Free Outback Blaze by Rachael Johns Page B

‘Have you news of the fire?’
    He shook his head. ‘The investigators are there now. I thought I’d come see how you and your folks are.’ That was a lie – he hadn’t spared a thought for her parents when he’d decided to come. ‘And I brought you this.’ Stepping closer, he lifted the lid on the cake box, careful to keep the coffee cup upright as he did so. ‘Happy birthday, Ruby.’
    â€˜Oh.’ She peered down at the cake and then squeezed her lips together. For a second he wondered if she were allergic to sugar or something.
    â€˜If you don’t eat cake, maybe your parents will enjoy it?’
    â€˜No, I love cake,’ she said on a sniff. She squeezed her lips even tighter and then a tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. She’d been fighting tears.
    Oh shit . He didn’t do tears. And birthday cake was supposed to make people smile, not cry.
    â€˜I’m sorry,’ she rushed, no doubt registering the horrific expression on his face. She swiped at the errant tear away with the back of her hand. ‘I don’t usually cry when people bring me things, but it’s been a long, terrible night and quite possibly the worst birthday ever. I didn’t finish the cupcake last night and I think Frankie was the only person who remembered my birthday.’
    He raised one eyebrow. ‘What about your parents?’ His might not have acknowledged his birthday but that was hard to do when you weren’t even on speaking terms. In contrast the Joneses appeared pretty tight.
    She was quiet for a moment, then sighed and shook her head. Her long brown ponytail swished. ‘No, strangely. Maybe they had some surprise planned for when I came home from the photoshoot.’
    But Ruby didn’t sound convinced and a small alarm bell sounded in Drew’s head. The Joneses might look like their business was going okay, but there were all sorts of other things that could lead to financial pressure and insurance fraud happened to be one of the main motivations behind arson. He swallowed the impulse to ask her if her folks usually made a big deal of birthdays. It was glaringly obvious she was already emotional and he didn’t want to be the cause of any more tears.
    â€˜Your horses are beautiful,’ he said, nodding towards them in an attempt to redirect the conversation to safer ground.
    A massive smile filled her face, her cheeks dimpling beneath sparkling chocolate-coloured eyes. He’d never known brown could shimmer like that. ‘Thank you. They are my life.’ She absentmindedly patted the caramel-coloured one and the horse neighed in approval. ‘Being around them makes everything seem that much better. Do you like horses?’
    â€˜Oh yeah.’ He stepped back and put the cake box and coffee on the ground. ‘Can I?’ he asked, lifting up his hand and gesturing towards the animals.
    â€˜Go ahead.’ Ruby moved sideways a little. ‘This is Riley.’ She nodded to the big brown horse. ‘He’s a big softie, but if you stroke him first you’ll put Miss Roxie in a very bad mood.’
    â€˜I wouldn’t want that.’ He laughed as he lifted his hand to let the mare smell him. He moved his palm up and over her nose, stroking ever so gently. She made the approval noise again and he couldn’t help grinning. The tightness in his body began to ease. ‘I see what you mean,’ he said, looking at Ruby.
    â€˜You’re a natural.’
    â€˜My grandparents were horse people,’ he told her, moving his hand down Roxie’s neck. She leaned towards him and almost purred.
    â€˜Really?’
    He nodded. ‘They played polo cross and had a property with horses. I used to go there for holidays when I was a kid and loved riding.’
    It was her turn to laugh and she did so beautifully, her head falling back slightly and her shoulders jiggling. ‘Do you go there much