Runaway Bride

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.

Bella settled herself behind the wheel, adjusting the seat and the rear-vision mirror. She turned the ignition and the engine purred with the low throaty growl of a jungle cat.

Cool. Excitement pinged. For the first time in ages, she was looking forward to this adventure.

As they left Rockhampton behind them and headed north along the highway, the morning air was fresh and the sun not yet hot. This was cattle country, smooth and flat, with straight roads and few trees and plenty of visibility. The sky was clear and pale and endless, and a flock of galahs fluttered overhead, their rosy pink breasts a bright contrast to the soft pale grey of their wings.

Bella felt her spirits lift even higher. She put her foot down and the little car leapt in response. This was fun.

‘You should try to catch some sleep,’ she told Damon, but to her annoyance his eyes remained stubbornly open. Didn’t he trust her driving? She pressed the accelerator a little harder, but reluctantly had to ease back when the car shot over the speed limit.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught Damon’s smile. No doubt he was amused and she wished he would go to sleep.

In a bid to ignore him, she let her thoughts turn to Kent. She’d fallen asleep last night without ringing to see how he was faring with the aftermath of their break up and it had been too early to ring this morning.

She hoped Kent was okay. At least she knew he wasn’t nursing a broken heart. She felt a bit guilty that she’d escaped the unpleasant job of ringing the wedding guests and the caterers, but he’d insisted that she leave him with the task.

This morning, she was truly relieved that they’d come to their senses in time. In fact, she could now look on her close brush with a serious, life-changing mistake as a useful warning. She would think very carefully before she leapt into any new relationship. She was certainly mega cautious about the man currently sitting beside her.

It was good to have these thoughts sorted, good to recognise that she felt more at peace with herself than she had in weeks.

To her relief, Damon was starting to relax, too. He stretched his legs out as far as the car’s cramped interior would allow, let his head fall back and closed his eyes.

Great. Finally, he trusted her driving, and she felt better than ever.

Bella drew a deep lungful of the fresh air rushing past them. She’d never been this far north before. She took in details of her surroundings and pondered on the lives of the people living in the vast cattle stations that stretched for miles on either side of the highway.

She felt so relieved and light-hearted she might have broken into song if Damon hadn’t been dozing. Instead, she hummed softly under her breath, and she was still humming when she saw the blue-and-white car appear in her rear-vision mirror.

Was that a police car?

Uneasiness lifted the hairs on the back of her neck. Hastily she checked the speedometer. Whoops—just over.

With a guilty grimace, she applied the brakes and hoped she wasn’t in range of the police radar.

She was out of luck. Almost immediately, blue-and-red lights began to flash behind her. Damn.

The police car drew closer, the lights flashing bossily. Bella groaned, ‘Oh, God,’ and unhappily pulled over to the edge of the highway.

Beside her, Damon stirred. ‘What’s up? What’s happening?’

‘Police,’ she muttered miserably. Wasn’t this the story of her life? Every time she tried the tiniest adventure, fate slapped her down.

Damon shot a glance behind and saw the police car pulling up. ‘Were you speeding?’ ‘Not really.’

Bella half expected Damon to swear, but he merely let out a soft, resigned sigh. She felt sick as she heard the crunch of a heavy tread on the bitumen behind them. In the car’s side mirror she saw a tall, blue-uniformed figure. She sat up straight, lifted her chin to a dignified angle.

The policeman was young and puffed with self-importance. ‘Good morning,’ he said in an annoyingly pseudo-friendly voice.

‘Morning, constable,’ Damon answered.

The young policeman ignored his greeting and fixed cool blue eyes on Bella.

She tried to look innocent. ‘I wasn’t speeding, was I?’

The policeman shrugged. ‘Can I see your licence, madam?’

‘Oh? Oh, yes. Sure. It’s in my bag.’

Her bag was at Damon’s feet and their hands collided as they both reached for it. Their gazes met and Damon’s eyes held a silent message of empathy. Then he smiled and winked.

His smile helped, but Bella was flushed and shaking as she handed over her licence. The young policeman frowned officiously and began to jot down her details in his notebook.

Beside her, Damon let out an annoyed huff. ‘How about an explanation, officer? What’s the problem?’

‘I’ll need your licence too, sir.’

Bella was sure Damon would protest this time. After all, he was merely a passenger. To her surprise he said quietly, ‘Yeah. Whatever.’ Then pulled his licence from his wallet and handed it over.

Now she was seriously scared. Why did the policemen want Damon’s licence, as well? This couldn’t be a mere speeding infringement.

Memories of Damon’s reckless reputation flashed through her thoughts. He’d been pretty wild in his teens. He’d even been arrested by his own father when he was eighteen and it had caused a scandal that fired up Willara’s gossips for months. Bella’s parents had listened, and they’d refused to let her see him. Not long after that Damon had left town.

She’d always believed the infamous event was a storm in a teacup, blown out of proportion by small-town rumours, but she had no idea what Damon had done since then. She wasn’t intimate with the details of his past ten years.

The policeman certainly seemed suspicious. Directing a mean, narrow-eyed glare at her, he reached in and snatched the keys from the ignition.

‘Hang on.’ Damon looked at the policeman in surprise. ‘You owe us an explanation, mate. What’s your problem?’

‘You’re the ones with the problem.’ The constable spoke with annoying, self-righteous confidence. ‘I’d like you both to step out of the car. This is a stolen vehicle.’

‘Stolen?’ Bella cried. ‘That’s impossible. It’s a hire car.’

She felt Damon’s hand close over hers, squeezing her fingers gently but firmly. ‘Just do what he says,’ he murmured softly. ‘I’m sure we can sort this out.’

The policeman nodded. ‘You’ll have to come back to the station with me.’

Bella choked on a gasp. This couldn’t be happening. It was a nightmare. She couldn’t breathe.

But she was also as angry as she was scared. She hated the policeman’s tone. Chin high, she challenged him. ‘Can’t we just follow you?’

‘No, Miss Shaw. I’ll arrange a tow truck for this car.’

‘Surely you’re not arresting us?’ asked Damon.

The young policemen almost smiled. ‘If you like, I can arrest you right here on suspicion, or you can come to the station to answer some questions.’

No! This couldn’t be happening!

Horrified, Bella turned to Damon. His lovely grey eyes were dark with sympathy and a deeper, unreadable emotion. She expected him to say something, to do something, to become the risk-taking hero she knew he could be. But he simply gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head and then an equally faint shrug.

To her dismay, she knew exactly what he was telling her.

We have no choice. Come on. Let’s co-operate.

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