Runaway Bride

‘It was stuck, or caught, under Violet’s neighbour’s doormat. Violet must have slipped it under the door in the middle of the night. She was probably fumbling around in the dark, and it went under the mat, as well. At any rate no one saw it till last night.’

‘And what did it say?’

‘Not as much as we might have hoped. But it seems there’s been some kind of emergency in Port Douglas, and Paddy was determined that he had to be there straight away. Violet lent him her car and apparently decided she couldn’t let him travel all that way on his own.’

Bella blinked as she assimilated this news. ‘But they might have driven to Brisbane and caught a plane.’

‘I doubt it. The driver at the servo was certain they were definitely heading north.’

‘That’s true, and I’ve just remembered that Paddy’s not supposed to fly. It’s something to do with his heart.’

She let out her breath with a whoosh. She hadn’t dreamed their grandparents were on some kind of mercy dash. It was such a long way for an elderly couple to drive. ‘Port Douglas is even farther north than Cairns.’

‘Exactly. That’s why I decided to keep going.’

‘I wonder what the emergency is.’ She was thinking aloud now, trying to remember if Paddy had talked about Port Douglas. She had a vague feeling he had mentioned it.

‘I think one of Paddy’s mates lives in Port Douglas. I remember Paddy talking about a fellow veteran from the Korean War.’

‘Can you remember his name?’

‘No.’ She sighed. ‘It might come to me, but I’m drawing blanks at the moment. Dad might know. I’ll call him later.’

At least she was feeling wide awake now. ‘You should let me drive, Damon. You must be worn out.’

‘We’ll have breakfast in Rockhampton and then you can take over.’ He shot her a wink. ‘Once you’ve had your coffee.’

At the thought of coffee and food her stomach growled. She’d barely touched her lunch yesterday and she hadn’t eaten dinner. ‘I’m starving.’

‘That’s a good sign.’

His smile was a glimpse of the old Damon. It was the smile she’d fallen in love with.

There weren’t too many eating places open at such an early hour, but they found a roadside café, popular with truckies, where a heavenly smell of coffee greeted them as soon as they pushed open the heavy glass door.

Once they’d placed their orders, Bella went to the bathroom and washed her face, freed her hair from its ponytail and gave it a good brushing. Foolishly, she wished she could leave it down. She felt more attractive and feminine with her hair bouncing about her shoulders.

You’re a flirtation-free zone.

She thought about the way Damon had smiled at her a few minutes ago. There’d been a silver spark of emotion in his grey eyes. And a warmth that had sent tiny thrills rippling all the way from her head to her toes. Once again, she’d found herself thinking about their past, remembering their kisses and the exact feel of his lips touching hers and the way she used to melt.

Stop it.

Hastily, she pulled her hair back beneath the tight elastic band and jammed on her cap. She should be remembering that Damon was trouble. Back in high school, her parents had forbidden her to see him again, and they’d been wise. Soon after, he’d left town and broken her heart.

That was what she should be remembering. She was glad she had that sorted before she returned to their table.

Coffee arrived, hot and delicious, and soon after that a massive plate of bacon and scrambled eggs with slices of hot buttered toast. Normally, Bella would be daunted by such a huge meal. This morning she was ravenous and tucked in hungrily.

So did Damon. In fact they were both so hungry, they barely talked.

But with food inside her, Bella felt more relaxed. As she buttered a second slice of toast she said, ‘I guess you’ve eaten a lot of interesting breakfasts in different parts of the world.’

‘Yeah.’ He smiled. ‘Like rancid meat and yak’s milk in Mongolia.’

‘Eeeeuuuwwww. I’m afraid I’d have to stay with less adventurous food like fried rice or crêpes.’

‘There’ve been plenty of those.’ Damon set down his coffee cup. ‘You’d probably love churros and hot chocolate.’

‘That does sound yummy. Where can you eat it for breakfast?’

‘In Spain.’

Bella pictured Damon in Spain, walking down an old cobbled street where pretty señoritas flashed their dark eyes at him. ‘Do you miss Aussie food?’ she asked quickly.

He laughed and shook his head. ‘Violet sends me food packages all the time.’

‘Good old Violet. I’m so relieved we know where they’re heading now, and we don’t have to stop and search along the way.’

‘It’s a relief to know they haven’t gone crazy,’ Damon said quietly.

‘Were you worried about that, too?’

‘I was when I first heard that Vi was missing. It crossed my mind that this might have been the beginnings of dementia.’

‘But Paddy and Violet wouldn’t both get it at the same time.’

‘No, and Violet’s mind’s still razor sharp. She’s managed to keep in regular contact with me even though I’m always on the move. And the other day, she hammered me at a complicated word game.’

This time when Damon smiled, Bella had to look away. They still had a long drive ahead, up the Queensland coast, and she’d be a mess if she kept reacting to him like this.

At least she was confident now that they’d find their grandparents, and everything would be resolved in another day or two.

Then, Damon could look after Violet, and with a little luck Bella would coax Paddy into taking a train trip from Cairns to Brisbane and she’d have him safely back in Willara in no time. Then she’d be free.

Free of marriage plans, free of old boyfriends and hopefully free of family worries. She could work out, then, what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.

She wished she felt happier about that. If only she felt free, rather than completely blank, like a deleted page on a computer screen.

Right now, she felt more lost than free.

But heavens … she couldn’t start worrying about her future just yet. For now, she had to try to relax.

As they left the café, Bella was surprised by how much better she felt. She’d had a good night’s sleep, her stomach was full and caffeine was pumping through her veins. She wasn’t even daunted by the sight of their red sports car looking ridiculously small and low as it hunkered between the massive haulage trains in the parking lot.

‘Let’s have the top down this morning,’ she said in a burst of enthusiasm. ‘Or would you like to leave it up while you sleep?’

‘Down’s fine.’ Damon was already pushing the appropriate lever.