooked index finger and dug it into Vaughan’s powerful biceps. “She promised she’d drive me to the cash and carry in Hamilton. I’m running out of flour.”
“Sorry.” Vaughan frowned at Wiri and jerked his head towards the door in a silent command to bolt. “Seline turned up at the farm with a new horse. We didn’t expect her.”
“Oh.” The woman’s head jerked back on her neck. Her left hand wound behind her and she loosened the tie on her apron. “I want to see her.” Her brown irises glittered with a sudden moistening and Vaughan clattered Wiri in his need for escape.
“No,” he growled. “I’m not your chauffeur and I’ve got stuff to do.”
“Ten minutes,” she begged, her tone wheedling. “My old car doesn’t like the hill up to your place.” Wiri noticed pink gums occupying the space where teeth should be and her lips slapped when she spoke. He gulped as she noticed him and jabbed her finger in his direction. “He can manage.”
Vaughan snorted. “No, he can’t. He works for me, Mari. We’re doing important bloke stuff.” The cloudy darkness in his face shifted as he winked at Wiri beneath the cover of his fringe. But the old woman persisted.
“I want to see Hector’s grandbaby! He doesn’t have to cook nothing. Just stand behind the counter and look pretty.” Her eyes narrowed at Vaughan and her lips tightened. “You owe me after what you did.”
The old man in the corner snorted, coughing as he inhaled flaky pastry through his hairy nostrils. “Get real, Mari!” he barked. “That young dude couldn’t look pretty if you covered him with icing sugar and called him a muffin.”
Wiri watched in horror as a tear rolled from the woman’s face and dampened her bronzed cheek in its tracks. “You just got married without me. I’m her only family and you didn’t even invite me. I’ll never forgive you for this, Vaughan Hōiho. Never. You don’t deserve your Uncle Horse’s name.”
“I’ll do it.” Wiri raised his hand and swallowed, amazed at the instant transformation. Her eyes brightened, and she scrabbled at the trailing cords from her apron before he’d finished his sentence. “I’ll stand there for ten minutes.” He glanced up at Vaughan before pointing towards the cash register. “If that’s okay with you?”
The man in the corner hooted, crumbs from his pie tumbling to the tiled floor. “Sucker!” he cackled. “She saw you coming.” He cocked his head and stared into space. “Not that she sees much anymore. Blind as a bat.”
Vaughan inhaled and released the breath with a shake of his head. He winked at the old man. “For once, I agree with you, Ted,” he said. “She did see him coming.”
“Here!” Mari shoved the balled apron against Wiri’s chest, not waiting for him to catch hold of it. She primped her hair with her fingers, a fringe of white curls graduating to grey and then brunette at the back of her head. Blinking up at Vaughan, she said, “Come on, boy! I don’t got all day!”
Vaughan twisted his lips before withdrawing the truck keys from his pocket. He shook his head at Wiri. “Thanks for that, mate,” he said, before walking back through the front door and onto the street.
