You're the One (21 page)

Reaching out,
he took her hand. “Truthfully, Del, I was thinking how nice it is
that you’re so relaxed.”

Del looked at
him blankly.

“After last
night I thought you might be wary.”

Oh, her cheeks
flushed now, but her gaze remained steady. “This is a date to get
to know each other. Why would I be wary?”

Why indeed?
“Forget I mentioned it.”

“Are you
having second thoughts?”

“What? No.” He
squeezed her hand. “Seriously, no second thoughts. I guess I’m just
not that used to girls who are as straightforward as you.”

“This is me,
Moz,” she said soberly. “It’s how I am.”

“I know.” He
flashed her a grin. “And I like it.”

“I’m not that
different to Dee, Ash and Molly, even Elissa. They’re all
honest.”

“Yes, but
you’re all honest and straightforward in different ways.”

“If you say
so,” she said doubtfully.

“Ash is honest
in a sweet way, Molly in a - er - shall we say slightly debauched
way, Elissa in a shyer way, Dee in a…well, yeah, she’s like you.”
Moz nodded. “Yep, definitely cousins.”

“Ryder loves
her just the way she is.”

“And I love
you just the way you are.” At her raised eyebrows, he realised he’d
said ‘love’ instead of ‘like’, but figured it was stupid to make a
thing of it.

Then she said,
“That’s all right then” and he relaxed. Catastrophe diverted. Until
she added, “And I like you even if you are a hard arse with an
attitude problem.” With that stunning announcement, she hopped out
the car and left him gaping in astonishment.

By the time he
gathered his wits, she was standing at the ‘roo bar chatting to Ash
and Scott. Getting out of the car, he beeped the locks closed and
walked around to stand beside her.

One arm around
Ash’s waist, Scott was looking from Moz to Del with the same
speculative gleam in his eyes that Simon had had.

“Evening,”
Scott said.

“Evening,” Moz
returned, placing his hand at Del’s back.

Yep, Scott’s
gaze zeroed right in on that move. “Having a drink?”

“Dinner,
actually.”

“You don’t
say.” Scott grinned.

Del looked at
him.

“Nice to see
you both,” Ash said sweetly. “We were just leaving.”

“We were?”
Scott asked.

“Yes.”

“We could stay
and-”

“Scott.” Ash
looked up at him.

Scott, like
the lovesick prawn he was, sighed. “Okay.” He nodded to Moz, winked
at Del. “Be good.”

Moz’s date,
being such a lady, flipped Scott the bird.

“Did you see
that, honey?” Scott asked Ash.

The bastard
was out to tease.

Going up on
tip toe, Ash gestured to him. Scott bent down so she could place
her mouth at his ear, listened to what she said, got a really hot
gleam in his eyes and straightened. “Okay, gotta go. Have fun.
Bye!”

Moz watched
him practically drag a laughing Ash to his car. “I don’t think
their evening is finished yet.”

“Those two?”
Del grinned as she stepped up onto the footpath. “They’re never
finished.” She threw a wink over her shoulder at Moz. “Just like
Ryder and Dee, Molly and Kirk, Simon and Elissa. Add to that
Ryder’s parents, Dee’s parents, my parents, and some more people,
and I think you might want to be worried about drinking the water
here.”

“Is that so?”
Reaching over her head, he pushed the pub door open.

“Yep.”

“I reckon I
just might like drinking that water.”

“We’ll see,”
she replied pertly before walking ahead of him into the pub.

The music
wasn’t too loud, and being a week day the bar wasn’t crowded. Del
led the way into the small dining room.

Close behind
her, Moz glanced around. He’d been here a couple of times with
Elissa and Simon, and he liked it. Warm, cosy atmosphere, just
perfect for a couple of quiet hours.

“Where do you
want to sit?” he queried. “The place is ours by the looks of
it.”

“It surely
is,” a voice greeted from behind them. “You’re our second
customers. Scott and Ash have already eaten and left.” Sally, the
waitress, moved past them and swept out her hand. “Tables for two
are along the wall, but you can choose anywhere.”

“We’ll take
the wall.” Moz looked down at Del. “All right?”

“Fine by
me.”

Within minutes
they were seated with menus in their hands and Sally off to get
drinks. By the time she returned they’d made their choices. She
took their order, divested them of the menus and left.

Moz looked at
Del.

She looked
right back at him. “Right, let’s start.”

Chapter 7

Amused, Moz
replied, “Start?”

“Getting to
know each other.”

“Sure. I’m a
Scorpio and my favourite colour is blue, which is kind of odd when
apparently my colour is supposed to be red. I have a cat called
Mozart but I don’t particularly care for that kind of music. When I
grow up, I want to be a pilot.” He beamed.

Del turned
around, held up her hand. “Sally, can we have the bill now,
please?”

Moz laughed.
“I don’t think she heard you.”

“Lucky for
you.” Grinning, Del took a sip of Diet Coke. “So, Mr Scorpio with a
cat named Mozart, a pilot, huh?”

“I might have
made that last part up.”

“So, lie
number one.”

“I’ll try
harder, I promise.”

“You’re not
scoring too well at the moment.”

“What about
the Scorpio bit? I’m supposed to be sexy and smouldering.”

“I’ll give you
that.”

“And I do have
a cat named Mozart.”

“Fine, you can
have that as well.”

“And your
dress is blue and I like the colour blue.”

“Don’t stretch
this too far, sunshine.”

Taking a
mouthful of light beer, Moz grinned. “Okay, ask away.”

Leaning back
in the chair, Del folded her arms beneath those magnificent bosoms,
but he kept his gaze on her face. Being a gentleman wasn’t always
easy, but hey, he had a good visual field so he wasn’t missing too
much.

“Why did you
come to Gully’s Fall?”

That was easy.
“Elissa was here, so originally I came to visit her, got to liking
the place and was offered a job here, so I took it.”

“Actually, you
originally came here to check Simon out.”

“Because of
Elissa,” he pointed out.

“Okay.” She
nodded. “So why the RSPCA?”

“I was already
an inspector, it was just a matter of switching states and
towns.”

“Why animals?
Why not the pilot? A cop? A Navy man?”

Moz smiled. “I
like animals. They’re creatures who don’t demand, who don’t like
you based on what you have or who you are. It wouldn’t matter if
you were the richest man in the world, or the poorest, they love
you for who you are. You be kind to an animal and it’ll be your
companion for life.”

“That’s nice,
but what about wild animals?”

“They all have
a place in this world and its our duty to see that they’re not
treated cruelly.”

“Which is
where you come in.”

“Baby, someone
doesn’t treat animals right, I am so there.”

Del smiled.
“I’m surprised you didn’t become a vet.”

“I admire
vets, but there’s no way I could slice and dice in an OT. I prefer
to rescue them.”

“You’re good
friends with Grant.”

“He’s a good
bloke.”

“Did you have
many friends back home?”

Moz shrugged.
“A couple. We keep in touch but you know how it is, distance erodes
friendships.”

Del studied
him. “You’re speaking from experience. I’m betting that has
something to do with your childhood.”

Another shrug.
“Like Elissa told you, our family shifted around a lot. We made
friends, lost friends. I soon learned to make causal friends. I put
most of my focus on school work and joining the PCYC, working out
at their gyms.”

“Ah.” Her gaze
slid over his shoulders, down his arms, back up his chest. There
was no lust in her eyes, just an acknowledgement. “I’m guessing
that is something you took into adulthood.”

“I like to
lift weights. Helps me think, helps me unwind. Lets me blank out
and just work.” He flexed his hands unconsciously. “That and
cooking.”

“Yeah, that
cooking thing, where did that come from?”

Moz grinned.
“One of my regular babysitters used to bake, she let me help. I’ve
taken cooking lessons. Cooking is therapeutic, also rewarding.”

“Simon
agrees.”

“That’s a bit
of an insult. Simon will inhale anything that can be eaten. I
swear, if we were the only two people on a deserted island he
wouldn’t decide to switch teams and become my lover, he’d just eat
me.”

Del
laughed.

Smiling, he
waited until she settled back into question time.

“Elissa told
me that you were pushed aside, the focus was all on forcing her to
be the singing star.”

“Yeah.” His
smile faded. “Everyone thinks poor me, but really she suffered a
lot. She had to go to auditions, try to lose weight, be more, do
more. No part of her life was scheduled for fun and relaxation. I
got to make friends, run and join clubs. I think I was better off
than my sister.”

“Some wouldn’t
think so.”

“They weren’t
there to know. She only had my parents, and their love was purely
based on what she could do, not who she was.” Moz’s mouth tightened
in memory. “I was there for her when I could be, but not
enough.”

Del’s eyes
softened. “She holds you in high esteem, Moz. You’re her hero.”

“I should have
taken her away.”

“Under
eighteen? She was her parent’s responsibility. Over eighteen? She
had to make her own choices. It took awhile but she made the right
one, and it was you backing her up that helped her. Don’t sell
yourself short.”

“I guess.” Moz
leaned back in the chair, hearing the faint creak of the wood.

“Guess my
arse,” she shot back. “She knew she could go to you at any time.
She’s told us stories of things you did for her, how you were there
for her. No pity party, Moz, you did what you could. Own it.”

His eyebrows
shot up. “Oookay.”

“Sorry, I call
it how I see it.” Unexpectedly, she grinned. “So far, I like what I
see. When you’re not being a bully, that is.”

“I don’t
bully,” he replied indignantly.

“You give
orders.”

“No, I
don’t.”

“Oh, come on.
You threaten.”

“Nope.”

“Fine, you
call it ‘making a promise’.”

“See? Big
difference.”

She
snorted.

Moz swirled
the beer in the glass, gaze on Del. “Now you.”

“Huh?”

“Tell me about
you.”

She thought
for a second before a slow smile curved those lush lips. “Sure. I’m
a Scorpio and my favourite colour is lilac, which is kind of odd
when apparently my colour is supposed to be red. I have a kitten
called Missy and I love horror movies. When I grow up, I want to be
a ballet dancer.”

“You’re also a
smart arse.”

She looked
modestly down at the table. “Thank you.”

A thought
struck Moz. “Wait. You’re a Scorpio, too?”

“I know. How
spooky is that?”

“Oh, I don’t
know.” His smile grew a whole lot hotter. “Both of us sexy and
smouldering? We should burn up the sheets no worries.”

“You, maybe.
I’m a lot more inhibited, remember?”

“Actually,
that’s not how I remember it.” He couldn’t help it, he just knew
there was a lustful gleam in his eyes.

Apparently she
noticed it, going by the way her cheeks pinkened, but before she
could retort a voice hailed him. “Moz!”

Recognizing
the voice, he looked up to watch Grant approach. Beside the tall,
broad-shouldered vet was a slighter man with a receding hairline
wearing a city ranger’s uniform. Having both of them show up could
mean only one thing - work. Damn it.

Then again, it
had to do with animal cruelty as well, and the ranger being present
meant news on the dog fighting ring. Instantly he was on the alert,
nodding to the ranger. “Hey, Joe, Grant.”

“Moz.” Grant’s
eyes flickered to Del, back to Moz. “Sorry to interrupt your
date.”

With Del
listening, he couldn’t exactly say ‘No worries’, so he just
nodded.

“Joe’s on his
way back to Ellor’s Loop,” Grant explained. “He has some
information he wants to give to you.”

“Okay.” Moz
looked at Del. “I’m sorry, Del. Can I just take this?”

“Sure.”
Curiously, she studied the ranger and Grant before her gaze slid
back to Moz. “Go ahead. I’m just going to the bathroom anyway.”

They all
watched her leave the room. Man, slim as she was she had curves in
all the right places. Curvy hips swayed unconsciously with every
step, blonde ponytail bouncing, the long ends flicking the middle
of her straight back. Long legs drew his gaze, making him frown
when he noticed those same legs also drew Joe and Grant’s
gazes.

Clearing his
throat, he glared at them as they turned hurriedly back to the
table.

“Nice figure,”
Joe commented, completely unaware of Moz’s annoyance.

“Playing with
fire,” Grant commented.

“Huh?” Joe
looked from the vet to Moz. “Oh, hey, is she your date?”

“Does sitting
in a restaurant having dinner not clue you in?” Moz queried.

“A pub
restaurant?”

“In Gully’s
Fall, it’s a restaurant.”

“Go figure.”
Joe grinned.

Grant nudged
him. “Del will be back in a minute, I suggest you get a move
on.”

“And I thought
country blokes were slow and easy-going.”

Moz flexed his
hands. “Haven’t done any bag punching today.”

“Geez, settle
down.” Joe placed the envelope he’d been holding onto the table.
“Got these photos from the rangers in Marcor Downs, three hundred
kms north of here. The cops believe this is part of a major dog
fighting ring, the same one we’ve been getting reports from in
Ellor’s Loop.”