WISH (A Novella)
Somewhere in the story...
'The real estate agent called this place Casey's Promise,' she told Cal idly.
'Reckon that's Casey, then?'
'Who?'
'Him,' said Cal pointing towards the sun.
Billie squinted, reached for the sunglasses perched on her head, and took another look. She could see him now, a man on a quad bike with a dog sitting on a narrow board at the back. A farmhand, she surmised as he drew closer. The battered cap, the equally shabby work boots and jeans - these things suggested employee, but the closer he got the less likely that seemed. There was something about him, a certain confidence about his approach that suggested authority.
He parked beside her car and took his sweet time getting off the quad. It seemed only polite that she take her own sweet time looking him over.
He was big and lean; the sun-browned muscles of his arms and the contours of his chest beneath his filthy grey t-shirt a testament to years of hard physical labour. His face was all angles and cheekbones, his lips firm and sculpted. The cap came off to reveal sharp green eyes and unruly black hair that spiked in places and clung damply to his head in others. The hair was boyishly endearing. The eyes were cool.
He was quite the combination.
He stopped a few feet away from the verandah, his cattle dog beside him, and Billie got to her feet, uncomfortably aware of his size, his strength, and the animosity in him.
'I'm looking for Billy Temple,' he said, his voice clipped and raspy, as if on the edge of temper.
'You've found her,' she said politely enough.
The startled expression on his face didn't bode well. The scowl that followed had Cal coming to stand protectively beside her, a move that didn't go unnoticed by the big man or his dog. The man eased back; the dog moved forward to sniff at Cal's ankles, a combination of events that didn't sit well with Billie until the dog's tongue came out and his tail started wagging.
'What's his name?' asked Cal, crouching and holding out his hand.
'Blue,' said the man curtly, scowling at both dog and boy.
'And you would be?' she asked, scowling at him.
'Adam Kincaid.' He returned his gaze to her and she could tell he wasn't impressed. 'I thought you'd be older. And no one said a word about the kid.'
The kid stood up, his eyes narrowed and assessing as he stepped closer to Billie. Hard to say if Cal did this for her protection or his but he did it and his eyes never left the big man's face. Inner city bars bred wary, worldly kids. Billie didn't know whether to be proud of that or not.
'Kincaid of Kincaid Holdings, right?' The name was written on the top of her rental lease. Billie offered up a tentative smile. It wasn't returned. So much for the friendly country welcome. 'Is there a problem, Mr Kincaid?'
'You could say that,' he said at last. 'But it's easily rectified.'
Rectified, thought Billie gloomily. Big word.
fresh, funny romance with a modern twist
