Free The Girl in the Hard Hat by Loretta Hill Page B

off into Wickham every evening in that cute blue Nissan of yours,’ said Lena.
    ‘Have you got a fella who lives there?’ Sharon enquired.
    ‘If she did, I’m sure Radar would know about it,’ Lena scoffed. ‘He swears she’s single.’
    Sharon rolled her eyes. ‘Yeah, because Radar is the most reliable source on the wharf. He also thought that poor guy in Fish’s team had plastic surgery and Biro was cheating on his wife when his daughter picked him up from the airport.’
    ‘I am sitting right here, you know.’ Wendy laughed. ‘I can answer for myself.’
    ‘Oooh, please do.’ Lena rubbed her hands together. ‘I’d love to have one up on Radar.’
    ‘I’m afraid there’s no fella to speak of. I’m single and staying that way.’ For some reason, the image of a cheeky smile and a confident swagger intruded upon her vision. She gritted her teeth and pushed it away.
    ‘Damn.’ Lena pouted. ‘I was hoping for a juicy story.’
    ‘Speaking of juicy stories.’ Sharon threw Lena a look over her shoulder. ‘Who the hell is Annabel George?’
    Lena looked cross. ‘A bloody pain in the arse, that’s what.’
    Wendy glanced at her in surprise and also saw Sharon’s eyebrows rise in the rear-vision mirror again.
    ‘So the rumours are true,’ the bus driver murmured. ‘I honestly didn’t credit it when I heard a woman in four-inch red heels turned up on Saturday with a couple of lunchboxes full of muffins and biscuits for Bulldog.’
    ‘She made them herself,’ Lena revealed sourly.
    ‘Were they any good?’ Wendy enquired.
    ‘Absolutely bloody delicious.’
    Sharon snorted. ‘Why is she baking for him?’
    ‘Dan says she’s just being nice. But I know what it means.’ Lena rolled her eyes. ‘She wants him back.’
    ‘Back?’ Sharon started. ‘Bulldog has an ex?’
    Lena threw her hands in the air. ‘I thought I knew everything there was to know about Dan. But I completely forgot about his love-life. I mean, obviously he must have had one before me but I didn’t expect it to come boobs blazing back into his life out here. I mean this is Cape Lambert, for goodness’ sake.’
    ‘What does Dan say?’ Sharon asked.
    ‘That I have nothing to worry about and not much else. You know how forthcoming he is about his feelings.’
    Wendy could definitely picture Dan as the strong, silent type. ‘Well, maybe you should just wait a bit. Maybe this woman will get sick of baking him treats and leave him alone.’
    ‘Amen to that,’ Lena nodded.
    On this positive note, the bus came to a halt in front of the wharf boom gates so there was no opportunity for them to question her further. An inspector came on board to make sure everyone was wearing their PPE – the main items being hard hats, vests and boots. She and Lena passed the test and so did the two guys slumped in the back row. The inspector got off and the boom gates were raised.
    The hum of the wharf conveyor penetrated Wendy’s ears, and then she saw it. Lumps of iron ore rolled beside the bus on a belt stained red with years of service. She could see two ships docked at the end waiting for this precious cargo. It was amazing that Australia made so much money from selling dirt.
    The bus picked up speed again, though not much. The red-dusted road was narrow and had no guard rail. One false swerve and they’d be over the edge and into the ocean or – worse – in the conveyor. Wendy remembered that on her first bus ride out on Wednesday morning she’d clutched her seat in trepidation. Now at least she was able to sit there with some semblance of calm.
    After five minutes of silence, Sharon braked near the centre of the jetty beside what was called the skid frames. The frames were two table-like steel structures that straddled the conveyor and basically provided a platform for the men to work on while ore could still move beneath.
    ‘I believe this is your stop,’ Sharon announced cheerfully.
    ‘Thanks.’ Lena stood up. ‘I’ll see