Beneath Outback Skies Read Online Free PDF Page A

locate the closest café-latte. ‘Look, there’s a coffee place between the chemist and the newsagent.’ And without waiting for her reply he strode across the street.
    ‘Freaking city boys,’ Paige muttered beneath her breath as she followed. He hadn’t even checked for traffic before stepping out onto the road like he owned it. How did he know Glenalla wouldn’t have a mid-morning rush hour suddenly? On school mornings and afternoons the traffic was known to be almost bumper-to-bumper for a whole block. Her forehead pounded. Her feet dragged. The day couldn’t get any worse.
     
    Drink it, Paige. You know you want to.
    Tait forced his attention away from the mug of hot chocolate that sat untouched before her. He took a gulp of coffee and waited for the caffeine to speed through his veins. Paige was officially one-of-a-kind. He’d never encountered such mule-headed stubbornness or such an expressive face. Following her in the grocery store, it hadn’t taken him long to pinpoint the exact items missing from her life. At the chocolate aisle she’d licked her lips. When she’d glanced at the soaps her eyelids had fluttered. She’d done the same thing when the waitress had placed a chicken salad in front of her. But it now suffered the same fate as her hot chocolate. He placed his mug on the table and counted to ten.
    ‘How are you going to explain not eating a single mouthful to that very nice waitress who appears to be a friend of yours?’
    Paige gave him a hard stare. ‘I’m not hungry.’
    ‘Yes, you are. You had a small piece of toast for breakfast and your stomach started rumbling in the second grocery aisle.’
    Her fingers strangled a silver fork. ‘I’m. Not. Hungry.’
    He drained his coffee mug. A scalding heat burned the length of his oesophagus but it was nothing compared with the frustration spiking his blood pressure. Her obstinacy was beyond exasperating.
    ‘Suit yourself. But the meal is paid for, I’ve eaten and, as you said, we should be getting back.’ He stood. ‘I’ll visit the shop next door while your head continues to argue with your stomach.’
    Once out of the coffee shop Tait slowed his steps long enough to see Paige pick up the fork and smile at the waitress who slid into the seat he’d just left. A short time later, when Paige joined him next door, she gave him a nod before drifting to the end of the shop. Every now and then her fingers would touch an item of clothing. The overhead light picked out the auburn strands of the long brown ponytail that fell below her Akubra.
    He pulled an oilskin vest from a hanger and tried it on. If in the small confines of a narrow building she stayed as far away from him as possible, he’d no doubt that as soon as they returned to Banora Downs she’d do the same. But ditching him wasn’t going to happen. He still was no closer to getting a handle on her. He shrugged off the vest and hung it over his arm. He had to find out the real person beneath the battered hat and behind all the bravado.
    Paige retraced her steps to stop at the counter. She smiled at the elderly store owner who was packing items of clothing into a big box. ‘Need any help, Steve?’
    ‘No thanks, love.’ The lines of his face disappeared as he returned her smile. ‘You’ve filled enough of my shelves when you were home from boarding school.’ His voice softened. ‘How are you? How’s your dad?’
    Her head dipped as she pulled a pair of work gloves from the box and studied them. Tait failed to read her expression beneath the brim of her hat. He moved to a pile of folded navy work shirts on a nearby shelf in order to catch her reply.
    ‘We’re good, thanks. Dad says to say hello.’
    The shop owner nodded his grizzled head. ‘If there’s ever anything you need …’
    Her head lifted. She returned the gloves to the box and placed her hand over the oldman’s. Her sweet smile shone brighter than any of the silver belt buckles in the cabinet Tait now pretended